Dr. R. Marthanda Varma (Ravivarma Marthanda Varma; died 10 March 2015) was a pioneering Indian neurosurgeon, one of the first five neurosurgeons in the country, and the founder-director of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru. He developed a surgical procedure for Parkinson’s disease that came to be known as “Varma’s Technique.”

Belonging to the Mavelikkara royal family of Kerala, he graduated in medicine and went on to train in the United Kingdom, earning a master’s degree at the University of Bristol and the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He returned to India in 1958 and joined the All India Institute of Mental Health (AIIMH) in Bangalore as Head of the Department of Neurosurgery.

Under his leadership the institution evolved into the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), which he served as founder-director. He later became Deputy Director General of Health Services, Government of India, and was appointed Honorary Surgeon to President R. Venkataraman.

A gifted clinician and researcher, he worked extensively on neurological disorders and introduced an innovative surgical approach for the control of Parkinson’s disease, later named Varma’s Technique. He was also known as an outstanding teacher, administrator and organiser who helped shape modern neurosurgery and mental-health services in India.

The Government of Karnataka conferred the Rajyotsava Prashasti on him in 1969. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri in 1972. Other honours included the Citizen Extraordinary of Bangalore Award, the Distinguished Achievement Award of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Mental Deficiency (1982), and the Sir Visvesvaraya Award.

Dr. Marthanda Varma was married to Malathi; the couple had two sons, one of whom, Ravi Gopal Varma, also became a neurosurgeon. He passed away on 10 March 2015 in Bengaluru at the age of 93 due to age-related ailments.

He is remembered as a self-effacing pioneer who combined surgical skill, scientific curiosity and administrative vision to build lasting institutions in Indian neurosurgery and mental health.