During the reign of Great Marthanda Varma of Travancore (A.D.1729-1758) many brave Ezhava warriors had sacrificed themselves for Travancore; but historians of Travancore have conveniently cast blind eyes to their contribution. During this period, there were eight powerful landlords (Ettuveetil-pillamar) in Thiruvananthapuram. They had their own armies. Among these landlords there were two groups. One, the Venganoore group, led by Venganoore pillai and the other group called the Kazhakuttam group led by Kazhakuttathu pillai. Of the two groups, Venganoore group was hostile to the royal family.
The administration of Padmanabhaswamy temple was at this time under the control of Ettara-yogum the group of eight landlords and King of Travancore, the King having only half the power. Marthanda Varma put an end to this system and assumed for the royal family all the administrative powers of the Padmanabhaswamy temple. The Venganoore group resented this, but they did not oppose the new arrangement because Marthanda Varma was a very assertive and powerful ruler.
The Travancore royal dynasty is Kshatriya by caste. Succession to the throne in Travancore was by the Marumakkathayam system under which the King’s sister’s son would ascend the throne on the demise of the reigning King and the Kings lineal descendants had no claim to the throne and it was under this system that Marthanda Varma became King on the death of Rama Varma.
Marthanda Varma’s uncle Rama Varma had two sons, Raman Thampi and Padmanabhan Thampi, by Abhirami, a non-Kshatriya lady. There was enmity between Marthanda Varma and the two Thampis from early in life and this developed into a bitter feud later. The two brothers wanted the throne and they unsuccessfully tried to assassinate Marthanda Varma on several occasions.
The Thampis were close to the Ettuveetil-pillamar. The Venganoore group was sympathetic and helpful to them all along. The Thampis sought the help of Kazhakuttathu pillai also in their fight with Marthanda Varma. Kazhakuttathu pillai was the most powerful among the land lords and his decisions were approved by others. Kazhakuttathu pillai however told them that they could not claim the Kingdom because they were not genuine Kshatriyas. The Thampi brothers changed their tack and told him that they did not want the throne but only wanted to abolish the Marumakkathayam system under which the nephews succeeded their maternal uncle in his death. Kazhakuttathu pillai too was against Marumakkathayam and he promised the Thampis to help them in abolishing this system. But he did not agree to help them in their fight with Marthanda Varma and instead, advised them to end the quarrel. But Venganoore pillai whom the Thampis approached for help agreed to support them.
Marthanda Varma came to know of the brewing conspiracy and assumed that all in the Ettuveetil-pillamar were helping his cousins and he ordered that all the eight land lords be captured.
Venganoore pillai and Ramanamadhom pillai of the Venganoore group were killed and the remaining three were captured. However Marthanda Varma could not capture any one of the Kazhakuttam group (Kazhakuttathu pillai, Kulathoore pillai and Chempazhanthy pillai). This has been attributed to their superior armies, who were Ezhavas and were very strong and courageous. It is believed that Marthanda Varma’s army could not even cross the border with Ulloor in the fight against the armies of Kazhakuttam group.
Kesava Panicker was an Ezhava Kalarippayyatu (native martial art) expert and was the commander and trainer of Kazhakuttathu pillai’s army. He was the founder of the famous Thozhuvancode Chamundi Devi temple and close friend of Kazhakuttathu pillai.
Chempazhanthy pillai was a very good man and he was worried about the war between Marthanda Varma and the Ettuveetil-pillamar. His army chief was an Ezhava Kalarippayyattu expert and ‘marma’ vaidyan by the name Pappan Chekavar, a native of Thalassery and he married from Chempazhanthy. Pappan Chekavar was also vaidyan of the royal family and hence he was close to Marthanda Varma. Chempazhanthy pillai, through Pappan Chekavar convinced Marthanda Varma that the Kazhakuttam group had no animosity towards Marthanda Varma or the royal family and the problem was settled peacefully.
