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The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c21: Chapter XV. Venkatapatideva Raya II

The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c21

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Chapter XV. Venkatapatideva Raya II

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SUMMARY.—1. Election and coronation of Venkata II.—2. Transfer of the seat of Government to Penukonda.—3. A note on Venkata’s Guru Tatacharya.—4. Officers of Government. Administration of the Empire.—5. Renewal of rebellion among the feudatory chiefs.—6. Re-transfer of the capital to Chandragiri. Previous history of this place.—7. Venkata II at Chandragiri.—8. The nobles of Venkata’s court.—9. Account of Tirupati.—10. Devotion of Venkata to this temple.—11. Rebellion of Lingama Nayaka of Vellore. Venkata takes possession of this city.—12. Triumphal return to Chandragiri.—13. Transfer of the capital from Chandragiri to Vellore.—14. Feudatory chiefs.—15. Donations to the temples.—16. Irrigation works.

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CONTEMPORARY SOURCES.—1. Hindu inscriptions and grants.—2. Jesuit letters.—3. Du Jarric, Guerreiro.—4. Anquetil du Perron.—5. Ferishta.—6. Ramarajiyamu, Prapannamrtam, Raghunathabudayam, Bahulasvacharitram, Charuchandrodayam, Valugativaru Vamsavali, Venkatesvara Mahatmya, Venkata Giri Mahatmyam, Venkatesvara Prabandha Saila Mahima, Chandrabhanu Charitram.

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“AFTER Sri Ranga Raya had reached the region of Vishnu, his brother Venkatapatideva Raya, born of the same mother, ascended the throne and ruled the earth with justice”. Thus the Vellangudi plates¹ announce the inauguration of the reign of Tirumala’s fourth son, Srimat Rajadhiraja Paramesvara Sri Vira Pratapa Sri Vira Venkatapatideva Maharaja. This, his full imperial title, is given in an inscription at Atmakur, Nellore 1.

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¹ *Ep. Ind.*, XVI., p. 319, vv. 31-35. Cf. Chikkadevaraya Vamsavali S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 302. Neverthless there is ground for doubting that this succession was immediate. An inscription of the Mallikarjuna temple at Srisailam, Karnul, records a fact ‘in the reign of the Vijayanagara king Virapratapa Ramarajyadeva Maharaya, son of Vira Tirumalayyadeva Maharaya’. 43 of 1915. This was no doubt the third son of Tirumala, who had been Viceroy of Seringapatam. Moreover a Kumbakonam grant of Venkata II, 1590, mentions one of his brothers, Tirumala Deva Raya or Srideva Raya (a wrong name) and states that ‘he reigned for a short time’. Sewell, II, p. 3. Was this brother the same Rama? Then the Jesuit letter, which we shall quote latter on, says the following:—“After the demise of this Prince’s father, viz. Rama, the kingdom was given, by the unanimous vote of all the classes, to the brother of the deceased, that is to the one who is ruling at

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¹ Butterworth, I, p. 264.

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It would appear that Venkata's nephews, the Princes Tirumala and Ranga, who were governing Seringapatam, had a better established right to succeed their uncle Ranga I, being the sons of the third brother, the late Viceroy Rama; but a Jesuit letter of the year 1602, speaking of the Viceroy Tirumala of Seringapatam, says:—"After the demise of this Prince's father, the kingdom was given by the unanimous vote of all the classes to the brother of the deceased, that is, the one who is ruling at present, rejecting the rights of the deceased's children, who on account of their age, were not able to rule over a kingdom" 2. According to this testimony the election of Venkata was made by the consensus of the Brahmans, nobles and warriors of the Empire, as implied by the expression 'the unanimous vote of all the classes'.

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Venkata was then "anointed, according to the prescribed rules, by the spiritual preceptor of his gotra, the famous Tatacharya, who was the ornament of the wise, just as Rama was anointed by Vasishtha" 3. On this occasion, the new king "poured forth gold from his hand like rain from a cloud" 4.

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present", etc. According to this testimony the election of Venkata followed, not the death of Ranga I, but that of Rama. Finally, according to the information supplied to Mr. Sewell by the then Raja of Anegundi, the brother whose rule was placed between Ranga and Venkata, (called also by him Tirumaladeva or Srideva), 'reigned for a short time'. Cf. Sewell, II, p. 252, note 4. We hope new discoveries will throw light on this point.

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² *Litterae Annuae* of Goa, written by Fr. N. Pimenta, Goa December 21, 1602. See Ap. C, No. V.

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³ Dalavay Agraharam plates of Venkata II, *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 186, vv. 27-39.

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⁴ Venkta's II grant, 1587, *Ep. Carn.*, VII, Sh, 83; Venkata II's grant, 1589, *Ep. Carn.*, XII, Ck, 39. The following grants also describe Venkata's coronation: Mangalampad grant of Venkata II, Butterworth, I, p. 31, v. 24; Vellangudi plates of Venkata II, *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p. 319, vv. 31-35; Padmaneri grant of Venkata II, Ibid, p. 297. v. 29; Kondyata grant of Venkata III, *Ind. Ant.*, XIII, p. 127.

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"When thus", continue the Dalavay Agraharam plates, "Venkatapatideva Raya assumed the sovereignty, Adisesha and other supporters of the earth were relieved of their burden; and consequently, they having assumed the shape of Vrishasaila (viz. the Tirumala hills at Tirupati), are ever praying Venkatachalapati to grant a long reign to him" 1. This transparent flattery of one of his grants shows that Venkata II was to be a worthy successor of Krishna Deva Raya and Rama Raya. He is called in another inscription, "the fruition of the religious merit of previous births of Sri Vengalamba" 2. Fr. N. Pimenta, in one of his letters, mentions the pompous and incredible titles which were conferred upon him by his subjects: "The Husband of Subvast (that is) of good Fortune, God of great Provinces, King of the greatest Kings, and God of Kings, Lord of all Horse-forces, Master of those which know not how to Speake, Emperour of three Emperours, Conquerour of all which he seeth, and Keeper of all which he hath overcome; Dreadfull to the eight Coasts of the World, the Vanquisher of Mahumetan Armies, Ruler of all Provinces which he hath taken, Taker of the Spoiles and Riches of Ceilan; which farre exceedeth the most valiant men, which cut off the head of the Invincible Viravalalan; Lord of the East, South, North, West, and of the sea; Hunter of Elephants; which liveth and glorieth in virtue Militarie. Which titles of Honour," adds Fr. Pimenta, "enjoyeth the most Warlike Vencatapadin Ragiv Devamagan Ragel, which now reigneth and governeth this World" 3

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Two of this grants lay special stress on his extreme beauty. "His cheeks", they say, "resembled the moon; he rivalled or eclipsed the god of love in beauty" 4. Fr. Du Jarric seems to agree when he writes: "The King is quite handsome, although a little dark; his eyes are big; he is of a medium size, but his limbs are in good proportion; he dresses quite nicely, and shows always a special regard for royal majesty mingled with a charming plainness of manner" 1. Venkata's statue at Tirupati confirms both descriptions: his big round eyes are specially remarkable.

