43-787: The Wadiyar dynasty ,( Kannada: [(ʷ)oɖejɐru] ) also referred to as the Wadiyars of Mysore (also spelt Wodeyer, Odeyer, and Wadeyar), is a late-medieval Indian royal family of former maharajas of Mysore from the Urs clan originally based in Mysore city. Ruling families Ruling titles Capitals Overlords Prime ministers Alliance Famous leaders Arts and culture during Mysore Kingdom Government Famous events and moments Mysore Brand Mysore Kingdom landmarks Mysore era firms and organisations As Maharajas of Mysore ,
86-692: A cultural centre of Karnataka . Medieval India Medieval India refers to a long period of post-classical history of the Indian subcontinent between the "ancient period" and "modern period". It is usually regarded as running approximately from the break-up of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century CE to the start of the early modern period in 1526 with the start of the Mughal Empire , although some historians regard it as both starting and finishing later than these points. The medieval period
129-479: A modern "British" period. He argues that there is no clear sharp distinction between when the ancient period ended and when the medieval period began, noting dates ranging from the 7th century to the 13th century. Timmaraja Wodeyar II Timmaraja Wodeyar II (? – 1572), was the sixth maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore , who ruled between 7 February 1553 and 1572. He was eldest son of Chamaraja Wodeyar III ,
172-513: A saintly king, and his kingdom was hailed as Ramarajya by Mahatma Gandhi –as an ideal kingdom comparable to the one ruled by Lord Rama . Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV's nephew, successor, and the last reigning king of the Wadiyar dynasty, Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar , ruled from 1940 until 1950. Upon India's independence from the British crown in 1947, Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar ceded his kingdom to
215-628: A secondary residence for the Wadiyars at the Bangalore Palace . With a declining Vijayanagara Empire, in 1610 Raja Wadiyar conquered the fort of Srirangapattana from Tirumala, the Vijayanagara viceroy stationed there. Tirumala is said to have retired to the nearby town of Talakadu with his two wives. At about the same time, Tirumala suffered from a terminal disease; his condition deteriorated and he eventually died. One of his wives
258-581: Is itself subdivided into the early medieval and late medieval eras. In the early medieval period, there were more than 40 different states on the Indian subcontinent, which hosted a variety of cultures, languages, writing systems, and religions . At the beginning of the time period, Buddhism was predominant throughout the area , with the Pala Empire on the Indo Gangetic Plain sponsoring
301-420: Is slowly eroding due to whirlpools. Talakadu's temples lie buried in a vast expanse of sand and are dug up and exposed every 12 years. At Malangi, on the other hand, the river is at its deepest. Whether these phenomena appeared only after Alamelamma's curse in 1610 is a matter of conjecture. Raja Yaduraya is recorded as the founding ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore . The sixteenth maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar I
344-681: The East India Company which governed large territories in India at that time restored the kingdom back to the Wadiyars under a subsidiary alliance . After India's independence from the Crown, the ruling Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wadiyar ceded the kingdom to the newly formed Dominion of India . In Kannada , the common noun odeyaru ( Kannada : ಒಡೆಯರು oḍeyaru ) is the plural form of odeya (ಒಡೆಯ) which means lord or lordship . The first poleygar and raja of Mysore, Yaduraya , assumed
387-743: The Ghurid Empire and founded the Delhi Sultanate which ruled until the 16th century. As a consequence, Buddhism declined in South Asia , but Hinduism survived and reinforced itself in areas conquered by Muslim empires. In the far South, the Vijayanagara Empire resisted Muslim conquests, sparking a long rivalry with the Bahmani Sultanate . The turn of the 16th century would see introduction of gunpowder and
430-576: The Muslim conquests of the Indian subcontinent and the decline of Buddhism, the eventual founding of the Delhi Sultanate and the creation of Indo-Islamic architecture , followed by the world's major trading nation, the Bengal Sultanate . The start of the Mughal Empire in 1526 marked the beginning of the early modern period of Indian history, often referred to as the Mughal era. Sometimes,
473-450: The 16th century to the 18th century, is often referred to as the early modern period , but is sometimes also included in the 'late medieval' period. An alternative definition, often seen in those more recent authors who still use the term at all, brings the start of the medieval times forward, either to about 1000 CE, or to the 12th century. The end may be pushed back to the 18th century, Hence, this period can be effectively considered as
