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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[AUGUST, 1917
Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha.
SECTION II.
Personal Rule (1706-1731.)
The death of Mangammal paved5s the way for the actual exercise of sovereign power by Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha. The character of this monarch is simply and easily described. Throughout his long reign of 26 years (for he ruled till 1731), he shewed himself, by his conduct, an exceedingly pious and god-fearing man. In fact he led the life of a saint, of a pilgrim, rather than that of a king. His mind was always occupied in the efficient observance of religious ritual and the speedy propagation of the religious spirit. Caring solely for the applause of the clergy by whom he was surrounded, he spent every moment of his life and every penny of his revenues in indulging their desires and furthering their interests. A Telugu chronicle observes that it was his custom to set out every two years, on an extensive religious tour, throughout his kingdom. He would in the course of the tour, visit the shrines of Srirangam, Jambukêśvaram, Madura, Tinnevelly, Alvar Tirunagiri, Sri Vaikuntham, etc. On these occasions the pious monarch would expend, with a reckless extravagance, immense sums for the increased offerings and anointings of the images. The priests of many a rich temple who understood the real character of the king practised deception and found means to fill their already full coffers. They would set aside the silken robes and the costly ornaments00 of the shrine and substitute in their place plain white clothes and other semblances of poverty. The plates and charters of previous royal endowments would be carefully hidden, and a small number of faintly flickering lights would be kept burning at the altar. The king on seeing these miserable provisions invariably bestowed, without the least enquiry into the past history or the present resources of the shrine, numerous vestments and monetary gifts of the value of 2,000 or 3,000 maḍais, amounting to 1,000 or 1,500 star pagodas. In this manner every tour of the king absorbed lakhs of rupees of the revenue. The extravagance of donations was repeated during every tour; for the king, with an extraordinary pride and singular notion of charities, deprecated all inquiry into past gifts on the ground that such an enquiry would destroy the spiritual fruits of the gifts themselves. To those men of business and of sense
58 Nelson points out that there are no Jesuit letters to illustrate this reign. We have to depend solely on Chronicles and the meagre and secondary evidence of English historians.
59 An inscription of his, dated 1710, is in the eastern Gopura of Madura. Further epigraphs in his name dated 1716, 1724, 1727, 1729, and 1731 are given by Sewell. Two of these are grants to Durga and Siva temples; but the deeds are always engraved with Vaishnava figures. A curious fact to be noticed is that an alleged suzerain Raya is always given. Inscription 697 of 1909 records a grant of is in 1728 (Ep. Rep., 1909, p. 59).
60 For an interesting account of a few of the jewels given by Vijaya Ranga to the Srirangam temple, see Ind. Ant. I, p. 131. His are some of the oldest jewels possessed by the temple,-neckaces, gold and silver vessels, etc. [from the Athenaeum, Jan. 17, 1872].
