The Cursed Family
This is the fifth part of the series. Click here for Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4.
After a reign of thirty-nine long years, Raja I Wodeyar, the ninth king of Mysore's Wodeyar Dynasty, died on the twentieth day of June, in the year 1617. In his reign, Mysore finally broke away from the Vijayanagara Empire, though they continued to acknowledge them only in name without paying tributes or referring to them for anything. He had captured the temple town of Srirangapatna, which had been the seat of the viceroy of Vijayanagara. His eldest son had died in the same year as the conquest of Srirangapatna, leaving behind a three-year old son. Now, that very same boy, all of nine years old was placed on the throne. His name, like so many of his ancestors and descendants was Chamaraja. Raja Wodeyar had a second son as well, born in 1612, younger than his nephew by four years.
Chamaraja VI reigned for twenty one years from 1617 to 1637. During his reign, the kingdom of Mysore expanded to the north into the plains of the upper reaches of the Cauvery Basin. To the south, the hills of the Nilgiri range offered protection, and to the west, the hill state of Coorg was in a state of infancy. The area between Mysore and the seat of the Vijayanagara Empire consisted of small land holdings and estates ruled by chieftains called Nayakas. The Nayakas were fiercely independent, but now as the power of Vijayanagara was in its death throes, they were caught between the Bijapur Sultanate to the north and Mysore to the south. Some of the Nayakas had grown quite powerful, like the Nayaks of Keladi and Chitradurga; but others were quickly subdued by one or the other stronger powers.
In the late 1630's, the forces of the Bijapur Sultan, Muhammad Adil Shah, in the south were led by a Maratha named Shahaji Bhonsle, who had left behind his young son, Shivaji at his jagir in Pune. Shahaji led the Bijapur forces routing the Nayakas one by one. In the summer of 1637, Chamaraja VI died and the throne was occupied by his uncle, Raja I Wodeyar's younger son, Raja II Wodeyar. The young twenty-five year old however, was spoilt and uninterested, like so many rulers who have the kingdom handed to them in the past have been. He ruled out of his inner chambers, surrounded by wine and women, much to the consternation of his mother. The dalavayis, who had earlier been broken by the king's ancestors, had now become nobles in the kings court. Seeing the inefficiencies of Raja II, Vikramaraya, a dalavayi and commander in the Mysore army plotted to poison and kill the king, assassinating him in October 1638. With this the line of Raja I Wodeyar, the cursed king ended.
The Wodeyar bloodline however, was far from extinguished. Raja I Wodeyar had three other siblings, two brothers, Devaraja and Chamaraja and a sister Chikkadepa. At the time of Raja II Wodeyar's death, Devaraja had two sons aged sixteen and eleven, while his younger brother, Chamaraja had one son, Narasaraja. Chamaraja was ill and bedridden, far to the south in the village of Terakanambi. The dalavayis decided to make his son, Narasaraja, the king, hoping to be able to make him their puppet. Additionally, twenty-three year old Narasaraja had already been adopted by Raja I Wodeyar's widow. So Narasaraja was called from Terakanambi and crowned king. His uncle, Devaraja and his two children were captured and imprisoned, lest they attempt to bid for power. Even as Narasaraja became king, to the east, the Bijapur forces swept around the edges of the Mysore kingdom, capturing Bangalore from the Gowdas (of the famed Kempe Gowda clan), making it their capital in the south.
Narasaraja was nothing like what the dalavayis expected. A master strategist, an expert in the martial art of vajramushti and an accomplished scholar and musician, immediately after he became king, he defended Srirangapatna against the forces of Bijapur. In a reign lasting twenty years, he expanded the kingdom in all directions. He took Piriyapatna from the Coorgis, Hosur and Madurai from the Nayaks of Madurai and raided Yelahanka, a base of the Gowdas of Magadi. For his exploits, he was known as Ranadheera Kanteerava. It was also during his rule, that the first Christian missions were set up in the region, mainly in Srirangapatna and towards the eastern boundaries of Mysore. Kanteerava Narasaraja was portrayed on screen in 1960 by the stalwart of Kannada cinema, Dr. Rajkumar in the movie Ranadheera Kanteerava.
Kanteerava Narasaraja is said to have had ten wives. But, none of them sired any male children (unfortunately information on female children is rarely recorded or available). Mysore, like most other Indian states of the time chose their kings on the basis of male primogeniture and so, another male line of the Wodeyars ended with him. Kanteerava's uncle and cousins had been imprisoned when he became king. But now, on his deathbed, he adopted his first cousin, known as Dodda Kempadevaraja, just three days before he died. Dodda Kempadevaraja gave refuge to Sriranga III the last ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire in Srirangapatna. He defended the island town against he Keladi Nayakas and won territories from them. He also repulsed attacks from the Nayaks of Madurai, capturing Erode, Salem and Dharmapuri and attacking Trichy. However, when he died in 1671, he too was childless. He was succeeded by his elder brother's son, Chikka Devaraja.
In the sixty years since the curse of Alamelamma, four kings had ruled after Raja I Wodeyar and none of them had any surviving sons. The curse was going strong, and the family, was soon running out of male heirs.