SECTION 10
#1732771771590516-840: The Buddhist faith's institutions. One such institution was the Buddhist Nalanda mahavihara in modern-day Bihar , India , a centre of scholarship and brought a divided South Asia onto the global intellectual stage. Another accomplishment was the invention of the Chaturanga game which later was exported to Europe and became Chess . In Southern India, the Tamil Hindu Kingdom of Chola gained prominence with an overseas empire that controlled parts of modern-day Sri Lanka , Malaysia , and Indonesia as overseas territories, and helped spread Hinduism and Buddhism into
559-545: The Indian Parliament . Upon Srikantadatta Wadiyar's demise 2013, his widowed wife Devi Pramoda Wadiyar adopted Yaduveer Wadiyar , who was anointed as the maharaja of Mysore and the head of the family in 2015. Mysore Palace has been the official residence of the Wadiyars for most of the family's recorded history. Briefly, Srirangapattana was also the seat of the Wadiyars. By the early 1900s, Bangalore had seen significant infrastructural development and had become
602-533: The Kingdom of Mysore. After the death of the 22nd ruler Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar VIII , his widowed queen mother Maharani Lakshmi Devi adopted Chamaraja Wodeyar IX of the Bettada Kote Urs branch which continues to-date. The Wadiyars were patrons of fine arts, fostering a number of famous musicians, writers and painters. Their contributions to music and literature has rendered the city of Mysore
645-492: The Mughal era is also referred as the 'late medieval' period. Modern historical works written on medieval India have received some criticism from scholars studying the historiography of the period. E. Sreedharan argues that, from the turn of the century until the 1960s, Indian historians were often motivated by Indian nationalism . Peter Hardy notes that the majority of modern historical works on medieval India up until then were written by British and Hindu historians, whereas
688-496: The Wadiyars ruled the Kingdom of Mysore from the late 1300s until 1950. Members of the Wadiyar dynasty and the Urs clan have also been royal advisers as dewans to their reigning siblings, cousins, nephews, or distant relatives. Some members have also commanded army divisions as dalvoys (commander-in-chief) for their reigning monarch. During the late 14th century, the family was originally poleygars ( Kannada for garrison) defending
731-507: The Wadiyars were local feudal lords who purported Puranic ancestry and claimed to be the direct descendants of the Lunar Dynasty . The Wadiyar dynasty started when Yaduraya , a garrison leader ( poleygar ), was made the prefect of Mysore and the surrounding regions by his overlord Harihara II of the Vijayanagara Empire in 1399. With this, Yaduraya assumed the title Raja and the honorary surname Wadiyar. He and his successors ruled
774-492: The administration of the kingdom by dividing it into 18 departments (called chavadis ); he also introduced a coherent system of taxation. From 1760 to 1799, the rule of the Wadiyar dynasty was essentially nominal, with real power firmly in the hands of the Commander-in-chief and later self-proclaimed sultan, Hyder Ali , and his son and successor Tipu . The two, ruling the sultanate from Srirangapattana , expanded
817-408: The beginning of Muslim domination to British India . Or the "early medieval" period as beginning in the 8th century, and ending with the 11th century. The use of "medieval" at all as a term for periods in Indian history has often been objected to, and is probably becoming more rare (there is a similar discussion in terms of the history of China ). It is argued that neither the start nor the end of
860-402: The capital from Mysore to nearby island town of Srirangapattana on the river Kaveri , which provided strategic protection against military attacks. Raja Wadiya's cousin and successor down the line Kanthirava Narasaraja I expanded the frontiers of the kingdom to Trichy in present-day Tamil Nadu . The kingdom reached its peak under Kanthirava's grand-nephew Devaraja Wodeyar II , who reformed
903-429: The fiefdom of Mysore as rajas under the vassalage of the Vijayanagara Empire until around 1553. The Vijayanagara Empire disintegrated in 1565. With the fall of the empire, Mysore became an independent kingdom, the first independent king being Timmaraja Wodeyar II , the great-great-great-grandson of the founding ruler Yaduraya. Thimmaraja's nephew Raja Wodeyar I expanded the borders of the kingdom. In 1610, he moved
SECTION 20
