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573:. In fact, the authority of the king is considered to have been greatly valued for the records show the Yogam applying to the king for permission in trivial matters such as appointment of Temple sweepers. Another contradiction found is in the fact that the Pillamar influenced the tenants of the temple lands. However the temple lands all lay to the south of
609:. The Temple records which refer to minor events such as appointment of sweepers in the temple have not stated anything on the palace of Aditya Varma being burnt down. Also the story that Aditya Varma was poisoned to death is positively disproved, for the temple records clearly state that Aditya Varma died at
601:
and not
Pillamar. Besides, of the eight Pillais, only Kazhakoothathu Pillai and Kulathur Pillai are mentioned, the remainder being totally different individuals. The remaining six families are not mentioned at all, and it is improbable that the King who personally made investigations would let any of
632:
Thus many of the crimes for which the
Pillamar are said to have been punished were positively disproved. It is clear that there did exist refractory nobles of immense power and that Marthanda Varma did put an end to their authority and made that of the king supreme, but most of the stories about the
577:
where there were other influential nobles, whereas the bulk of the
Pillamar lived to the north. Records show clashes between Temple managers and the king's men but in none of these are the Pillamar mentioned. Another contradiction lies in the statement that since the 16th century the kings were mere
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to such an extent that the sovereign needed their permission even to construct a palace for himself at his capital. With so much power in their hands they wished to do away with the Royal House. The earlier chroniclers of
Travancore history state that their chief intention was to extirpate the Royal
389:
446:. was born in 1706 to the younger of the two adopted princesses of 1689. Right from his childhood he had to live constantly in hiding, due to the Pillamar. Several assassination bids were made on his life. In 1728 an assassination attempt was made on the life of his sister and her son, the later
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became the regent. The
Pillamar approached her with condolences and vowed to support her. But within a year, five of her six sons were drowned under suspicious circumstances, probably at the instigation of the Pillamar, in the Kalippankulam pond.The surviving eldest son, now the only heir to the
597:, places where the Pillamar had no following. It may be noted that all these branches participated in the meetings and management of the Temple and hence were active in Thiruvananthapuram also. In the document of 1730 regarding the execution of the Pillamar the name used for the conspirators is
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Palace. (It may be stated that according to a popular folklore, Marthanda Varma's enmity towards the Kunju
Thampimar was because of their refusal to allow him to marry their sister. It is said that Ummini Thankachi killed herself after the execution of her brothers to escape Marthanda Varma.)
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The
Pillamar were initially deterred by the fate of the Thampis, for they did not expect Marthanda Varma to kill his own cousins. However, soon after this, they plotted once again to murder the king but intelligence of this reached the king. On the day of the
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House and convert the state into a pseudo-republic under their control, and eventually under a monarchy under one of themselves. With this in mind they plotted and assassinated
Maharajah Aditya Varma by poisoning him and set the Palace on fire.
419:. (Due to the absence of females the family could not be perpetuated.) Umayamma then adopted a cousin, namely Kerala Varma, into the house but soon he was assassinated as well. She then adopted one boy and two girls from the
374:. The lands and properties of the temple were divided into eight parts and each was placed by the Yogam under one of the Pillai as governor. They soon started opposing the king openly and bringing more and more
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Later historians, with many more records available, have disputed the traditional stories, which were based on legend and folklore. While there is no doubt about the existence of anti-royal nobles before
358:. They were the Governors of provinces of the country. They had the power to exercise control over the king also. They gradually grew from landlords to powerful chiefs and allied themselves with the
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appeared with an escort strong enough to cow down the
Pillamar. But having received proof of the intention of the Pillamar to murder him they were all rounded up and tried soon after this.
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and
Kolathur Pillai. Kazhakkoottam and Chempazhanthi lie to the north of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city, while Venganoor lies to the south, between Balaramapuram and Kovalam.