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¹ *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 186, vv. 27-39.

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² Mangalampad grant of Venkata II, Butterworth, I, p. 31, v. 23.

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³ Purchas, X, p. 209-10. Cf. Du Jarric, *Thesaurus*, I, p. 653.

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⁴ Dalavay Agraharam plates of Venkata II, *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 187, vv. 27-39; Mangalampad grant of Venkata II, Butterworth, I, p. 33. v. 36.

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XI. Venkatapati Deva Raya II. Upper Tirupati. (By kind permission of the Director General of Archæology.)

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2. Venkata was at Chandragiri when his election took place. So naturally the ceremony of his coronation was performed there. This point is quite evident from the study of contemperory sources. Du Jarric says:—"A few years ago he was crowned, according to his predecessors' custom, at Chandegri (Chandragiri)" 2. Anquetil du Perron states likewise that "he was crowned according to custom at Sehandegri, where he used to have his court (when Viceroy of the Tamil country)" 3.

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But not long after he removed his court to Penukonda, the capital of his two predecessors, whence he might rule over the Empire. "When the throne of Bijanagar", says the anonymous chronicler of Golkonda; "devolved on Venkatapati, it appears that that prince...removed his seat of Government to the fort of Penukonda" 4. Accordingly his grant of the year 1587 states that he 'established his throne in Suragiri (Penukonda)' 5. This fact must have occurred in 1585, for in two inscriptions of this year Venkata already appears as 'ruling in Penukonda' 6; and in 1589 he is shown 'seated on the throne of the Empire in Suragiri (Penukonda)' 7. How long this period of rule from Penukonda lasted is not yet ascertained, because the cause of Venkata's retreat to Chandragiri is misplaced by Ferishta; hence its date cannot be realized. Sewell points to the year 1592 as the date of Venkata's return to the Tamil country 8. As a matter of fact, Venkata appears as 'ruling on the jewelled throne at Penukonda' in several inscriptions of the years 1593 ¹, 1599 ², 1603 ³, 1605 ⁴, 1608 ⁵, 1609 ⁶ 1610 ⁷, and 1612 ⁸. We know for certain that during several of these years, Venkata was actually ruling from Chandragiri; this would mean that either his subjects were not aware of the change of the capital, or the old capital of Tirumala and Ranga was mentioned out of respect, as Vijayanagara itself is sometimes occasionally mentioned.

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¹ Du Jarric, I, p. 662.

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² Du Jarric, I, p. 655.

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³ Anquetil du Perron, l. c., p. 166.

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⁴ Ferishta, III, p. 454.

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⁵ Ep. Carn., VII, Sh, 83.
6. 71 of 1915.

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⁷ Ep. Carn., XII, Ck, 39.

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¹ 377 of 1904.

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² Sewell, I, p. 134.
3. 236 of 1903; Sewell, I, p. 101.
4. 235 of 1903.

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⁵ Rangacharya, I, p. 622, 535.
6. 67 of 1915.
7. 184 of 1913.

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⁸ *Ep. Carn.*, II, TN, 62; XII, Si, 84; Butterworth, III, p. 1284-6.

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3. While speaking of the coronation of Venkata, we have seen that the *pattabhisheka* ceremony had been performed by his family guru, Tatacharya or Tatayarya. We shall now give some particulars of this man who exercised so much influence on the rule of Venkata, and of whom we shall have occasion to speak frequently in the course of this volume. He was, according to the *Prapannamrtam*, a descendant of the maternal uncle of the great reformer Ramanuja; and two of his ancestors had been the cause of the conversion of the Emperor Virupaksha to Vaishnavism ⁹. He was the son of Panchamata-bhajanam Tatacharya, according to the same poem ¹⁰; but a copper-plate grant of 1590 in the Government Museum, Madras, states that he was ‘grand-son of Etur-Tatayia, and son of Srinaivasa’ ¹¹. He is styled ‘the ornament of the wise’ ¹². He is mentioned in an inscription of Ranga I, along with the temple officer of Tiruppukkuli ¹³. Again, the *Prapannamrtam* informs us that Venkata ‘became a disciple of the Srivaishnava teacher Lakshmikumara Tatacharya' 1, this being his full name. Moreover, in the same poem we read that the King "entrusted the whole kingdom to his preceptor; and he himself led a life of retirement doing service to him, like Kulasekhara of old" 2. The second part of this statement is absolutely false. Venkata II was certainly not an idle sovereign; he actually ruled (as we shall see further on) except during the last years of his life, when disabled by age and sickness he made over the cares of Government to one of his wives and her brother. Nay, we have further grounds for doubting even the veracity of the first part of the same statement. The whole passage sounds merely like a poetical exaggeration of a real fact. According to the above-mentioned copper-plate grant in the Madras Museum, Venkata, on December 27th, 1590, made the gift of a village (which he named Venkatapura) to the Srivaishnava teacher Tataya; the village was situated in the Konadu district which formed a subdivision of Uttukkadu Kottam 3. Moreover, an inscription of the year 1600-1 at Tirunirmalai, Chingleput, shows that he was supervising several Vaishnava temples 4; he was also the manager of the temple at Tiruppukkuli 5, and the supervisor of the Vaishnava temples at Kanchivaram 6; we know of an agent of his named Punyakoti-Aiyan 7. According to tradition, Tatacharya was so famous for his virtues and talents that he was believed to have been born from the spirit of Vishnu 8.

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⁹ Cf. Ch. XXVI, No. 6.

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¹⁰ Cf. *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 162 and p. 347.

