The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c23.39

v1.c23.39

We read in the *Mrtyunjaya MSS.* that Ariyanatha Mudaliyar "held the united offices of minister and generalissimo during four reigns, or thirty-eight years and nine months" ⁶. I feel sure that the power and efficiency of Ariyanatha in the Government of Madura have been hitherto exaggerated. Mr. Rangachari describes him as the real sovereign of the southern country ⁷. Such a mistake comes probably from Ariyanatha's account in the *Mrtyunjaya MSS.* That document is a panegyric on this minister very far from the truth, as we have already remarked a little above. The story of his appointment as Emperor of Vijayanagara by the dying sovereign Rama Raya on the battlefield of Raksas-Tagdi, and of the subsequent undertakings of Ariyanatha, is evidently false. Such a document is not at all trustworthy when praising its hero, specially as there is absolutely no evidence of his dominating influence. Moreover the silence of the inscriptions about him, specially in the reign of Virappa Nayaka (who is described by Mr. Rangachari as a puppet in the minister's hands) is worth considering while writing the history of Madura. I am however far from denying the general influence of Ariyanatha throughout the Pandya country as the prime minister of four successive Nayaks. His architectonic works are still an enduring proof of his efficiency in his post. The Mrtyunjaya MSS., say that he ‘constructed thousand-pillared choultries in Madura, Tinnevelly and other places’¹. His equestrian statue at the entrance of the thousand-pillared mandapa of the famous temple at Madura is the most evident proof of Ariyanatha's power, under the first Nayak of Madura.