History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v1.c19.s12.4

v1.c19.s12.4

For our present purposes it is not worth while to attempt to investigate the succession of the dates of the seventy-three kings who are said to have succeeded one another before the accession of the Nâyyak dynasty, in 1559, inasmuch as no building is now known to exist in the kingdom that can claim, even on the most shadowy grounds, to have been erected by any of these kings. It may have been that, anterior to the rise of the great Chola dynasty, in the 10th and 11th century, that of Madurâ may have had a long period of prosperity and power; but whatever they did build has been destroyed or so altered that its existence cannot now be identified. After that, for a while they seem to have been subjected to the Ballâla dynasty of Mysore, and the same Muhammadan invasion that destroyed that power in 1310 spread its baneful influence as far as Râmnâd, and for two centuries their raids and oppressions kept the whole of southern India in a state of anarchy and confusion. Their power for evil was first checked by the rise of the great Hindû state of Vijayanagar, on the Tungabhadrâ, in the 14th century, and by the establishment, under its protection, of the Nâyyak dynasty by Viswanâth Nâyyak, in the 16th. After lasting 177 years, Mînâkshî, the last sovereign of the race—a queen—was first aided, and then betrayed, by Chanda Sâhib the Nawâb of the Karnatik, who plays so important a part in our wars with the French in these parts.