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JULY, 1917)
THE HISTORY OF THE NAIK KINGDOM OF MADURA
161
she was obliged to wage against the Prince of Aurapaliam (Udayêr-pâļayam), another tributary of the Moghul. This man had already seized some of her towns. The lettor stated with much exaggeration the iniquity of the Rajah's proceedings, and was fitted with humble words and prayers intended to influence the general to come to her aid. With it came some very fine presents to be sent on to Aurangzeb, Sunt for Dâ'ûd Khan and some for the diwan. They consisted in a number of valuable trinkets and precious stones for the king, 20,000 rupees in silver coin for the general, and 10,000 for the diwan- metal with more virtues in the eyes of these gentry than the most polished orations or the most loquacious tongues". Manucci proceeds to say that, most probably on account of the siege of Madras, Da'ad Khan wrote to her regretting his inability to respond to her prayer, but sent her a few troops.
The earnest endeavour on the part of Mangammal to keep in good terms with the Empire at any cost is clear in another incident which took place at the end of 1702. Da'ad Khan had driven the Marathás completely from the Carnatic by that time, and Aurangzeb wrote to him "to force payment from the Rajah of Tanjore, the Queen of Trichinopoly, and some other neighbouring princes, of the tribute they had hitherto paid to the Mahrattas." These sums were to be in addition to the tribute previously collected by him from these princes. In his order the emperor set forth his reasons for making such a demand. Of these, the principal was that he had disbursed enormous sums in the conquest of the Marathas and in rescuing these kingdoms from & state of never-ending pillage. It was
matter of justice, therefore, that they should bear & cost of the imperial war with the Marathas. In conformity with these orders, Dâ'ûd Khan demanded an enhanced tribute from Tanjore and Trichinopoly, besides a contribution of 300 and 100 elephants respectively to the Empire, to replace those that had been lost during the war. Both the rulers pleaded poverty in vain. But they knew that the Mughal's object was, as Manucci says, to dispoil them and " to booome the master of all their territories and their treasures." They had therefore to purchase their safety by furnishing to the Mughal General "not the number of elephants he claimed, but as many as could be found in their states and belonging to their subjects."48 After all, the Mughal did not give them efficient protection. For in May 1704,4 the Marathas who, by this time, were penetrating into every corner of the Mughal Empire, raided the Carnatic, conquered the fortress of Serava once the capital of Carnatic Bijapur and now an imperial possession, once again; entered the country adjoining the territories of the kingdom of Trichinopoly and "realised a very large sum as tribute;" and then proceeding to Tanjore, sealed an alliance between the Maharashtra and the colony by the celebration of the marriage of the Tanjore ptincess with the son of Ramachandra Pant, the great statesman in whose hands the administration of the Maratha affairs had been entrusted by Queen Tera Bai.
The Mysore invasion of the Kongu Province. It seems that, immediately after her submission to the Empire, Mangamma! had to defend her kingdom against & formidable invasion of the Mysoreans. It is to the great credit of the Mysore king, Chikka Deva Raya, that while the other kingdoms of South India were 'tottering down, he was able to bring about an expansion of his kingdom. With rare diplomatic genius he persuaded the Mughals, who had seized Bijapur and organized its dependent possessions in
13 Storia do Mogor, III, p. 423-4.
Ibid, P. 503.
