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The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c14: Chapter VIII. The Rajas of Mysore and Other Feudatory Chiefs

The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c14

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Chapter VIII. The Rajas of Mysore and Other Feudatory Chiefs

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SUMMARY.—1. Foundation of the Nayakship of Tanjore.—2. Sevvappa Nayaka's reign.—3. Foundation of the Nayakship of Jinji.—4. Foundation of the Nayakship of Keladi-Ikeri.—5. Sadasiva Nayaka and his successors.—6. The Rajas of Mysore.—7. Kempe Gowda I of Yelahanka. Foundation of Bangalore.—8. The chiefs of Bellur and Chitaldroog.—9. The kingdom of Honavar annexed to that of Bhatkal.—10. Treaty between the Portuguese and the Queen of Bhatkal.—11. Bukkadevi, Queen of Ullal, and the Portuguese. Erection of a Portuguese fort at Mangalore. Other petty states in Karnataka.—12. The Rajas of Udiripikonda, Venkatagiri and Vellore.—13. Other minor chiefs.

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CONTEMPORARY SOURCES.—1. Hindu inscriptions and grants.—2. *Tanjavuri Andhra Rajula Charitra*, *Rukmini-parinaya*, *Sahithyarathnakarakaviyam*, *Jaimini Bharatam*, *Keladi Raya Paditti*, *Sivattalvaratnakara*, *Keladi Arasu Vamsavali*, *Valugutivaru Vamsavali*.—3. Tratados (*Archivo da Torre do Tombo, Lisbon*).—4. Faria y Sousa, Barros.—5. C. Frederick.

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IT is not yet known for certain when the Chola kingdom of Tanjore first came under the subjection of Vijayanagara. It seems that Prince Kumara Kampana Odeyar conquered the Tanjore territories when sent against the Muhammadans of Madura by Bukka I¹. Since that time the Chola Princes were supposed to be under the sway of the Telugu Emperors in the same way as the Pandyas of Madura. On the southern wall of the big temple of Tanjore there is an inscription of Deva Raya II, of the year 1455², and in two other temples of the same city, *viz.* that of the Alagesuvara Pillaiyar, in the southern fortification, and that of the god Rajagopal in the North Street, are to be seen two inscriptions of Achyuta Raya corresponding to the years 1532 and 1539 respectively³.

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¹ Cf. Ch. VI, No. 3.

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² Hultzsch, *South Indian Inscriptions*, II, p. 118.

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³ Kuppuswami Sastri, *A Short History of the Tanjore Nayak Princes*, p. 1.

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It is precisely this Prince to whom the foundation of the Nayakship of Tanjore is attributed. According to the *Tanjavuri Andhra Rajula Charitra*, the Chola country was ruled by Visvanatha Nayaka from Madura as a subordinate of the Emperor of Vijayanagara; but on the occasion of the wedding of Murtimambal (the younger sister of his wife Tirumalamba) with Sevvappa, Achyuta appointed the latter sole Viceroy over the Chola country, which was given him as the *stridhana*, or dowry of his bride ¹. The date of this important event is not yet ascertained: the first inscription of his that we know of is on a stone pillar in the Samusaru mosque, near the Tanjore Railway Station; it corresponds to the year 1549 ². But this was not the first year of the reign of Sevvappa Nayaka, for Achyuta Raya had probably died at the end of 1541. Now, we know from the *Tanjavuri Andhra Rajula Charitra* that Tanjore was governed by Visvanatha Nayaka of Madura, even after the death of Chandra Sekhara Pandya when the former had already been appointed King of the southern throne ³ (and this could not but have happened at the end of Achyuta's reign ⁴). Hence we must assign the same year 1541 as the probable date for the foundation of the Tanjore Nayakship.

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¹ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 323; Taylor, *Catalogue Raisonne*, III, p. 176.

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² Cf. Kuppuswami Sastri, o. c., p. 4.

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³ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, l.c.

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⁴ Cf. Ch. VII, No. 1.

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According to the epic *Rukmini-parinaya*, the parents of Sevvappa Nayaka were the sudra Timma or Trimmapa Nayaka and Vayyamba ⁵ or Bayyambika ⁶. It seems that Sevvappa's father and grandfather and other elders of his family were generals under the kings of Vijayanagara ⁷, and that he himself had been a valiant general; for the epic *Sahithya-rathnakarakaviyam* states that he became master of Tanjore by his own prowess ⁸, *i. e.* by his prowess he won Achyuta's sister-in-law, and with her the kingdom of Tanjore as her dowry.

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⁵ *Rukmini-parinaya*, III, 34. Cf. *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 343, note 3.

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⁶ *Raghunathabhyudayam*; S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 284-5.

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⁷ Cf. Kuppuswami Sastri, o. c., p. 3.

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⁸ Ibid.

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2. We know very little of the reign of Sevvappa Nayaka, who was equally subject to Vijayanagara with Visvanatha Nayaka of Madura. His works of public utility are about the only things regarding which we have any information. He built for instance a big tank outside the Tanjore fort which was destined to feed the Sivaganga tank inside it, in order to supply the inhabitants of the capital with water ¹. The name it bears to the present day reminds the one of its builder : it is called Sevvappaneri. The new Sivaganga fort of Tanjore was also built by him ². Besides he enlarged and beautified many temples throughout his dominions. The *Tanjavuri Andhra Rajula Charitra* records that Sevvappa built many towers, mantapas and prakaras (compounds) to the temples of Tiruvannamalai and Vrddhachalam ³. The *Sahithyarathnakarakaviyam* mentions a big tank dug by him outside the temple of Tiruvannamalai as well as the eleven-storeyed gopura of the same temple ⁴. A strange fact is that in 1549 he granted a piece of land for the maintenance of fakirs. This is recorded in the inscription of the aforesaid Samusaru Mosque at Tanjore ⁵.

