Aswathy Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bayi is an Indian writer from Kerala and a member of the Travancore Royal Family. She has ten books to her credit. Aswathy Thirunal is the niece of the last King of Travancore, Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma. She was awarded India’s fourth highest civilian award the Padma Shri in 2024.
Aswathi Thirunal has written on subjects such as the temples of Travancore and Kerala architecture, as well as three collections of English poems, numerous articles in newspapers, and books on the culture and heritage of India — 13 books in total. Some of her important works are: The Dawn (1994), Kerala Temple Architecture: Some Notable Features (1997), Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple (1998), Thulsi Garland (1998), The Mighty Indian Experience (2002), Budhadarśanaṃ: lēkhanaṅṅaḷ (2007), Glimpses of Kerala Culture (2011), Rudrakshamala (2014) and An Amateur’s Attempt at Poetry (2018). According to critics, her book Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple published in 1998 is a comprehensive work on the ancient temple. The book is extremely popular and has run into several editions. It was translated into Malayalam by K. Shankaran Nambuthiri and K. Jayakumar. Her latest book is History Liberated – The Sree Chithra Saga.