Kanjirottu Yakshi
Folkloric vampire
Why this is trending
Interest in “Kanjirottu Yakshi” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-07-21.
Categorised under Arts & Culture, this article fits a familiar pattern. wt.cat.arts.1
By monitoring millions of daily Wikipedia page views, GlyphSignal helps you spot cultural moments as they happen and understand the stories behind the numbers.
Key Takeaways
- Kanjirottu Yakshi is a folkloric deity of South India.
- Also known as Chiruthevi, she was a beautiful courtesan who had an intimate relationship with Raman Thampi, son of King Rama Varma and rival of Anizhom Thirunal Marthanda Varma.
- According to local folklore, Chiruthevi was not just a courtesan but a woman of immense influence in the royal courts of Southern Travancore.
- Legend says she initially resided in a massive Kanjiram (Strychnine tree), from which the name "Kanjirottu" is derived.
- Her partner, Raman Thampi, was one of the Ettuveetil Pillamar (Lords of the Eight Houses) who opposed the rise of Anizhom Thirunal Marthanda Varma.
Source note: This page combines GlyphSignal analysis with attributed reference material from Wikipedia. GlyphSignal adds trend context, traffic history, categorization, and editorial interpretation. See how we build these pages.
Source summary
WikipediaKanjirottu Yakshi is a folkloric deity of South India. According to the myth, she was born into a Padamangalam family by name Mangalathu at Kanjiracode in Southern Travancore (now in Tamil Nadu). Also known as Chiruthevi, she was a beautiful courtesan who had an intimate relationship with Raman Thampi, son of King Rama Varma and rival of Anizhom Thirunal Marthanda Varma. She turned into a Yakshi after being murdered by her palanquin-bearer, waylaying men with her beauty and drinking their blood.
According to local folklore, Chiruthevi was not just a courtesan but a woman of immense influence in the royal courts of Southern Travancore. Her transformation into a Yakshi (a celestial or supernatural being) is said to have occurred due to the extreme "marana-vedana" (death-throes) and the betrayal she felt at the time of her murder. Legend says she initially resided in a massive Kanjiram (Strychnine tree), from which the name "Kanjirottu" is derived.
The story is closely intertwined with the political turmoil of 18th-century Travancore. Her partner, Raman Thampi, was one of the Ettuveetil Pillamar (Lords of the Eight Houses) who opposed the rise of Anizhom Thirunal Marthanda Varma. In local narratives, the Yakshi's vengeful spirit was believed to have played a role in the supernatural myths surrounding the struggles between the King and the rebels.
Content sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0
