Indian Antiquary Vol 45

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 193

NOVEMBER, 1016)
THE HISTORY OF THE NAIK KINGDOM OF MADURA
185
Setupati free, asked him to behave more wisely in the future, and dismissed him to his kingdom with presents of robes and ornaments."
SECTION V.
War with Sri Ranga Raya. From these events it is plain how deficient Tirumal Naik was in all those talents of statesmanship which conduce to the strength and security of a kingdom. Lacking in foresight and in firraness, he signalised his reign by a series of blunders, which, far from fulfilling his ambitions, went to curb his power and subject his kingdom to the evils of war and his subjects, to misery. We have already seen how, immediately after his accession, he entertained the idea of declaring himself formally independent, and made warlike preparations, but how other circumstances intervened and, besides chocking his ambition. dictated a more peaceful attitude. Epigraphical evidence conclusively prove that he acknowledged his sovereign as late as 1634 (Bhâva). An inscription of 1629 at Tadikkombu shews that30 Rama Dêva was ackowledged. In 1634 again, we are informed, the nominal emperor Vira Veúkatapati Dêva (Venkata II,), granted, at the humble and loyal request of Tirumal Naik, the village of Kûniyuri or Muttuksishņâ puram in the Viravanallar Mågâna of Mullai Nádu in Tiruvâți Rajya to certain Brahmans. But no sooner did the Setupati war end than Tirumal gave up this loyal attitude and renewed his alliance with the governors of Tanjore and Ginji and entered irf'to war with the nominal Emperor. And it was well that he secured the cooperation of those chiefs. For about 1642, there came32 to the throne at Chandragiri a prince, Sriranga Raya III by name, whose talents and character made him an exceptionally powerful monarch. He had, unlike his immediate predecessors, a superior spirit and understanding which could hardly, like their meek and placid disposition, submit without a murmur to the insolence of his vassals. Immediately after his accession he seems to have entertained the idea of reviving the greatness of his ancestors and releasing the central government from the turbulence of local and provincial authorities. Such a prince, with such a policy of centralisation and efficienoy, could hardly ignore the formidable treason of Tirumal and his confederates. With a large and formidable force, therefore, he promptly marched southward to chastise the guilt of his feudatories. This stern resolution and prompt action on the part of the emperor seems to have struck terror into the hearts of the governors, and cooled their ardour for united action.
The Emperor's Victory. Both from principle and habit they had long been jealous of one another, and the present sense of common danger or common interests could not overcome their traditional
50 Antiquities, 1. 289.
31 Near Shermadevi, S. of Tambraparni. See Ep. Ind. III, 236-58 for detail, also Mad. Ep. Rep. 1891, June, p. 6. On the other hand, an inscription of 1642-3 (395 of 1914) recording the grant of a village to the Chokkan&ths temple does not mention any suzerain.
52 The date of bis accession, according to Mr. Krishna Sastri was in September or October of 1642. Bee Arch. annual, 1911-2. . » Orme quotee Thevenot (Fragments p. 231) to shew that Vellore was the capital, while Chandragiri had occupied that place at the end of the 17th century. See J. H. Garstin's S. Arcos Manual, p. 4. In his Forg. Emp., p. 233, Sewell points out from Portuguese records of St. Thome that about 1685 the king was at Vellore and that the king was then“ devoid of energy, and that one Timma Raya had revolted against him." It is very likely that this Timma Raya was Tirumal Naik.