Kuriyedathu Thathriyude SmartaVicharam

(Tatri’s trial of Chastity)

There are two Malayalam books written on this historical subject, one being the book with the above name by Alankode Leelakrishnan and the other titled Kuriyedathu Thathri by VT Nandakumar. Then there is the book written by Mathampu Kunjukuttan (Brashtu) and its translation by Vasanthi Sankaranarayanan (Outcaste) based on the same theme. There is also the famous story Goddess of revenge (Pratikara Devata) by Lalithambika Antherjanam about this Tathrikutty. Some aspects have been serialized in the Mathrubhumi weekly in the 1998-99 time frame. Look around India today, every now and then there is some place or the other which hosts a ballet or a play based on this story in one language or the other. A good Malayalam movie came out some years ago with this ex-communication trial as the basis, named ‘Parinayam’. So much is said and written about this topic, so what is this all about?

Even today the mention of Thathri sets the nerves jangling in Kerala, for it has all the elements needed, sordidness, inequality, religion, caste, illicit sex, guilt, drama, emotion, anger, helplessness….the list goes on. The story is still alive and the above mentioned books have been sold out like hot cakes, even my own search over continents have not yielded a single spare copy of the first two books, including entreaties to authors & book sellers. Nevertheless, I have managed to put together a plausible account of what happened after extensive searches and will outline it for those who have not had a chance to read the above books.

But first a general commentary on the times and the rigors imposed by the caste system in Malabar. Between the 1200-1900 time frame, the Nambuthiris held sway in Kerala on top of the caste hierarchy. They were wealthy landowners and had many rights over people of the other lower castes including the Nayars. With the firm intent to hold title to the lands in their possessions and ensure that they are not diluted, the caste practicing a patriarchal system (rest of Malabar was typically matrilineal) decided that only the eldest son of a family should marry. This meant that the younger brothers could not have wives, but to offset it were allowed to have formal Sambandhams with Illath Nair women. 

But that left one group of people isolated, the Namboothiri women (Also the eldest Namboothiri could marry more than one Namboothiri woman, and they did so, until a ripe age). So some of these Antherjanams (people inside the house) as Namoothiri women are called, married, but some had very unsatisfactory lives or in some cases did not marry at all. Antherjanams were usually sequestered in their homes and always went around fully shrouded & escorted. Should an Antherjanam be suspected of unchaste behavior, the punishment was severe, for after a trial, they were excommunicated and cast out into the roads. Some of these outcastes were picked up by the Mannanars or Chakiyars of North Malabar (See my blog on this subject) and provided asylum. Some married lower caste people and settled down in anonymity. Some went crazy and wandered the streets like beggars. The trial that was conducted according to the Sankarasmriti or Laghudharma Prakashika was generally weighted heavily against the woman and she had little chance of winning. The witnesses were always against her and the caste system rigors ensured this went on for ages, in fact close to a thousand years.

As such, the entire Namboothiri life was patterned to ensure the virginity of the Antherjanam. In those times, the morning ritual bath, chanting of hyms and work in the kitchen were the only activities of the Antherjanam was allowed. Their travel was limited to the temples or to the house of their immediate relatives, but that too had to be accompanied by a maidservant. Thus, Namboodiri Brahmin women of Kerala were surrounded by an entire screen carried by female servants. "Namboothiri women carry with them an umbrella wherever they go out, to prevent them from being seen by men. They also should be covered with a cloth from head to foot, and should not wear jewels. A Nayar woman should precede her and watch her movements. All these were rules laid down by Parasu Rama." [Thurston]

Namboothiri men were allowed to take many wives or consorts, leaving many women to the sorrow of sharing in grief her undivided devotion to the husband, for women must be strictly monogamous. The evil consequence of the practice that only the eldest son marries from the same community directly affected the Antherjanam. Many women remained unmarried and died without experiencing the bliss of motherhood. As the marriage of widows was forbidden, there were many young widows who were the prey of a husband's old-age marriage. The widows were objects of contempt in the community. The women were an absolutely neglected group in the Namboothiri community; the men treated them as creatures whose limited needs were believed to be only dressing, bathing and sleeping {Fr. Pallath J. Joseph – Women and caste Discrimination}

It was finally in 1905 that the shackles were broken by one woman. Call her brave, cunning, callous, whatever, but she was the first to rebel. This is the story of that beautiful Namboothiri Antherjanam who decided to use her body to lash out at society. She was Thathri. Let us now see what happened.

One fine day, a wealthy and aged but promiscuous Namboothiri man, reaches the bedroom of a well known and desirable prostitute. After a very satisfactory session, he finally gets to see her face and recoils in utter shock when he realizes that this was none other than his own young wife. The man flees the place and raises a hue and cry (as narrated in one Lalithambika's fictional retelling, but the real story of how the husband made a formal complaint of adultery is quite convoluted ). Soon the antherjanam known as Kuriyedathu Thathri is secluded according to the norms and a Smartavicharam trial (at the end of the story is a small description of the Smartavicharm) is launched. The Cochin King as required sanctions it. The public interest was huge, for rumor had it that the lady was a very clever and apparently popular person with much ammunition up her sleeve.