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law (which said that a king would be succeeded by his sister's eldest son). Recognizing a dangerous foe in the intelligent and decisive Marthanda Varma, the Pillamar supported the
540:
Thus ended the long tale of crime and bloodshed committed by the lawless band of Ettuveetil Pillai and the Madampimar who molested the land for a period of two centuries and more
366:('King's Council of Eight and a half'), presided by the Pushpanjali Swamiyar was an association consisting of Potti families, Nair family and the King administered the
740:
629:, a Senior Rani and Ravi Varma, the son of the Senior Rani. In fact, Umayamma had two adopted sons from 1677 who were however not in the line of succession.
489:(Pillai) of Kudamon, plays an important part in betraying the Eight. She was a brave lady but treacherous and it was she who divulged secrets of the Eight to
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in 1684 just before her regency closed and her surviving son Ravi Varma became king. He adopted in 1689 two princesses and princes from Kolathunadu including
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A major disagreement is registered regarding the aim of the Pillamar to extirpate the royal family. Even if they succeeded in killing the Royal family at
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and Pillamar were outside his control. However temple documents show that it was the king who appointed the highest dignitary of the temple, known as the
477:. However Marthanda Varma managed to avert war by bribing away the Pandyan army. Soon after this Padmanabhan and Raman Thampi were captured and killed at
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and a daughter Ummini Thankachi. These children of the late king known as the Kunju Thampis now staked claim to the throne, in spite of the prevailing
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The Eight were either killed or exiled after sufficient evidence of conspiracy and murder was procured. Their houses were dug up (
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had no children at all and hence the story of the murder of her five children is disproved. The Royal family consisted only of
565:,often mistaken for the Ettuveetil Pillamar. Earlier historians stated that the King had no authority over the temple and the
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were constructed from the wood and material of the palaces of the Pillamar. The Travancore State Manual written by scholar
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Ettuveetil Pillamar were the leaders of the land and ‘tharakootams’ known as ‘Arunootavar’. (the military setup of
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The Ettuveetil Pillamar were known according to the villages in which they resided and all held the title of
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Empire and the Thirumala Nayaks, which, it is asserted, could not have been possible under a puppet king.
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Further important revelations made by the documents of the Temple are with regard to Aditya Varma and
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puppets of the Yogam and Pillamar. During this period the Venad kings won victories over the mighty
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people which made them victorious. However her uncle killed her after the battle for her treachery.
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managers and the king, many of the events of the past were found to be entirely false.
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throne, could not assume power as per the matriarchal traditions of
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The temple lands were managed by a group of nobles known as
223:(1706–1758), the last king of Venad and the first king of
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The late Rajah left two sons, Padmanabhan and Raman
485:In this entire episode Subhadra, the niece of the
354:) established for maintaining law and justice in
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442:, the last king of Venad and the first king of
589:, there were the other collateral branches at
652:History of Travancore from the Earliest Times
516:. Their women and children were sold to the
410:After Aditya Varma's assassination his niece
234:An Illustration of Ettuveettil Pillais (1878)
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554:, as well as frequent conflicts between the
501:festival when the murder was to take place,
62:introducing citations to additional sources
520:fishermen of the coast. The two palaces at
277:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
297:Learn how and when to remove this message
175:Learn how and when to remove this message
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191:(Lords of the Eight Noble Houses) were
138:This article includes a list of general
52:Relevant discussion may be found on the
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398:The Ettuveetil Pillaimar, aided by the
195:from eight ruling Houses in erstwhile
741:People from the Kingdom of Travancore
454:, died that actual war was declared.
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275:adding citations to reliable sources
219:. Their power and wealth grew until
450:. However it was in 1729, when the
435:The Eight lords and Marthanda Varma
144:it lacks sufficient corresponding
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633:Pillamar were found to be false.
380:or nobles under their influence.
207:. They were associated with the
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45:relies largely or entirely on a
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325:Pillai, Marthandalayam Pillai,
227:, defeated them in the 1730s.
655:. Asian Educational Services.
402:, became the supreme power in
27:Nair aristocrats in Travancore
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649:Menon, P. Shungoonny (1998).
317:Pillai, Ramanamadhom Pillai,
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708:Valiyasala Mahadeva Temple
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73:"Ettuveetil Pillamar"
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189:Ettuveetil Pillamar
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157:introducing
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637:References
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