A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c17.105

c17.105

Venkata III had no children and was succeeded by his treacherous nephew Śrīranga III. When he learnt that Venkata lay dying on the hills, Śrīranga deserted the Bijapur general and put himself forward as the defender of his ancestral kingdom and made himself king on the 29 October 1642. But he was by no means equal to undoing as king the mischief he had started as rebel; and many of the nobles—like Dāmerla Venkata and Krishnappa Nāyaka of Gingee—were against him. For a time, however, jealousy among the Muslim states appeared to give Śrīranga a chance, and the aid of Bijapur in January 1644 enabled him to check the advance of Golconda beyond Udayagiri for a time. He now felt strong enough to demand and collect large sums of money from the southern Nāyaks, part of which he paid over to Bijapur as the price of its help. Madura and Gingee soon rose again in rebellion, and another Golconda invasion reached Pulicat without opposition and was only repulsed by the Dutch commandant of the fort. To stop the Nāyak of Gingee from joining the Golconda army, Śrīranga made peace with him; he even gained a success against Golconda and pursued the invading army up to Kandukur in the north of the Nellore district. When Bijapur and Golconda reached an understanding, Śrīranga was unable to face their combined forces, and had to retire. The Golconda general, Mir Jumla, was preparing to advance by way of Kurnool, when the sultan of Golconda suddenly countermanded the war and compensated Bijapur, perhaps as the result of an understanding with Śrīranga. The danger of invasion ceased for a while until the southern Nāyaks with Tirumala Nāyaka of Madura at their head rebelled and appealed to Bijapur which sent Mustafa Khan against Vellore. Śrīranga, who had gone south to meet the Nāyak forces, had to hurry back to the defence of his capital. Golconda also struck at the same time in the direction of Vinukonda and Udayagiri. Utterly overwhelmed and helpless, Śrīranga made a last appeal to Hindu nationalism and exhorted his subjects to rally to the protection of the state, temples, Brahmins and religion. The ears of the Nāyaks were deaf to such appeals, and the great Mogul had asked Bijapur and Golconda to attack and partition the Carnatic between themselves. Defeated in battle by his own feudatory Nāyaks in December 1645, Śrīranga fell back on Vellore; pressure from Bijapur diminished for a time as the commanders went to Bijapur to settle disputes that had arisen among themselves; but Golconda was active and Mir Jumla came and occupied parts of Nellore and Cuddapah. Mustafa Khan of Bijapur came back and prepared to attack Vellore. Then the Nāyaks realized too late the danger that was threatening them all together. Even so Tirumala Nāyaka of Madura stood aloof. All other resources being spent, the jewels of the women of Vellore and the treasures of the Tirupati temple were used to maintain the defending forces. A slight success against Mustafa Khan won outside Vellore was not followed up by Śrīranga owing to dissensions among his allies who abandoned him and retired inside the fortress. Another big battle followed at Virinchipuram (4 April 1646) in which Śrīranga was again defeated despite aid from Mysore, Madura and Tanjore. Mustafa then besieged Vellore. Meanwhile Mir Jumla took all the territory in the east coast up to Pulicat; but the Dutch still refused to recognize Golconda for a while. Śrīranga finally had to abandon all resistance and seek refuge in Tanjore. Madura and Mysore were unable to ward off the Muslim conquest of the Carnatic which was completed by 1652. When Tanjore, like Gingee a little before, submitted to Bijapur in 1649, Śrīranga repaired to Mysore where he kept his court with the aid of the Keladi chiefs, dreaming of the reconquest of Vellore until death came to him as a relief some time about 1672.