Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions c8.s20: 20. Coorg Rājās
Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions c8.s20
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20. Coorg Rājās
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The Kongālvas, who had been installed by the Chōlas in 1004 or 1005 (Cg 46) as rulers of Kongal-nād—the Yēlusāvira country in Coorg and the Arkalgūd tāluq in Mysore—
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and of whom there are a dozen or more inscriptions in Coorg (see Cg 30-50), disappeared on the expulsion in 1116 of the Chōlas from Mysore by the Hoysalas, their latest inscription being dated in 1115 (Cg 33). But the Changālvas, who ruled over the other parts of Coorg and Changa-nāḍ—the Hunsūr tāluq in Mysore—continued in power, in subordination to the Hoysalas, and subsequently, as the Rājas of Nanjarāyapaṭṭaṇa or Nanjarājapaṭṭaṇa, to Vijayanagar, till nearly the middle of the seventeenth century (Hs 36). The earliest express mention of the Koḍagas or Coorgs in the inscriptions is in 1174 (Hs 20), when Bāḍagaṇḍa Nandi-Dēva, Udeyāditya-Dēva of Kuruche, and others, the Koḍagas of all the nāḍs, are said to have assisted the Changālva prince Pemma-Vīrappa in his attack on the Hoysala army at Pālpare, an enterprise that was not successful. The Changālva line became extinct in 1644 by the death of the last king at the capture of Piriyapatna or Periapatam by the army of the Mysore Rāja. The latter did not, however, follow up the victory into Coorg, owing to the forces of Bednūr having entered the country under Śivappa-Nāyaka, who was engaged in invading Malayāla. The Koḍagas later on may have attempted to recover Piriyapatna, as they are mentioned (Sr 64) among the assailants from all quarters who were overcome by Chikka-Dēva-Rāja of Mysore.
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The throne of Coorg left vacant by the overthrow of the Changālvas did not remain long unoccupied. A prince of the Bednūr family, who may have been related to the Changālvas in some way, having settled at Hālēri (called Kshīra-nagara in Sanskrit), to the north of Mercāra, in the garb of a Jangama or Lingāyit priest, gradually brought the whole country under his authority. His descendants continued as Rājas of Coorg till 1834, when the country was annexed by the British.
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The following is a table of the Coorg Rājas, whose history is contained in the Rājēndranāme, compiled by order of Vīra-Rājēndra, and translated into English by Lieut. Abercromby at Mangalore in 1808:—
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length securely seated on the throne, and a large body of Coorgs escaped to their own country during the siege of Seringapatam by Lord Cornwallis in 1792. Vīra-Rājendra had a romantic career and was the most distinguished of the Coorg Rājas. Cg 13 and 14 are grants made by him in 1796 for Śivāchāra maṭhas, and they direct that at the time of Śiva-pūjā blessings may be invoked with the following hymn of benediction :—
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jāti-smaratvam pṛthvī-patitvam saubhāgya-lāvanyam atīva-rūpam |
tvad bhakti vidyā paramāyur isḥṭam tvam daś cha mē Śankara janma janmani ||
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(Recollection of former births, dominion of the world, the glory of good fortune, surpassing beauty,
Faith in thee, knowledge, long life, (objects of) desire,—(of these) be thou giver to me, Śankara, from age to age.)
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And the witnesses are thus described :—
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āditya chandrō anilō nalaś cha dyaur bhūmir āpō hṛidayam Yamaś cha
ahaś cha rātriś cha ubhayaś cha sandhi dharmasya janāti narasya vṛitah.
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(Sun and moon, wind and fire, sky, earth and water, heart (or conscience) and Yama, day and night, morning and evening; these know the deeds of a righteous man.)
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In Cg 17 are recorded the erection and endowment of the Ōnkārēśvara temple at Mercāra in 1820 by the first Linga-Rāja. The building was commenced, it is said, on the 1,796,362nd Kali day, and completed on the 1,797,421st. A curious account of an elephant hunt in the time of the last Vīra-Rāja is given in Cg 25. Elephants having increased in numbers to such a degree that they were destroying fruit trees and crops, killing travellers, and damaging houses, the king considered it part of his duty as protector of his people to rid them of these troubles. He therefore, after invoking the aid of Śiva, entered into the forests in a chariot made and painted like a lion (according to Hindu belief the natural enemy of the elephant), and in the course of 2 years, 1 month and 25 days, between 1822 and 1824, disposed of 414 elephants. The actual days on which they were hunted were 38, and in those days he claims to have shot with his own hand 233, while his trained soldiers captured 181 alive, and “it was a marvel that men should catch stout and lofty rutting elephants as if they were mice.”
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But this king was a monster of sensuality and cruelty, and by wholesale murders had established a reign of terror in the country. In 1832 his sister and her husband escaped to the Resident at Mysore for British protection, and the Rāja’s insolent and defiant conduct led to an expedition being sent against him. As the result, he was deposed in 1834, and at the request of the people the country was taken over by the British. The Rāja was deported to Vellore, but afterwards lived at Benāres. In 1852 he was allowed to go to England, where he sought to gain the favour of Queen Victoria by having his daughter baptized and brought up as a Christian. He then commenced a Chancery suit against the East India Company, which dragged on till the affairs of the Company passed over to the Crown. He died in England in 1862, and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery in London.
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Among later inscriptions is Cg 29 of 1857. This relates to the restoration of a temple of Mahadēva on the Kunda hill. The work, to which a number of prominent men contributed, including a Brāhman, Coorgs, and even a Muhammadan, was commenced, it is said, on the 1,810,060th Kali day.