Mysore State: History
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From Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1907 – 1909
Mysore State (Maisūr): 1909
History
The authentic history of Mysore, like that of India in general, begins after the invasion by Alexander the Great in 327 B.C. and has been gathered from the inscriptions, several thousands in number, scattered all over the country1. On the retirement of Alexander, the north of India came under the dominion of Chandra Gupta, the first of the Maurya emperors, with his capital [S. 169] 1 These have been published by Mr. L. Rice, C.I.E., the Mysore Director of Archaeology, in a series called Epigraphia Canatica, numbering twelve volumes. At Pātalīputra (Patna on the Ganges). According to the Jain traditions, supported by inscriptions and monuments, Chandra Gupta ended his days at Sravana Belgola in Mysore. In accordance with the dictates of the Jain religion, he gave up his throne in order to close his life in religious exercises, and accompanied the great teacher Bhadrabāhu on the migration which he led to the South from Ujjain, at the beginning of a twelve years' famine which he had predicted. When they reached Sravana Belgola, Bhadrabāhu felt his end approaching, and sent on the body of pilgrims under Visākha to the Punnāta country, the south-western portion of Mysore, he himself remaining behind, tended by a single disciple, who was no other than Chandra Gupta.
There he died, and Chandra Gupta also, after surviving his teacher twelve years. Whatever truth there may be in this story, the discovery by Mr. Rice of edicts of Asoka in the north-east of the Mysore country has put it beyond doubt that that portion of the State formed part of the Maurya empire. Asoka also sent missionaries, among other places, to Mahisa-mandala (Mysore) and Vanavāsi (Banavāsi, north-west of the State). These were probably just beyond the limits of his empire.
The north of Mysore next came under the rule of the Andhra or Sātavāhana dynasty. From the latter name is derived the form Sālivāhana, applied to an era, dating from A. D. 78, which is in common use. Their period extends from the second century B. C. to the second century A. D., and their dominions stretched from east to west over the entire Deccan. Their chief capital was Dhanakataka (Dhāranikotta on the Kistna), but they had a western capital at Paithan on the Godāvari. The kings who ruled in Mysore bore the general name Sātakarni.
The Andhras were succeeded by the Kadambas on the north-west, and by the Pallavas in the north-east. The former were of indigenous origin, their birthplace being Sthānagundūr (Tālagunda in the Shikārpur tāluk). Banavāsi was their capital, and Shimoga District a part of their kingdom. The Pallavas had Kānchi (Conjeeveram) as their capital, and Tundāka or Tonda-mandala (the Madras country east of Mysore) as their territory, and displaced the Mahāvalis or Bānas, claiming descent from Bali or Mahā Bali, apparently connected with Mahābalipur (the Seven Pagodas, on the Madras coast).
From the ninth century the Pallavas are also called Nonambas or Nolambas, and gave their name to Nonambavādi or Nolambavādi (Chitaldroog District), the inhabitants of which are represented by the existing Nonabas.
Meanwhile two Ganga princes from the north, of the Ikshvāku and therefore Solar race, named Dadiga and Mādhava, aided by the Jain priest Simhanandi, whom they met at Perūr (still called Ganga-Perūr, in Cuddapah), established themselves towards the close of the second [S. 170] century throughout the remaining parts of the Mysore country, with Kuvalāla or Kolāla (Kolār) as their chief city, and Nandagiri (Nandidroog) as their stronghold, founding the Gangavādi kingdom, whose inhabitants survive in the existing Gangadikāras.
The name of this dynasty, which ruled in Mysore till the opening of the eleventh century, connects them with the Gangas or Gangaridae, the people of the Ganges valley, who according to Greek and Roman writers were the chief subjects of Chandra Gupta. The Gangas also founded dynasties in Kalinga (Orissa and adjacent parts), and are mentioned by Pliny as Gangaridae Calingae. It was remorse for the slaughter and devastation that attended his conquest of Kalinga which led Asoka to devote himself to peace and religion, as stated in his thirteenth Rock Edict.
The boundaries of Gangavādi are given as : north, Marandale (not identified) ; east, Tonda-nād ; west, the ocean in the direction of Chera (Cochin and Travancore) ; south, Kongu (Salem and Coimbatore). All the kings had the cognomen Kongunivarma. The third king removed his capital to Talakād on the Cauvery.
The seventh king, Durvinīta, made extensive conquests in the south and east, capturing some of the Pallava possessions. In the middle of the eighth century the Ganga dominion was in a high state of prosperity, and was designated the Srīrājya or 'fortunate kingdom.' The king Srīpurusha subdued the Pallavas and took from them the title of Permmanadi, always applied to the subsequent Ganga kings. He fixed the royal residence at Mānyapura (Manne in Bangalore District).
To revert to the north-west of the country. In the fifth century the Chālukyas, claiming to come from Ajodhyā, appeared in the Deccan and overcame the Rāshtrakūtas, but were stopped by the Pallavas. In the sixth century the Chālukya king Pulikesin wrested Vātāpi (Bādāmi in Bijāpur District) from the Pallavas and made it his capital.
His son subdued the Mauryas ruling in the Konkan, and the Kadambas of Banavāsi. Another son conquered the Kalachuris also. Pulikesin II, in the seventh century, came into contact with the Gangas. About 617 the Chālukyas separated into two branches. The Eastern Chālukyas made Vengi (in Kistna District), taken from the Pallavas, and subsequently Rājahmundry, their capital, while the Western Chālukyas continued to rule from Vātāpi, and eventually from Kalyāni (in the Nizām's Dominions).