This sensational Smaartha Vichaaram involved Savithry (Thaathri) the wife of Chemmanthatta Kuriyedathu Raman Namboodiri, and daughter of Kalpakasseri Ashtamoorthi Namboodiri of Mukundapuram Taluk. The Smartan who administers Vedic laws is none other than the famed Jathavedan Namboothiri of the Perumannan gramam. Thathri is sitting in a special outhouse (Achanpura or pacholapura) built for seclusion and imprisonment during the trail. She has no problems at all and seems serene and ready to face the questioning. Unlike other timid prisoners, this is a proud and beautiful lady who had controlled many weak men above her for the last few years. She was not intimidated. Savithri was known for her beauty and she had been married off at the age of 18 to a 60 year old man .

The smarthan (prosecutor) and three Namboothiri scholars questioned Thaathri, who accepted all the charges but stated that the rule of law has to be administered equally. If she had to be pronounced guilty, so should the people who slept with her. They were people of supposedly high moral standing, and with that basis Thathri revealed the names of well-known scholars, musicians, kathakali artists and many other prominent people of that time, not only of the Kochi state but also the entire Malabar belt, who had slept with her. She also presented strong evidence to substantiate her charges including visual and written evidence (letters written by lovers, prominent marks on genital areas etc).

The pillars of the caste system started trembling. The King was in trouble and the public uproar severe. So against norms where only Thathri would have been implicated, the King agreed to administer equal justice. The reader must note here that a normal Smartavicharam involved only the lady and not the men. However, based on the Kings ruling, the Smartan questioned the involved men as well and convicted the guilty. It was thus a landmark case. As the names started coming out, the number of nervous men increased. Many ran away, escaped to other nations even, many others conducted poojas so that Thathri would forgot their names & features (for she had to provide proof of physical characteristics of the men too). It is said that the lady was finally made to stop at man # 64. Salacious gossip to the effect that the 65th was probably going to the king himself went around like wildfire. It is said in jest that she could in theory have named not just 65, but 60,000, but the case was finally curtailed,

The verdict was pronounced on the night of July 13, 1905, indicting all the accused and of course Thaathri. They included 30 Namboothiris, 10 Iyers (Pattars or Tamil Brahmanans), 13 Ambalavaasis and 11 Nairs. Thaathri was sent to Chalakudy and settled as an intern in a riverside home, under tight security. The 64 victims left their homes humiliated, some living on bare subsistence allowance and some, begging. Another two ("Ambalavaasis") had died and hence not proceeded against.

The long list of victims of smartha vicharam had a disastrous effect on the cultural scene in Kerala. Celebrated kathakali artists like Kavungal Sankara Panikkar, Kaattalathu Madhavan Nair, Panangavil Govindan Nambiar, Achytha Poduval and many others had to leave their fields & professions. Following this event the Cochin Raja mentioned that future ‘SmarthaVicharanam’s’ required a large deposit in the state treasury for the reason that such public embarrassments (naming of prominent men) do not take place arbitrarily.

In the ‘Pratikaradevata’ rendition, Thathri’s husband brings home a prostitute after a few days of married life, shaming her and asks her deprecatingly & mockingly to become one herself. She becomes one, becomes rich & infamous and eventually has a paid liaison with her husband one day when he comes to her as a client, but not knowing who she is. He congratulates her for the excellent performance, cleverness and manners, wanting to live with her forever and when she removes her veil, flees in shock to later start the process of the trial and subsequent Smartavicharam. Pavitran in his book states that she was sexually exploited by her father and brother in law and thus she had all the reasons for revenge.

One could always dwell on Thathri’s actions and discuss at length the morality behind them. It is for this reason that it continues to be an enigma, discussed for many decades after the happenings. Did she lash out at society to decry the norms? Was it revenge or vendetta? Was she a nymphomaniac? One can never conclude due to the fact that Thathri herself never talked about her actions other than making a clear demand for equal justice and admitting guilt. One could also question how she had the courage to do what she did and if she acted alone or with support from certain quarters. Nevertheless, the intrigue remains. Three things still confound me, the promiscuity of this 60 year old Aphan Namboothiri, tathri’s husband, secondly did Thathri get paid or demand compensation for her acts and how and where Thathri conducted the secret liaisons given the strict situation in the Illams and even temples in those times.

And whatever happened to Thathri? Thaathri was sent to Chalakkudy and settled as an intern in a riverside home, under tight security, at least for some time. However, Pavithran in his book British Commission to India states that she married an Anglo Indian gangman from the Indian Railways and settled down in Coimbatore. Vasanthi Sankaranarayanan, the translator of the book Outcaste, believes Thathri lived to the ripe old age of 80, somewhere in Tamil Nadu.

As Alalcode Leelakrishnan narrates “In this wasteland, near Arangotkara opposite the Kartiyayani temple, stood once upon a time, the famous Kalpakassery Illam, where Thathri grew up. She was born at an inauspicious hour; her father had stated then that she would grow up to be the curse of the family. She talked to the flowers here. She saw butterflies here and learnt to dream. A century has passed. But no one still lives here anymore. Villagers see it as a cursed piece of land.”

