God's Own Empire: The Extraordinary Life of Marthanda Varma of Travancore | Discover the Untold Story of Warrior King who Defeated the Dutch

by Raghu Palat, Barthélemy-Edmond Palat

Marthanda Varma, ruler of the princely state of Travancore (in southern Kerala) from 1729 to 1758 was an extraordinary warrior and statesman. Varma played a pivotal role in expanding the kingdom’s boundaries and fending off the Europeans who coveted his kingdom. His navy defeated the Dutch in the Battle of Colachel in 1750. It was the only instance of an Indian kingdom defeating a European power on the sea.

At the height of his power, Varma handed over the kingdom to Lord Ananthapadmanabha, the reigning deity of the kingdom. In future, he and his heirs would rule over the kingdom as the ‘dasas’ of the deity.

223 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 26, 2025

Reviews

[Vandana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant piece of work. Loved the in depth knowledge about this unsung hero whose story is lost with time.

[Rahul Vishnoi · Rating 5 out of 5]

-A Monarch Who Vanquished the Europeans-
Review of 'God's Own Empire'

Quote Alert
'𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚'𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐦; 𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬. 𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐞𝐮𝐯𝐫𝐞𝐬. 𝐅𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐬. 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐲. 𝐂𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐦."


In their latest non-fiction, after the resounding success of 'The Case That Shook the Empire' by Raghu Palat and Pushpa Palat, the authors focus their lens on a forgotten historical figure of monumental importance. Marthanda Varma, who rules Travancore from 1729 to 1758 was an extraordinary warrior and statesman. He was able to defeat the Dutch army and by doing so, he became the first ruler to defeat an established European power on the sea.

Mr and Mrs Palat confess that although they both are Malayalees, they had not heard of a figure of such historical significance. When they shared the name of the king with their friends from Kerala, even they admitted not knowing about this victorious king.


The authors, in this extensive account, also explore the spiritual mindset of the king. At the height of his powerband glory, Varma handed over the kingdom to Lord Ananthapadmanabha, the reigning deity of the kingdom. In future, he and his heirs would rule over the kingdom as the ‘dasas’ of the deity.

The book is extensive in research but the authors don't let the dryness overpower the narrative. They carve an interesting account of those times, completing a puzzle with the pieces they have painstakingly gathered.
Good for the history buffs.

[Ajumma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is well-researched, perfectly put, engagingly written, giving a 360 degree perspective of one of God Padmanabha’s parama Bhaktas Raja Marthanda Varma; his personality, strategic acumen, ‘taking bull by the horns’ stance pertaining to all decisions - be it annexing of nearby lands or statecraft! The repeated Dutch arrogance, incursions and plots hatched by them by aligning with Marthanda’s foes to not only gain upper hand in pepper trade but greedily seeking political assertion by worming their way into Kerala’s power politics was single handedly, quite cunningly put to eternal rest by Marthanda! Whatta Raja! Alas! Although hailing from neighbouring state, I had not come across this great soul’s biography or information until now for that matter! All credit to the author for making Raja Marthanda Varma’s image chirasthayi in the heart and mind of a humble reader like me! I look forward to reading and assimilating more books on such Rajas of Southern part of India by Shri Raghu Palat!