P. Shungoony Menon on Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma

“It was a tradition with the Travancore royalty to prefix the names of their children with the asterism under which they were born. The new born was named Swati Tirunal Rama Varma. Submitting to the commands of Lord Minto, the Queen arranged for the coronation of four-month-old Swati Tirunal as King of Travancore on August 28, 1813, and stepped down to rule as his regent. He was now -- Sree Padmanabha Dasa Vanchi Pala Rama Varma Kulasekhara Kiritapathi Swati Rama Raja Manney Sultan…”

“By the time His Highness attained his majority, he had completed his education and become a perfect master of Sanskrit, English, Persian, Hindustani, Maharatti, Telugu, Canarese, Tamil and Malayalam.”