“Krishna Shishtai” is one of the popular paintings of Ravi Varma who is is an Indian artist, who achieved recognition for his depiction of scenes from the epics of the Mahabharata and Ramayana. He is not just a painter but a Prince who married a princess in 1866, at the age of 18 in Trivancore Palace, Kerala, South of India. He was married to a 12-year-old Bhageerthi Bayi (known formally as Pooruruttati Nal Bhageerathi Bayi Thampuratty) princess of the royal house of Mavelikara which was a branch of the Royal House of Travancore.
The Trivancore Royal family was the ruling house of the Kingdom of Trivancore. The family are descended from the Ay/ Venad family and the Chera dynasty.
Unlike the other states of India, In southern part, mostly in kerala, people follow Marumakkathayam (Matrilineal society). The female descendants inherit the property. The eldest male of the family is called “Kaarnnavar” and was considered the head of the entire assets and the family. The properties of the family were not handed to his sons but to the daughters of his sons or to their sisters. This was the same system followed even in the Royal families of Trivancore. This system is called “Marumakkathayam”.
So when there was no female heirs in the Royal family, they go for the adoption of girls from the Royal families to find Ranis (Queens) and to be Queen mothers for the their future Maharajas. Mavelikkara royal family is one such important family which has a great family history for the traditional adoption of daughters between Kolathiri and Travancore since 1400AD. Kolathiri represents one of the elite families in caste concept of Kerala who tracks their origin to Haihayas of Avanti in Madhya Pradesh and thus they claim to be pure Kshyatriyas.
…..Coming back to the female adoption in the Trivancore royal family.
When there was a lack of successor in the Trivancore palace in late 1800s Queen Lakshmi Bayi worries and goes for a pilgrimage to Rameshwaram. Few months later she hears that both her Sister’s (Mahaprabha - Wife of Ravi Varma) daughters Bhageerathi and Mahaprabha are pregnant. she believed that this great miracle happened as the result of her pilgrimage to Rameshwaram praying for girls in the family. Hence she named them Sethu Lakshmi Bayi and Sethu Parvathi Bayi.
The girls were adopted in to the palace at the age of 5 as senior rani (Sethu Lakshmi Bayi) and Junior Rani (Sethu Parvathi Bayi) of Attingal
Now here is where a personal connection comes with the artist Ravi Varma with one of his Paintings “Krishna Shishtai”. He once had gifted a grand brocade fabric to his grand daughter, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, the last queen of Kerala. Here is a picture of Sethu Lakshmi Bayi wearing a long brocade skirt (in pink) which was taken on her wedding day in 1906. This skirt was made from the same brocade fabric her Grand father Ravi Varma had gifted her.
The highlight is, this brocade fabric was originally a gift to Ravi Varma by Maharaja of Mysore (Jatayu Vadham was commissioned by the same Mysore Maharaja). The point is… Ravi Varma has used the same brocade pattern to the costume of Krishna in his “Krishna Shishtai” painting. When we find such personal connections to the artist with the paintings, it adds more value to his creation!
Do visit our website www.purathanam.com to order this product. Click the below link to checkout the oleograph print of Krishna Shishtai:
Krishna Shishtai by Ravi Varma