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OCTOBER, 1916]
THE HISTORY OF THE NAIK KINGDOM OF MADURA
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own hone. He therefore closely followed the Mysore general, ravaged the frontier districts, and laid siege to the capital itself.
Ra mappaiya's invasion of Mysore. At this supreme moment the victorious general received, to his intonse surprise, a sentence of recall from his sovereign. The Dalavai had many personal enemies in the court, and they alienated the mind of the king from him by spreading the report that he was a traitor and that he should be recalled. The king swallowed the bait and sent two messengers to the seat of war in order to bring the alleged traitor to his presence, authorising them to apply force, if necessary. When Pama heard of his recall, he had to seek one of two alternatives, -either to obey the will of his sovereign and bring disgrace on the Marlura arms, or to disobey, for Tirumal's own sako, his commands, and continue the campaign till it was brought to a successful close. Obedience meant tho wasto of past endeavours and a blow to future prestige, but disobedience might be construed into treason, punis able with imprisonment and even decapitation. Unable to reconcile his duty with his policy and his loyalty with the true intorest of his sovereign's cause, Rama long hesitated to adopt one of the two courses open to him but at length resolved to ignore Tirumal's mandate. Actuatod by the hope that success would justify his action and prove his sincerity, he continued th3 siege of the Mysore capital.
His eventual Success. Unfortunately.Ramappaiya did not stop here. Highly incliguant at the obstinacy of the royal messenger and his application of force, he ordered his hands to be cut off. There can be no question that, in this act, the general committed an act of imprudence and a grave breach of morality, (as his sincero friend and adviser, Ranganna Naik, who was a personal witness of the Dala vai's interview with the messengers, pointed out). By his cruelty Rama gave a handle to his enemies and increased the jealousy of the king towards him. His position, in consequence, was very serious ; but the nobility of his friend, Rangaina, came to his rescue at this moment. The latter had protested against Ramappaiva's severity towards a royal servant, but he knew that there was some justification for it, that the general was, after all, guilty of imprudence and not of disloyalty; and that, if hiyconduct was questionable, his motive was good. He therefore espoused his cause when, shortly after the incident, he was summoned by Tirumal Naik to explain the facts. He described the difficult situation in which Rimappaiya found himscii ai ine time when he received the king's orders, his long deliberation, and his oventual decision. Ho dwelt on the absolute unselfish, of the Dalavai, his staunch loyalty, his leroism in the field of war. He probably contrasted the merit of his services with the hollowness of his courtly assailants. These arguments, from a man of the rank, power and position of Rangamba Niik, could not but convince Tirumal of his general's innocence. In the meantime, the latter had not been idle. Ho captured the Mysore capital, humiliated the Mysore Raj, and set out for home, anxious for the nature of the king's reception. He might have, if he had been a man of ambition, kept his army as a resort in case of danger; but his loyalty was too noblo to conceive the idea. Coming direct to the royal presence, he laid at the foot of his sovereign, a golden head, and a pair of golden arms to signify his willingness to lose both head and hands as a punishment for his cruelty towards the royal mossenger ; but at the samo time ho pleaded that a worthy motivo was an adequate palliative of the guilt. The Viik king realised the depth of his own folly and the nobility of his general; and far from