Thathri grew up as a bold and outspoken but vivacious girl, who spoiled the sleep, but enriched the dreams of many a man, old and young. Bewitchingly beautiful, she argued and revolted often against traditions e.g. such as women were not allowed to get educated, talk back etc. And so that was Kuriyedathu Thathri, a multifaceted personality who had in-depth knowledge of literature and was an ardent adorer of Kathakali, a woman who played with destiny. Did she win or did she lose? You decide.

Notes – Mathambu Kunjukuttan, the author of Brashtu is the grandson of the Smartan Jatavedan Namboothiri, the Smartan who tried Thathri. Two of his brothers were among the 64 men who had been excommunicated. “It’s such an irony,” he says. “My grandfather was the judge, and a woman who is accused, stands before him and tells him to look into the records of his own brothers.”

A second Thathri case took place in 1918. Here again another Savithri (Thatri) was involved, but was from the Pazhur paduthol Illam and12 men were involved. The same Jathavedan Nambuthiri was the Smarthan involved. This Savithri Thathri married a Muslim after excommunication but did not live long, and her daughter from this union married a Chakiar….

Following the Thathri case, a few revolutionary Namboothiri men formed a council called Yogakhsemam where they promoted ideas such as abolishing of Sambandham and the relaxation of marriage rules for all Namboothiri men.

T Vasudevan in his report on SamrtaVicharam (Sri Venkateswara Univ Oriental Journal – XLIV) states –

Jatavedan was the smarta and the trial took place in three different places in Cemmantitta, Pallimanna and Irinjalakuda. After the customary trial he gave a report to the king of Kochi. Meanwhile the Sabha of the sajjana had met together and requested the king that since time had changed a hearing for men also should be conducted. The king was convinced of this argument and ordered the smarta to conduct a trial of the men involved in the case. It is interesting to note that the High Court of Madras had clearly ordered that the declaration of men involved in illicit intercourse as outcaste was illegal since the men were not properly charge sheeted or nor had the opportunity to cross examine the woman or argue in defense. The report of Jatavedan as mentioned above indicates that it was not customary to record the minutes of the trial containing information obtained form the 'sadhana' and also in the case of Kuriyetattu Tatri such a procedure was followed in the traditional way. But since it become necessary to hear the accused men by the royal order he had to write down briefly the matters regarding the men involved also. In the same manner the smarta heard what the accused men had to say about the lady's allegations. Some documents were also submitted by the men accused. After the trial the smarta reported that sixty-four men were involved in the scandal and two of them were dead. As a result sixty two men were excommunicated from the society along with the accused lady.But the smartavicara trials were not always conducted with so much fairness and justice as found in the case of Tatri which was an exceptional one. In the patriarchical society all powers were with the men and the co-accused men easily influenced the smarta with money and material and often arranged escape. According to William Logan several cruel punishments were inflicted upon the accused woman by the doubting menfolk in order to compel her to admit the crime

The relevant records kept in the Central Archives in Ernakulam contain the names of all the 66 males indicted in that case, listed and certified by Smaarthan Pattachomayarath Jathavedan Namboodiri dated Mithunam 32, 1080 ME (mid-July, 1905).

Further reading

Thathrikuttiyude Smarthavicharam - Alankode Leelakrishnan
Kuriyedathu Thathri, Nandan -VT Nandakumar
Cast me out if you will – Lalithambika Antherjanam
Brashtu by Madampu Kunhukuttan
Outcaste – M Kunhukuttan, translation by Vasanthi Sankaranarayanan
Parinayam – Malayalam Movie
The British Commission – Pavithran

Picture – I am grateful for the painting ‘Smarthavicharam’ by Namboothiri made available in Google images.

No disrespect is meant in any comment or statement made. Should any reader feel so please send a specific note with suggested corrections to the author for review. As such the article is based on historic events, with an effort put in to make it readable and provide brevity.

SmartaVicharam - A brief description

Whenever a Namboothiri Antherjanam’s chastity is doubted, she is handed over to her society for enquiry, no considerations for personal affections or public policy intervening. The suspect is transferred to an isolation shed (Achampura or Pacholapura). First a ‘Desivicharam’ is conducted where her maid is cross examined. Then a formal request for Smartavicharam is filed with the required monetary deposits made and the local king rules if one should be conducted. The maharaja then appoints a Smartan (Vedic arbitrator) and names his assistants for the case. A couple of observers (Akakkkoyimma and Purakoyimma) are also appointed. The enquiry & questioning is very ritualistic and goes on for days and sometimes weeks or months. During this period the entire group has to be maintained by the affected girl’s father. Finally a verdict is reached (if guilty) and the girl is evicted from her caste and funeral rites are conducted for her. Until then she is considered inanimate or as a ‘Sadhanam’. After trial she is considered dead, her umbrella and white coverings are removed, and she is cast of into the streets.

For further details, refer

Books mentioned in Para#1

Malabar Manual – Logan
Castes & tribes of Southern India – E Thruston
Nambuthiris – Fred Fawcett