Madurai Nayak dynasty

Rulers of Tamil Nadu from 1529 to 1736

Madurai Nayaka dynasty

1529–1815
Capital|

* Madurai
(1529–1616)
* Tiruchirapalli
(1616–1634)
* Madurai
(1634–1695)
* Tiruchirapalli
(1695–1716)
* Madurai
(1716–1736)
* In Sri Lanka:
* Kandy
(1739-1815)

Common languages|

* Telugu
* Tamil

Government|

* Governors under the Vijayanagara Empire
* Monarchy

History|

• Established

| 1529

• Disestablished

| 1815

Preceded by | Succeeded by

|

|  | Pandiyan Dynasty

|

| Delhi Sultanate
| Madurai Sultanate
| Vijayanagara Empire
| Carnatic Sultanate |

|

Kingdom of Mysore |
Ramnad estate |
Pudukkottai state |
British Ceylon |

The Madurai Tamil were a Telugu dynasty[1] who ruled most of modern-day Tamil Nadu, India, with Madurai as their capital. The Madurai Nayaks had their origins in the Balija warrior clans of present-day Andhra Pradesh.[2] The Nayak reign which lasted for over two centuries from around 1529 to 1736 was noted for its achievements in arts, cultural and administrative reforms, revitalization of temples previously ransacked by the Delhi Sultans, and the inauguration of a unique architectural style.[3] It was founded by Vishwanatha Nayaka.[4]

The dynasty consisted of 13 rulers, of whom nine were kings, two were queens, and two were joint-kings. The most notable among them were king Tirumala Nayaka and queen Rani Mangammal. Foreign trade was conducted mainly with the Dutch and the Portuguese, as the British and the French had not yet made inroads into the region.

## History

[edit]

### Origins

[edit]

The Dalavay Agraharam Plates of Venkata I, mention that Virappa Nayaka, the grandson of Viswanatha Nayak, a ruler of the Madurai line mentions him with the title of lord of Ayyavalipura ('Lords of the town of Ayyavole').[5] The lords of Ayyavolu were called Vira- Balanjas.[6] The term Vira-balija in Telugu, Vira-Banajiga in Kannada and Vira-Valanjiyar in Tamil, all of them mean valiant merchants.[7] These merchants styled themselves as protectors of Vira Balanja Dharma[8] and their capital was at Ayyavole or Aihole in Bijapur district of Karnataka.[9] Description of the Nayakas of Madurai was compiled by an official of the Dutch East India Company in 1677, it mentions that the founder of the dynasty, Viswanatha Nayak, as belonging to the Wellen Chetti merchant community.[10] One of the Mackenzie manuscripts mentions that Wellen chetti would mean bangle seller.[11]

### The Nayaka Rulers clan

[edit]

Originally, the Nayakas were Telugu-speaking Balija warriors from present-day Andhra Pradesh.[2][1] The Kaifiyat of the Karnata Kotikam Kings (c.1800-1804) mentions the founder of the dynasty, Viswanatha Nayak, as belonging to the Garikepati family of the Balija caste.[12] and his ancestors were involved in the bangle trade.[13] Dewan Bahadur Ramabadra Naidu, Zamindar of Vadagarai was a descendant of the famous warrior and diplomat Ramabhadra Nayak, who had held the post of Military Chief and Collector of Revenue under his close relative Viswanatha Nayak, the ruler of Madurai country. He belonged to Balija caste.[14] According to Srivamsa Prakashika, an 18th century Telugu writing mentions the last ruler of the dynasty, Vijayaranga Chokkanatha Nayak, as belonging to the Garikepati family of the Balija caste.[15]

### Historical time

[edit]

They started as kartakkals (agents) of the Vijayanagar empire in southern regions of what would become Tamil Nadu. That region had long been a troubled province due to its distance from Vijayanagara and had been only been fully subjugated in the early 16th century under Veera Narasimha. The first Nayaka, Nangama, was a popular and able general of Krishnadevaraya. Krishnadevaraya sent Nangama Nayaka with a large army to bring Pandya Nadu back under imperial control. Although he was an able administrator he was a hard ruler and rejected any claims of authority from the petty chieftains, which made him unpopular. In addition, experienced officers like Nangama Nayaka were chafing under the strict control Krishnadevaraya imposed on them. Towards the end of Krishnadevaraya's reign, trouble erupted in the south as the Chola Nayakas openly revolted and fled to Travancore, while Nangama began defying central orders while still claiming power of deputy. In response, the emperor sent Nangama's son, Viswanatha, with a large army to recapture Madurai. Viswanatha Nayaka defeated his father and sent him as prisoner to Krishnadevaraya, who in turned pardoned Nangama Nayaka for his valued service. After defeating his father Krishnadevaraya made Viswanatha governor of Madurai and other Tamil provinces in 1529, beginning the Madurai Nayaka dynasty.[16]

