Pillai of Pallichal is a

Nair The Nair (, ) also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom hi ...

title of the order of nobility in Travancore. The holders of the title held the lands of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The most notorious holder of the title, whose given name is disputed, was executed by King Marthanda Varma in the 1750s and relations banished.Leena More,ENGLISH EAST INDIA COMPANY AND THE LOCAL RULERS IN KERALA . Their absolute powers declined since the seizure of power and the creation of the state of

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

under royal authority by King

Marthanda Varma Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma (Malayalam: ; 1706 – 7 July 1758) was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore (previously Venadu) from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma ("Dharma Raja") ...

in the 1750s.

Pallichal Pillai

Pallichal Pillai was one of the eight noble houses known as

Ettuveetil Pillamar The Ettuveetil Pillamar (Lords of the Eight Noble Houses) were Nair, Nair nobles from eight ruling Houses in erstwhile Travancore, Travancore Kingdom in the present-day Kerala, India. They were associated with the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Vena ...

in the medieval history of south

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. The Ettuveetil Pillamar were the part of the administrative system in

(which consisted of territory of the present

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

i.e. the capital of the state of Keralam and the district of

Kanyakumari Kanyakumari (Tamil; / kəɳjɑkʊmɑɾiː/; referring to Devi Kanya Kumari, officially known as Kanniyakumari, formerly known as Cape Comorin) is a town and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

) from early times. They were known as Desavazhis, who were directly subordinate to the supreme power which was Nāduvāzhi. Pallichal Pillai and Kodumon Pillai were the most powerful domains among the eight in

. In the earlier 17th century the

Karanavar Karanavar or Karanavan or Karanava, parsimoniously speaking, was used as a title or to denote the male head in Malayali, Tulu and Coorg society. Karnavar is also a title for some aristocratic Nair families in and around Budhanur, Chenganoor, ...

of the family of Pallichal Pillai moved to Vanchimuttam near

Attingal Attingal is a municipal town in Thiruvananthapuram metropolitan area in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala state, India. It was the location of the Attingal kingdom, under Travancore. It is the headquarters of Chirayinkeezhu Taluk, and th ...

. All the family members of Pallichal Pillai family remained in Pallichal. This was because the Pallichal Pillai had slightly more alliance with

Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...

and Attingal Swaroopams, and the south and east part of

Karamana River Karamana is a river flowing through the city of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India. The river starts near the southern tip of the Western Ghats(Sahyadri Mountains) at Agastyar Koodam. The river flows 66 km westward and merges with the ...

was under the jurisdiction of Travancore, and because Pallichal is in this area. So he moved to avoid

allegation In law, an allegation is a claim of an unproven fact by a party in a pleading, charge, or defense. Until they can be proved, allegations remain merely assertions. Types of allegations Marital allegations There are also marital allegations: m ...

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

on him by the Travancore

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

. There are other legends attributable to the 8 Pillais. One view is that the king had no regular army those days. When war was threatened, the King sent messages to the 8 Pillais, who were masters of the ancient martial art "Kalaripayaatu" and had several trained warriors under their command. They sent their forces to fight the war. However Marthanda Varma, the King was a very ambitious man and he felt that this system had to change if he was to have his way. Since the Pillais were very popular they could not be done away with easily. False stories were spread about them and their houses and families destroyed by surprise attacks with the help of alien forces called "Maravas" and using soldiers and firearms captured from the Dutch.

References

{{reflist Travancore royal family

Pallichal Pillai

See also

References