These are styled the Satyāsraya family, from a name of Pulikesin, the first king of this branch, who was a great conqueror. His chief victory was over Harshavardhana, king of Kanauj, the most powerful monarch in Northern India. By this conquest he gained the title of Paramesvara. Both kings are described by the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsiang. Pulikesin exchanged presents with Khusrū II of Persia. After his death the Pallavas inflicted severe losses on the Western Chālukyas, but Vikramāditya [S. 171] restored their power.
He subdued the Pāndya, Chola, Kerala, and Kalabhra kings, and captured Kānchi, forcing the Pallava king, who had never bowed to any man, to place his crown at his feet. The three next kings followed up these victories, until all the powers from the Guptas on the Ganges to the southernmost rulers of Ceylon had submitted to them. But the Rāshtrakūtas, under their kings Dantidurga and Krishna or Kannara, now succeeded in freeing themselves, and for 200 years from the middle of the eighth century became supreme. They were also called Rattas, and their territory Rattavādi. Their capital, at first Mayūrakhandi (Morkhand in Nasik District), was early in the ninth century at Mānyakheta (Mālkhed in the Nizām's Dominions). They commonly bore the title Vallabha, taken from the Chālukyas, which, in its Prākrit form Ballaha, led to their being called Balharās by Arab travellers of the tenth century. At the end of the eighth century Dhruva or Dhārāvarsha made the Pallava king pay tribute, and defeated and imprisoned the king of the Gangas, who had never been conquered before.
During the interregnum thus caused, Rāshtrakūta viceroys governed the Ganga territories, of whom inscriptions tell us of Kambharasa, surnamed Ranāvaloka, apparently a son of Dhārāvarsha, and in 813 Chāki Rājā. Eventually the Rāshtrakūta king Govinda or Prabhūtavarsha released the Ganga king, probably Sivamāra, and replaced him on the throne. Nripatunga or Amoghavarsha had a very long reign during the ninth century, and has left writings in the Kanarese language which show his great interest in the people and country of Karnātaka1. His successor was engaged in constant wars with the Eastern Chālukyas. These were subdued in the middle of the tenth century by the Cholas, who thus came into collision with the Rāshtrakūtas, then in intimate alliance with the Gangas. Būtuga of the latter family had married a Rāshtrakūta princess, and helped his brother-in-law Kannara or Akālavarsha to secure the throne.
He now rendered him a great service by slaying Rājāditya, the Chola king, at Takkola (near Arkonam). This put a stop to the Chola invasion ; and Būtuga was rewarded with the north-western districts of Mysore, in addition to those in the Bombay country which formed the dowry of his bride. In 973 Taila restored the supremacy of the Western Chālukyas, and Indra, the last of the Rāshtrakūtas, died at Sravana Belgola in 982.
1 A small Sanskrit work by him on morality was translated into Tibetan.
From the time of Rāchamalla, about 820, the Gangas had again prospered, and all the kings to the end take the title Satyavākya in addition to Permmanadi. Rachamalla was followed by Nītimārga, and he by Satyavākya and Ereyappa. Then came Būtuga, already mentioned. His successor, Mārasimha, utterly destroyed the Nolambas. [S. 172] With Rakkasa Ganga and a Nītimārga or Ganga Rājā the dynasty came to an end, in the manner related below.
The revival of the Western Chālukya power continued for 200 years, during the first half of which they were engaged in continual wars with the Cholas. The latter had from 972 completely subjugated the Eastern Chālukyas of Vengi, whose kingdom was eventually made an apanage of the Chola empire, being ruled by Chola princes as viceroys. At the same time a Chola princess was married to the Kalinga Ganga king still farther north. In 997 the Cholas under Rājarājā had invaded Mysore in the east.
In 1004 they reappeared in overwhelming force, under his son Rājendra Chola, took Talakād, and subverted the Ganga sovereignty, capturing all the south and east of the country, up to a line from about Arkalgud through Seringapatam and Nelamangala to Nidugal.
The remaining portions of Mysore, that is, the north and west, were subject to the Western Chālukyas, of whom the most celebrated was Vikramāditya, the son of a Ganga mother, who ruled from 1076 to 1126. Their empire is generally called Kuntala, of which the Banavāse-nād, or Shimoga District, was a principal province.
The capital of this was Balligāve, now Belgāmi in the Shikārpur tāluk, which contained splendid temples, dedicated to Jina, Buddha, Vishnu, Siva, and Brahmā. Famous scholars were at the head of its five maths, where, as in the mediaeval monasteries of Europe, food and medicine were dispensed to all comers.
The Chālukyas were supplanted in 1155 by the Kalachuris in the person of Bijjala, who had been their minister and general. During is time took place the Saiva revival which resulted in the establishment of the Lingāyat creed, still the popular religion of the Kanarese-speaking countries. The Kalachuri power lasted but a short time, till about 1183.
The local dynasty which rose to dominion in Mysore on the overthrow of the Gangas was that of the Poysalas or Hoysalas, by origin a line of chiefs in the Western Ghāts. Their birthplace was Sosevūr or Sasikapura (now Angadi in Kadūr District). The founder was Sala, who at the exclamation poy Sala (strike, Sala !) by a Jain priest slew the tiger that was threatening him, and thence took the name Poysala (of which Hoysala is the modern form), the priest aiding him in establishing a kingdom.
The Hoysalas claimed to be Yādavas and therefore of the Lunar race. At first they recognized the Western Chālukyas as overlords. Their capital was fixed at Dorasamudra (now Halebīd in Hassan District). In the time of Vinayāditya, who ruled to the end of the eleventh century, the kingdom included Konkana, Alvakheda (South Kanara), Bayalnād (Wynaad), Talakād (the south of Mysore District), and Sāvimale (somewhere north towards the Kistna). [S. 173] His son Ereyanga was a great general under the Chālukyas, and among other exploits burnt Dhār, the Mālava capital.
