Pillai (Nair title)

Pillai, meaning Prince, is a title of nobility which can either refer to a ruling chief, members of the nobility, or junior princes of the royal family historically ranked immediately below the king. From the early modern period, the title also came to be bestowed on Savarna subjects by the ruling families of Kerala for services military or political, most of whom were of Nair origin.

According to epigraphic records, it is an ancient title that goes back to the Sangam Era, given to junior members of the royal family. Originally a title meaning "royal child", it came to be given to administrators of a king or a temple; often holding large estates on behalf of the latter.

Early English records also address these hereditary ruling chiefs as the princes of Kerala ranking below the monarch. The most well known are the Pillais of the Eight Noble Houses, the Ettuveettil Pillamar of Travancore. It is from these Chiefs that the matriarchal heads of Travancore Royal Family took their consorts from.

Originally, they were royalty related to one another from amongst the swarupams of Travancore and in course of time some of these families became extinct or were superseded by the elite families of their large Nayar retainers. It is from these Chiefs that the matriarchal heads of Travancore Royal Family took their consorts from and successive rulers have been their offspring. After the arrival of the refugee princes of Northern Malabar fleeing the invasion of Tippu Sultan, this practice was dropped and the refugee princes were raised to the status of Koyi Thampuran and granted estates belonging to these deposed Chiefs.

Their absolute powers declined since the seizure of power and the creation of the state of Travancore under royal authority by King Marthanda Varma in the 1750s. The consolidation of Travancore was effected at the expense of the power of the ruling chiefs. Marthanda Varma also awarded the forfeited estates to new owners like in the case of Kilimanoor and also went on to create new titles to reward his friends and allies for military or political service rendered.

The Pillais of Kerala had authority over their own regions and right of judgment in provincial disputes, as delegated by the king. They collected fines and taxes and in return received a share of the income they collected. In wartime they led the king's armies. Some desoms were grouped together under a Prince into larger units that represented earlier independent kingdoms. Many Pillais originally functioned essentially as royal governors.

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