Another story goes that the Pandyas were under attack from the Cholas and appealed to Krishnadevaraya for help. He then sent Nangama Nayaka to restore the Pandyas to their rightful throne. Nangama defeated the Cholas, but instead claimed the throne for himself and deposed the Pandyan king. So Krishnadevaraya sent Nangama's son Viswanatha Nayaka to defeat him, which he did. Thus he was made nayaka of the region. However, this story does not have epigraphic evidence to support it.[17]

### Rise to power

[edit]

[1600]

YARKENT
KHANATE

TURPAN
KHANATE

TSANGPA

CHAM-

MING
DYNASTY

MUGHAL
EMPIRE

VIJAYA
NAGARA

MADURAI

SAFAVID
EMPIRE

OTTOMAN
EMPIRE

KHIVA
KHANATE

BUKHARA
KHANATE

KAZAKH KHANATE

TSARDOM OF RUSSIA

CRIMEAN
KHANATE

JO-
SEON

AYUT-
THAYA

DAI
VIET

LAN

FOUR
OIRATS

NORTHERN YUAN

class=notpageimage|

The Madurai Nayaks and contemporary polities circa 1600.

Kings and Queen Regents of
Madurai Nayak Dynasty

Part of History of Tamil Nadu
Madurai Nayak rulers
Viswanatha Nayak| 1529–1563
Kumara Krishnappa Nayak| 1563–1573
Joint Rulers Group I| 1573–1595
Joint Rulers Group II| 1595–1602
Muttu Krishnappa Nayak| 1602–1609
Muttu Virappa Nayak| 1609–1623
Tirumala Nayak| 1623–1659
Muthu Alakadri Nayak| 1659–1662
Chokkanatha Nayak| 1662–1682
Rangakrishna Muthu Virappa Nayak| 1682–1689
Rani Mangammal‡| 1689–1704
Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha Nayak| 1704–1731
Queen Meenakshi‡| 1731–1736
‡ Regent Queens
Capitals
Madurai| 1529–1616
Tiruchirapalli| 1616–1634
Madurai| 1634–1665
Tiruchirapalli| 1665–1736
Major forts
Madurai 72 Bastion Fort
Tiruchirapalli Rock Fort
Dindigul Fort
Thirunelvelli Fort
other Military forts
Namakkal Fort
Sankagiri Fort
Attur Fort
Palaces
Thirumalai Nayak Mahal, Madurai
Chokkanatha Nayak Palace a.k.a. Durbar Hall, Tiruchirapalli
Rani Mangammal Tamukkam palace Madurai

* v
* t
* e

Viswanatha Nayaka was not originally independent, but was treated as just another governor who the emperor had sent to keep control over the provinces. Originally he had control over Chola Nadu as well, which was ruled by a feudatory Chola prince, but this was transferred to the Thanjavur Nayakas. In 1544, Viswanatha Nayaka helped Rama Raya's army subdue Travancore, which had been refusing to pay tribute.[16]

Viswanatha also rebuilt fortifications at Madurai and made travel safer. He cleared the jungle around the banks of the Kaveri near Tiruchirappalli and destroyed hideouts of robbers there. He also expanded the borders of the kingdom so it included most of modern southern and western Tamil Nadu at his death. However, many of the local chieftains were still chafing under his rule, and so to appease them, Viswanatha's chief minister, Ariyanatha Mudaliar, assisted him in using the palayam or poligar system. The system was a quasi-fedual organisation of the country, which was divided into multiple palayams or small provinces; and each palayam was ruled by a palayakkarar or a petty chief. Ariyanatha organized the Pandyan kingdom into 72 palayams and ruled over the 72 dry-zone poligar chiefs.[18] Of these 72, Kurvikulam and Ilayarasanendal, which were ruled by Kamma Nayakas of the Pemmasani, Komatineni and Ravella clans, were considered royal palayams.[19] In the last year of his life he abdicated the throne and was alive for his son's investiture with ruling power in 1564, and died thereafter.[20] Viswanatha's son, Krishnappa, was crowned in 1564.[16] He immediately faced threats from nobles disgruntled with the new palayam system brought in by his father. These nobles, led by Tumbichchi Nayaka instigated a revolt among some of the polygars, which was crushed by Krishnappa. In the same year, he sent a contingent to the Battle of Talikota but it could not arrive in time. The defeat of Rama Raya made the Nayakas virtually independent. When the king of Kandy, a friend of Tumbichchi Nayaka, stopped sending tribute, Krishnappa then led an invasion of Kandy. In this invasion he killed the king of Kandy, sent the late king's wife and children to Anuradhapura and placed his own brother-in-law Vijaya Gopala Naidu as his viceroy there to ensure tribute.[20]