He died before his father, and the throne passed to his sons. Of these, Bitti Deva, who ruled from 11 04 to 1141, was the most distinguished. Under the influence of the reformer Rāmānuja, who had taken refuge in his kingdom from Chola persecution, he exchanged the Jain faith for that of Vishnu, and took the name of Vishnuvardhana. He also entered upon an extensive range of conquests, an early achievement being the capture of Talakād about 1116. This was followed by the expulsion from Mysore of the Cholas. The boundaries of the kingdom in his reign were extended to the lower ghāt of Nangali (Kolār District) on the east; Kongu, Cheram, and Anaimalia (Salem and Coimbatore) on the south ; the Bārkanūr ghāt road of Konkana on the west ; and Sāvimale on the north. Rāmeswaram is also given as a boundary on the south.
His own country he gave to the Brāhmans, while he ruled over countries won by his sword. He died at Bankāpur (in Dhārwār District) and was succeeded by his son Narasimha. His grandson, Vīra Ballāla, who came to the throne in 1173, gained such renown that the kings of this family are sometimes called the Ballālas. He won important victories to the north over the Kalachuris and the Seunas (or Yādavas of Deogiri), especially one at Soratūr, and carried the Hoysala kingdom up to and beyond the Peddore or Kistna, taking up his residence at Lokkigundi (Lakkundi in Dhārwār).
He reduced all the hill forts about the Tungabhadra ; and, capturing Uchchangi, which the Cholas, after besieging for twelve years, had abandoned as hopeless, he brought into subjection the Pāndyas of that place. His son, Narasimha II., repulsed the Seunas in the north-west, but was mostly engaged in wars to the south-east, where he overthrew the Pāndya, subdued the Kādava (or Pallava) and Magara kings, and rescued the Chola leader, reseating him on his throne.
The Seunas took this opportunity to press southwards, and succeeded in settling in parts of the north-west. Someswara next came to the throne in 1233 ; and in his time the Seunas attempted to advance as far as Dorasamudra, the capital, but were driven back, though their general, Sāluva Tikkama, claimed some success.
The Hoysala king, however, went to live in the Chola country, at Kannanūr or Vikramapura (near Srīrangam and Trichinopoly). On his death in 1254 a partition was made of the Hoysala territories, the capital and the ancestral Kannada kingdom going to his son Narasimha III, while the Tamil provinces and Kolār District were given to another son, Rāmanātha.
The Seunas, under their king Mahādeva, were again put to flight by Narasimha. The kingdom was then once more united under Ballāla III, who came to the throne in 1291. During his reign the Musalmāns invaded the country in [S. 174] 1310, under Kāfūr, the general of Alā-ud-dīn of the Khiljī or second Pathān dynasty. The king was defeated and taken prisoner : Dorasamudra was sacked, and the enemy returned to Delhi literally laden with gold. The king's son, carried off as a hostage, was restored in 1313.
A later expedition in 1326, sent by Muhammad III of the house of Tughlak, completely demolished the capital. The king seems to have retired to Tondanur (Tonnūr, north of Seringapatam), but eventually went to live at Unnāmale (Tiruvannāmalai or Trinomalee, in South Arcot). He returned, however, to a place in Mysore called Virūpāksha-pattana (perhaps Hosdurga), and died fighting against the Turakas or Musalmāns at Beribi in 1342. A son Virūpāksha Ballāla was crowned in 1343, but the Hoysala power was at an end.
The last great Hindu empire of the south was established in 1336 at Vijayanagar on the Tungabhadra. Two princes of the Yādava line and Lunar race, named Hakka and Bukka, probably subordinates of the Hoysalas, were aided in founding a new state by Mādhava or Vidyāranya, head of the math of Sankarāchārya, the great reformer of the eighth century, at Sringeri in Kadūr District. Hakka took the name of Harihara, in which Vishnu and Siva are combined, but the tutelary deity of the line was Virūpāksha.
Harihara was the first king, and was succeeded by Bukka, whose son Harihara II. followed. They speedily became paramount throughout the South, but their extension northwards was checked by the foundation in 1347 of the Bahmani kingdom, which was Musalmān. Altogether eight kings of the first or Sangama dynasty ruled till 1479. Among them more than one of the name of Deva Rāya was celebrated. Indeed the first Deva Rāya, son of Harihara II, takes the title Pratāpa, and claims to be the progenitor of a Pratāpa dynasty.
The most prominent feature of this period was the sanguinary wars between the Vijayanagar kings and the Bahmani Sultāns of Gulbarga, the description of which fills the pages of Firishta. The wealth and magnificence of the capital are attested by the accounts of the Italian traveller Nicolò de' Conti in 1421, and of Abd-ur-razzāk, Persian envoy to Deva Rāya in 1443.
The later kings were less powerful ; and Muhammad Shah II was overrunning the whole territory, when he was opposed by Narasimha, a chief of the Sāluva family, related in some way to the king, whose possessions extended over Telingāna and the east of Mysore. Though the Sultān captured the strong fort of Mālūr (in Kolār District) and some other places, and plundered Kānchi, Narasimha staved off the danger, but usurped the throne himself. His son, however, was in turn ousted by his general Narasinga, who belonged to the Yādava race, and was descended from a line of Tuluva kings.
He crossed the Cauvery, it is said, when [S. 175] in full flood, and seizing his enemy alive, took possession of Seringapatam. The conquest of the whole of the South followed, and he became the founder of the Narasinga dynasty. About the same period the Bahmani kingdom was broken up by revolts, and five Musalmān states took its place in the Deccan. That which had most to do with Mysore was Bijāpur.