#1732771771590946-420: The fifth raja of Mysore. On 17 February 1553, he succeeded on the death of his father. Thimmaraja Wodeyar II was the first 'maharaja' to rule as absolute monarch and denounce Mysore Kingdom's vassalage to the Vijayanagara Empire . Right in his father's days, Thimmaraja Wodeyar II had learnt the lineage of the royal families in Vijayanagara. Both his father and his brother, including himself, had begun to question
989-625: The historic cultural area of Southeast Asia . In this time period, neighbouring regions such as Afghanistan , Tibet , and Southeast Asia were under South Asian influence . During the late medieval period, a series of Islamic invasions by the Arabs , the Ghaznavids and the Ghurids conquered large portions of Northern India. Turkic general Qutb ud-Din Aibak declared his independence from
1032-470: The jewellery, returned to Alamelamma's safe custody for rest of the week. On one instance, the temple requested the king's soldiers to fetch the jewels from Alamelamma as has become a practice. An approaching king's emissaries, headed by Chief Courtier Ramanath Molahalli, seems to have scared her off. To escape an ill-presumed imminent wrath of the king, she ran over to a cliff overlooking the Kaveri river into
1075-494: The king felt repentant and had an idol of Alamelamma made in gold, installed it in the palace, and worshipped it as a deity. To this day, the idol can be found in Mysore Palace . The king's only surviving son, Narasaraja Wadiyar, died (believed to be an effect of the curse in folklore). The Dasara festivities inside the palace end on the evening of Navarathri with a formal pooja to Alamelamma. Another interesting part of
1118-586: The kingdom aggressively. After Tipu's defeat in the Siege of Seringapatam during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799, the British restored the Kingdom to the Wadiyars under a subsidiary alliance that required an annual payment as tribute. The capital was moved back to Mysore . The four-year-old infant prince Krishnaraja Wodeyar III , adopted son of the previous ruler Chamaraja Wadiyar IX ,
1161-587: The legitimacy of the Tuluva family . Before his father could take a stand against feudalism, he died. However, right after coming to power in 1553, he formally declared independence of the Kingdom of Mysore from the Vijayanagara Empire. In Vijayanagara, though, Rama Raya was in power, trying to hold together the falling pieces of the empire. But, disintegration and insubordination were faster than Rama Raya's consolidation of power. In this political mood,
1204-403: The new provisional Dominion of India but continued as Maharajah until India became a Republic in 1950. Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar became the rajapramukh of the renamed Mysore State from 1950 to 1956. After the reorganisation of Indian states on a linguistic basis in 1956, he was appointed Governor of the integrated Mysore State (present Karnataka State ), a post which he held until 1964. He
1247-493: The period from the 6th century, the first half of the 7th century, or the 8th century up to the 16th century, essentially coinciding with the Middle Ages of Europe. It may be divided into two periods: The 'early medieval period' which lasted from the 6th to the 13th century and the 'late medieval period' which lasted from the 13th to the 16th century, ending with the start of the Mughal Empire in 1526. The Mughal era, from
1290-572: The period really mark fundamental changes in Indian history, comparable to the European equivalents. Burton Stein still used the concept in his A History of India (1998), referring to the period from the Guptas to the Mughals, but most recent authors using it are Indian. Understandably, they often specify the period they cover within their titles. The start of the period is typically taken to be
1333-506: The regions in and around Mysore town for the Vijayanagara Empire , their feudal overlords. With the fall and decline of the empire in the 17th century, the Wadiyars declared independence when Timmaraja Wodeyar II seized the nearby town of Srirangapattana , the seat of Tirumala, Sriranga II 's viceroy, in 1610. Between 1766 and 1799, when Hyder Ali and Tipu dictated the kingdom, the Wadiyar rulers as maharajas were largely nominal without any actual powers. After Tipu's execution in 1799,
Wadiyar dynasty - Misplaced Pages Continue
1376-613: The rise of a new Muslim empire—the Mughals , as well as the establishment of European trade posts by the Portuguese colonists . Mughal Empire was one of the three Islamic gunpowder empires , along with the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia . The subsequent cultural and technological developments transformed Indian society, concluding the late medieval period and beginning the early modern period . One definition includes