After his death in 1572, power in the kingdom went to his son Virappa Nayaka. Some documents claim the two sons of Krishnappa Nayaka were co-rulers, while other historians claim some member of the royal family was associated with rule, but not actually a ruler, like a yuva raja system in many of the princely states. During this time he crushed another revolt of polygars who were illegitimate descendants of the Pandyas. Virappa reigned over a period of relative stability. His relations with his nominal Vijayanagara overlords varied by their strength, but were generally cordial. After his death in 1595, power passed to his eldest son Krishnappa Nayaka II. During this time he led an occupation of Travancore and recognized Venkatapati Raya as emperor of VIjayanagar. During his reign, Ariyanatha Mudaliar died, and he himself died in 1601.[20]

### Height of power

[edit]

After his death a succession crisis arose and Krishnappa Nayaka II's youngest brother, Kasturi Rangappa, seized the throne but was assassinated a week later. Muttu Krishnappa Nayaka, the son of Krishnappa Nayaka II's second brother, became ruler. His rule was mainly focused on the organization of the southern coast, mainly inhabited by the Paravars. The community was excellent at fishing and pearl diving, which made them a valuable revenue source, but the region had generally been neglected by previous Nayakas. The region gradually became lawless and fell under Portuguese control. However, when the Portuguese asserted the coast was now theirs and began to collect taxes, Muttu Krishnappa started sending officers called Sethupathis to modern Ramanathapuram, where their duties were to protect pilgrims going to Rameswaram and to compel the Portuguese to respect Nayaka authority in the region.[20] Muttu Krishnappa Nayak is credited with the founding of Sethupathi dynasty in Ramnad.

He was succeeded by his son Muttu Virappa Nayaka in 1609, who desired greater independence from his Vijayanagara overlords and thus stopped paying tribute regularly. After the death of Venkatapati Raya in 1614, a nobleman Gobburi Jagga Raya murdered his successor Sriranga II and his family. This fomented a succession crisis in the Vijayanagara empire developed and civil war broke out between him and Rama Deva Raya, Sriranga II's son, who had escaped. Madurai, Gingee and the Portuguese supported the side of Jagga Raya while Raghunatha Nayaka of Thanjavur and Yachama Nayaka of Kalahasti were among those supporting Rama Deva Raya. In the Battle of Toppur in 1616, the generalship of Raghunatha and Yachama led to a crushing defeat for Jagga Raya's forces, and he was killed. Muttu Virappa was forced to pay a huge tribute to the Centre. He then shifted his capital to Tiruchirappalli later that year so that he could more easily launch an invasion of Thanjavur if he wanted to, but this failed. However, his appeasement of his Pandyan vassals meant they were loyal when Mysore invaded Dindigul in 1620 and was repelled. He died in 1623.[20]

Tirumalai Nayaka Palace Interior

Muttu Virappa was succeeded by his brother Tirumala Nayaka, either as de facto or de jure ruler, in 1623. One of his first acts was to shift the capital back to Madurai, both as a better protection against invasion and its religious significance. The change took 10 years and was finally done in 1635. He also increased the army size to 30,000 to better work against. The kingdom was invaded again by Mysore in 1625, but Tirumala and his generals Ramappayya and Ranganna Nayaka crushed the invasion and launched a counterattack in which they laid siege to Mysore. Later in 1635, Travancore stopped paying tribute to Madurai so Tirumala Nayaka sent armies to attack him, which forced Travancore to resume tribute payments. In 1635, Tirumala Nayaka sent Ramappayya against the Sethupathi of Ramnad, who had rejected his decision on a succession matter. In this campaign, the Portuguese supported Tirumala Nayaka, and in return he allowed them to build a fortress and station a small garrison wherever they might want.[20]

During this time, the Vijayanagara empire was falling fast and so Tirumala Nayaka cancelled tribute payment altogether. However, when Sriranga III took power, he viewed this as an act of rebellion and assembled a large army to subdue his vassal. Tirumala allied with Thanjavur and Gingee, but Thanjavur defected to the emperor. Madurai then made a new alliance with the Golconda Sultanate, who laid siege to Vellore and defeated Sriranga III. When he then appealed to his Nayakas for an alliance, all rejected him and Vijayanagara fell altogether. Goldonda, which conquered Vellore around 1646, laid siege to Gingee along with the Bijapur Sultanate. Tirumala Nayaka's armies arrived too late to save the fortress.[20]