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¹¹ *Catalogue of Copper-Plate Grants in the Government Museum, Madras*, p 54.

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¹² Mangalampad grant of Venkata II, l. c.; Butterworth, I, p. 31, v. 24.
13. 209, Ap. C. of 1916.

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But Fr. B. Coutinho, one of the Jesuits at Venkata's court, who personally knew Se Tatachare, as he calls the famous guru, testifies in one of his letters that 'he is unworthy of his post because of his vices'. It seems that he was specially lacking in continence, as "he had many wives at home", says Fr. Coutinho, "and is one of those who swallow camels and shy at mosquitoes" ¹. According to Fr. Coutinho, Tatacharya was a hypocrite of the Tartuffe type, who duped the people with scrupulous practice of infinite petty unsubstantial ceremonies, and forgot the essentials of the natural law. I cannot reject the testimony of such an eye-witness, who mentions the fact of the guru's many wives and who was not likely to derive any advantage from calumniating the King's preceptor in one of his letters to his Superiors in Europe.

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¹ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 251.

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² Ibid.

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³ *Catalogue of Copper-Plate Grants*, l. c.
4. 565 of 1912. He is again mentioned in the inscription 564 of 1912.
5. 208, Ap. C of 1916.

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⁶ *M.E.R.*, 1913, para 62.
7. 174, Ap. C of 1916.

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⁸ Cf. Subramiah Pantulu, *Discursive Remarks*, *Ind. Ant.*, XXVII, p. 327.

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¹ From Fr. B. Coutinho to Fr. J. Alvarez, Vellore, November 11th, 1607. See Ap. C, No. XVIII. This passage was published in *Relacam Annal*, of the years 1606 and 1607 (Lisbon, 1609), but without mentioning the name of Tatacharya; he is only described as the "high priest at whose feet the same king prostrates himself, and whose yearly revenue surpasses two hundred cruzades" (p. 106). Before being acquainted with the original of Coutinho's letter, I published a translation of the account of *Relacam Annal* in the *Q. J. M. S.*, XIV, p. 134-7, under the title *The Jesuit Influence in the Court of Vijayanagara*; and in a note I already pointed out that the high priest referred to ought to be Tatacharya.

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4. Along with Tatacharya, the names of several ministers of Venkata have reached us, mainly through the contemporary poems. A Sidhout inscription of 1605 states that the chief Matla Ananta 'was like the right-hand of the Emperor of Karnataka (Vijayanagara)' ²; he was no doubt one of Venkata's chief officers, as is shown by this appellation and his achievements, which will be narrated further on. Tarigoppula Mallana, in his *Chandrabhanu Charitram*, says that his elder brother Tarigoppula Datta Mantri "was a minister of the Emperor Venkatapati Raya, son of Tirumala Raya......All the members of the Emperor's court used to extol him for his patronage and helpfulness to them on various occasions" ³. Another one, Tammaya Mantri, who, according to the *Charu chandrodayam*, had been the right hand of Sri Ranga, 'was also the minister of the Emperor Venkatapati Raya' ⁴. From literature we gather likewise that Pemmasani Pedda-Timmaraja, who had also been a minister of Ranga I, continued to hold the same office under Venkata II ¹. The chief military officer of this Emperor was Gubburi Obarajaya ², who may perhaps be identified with Obaraja, the brother-in-law of Venkata, as mentioned in Barrada's account ³, or his father-in-law, as stated both in the *Ramarajiyamu* ⁴ and in the Jesuit records ⁵.

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² S. Krishnaswmi Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 248.

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³ Ibid., p. 247.

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⁴ Ibid., p. 241.

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¹ Cf. H. Krishna Sastri, *The Third Vijayanagara Dynasty*, l. c., p. 185.

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² Ibid., p. 188-9.

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³ Sewell, p. 223.

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⁴ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, o. c., p. 243.

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⁵ Du Jarric, I, p. 654. Cf. Ch. XXIV, No. 3.

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Now the Empire, although deprived of some of the northern provinces which had fallen into the hands of the Muhammadans, was yet possessed of vast territory. Fr. Du Jarric describes the Empire of Venkata as follows: "The kingdom of Bisnagar," says he, "contains the greatest part of India that lies to the south of river Ganges (sic). For besides the western kingdoms of Malabar, that depend upon it, as formerly the kingdom of Goa, there are several others towards the North, as Onor (Honavar) Battikala, (Bhatkal) and so on, that acknowledge the imperial authority. It has on the East two hundred leagues of coast along the gulf of Bengal, *viz.* from cape Comorin to the kingdom of Orixa (Orissa); and this length comprises the Coast of Coromandel and Meliapor or San Thome ⁶."

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⁶ Ibid., p. 652.

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The viceroy of Seringapatam and the Nayaks and feudatory chiefs were a great help to the Emperor in the administration of such an extensive Empire. But the country which was immediately subject to him was, it seems, divided into different administrative units. A grant of 1596 of the temple authorities of Kanchivaram gives a clue to this supposition; it states that this city is situated in the Chandragiri portion of the Tondaimandalam province of the country of Soramandalam ⁷. According to this inscription, the smallest administrative unit was the so-called *portion* or district, which, if we must judge from the distance between Chandragiri and Kanchivaram, was not very small; the next higher and larger administrative unit was the *province*, and the highest, the so-called *country*. We venture to say that during the time of the Tamil Viceroyalty two *countries* probably composed it, the Chola and the Pandya *countries*.

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⁷ Sewell, I, p. 179.

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Venkata was indeed a very powerful monarch ¹. According to Du Jarric, "the neighbouring kings call him Emperor and king of kings, as he is the most potent of all the kings" ². Accordingly at the end of his reign he was called by Raja Wodeyar of Mysore 'Master of the four Oceans' ³.

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¹ Anquetil du Perron, l. c., p. 169.

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² Du Jarric, I, p. 653.

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³ *Ep. Carn.*, III, TN, 116.