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¹ *Sahithyarathnakarakaviyam*, canto III, v. 3 (Raja Sarfoji's Library, Tanjore, No. 10291); *Tanjavuri Andhra Rajula Charitra*, S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 323.

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² *Tanjavuri Andhra Rajula Charitra*, l. c.

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³ Ibid.

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⁴ *Sahithyarathnakarakaviyam*, canto III, v. 6.

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⁵ Kuppuswami Sastri, o.c., p. 4.

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The relations of Sevvappa with the Portuguese were very friendly. Several Portuguese merchants had in the beginning of his reign, or perhaps even earlier, settled in a small village on the coast near Tanjore called Nagapatam. To quote from the anonymous life of St. Xavier, "they were greatly favoured by the lord of that country who is a very powerful Captain of the king of Bisnaga" ⁶. Encouraged by this show of favour, more and more Portuguese established themselves there as years went on. They built several good houses, and the former village was converted into ‘half a city’. There was no Portuguese authority in the town, since it was supposed that it belonged to the Tanjore Nayak; but every three years the Portuguese Viceroy, or Governor, used to send a captain to administer justice among his subjects. Negapatam became after a few years a very rich and noble city¹. It contained two churches, one dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi and the other to Our Lady of Health (Nossa Senhora da Saude)². Caesar Frederick who visited Negapatam in 1567 calls it “a very great Citie, and very populous of Portugals and Christians of the Country and part Gentile”³.

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⁶ M. H. S. I., *Mon. Xav.*, I, p. 59. This powerful lord can be no other than Sevvappa Nayaka, who was the contemporary of St. Xavier.

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¹ Ibid.

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² *O Gabinete Literario das Fontainhas*, I, p. 86. It is recorded that in the very first years of the Portuguese occupation of Negapatam, about three hundred Hindus were baptized.

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³ Purchas, X, p. 108.

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Sevvappa’s reign lasted a considerable time; we shall again speak of him when dealing with the reign of Ranga I.

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3. We do not possess very good information about the foundation of the Nayakship of Jinji. According to the above mentioned work of Narayan, the *Karnataka Rajakal Savistara Charitram*, the first Raja of that place was Ananta Kon, who about 1200 A. D. became the founder of the Shepherd Dynasty. At the end of the 14th century an army of Vijayanagara defeated the Raja of Jinji, named Kobilingam, and took possession of the country around⁴. This expedition must be the one of Kumara Kampana; because during Kampana’s campaign in the South we find his general Gopanaraya at Jinji as governor of the country⁵. He appears to have had jurisdiction over the South as far as Chidambaram, for according to the *Guruparampara* Sri Vedanta Desika, taking advantage of an internal commotion in Chidambaram, compelled Gopanaraya of Jinji to re-place there the image of Govinda Raja⁶. Later on, probably at Gopanaraya’s death, the Jinji country was delivered to Narasinga Udiyar to be held as a fief: he accepted it with the promise to send an annual tribute to the emperor ¹. Then we find Vala Krishnappa Nayakkan mentioned as Raja of Senji (Jinji); his son Vala Venkatapati Nayakkan in 1464, during the reign of Rama Deva Maharaya (?), drew up a document recorded in an inscription at Jinji ². According to Prof. Srinivasachari this Vala Venkatapati probably was the one who persecuted the Jains of the neighbourhood in 1478 ³. Nevertheless, Jinji was subsequently lost to Vijayanagara; for the Jaimini Bharata-mu informs us that Saluva Narasimha conquered Jinji during his campaign in the South ⁴.

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⁴ Taylor, *Catalogue Raisonnee*, III, p. 39.

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⁵ Cf. Ch. VI, No. 3.

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⁶ Cf. Rangacharya, I, p. 132, 64.

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¹ Taylor, l. c.

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² Sewell, II, p. 9; Rangacharya, I, p 172, 359.

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³ Srinivasachari, The History of Gingee, p. 7 - 8.

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⁴ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources, p. 86.

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Leaving aside the conquest of the whole of the Tamil country during the reign of Krishna Deva Raya, which has been previously narrated ⁵, we shall mention here Tubaki Krishnappa Nayaka, who seems to have started the line of the Nayaks of Jinji, dependent on the Vijayanagara sovereigns, just after that conquest. His rule lasted till 1521. Many buildings of the Jinji fortress are attributed to him, such as the fortifications at the top of Rajagiri, the granary in the lower fort and the Kalyana Mahal. The enclosure of the present fortress, with the impressive bastioned wall and ditch, enclosing the three mountains, seems also to have been his work. He founded many pettahs around the primitive town ⁶. He was, it seems, succeeded by one Achyuta Vijaya Ramabhadra Nayaka, who ruled over Jinji during the reign of Achyuta Raya. In a ruined temple at Chandragiri, near the palace, an inscription of this monarch records a gift by Achyutaraya Nayaka, governor of Jinji ⁷.

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⁵ Cf. Ch. VI, No. 7.-

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⁶ The Mackenzie MSS., I, p. 353 (Madras Oriental MSS, Library)

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⁷ 244 of 1904.

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As to the reign of Sadasiva, an inscription on the South wall of the central shrine in the Venkataramaswamin temple at Jinji mentions the name of the Nayak of Jinji at this time, without stating whether he was a relation of the governor Achyuta or not. This inscription records a gift of land made by King Sadasiva, and another gift made by Surappa Nayaka, for the merit of Sadasiva, who is entitled Vira Pratapa Maharaya. Both these gifts were made in 1550¹. The drama *Bhavanapurushottama* by the famous poet Ratnakheta Srinivasa Dikshita gives some information about this Surappa, at whose court the poet lived. Surappa's father had been Pota Bhupala who had married Vengalamba, and by her got Surappa Nayaka besides two other sons, Divakara Nayaka and Bhairava Nayaka².

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¹ 240 of 1904. There is another inscription at Jambai, South Arcot, probably belonging to the same chief: 104 of 1906.