Narasinga's sons—Narasimha, Krishna Rāya, and Achyuta Rāya—in turn succeeded to the Vijayanagar throne. Krishna Rāya was one of the most powerful and distinguished of its monarchs. He inflicted a severe defeat upon the Muhammadans about 1520, in consequence of which a good understanding prevailed between the courts of Vijayanagar and Bijāpur for a considerable time.
One of the earliest expeditions of the reign was against Ganga Rājā, the chief of Ummattūr (in Mysore District), who had rebelled and claimed Penukonda, perhaps as being a Ganga. His main stronghold was on the island of Sivasamudram, at the Falls of the Cauvery, and parts of Bangalore District were known as the Sivasamudram country. Krishna Rāya captured his fort at the Falls, and also took Seringapatam.
He extended the limits of the empire until they reached to Cuttack on the east, and to Goa on the west. He was a great patron of Sanskrit and Telugu literature. Interesting accounts of the capital in his reign have been left by Duarte Barbosa. On the death of Achyuta his infant son succeeded, but died early.
His nephew Sadāsiva Rāya was then placed on the throne by the great minister Rāma Rājā, who was his brother-in-law, and by the council. But Rāma Rājā himself wielded the chief power of the State. In spite of great ability, his arrogance was such that the Musalmān States of Bijāpur, Golconda, Ahmadnagar, and Bīdar were provoked to combine in an attack on Vijayanagar as their common enemy.
In the battle of Tālikotā near Raichūr, on January 23, 1565, Rāma Rājā was slain, on which the Hindu army fled panic-stricken, and the royal family escaped to Penukonda. The victorious Muhammadans marched to Vijayanagar, which they utterly sacked and destroyed. Cesare de' Federici describes the desolation which ensued.
Rāma Rājā's brother, Tirumala Rājā, removed the capital to Penukonda, and his son succeeded to the throne left vacant by Sadāsiva Rāya, thus establishing the Rāma Rājā dynasty. In 1577 Penukonda was bravely defended against the Musalmāns by Jagadeva Rāya, who was the king's father-in-law, and became chief of Channapatna (Bangalore District).
In 1585 the capital was again moved, now to Chandragiri. But the empire was breaking up. In 1610 the Mysore king seized Seringapatam, and other feudatories began to throw off their allegiance. It was in 1639 that the English obtained from Srī Ranga Rāya the settlement of Madras. Six years later, Chandragiri and [S. 176] Chingleput, another nominal capital, being taken by the forces of Golconda, the king fled to the protection of Sivappa Naik of Bednūr (Shimoga District), who installed him at Sakkarepatna and neighbouring places, and attempted to besiege Seringapatam under pretence of restoring him. But with him the empire ended.
A member of the family established himself at Anegundi, on the opposite side of the river to Vijayanagar; and his line continued till 1776, when Tipū Sultān overran the whole country, dispossessed the reigning chief, and burnt Anegundi. Some survivors of the family are still there.
During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the Vijayanagar kings had bestowed on, or confirmed to, vassal chiefs, bearing various titles, sundry tracts in Mysore, on the condition of paying tribute and rendering military service. Those in the north were controlled direct from the capital. The southern chiefs were under a viceroy, termed the Srī Ranga Rāyal, at Seringapatam. After the disaster of Tālikotā, although a nominal allegiance continued to be paid to the viceroy, such of the chiefs as had the power gradually declared their independence.
Among these were the Naiks of Keladi or Bednūr, Basavāpatna, and Chitaldroog in the north ; the Naiks of Belūr in the west ; the Naiks of Hāgalvādi, and the Gaudas of Yelahanka and Ballāpur, in the centre ; the Gauda of Sugatūr in the east ; the Changālvas, and the Wodeyars of Mysore, Kalale, Ummattūr, and others, in the south. These poligārs1, as they were called, will be noticed in connexion with their respective Districts.
1 Properly pālayagāra, the holder of a pālaya or baronial estate. Bijāpur and Golconda entered into a mutual agreement in 1573 to extend their conquests in such directions as not to interfere with one another. The Bijāpur line was to the south. Adoni having been captured, and the West Coast regions overrun, an attempt was made in 1577 on Penukonda. But it found a gallant defender, as before stated, in Jagadeva Rāya, who forced the Bijāpur army to retire.
For this brilliant service, his territory of Bāramahāl was extended across Mysore to the Western Ghāts, and he made Channapatna his capital. At about the same period Tamme Gauda of Sugatūr rendered some important service, for which he received the title of Chikka Rāya, with a grant of territory from Hoskote in the west to Punganūr in the east.
Meanwhile the Wodeyars of Mysore had been absorbing all the lesser States to their south, till in 1610 they secured Seringapatam, ousting the effete viceroy. In 16 13 they took Ummattūr, in 1630 Channapatna, and in 1644 uprooted the Changālvas in Piriyāpatna, thus becoming the dominant power in the south of the country.
But in the north and east an invasion by Bijāpur in 1636 was successful. After the appointment of Aurangzeb as viceroy of the Deccan, Bijāpur became tributary to Delhi. Its arms were then directed to the [S. 177] south, under Randullah Khān, accompanied by Shāhjī, father of the famous Sivajī, as second in command, with the promise of a jāgīr in the territories to be conquered.
The Bednūr kingdom was now overrun, and the chief besieged in Kavaledurga, but he bought off the enemy. An attempt on Seringapatam was repulsed with great slaughter by Kanthirava, the Mysore Rājā. The invaders then captured Bangalore and Kolār District in 1639, and, descending the Ghāts, took Vellore and Gingee. On returning to the table-land, Dod-Ballāpur, Sīra, and the south of Chitaldroog District fell into their hands by 1644.