In 1655, Mysore launched another invasion of Madurai when Tirumala was on his sickbed, and so he entrusted his defense to the Sethupathi of Ramnad, who had just emerged from a period of chaos. Ragunatha Thevar managed to drive back Mysore and in return all tribute was cancelled from him.[20]

### Decline

[edit]

Part of a series on

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Medieval history

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Categories

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* v
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Tirumala was succeeded by his son in 1659, who ruled for only four months, and then was succeeded by Chokkanatha Nayaka. In the first part of his reign, his army commander and chief minister revolted, supported by Thanjavur. He crushed the insurgents and invaded Thanjavur in retaliation, briefly placing his brother Muddu Alagiri as ruler there. But Madurai soon lost control of the region as Alagiri declared his independence and the Marathas under Venkoji conquered the province in 1675. Chokkanatha then waged war with Mysore and lost more territory, but his successor Muttu Virappa III recaptured it. After his death in 1689, Muttu Virappa III was succeeded by his infant son with Rani Mangammal, Virappa's mother, as regent. With the Mughal juggernaut approaching southern India, Rani Mangammal recognised it would be better to pay tribute to the Mughals than have them invade. She supporter their capture of Jinji from Rajaram, who would otherwise have attacked Madurai and Thanjavur, and ruled the fort as a Mughal vassal.

Muttu Virappa III's son Vijayaranga Chokkanatha reached maturity in 1704. However, he was more interested in scholarship and learning than ruling, and so real power fell to his chief counselor and commander of the army, who were known to abuse their power prodigiously. After his death in 1732, his wife, Queen Meenakshi, decided to adopt the son of Bangaru Tirumalai Nayaka, a member of the royal house. However there was severe strife between Bangaru Tirumalai and Meenakshi, and he led an uprising against her. In 1734, the Nawab of Arcot sent an expedition south to demand tribute and fealty from the kingdoms there, and in desperation, Meenakshi gave tribute to the Nawab's son-in-law, Chanda Sahib, to form an alliance. Bangaru Tirumalai retreated to the far south, in Madurai, and organized a large force of disgruntled polygars in 1736. Although they took Dindigul, Meenakshi and Chanda Sahib organized an army to attack Tirumalai. At the battle of Ammayanayakkanur near Dindigul, Bangaru Tirumalai's forces were defeated and he fled to Sivaganga. Once he was admitted into the Tiruchirappalli fort, however, Chanda Sahib declared himself king and imprisoned Meenakshi in her palace, ending the Madurai Nayakas for good. Tradition states she poisoned herself in 1739.[20]

## Administration

[edit]

Throne of Tirumala Nayaka

The Madurai Nayakas followed a decentralized governance style. The king was supreme ruler, but his main advisor was the dalavai, who controlled both civil and military matters. The three most effective dalavais were Ariyanatha Mudaliar, Ramappayya and Narasappayya. The next most important figure was the pradhani or finance minister, and then the rayasam, chief of the bureaucracy. The kingdom was divided into provinces and local areas, each with its own governor and bureaucracy. The most basic unit was the village. Revenue would be earned through taxes on land.[20]

The Nayakas also had a parallel system of administration. They divided their territory into 72 palayams, each of which was ruled by a palaiyakkarar, better known as polygar. These warrior-chiefs had a significant amount of autonomy from the centre and held powers of law enforcement and judicial administration. In return, they would give one-third of the palaiyam's revenue to the Nayaka and another third for the upkeep of an army. Often, however, the polygars were completely outside central control and would raid and pillage nearby territory.[20]

## Culture

[edit]

### Language

[edit]

Tamukkam Palace built in 1670

The main languages of Nayaka rule were Telugu and Tamil. Tamil was mainly used by the common people, although there were some Telugu cultivators in the region. The Madurai Nayakas, on the other hand, had Telugu as mother tongue but could also speak Tamil.[20]

### Literature

[edit]

The Nayakas were great patrons of literature in Telugu, Tamil and Sanskrit. Although most kings patronized mainly poetry (considered "divine"), under Nayaka patronage Telugu prose flourished.[20]

The earliest Muslim work in Tamil that survives complete is a translation by Vaṇṇapparimaḷappulavar of the Persian Book of One Thousand Questions that was presented at the Madurai court in 1572.[21]

### Art and architecture

[edit]