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² S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 272, note.

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4. We pass now from the East to the West of the Empire, *viz.* to the old Karnataka country³; and the most important subordinate state we find there at this time is that of Keladi, afterwards called of Ikeri. There are diverse opinions concerning the origin of its Nayaks⁴. Their ancestors, according to the *Keladi Raya Paditti*, their family chronicle, had originally been hereditary gowdas or chiefs of five or six villages in the neighbourhood of Keladi⁵. We know from the *Sivatattvaratnakara* that a person named Basava or Basavappa, according to the *Keladi Arasu Vamsavali*, a husbandman⁶ of the Sudra caste⁷, married a woman of the same name, and that by her he had four sons. After the death of Basava and the first two children, his widow gave birth to two posthumous sons who were named Chauda and Bhadra. On one occasion, when Chauda was ploughing his land, his ploughshare is said to have struck considerable buried treasure. With it he managed to become the headman of the village, and as such, he collected a small company of soldiers. The then king of the country, who was probably Krishna Deva Raya ¹, on hearing of this, sent for Chauda. Krishna Deva Raya was much pleased to hear his story; and knowing the personal character of the Keladi man, appointed him governer of Pulla-desa with the title of Keladi Chaudappa Nayaka. Chaudappa had two sons, Sadasiva and Bhadra ². He died soon after; but not before he had appointed Sadasiva his successor.

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³ The present word Kanara is but a corruption of the word Karnataka, made by the Portuguese. Faria y Sousa, II, p. 189, says: "This kingdom of Charnataca (or Canara which is a corrupted form made to shorten the name) had no Sovereign till the year 1200;" and speaking shortly after of the city of Visajanagar (sic) he says that Visnaga is likewise a corruption of it. Cf. V. B. Alur, *The Karnatak and its Place in Indian History*, Q. J. M. S., IX, p. 33.

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⁴ *Cf.* Rice, *Mysore*, II, p. 431.

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⁵ Buchanan, *A Journey from Madras*, II, p. 379.

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⁶ Wilson, *The Mackenzie Collection*, p. 333.

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⁷ Sewell, II, p. 177.

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¹ I suppose that this is the reason of the confusion existing even in the contemporary sources about the creator of the Nayakship of Keladi-Ikeri. The Keladi Raya Padditti affirms that its institutor was Krishna Deva Raya (Buchanan, l.c.) and the Keladi Arasu Vamsavali says that it was Achyuta Raya (Wilson, l.c.). But the real royal Nayakship of Keladi was not founded till the time of Chauda's son, Sadasiva Nayaka, who was appointed by Emperor Sadasiva.

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² It seems that the first of these two brothers took the name of Sadasiva, as Sadasiva Raya favoured him so much. The Keladi Arasu Vamsavali for instance, calls him Chaurapa. Cf. Wilson, The Mackenzie Collection, p. 333.

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Sadasiva proved a very fine governor. The poem says that "the people were happy under him." On hearing of his achievements Rama Raya, the Regent of Vijayanagara, called him to the court in order to employ him in the wars against the Muhammadans. Rama Raya was at the time engaged in some business that required his presence in the capital; so he put Sadasiva at the head of his army, which, in alliance with the Sultan of Ahmadnagar, was to attack the Bijapur fort at Kaliyani. We have already narrated the achievements of Sadasiva during this campaign ³. He was also despatched against some rebellious chiefs of the Karnatak ⁴. He overran this country as far as Kasargod, and captured the forts of Barakura, Mangalura and Chandragutti ⁵. Perhaps it was on account of these campaigns that one of the titles of the Nayaks of Ikeri was Kote Kolahala, disturber of forts ¹. Sadasiva was also sent against the Sultan of Bidar. Him he captured (along with seven constituents of his royalty) and brought as a present to Rama Raya, who gave him the title of Satrusaptangaharana, captor of the seven constituents of royalty of his enemies. Further, he joined an expedition against Travancore ², and conducted another against two chiefs named Yadava and Murari in the country of Jalihalu, whom he defeated and brought as prisoners to his sovereign. The Emperor gave him the title of Yadavamu-rari Kotikolahala ³. And it was probably then that his dominions were enlarged by the grateful sovereign, who thus caused the foundation of a Nayakship similar to those of Madura, Tanjore and Jinji, although the title had already been given to his father by Krishna Deva Raya.

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³ Cf. Ch. V, No. 6.

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⁴ Cf. Ch. IV, No. 2.

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⁵ Cf. Rice, Mysore, I, p. 433.

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¹ Cf. Rice, Mysore and Coorg, p. 156.

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² Cf. Ch. VII, No. 5.

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³ S: Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources, p. 194-5.

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5. After this series of campaigns, Sadasiva Nayaka retired to his capital. An inscription of 1554 records that Sadasiva Nayaka purchased a piece of land for the Brahmans ⁴.

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⁴ Rangacharya, II, p. 850, 21.

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But soon a new expedition was led by him against the governor of Bankapura, named Madarasa, who had considerably enlarged his dominions and was regarded as a menace. Madarasa was captured and led as prisoner to the Emperor ⁵. Then Sadasiva erected several forts in the strategic points of his dominions, to provide against any eventuality: to wit, the forts of Keladi ⁶, Beakul ⁷ and Chandragiri, South Kanara ⁸. He also built the temple of Isvara at Ikeri ⁹. Upon him, later, was conferred the governorship of Barakura-rajya by Venkatadri, who was then ‘ruling the whole kingdom’ ¹⁰.

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⁵ Sivatattvaratnakara, Krishnaswami Aiyangar, o. c., p. 196.

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⁶ Buchanan, A Journey from Madras, II, p. 381.

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⁷ Ibid., p. 213.

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⁸ Ibid.; Sewell, I, p. 258.

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⁹ Buchanan, o. c., p. 380.
10. 168 of 1901; M.E.R., 1911-12, p.

