Ramanathapuram Palace - Heritage Building of King Sethupathi in Tamil Nadu.

 

Ramanathapuram or Ramanad palace was built in the 17th century portrays the past glory of King Sethupathi. This palace is a heritage building which is under the control of State Archaeological Department and is best known for its mural paintings with natural dyes picturing the historical days ok King Sethupathi. The palace also holds complex weapons which were used by King Sethupathi on various wars. The palatial complex includes their private royal rooms, many buildings, temple and  durbar hall which is today a museum.

 

 

Built during the era of Kizhavan Sethupathy in the 17th century, the durbar hall transports you into a visually colourful period of that era. With white pillars holding the foundation rather strong, the hall is a veritable storehouse of weapons and daggers. Besides the Gods and Goddesses, stories from epics, puranas and some of the murals that depict war and peace treaties with kings and queens. Almost every inch of the palace is coated with paint – from the ceilings to the walls. The lifestyle of the era is painted here in bold strokes depicting dances and sports as the romance of the era comes out alive.

 

 

A heritage building, Ramanathapuram palace of Tamilnadu has been brought back to its past glory by renovation of the mural paintings depicting the historical days of King Sethupathy’s reign by the Tamil Nadu State Archaeological department. Historically, this palace is important for two reasons. First being that this was the palace where Lord Rama stayed with his wife Sita when he brought her from Lanka. And the second being that this was the Capital city of Sethupathy kingdom. The lifestyle and the important events of the Kingship have all been preserved with the help of mural paintings for more than 300 years. Historical records suggest that the palace was built during the reign of Kizhavan Sethupathi (1674-1710 CE) the most popular among the Sethupathi Kings. The palace building consists of a Darbar hall and an ostentatious dwelling area. The murals found in this building representing the life style of the Sethupathi kings, scenes depicting their battles with the Maratha kings of Thanjavur and their European contacts are quite exquisite. The archaeological museum of this department has been functioning in the Ramalingavilasam Palace which belongs to Sethupathy of Ramnad.

 

 

Ramalingavilasam Palace portraits good information of the history of the Ramanathapuram palace. The old instruments used by the Sethupathi kings has been on display in this palace. Iron spear, Sword, Dagger, Gun, and Valari and antiquities collected from Alagankulam excavations. Besides antiquities beautiful paintings depicting royal warfare, gods and goddess, scenes from epic Ramayana particularly the birth of Rama, with description in colloquial language, Bhagavatham, war scenes with Thanjavur Marathas and lifestyle of Sethupathi kings, water sports and erotic scenes found on the ceiling and walls of this Palace are archaeologically significant.

 

 

Ramanathapuram is less than 60 kms from Rameshwaram and it is well connected by road, rail and air from Chennai, Pondicherry and other main cities. The palace is in the heart of the town Ramanathapuram and is open from 10 am to 5 pm with Friday being a holiday.