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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
(JUXE, 1916
the imperial power was, in other words, acknowledged in the extreme south of the Peninsula. All this was not a little due to the loyalty of Aryanatha. His example, the chronicles say, guided the rulers of Mysore, Jinji and Tanjore. He in short was a great unifying force, who kept the union of the tottering empire by his loyalty and, we are lod to believe, by his efficient soldiery as a generalissimo.
His greatness. It is not surprising that when in 1600 he felt the effects30 of age and toil and succumbod to death, he was widely and sincerely lamented. The emperor at Chandragiri must have felt his loss a serious one for the empire. As for Madura, it was not only a loss, but disaster. His death left a void which could hardly be filled. For more than thirtyeight years he had been the life of the young state, and given it glory and success. He had strengthened its resources, provided for its defence, beautified it with temples, secured its finances, and made it, in short, the chief power in south India. Thanks to his valour, the Naik of Madura was master of an extensive territory, which extended from sea to sea and from the woods of Uday ârpalayam to Cape Comerin. Thanks to his martial foresight, it was defended by a chain of forts and a federation of chieftains. The fioroa Marava in the east and the proud king of Travancore acknowledged the allegiance of Madura, and the rival chiefs of Mysore and Tanjore could hardly penetrate the wall of forts with which its frontiers were defended. Aryanatha, in short, gave the Nâik kingdon its strength and its security, its organization and its resources. His death was therefore sincerely mourned by the dynasty which owed so much of his strength to his support, by the people who benefited so largely by his measures, by the Brahmanical clergy whose liberal patron he was, and, above all, by the large number of the Polygars, of whose political existence and happiness he was the author. His memory has been cherished with gratitude by posterity. For the Zamindars, especially the descendants of the Polygars, his name possesses a charm which age has not withered, and he is actually worshipped as their patron saint and guardian angel. The stray traveller whore interest in art and architecture carries him to the renowned temple of Madura, will notice, at the entrance to the grand thousandpillared mantapam, & fine equestrian statue of an individual, receiving homage from all classes of people who happen to visit the famous sanctuary. The humble peasant olad in rags and the proud Zamindar, driving his coach and pair, vie with each other in doing honour to that figure, and offering a garland or other gift as & mark of their reverence. Even to lay and unhistorical minds, the questions at once suggest themselves, whom that statue represents, what he was, when he lived, and what his actions were, which entitled him to the respect of the world. To the rudo rustic he is an object of worship as the builder of that mantapam, but to the antiquarian the statue is singularly. valuable as the lifelike portrait of the illustrious statesman who, as we have already seen, was the greatest figure in the history of South India during a period of two eventful and epochmaking generations.
The deaths of Visvanatha III. and Lingappa. Visvanatha's reign lasted for only one year after the death of his great minister. In 1601 he died leaving the sceptre to his brother, Lingappa or Kumâra Krishnappa II. Lingappa, in accordance with the custom of the day, chose his brother Kastüri Ranga, a man of capacity and ambition, as Chinna Durai. The two brothers held a joint rule
30 The exact date is Chitrair of Baruari, S. 1622.
