The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c13.6

v1.c13.6

It has been asserted that "the Nayak regime developed first into a governorship which become hereditary, and then into what was practically a hereditary monarchy" 3. This is incorrect. Visvanatha was, after Chandra Sekhara Pandya's death, appointed by Achyuta real King of Madura, subject to the empire. This subjection practically consisted only in the payment of an annual tribute of 30 to 45 laks of rupees 4. The Pandya King himself had nominated him his successor, as he had no legitimate offspring; and Visvanatha himself wanted to be considered as the rightful successor of the Pandyas. One of his coins, in the Bangalore Museum, shows on the obverse a sceptre between two fishes, the racial sign of the Pandyas, and above them the Tamil legend, Pandiyan; on the reverse it bears the name Visvanatha, in Tamil-Grantha characters. 5.