Ananthavarahan - Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma

Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma ruled Travancore during one of the most militarily consequential periods in South Indian history. His reign saw the decisive defeat of Hyder Ali's invasion at the Battle of Colachel's aftermath, and later the negotiation of the 1789 alliance with the British East India Company — a relationship that would define Travancore's political survival for decades. Gold coinage issued across his long forty-year reign draws from a mint tradition that prioritized religious iconography tied directly to the Padmanabhaswamy temple, to whose deity the Travancore rajas formally dedicated their sovereignty.

The fanam-weight gold issues of this reign are notoriously difficult to attribute precisely within the period, as die production was continuous and undated.