Durate Barbosa, in the early 16th century, mentions the Cheraman sword among the three swords and other royal emblems of the Samoothiri usually taken out in ceremonial processions. The sword was worshipped by the Samoothiris in their private temple everyday and especially at the time of the coronation. The Cheraman sword was burnt in a surprise attack by the Dutch at Kodungallur (1670) while the Samoothiri was residing with Velutha Nambiyar. A new sword was made in 1672 out of the fragments of the old. The broken parts of the 1672 sword, kept in a fully sealed copper sheath, are still worshipped daily in the Bhagavathi temple attached to the palace of the Samoothiris at Thiruvachira.