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¹⁷⁹ It was at this period when the whole government was on the shoulders of Tirumala and Venkatadri. Cf. Ch. III, No. 9.

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After this turbulent and successful career Sadasiva Nayaka, being too old to govern, bestowed upon his brother Bhadrappa Nayaka the title of Immadi Sadasiva Nayaka and anointed him governor in his stead. Then Sadasiva “retired to the forests in the evening of his life,” says the *Sivatattvaratnakara*¹. Sewell puts the end of Sadasiva’s reign in the year 1576²; but this date is obviously wrong, since his second successor was deposed by Rama Raya. We may say however that this event took place during the last years of Rama Raya, some time after 1560; because the reign of Bhadrappa Nayaka did not last long: the aforesaid poem says only that he “ruled for some time”³. He is said to have transferred the capital from Keladi to Ikeri⁴. Before his death he nominated the elder son of Sadasiva Nayaka, Dodda Sankanna Nayaka, as his successor, and the younger Chikka Sankanna Nayaka, as the heir-apparent⁵. There had been to Sadasiva by different mothers⁶.

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¹ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, l. c.

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² Sewell, II, p. 177.

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³ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, l. c.

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⁴ Rice, Mysore, II, p. 431.

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⁵ *Sivatattvaratnakara*, l. c.

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⁶ Ibid., p. 194.

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Dodda Sankanna Nayaka’s rule was, it seems, of short duration. All we know of him is that he was deposed by Rama Raya for putting a Jangama priest to death. Rama Raya then made the former’s brother, Chikka Sankanna, Nayak of Keladi in his stead⁷. It appears that Dodda Sankanna set out on a pilgrimage to the holy places of India from Rameswaram to the Himalayas, and lived in retirement for the rest of his days⁸. An inscription of Sadasiva Raya, bearing a wrong date, mentions Ramaraja Nayaka, grandson of Sadasiva Raya Nayak of Keladi⁹. This Ramaraya Nayaka must have been a son of one of these two brothers.

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⁷ Keladi Arasu Vamsavali, Wilson, *The Mackenzie Collection*, p. 333.

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⁸ Rice, Mysore, II, p. 433.

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⁹ 131 of 1901.

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6. The Keladi Nayaks of Ikeri were not the only rulers of the Karnataka country which were tributary to the power of Vijayanagara. Many petty states were formed or were then being formed. Of these we shall also give a brief account. The one that in due course became most important was the state of Mysore.

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This country had come under the sway of Vijayanagara during the reign of Krishna Deva Raya. This monarch had crushed a refractory chief of those surroundings, the Ganga Raja of Ummatur, and had captured the strong fort of Sivasamudram and the city of Seringapatam. After this all the country had submitted to him¹. The origin of the Rajas of Mysore is traceable to a legendary source. A grant of Kanthirava, of 1657, gives the genealogy of his family from Vishnu through Brahma, Atri, Indu, Buddha, Pururava and other heroes down to the historic founders of the family settled in the Karnataka country².

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¹ Madras Journal, XIV, p. 39.

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² Ep. Carn., IV, Ch, 92.

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These were two young Kshatriyas of the tribe of Yadava, Krishna’s tribe, named Vijaya and Krishna, who, according to tradition, had left Dvaraka in Gujarat to establish themselves in the South³. Their enterprise in rescuing the daughter of the Wodeyar of Hadana from the hands of the chief of Carugalli seems more a poetical figment than a historical fact. The truth is that Vijaya was fortunate enough to attain the chieftainship of one or two towns that proved to be the basis of the future aggrandizement of the family. We have no knowledge of the date of Vijaya’s arrival in the South⁴.

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³ Wilks, History of Maysur, I, p. 31; Rice, Mysore, I, p. 361.

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⁴ P. Krishna Row, A Brief History of Mysore, p. 4. Rice, Mysore, I, p. 362, says that he ruled from 1399 to 1423. About the first settlement in the South of the Mysore ruling family, there is no agreement between Wilks and the Palace History. Cf. S. Krishna swami Aiyangar, Ancient India, p. 275-6.

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Nothing is definitely known of his descendants prior to the 16th century when Chama Raja is mentioned as succeeding in or about 1507 ¹. Another Chama Raja ² is said to have built in 1524 a fort at Puragary, which was thereafter called Mahish Asur, commonly pronounced Mahishasur and now contracted into Mysore. Since that time the chiefs of this family used to reside there ³.

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¹ P. Krishna Row, l. c.

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² Cf. Wilson, The Mackenzie Collection, p. 332.

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³ Wilks, o.c., p. 34.

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We hear of no intercourse between them and the court of Vijayanagara at all. This means that these petty chiefs rendered at the time the submission due to the imperial power. In these days there was no viceroy of Vijayanagara at Seringapatam: the whole country was directly subject to the Emperor. We know of a gift of land belonging to Seringapatam made by Rama Raya, to whom it had been granted by Sadasiva in 1550. No viceroy or agent of either Sadasiva or Rama Raya is mentioned in this document ⁴.

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⁴ Ep. Carn., III, My, 50.

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7. More powerful than the Raja of Mysore at this time was the Prabhu of Yelahanka. The family of these chiefs had come to the Karnataka country from Alur, a village near Kanchivaram, and settled down at Avati in the vicinity of Devanahalli, 25 miles North-East of the present Bangalore. One member of this family, in 1418, established himself at Yelahanka, 9 miles North of the same city, and began to style himself Yelahanka Nadu Prabhu, Lord of the Yelahanka country ⁵. This title was kept up by his successors. They ruled as vassals of the Vijayanagara Emperor paying tribute to him as long as their power lasted.

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⁵ This chief seems to have been called Jaya Gowda. Cf. Narasimiah, The Founder of Bangalore, p. 11.