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5. Nevertheless from the beginning of his reign, the new Emperor had to face great difficulties within his own dominions. There were among the petty chiefs fresh outbreaks of rebellion against Venkata, who was supposed to be the murderer of the late Emperor Sadasiva. "Before 1595," says Anquetil du Perron, "the Naiques of Tanjore, Madurei and Gingi (Jinji) gave up all allegiance, as they did not want to acknowledge as their sovereign one who had dethroned the legitimate King of Bisnagar" ⁴. We shall speak later of the rebellion of these three powerful Nayaks; but we feel sure that, encouraged by their example, and even perhaps before them, many petty chiefs rebelled against Venkata. This is more than a mere supposition, because in the contemporary sources we find abundant evidence of the internal troubles during those years. Venkata is called in the Mangalampad grant 'the crusher of the pride of Avahaluraya' ⁵, and 'the hero who punished kings who break their word' ⁶. The Dalavay Agraharam plates, after speaking of his campaigns against the Muhammadans, style him "the only excellent conqueror of the Chaurasidurga, (who) terrified the hearts of the hostile kings in the eight quarters,...(who) was a destroyer of his enemies,...(who) was broad-armed like Adisesha, (who) was a bear to the earth, *viz.* the provincial chiefs,...a Ramabadra in battle” 1. These general remarks are a clear reference to the action of Venkata against the provincial chiefs of his Empire who ‘broke their word’ of faithfulness and allegiance to the imperial power. But there are also other and more pronounced testimonies.

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⁴ Anquetil du Perron, l. c., p. 166.

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⁵ Butterworth, I, p. 32, 27.

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⁶ Ibid., p. 33, v. 36.

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⁴ Ibid., Cf. *M.E.R.*, 1915-16, para 19; 1916, para 75.

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⁵ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, o. c., p. 241.

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⁶ *Ep. Carn.*, XII, Si, 84.

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Venkata is said in the *Ramarajiyamu* to have ‘defeated some enemies at Nandela’ 2. Those enemies must have been the army of the chief Krishnama of Nandyal, into whose mind the faithful Matla Ananta ‘instilled fear’, according to the expression of the Sidhout inscription 3. This means that this Anantaraja, one of Venkata’s ministers, defeated on behalf of the Emperor, or even in conjuction with him, the Nandyla chief who had revolted against his sovereign. Matla Ananta’s campaigns are likewise a recapitulation of these provincial revolts: “he killed on the battlefield the chief Ravelia Velikonda Venkatadri,” we read in the same inscription; “he was the conqueror in the batte of Jambulamandaka (Jammalamadugu) and reduced the fort of Cuttack. He defeated the chief Kondaraju Venkatadri and captured from him the town of Chennur” 4.

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Along with the Emperor and Matla Ananta his right hand, the minister Tammaya Mantri, ‘compelled recalcitrant chiefs to go to him (the Emperor) and accept his suzerainty’, as it is stated in the *Charuchandrodayam* 5. The Mahanayakacharya Harwati, son of Immadi Rangappa Nayaka, is also called a “subduer of chiefs who break their word” 6. He must have aided his sovereign in subduing these rebellions. The same was done by Velugoti Yachama Nayadu and his relative Singama Nayadu, who in the year 1601 defeated Maharaja and Devalpupa Nayadu at Utramaltur, according to the *Valugutivaru Vamsavali* 7. Velugoti’s campaigns are also narrated in the *Bahulasvacharitram*. After defeating the Chief Davalu Papa at Uttaramalluru, he marched as far as Tirumala (Tirupati), defeated the mountain chiefs there and captured Chengalpat (Chingleput). Outside the fort of Palembukota (Palemkota, South Arcot), he fought the chief Yatiraju and defeated him ¹. Finally Ragunatha, the heir-apparent of Tanjore, who had helped Venkata against the Muhammadans at Penukonda ², also lent his aid to the Emperor for the supression of these rebellions. The *Ragunathabhyudayam* says that he waged war with the Murasas, a people in the North of North Arcot and the adjacent portions of the neighbouring districts. "Having defeated all these enemies", says the poem, "he brought all the territory and the fortresses of Karnataka once more under the Emperor Venkatadeva Raya. After this victory the Emperor Venkatadeva Raya in public court acknowledged the great assistance of Raghunatha, and said that he was able to destroy his enemies only with the assistance of Raghunatha. He also honoured him with presents of horses and jewellery" ³.

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¹ *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 186, vv. 27-39.

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² S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 243.

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³ Ibid., p. 248.

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⁷ Wilson, *The Mackenzie Collection*, p.

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²⁷⁴ Cf. Carr, *Papers Relating to the Seven Pagodas*, p. 115, note c.

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¹ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 305.

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² Cf. Ch. XVI, Nos. 1 and 2.

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³ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, o. c., p. 285-6.

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It appears that the rebellion spread all over the Empire and lasted several years. But the stout-hearted sovereign at last put it down, and was acknowledged by all his feudatories. This is the reason why he is said in some of his grants to have 'conquered the throne of Karnataka by the strength of his arm' ⁴, *viz.* though he was rightly crowned and anointed, his throne was hardly his as long as the revolts all over the Empire lasted. It was by the strength of his arm that he established it as firmly as he did. We read in Anquetil du Perron that Venkata "experienced how wrong was his elevation to the throne, but at last the Naiques were bound to submit to the tribute" ⁵.

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⁴ Vilapaka grant of Venkata II, *Ep. Ind.*, IV, p. 270; Dalavay Agraharam plates of Venkata II, Ibid., XII, p. 187, vv. 27-39.

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⁵ Anquetil du Perron, l. c., p. 166.

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6. In or about 1592, on the occasion of the attack of Penukonda by the Sultan of Bijapur, which will be narrated in the next chapter, Venkata went back to Chandragiri and established there the capital of the Empire 1. This action betrayed the weaker side of Venkata's character. He had hitherto strenuously fought against the hereditary enemies of the Empire; but now he felt perhaps the first signs of premature old age. Nevertheless we suppose that the main reason for this change was not the Muhammadan incursions, but a sort of home-sickness for the city where he had ruled many years as governor and viceroy of the Tamil country. Chandragiri was like a second birthplace to him; and thither he retired, when a premature old age began to weigh upon him, and rest became necessary.

