The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c20: Chapter XIV. The Kanarese Viceroyalty

The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c20

Language: English

Chapter XIV. The Kanarese Viceroyalty

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SUMMARY.—1. Government of Rama, Viceroy of Seringapatam. Rama is succeeded by his sons Tirumala and Ranga.—2. The Nayaks of Ikeri.—3. Chamraj Wodeyar and Raja Wodeyar of Mysore.—4. Dealings between the Queen of Gersoppa and the Portuguese as to the possession of Honavar.—5. War between the King of Tolar and the Portuguese. Capture of Basrur.—6. The Portuguese defeat the Nayak of Sanguicer.—7. Dom Luiz d'Ataide settles some differences between the Queen of Ullal and the King of Bangher.—8. The Nayaks of Bellur.—9. Other chiefs.

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CONTEMPORARY SOURCES.—1. Hindu inscriptions and grants.—2. Faria y Sousa.—3. *Ramarajiyamu*, *Chikkadevaraya Vamsavali*, *Keladi Arasu Vamsavali*, *Sivatattvaratnakara*.

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WHEN Ranga I ascended the throne, the Kanarese viceroyalty was under Rama, the third son of Tirumala. It has been said that his rule at Seringapatam was weak, and that on account of this the local chieftains rebelled¹. Now we have previously spoken of the rebellion of several chiefs of the Kanara country, who refused to acknowledge the authority of the Aravidu family, the head of which did not spare bloodshed in order to ascend the throne. This, not the weak rule of the Viceroy, was the origin of the rebellion. Nevertheless if his government was really weak (though of this we have no established proofs) we may naturally suppose that this was the ultimate cause of the rebellion. The *Ramarajiyamu* only tells us that Rama ‘defeated the troops of the Nizam Shah’². Whether this victory was obtained during his viceroyalty or previously to that time, we are not in a position to ascertain. The Kuniyur plates of Venkata III praising Rama’s generosity state that his ‘deeds put to shame the celestial trees’³.

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¹ Richards, Salem *Gazetteer*, p. 67.

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² S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 213.

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³ *Ep. Ind.*, III, p. 253, v. 21.

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One of his agents was named Dantikanti Lingappana, who in the year 1577 repaired the *bund* across the stream Bhogavati, on the West side of the Mallikarjuna temple on the top of a hill near Srisailam, Karnul ¹. We know from this inscription that Rama was still living in the year 1577; but his death must have occurred shortly after, because the *Chikkadevaraya Vamsavali* states that ‘Rama Raya died after a short time’ and soon after Tirumala’s death ².

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¹ 43 of 1915.

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² S. Krishnaswami Aivangar, o.c., p. 202.

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Rama had married Narasingama and had by her two sons, Tirumala and Sri Ranga, who must have been quite young at the time of their father’s death; for when the throne was vacant some years later after the demise of their uncle Ranga I, they were still considered too young to rule the Empire, as we shall see later on. On this occasion both brothers jointly succeeded their father in the viceroyalty; but probably on account of their tender age, its administration was left in the hands of their Dalavay, Remati Venkatayya ³.

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³ *Ramarajiyamu*, Ibid., p. 213; Kuniyur plates of Venkata III, *Ep. Ind.* III, p. 253, v. 21; Vilapaka grant of Venkata III, *Ind. Ant.*, XIII, p. 126. Cf. Ap. C, No. 5.

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2. No reliable information is extant concerning the Nayaks of Ikeri during this period. Sewell says that the reign of the second son of Sadasiva Nayaka, Chikka Sankana Nayaka, lasted till 1603, in which year he retired from government ⁴; and it seems that the *Keladi Arasu Vamsavali* of the Mackenzie collection agrees with this statement ⁵. He is mentioned in an inscription of Ranga, of 1570 ⁶. According to the *Sivatattvaratnakara*, he once defeated and routed the Bijapur general, Majjhula Khan, who had attacked him with a number of horses and elephants. He likewise vanquished Bhaira Devi, Queen of Gerasappi (Gersoppa) and other chiefs in its neighbourhood, getting much wealth from them ⁷. No more information is hitherto available about the Keladi Nayaks before the accession of Venkatapati, of whom we shall speak when dealing with the reign of his namesake the Emperor.

