{{Unreferenced, date=June 2008 Pallichal Pillai was one of the eight domains known as Ettuveetil Pillamar in the medieval history of south

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

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

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 ...

(which consisted of territory of the present

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

i.e. the capital of the state of

Keralam Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Cana ...

and the district of Kanyakumari in

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 ...

) 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 the title of male head in Malayalee and Kodava society. Karnavar is also a surname for some aristocratic Nair families in and around Budhanur, Chengannur, Kerala, India, all br ...

of the family of Pallichal Pillai moved to Vanchimuttam near

Attingal Attingal is a municipality 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 the ...

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

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city i ...

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 Ara ...

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

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

on him by the Travancore

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...

. 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.

See also