Pillai of Pallichal is a Nair 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. [1]
Their absolute powers declined since the seizure of power and the creation of the state of Travancore under royal authority by King Marthanda Varma in the 1750s.
Pallichal Pillai was one of the eight noble houses known as Ettuveetil Pillamar in the medieval history of south Kerala. [2] The Ettuveetil Pillamar were the part of the administrative system in Travancore (which consisted of territory of the present Thiruvananthapuram i.e. the capital of the state of Keralam and the district of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu) 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 Travancore. In the earlier 17th century the Karanavar of the family of Pallichal Pillai moved to Vanchimuttam near Attingal. All the family members of Pallichal Pillai family remained in Pallichal. This was because the Pallichal Pillai had slightly more alliance with Kollam and Attingal Swaroopams, and the south and east part of Karamana River was under the jurisdiction of Travancore, and because Pallichal is in this area. So he moved to avoid allegation of sedition on him by the Travancore royal family.
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.
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma was the founding monarch of the southern Indian Kingdom of Travancore from 1729 until his death in 1758. He was succeeded by Rama Varma (1758–98).
Karanavar or Karanavan or Karanava, parsimoniously speaking, was used as a title or to denote the male head in Malayali, Tulu and Coorg society.
The Ettuveetil Pillamar were Nair nobles from eight ruling Houses in erstwhile Travancore Kingdom in the present-day Kerala, India. They were associated with the Padmanabhaswamy temple in Venad (kingdom) and the Ettara Yogam. Their power and wealth grew until Marthanda Varma (1706–1758), the last king of Venad and the first king of Travancore, defeated them in the 1730s.
Kilimanoor is a panchayat and a town in the Chirayinkeezhu taluk of Thiruvananthapuram district in Kerala, India. It is located on MC/SH 1 Road, 33 kilometres (21 mi) North-west of the city of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), 14 km (8.7 mi) east of Attingal and 20 km (12 mi) east of Varkala.
Rama Varma I often referred to as Dharma Raja, was the Maharajah of Travancore from 1758 until his death in 1798. He succeeded his uncle Marthanda Varma, who is credited with the title of "maker of modern Travancore". During his reign Dharma Raja not only retained all the territories his predecessor had gained but administered the kingdom with success. He was addressed as Dharma Raja on account of his strict adherence to Dharma Sastra, the Hindu principles of justice by providing asylum to thousands of Hindus and Christians fleeing Malabar during the Mysorean conquest of Malabar.
Pooradam Thirunal Sethu Lakshmi Bayi CI was the monarch, though designated as the Regent due to British policy, of the Kingdom of Travancore in southern India between 1924 and 1931. She, along with her younger cousin, Moolam Thirunal Sethu Parvathi Bayi, were adopted into the Travancore royal family and were the granddaughters of the celebrated painter, Raja Ravi Varma.
The Travancore–Dutch War was a war between the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and the Indian kingdom of Travancore, culminating in the Battle of Colachel in 1741. Travancore won the war with the notable military service of fishermen community at the sea and seashore while Ananthapadmanabhan as commander in chief of the army at the land.
The Nair Brigade was the army of the erstwhile kingdom of Travancore in India. Nairs were a warrior community of the region. The personal bodyguard of the king Marthanda Varma (1706–1758) was also called Thiruvithamkoor Nair Pattalam. The Travancore army was officially referred as the Travancore Nair Brigade in 1818.
Chempazhanthy is a village in the suburbs of Thiruvananthapuram City, the capital of Kerala state in India, which lies about 7 km north. Chempazhanthy became notable after the birth of Sree Narayana Guru. There was a small hut called "Vayalvaaram" where Sree Narayana Guru was born, in the Malayalam Era year 1032 in the Malayalam month of 'Chingam' under the star 'Chathayam'. His father was Maadan. His mother was Kuttiamma. They had four children, one boy (Guru) and three girls.
