NAMASTE!

Princess Gouri in her seventh talk with Zuzana Zwiebel explores the mythological world of the eposes Ramayana and Mahabharata.

ACCORDING TO MYTHOLOGY, THE HISTORY OF YOUR FAMILY ORIGINATED IN LUNAR DYNASTY, WHICH IS MENTIONED IN THE OLDEST EPOSES OF INDIA - RAMAYANA & MAHABHARATA…

The heroes of the epic Mahabharata belong to 'Chandra Vamshis' - The Lunar Dynasty. Our royal family belongs to that lineage. We are all 'Chandra Vamshis' and our 'Paradeva' is 'Sree Padmanabhadasa', who is our, and beyond all, existence.

There is a very beautiful piece of music, which was played yesterday during the concluding day of 10 days festival of the temple.  Maharaja Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma composed it. He sumps up the mindset of Travancore family very well. It is difficult to translate it from Malayalam to English, but it means: “Lord with the lotus in the naval, our lives have been fulfilled by doing service at your feet. We are fulfilled. Our lives are complete.” This has been the motto of the Travancore family for generations and I hope it will continue so as long as family is in the existence.

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THE TALK WITH PRINCESS GOURI - 07: Ayurveda & Mythology
ABOVE:
THE TALK WITH PRINCESS GOURI - 07: Ayurveda & Mythology

THE TRAVANCORE ROYAL FAMILY is the ruling house of the Indian princely state of Travancore. The family lost the ruling rights in 1949 when Travancore Kingdom merged with the Indian Union and their privileges were abolished by a constitutional amendment in 1971. The Travancore Royalty could be also considered descendants of the ancient Cheras, Ay-Venad, Pandya and Chola dynasties, due to consistent intermarriages with these lines over the centuries. The Travancore royals are among the rare breed of royals who follow the matrilineal system.The members of the family are based in Trivandrum, Kerala and are the ones who keep alive the traditions and rituals of their ancient dynasty including the upkeep of the famous Sree Padmanabhaswami Temple. Read more >>

YOUR FAMILY IS VERY MUCH CONNECTED WITH THE SREE PADMANABHASWAMY TEMPLE. IN ONE INTERVIEW YOU HAVE MENTIONED, THAT IT IS LIKE A HEART OF THE FAMILY...

Yes. The Heart and the Soul! It is lifeblood - say what you want and it is all that and more!

"Lord with the lotus in the naval, our lives have been fulfilled by doing service at your feet. We are fulfilled. Our lives are complete."

DAILY LIFE OF YOUR FAMILY IS VERY MUCH CONNECTED WITH TEMPLE FESTIVALS DEDICATED TO VARIOUS GODS & GODDESSES. DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE CHARACTER IN RAMAYANA OR MAHABHARATA?

In Mahabharata, of course Lord Krishna! Everybody loves Krishna, because he is very approachable. As the baby Krishna, you can pick him up, hold him on your lap, give him hug or you can relate to all his naughty escapades and stories. Krishna is darling for everybody, because you do not sense the distance between him and yourself.

DOES LORD KRISHNA ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS IN THE BHAGAVAD GITA?

Bhagavad Gita has answers to every question. You read it and every day you discover different interpretation or something new. 

There is also connection between Ayurveda and Krishna. They like to say, that he was a playboy, because he had 16008 wives! But, actually it is not that he had 16008 wives physically. Number 16008 represents all the components of the human body. 


Read next chapter of THE TALK WITH PRINCESS GOURI Nº8

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HER HIGHNESS THE PRINCESS OF TRAVANCORE KINGDOM

PRINCESS GOURI PARVATHI BAYI

The Travancore Kingdom Royalty are considered the descendants of the Gods and ancient Cheras, Venad, Pandya and Chola dynasties, who brought the philosophy of ayurveda to the world.

INTERVIEWED BY

ZUZANA ZWIEBEL

Founder & Director of Ayurveda Trails, healing collection of (extra)ordinary people and their stories, whose experiences are transferred into various trails shared by travelers.

PHOTOGRAPHER

RAKESH ANAND

He calls himself The Lone-traveller. In section about him is written: Don’t have a clue yet. He silently stalks Kochi Muziris Biennale artists and transform their visions into photographs.

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