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⁴ *Chikkadevaraya Vamsavali*, Ibid., p. 202.

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⁵ Sewell, II, p. 177.

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

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⁷ 170 of 1901.

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3. As to the neighbouring state of Mysore, nothing worthy of mention occurred until 1571. In this year Heri Chamraj succeeded to the government of the state. He was probably one of those princes of Kanara who did not pay homage to the new dynasty on account of the murder of Sadasiva. It is stated that he evaded payment of his tribute to the Viceroy of Seringapatam, and obtained permission to erect works, ostensibly for the purpose of keeping away wild hogs from destroying crops; but no sooner were the works erected, than they were converted into barriers against the collectors of the royal tribute, who were ignominiously expelled from Mysore. These measures rendered him obnoxious to Rama at Seringapatam, and led to an attempt to seize his person while performing his devotion in the temple of Ranga, at the very court of the Viceroy; but as the Raja was previously warned, the attempt failed. Emboldened by his successful resistance, he continued with impunity to withhold all payment of tribute.

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Heri Chamraj Wodeyar died childless in 1576, after a reign of five years, and was succeeded by a cousin of the elder branch of the family, named Bettad Wodeyar, son of Dodda Chama Raja Wodeyar¹. The new Mysore Raja had no capacity for government. He was brave, but wild, thoughtless and imprudent. Accordingly in the short space of two years he had thrown the finance into such disorder, that the elders of the family thought it necessary to depose him and to install his younger brother Raja Wodeyar²; but the latter declined the appointment on the ground that the financial state of the country was in too hopeless a state for him to try to mend it. The treasury was empty; the total arrears of tribute due to the viceroy of Seringapatam amounted to 5,000 pagodas. But his way was smoothed by a contribution from the members of the royal family, and thus he started his rule in 1578³.

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¹ Ep. Carn., III, Sr, 157, and TN, 116.

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² He is supposed by S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Ancient India, p. 230 and p. 286, to be his cousin.

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³ Cf. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, o. c., p. 279.

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Raja Wodeyar, who may be taken to be the real founder of the dynasty of Mysore, began gradually to subdue all the lesser chiefs in his neighbourhood. Once the chief of Carugalli, a relation of the family, attempted to seize Mysore by surprise, and accordingly appeared suddenly before it; but he was thoroughly defeated by the action of Bettad Wodeyar, and his estate subsequently annexed to Mysore. Shortly after, in passing to the court of Seringapatam accompanied by his usual retinue and band, he met the petty chief of Kambala going to court, also attended by music. The Mysore chief inquired whose retinue it was, and on ascertaining it, ordered his own music to stop. On his arrival at Seringapatam he was asked why he had not come to the court with his usual state. And it is said that he answered:—

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“Music is no distinction, if my inferiors are also allowed to use it”.

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On hearing this insinuation, the Raja of Kambala, incensed with fury, made some outrageous remarks.

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“Let us meet”, replied Raja Wodeyar, “and determine the superiority, and with it the right to the music.”

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In vain did the viceroy try to appease them. The next day Raja Wodeyar marched against Kambala, defeated its chief and captured the place.

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These annexations formed from the first a part of the policy of the dynasty of Mysore, and continued to the time of Chikka-deva Raya. We shall see the same Raja Wodeyar, during the reign of Venkata II, taking possession of the very capital of the viceroyalty, Seringapatam. The aim of Raja Wodeyar was obvious: to became the supreme lord of the Kanara country¹.

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¹ Wilks, History of Mysore, I, p. 35-8.