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Chandragiri had in ancient times been the stronghold of the Yadavas. One of its rulers, Toya-Yadava, entertained Ramanuja when fleeing from the Chola country 2. According to a palm-leaf book, once in the possession of one of the village officers, the founder of the town was the Yadava King Immadi Narasimha, who lived about A. D. 1000 3. According to local tradition, the Chandragiri fort had been built or at least enlarged by the Vijayanagara Emperor Narasimha Saluva, who made it the store-house of his treasures 4. As a matter of fact the Portuguese used often to call it Narsinga, after the name of this sovereign. Since Krishna Deva Raya is occasionally called 'Raja of Chandragiri', it is likely that he either conquered or improved this fort, or even that he lived in it at times 5. In that case the great Mahal, still standing at the foot of rocky hill crowned by the fortress, may have been built by that great Emperor; while to his brother and successor, Achyuta Raya, is attributed the smaller Ladies' Mahal 6. The same Achyuta makes mention, in the copperplates of July 13th, 1532, of the ‘kingdom of Chandragiri’ ¹; and in another inscription of 1540 at Pushpagiri mention is likewise made of the general Timmarasayya, son of Somarasayya of Chandragiri ².

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¹ Cf. M.E.R., 1916, para 75; S. Krishna Sastri, The Third Vijayanagara Dynasty, l. c., p. 185.

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² Taylor, O. H. MSS., II, p. 85.

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³ Sewell, I, p. 150.

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⁴ Cf. Garstin, South Arcot Manual, p. 3; Caldwell, History of Tinnevelly, p. 48.

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⁵ Sewell, I, p. 139.

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⁶ Ibid., p.

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¹⁵⁰ For a description of these buildings see Chisholm, The Old Palace of Chandragiri, Ind. Ant., XII, p. 295-6.

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¹ *Catalogue of Copper-Plate Grants in the Government Museum, Madras*, p. 51-2.

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² 302 of 1903.

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7. This was the palace which was for so many years the residence of Venkata, when Viceroy of the Tamil country. It was now to be the royal palace of the Emperor of Vijayanagara. A modern memorial stone over its central entrance, inscribed by a hand who had no knowledge of the more extensive sovereignty of Venkatapati Raya, records that the building was the ‘Palace of the Rajas of Chandragiri’ ³.

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³ Orme, *Historical Fragments*, p. 227, says: “It still remains to know whether the king of Chandergherri, to whom the Jesuits went in 1599, was a descendant of Timiragio, or of the rightful king of Bisnagar, murdered by Timiragio’s son; but we believe of Timiragio.”

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The earliest reference to Venkata as ‘ruling from Chandragiri’ is dated 1602 ⁴; but Fr. N. Pimenta, in the account of his tour through the South of India, made in 1597, says in speaking of Venkata that ‘Hee now resideth in Chandragiri’ ⁵; and Fr. Du Jarric, in the course of his account of the arrival of the Jesuits in 1601, says that ‘Chandegiri is the residence of the King’ ⁶; the same fact is recorded in two inscriptions of 1603 ⁷, one of 1625 ⁸ and another of 1608 ⁹.

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⁴ Brakenbury, *Cuddapah Gazetteer*, p. 37.

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⁵ Fr. Pimenta’s letter, Purchas, X, p. 210.

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⁶ Du Jarric, I, p. 654.

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⁷ Rangacharya, I, p. 576, 16.

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⁸ Siddhout inscription, S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 248.

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⁹ Rangacharya, I, p. 653, 863.

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Now there is an inscription of 1587, in which Venkata appears ‘in the residence of Hampe-Hastinavathi (Vijayanagara), ruling the kingdom in peace and wisdom’ ¹⁰; then another of 1602-3, which shows him ‘seated on the diamond throne at Vijayanagara...ruling the kingdom of the earth' ¹; and even two more, of 1613 ² and 1614 ³, in which he is simply said to be 'ruling at Vijayanagara'. It is obvious to us that Chandragiri received also at this time the appellation of Vijayanagara, as Penukonda was likewise formerly called ⁴. In the map of India by Sr. Sanson d' Abbeville, published in the year 1652, Chandragiri is marked as 'Bisnagar or Chandragiri' ⁵. Moreover a traveller from Holstein named Mandelslo, who visited the Coromandel coast in 1639, says that the king 'resides sometimes at Bisnagar, sometimes at Narasinga' ⁶. This must be respectively understood of Vellore, which was then the capital of the Empire, and of Chandragiri, which was also called Narsinga, as already stated. This information is of great importance to us, because it seems to prove that the capital of the Empire was always called Vijayanagara, whether it was Hampi-Anegundi, or Penukonda, or Chandragiri, as at this time, or as some years after, Vellore.

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¹⁰ *Ep. Carn.*, VI, Cm, 79.

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¹ Butterworth, I, p. 269-71.
2. 452 of 1916.

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³ Ep. Carn., III, Sr, 157.

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⁴ Cf. Ch. X, No. 13.

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⁵ See plate XII.

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⁶ Mandelslo, Voyages and Travels, p. 94.

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PRESQVISLE DE L'INDE deca le Gange ou font les Royaumes, de DECAN, de GOLCONDE, de BISNAGAR, et le MALABAR. Par le S. Sanson d'Abbeville Geographe du Roy. Auec pripour 20 ans 1652

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LE MALABAR. Auec tous les Royaumes, qui sont sur sa Coste, dans la Terre, et dans les Montag

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8. At Chandragiri not a small coterie of nobles had naturally gathered round the Emperor. Fr. A. Laerzio, Provincial of the Jesuit Province of Malabar, who visited Venkata's court in 1603, writing to Fr. J. Alvarez at Rome in the following year, says: "Those nobles are very rich and powerful; some have a revenue of five hundred thousand cruzados, some of six hundred thousand, and some of four hundred thousand" ⁷. Fr. Du Jarric gives interesting information about one of the social institutions of the nobility at Chandragiri, corresponding more or less to our modern gymnasium. "The house fitted for this", he says, "has a yard in the centre, the pavement of which is covered with a layer of lime so smooth that it looks like a mirror; there is a walk around it, spread over with red sand, on which they rest as on a soft bed. One who would wrestle strips himself. Then several strong and brawny youths called geitas, who are ready beforehand, rub the nobleman; then they box, jump, fence and take other kinds of exercise with him, in order to strengthen him; and this they do until perspiration flows freely. Then the geitas cover the whole of the nobleman's body with sand, and massage him, and move his arms and legs in every direction as if they would disjoint his bones. Finally the nobleman is brushed, annointed and washed with warm water; and when dry, dresses himself. Noblemen take this kind of exercise almost every day before dinner, in order to be fit and healthy; thus men as old as seventy years look only thirty ”¹. Such is the description of the exercises taken in the gymnasium of Chandragiri, into which Fr. Simon de Sa, Rector of the College of St. Thome, was once admitted as a spectator.

