He was born in
Changanacherry at the
Lakshmipuram Palace on 19 February 1845 (6 Kumbham 1020) in
Pooyam star. His mother was Pooram Nal Devi Amba Thampuratti while his father was
Cheriyoor Mullapally Narayanan
Namboothiri of
Perinchelloor Gramam in
Taliparamba, in
Kannur. His family had fled
Malabar and sought refuge in
Travancore during the invasion of
Tipu Sultan towards the end of the 18th century. After peace was restored, however, the
Parappanad Royal family agreed to accept a pension from the
British government and also from that of
Travancore, in which several branches would remain, from among which future
princes consort of the seniormost two females in the
Travancore royal family,
Senior and Junior Rani of Attingal, each a Maharani of Travancore, were drawn. Although the Koil Thampuran was born at Changanacherry, his family subsequently moved to
Haripad and settled at the Ananthapuram Palace. In 1859, he was married to Her Highness
Bharani Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi, the adopted niece of
Uthram Thirunal, then Maharajah of
Travancore. His marriage to the Senior Rani thus brought him into close association with the
Travancore Royal Family. Later, however, through palace intrigues and personal disaffection with the Maharajah
Ayilyam Thirunal he was confined at
Haripad forcefully in 1875, only to be released and reunited with his wife in 1880 by Maharajah
Visakham Thirunal. He wrote an apology letter to Ayilyam Tihirunal on 26 January 1877 admitting all charges including being in league with Visakham Thirunal and writing a letter to the diwan and later lying that he never wrote such a letter. He also admitted of being attracted to
Christianity and addicted to
Bhang. He was awarded with the
Companion of the Order of the Star of India in 1885 by the
British Government. After the death of his consort Rani Lakshmi Bayi in 1901 he was appointed the guardian of her two grandnieces, the Senior and Junior Ranis of
Travancore, including Maharani
Sethu Lakshmi Bayi. He died in a car accident in September 1914. At that time, cars were rare in India, and only rich people like him had cars. According to the sources, Kerala Varma was going to
Vaikom Mahadeva Temple with his nephew and disciple
A. R. Rajaraja Varma, another great scholar, called as 'Kerala Panini'. On the way of return, he stayed at
Ananthapuram Palace,
Haripad. The next day, while going to
Thiruvananthapuram, his car got crashed, and he succumbed to his injuries two days later. It is regarded as first
Road accident related death in India. He was cremated with full state honours at his home in
Changanassery. ==Literary works==