The Thachudaya Kaimals were a lineage of ruling Nair chiefs in Travancore, now in the Indian state of Kerala.[1] The Thachudaya Kaimal is a sacerdotal dignitary in Kerala and is considered the spiritual chief and temporal ruler of the Koodalmanikyam Temple and its estates. The line goes back into antiquity and is mentioned in the Skanda Purana. Tradition dictates that the Guruvayur temple belonging to the Zamorin of Malabar, the Koodalmanikyam temple of the Thachudaya Kaimal family of Travancore and the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple of the Travancore royal family are the grandest temples in Kerala in terms of size and proportion of offerings.[citation needed]