1419-477: The slow collapse of the Gupta Empire from about 480 to 550, ending the "classical" period , as well as "ancient India", although both these terms may be used for periods with widely different dates, especially in specialised fields such as the history of art or religion. Another alternative for the preceding period is "Early Historical" stretching "from the sixth century BC to the sixth century AD", according to Romila Thapar . At least in northern India, there
1462-469: The story is that the Alamelamma temple is under the care of her legal heirs. Strangely, these priests/caretakers appear to be cursed by the same curse, following the same pattern afflicting the Wadiyars. Talakadu and Malangi are two small towns near Tirumakudalu Narasipura on the banks of the Kaveri where the river takes a bend. To date, most parts of Talakadu lie under sand, and the village of Malangi
1505-605: The term as his titular proper noun. Members of the Wadiyar dynasty hail from the Urs clan; upon adoption or by heredity, they assume the title Wadiyar and their immediate family therewith, the latest instance of its happening with the present head of the family Yaduveer Wadiyar upon his coronation in 2015. The Wadiyars claim descent from the Hindu deity Krishna . Legend has it that they arrived from Dvārakā . However, historians like P. V. Nanjaraj Urs, Shyam Prasad, Nobuhiro Ota, David Leeming , and Aya Ikegame instead suggest that
1548-623: The throne. When in 1881 he attained the age of majority, through an act of parliament, the British once again transferred power back to the Wadiyars. The maharaja changed the English spelling of their royal name from Wodeyar to Wadiyar. He established the Mysore Representative Assembly ; the first of its kind in Princely India . Chamaraja Wadiyar X's son and successor Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV earned great fame as
1591-412: The whirlpool and cursed before plunging to her own death, "may Talakadu become a barren expanse of land, Malangi turn into a whirlpool, and may kings of Mysore never beget children to all eternity" ( Kannada : ತಲಕಾಡು ಮರಳಾಗಲಿ, ಮಾಲಂಗಿ ಮಡುವಾಗಲಿ, ಮೈಸೂರು ದೊರೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಹೋಗಲಿ; transliteration: talakāḍu maral̤āgali, mālaṃgi maḍuvāgali, maisūru dŏrĕgal̤igĕ makkal̤illadĕ hogali). Learning of this accident,
1634-427: The work of modern Muslim historians was under-represented. He argues that some of the modern Muslim historiography on medieval India at the time was motivated by Islamic apologetics , attempting to justify "the life of medieval Muslims to the modern world." Ram Sharan Sharma has criticised the simplistic manner in which Indian history is often divided into an ancient "Hindu" period, a medieval "Muslim" period, and
1677-455: Was Alamelamma, a staunch devotee of Ranganayaki, the consort of Lord Ranganatha , the presiding deity of the famous Adi-Ranga temple in the island fortress of Srirangapatna . Alamelamma had a large amount of jewellery, including a fine nose ring studded with a large pearl. As a widow, customs forbade jewellery on her. She frequently lent the jewels to the temple of Ranganayaki. Every Tuesdays and Fridays, Ranaganayaki's idol would be decorated with
1720-456: Was anointed as the Maharaja of Mysore . In 1831, on a specious plea of non-payment by Krishnaraja Wodeyar III, the kingdom was placed under Mysore Commission that lasted from 1831 to 1881. Mark Cubbon and L. B. Bowring were among the well-known commissioners of the period. In 1868, upon Krishnaraja Wodeyar III's demise, his five-year-old grandson Chamaraja Wadiyar X became the heir to
1763-494: Was no larger state until the Delhi Sultanate , or certainly the Mughal Empire, but there were several different dynasties ruling large areas for long periods, as well as many other dynasties ruling smaller areas, often paying some form of tribute to larger states. John Keay puts the typical number of dynasties within the subcontinent at any one time at between 20 and 40, not including local rajas . This period follows
Wadiyar dynasty - Misplaced Pages Continue
1806-473: Was the last direct male lineage of Raja Yaduraja. However, Krishnaraja Wodeyar I's successor was his adopted son, Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar VII from the Ankanahalli Urs branch. After him, Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar III's second daughter Rajakumari Chikkadevi's family with the Bettada Kote Urs branch takes over the monarchy. The Bettada Kote Urs was one of the larger jagirs , or feudal estates, in
1849-523: Was then appointed Governor of Madras (now Tamil Nadu ) for two years. The Indian Constitution continued to recognise him as the Maharajah of Mysore until 1971, when titles and privy purses of maharajas were abolished by the Government of India under Indira Gandhi . The maharajah died in 1974. His only son Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar became the head of the family; he was a member of
#589410