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¹ Du Jarric, I p. 684-5.

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9. After this re-transfer of Venkata's capital to Chandrgiri, his extraordinary devotion to the god Venkatesa at Tirupati was naturally revived, perhaps with greater zeal and ardour. The excellence of the rock of Tirupati, which we have several times spoken of, is sung in the Venkatesvara Prabandha Baila Mahima. The temple is stated to be near the famous mythic mount Meru, where the gods hold their assembly ². According to the legend, Vishnu himself once became incarnated here ³. If we are to believe the Vaishnava literature, Tirupati, dedicated at its foundation to Vishnu, became later on a temple of Siva till the time of Ramanujacharya the reformer, who once more converted it into a Vaishnava shrine. To effect this he is said to have agreed with the Saiva priests of the temple to leave in it at night a conch and a discus, which are the insignia of Vishnu, and a trident and a small drum which are those of Siva; the temple was then closed; and on its being re-opened, it was found that the image had assumed the two first symbols. Accordingly Vishnu's cult was restored ⁴. The great temple was built by one of the Yadava Princes in or about A. D. 1048.

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² Wilson, Catalogue Raisonnee, p. 589.

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³ Venkata Giri Mahatmyam, Ibid., p. 588.

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⁴ Venkatesvara Mahatmyam, Wilson, The Mackenzie Collection, p. 254-5.

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Vishnu is worshipped there under five forms. Sri Venkatachala Pati, Malayapa or Utsavabari, Srinivas, Kolavu Bari and Venkata Toravar ¹.

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¹ Ibid.

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"The city of Tripeti (Tirupati)", says one of the Jesuit letters, "is very large and beautiful; and on account of a temple much venerated and dedicated to their Pirmal (Perumal), is for these heathens what Rome is to us. Crowds of people from the whole of the East flock here with gifts and offerings to pay a visit to this temple" ². The pilgrims, says another letter of Fr. Simon de Sa, "purge their sinnes by washing their bodies and shaving their heads and beards. The Idoll is in a cold hill compassed with fertile valleys abounding with fruits, none dare touch. There are plenty of Apes, which are so tame that they will take meate out of ones hand. The people take them for a Nation of gods which held familiaritie with Perimal. They worship Perimal in many figures, of a Man, an Oxe, Horse, Lion Hog, Ducke, Cocke" ³.

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² *Litterae Annuae* of the Province of Malabar, 1602, Ap. C, No. VIII.

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³ From Fr. Simon de Sa, Mylapore, November 20th. 1598, Purchas, X, p. 219.

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10. The vicinity of Chandragiri to Tirupati fostered the special devotion of the Emperor for that holy place. Several of his inscriptions and grants of those years are more or less connected with Tirupati and the god Venkatesvara. On August 18th, 1598, Venkata, while at Tirupati, made a grant of a village to several Brahmans and re-named it Tirumalambapuram ⁴. In the same year he made the Padmaneri grant in the presence of the god Venkatesa whom he invokes in the beginning of the grant ⁵; the same is seen in the Dalavay Agraharam Plates ⁶. Then a Tamil inscription around the Varadaraja shrine in the first prakara of the Srinivasa temple at Tirupati, dated 1606, records a grant by Venkatapati Raya to provide for offerings of rice to the god ⁷.

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⁴ *Catalogue of Copper-Plate Grants in the Government Museum, Madras*, p. 54.

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⁵ *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p. 297, vv. 46-48, and p. 296, vv. 1-3.

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⁶ *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 187, vv. 41-66, and p. 185, vv. 1-3.

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⁷ *M.A.D.*, 1920, p. 39.

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in 1601-2 he made the Vilapaka grant in the presence of the god Venkatesa, at Tirupati ¹.

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¹ Ep. Ind., IV, p. 270.

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The principal ceremony performed at Tirupati is at the time of the Durga Puja, about October. Fr. Coutinho, who happened to be there at this time, gives the following account of what he had seen: "At the Feast of Perimals marriage was such concourse of people, that that dayes offering amounted to two hundred thousand Ducats, the King, Queene and Courtiers being present. The Idoll was carried in a great triumphall Chariot drawne by ten thousand men, about midnight, a mile and a half. The Feast of Kowes was solemnized a moneth before, and all the wayes filled with them: for they hold Perimal to have beene the sonne of a Kow" ². Purchas does not give the full narrative of Coutinho, preserved in a letter of Fr. N. Pimenta: "The carr was drawn by ten thousand people," says he, "the King himself being one of the first. It was begun at the close of the day; but at midnight it started to rain and then the king retired; but the rest remained hard at their work till the carr was carried back to the place where it was taken from, two hundred and fifty feet in distance" ³.

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² Purchas, X, p. 222.

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³ Litterae Annuae of the Province of Goa, 1602, written by Fr. N. Pimenta, Goa, December 21st 1602, Ap. C, No. V.

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II. In the year 1603, while Venkata was residing at Chandragiri, the rebellion of the Nayak of Vellore took place. We have frequently spoken of the chiefs of Vellore, who had always remained faithful feudatories to the Vijayanagara Emperors. Chinna Bomma Nayaka was still living in the beginning of Venkata's reign; for in a Sanskrit verse by an unknown author he is called 'Viceroy of Velur, during the reign of Venkatapati Raya' ⁴. The same authority describes the ceremony of bathing in gold, which Chinna Bomma Nayaka performed in order to do honour to the scholarship of Appaya Dikshita. He is said to have with his own hands poured the gold coins out of the vessel ⁵. Dr. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar thinks that this Nayak was not Chinna Bomma himself, but his son and successor Lingama. This Lingama was the one who in 1601-2 obtained from Venkata II the Vilapaka grant: "With a libation of water (poured) over gold, the glorious King Vira Venkatapati Maharaya joyfully granted (the village of Vilapaka), sanctioning the request of the glorious Prince Linga, who was the renowned son of Prince Bomma of Veluru; who was the victorious grandson of prince Virapa Nayaka; who was ever devoted to the shrine of Vira at Sri Nellaturu; who resembled the sun (in conferring prosperity) on the lotus group, the hearts of scholars; who terrified the mind of prince Ballalaraya; who was engaged in establishing Mahadevas (lingas of Siva) and Mahidevas (Brahmans); who was the foremost of those who assert the priority of Siva; whose pride were the works (relating to) Siva; who was full of splendour; who, as the moon from the ocean, (rose) from the renowned Anakula gotra" ¹.

