Najjaraj Yashobhushanam

Author(s): Embar Krishnamacharya
Publisher: Oriental Institute

Page 9

Diji
failed, as also in his subsequent attempt to make friends with the English. In the meanwhile, he was urgently called back to the capital by Devaraju, as Seringapatam was then besieged by Salabat Jang, the Subedar of the Deccan. But before Nañjarâja could reach Seringapatam, Devarâja concluded a treaty by which he had to pay fifty-six lakhs of rupees to Salabat Jang. To compensate this loss, Nañjarâja was obliged to curtail expenditure even by reducing a greater portion of his army.
In 1756 another trouble arose, when the king Chikka Krsņa Râja, not contented with his dependent position, conspired to overthrow the ministry. When the plot was discovered, Nañjarâja, in spite of Deva. râja's advice to take recourse to mild measures, took severe steps to put down the conspiracy. To threaten the king he ordered that the noses and the ears of the conspirators (i. e. the kiog's associates ) should be cut in his (the king's ) very presence. This rude behaviour of Naõjarâja and his refusing to listen to Devarâja's advice, displeased the latter to such an extent, that Devaraja left the capital in 1757 and lived at Satyamangalam the remaining portion of his life.
This was followed by the Mahratta invasion and the siege of Seringapatam by Balaji Rao. The calamity could only be averted by Nañjaraja's offering to pay thirty lakhs of rupees to the Mahrattas. But as the whole amount could not be raised, some districts had to be pledged to the Mahrattas. After leaving some troops and a few agents to collect the revenue the Mahratta army departed. But Nañjarâja expelled these troops at Haidar's advice and took possession of the districts. This resulted in the second Mahratta invasion in 1759 and the siege of Channapattana by Gopal Hari. Haidar was now placed at the command of the whole army and he, after three months' hard fight, forced the Mahrattas to come to terms whereby thirty lakhs of rupees were to be given to them and they promised to quit the Mysore territory.
Subsequently, the troops mutinied for arrears in pay and Haidar was commissioned by Naõjarâja to quell the mutiny. Haidar assisted by big Muteaddi Khande Rao, paid off the troops, after a close scrutiny of their demands; and when the troops had left the capital receiving their pay, Haidar placed his guards in charge of the fort and immediately issued orders to confiscate the property of the chief officers in the army for their being ringleaders in the mutiny.