Kolathiri or Kolathiri Rājā (King of Kolathunādu) was the title by which the senior most male along the matrilinieal line of the Mushika or Kolathunādu Royal Family (Kolaswarũpam) was styled. The Mushika Family came to be known as Kolathiri over the centuries, and were directly related to, and descended from the Cheras, Pandyas, Cholas and the Ay (subsequently known later as the Venad and much later the 'Thiruvithamkur' Royal Family) originating in the Thiruvananthapuram area. The Kolathiri would have started out as a branch of the Cheras and the Ay in the period it was known as Mushika. They had their seat at Ezhimala in Kerala, India and was one of the major political houses which became completely independent and prominent in Kerala, after the disappearance of the imperial Kulasekharas