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The most famous among the Yelahanka Lords was Kempe Gowda I, son of Kempanacheya Gowda according to an inscription near his statue in the Sivaganga temple. He commenced his rule in 1513. He had been favoured by Krishna Deva Raya, from whom he received the villages of Ballapura, Devanahalli and Hoskote ⁶. But his successful career began during the reign of Achyuta Deva Raya in 1537, when Kempe Gowda founded Bangalore in the place of the old village of Sivanasamudram by erecting a mud fort 1. The Emperor appreciated the enterprise of the Yelahanka chief, summoned him to his court, and granted him the enjoyment of twelve hoblies or groups of villages, yielding a revenue of 30,000 pagodas. On returning to his estate he beautified the new city and made it his capital. He built in it the Vishnu and several other temples, and endowed them with grants of villages, lands and agraharas for their perpetual worship.

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⁶ M.A.D., 1922, p. 15.

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Nor were these the only temples erected by him in his dominions. The inscription running near his statue in the Sivaganga temple describes him as a very pious man: "Kempaya Gowda, son of Kempanacheya Gowda of Bengaluru, who is always making obeisance to the feet of the god Gangadharaswami". Accordingly many of the temples round about Bangalore claim to have been erected by our hero. The Lakshmamma's remple at Koramangala, the Somesvara Channigarayaswami temples at Halsur, and the Gavi Gangadharesvara temple at Gavipur, as well as the Kempambudhi tank near it, along with the rest of the village and its large lake, are some of the works due to the piety and munificence of Kempe Gowda. He also enlarged and beautified the shrines of the sacred hill of Sivaganga where his statue is shown to this day.

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Such increase of power made him covet indepedence, and was also the cause of his disgrace with the Emperor. His ambitious purpose was shown when he exceeded the powers of a feudal chief by establishing a mint without permission of the Vijayanagara sovereign, where he coined the Bhire Deva pagodas. This happened probably at the beginning of the reign of Sadasiva Raya, when several chiefs of the Karnataka country rebelled against the central power, as stated by Ferishta 2. Rumours of Kempe Gowda's proceedings reached the court, and he is said to have been sent for by Rama Raya; but it seems more probable that he was defeated and captured by a general of Vijayanagara, perhaps by Sadasiva Nayaka of Ikeri, who, at about the same time, conducted an expedition against some rebel chiefs of Shimoga. The fact is that Kempe Gowda on reaching Vijayanagara was cast into prison at Anegundi, on the other side of the Tungabhadra; and that his territory was confiscated and added to that of Jagadeva Raya.

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¹ The new town was called Bengaluru after a hamlet of this name in the surroundings. Cf. Narasimiah, o.c., p. 13.

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² Cf. Ch. IV, No. 2.

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After remaining in confinement for five years, Kempe Gowda was released in or about 1563 through the influence of his friends; and after the payment of a heavy fine his possessions were restored to him. After he had returned from the metropolis, he abolished the family custom of amputating the two ring-fingers of the marriageable females of his household, because he considered it incompatible with his dignity as Prabhu of the country. He lived five years more after his release, and died in 1569, one year after Tirumala’s accession to the throne of Vijayanagara¹.

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¹ The best account of the Lords of Yelahanka is the one of Mr. B. Puttaiya, The Kempe Gowda Chiefs, published in the Q. J. M. S., XIII, p. 724ff.; it is a compilation of the information given by both tradition and documents hitherto available.

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8. Bellur was another of the petty states of Karnataka. Its chief at this time was Era Krishnappa Nayaka, who appears to have been enfeoffed by Krishna Deva Raya in 1524². He was the son of Baippa Nayaka and Kondamma³. The great influence he enjoyed at the court of Vijayanagara is proved by epigraphical records: when Sadasiva remitted the taxes to the barbers in 1546, Rama Raya at once informed Era Krishnappa Nayaka of the execution of the King’s order⁴. He enjoyed the dignity of ‘bearer of Sadasiva’s betel-bag’⁵. He is given the titles of ‘Sindhu Govinda, champion over adulterers, terrible with his white ensign, boon lord of Maninagapura’⁶, a place not yet identified⁷. Finally, when in 1554 the outer petha of Bagur was rebuilt by Sadasiva's order, it was named Krishnapura, after Era Krishnappa Nayaka¹. Both Sadasiva and Krishnappa Nayaka are mentioned together in an inscription at Hassan².

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² Cf. Ep Ind., XI, p. 329.

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³ Ep. Carn., XI, Dg, 18 and 39.

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⁴ Ibid., Hk, 110.

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⁵ Ibid., Dg, 18 and 39; M. A. D., 1920, p. 38.

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⁶ Ep Carn., XI, Dg, 18 and 39.

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⁷ Ep. Carn., V, p. XXXIII. In 1535-6 these titles were given to Tirumalaraya of Udayagiri. Cf. Ep. Carn., III, Sr. 95.

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¹ *Ep. Carn.*, XI, Hk, 112.

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² Kielhorn, *Inscriptions of Southern India*, p. 90, 533.

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We know but little of his achievements. A Kanarese inscription of 1543 in a temple at Badami refers to the construction of a bastion by Era Krishnappa Nayaka, under the superintendence of Kondaraja³. In 1561 he made for the merit of his parents a grant of the Kadaji village in the Bilichodu-sima for ghee, the chatra and other necessary offerings to the god Harihara, with exemption from customs-dues, watch and other privileges⁴. From one of the Kanarese books of the Mackenzie Collection we know that one of his daughters was named Venkatama⁵.

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³ *Ind. Ant.*, X, p. 64; *M. A. D.*, 1920, p. 38. Cf. Ch. III, No. 6.

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⁴ *Ep. Carn.*, XI, Dg, 18 and 39.

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⁵ Wilson, *The Mackenzie Collection*, p. 345.

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We are not aware of the date of Krishnappa Nayaka's death. We know only that in 1576-7 the head of the family was his son Venkatadri Nayaka⁶.