Click here for Part 6.
After a reign of thirty-nine long years, Raja I Wodeyar, the ninth king of Mysore's Wodeyar Dynasty, died on the twentieth day of June, in the year 1617. In his reign, Mysore finally broke away from the Vijayanagara Empire, though they continued to acknowledge them only in name without paying tributes or referring to them for anything. He had captured the temple town of Srirangapatna, which had been the seat of the viceroy of Vijayanagara. His eldest son had died in the same year as the conquest of Srirangapatna, leaving behind a three-year old son. Now, that very same boy, all of nine years old was placed on the throne. His name, like so many of his ancestors and descendants was Chamaraja. Raja Wodeyar had a second son as well, born in 1612, younger than his nephew by four years.
Chamaraja VI reigned for twenty one years from 1617 to 1637. During his reign, the kingdom of Mysore expanded to the north into the plains of the upper reaches of the Cauvery Basin. To the south, the hills of the Nilgiri range offered protection, and to the west, the hill state of Coorg was in a state of infancy. The area between Mysore and the seat of the Vijayanagara Empire consisted of small land holdings and estates ruled by chieftains called Nayakas. The Nayakas were fiercely independent, but now as the power of Vijayanagara was in its death throes, they were caught between the Bijapur Sultanate to the north and Mysore to the south. Some of the Nayakas had grown quite powerful, like the Nayaks of Keladi and Chitradurga; but others were quickly subdued by one or the other stronger powers.
In the late 1630's, the forces of the Bijapur Sultan, Muhammad Adil Shah, in the south were led by a Maratha named Shahaji Bhonsle, who had left behind his young son, Shivaji at his jagir in Pune. Shahaji led the Bijapur forces routing the Nayakas one by one. In the summer of 1637, Chamaraja VI died and the throne was occupied by his uncle, Raja I Wodeyar's younger son, Raja II Wodeyar. The young twenty-five year old however, was spoilt and uninterested, like so many rulers who have the kingdom handed to them in the past have been. He ruled out of his inner chambers, surrounded by wine and women, much to the consternation of his mother. The dalavayis, who had earlier been broken by the king's ancestors, had now become nobles in the kings court. Seeing the inefficiencies of Raja II, Vikramaraya, a dalavayi and commander in the Mysore army plotted to poison and kill the king, assassinating him in October 1638. With this the line of Raja I Wodeyar, the cursed king ended.
The Wodeyar bloodline however, was far from extinguished. Raja I Wodeyar had three other siblings, two brothers, Devaraja and Chamaraja and a sister Chikkadepa. At the time of Raja II Wodeyar's death, Devaraja had two sons aged sixteen and eleven, while his younger brother, Chamaraja had one son, Narasaraja. Chamaraja was ill and bedridden, far to the south in the village of Terakanambi. The dalavayis decided to make his son, Narasaraja, the king, hoping to be able to make him their puppet. Additionally, twenty-three year old Narasaraja had already been adopted by Raja I Wodeyar's widow. So Narasaraja was called from Terakanambi and crowned king. His uncle, Devaraja and his two children were captured and imprisoned, lest they attempt to bid for power. Even as Narasaraja became king, to the east, the Bijapur forces swept around the edges of the Mysore kingdom, capturing Bangalore from the Gowdas (of the famed Kempe Gowda clan), making it their capital in the south.
Narasaraja was nothing like what the dalavayis expected. A master strategist, an expert in the martial art of vajramushti and an accomplished scholar and musician, immediately after he became king, he defended Srirangapatna against the forces of Bijapur. In a reign lasting twenty years, he expanded the kingdom in all directions. He took Piriyapatna from the Coorgis, Hosur and Madurai from the Nayaks of Madurai and raided Yelahanka, a base of the Gowdas of Magadi. For his exploits, he was known as Ranadheera Kanteerava. It was also during his rule, that the first Christian missions were set up in the region, mainly in Srirangapatna and towards the eastern boundaries of Mysore. Kanteerava Narasaraja was portrayed on screen in 1960 by the stalwart of Kannada cinema, Dr. Rajkumar in the movie Ranadheera Kanteerava.
Kanteerava Narasaraja is said to have had ten wives. But, none of them sired any male children (unfortunately information on female children is rarely recorded or available). Mysore, like most other Indian states of the time chose their kings on the basis of male primogeniture and so, another male line of the Wodeyars ended with him. Kanteerava's uncle and cousins had been imprisoned when he became king. But now, on his deathbed, he adopted his first cousin, known as Dodda Kempadevaraja, just three days before he died. Dodda Kempadevaraja gave refuge to Sriranga III the last ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire in Srirangapatna. He defended the island town against he Keladi Nayakas and won territories from them. He also repulsed attacks from the Nayaks of Madurai, capturing Erode, Salem and Dharmapuri and attacking Trichy. However, when he died in 1671, he too was childless. He was succeeded by his elder brother's son, Chikka Devaraja.
In the sixty years since the curse of Alamelamma, four kings had ruled after Raja I Wodeyar and none of them had any surviving sons. The curse was going strong, and the family, was soon running out of male heirs.
Click here for Part 6.
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