A province named Carnatic-Bijāpur-Bālāghāt was now formed, including Kolār, Hoskote, Bangalore, and Sīra. This was bestowed as a jāgīr on Shāhjī, who was also governor of the conquered territory below the Ghāts, called Carnatic-Bijāpur-Pāyanghāt. Under him a large Marāthā element was introduced into Mysore. Shāhjī died in 1664, and his son Venkojī or Ekojī, who lived at Tanjore, inherited his father's possessions. But Sivajī, the only surviving son of the first marriage, resolved to claim a half-share. To enforce this he overran the Carnatic provinces above and below the Ghāts in 1677, and in the end Venkojī was induced to agree to a partition, by which he retained Tanjore.
In 1684 the Mughal arms, under Aurangzeb, were once more directed to the Deccan for the purpose of crushing the Marāthās, and subjugating the Muhammadan States of Bijāpur and Golconda. Bijāpur was taken in 1686, Golconda in 1687. Flying columns were sent out after each of these captures to secure the dependent districts south of the Tungabhadra.
A new province was thus formed in 1687, with Sīra (Tumkūr District) as the capital. It was composed of the seven parganas of Basavāpatna, Būdhihāl, Sīra, Penukonda, Dod-Ballāpur, Hoskote, and Kolār ; and it had, as tributary States, Harpanahalli, Kondarpi, Anegundi, Bednūr, Chitaldroog, and Mysore.
Bangalore was sold to the Rājā of Mysore for 3 lakhs of rupees, the sum he had agreed to give for it to Venkojī, who finding it too far off to control had offered it for sale. Kāsim Khān, with the designation of Faujdār Dīwān, was the first governor of this province of Sīra. It continued a Mughal possession till 1757.
We must now retrace our steps, to relate the history of the Mysore family. Their origin is ascribed to two Kshattriya princes of the Yādava race, named Vijaya and Krishna, who came to the South from Dwārka in Kāthiāwār in 1399, and, being pleased with the country, took up their abode in Mahishur or Mysore, the chief town.
Here they heard that the Wodeyar or chief of Hadinādu, a few miles to the south-east, had wandered away, being out of his mind, and that the neighbouring chief of Kārugahalli, who was of inferior caste, taking advantage of the defenceless condition of the family, had demanded the only daughter of the house in marriage. To this a consent had [S. 178] been given under compulsion, and arrangements unwillingly made for the ceremony.
The two brothers vowed to espouse the cause of the distressed maiden, and, having secreted themselves with some followers, fell upon the chief and his retinue while seated at the banquet and slew him. Marching at once on Kārugahalli, they surprised it and returned in triumph to Hadinādu, where the girl became the willing bride of Vijaya, who took the title of Odeyar or Wodeyar, and assumed the government of Hadinādu and Kārugahalli, with a profession of the religion of the Jangama or Lingāyats.
Chāma Rājā III
The fourth king, Chāma Rājā III, who reigned from 1513 to 1552, made a partition of his dominions between his three sons. To Chāma Rājā IV, surnamed Bol or 'bald,' he gave Mysore, and, no male heir surviving to either of the other brothers, the succession was continued in the junior or Mysore branch.
It was in the time of Chāma Rājā IV that the fatal disaster of Tālikotā befell the Vijayanagar empire, and the authority of its viceroy at Seringapatam was in consequence impaired. Accordingly Chāma Rājā evaded payment of tribute, while the imbecile viceroy attempted in vain to arrest him.
When, after the short reign of his elder brother, Rājā Wodeyar was raised to the throne by the elders, the fortunes of the royal family became established. He contrived in 1610 to gain possession of Seringapatam, ousting the aged viceroy Tirumala Rājā, who retired to Talakād. In 161 3 Rājā Wodeyar subdued Ummattūr and annexed its possessions to Mysore.
He also made some acquisitions northwards from Jagadeva Rāya's territories. His policy was to suppress the Wodeyars or local chiefs and to conciliate the ryots. He was followed by his grandson Chāma Rājā VI, who pursued the same policy, and by the capture in 1630 of Channapatna absorbed into Mysore all the possessions of Jagadeva Rāya.
Of the succeeding kings, Kanthīrava Narasa Rājā was distinguished. The year after his accession in 1638 he had to defend Seringapatam against the Bijāpur forces, and, as already related, drove them off with great slaughter. He extended the kingdom on all sides, taking Satyamangalam and other places from the Naik of Madura southwards ; overthrowing the Changālvas in the west, thus gaining Piriyāpatna and Arkalgud ; capturing Hosūr (now in Salem) to the north ; and inflicting a severe defeat at Yelahanka on Kempe Cauda of Māgadi, who was forced to pay a heavy contribution.
He added to and strengthened the fortifications of Seringapatam, assumed more of royal state at his court, and was the first to establish a mint, where were coined the Khantirāya (Canteroy) huns and fanams named after him, which continued to be the current national money of Mysore until the Muhammadan usurpation. He died without issue, and of two claimants to the throne, Dodda Deva Rājā, grandson of Bol Chāma Rājā, was selected.
It was [S. 179] during his reign that Srī Ranga Rāya, the last representative of Vijayanagar, fled for refuge to Bednūr. Sivappa Naik, the head of that State, on the plea of restoring the royal line, appeared before Seringapatam with a large force. But he was compelled to retreat, and the Mysore armies overran the tracts in the west which he had conferred on Srī Ranga Rāya.
The Naik of Madura now invaded Mysore, but was also forced to retire, while Mysore troops, capturing Erode and Dhārāpuram, levied contributions from Trichinopoly and other chief places. Dodda Deva was a great friend of the Brāhmans, and profuse in his donations to them. He died at Chiknāyakanhalli, then the northern boundary of the State, the southern being Dhārāpuram in Coimbatore. The western and eastern boundaries were Sakkarepatna and Salem.
