 It is believed that when the then Travancore King, Maharajah Sree Karthika Thirunal Dharamaraja shifted capital from Padmanabhapuram to Thiruvananthapuram, he brought along his four wives who belonged to the places namely Vadasseri, Nagercoil, Arumana, and Thiruvattar.The new houses, referred to as Ammaveedus (ancestral homes of Ammachis) were constructed in the new capital and were named Arumana Ammaveedu, Vadasseri Ammaveedu, Nagercoil Ammaveedu, Thiruvattar Ammaveedu.The Maharajah also passed a rule that all the Royal male members should only marry from one of the above-mentioned four Ammaveedus.