Ancient custom required the Kings of Cochin (Perumpadappu Swaroopam) to hold their rightful coronation at Chitrakutam, in their family village of Perumpaduppu in Vanneri. After centuries of wars over land, the rival Zamorin of Calicut took Perumpaduppu and its nearby villages and held them stubbornly.
The loss of their family seat was a lasting shame to the Cochin dynasty. The Zamorin held the area on purpose to keep the Cochin rulers from their holy place. Rama Varma, the Cochin sovereign, took a solemn oath when he came to the musnad. He swore he would be crowned only at Chitrakutam. He would refuse to wear a crown until he could celebrate his coronation on that sacred family soil.
Because Cochin never got back Perumpaduppu, all of Rama Varma’s royal heirs kept faith with his vow. The later Maharajas of Cochin never had a traditional coronation, and none of them wore a crown.