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⁶ *Ep. Carn.*, IV, Yd, 59.

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The chief of Chitaldroog was another of the petty Rajas of Karnataka. During the reign of Krishna Deva Raya, Timmana Nayaka, a Telugu from the neighbourhood of Tirupati, visited Vijayanagara and was invited to join the expedition against the Deccani Mussulmans. When the campaign was over he was rewarded with many honours. At a later period, however, he incurred the royal displeasure and was imprisoned at Vijayanagara where he died. His son Obana Nayaka was appointed Nayaka of Chitaldroog during the reign of Sadasiva⁷.

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⁷ Rice, *Mysore*, II, p. 501-2.

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9. From the Portuguese chronicles we know of other feudatory chiefs of Vijayanagara in the Karnatik, near the coast of the Arabian sea. The earliest relations of the Portuguese with these chiefs began with the King of Onor (Honore), the present Honavar¹. We do not know his name, but have information that in 1506, when the first Viceroy Dom Francisco d' Almeida was in Anjediva, on the coast of Kanara, the King of Onor sent ambassadors to him in order to seek his friendship. Later, however, Dom Francisco went from Anjediva to Onor and not being well received, burnt the town and a number of ships which he found there. The Indians defended the ships valiantly, and during the encounter the Viceroy was wounded by an arrow. The city nevertheless was captured; and its governor named Timoja, an influential person who owned many of the burnt ships, in an interview with Dom Franciso, excused the King for what had happened and offered vassalage to Portugal on his behalf². Affonso d' Albuquerque, in a letter written in 1512, writes to King Dom Manoel that "the King of Onor gives him a tribute of more than one thousand pardaos. Nevertheless", says Albuquerque, "he aids the Sabayo (the Sultan of Bijapur) against us and has always his ambassador at the latter's court"³.

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¹ In this and other similar cases we keep to the denomination of King applied to the petty chiefs of Kanara. Pietro della Valle, II, p. 216, speaking in 1623 of Venkatappa Nayaka, King of Ikeri, says: "Who in my judgment, should rather be called a Regulus or Royolet, although the Portugals and Indians give him the honour of a Royal title, being he hath in effect neither State, Court, nor appearance, befitting a true king."

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² Barros, II, 267-83; Faria y Sousa, I, p. 77-8; Dos Santos, *Ethiopia Oriental*, II, p. 282.

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³ From Affonso d' Albuquerque to Dom Manoel, Goa, April 1st, 1512, Costa, *Historia das Relacoes Diplomaticas*, p. 32.

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This kingdom was afterwards annexed to that of Bhatkal either during the reign of Sadasiva or a little earlier; for when Caesar Frederick passed through Onor in 1567, this city was "in the kingdom of the Queen of Bartacella", (Batecala or Baticala, Bhatkal.) The same traveller says that "there is no trade there, but onely a charge with the Captaine and companie hee keepeth there"⁴.

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⁴ Purchas, X, p. 101.

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10. The kingdom of Bhatkal was visited by the Portuguese early in 1502. Vasco de Gama, on passing by the city of Bhatkal, gave orders to land at that famous port, and noticing that the natives were making attempts to prevent the landing of his soldiers, took the offensive. On learning this, the King of Bhatkal despatched some Muhammadans to offer his submission. The Portuguese accepted it on condition that the Turks should not be allowed to trade there, that no trade in pepper should be carried on at that port, and that vessels should not be permitted to sail from thence to Calicut. The King accepted these terms, and offered an annual tribute of 1,000 loads of common rice for the Portuguese soldiers, and of 500 loads of superior rice for the officers; excusing himself at the same time for not giving more, as he was only a tenant of the Emperor of Vijayanagara to whom the country belonged ¹. The Italian traveller Corsali, while visiting the place in 1517, wrote likewise to Giuliano and Lorenzo de' Medici that "the king of Narsinga was the lord of it (Bhatkal)" ².

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¹ Danvers, *The Portuguese in India*, I, p. 81-2.

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² Gubernatis, *Storia dei Viaggiatori*, p. 117.

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The tribute promised to Vasco de Gama was faithfully paid, it seems till about 1540. The sovereign of Bhatkal at that time was a valiant woman whose name is not given. Her predecessor, perhaps her husband, had died at Vijayanagara sometime before ³. She defied the Portuguese power by withholding the customary tribute of rice, and by giving shelter in her dominions to some pirates who were infesting that sea and disturbing the Portuguese trade.

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³ Correa, IV, p. 252.

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That was the reason why the first act of Martim Affonso de Sousa, after he assumed the reins of government in 1543, was to raise a force of 2,000 men, with which he proceeded in a fleet of seventy ships to chastise the haughty Queen of Bhatkal.

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On reaching the port, Martim Affonso demanded the tribute and the surrender of the pirates' vessels. The Queen made several excuses; but the Governor landed at once with a contingent of 1,200 men, which he divided into two battalions, putting Fernao de Sousa e Tavora at the head of one, and himself taking command of the other. At the same time he ordered 20 vessels of light draught to sail up the river to attack the city by sea. The governor marched with his force through a palm-grove. Here he was met by a body of the enemy who, notwithstanding their gallant opposition, were driven to the gates of the city. The Portuguese entered the town in pursuit, and the struggle that ensued in its streets lasted for many hours. It seems that the Queen herself went personally to her soldiers and encouraged them to defend her rights. But by night the Portuguese were in the possession of the city.

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The next morning the Portuguese soldiers, whilst plundering the town, disagreed among themselves as to the division of the spoil, and tumult reigned supreme. The enemy who had retired to a neighbouring hill perceived the commotion, and fell upon them in such numbers that they fled in disorder, and took to their ships in such panic that several were drowned. The governor, incensed with fury, ordered a fresh attack to be made the next day. The city was burnt and the country laid waste; so much havoc was caused throughout the land by this final action of Martim Affonso de Sousa that the Queen, no longer able to resist, submitted and made peace under the terms proposed by the Portuguese Governor¹.