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4. The Portuguese chronicles supply us with abundant information about several petty chiefs of the Kanara coast, some of whose sea-ports were gradually taken by the successors of Albuquerque. Several of these petty rulers had, as we have seen during the reign of Sadasiva, been compelled to consent, against their will, to pay an annual tribute to the viceroy of Goa. One of these was the Queen of Guarcopa (Gersoppa), named Bhaira Devi², who a little after, by the instigation of some of the rulers of Malabar, refused to pay the promised tribute 1. In order to chastise such contumacious conduct the Viceroy, Dom Luiz de Ataide, sailed thither in November, 1569, with a fleet of more than 130 ships and about three thousand Portuguese and Indians. Having entered the river Onor, which flowed through the possessions of the sovereign of Gersoppa, he succeeded in landing 2,300 men; but not without opposition on the part of the enemy. The city of Onor (Honavar) was by nature very strong; for it was built on the top of a rocky hill near the sea-shore, and was well fortified. The Queen was there herself with five hundred soldiers and several pieces of ordnance and ammunition. The Portuguese, notwithstanding, commenced to ascend the hill in the face of a shower of bullets; and as soon as they reached the summit, the enemy along with their Queen deserted the city and retired inland. Onor, which contained much wealth and many fine buildings, was first plundered and afterwards reduced to ashes. The fort was then attacked, and after four days' bombardment, the garrison surrendered upon condition of being allowed to march out without arms. The Portuguese then occupied the fort, and Mass was said there on St. Catherine's day, November 25th. Jorge de Moura with 400 men was left in command 2.

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² Sivatattvaratnakara, S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources, p. 339.

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² Ibid., p. 474-5.

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At the end of the same year, the Queen of Gersoppa manifested her desire to come to terms with the Viceroy 3; but in the meanwhile she was secretly making preparations to carry on war against the invader of her possessions. On receiving this information, Captain Luiz de Mello burnt many of her towns and laid waste the country around 4. Nevertheless the Viceroy was not without anxiety about Honavar, as the enemy had endeavoured to annihilate the Portuguese, and to effect by treachery what they had failed to do by force. The Queen or her generals bribed some Kanarese, who were there in the service of the Portuguese, to poison them with the fruit of the Stramonium, which "has the effect", says Faria y Sousa, "when eaten, of making men forget all things, and of rendering them insensible even to their wounds”. The treachery was discovered, and the conspirators hanged over the walls as a warning to those who had bribed them. That was the cause of open hostility; but at about the same time a galley and three other small vessels with some picked troops entered the port of Honavar to relieve the fortress ¹.

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¹ Faria y Sousa, II, p. 472.

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³ Ibid., p. 480.

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⁴ Ibid., p. 481.

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¹ Ibid., p. 481-2.

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It happened after a while, in the beginning of March, 1570, that Ali Adil Shah of Bijapur prevailed upon the Queen of Gersoppa to declare war against Honavar. He was then attacking Goa in alliance with the Zamorin of Calicut, and thus wanted to weaken the Viceroy’s forces by division ². She collected an army of 3,000 men which, in conjunction with 2,000 soldiers of the Bijapur Sultan, invested Honavar. News of this further attack reached the Viceroy in July, 1570. He immediately despatched Antonio Fernandes de Chale with command of two galleys and eight other vessels, and such troops as the vessels could accommodate. In five days Antonio Fernandes reached Honavar, and having joined the commander of the place, Jorge de Moura, fell upon the besiegers, driving them back with great loss. The latter fled in panic, and nearly all their cannon fell into the hands of the Portuguese ³. As subsequent to thi action no other mention of this Queen is made in the Portuguese chronicles, we must take it to imply her subjection to them ⁴.

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² Ibid., p. 500.