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⁴ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources, p. 251.

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⁵ Ibid.

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¹ *Ep. Ind.*, IV, p. 271. Lingama Nayaka had probably a brother called Nangama Nayaka, one of whose gifts is recorded in an inscription of 1602 in Malayappatu, North Arcot. 70 of 1887.

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Not long after the concession of this grant, Lingama Nayaka rebelled against his Emperer ²; we know not why. Was he one of those who refused to acknowledge Venkata on account of the murder of Sadasiva? From the Jesuit letter, which is the best source hitherto known for the history of this event, and from which we shall quote extracts as we go on, it seems clear that Lingama wished to form a small principality independant both of his immediate lord, the Nayak of Jinji, and of the Emperor himself. He was bold enough to defy both rulers, trusting no less to his immense wealth than to the strong fortifications which rendered Vellore all but impregnable.

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² Anquetil du Perron, l.c., p. 170, assigns the year 1609 as the date of Linga's rebellion and destruction. Our sources written in 1606 says that the siege of the fort took place two months before January, 1604.

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Venkata, without any delay, despatched in the month of October, 1603, his Adelaraya (Dalavay) or commander-in-chief to storm the capital of the rebel chief. Who was then the Dalavay of his army? In the first part of this Jesuit letter there is no reference whatever to the proper name of this general;

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but we are informed by the *Bahulasvacharitramu* that Chenna, of the Kalahasti family, defeated Linga of Velur on the plains of Munnali (Minnal?) and captured the fortress of Vellore ‘with its high fortifications and deep moat’¹. We may conclude from this that Chenna Nayaka was the commander-in-chief of the army sent against Lingama Nayaka. Once he started on his march there, the Dalavay pretended to have lost his way on the first day, with the first object of marching so fast throughout the night as to reach Vellore unexpectedly before dawn. Unfortunately his plan fell through; for only his vanguard reached the neighbourhood of Vellore at the desired hour, early in the morning; but the bulk of his army lagged behind, and did not arrive till later, when the garrison of the town was ready to repel the attack. Accordingly showers of bullets were poured on Chenna and his soldiers just as he was preparing to storm the city, and he was finally forced to retreat. But with indomitable courage he invested the fortress, in spite of the rainy season which had already burst. The siege lasted two months. Then two officers of Chenna’s army, who were on friendly terms with Lingama Nayaka, and even perhaps his relations (so suggests the Jesuit letter) were admitted into the fort to present their compliments to the chief. On returning to their camp, Linga, who seems to have been very kind and polite, accompanied his visitors a little way out of the gates of the fort. That was too golden an opportunity for the soldiers of Vijayanagara. Lingama was made prisoner and brought to Chenna’s camp.

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¹ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 305.

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The siege nevertheless dragged on. Neither the sons of Lingama nor his generals were willing to surrender the fort, in spite of the imprisonment of their chief; while he, on seeing that all chances of escape were cut off, offered twenty laks to the Dalavay if he could abandon the siege of Vellore; of these twenty laks fifteen would be given in gold coins and the other five in pearls and other precious stones. But the commander-in-chief at once wrote to Venkata summoning him to come forthwith to Vellore, “saying that now was the time to fill the royal coffers and to extend his sway by the annexation of this most fortified town.” The Emperor set out at once on January 9th, 1614, with an enormous army, besides a train of camp-followers and elephants, and hastened towards Vellore. Linga prostrated himself at Venkata’s feet as soon as the Emperor reached the camp. In the meantime his sons kept up a continuous fire, and tried their atmost to prevent Venkata from entering the town. But at last Vellore fell, and Venkata with his Queen took lodging “in the marble palace of Lingama Nayaka, adorned with gold and precious stones ” ¹.

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¹ *Litterae Annuae* of the Province of Malabar, 1604-1606, Ap. C, No. XXII. The account does not say that one of the Jesuits accompanied Venkata’s army on this occasion. Nevertheless this seems likely as the Jesuits were on good terms of friendship with the Emperor; moreover the detailed narrative of this campaign seems to be that of an eye-witness. Orme, *Historical Fragments*, p. 228-9, also mentions the siege and conquest of Vellore by Venkata. Cf. Henrion, *Histoire Generale des Missions*, p. 187. Fr. Pimenta says only that Fr. F. Ricio went there after a while.

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XIII. A portion of the walls of the old fort of Vellore.

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12. Venkata remained at Vellore till the following month of May. Then, “after having extorted from Lingama Naichen a large number of precious stones and pearls,” he “took him prisoner to grace his own triumph from the fortress of Velur to Chandegri ” ². Fr. B. Coutinho, who was himself an eye-witness of this magnificent state procession, wrote an account of it in the aforesaid Jesuit letter which we shall quote here: “On May 27”, he writes, “four hours after sunrise (viz. at about ten o’clock in the morning) this procession entered the town. The road through the middle of the city by which he had to pass was decorated with a big arch in the centre, and with very many carpets and hangings made of green boughs. But what added more dignity to the king was the fact that a large number of attendants in groups of three, dressed in gorgeous uniforms, were stationed at different intervals by the roadside; there were besides military bands with brass instruments and others with the vina and other classical instruments; these were followed by many other insignia, and finally by the royal standard itself, in which a golden lion and a golden fish were painted, thus showing Venkata’s soverignity over land and sea. This made the opening of the procession. Many horsemen came next among whom there was Obraias himself (Oba Raya) the King's father-in-law, and with him many other grandees adorned with gold ornaments and precious stones; at the end the King himself, accompanied by Connanaiche (Chenna Nayaka) riding a beautiful elephant, the body and the head of which were painted yellow and adorned with feathers and silk drapery¹: the silk pillow on which the King sat was embroidered with gold thread, and he was himself covered with pearls and precious stones......Being thus triumphantly carried, he was looking graciously on the crowd below...and having finally reached his palace, sat on the golden throne, where he received a present from the Adelaraya, the governor of the city, as it is customary. Then all the nobles presented their homage and left. We also (says Fr. Coutinho,) went there, and Fr. Francis Ricio offered the King a gilt drinking-cup of glass which he had kept for this occasion"².

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² *Litterae Annuae* of the Province of Malabar, 1604-1606, Ap. C, No. XXII.

