The Ettuveetil Pillamar (Lords of the Eight Houses) were a group of nobles from eight Nair Houses in erstwhile Venad in present day Kerala state, South India. They were associated with thePadmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram and the Ettara Yogam. They were known by the villages in which they resided and all of them held the title of Pillai. The Eight Lords wereKazhakoottathu Pillai, Ramanamadhom Pillai, Chempazhanty Pillai, Kudamon Pillai, Venganur Pillai, Marthandamadhom Pillai, Pallichal Pillai and Kolathur Pillai
After Aditya Varma's assassination his niece Umayamma Rani became the regent. The Pillamar approached her with condolences and vowed to support her. But within a year, five of her six sons were cruelly drowned to death at the instigation of the Pillamar in the water pond known as Kalipankulam. Now the only heir to the Royal House was her eldest son. However as per the matriarchal traditions of Kerala owing 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 Kolathunadu Royal House, the cousin family of the Travancore Royalty, from the family called Pally Kovilakam 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 Rajah Rama Varma.
Traditional Accounts
Origin
The Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple of Trivandrum was governed by the Ettara Yogam, an association consisting of seven Brahmin families, one Nair noble, each of them with one vote in deciding the affairs of the temple, and the king of Venad with the right to half a vote. Ettuveetil Pillamar were the leaders of the land and ‘tharakootams’ known as ‘Arunootavar’. (the military setup of Nairs) established for maintaining law and justice in Venad. They were the Governors of provinces of the country. They had the power to exercise control over the king also. They were also the managers of ‘Ettarayogam’, which governed the activities of Sree Padmanabha Temple of Thiruvananthapuram gradually grew from ordinary landlords to powerful chiefs and allied themselves with the Ettara Yogam. 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. Since the King had only half vote in deciding temple affairs, the Yogam and the Pillamar were considered outside his authority and hence their power and influence grew without any curtailment. They soon started opposing the king openly and bringing more and more Madampis or nobles under their influence.
Aim of the EightAfter Aditya Varma's assassination his niece Umayamma Rani became the regent. The Pillamar approached her with condolences and vowed to support her. But within a year, five of her six sons were cruelly drowned to death at the instigation of the Pillamar in the water pond known as Kalipankulam. Now the only heir to the Royal House was her eldest son. However as per the matriarchal traditions of Kerala owing 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 Kolathunadu Royal House, the cousin family of the Travancore Royalty, from the family called Pally Kovilakam 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 Rajah Rama Varma.
The Ettuveetil Pillai System, aided by the Ettara Yogam, became supreme power in Travancore 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 and all the earlier chroniclers of Travancore history have stated that their chief intention was to extirpate the Royal House and convert the state into a republic, 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.
The Eight lords and Marthanda Varma
Marthanda Varma was born in 1706 AD to the younger of the two adopted princesses of 1689 and right from his childhood he had to live constantly in hiding, in fear of his life. Many times 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 Dharma Raja. However it was in 1729, when the Rajah Rama Varma, died that actual war was declared.
The Pillamar recognized a dangerous foe in Marthanda Varma and hence on the death of Rajah Rama Varma in 1730 they supported the Kunju Thampis. The late Rajah had left two sons, Padmanabhan and Raman Thampi 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 prevailingMarumakkathayam law. The Pillamar furnished them with enough money and men to seek aid from the Pandyas of Madurai. However Marthanda Varma managed to avert war by bribing away the Pandyan army. However soon after this the Kunju Thampimar were captured and killed at Nagercoil Palace. It may be stated that in popular folklore it is said that 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.
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 Arrat festival when the murder was to take place, Marthanda Varma 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.
The Eight were either killed or exiled after sufficient evidence of conspiracy and murder was procured. Their houses were dug up and all their assets and armies seized by the victoriousMarthanda Varma. Their women and children number around three thousand were given asylum by Jesuit priest of the nearby fishermen coast parish and was therefore called as Vettu kad or eight homes.Marthanda Varma also vowed to give Hundred Gold coins every year to the Jesuit parish priest for the welfare of these subjects The two palaces at Trivandrum known asRamanamadhom and Thevarathu Koikal were constructed from the wood and material of the palaces of the Pillamar. The Travancore State Manual of Nagam Aiya concludes by saying,
| “ | 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 | ” |
N. Chandrasekhar Pillai (The grand grand son of Chempazhanty Pillai) from Karikkakathil veedu Nanniyode Pacha was a former Indian National Congress Leader and Freedom Fighter who involved Kallara Pagode freedom fight.
Modern Views
Later historians, with many more records at their hand, have however disputed the story given by the earlier historians which were based on legend and folklore. While there is no doubt about the existence of anti royal nobles before Marthanda Varma, as also frequent conflicts between the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple managers and the king, many of the events of the past were found to be entirely false.
The temple lands were managed by a group of nobles known as Madathil Pillamar, often mistaken for the Ettuveetil Pillamar. Earlier historians stated that the King had no authority over the temple and the Ettara Yogam 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 theSwamiyar. 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 Trivandrum 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 puppets of the Yogam and Pillamar. It was during this period that the Travancore kings won victories over the mighty Vijayanagar Empire and the Thirumala Nayaks, which, it is asserted could not have been possible under a puppet king.
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 Trivandrum, there were the other collateral branches at Nedumangad, Kottarakara and Quilon, 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 Trivandrum also. In the document of 1730 regarding the execution of the Pillamar the name used for the conspirators is Ettuveetil Madampimar 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 them go free.
Further important revelations made the by documents of the Temple are with regard to Aditya Varma and Umayamma Rani. 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 Padmanabhapuram in the Darpakulangara Palace and was cremated at Thiruvattar. The King had died a natural death. Another significant fact that has come to light is that Umayamma Rani had no children at all and hence the story of the murder of her five children is disproved. The Royal family consisted only ofUmayamma Rani, 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 line of succession. However the stories of the assassination attempt of Marthanda Varma's sister in 1728 etc. are true, having occurred, at the instigation of, not the Pillamar, but the Rajah of Kayamkulam, the traditional enemy of Travancore.
Thus many of the crimes for which the Pillamar are said to be 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 make that of the king supreme, but most of the stories about the Pillamar were found to be false.