Indian Antiquary Vol 46

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

Page 39

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FEBRUARY, 1917] THE HISTORY OF THE NAIK KINGDOM OF MADURA
disaster so long as he had the necessary men and provisions; but he was the slave of fear and the tool of cowards. He therefore abandoned the defence of the place and left for the neighbouring woods, where pursuit was difficult and life was safe.
The conquest of Tanjore was immediately followed by the invasion of Madura; and the whole country from the-banks of Kâveri to the latitude of Madura became subject to the depredations of the Musalmans The unfortunate people once again had to experience the hardships of war, while their king was secure in his luxurious palace at Trichinopoly. As usual, the Musalman in victory did not display moderation or wisdom. It seemed to be more a crusade against civilization in general than the conquest of a kingdom. The avarice of the soldiers seized every opportunity of plunder and their brutality every chance of oppression. Never did Madura or Tanjore experience, in all their gloomy careers, a calamity so dire and so disastrous as on this occasion; but never at the same time did Providence mete out a punishment to the authors of the misery so rapid and so effective as the one on this time. The excesses and atrocities of the victors recoiled on themselves. The horrors of famine overspread the land. Thousands died of hunger, and thousands left the kingdom in search of better, safer and more fortunate climes. Those who survived the famine or resisted the temptation to emigrate fell victims to epidemics. In this combination of ills the Muhammadan army suffered most. Want of food thinned its ranks daily, and desertion became a common-place occurrence. The corpses of starved men and the carcases of dead horses lined the roadside in disorderly mixture and filled the fields. The atmosphere became surcharged with the poison of putrid matter and the stench of decaying bodies. Diseases and pestilence broke out and added their dire work to the activity of famine. The difference between conquerors and conquered disappeared in the common suffering, and both united in cries of misery and prayers of urgency for the help of Providence
For a few weeks the Muhammadan generals endeavoured to overcome the calamity, but in vain. They found their position absolutely untenable and longed to return to their homes. But before doing so they wished, if possible, to intimidate the King of Madura and extort an indemnity from him. With this intention they advanced to Trichinopoly and laid siege to it. They were not successful. In the first place they met with a stout and determined defence from Muttu Vîrappa and his general Lingama Nâik, a man of great capacity and greater ambition, of whom we shall hear much in the next reign. Secondly, the horrors of famine and virulence of pestilence followed them, and thirdly, the depredations of the Kallas, probably the subjects of the Sêtupati, insulted them by harassing and daring attacks upon their camps. The consequence was the Muhammadans entered into negotiations for peace. Virappa could, with greater tact, have refused attention to their overtures, and found a means to annihilate them; but he exaggerated their strength and underrated his own, and thought that he was making a good bargain by purchasing their evacuation of the country. His only consolation was that the drain from his coffers was comparatively moderate.
So ended the dream of Muttu Virappa to restore the glory of his realm to its former independence. His failure in the war is attributed by some writers on the authority of the Jesuits to his character. From the moment of his accession, they say, he gained the notoriety of a drunkard and a debauches. Entirely oblivious of the duties of his office,
59 E. g.; Wheeler and Nelson. Taylor takes the view of the Chronicles that he was very probably a wise and peaceable prince and that his reign was not marked by incilents, (0. H. MSS. II, p. 184).