Chikka Deva Rājā, previously passed over, now came to the throne, and proved to be one of the most distinguished of his line. When a youth at Yelandūr he had formed a friendship with a Jain pandit, who was now made the minister, though obnoxious on account of his faith. A regular postal system was for the first time established, which was also utilized for detective purposes. Maddagiri and other places to the north were conquered, making Mysore conterminous with Carnatic-Bijāpur-Bālāghāt, then disorganized by the raids of Sivajī.
For ten years following a variety of vexatious petty taxes were imposed, in order to increase the revenue without incurring the odium of enhancing the fixed land tax. Great discontent ensued, fanned by the Jangama priests. The ryots refused to till the land, and, deserting their villages, assembled as if to emigrate.
The king resolved upon a treacherous massacre of the Jangama priests, and this sanguinary measure stopped all opposition to the new financial system, but the minister was assassinated as being the instigator of the innovations. With his dying breath he recommended as his successor a Brāhman named Tirumalārya, one of the most learned and eminent ministers of Mysore.
This brings us to 1687, when the Mughals, having captured Bijāpur, were forming the province of Sīra. Venkojī had agreed, as before related, to sell Bangalore to the Mysore Rājā for 3 lakhs of rupees. But Kāsim Khān, the Mughal general, first seized it and then carried out the bargain, pocketing the money himself.
Through him the Rājā assiduously cultivated an alliance with Aurangzeb, and meanwhile subdued such parts of the country as would not interfere with the Mughal operations. A great part of Bāramahāl and Salem below the Ghāts was thus added to Mysore, and by 1694 all the west up to the Bābā Budan mountains. In 1696 the territory of the Naik of Madura was invaded and Trichinopoly besieged.
In the absence of the main army, a Marāthā force marching to the relief of Gingee suddenly appeared before Seringapatam, attracted by the hope of plunder. The Mysore army, recalled by express, returned by forced [S. 180] marches, and by a skilful stratagem totally defeated the enemy, who lost everything. Kāsim Khān now died ; and the king, in order to establish fresh interest at court and obtain if possible recognition of his new conquests, sent an embassy to the emperor at Ahmadnagar, which returned in 1700 with a new signet, bearing the title Jug Deo Rāj, and permission to sit on an ivory throne.
The king now formed the administration into eighteen departments, in imitation of what the envoys had seen at the Mughal court. He died in 1704, at the age of seventy-six, having accumulated a large treasure, and, notwithstanding the troublous times, established a secure and prosperous State, extending from Palni and Anaimalai in the south to Midagesi in the north, and from Carnatic Garh in Bāramahāl in the east to Coorg and Balam in the west.
In the reign of Dodda Krishna Rājā (1713-31) the Nawāb of Sīra's jurisdiction was restricted to the Bālāghāt, a separate Nawāb of Arcot being appointed to the Pāyanghāt. The ascendancy of the throne in Mysore began to decline, and all power fell into the hands of the ministers, Devarāj and Nanjarāj.1 At frequent intervals armies sent by the rival Nawābs or by the Subahdār of the Deccan appeared, claiming contributions, and, if they could not be driven away, had to be bought off. When at length the Marāthās appeared in 1757 under Bālājī Rao, so impoverished had the State become that several tāluks were pledged to them as security to induce them to retire.
1 There were two of this name. The first Nanjarāj was a cousin of Devarāj, who on his deathbed, in 1740, refunded 8 lakhs of rupees, estimated as the amount he had improperly acquired. He was succeeded by the second Nanjarāj, a younger brother of Devarāj.
Meanwhile, at the siege in 1749 of Devanhalli, then a frontier fortress, a volunteer horseman had come to notice who was destined before long to gain the supreme power in the State and to play no mean part in the history of India. This was Haidar Alī, whose courage in the field induced Nanjarāj to give him a command.
He managed to increase his force; and amid the struggles between rival candidates for the Nawābship of the Carnatic, supported by the English and French respectively, he secured for himself valuable booty. His services before Trichinopoly led to his appointment as Faujdār of Dindigul (Madura District), where he added to his force and enriched himself by wholesale plunder.
The army at the capital having become mutinous on account of their pay being in arrears, Haidar was sent for to settle the disputes, which he did with unscrupulous ability. The fort and district of Bangalore were now given to him as a jāgīr. On his advice the Marāthās had been expelled from the pledged tāluks when the rains set in and farther invasion was at the lime impossible.
They appeared again in 1759 in great force [S. 181] under Gopāl Hari. Haidar was appointed to the chief command to oppose them, and by his skill rescued Bangalore and Channapatna, whereupon the Marāthās, finding themselves outdone, agreed to leave the country on payment of a certain sum in discharge of all claims. Returning in triumph to Seringapatam, he was received in a splendid darbār, where Nanjarāj rose up to embrace him, and he was saluted with the title Fateh Haidar Bahādur.
The pay of the troops before long again fell into arrears, and again Haidar had to satisfy them, for which purpose more than half the country was placed in his hands, while Nanjarāj was forcibly retired.
In 1760 the French commander Count de Lally, cooped up by the English in Pondicherry, sought the aid of Haidar, and a treaty was made. When his troops had gone away on this expedition, Khande Rao, his coadjutor in all his schemes hitherto, turned against him and induced the Rājā's party to try to get rid of him.
A cannonade was suddenly opened on his camp near Seringapatam, and he was forced to flee for his life. Bangalore was gained just in time. Collecting his scattered forces, assisted by some French, he marched against Khande Rao, by whom he was defeated near Nanjangūd. All now seemed lost, but he repaired secretly to Nanjarāj and persuaded him to resume his authority. Armed with this, he contrived a stratagem by which Khande Rao was completely deceived, and fled under the impression that he was betrayed, leaving all his forces to go over to Haidar.
