Iraivikutty Pillai was the commander-in-chief of Venad Kingdom in the present Kerala, India

Overview

Iravikkutti Pillai belonged to

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 histor ...

family of Keralapuram in Kalkulam,

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

now in the Kanyakumari District of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is 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 India ...

. His father was Keralapuram Raja. His mother was Umayamma. Kuzhikkottu Pappuvilakathu Kochu Narayanan was his Guru in warfare. He became a minister under the King Unni Kerala Varma of

Venad Venad was a medieval kingdom lying between the Western Ghat mountains and the Arabian Sea on the south-western tip of India with its headquarters at the port city of Kollam/Quilon.Noburu Karashmia (ed.), A Concise History of South India: Is ...

. During his time, Madurai Thirumala Naickar attacked Venad. Pillai was asked to lead the Venad army and the attack which was spearheaded by Velayyan was repulsed. As a reward, Iravikkutti Pilla was appointed the Chief Minister and the Commander-in-Chief of Venad. But Thirumala Naickar sent another army under the leadership of Ramappayyan to attack Venad. The battle at Kaniyamkulam near Nagercoil was decisive. Some army commanders within Venad army were Tirumala naicker army disguised as Venad army attacked Pillai and eventually the Madurai army defeated the Venad army. Iravikkutti Pillai was killed in the battle. This incident became the theme for the folk song for the Villadichan Paattu ‘Kaniyakulathu Poru’ in the local Malayalam dialect. This song describes the life history of Iravikkutti Pillai and his trusted disciple Kunjirakottu Kaali Nair (Kaaliyan). His cemetery was near Keralapuram Siva temple close to his ancestral house. There is also have Bhadra kali temple which is called as Padathalavan Bhadrakali Temple. His reputed horse was also cremated near his cemetery opposite the temple.

References

* "Mahacharitha Samgraham" by Pallippattu Kunjukrishnan. *"Iravikuttipilla poru: Oru Padanam" by Doctor Thikkurisi Gangadharan Indian military leaders People from Kerala Year of birth missing Year of death missing {{india-royal-stub