The
Samanta Kshatriya are a community resident in
Kerala, India. The Samanta Kshatriyas make up a part of the former royal families of the
Hindu kingdoms and princely states that existed until the creation of the Republic of India. Since most of the members of the Samanta Kshatriya community were royalty, their residences are still called
Swaroopams or kottaram or kovilakams which all mean palace in
Malayalam. Members of this community hold the surname
Koil Thampuran,
Varma and
Raja.