The latter reconquered the southern districts and returned to Seringapatam at the head of a great army, with which, again by stratagem, he got possession of the island. The Rājā was now at his mercy ; Khande Rao was given up, and Haidar's usurpation was inevitable, though he always maintained a royal occupant on the throne.
Haidar soon subdued all the petty States to the east and north of the country, and marched against Bednūr, which was taken in March, 1763, and a booty valued at twelve millions sterling fell into his hands, together with the countries on the West Coast. This conquest was always spoken of by him as the foundation of his subsequent greatness. He conceived the idea of making a new capital for himself here, and gave it the name of Haidarnagar (now Nagar).
He established a mint, from which coins in his own name were issued, and formed a dockyard and naval arsenal on the coast. But he had to reckon with the Marāthās and the Nizām, who laid claim to some of the countries he had conquered. He was defeated by the former at Rattihalli, but contrived by negotiations to retrieve his fortunes with both powers. When, before long, they again planned a joint invasion of Mysore, he bought off the Marāthās and induced the Nizām to join with himself against the British.
These he attacked [S. 182] in 1767, but they forced the Nizām to break off the alliance, and in 1769 peace was concluded with Haidar. It is impossible here to follow in detail all the operations and varying fortunes of the wars which Haidar, supported by the French, waged against the British. His last invasion of the British territories was in July, 1780, and while the war was in progress he died in camp near Arcot on December 7, 1782, at the age of sixty. An unlettered adventurer, he had raised himself to a throne and founded a kingdom.
His son and successor, Tipū, had not the ability of his father ; his mind was warped by a fanatical bigotry, and he bore the most inveterate hatred against the British. The war with them was prolonged until 1784, when a treaty of peace was concluded, followed by a successful war with the Marāthās and the Nizām. Expeditions to the West Coast followed, in which the most cruel persecutions befell the inhabitants.
The only country there which Tipū had not subdued was Travancore, which was under the protection of the British. But at the end of 1789 he invaded it, and the British at once prepared for war, having the Marāthās and the Nizām as allies. Lord Cornwallis, the Governor-General, himself took command of the army.
After capturing Bangalore and many of the strongest hill forts around, he besieged Seringapatam with such vigour that, in February, 1792, Tipū was driven to accept the terms offered him : namely, the surrender of half his territories, the payment of 3 crores and 30 lakhs of rupees, and the delivery of two of his sons as hostages. With his misfortunes the Sultān's caprice, fanaticism, and spirit of innovation were carried to the verge of insanity.
He began to alter everything in the country. The name of every object was changed—of cycles, years, and months ; of weights, measures, and coins ; of forts and towns ; of offices, military and civil ; the official designation of all persons and things : a strange parody of what was happening in France, of which he had probably heard something. Exports and imports were prohibited, in order to protect domestic trade ; the growth of poppy for opium was stopped, and all liquor shops abolished, to prevent intoxication.
Grants to Hindu temples and the ināms of pātels were confiscated. The fine old irrigation works were to be destroyed and reconstructed in his own name. His evident aim was to obliterate every trace of previous rulers, and to introduce a new order of things beginning with himself. On the death in 1796 of the pageant Rājā, no successor was appointed, and the royal family were turned out of the palace, stripped of all.
Tipū next strained every nerve to form a coalition for the expulsion of the British from India. Embassies were sent to Constantinople and Kābul ; letters to Arabia, Persia, and Maskat ; agents to Delhi, Oudh, Hyderābād, and Poona ; proposals to Jodhpur, Jaipur, and Kashmīr.
The French in particular were repeatedly applied to, [S. 183] and Bonaparte's invasion of Egypt encouraged the hope of immediate aid, while overtures were made by him to Tipū. But Nelson's great victory at the Nile soon put an end to Bonaparte's designs on the East. Lord Mornington, the Governor-General, had called on the Sultān for an explanation of his proceedings, and, receiving evasive answers, resolved on war.
The Nizām was again allied with the British, but the Marāthās stood aloof. General Harris, in command of the grand army, having defeated Tipū at Malavalli, sat down before Seringapatam on April 5. The Sultān opened negotiations ; but the time having passed away without his accepting the terms offered, the fortress was carried by assault on May 4, 1799, and his body was found among the slain.
After mature deliberation it was decided to restore the descendant of the former Rājās, under British protection, to the sovereignty of part of the dominions thus left vacant, and to divide the rest among the allies. The young prince, Krishna Rājā Wodeyar, five years old, was placed on the throne on June 30.
Colonel Arthur Wellesley (the future Duke of Wellington) was invested with the entire civil and military control of the State ; Pūrnaiya, the Brāhman minister of Haidar and Tipū, was made Dīwān ; and Colonel (afterwards Sir) Barry Close was appointed Resident. Colonel Wellesley soon put down the marauding chiefs who strove to establish themselves in various parts, the country was reduced to good order, and the government was eminently successful.
A considerable portion of the Mysore army subsequently took part in the war against the Marāthās, marked by Wellesley's decisive victories on the fields of Assaye and Argaon. In 1811 the Rājā, having come of age, was entrusted with the government and Pūrnaiya retired, dying the following year.
The reign began with the brightest prospects, but the Rājā's extravagance and lack of governing ability soon brought the affairs of a prosperous country to the verge of ruin. By 1814 the treasure accumulated by Pūrnaiya had been dissipated on worthless favourites, the pay of the army was in arrears, and the counsels of good advisers were unheeded. Offices of state were sold to the highest bidder, and the revenue was realized under an oppressive system called sharti.