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³ Ibid., p. 511-2

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⁴ In the narrative of Archbishop Menezes’ travels there is an account of an idol-procession annually celebrated in this city of Gersoppa. “Faz se hua grande procissam, & acode a ella muita gente de todas as partes do Canara : na qual uay hum Pagode (idol) metido em certas charolas ricamente lauradas, o qual se poem em hu carro muyto concertado, em q. uao seruindo algus Bramenes, & offerecendolhe offertas. Diante do carro uao muitas bailadeiras cantando, as quaes todas sao molheres publicas, q ganhao em suas deshonestidades pera o Pagode (idol), and das rendas delle se sostentao, viuendo em casas ao redor delle, como en casa publica, & destas andao sempre acopanhados os Pagodes (idols) grandes da India q tem rendas, & sao como seruidoras suas...O carro te huas pontas agudas que cortao como naualhas, e em quanto a procissam uay andando acodem muitos que ve offerecer suas vidas ao Pagode (idol), & depois de se asentarem de joelhos, & fazerem sua reuerencia muy profunda se lancao no chao de fronte do carro, & assim uay passando por cima delles, & os vay espedacando, aos quaes elles te por sanctos, como nos aos martyres”. Gouvea, Iornada do Arcebispo de Goa, p. 126, back.

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5. For a similar refusal to pay the tribute, Dom Luiz de Ataide, after attacking Honavar at the end of 1569, despatched a fleet of thirteen sail under the command of Pero da Silva e Menezes to wage war against the chief of Tolar. The Viceroy was anxious, it seems, to seize the fort of Barcelor (Basrur), which belonged to that King. Accordingly the first place to be attacked was this fortress. Basrur rivalled Honavar in natural strength and position; but the Viceroy had made arrangements with the commander whereby he was to betray it to him. Accordingly the commander of Basrur delivered up the fort to Pero da Silva at night; and the Portuguese rushing into the town slaughtered and captured more than 200 of its inhabitants. But the ruler of Tolar, informed of this treacherous surrender, advanced the same night, accompained by the neighbouring King of Cambolim (Gangolly). They were easily repulsed, since their joint force consisted only of 1,500 men; but they reappeared on the following night reinforced by 5,000 more soldiers. After a hot engagement, in which both parties suffered heavy losses, the Portuguese came to the conclusion that the fortress was untenable; so they quitted it with the honours of war, taking with them twenty cannon and a great quantity of ammunition and arms¹.

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¹ Faria y Sousa, II, p. 469-70.

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But the Viceroy wanted the fortress at all costs, and after some months proceeded himself to take possession of it. The landing was very difficult, indeed, as the Portuguese were opposed by a force of 11,000 men; but after some hard fighting the Portuguese captured some of the outworks. This so dismayed the defenders that those in the fort abandoned it into the hands of the invaders. The two rulers of Tolar and Gangolly mentioned above, joined forces again and made another attack by a very dark night. But the commander of the fort, Pero Lopes Rebello, with 400 men, was ready to receive them. Within a short time the Hindu army lost 300 men; and the two rulers, despairing of success, concluded a treaty of peace by which they bound themselves to pay a greater tribute than before. The Viceroy held, before leaving, an interview with those rulers as well as with the Queen of Gangolly; after which they parted on terms of great friendship. Then the Portuguese constructed a new fortress in a more convenient place between the city and the mouth of the river, which was finished within two months. Antonio Botelho was appointed its commander ¹.

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¹ Ibid., p. 476-7; Dos Santos, *Ethiopia Oriental*, II, p. 293.

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The building of this fortress roused the inhabitants of the neighbourhood against the Portuguese. In 1571 an army of six thousand Hindus appeared suddenly before its walls. Ruy Goncalves da Camara, the commander, having sent to the Viceroy for assistance, made preparations for a regular defence. Five ships came immediately to his relief; and then twelve others followed under the command of Dom Jorge de Menezes, who on arriving at Basrur found all was safe, thanks to the timely arrival of the first five ships ².

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² Faria y Sousa, II, p. 564-5.