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¹ The fact that Chenna rode on this occasion at Venkata's side goes again to bear out the supposition that he was the commander-in-chief of the victorious army.

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² Litterae Annuae of the Province of Malabar quoted above.

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13. It is not on record whether Vellore was once more restored to Linga; but from the fact that he is no longer mentioned in the contemporary documents, we may reasonably conclude that Vellore was thereafter retained under the Emperor's immediate authority according to the advice of his Dalavay. Moreover, two years later, about the middle of 1606, Venkata established his court in the old city of Vellore³, an event recorded also in the Ramarajiyamu⁴. But he used to reside at times at Chandragiri⁵, and that is the reason why both cities are by the Jesuit Missionaries called 'royal'⁶.

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³ From Fr. B. Coutinho to Fr. C. Aquaviva, St. Thome, November 4th, 1606, Ap. C, No. XIII.

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⁴ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources, p. 243.

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⁵ Cf. above No. 7.

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⁶ No other change of capital of the Emperors of Vijayanagara is so far known, though some authors state that it was finally established at Chingleput. Cf. Rice, Mysore and Coorg, p. 120; Francis, South Arcot Gazetteer, p. 36, etc.

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The fort of Vellore, according to local tradition, was built by one Bommi Reddi, or Naidu, a native of Bhadrachalam ¹, and converted by Narasimha of Vijayanagara into a place of residence ².

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¹ Cox, *North Arcot Manual*, II, p 418.

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² Garstin, *South Arcot Manual*, p. 3; Caldwell, *History of Tinnevelly* p. 48.

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According to an inscription of Chinna Bomma Nayaka of 1582 at Adaipalam, the Vellore temple was constructed by Appaiya Dikshita ³, but since we know that this temple existed earlier we must understand that Appaiya Dikshita's work was some enlargement of the same. The pavement round the building was laid by China Bomma Nayaka himself in 1549, for the merit of Macha Nayaka of Vellore ⁴. In 1702 Fr. Maudit said that 'the fortress of Vellore was one of the strongest throughout the whole of the country ⁵.' As a matter of fact this fort is perhaps the most beautiful specimen of military architecture in southern India, and fortunately it is still in a very good state of preservation.

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³ 395 of 1911.

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⁴ 60 of 1887. At Torudur, Tanjore, there is an inscription recording a gift of land to this temple in 1596. Sewell, I, p. 272.

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⁵ From Fr. Maudit to Fr. Le Gobien, Caruvepondi, January 1st, 1702, *Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses*, p. 310.

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14. We have already mentioned several feudatory chiefs of the time of Venkata, but to those we must add several other known through different sources. An inscription of Venkata of 1592 records the grant of a house for the location of a matha to Ananda Namasivaya Pandaram by Periya Errama Nayak of Punnarrur ⁶. Venkatapati Nayaningaru, the grandson of Velugoti Pedda Kondama Nayadu, and son of Kummara Timma Nayadu, declares himself feudatory of Venkatapati Raya in an inscription of 1612 ⁷; in another of the same year he is said to be 'an Arjuna in war' ⁸. In another of 1616, Narakampi Nayaningaru, likewise a feudatory of Sadasiva, gave the hereditary privilege of worship in the temple of Kona Vallabharaya to one Kandagada Guruvayya¹. The Venkatagiri Raja Pedda Yachama Nayadu, known as Yacha Surudu, got the Permadi country as a gift from Venkata II, and proved his loyalty to him in the following civil war². Yachama Nayaka, one of the feudatories of Venkata, of whom we have previously spoken, was, it seems, amongst the most powerful chiefs of the Empire. the *Bahulasvacharitam* speaks of him as having received presents of elephants and horses from Nizam Shah, Adil Shah and Qutb Shah. He was highly esteemed by the people of the cities of Cuttack, Delhi, Agra, Ahmadnagar, Mahur, Shiraj, Kalamba, Manduva, Makkha, Bedandakota (Bidar), Hukumi and Mahishmati³. Finally, the Jesuit records mention another chief, named by them Paparagiu (Papa Raya), identified, according to Dr. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, with the chief Davalu Papa who was defeated by Velugoti Yachama Nayadu at Uttaramaluru⁴. Fr. Simon de Sa, writing from Mylapor on November 20th, 1598, says that this chief "in one house kept three hundred Brachmans, and gave hospitalitie to the Pilgrims which went on, or came from Tripeti⁵". Fr. Du Jarric, who calls him 'a powerful chief', mentions the same fact⁶ and says moreover that "he placed his dwelling on the top of a very high mountain, encompassed by shady forests. The town was built all over the slopes of this mountain from the valley to the top⁷".

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⁶ 61 of 1887.

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⁷ Rangacharya, II, p. 1053, 36.

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⁸ Butterworth, I, p. 246.

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¹ Rangachaya, II, p. 1049, 1.

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² Madhava Rao, *The Ruling Chiefs*, p. 490.

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³ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 305-6.

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⁴ Ibid., p. 305, note. Cf. above No. 5.

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⁵ Purchas, X., p. 219.

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⁶ Du Jarric, I, p. 657.

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⁷ Ibid., p. 675. I cannot verify which city is referred to by Du Jarric; it must be between Mylapore and Tirupati.

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15. Venkata II appears to have been as generous as his predecessors to the temples and Brahmans for the maintenance of the Hindu cult. Being still Viceroy of the Tamil country, on June 24th, 1577, he made a gift of four villages to the temple of Chidambaresvara and Sivakamasundari-Ammai to provide offerings and sacred morning baths for the merit of Kondama Nayaka¹. In 1588 he made a gift of 300 pon to provide 20 rice offerings to the god Chidambaresvara at Chidambaram, to be distributed among the begging devotees ². In 1593, for the merit of the above mentioned Kondama Nayaka, he declared that the four districts and the five villages and all others whose possession had been enjoyed by the temple of Chidambaresvara from early times, were now made tax-free. In 1603 he imposed a tax on the weavers of Tindivanam, the proceeds of which were to go to the local temple ⁴. In 1604 he gave the village of Vengalambapuram to a number of Brahmans coming from several places ⁵. The year 1607 witnessed a grant of Venkatta to the god Narasinga ⁶. Lastly, in 1608 the Emperor regulated the festivals and the daily services in the temple at Alagiyasingar at Narasimhapuram ⁷.

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