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¹ Faria y Sousa, II, p. 117-20; Correa, IV, p. 257-62; Dos Santos, Ethiopia Oriental, II, p. 289.

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This treaty was finally signed on September 17th, 1548, during the reign of Sadasiva, when Garcia de Sa was Governor of Goa. According to the treaty the Queen undertook to pay the annual tribute previously promised, as well as all arrears. She likewise promised not to permit pirates' ships to leave her territory; and in case of her failure to restrain them, she made herself responsible for any damage they might cause to the Portuguese.

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II. Another feudatory state of Vijayanagara in the Karnataka country was that of Ullal. In 1530 the Portuguese under the command of Nuno da Cunha had crossed the river of Mangalore, which flowed through the Ullal territory, and destroyed the stockade and the fortified positions with the purpose of punishing a rich merchant of that place, who was in league with the King of Calicut against them¹. This time the war was not supposed to be against the Queen of Olala (Ullal). She either paid tribute to Portugal then, or was bound to do so shortly after; for in the year 1556 Dom Alvaro de Silveyra was sent at the head of several vessels against the Queen for refusing to pay the ordinary tribute. The city of Mangalore was plundered on this occasion and a gorgeous Hindu temple destroyed. The Queen then accepted the terms of the Portuguese captain.

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² Archivo da Torre do Tombo, Lisbon, Tratados, I, p. 130. Cf. Danvers, Report, p. 51. See the text of this treaty in Botelho, O Tombo do Estado da India, Lima Felner, Subsidios, p. 242-3.

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¹ Faria y Sousa, I, p. 283-4.

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Nevertheless ten years after, either the same Queen, or her successor, again refused payment of all tribute. The name of this Queen, according to the Portuguese chroniclers, was Bucadevi Chantar (Bukka Devi Chautar)². Pietro della Valle, who met this Queen in the course of his travels through India, corrupts her name even a little more: according to him she was named Abag-devi-Ciantru³. The Viceroy Dom Antao de Noronha, with a fleet of seven galleys, two galliots and five smaller vessels, carrying in all about 3,000 fighting men, proceeded to Mangalore, determined to erect a fort there, and bring about the submission of the Queen.

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² Ibid., II, p. 301-2.

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³ Della Valle, II, p. 311.

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The fleet anchored in the bay where both the cities, Mangalore and Ullal, are situated. The Viceroy then landed his men in six battalions on January 4th, 1567. But that night, while the Portuguese, quite unconscious of danger, were supping in their camp, the enemy sallied forth in a body of 500 men, followed by another of 1,500, and fell on them so suddenly that for a time they were helpless and thrown into great disorder. Dom Francisco de Mascarenhas, one of the generals, who held an advance post, received the brunt of the attack; and though he fought well, he lost several men. He was finally relieved by Dom Luiz de Almeida and the enemy were driven off.

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The next day the Portuguese assaulted the city, and after they had forced their way into it, set it on fire and cut down its grove of palm-trees. The Queen fled to the mountain. Of the Hindus 500 were slain, and of the Portuguese troops about forty. The Viceroy then laid the foundations of the fort, giving it the name of Sao Sebastiao, because the first stone was laid on that Saint's day and in commemoration of the then reigning King of Portugal. By the middle of March the fortress, with a church and other buildings, was completed. The Viceroy gave the command of the fort to his brother-in-law, Antao Pereira; and having left there a garrison of 300 men, and ammunition for six months, returned to Goa. Later on, during the government of Dom Luiz de Atayde, Bukka Devi sued for peace; which she purchased at the cost of an additional tribute, and a payment of ready cash 1.

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Frederick, who passed through Mangalore a few months after this attack, states that "there is very small trade, but only for a little rice" 2.

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In the neighbourhood of Barcelor (Basrur), the old Barace of Ptolomey, near the mouth of the Kundapur river, there was another chief, called by the Portuguese King of Cambolim (Gangolly), subject to Vijayanagara 3. Frederic mentions also the Queen of Gargopam (Gersoppa), near Honavar, as "tributary to the King of Bezenegar (Vijayanagara)." The city of Ancola belonged to her 4. In 1540 the King of Gersoppa, most likely that Queen's predecessor, had acknowledged the suzerainty of the King of Portugal, to whom he promised to pay a thousand sackfuls of rice every year 5.

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12. Turning now to the centre of the Empire, we find in the North the petty state of Udiripikonda. Its first Raja seems to have been Timma Nayadu. From an inscription in the Pennahobalam temple at Udiripikonda we know that he was living in 1556. He seems to have done much to improve the fortifications of his capital. Perhaps, he had been appointed Raja by Krishna Deva Raya after a campaign, as a reward for his services during the war. His son Narasa Nayadu enlarged the fort by building a new bastion, surrounded the village with a mud wall, and built for himself a palace in the village and another on the top of the hill. The Udiripikonda family reached during his reign the climax of its prosperity. He was succeeded by his son Vemala Nayadu, in whose time the disaster of Raksas-Tagdi took place¹.

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¹ Faria y Sousa, II, p. 435-8; Dos Santos, o.c., II, p. 292; Lafitau, Histoire des Decouvertes, II, p. 597-9.

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² Purchas, X, p. 101.

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³ Faria y Sousa, II, p. 469 and 474.

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⁴ Purchas, X, p. 99.

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⁵ Botelho, O Tombo do Estado da India, Lima Felner, Subsidios, p. 257-8; Costa, Historia das Relacoes Diplomaticas, p. 92.

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¹ Francis, *Anantapur Gazetteer*, p. 165. The information is taken from one of the Mackenzie MSS.