The jails were filled with prisoners awaiting sentence, to award which the judges had no power. The British Government warned the Rājā of the consequences of his reckless conduct, and in 1825 Sir Thomas Munro, Governor of Madras, personally visited Mysore to remonstrate with him. But little good resulted, and in 1830 disaffection came to a head in the Nagar country.
A pretender was set up, and the insurrection spread to other parts. The State troops were sent against the insurgents ; but the latter continued to increase in strength, and it became imperative to employ the British subsidiary force. After [S. 184] various operations, Nagar was taken and the rebellion brought to an end.
The British Government now appointed a Committee to inquire into the affairs of Mysore ; and on their report the Governor-General, Lord William Bentinck, resolved to act upon a clause of the original treaty made with the Rājā, and to deprive him of ruling power. In October, 1831, he peaceably surrendered the reins of government to the British Commissioners appointed to administer the country.
The Rājā himself was allowed to remain at the capital, and a liberal provision was made for him. The Mysore Commission consisted at first of a very few British officers, at the head of whom from 1834 was Colonel (afterwards Sir) Mark Cubbon. It was an onerous task to free the administration from the abuses of long standing which had crept into every department, and to place the revenues on a sound basis.
But his wise and patient measures gradually bore fruit in a people made happy by release from serfdom, and a ruined State restored to financial prosperity. No less than 769 petty items of taxation were swept away, but the revenue continued to rise ; and numberless oppressive practices were remedied.
The Governor-General, Lord Dalhousie, visited Mysore in 1855, and recorded his full appreciation of what had been done, but considered that the time had come to bring the system of administration into accordance with modern ideas. Judicial, public works, and educational departments were therefore formed, and a larger British element brought in. In 1861 Sir Mark Cubbon fell ill, and retired from the position he had long filled with great honour.
The Rājā had no male heir ; and though his loyalty in the Mutiny was undoubted, a sanad of adoption was not granted to him by Lord Canning, on the ground that he was not a ruling chief. The Rājā, however, exercised his right as a Hindu, and adopted a son in 1865 ; and after some deliberation the adoption was recognized in 1867 as valid in regard to the succession also. With the satisfaction that his dynasty would be continued, he died in 1868, at the ripe age of seventy-four.
Meanwhile, many changes had been made in the administration of Mysore, bringing it more into line with the Regulation Provinces. On Mr. Bowring, who succeeded Sir Mark Cubbon in 1862, the introduction of these innovations devolved. The State was portioned into new Divisions and Districts, with a larger staff of British officers.
Revenue survey and inām settlement, channel and forest conservancy, village schools and municipalities, were some of the new measures brought into operation before the recognition by the British Government of a successor to the throne and during the minority of the new Rājā. [S. 185]
This young prince was carefully trained for his position under European tutors ; and on his attaining his majority, the rendition of Mysore was carried out on March 25, 1881, on terms embodied in an Instrument of Transfer1, which superseded all former treaties. The powers of the Mahārājā were defined, and the subsidy to be paid in lieu of military assistance was enhanced. Mr. C. Rangāchārlu was appointed Dīwān, and continued at the head of the administration till his death in 1883.
He was assisted by a small Council, and the formation of what was called a Representative Assembly was one of the most prominent measures of his time. The reduction of expenditure being imperative, owing to the disastrous effects of the famine of 1876-8, European officers were freely dispensed with, many posts were abolished, various Districts broken up, and judicial offices and jails reduced. The British Government gave substantial relief by postponing the levy of the enhanced subsidy of 10½ lakhs for five years.
1 See Mysore Gazetteer (1897 edition), vol. i, p. 450.
Mr. (from 1893, Sir) K. Sheshādri Iyer succeeded as Dīwān ; and during his tenure of office, which he held till near his death in 1901, Mysore was raised to a high state of prosperity. Protection against famine, which had again threatened the State in 1884 and 1891, was specially in view in the earlier operations. Railways and irrigation works were pushed on, and the British Government again postponed for ten years the payment of the increased subsidy. By that time the revenue had more than doubled, the State debts had been extinguished, and surplus funds had accumulated in the treasury.
This result was not due to new taxation in any form. Next to good seasons, it was the effect of natural growth, under the stimulus afforded by the opening out of the country by means of new roads and railways, the execution of important irrigation works, and the general expansion of industries, as well as in some measure of a better management of particular sources of revenue.
Every branch of the administration was strengthened and improved ; public works of unsurpassed magnitude were carried out ; gold-mining was fostered in such a manner as to bring in a very substantial addition to the coffers of the State ; postal facilities were greatly increased ; cavalry and transport corps were maintained for imperial defence ; educational institutions and hospitals were established on a large scale ; civil service examinations of a high standard were instituted ; departments were formed for archaeology and for the management of religious and charitable institutions, later also for meteorology and geology ; laboratories were founded for bacteriology and agricultural chemistry ; and, to crown all, the Cauvery Falls were harnessed and the first electric power works in India installed.
To glance at the reverse [S. 186] of the shield, the fell spectre of plague appeared at Bangalore in August, 1898, and has since stalked through all parts. But this dire foe was vigorously grappled with. Congested areas were opened out, and general sanitary improvements enforced. The vacancy in the office of Dīwān was filled in 1901 by Mr. (now Sir) P. N. Krishna Mūrti, descended from Pūrnaiya, who was succeeded in 1906 by Mr. V. P. Mādhava Rao.
At the end of 1894 occurred at Calcutta the sudden death of the universally respected Mahārājā Chāma Rājendra Wodeyar, in whose person the administration of Mysore had been revived in 1881, and the Mahārānī became Regent during the minority of her eldest son. This young prince, Krishna Rājā Wodeyar, who has been assiduously trained by European tutors, on attaining his majority was invested with power in 1902 by the Viceroy in person.