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Nothing worth relating about Basrur is found in the years that followed. But we shall return to Basrur and Gangolly in the next volume.

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6. In the neighbourhood of Honavar stood the fortress of Sanguicer, which had belonged to the Queen of Gersoppa. But one of her captains had seized the fortress for himself and styled himself the Nayak of Sanguicer. He fortified the place and defied the power of the Portuguese, protecting the pirates who infested the coast, and doing great damage to the Portuguese trade. To put an end to his insolence, Dom Giles Yanez Mascarenhas was sent there in the year 1584, with orders to destroy the fort. Dom Giles carried with him a fleet of fourteen sail and 300 men from Goa; but his own vessel ran aground between the reeks and would not float again. He was immediately attacked by the enemy from the shore. The rest of his force could not send him assistance. He was unable to retreat and was massacred there with all his men. The expedition thereupon retreated ³.

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³ Ibid., III, p. 8.

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But Dom Duarte de Menezes, who had been recently appointed Viceroy, at once decided to avenge the death of Dom Giles; and having in the meantime received an ambassador from Adil Khan, entered into negotiations with him for that purpose. He also wanted to put down the piracy that existed along the coast of Kanara. It was agreed that Rosti Khan, the Governor of Ponda, should assist with 40,000 men by land, whilst Dom Jeronimo de Mascarenhas should attack the Nayak by sea. The attack was so well combined and carried out that the Nayak’s forces were entirely routed. The Nayak fled to the woods for safety. Thence he sent an envoy to implore mercy, and promised to submit to any conditions provided he were restored to his power and his territories spared. Arrangements to this effect were accordingly concluded, and the invading armies then retired ¹.

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¹ Ibid., III, p. 22-3.

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7. Things were not yet settled at Mangalore. The Portuguese fortress stood between the possessions of the Queen of Ullal on the South and those of the ruler of Bangher on the North. Between these two there existed an ancient discord which was very prejudicial to Portuguese trade. Dom Luiz de Ataide went himself to Mangalore in 1569 to settle these disputes; his reception was better than he had anticipated. After an interview with these two rulers their differences appeared completely settled ². Very likely it was then that in order to establish peace more firmly between the two states, the Queen of Ullal married the King of Bangher, ‘more for honour’s sake than anything else,’ says the traveller Pietro della Valle, who personally knew the Queen Bukka Devi Chautar ³. Of this capricious union, which was the cause of many a romantic adventure, we shall speak later on.

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² Ibid., II, p. 479.

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³ Della Valle, II, p. 313.

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8. In Bellur, Krishnappa Nayaka was still the head of the Balam family in the beginning of Ranga’s reign. In an inscription of 1578 he acknowledges king Ranga as ruling sovereign ⁴. But not long afterwards he was succeeded by his son. A Bellur Kanarese inscription of Sri Ranga I, of July of the same year, records a grant by Krishnappa Nayaka’s son, Venkatadri Nayaka ⁵. This Venkatadri or Venkatappa, in an inscription of 1576, is called the champion of adulterers, ⁶.

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⁴ Rice, Mysore Inscriptions, p. 220.

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⁵ Kielhorn, Inscriptions of Southern India, p. 90, 536.

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⁶ Ep. Carn., IV, Yd, 59.

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9. The inscriptions mention several others of the minor chiefs of the Kanarese country. In the village of Hattiyangudi, South Kanara, four grants by an Udaiyar chief, between 1570 and 1576 are recorded ¹. In 1573 the chief of the Budihal country, Sripati Raja Vallabha Rajayya Deva Maharasu, who acknowledged Ranga I, remitted taxes payable to the five classes of artificers ². Finally a grant of a Nandyal chief in the reign of Sri Ranga Raya of Penukonda is recorded in the year 1584 ³.

Linked texts (2)

Epigraphia Carnatica
Śivatattvaratnākara — Basappa Nāyaka 1684, Sanskrit