On 3 January 1750, (5 Makaram, 925 Kollavarsham), Marthanda Varma virtually dedicated Travancore to his tutelary deity Padmanabha, one of the aspects of the Hindu God Vishnu with a lotus issuing from his navel on which Brahma sits. From then on the rulers of Travancore ruled as the servants of Padmanabha (the Padmnabha-dasar).