Sarkaradevi Temple is one of the most important temples in South India. It is situated Chirayinkeezhu town in Thiruvananthapuram district. Tradition accords a remote antiquity to this temple. Its main deity is Bhadrakali. The Sarkaradevi Temple assumed a significant status for many reasons and rose to historical importance mainly with the introduction of the famous Kaliyoot festival by Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma, the Travancore sovereign, in 1748. The Sarkaradevi Temple have some basic attachment with Nakramcode Devi Temple which located in Avanavanchery, Attingal.
The Ettara Yogam or, the King and Council of Eight and a Half, has been the administrative setup of Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, for centuries.
Rajah Rama Varma was the ruler of the Indian kingdom of Venad, later known as Travancore, in the modern day state of Kerala, India between 1724 and 1729, having succeeded his brother Unni Kerala Varma. He is better known as the uncle of Maharajah Padmanabha Dasa Vanchi Pala Marthanda Varma Kulasekhara Perumal, the "maker of modern Travancore". He was born into the Royal Family of Kolathunadu, as the second son of Rajah Ittamar of Thattari Kovilakam. It was princes from the Parappanadu family who customarily married Kolathunadu princesses. Rama Varma's entire family, including himself, two sisters and his elder brother Unni Kerala Varma, were adopted into the Venad house as members of the Travancore Royal Family by Rajah Ravi Varma, nephew of Umayamma Rani due to the failure of heirs there. Ittammar Raja's sister and her sons, Rama Varma and Raghava Varma, settled in Kilimanoor and married the now adopted sisters. Of the adopted sisters, one died soon after her adoption while the other was the mother of the Maharajah Marthanda Varma.
"Aswathi Thirunal" Umayamma, known as Queen Umayamma or Queen Ashure (Aswathi), (died 1698), was the regent queen of Venad (Venatu) in southern India from 1677 to 1684 on behalf of her young nephew (son of her older sister Senior Queen Makayiram Thirunal) Ravi Varma. She also served as the Junior Queen of Attingal under Senior Queen Makayiram Thirunal and subsequently as the Senior Queen of Attingal.
The Travancore royal family was the ruling house of the Kingdom of Travancore. The Travancore royal family signed a treaty with the British in 1788, thereby adopting British dominance. Later, in 1805, they revised the treaty, leading to a diminution of royal authority and the loss of political independence for Travancore. They had to give up their ruling rights over the common people in 1949 when Travancore were forced to merge with Independent India and their political pension privileges were abolished in 1971.
Pillai, meaning Prince, is a title of nobility which can either refer to a ruling chief, members of the nobility, or junior princes of the royal family and was mostly used by the upper-caste Nair feudal lords who were historically ranked as or immediately below the king. The oldest lineages of Pillais include not only Kshatriyas but also brahmins who took up the sword. From the early modern period, the title also came to be bestowed upon Savarna subjects by the Kings for services military or political, most of whom were of Nair origin. The Nair Pillai caste is unrelated to other Pillais. It is important not to confuse them with the Vellala Pillai, Chetti Pillai, illathu Pillai, etc. Some of them also use 'Pillai' surname in some parts of Kerala, they have distinct identities and no relation with Kerala title "Pillai".
Chirayinkeezhu Taluk is a Taluk (tehsil) in Thiruvananthapuram district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is shares border with Varkala Taluk in North and with Thiruvananthapuram Taluk in South. It comprises 12 panchayats and Attingal Municipality. Chirayinkeezhu taluk is the birthplace of a host of illustrious personalities like the painter Raja Ravi Varma, the great poet and social reformer Kumaran Asan and Prem Nazir etc.
Amunthirathu Devi Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Goddess Sree Bhadra Kali located in Thiruvananthapuram, India. The temple is situated at Mudakkal, around 8 km north of Attingal in the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala. The temple enshrines a Krishna shila idol of the goddess Amunthirathamma, an incarnation of Bhadra Kali. Devi is in Ardha padmasana, Andarmugha and chathur bahu.
Ammachi Plavu literally translated from Malayalam, it means grandmother Jack-fruit tree or an old Jackfruit tree, Located in inside of Neyyattinkara Sree Krishna Swami Temple in Thiruvananthapuram Kerala.
Unnithan is one of the aristocractic Nair caste surnames used mainly in the Travancore region of present-day Indian state of Kerala.