The Ettara Yogam or, the King and Council of Eight and a Half, has been the administrative setup of Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India, for centuries.
This administrative setup consisting of the Arachan (Ruler) of Venad, Pushpanjali Swamiyar, six-member Sabha and Sabhanjithan is called Ettara Yogam.
This administrative setup consisting of the Arachan (Ruler) of Venad, Pushpanjali Swamiyar, six-member Sabha and Sabhanjithan is called Ettara Yogam.
It is to be understood that Kshetrakaryam Potti, Desies, Karanatha Kurup of the Palliyadi family, Karanakkanakku and Pandarakkanakku are not members of Ettara Yogam.
Besides them, the Maharajah of Venad or Travancore, the Srikaryathu Potti and the Karanavar of the Palliyadi family (Nair representative) had half vote each.
Eventually Maharajah Anizhom Thirunal Marthanda Varma (1706–1758) decided to put an end to their power and destroyed the Pillamar.
From the time of Marthanda Varma the authority of Yogathu Pottimar eroded and the Temple came under the direct control of the Maharajahs of Travancore.
[4] According to the 1998 book, Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple, written by Princess Aswathi Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bayi, the Ettarayogam still exists in principle.
For the last few hundred years, seven Ettarayogam Potti families have continued to receive requests from the Padmanabhaswamy Temple authorities for anujna (permission) to conduct festivals–for example in 2011.
In the presence of the Maharaja designate, the Yogathil Pottimar and the Tantri, the Pushpanjali Swamiyar Maravanchery Thekkedathu Neelakanta Bharatikal signed on the Neettu (Order) of the Ettara Yogam giving recognition to Sri Moolam Thirunal as Chirava Mooppan (Maharaja of Travancore) and Thrippappoor Mooppan (Protector of Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple).