Power and Tact
This is the sixth part of the series. Click here for Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5.
The Mughal Empire is known as one of the great empires of Indian history and one of the few truly pan-Indian empires. In fact if one were to believe recent versions of history, especially on social media, India had been under the yoke of Mughal rule for five hundred years. Yet, even though the Mughals had been around for more than a hundred and fifty years, they did not figure in the story of Mysore until the end of the seventeenth century. Politics, historically, has been little different from contemporary politics, in that it has always made for strange bedfellows. Religion, morality, relations, marital or fraternal, money and territory, love and betrayal have all been used and compromised, bought and sold for one thing only; hegemony.
When Chikka Devaraja ascended the throne of Mysore in 1673, Aurangzeb had been the Mughal Emperor for fifteen years; Shivaji, though de facto ruler of the Marathas, had not been coronated as Chhatrapati yet; and the last four kings of Mysore had died without leaving behind a male heir. A son was born to Chikka Devaraja and his wife Devaja Ammanni in the same year as his coronation, although it is not clear which happened first; the birth of the prince or the coronation. The Sultanates of Bijapur and Golconda were both crumbling under pressure from the Mughals, as well as infighting amongst themselves. The Marathas were a major power now, with Shivaji in the Deccan, and his brother's kingdom based in Tanjore in the south. All these forces were weary of Mysore's position. Mysore itself had almost doubled in size since Raja I Wodeyar's signalling of independence.
In the first decade of his reign, Chikka Devaraja had to deal with riots from the Jangamas, Shaivaite monks, who were protesting against his heavy taxes. This resulted thin a massacre of the Jangamas at Nanjanagudu in 1687. At the same time, he was trying to buy the estate of Bangalore from the Marathas, but the Marathas themselves lost the city to the Mughals. So, for the first time Mysore made a trade with the Mughals, buying Bangalore from them. But Bangalore came with a price. Devaraja had to formally acknowledge Mughal supremacy and he wrote to Aurangzeb doing just that. The Mughals then helped Mysore deal with the southern threat from the Nayaks of Madurai and the Marathas of Tanjore.
Chikka Devaraja's son, who was born in the year of his accession, was born deaf. Named Kanteerava Narasaraja II, and also called mukarasu (or mute king), he succeeded his father in 1704 and ruled for ten years, the first son to do so in more than ninety years. By the time he died, the last of the great Mughals, Aurangzeb was no more, and the great empire of the Mughals was already on a downward slope. Mysore's earlier alliance with the Mughals now have way and it faced threats from Arcot and Sira.
The mute king died in 1714, succeeded by his own son, Krishnaraja or Dodda Krishnaraja I Wodeyar. Only twelve when he was coronated, Krishnaraja grew up to be like Raja II Wodeyar. Uninterested in ruling, but fond of luxury, he feasted and spent time with his wives; he married seven times, however, only his first wife gave birth to a son who survived for only a few months. As Dodda Krishnaraja immersed himself in royal pleasures, the real power got devolved into the hands of the Dalavyis; among them, the most powerful were his cousin Nanjaraja, and the army chief Devarajaiah. Between them, they bought off the threat of the Nawabs by paying out one million rupees, and later, paid a tribute to the Marathas who had approached Mysore's doorsteps as well. The clout of the Dalavayis was slowly rising.
This sort of strengthening of the subalterns and the courtiers was in no way restricted to Mysore. During the reign of Krishnaraja, all over India, courtiers, commanders, ministers and subalterns were vying for power for themselves, some by pushing their emperors to the side, others by ruling in the emperor's name, and yet others carving out their own kingdoms, while accepting the sovereignty of their overlords. In the Mughal subahs of Hyderabad, Awadh and Bengal, powerful Nawabs established their own dynasties. Far to the north, in Punjab, the last Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh had died and Punjab was going through a turbulent time as Sikh Misls, sort of clans, fought the Mughal Empire, and sometimes fought each other. This was a time of expansion for the Marathas who would soon rule most of India. In the Maratha Empire, the Peshwas were gaining power and the most famous of them Baji Rao was ruling during the reign of Dodda Krishnaraja. Also during this time, other small Maratha houses were established, who would play major roles in the future of the sub-continent; the Holkars in Indore, the Scindias in Gwalior and the Gaekwads in Baroda.
In 1732, Dodda Krishnaraja died, young at twenty-nine years of age. After three generations, the Mysore king had once again died without a male heir. But this time, there was no alternate within the family. No paternal uncles or cousins or nephews. The male line of Yaduraya Wodeyar, the first Raja of Mysore and Raja I Wodeyar, who had brought the curse of Talakadu upon his house finally ended. Since 1610, the year of Alamelamma's curse, seven rulers had ruled for a total of one hundred and twenty-two years from the Wodeyar Dynasty. Now, someone else would have to take the weight of the Mysore crown.
Click here for Part 7.
The Mughal Empire is known as one of the great empires of Indian history and one of the few truly pan-Indian empires. In fact if one were to believe recent versions of history, especially on social media, India had been under the yoke of Mughal rule for five hundred years. Yet, even though the Mughals had been around for more than a hundred and fifty years, they did not figure in the story of Mysore until the end of the seventeenth century. Politics, historically, has been little different from contemporary politics, in that it has always made for strange bedfellows. Religion, morality, relations, marital or fraternal, money and territory, love and betrayal have all been used and compromised, bought and sold for one thing only; hegemony.
When Chikka Devaraja ascended the throne of Mysore in 1673, Aurangzeb had been the Mughal Emperor for fifteen years; Shivaji, though de facto ruler of the Marathas, had not been coronated as Chhatrapati yet; and the last four kings of Mysore had died without leaving behind a male heir. A son was born to Chikka Devaraja and his wife Devaja Ammanni in the same year as his coronation, although it is not clear which happened first; the birth of the prince or the coronation. The Sultanates of Bijapur and Golconda were both crumbling under pressure from the Mughals, as well as infighting amongst themselves. The Marathas were a major power now, with Shivaji in the Deccan, and his brother's kingdom based in Tanjore in the south. All these forces were weary of Mysore's position. Mysore itself had almost doubled in size since Raja I Wodeyar's signalling of independence.
In the first decade of his reign, Chikka Devaraja had to deal with riots from the Jangamas, Shaivaite monks, who were protesting against his heavy taxes. This resulted thin a massacre of the Jangamas at Nanjanagudu in 1687. At the same time, he was trying to buy the estate of Bangalore from the Marathas, but the Marathas themselves lost the city to the Mughals. So, for the first time Mysore made a trade with the Mughals, buying Bangalore from them. But Bangalore came with a price. Devaraja had to formally acknowledge Mughal supremacy and he wrote to Aurangzeb doing just that. The Mughals then helped Mysore deal with the southern threat from the Nayaks of Madurai and the Marathas of Tanjore.
Chikka Devaraja's son, who was born in the year of his accession, was born deaf. Named Kanteerava Narasaraja II, and also called mukarasu (or mute king), he succeeded his father in 1704 and ruled for ten years, the first son to do so in more than ninety years. By the time he died, the last of the great Mughals, Aurangzeb was no more, and the great empire of the Mughals was already on a downward slope. Mysore's earlier alliance with the Mughals now have way and it faced threats from Arcot and Sira.
The mute king died in 1714, succeeded by his own son, Krishnaraja or Dodda Krishnaraja I Wodeyar. Only twelve when he was coronated, Krishnaraja grew up to be like Raja II Wodeyar. Uninterested in ruling, but fond of luxury, he feasted and spent time with his wives; he married seven times, however, only his first wife gave birth to a son who survived for only a few months. As Dodda Krishnaraja immersed himself in royal pleasures, the real power got devolved into the hands of the Dalavyis; among them, the most powerful were his cousin Nanjaraja, and the army chief Devarajaiah. Between them, they bought off the threat of the Nawabs by paying out one million rupees, and later, paid a tribute to the Marathas who had approached Mysore's doorsteps as well. The clout of the Dalavayis was slowly rising.
This sort of strengthening of the subalterns and the courtiers was in no way restricted to Mysore. During the reign of Krishnaraja, all over India, courtiers, commanders, ministers and subalterns were vying for power for themselves, some by pushing their emperors to the side, others by ruling in the emperor's name, and yet others carving out their own kingdoms, while accepting the sovereignty of their overlords. In the Mughal subahs of Hyderabad, Awadh and Bengal, powerful Nawabs established their own dynasties. Far to the north, in Punjab, the last Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh had died and Punjab was going through a turbulent time as Sikh Misls, sort of clans, fought the Mughal Empire, and sometimes fought each other. This was a time of expansion for the Marathas who would soon rule most of India. In the Maratha Empire, the Peshwas were gaining power and the most famous of them Baji Rao was ruling during the reign of Dodda Krishnaraja. Also during this time, other small Maratha houses were established, who would play major roles in the future of the sub-continent; the Holkars in Indore, the Scindias in Gwalior and the Gaekwads in Baroda.
In 1732, Dodda Krishnaraja died, young at twenty-nine years of age. After three generations, the Mysore king had once again died without a male heir. But this time, there was no alternate within the family. No paternal uncles or cousins or nephews. The male line of Yaduraya Wodeyar, the first Raja of Mysore and Raja I Wodeyar, who had brought the curse of Talakadu upon his house finally ended. Since 1610, the year of Alamelamma's curse, seven rulers had ruled for a total of one hundred and twenty-two years from the Wodeyar Dynasty. Now, someone else would have to take the weight of the Mysore crown.
Click here for Part 7.
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