Marthanda Varma’s great ambition was to enlarge his Kingdom to Kochi and even beyond. But the Kingdom of Kayamkulam stood in the way in his march to the north. His army was defeated three times by Patheenatha Panicker, Ezhava chief commander of Kayamkulam. Marthanda Varma realized that his army was not strong enough to defeat Kayamkulam. What he wanted was a strong army and an efficient army chief. Marthanda Varma discussed the problem with Pappan Chekavar who told him that he had a Thiyya(Ezhava) friend in Thalassery who was an expert in Kalarippayattu and horse riding. His name was Raghava Chekavar (Renakeerthy Chekavar). He was serving in the army of the Samoothiri in Malabar at that time. It is believed that Pappan Chekavar went to Malabar and brought Raghava Chekavar secretly with him by sea route to Travancore.
Raghava Chekavar took charge of the Travancore army as its chief commander. All the soldiers, majority being Ezhavas, of Kazhakuttathu pillai, Chempazhanthy pllai and Kulathoore pillai joined Marthanda Varma’s army under the leadership of Raghava Chekavar. At this time Kazhakuttathu pillai went on a pilgrimage and nobody has seen him since then. His chief army commander Kesava Panicker (Ezhava kalarippayyattu expert) did not join Marthanda Varma’s army. He was a staunch devotee of his Kalari Deity of Chamundi Devi and he left Kazhakuttam for Thozhuvancode with this Deity and founded the Chamundi Devi temple there. He spent the rest of his life at Thozhuvancode.
Marthanda Varma finally conquered Kayamkulam with the help of Ezhava soldiers under Raghava Chekavar. Later on Marthanda Varma won many victories including the victory in the battle at Kulachal with the help of the Ezhava soldiers led by Raghava Chekavar. Marthanda Varma honoured Raghava Chekavar by conferring on him the name Renakeerthy Chekavar. Marthanda Varma did not trust Nair soldiers. He removed all Nair soldiers from Padmanabhapuram palace and Padmanabhaswamy temple and replaced them with Ezhava soldiers. The Great Marthanda Varma died in AD.1758 at the age of 52. It is believed that Renakeerthy Chekavar was called back by the Samoothiri of Malabar after the death of Marthanda Varma.
After Marthanda Varma, his nephew Dharmaraja became the King. Ezhava soldiers continued to be the security guards of palace and Padmanabhaswamy temple for some time even after the death of Dharmaraja.
Balarama Varma (AD.1798-1810) ascended the throne after the death of Dharmaraja. He was very young and was a weak King. During his reign Veluthampi was the Prime Minister (Dalawa) of Travancore. Veluthampi did not like Ezhava soldiers guarding the palace and the temple. He told the King that Ezhavas did not come within the four tier caste system of the Hindus(Chathurvarnyam), that they had migrated from Srilanka, that they had a Buddhist origin and that they were untouchables. The King ordered the removal of all Ezhava soldiers from the palace and Padmanabhaswamy temple. He also dismissed all Ezhava soldiers from the Travancore army. Veluthampi Dalawa recruited Nairs in the place of Ezhava soldiers and he renamed the Travancore army as Travancore Nairpada. This led to a mutiny in the army. Veluthampi Dalawa suppressed the mutiny with the help of the Carnatic brigade of the British army. Many soldiers, mostly Ezhavas were killed.
The dismissed Ezhava soldiers later joined the British army. This angered the King further. From that time onwards Ezhavas were treated as untouchables and denied educational facilities, employment in public service and entry into the temples. Ezhavas became an oppressed community. This oppression eased gradually during the reign of Sree Moolam Thirunal (AD.1885-1924). It was at this time Sree Narayana Guru, the great social reformer came on the scene and people gradually became enlightened and caste prejudices became less acute. During the reign of Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma(AD.1931-1949) all Hindus were allowed to enter Hindu Temples. Now, Ezhavas are in the forefront of Kerala society and they are the major Hindu community of Kerala.
The dismissed Ezhava soldiers from the Travancore army joined the British army in AD.1808. The British assigned Ezhava soldiers to capture Veluthampi Dalawa. Veluthampi Dalawa was attacked and surrounded by Ezhava soldiers of the British army in AD.1809. Veluthampi Dalawa committed suicide when the army surrounded him. In fact, it was a revenge of Ezhava soldiers.
Ettuveettilpillamar were genuine and noble Nairs. Their descendants live in the villages of Thiruvananthapuram. Genuine Nairs and Ezhavas respect each other.
