The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c23.100

v1.c23.100

appointed to be its guardians ¹. They had been under the Pandya kings; but at the time of the Muhammadan invasion they attained their independence ², and several famous princes had since ruled over the Marava nation. Udaiyan Setupati in 1434 built the outer surrounding walls of the western gopuras of the Rameswaram temple; and about 1540 Tirumalai Setupati erected the southern half of the second prakara of the same temple, finished by his son Raghunatha Tirumalai Setupati ³. Their main task was to watch over the causeway leading to Rameswaram and to protect the pilgrims. But after the conquest of the South by Visvanatha Nayaka the Setupatis had lost their old authority, and were mingled with the other palaiyakarans of the South. Muttu Krishnappa gave that house a considerable strip of land in the Marava country; and this is the reason why he is considered the founder of that dynasty. This is how it happened.