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In the North-East corner of the Empire there was another petty state, that of Venkatagiri. The Valugoti family of its Rajas was at this time subject to Vijayanagara. One of them, Pedakondappa Nayadu, as well as his brother, Gene Nayadu, with the latter's two sons, Nayanappa and Timma, distinguished themselves against the Mussulmans in the reigns of Krishna Raya, Achyuta Raya and Sadasiva². In the Virabhadresvara temple in the village of Macherla, Guntur District, there is an inscription of 1554 recording a gift of the village of Lingapura to the temples of Viresvara and Ishtakamesvara, at the said village of Macherla, by the Queen of Komara Timma-Nayaningaru of the Recharla-gotra and Velugoti family, who acknowledged the suzerainty of Virapratapa Sadasivaraya Maharaya³.

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² *Valugutivaru Vamsavali*, Wilson, *The Mackenzie Collection*, p. 274. The Bobbili Zemindari was at this time depending on the Venkatagiri Raja. Cf. Maha Rajah Sri Rao Sir Venkata Swetachalapati, *A Revised and Enlarged Account of the Bobbili Zemindari*, p. 13-7.

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³ 584 of 1909.

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Turning now southwards, we come to the present North Arcot, and here we find the Rajas of Vellore. The ruling family was one of the most influential in the whole of the Empire, and one of its members was destined to create a great deal of trouble in the reign of Venkata II⁴. The chief contemporary of Sadasiva was Chinna Bomma Nayaka, whose earliest known inscription is dated 1549 ¹. We do not know at what time his father Chinna Virappa Nayaka died ². He was very likely ruling some time along with one of his brothers; for an inscription of Sadasiva of the year 1550 mentions Kumara Krishnappa Nayaka and Chinna Bomma Nayaka, as the chiefs of Vellore ³. His influence at the court of Vijayanagara is beyond question. The grant of the village of Arambaritti to Jvarakandesvara, the Lord of Vellore, made by Rama Raya at the request of Chinma Bomma, proves it conclusively ⁴. He was still ruling after the battle of Raksas-Tagdi, because on February 5th, 1567 ⁵ he obtained three grants from the Mahamandalesvara Tirumala who was then the governor of the Empire on behalf of Sadasiva ⁶: we know from these inscriptions that Bomma Nayaka’s jurisdiction extended over the villages of Arapakkam, Ariyur and Sadupperi, all in the vicinity of Vellore. From other inscriptions of the time of Ranga I, we learn that he exercised jurisdiction also over Sattuvachcheri, Samanginellur and Perumai ⁷. During the reign of Venkata II we shall deal at length with his son Lingappa Nayaka: after those events Vellore became the capital of the Empire.

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⁴ Cf. Ch. XV, No. 11.

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¹ Hultsch, *South Indian Inscriptions*, I, p. 84, 57.

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² Vilapaka grant of Venkata II, *Ep. Ind.*, IV, p. 271.

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³ 417 of 1905.

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⁴ 39 of 1887.

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⁵ *Cf. Ind. Ant.*, XXIII, p. 132.

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⁶ 37, 38 and 44 of 1887.

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⁷ Hultsch, *South Indian Inscriptions*, I, p. 73-5, 47-9.

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13. The names of many other chiefs of petty states may be found on going through the inscriptions of the reign of Sadasiva; the greatest number is in Cuddapah District. An inscription of Cuddapah itself records that a feudatery of Sadasiva erected a stone mandapam and planted a garden near it ⁸. Another states that Ellappa Nayaka, a feudatory of Sadasiva, granted to the god some land in the village of Chintakommadinne ⁹. Ramarajayya Pimmaraju Garu, a feudatory of Sadasiva, exempted the barbers of the village of Chinna Mudiyam from taxes ¹, The Mahamandalesvara Maharaya of Yeragudi remitted taxes on barbers at Kalamalla, with the permission of Rama Raya ². One Narayana, son of Tirumala Raja of Bhojanapullah, gave two tums and six mundas of land to Brahmans for the maintenance of the watershed ³. Finally Nandyal Aubalaraja, son of Mahamandalesvara Singarayadeva Maharaja ⁴, feudatory of Sadasiva, granted some land to the god Tiruvengalanatha ⁵; and again gave half a kunda of dry field in Cuddapah to the deity ⁶. It seems that he was succeeded by his grandson Nandyala Timmayyadeva Maharaju, who claims to be the grandson of Nandyala Avubalaraja when making a gift of a village to the temple of Ragunathadeva on the Gandikota-durga ⁷. He also, as feudatory of Sadasiva, built the village of Potladurti and gave it to the god Chennakesava ⁸, granted some lands to the gods and Brahmans of the village of Nellala ⁹, gave the god Chennakesava of Kodur some lands in Nandapadu ¹⁰ and Kodur itself ¹¹, granted the rent of a village for meeting the expense of ceremonial ¹², gave the dues of the village of Koppulu to learned men ¹³ and remitted the tax on the barbers of Bondalakunta ¹⁴, Lingala ¹⁵, Nallapalli ¹⁶, and Gandikota-sima ¹⁷.

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⁸ Rangacharya, I, p. 578, 33.

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⁹ Ibid., p. 577, 22.

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¹ Ibid., p. 589, 145.

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² 381 of 1904.

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³ Rangacharya, I, p. 587, 129.

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⁴ 106 of 1905.

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⁵ Rangacharya, I, p. 578, 36.

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⁶ Ibid., p. 578, 38.

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⁷ 486 of 1906.

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⁸ Rangacharya, I, p. 616, 480.

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⁹ Ibid., p. 629, 594.

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¹⁰ Ibid., p. 612, 440.

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¹¹ Ibid., p. 612, 444.

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¹² Ibid., p. 574, 8.

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¹³ Ibid., p. 580, 60.

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¹⁴ Ibid., p. 588, 136.

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¹⁵ Ibid., p. 613, 450.

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¹⁶ Ibid., p. 602, 331.

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¹⁷ 318 of 1905. Some relations to these chiefs are mentioned in 81 of 1915 and Rangacharya, II, p. 964, 534-537.

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