Meenakshi Amman Temple expanded by the Nayakas

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Palaeolithic (2,500,000–250,000 BC)

|  Madrasian culture|

|

Soanian culture|

Neolithic (10,800–3300 BC)

|  Bhirrana culture|  (7570–6200 BC)

|

Mehrgarh culture|  (7000–3300 BC)
Edakkal culture|  (5000–3000 BC)

Chalcolithic (3500–1500 BC)

|  Anarta tradition|  (c. 3950–1900 BC)

|

Ahar-Banas culture|  (3000–1500 BC)
Pandu culture|  (1600–750 BC)
Malwa culture|  (1600–1300 BC)
Jorwe culture|  (1400–700 BC)

Bronze Age (3300–1300 BC)

|  Indus Valley Civilisation| (3300–1300 BC)

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– Early Harappan culture| (3300–2600 BC)
– Mature Harappan culture| (2600–1900 BC)
– Late Harappan culture| (1900–1300 BC)
Vedic Civilisation| (2000–500 BC)
– Ochre Coloured Pottery culture| (2000–1600 BC)
– Swat culture| (1600–500 BC)

Iron Age (1500–200 BC)

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Pradyota dynasty|  (799–684 BC)
Haryanka dynasty|  (684–424 BC)
Three Crowned Kingdoms|  (c. 600 BC – AD 1600)
Maha Janapadas|  (c. 600–300 BC)
Achaemenid Empire|  (550–330 BC)
Shaishunaga dynasty|  (424–345 BC)
Nanda Empire|  (380–321 BC)
Macedonian Empire|  (330–323 BC)
Maurya Empire|  (321–184 BC)
Seleucid India|  (312–303 BC)
Sangam period|  (c. 300 BC – c. 300 AD)
Pandya Empire|  (c. 300 BC – AD 1345)
Chera Kingdom|  (c. 300 BC – AD 1102)
Chola Empire|  (c. 300 BC – AD 1279)
Pallava Empire|  (c. 250 AD – AD 800)
Maha-Megha-Vahana Empire|  (c. 250 BC – c. AD 500)
Parthian Empire|  (247 BC – AD 224)

Middle Kingdoms (230 BC – AD 1206)

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Kuninda Kingdom|  (200 BC – AD 300)
Mitra Dynasty|  (c. 150 – c. 50 BC)
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Kanva Empire|  (75–26 BC)
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Kushan Empire|  (AD 60–240)
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Sasanian Empire|  (224–651)
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Vakataka Empire|  (c. 250 – c. 500)
Kalabhras Empire|  (c. 250 – c. 600)
Gupta Empire|  (280–550)
Kadamba Empire|  (345–525)
Western Ganga Kingdom|  (350–1000)
Kamarupa Kingdom|  (350–1100)
Vishnukundina Empire|  (420–624)
Maitraka Empire|  (475–767)
Huna Kingdom|  (475–576)
Rai Kingdom|  (489–632)
Kabul Shahi Empire|  (c. 500 – 1026)
Chalukya Empire|  (543–753)
Maukhari Empire|  (c. 550 – c. 700)
Harsha Empire|  (606–647)
Tibetan Empire|  (618–841)
Eastern Chalukya Kingdom|  (624–1075)
Rashidun Caliphate|  (632–661)
Gurjara-Pratihara Empire|  (650–1036)
Umayyad Caliphate|  (661–750)
Mallabhum kingdom|  (694–1947)
Bhauma-Kara Kingdom|  (736–916)
Pala Empire|  (750–1174)
Rashtrakuta Empire|  (753–982)
Paramara Kingdom|  (800–1327)
Yadava Empire|  (850–1334)
Somavamshi Kingdom|  (882–1110)
Chaulukya Kingdom|  (942–1244)
Western Chalukya Empire|  (973–1189)
Lohara Kingdom|  (1003–1320)
Hoysala Empire|  (1040–1347)
Sena Empire|  (1070–1230)
Eastern Ganga Empire|  (1078–1434)
Kakatiya Kingdom|  (1083–1323)
Zamorin Kingdom|  (1102–1766)
Kalachuris of Tripuri|  (675–1210)
Kalachuris of Kalyani|  (1156–1184)
Chutiya Kingdom|  (1187–1673)
Deva Kingdom|  (c. 1200 – c. 1300)

Late medieval period (1206–1526)

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Ghurid Dynasty|  (1170–1206)
Delhi Sultanate|  (1206–1526)
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Ahom Kingdom|  (1228–1826)
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Reddy Kingdom|  (1325–1448)
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Early modern period (1526–1858)

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* t
* e

The Nayakas were some of the most prolific architects in South India. Much of their work was expansions and additions to existing Vijayanagara or pre-Vijayanagara structures. By far their greatest work was the Meenakshi-Sundaraswarar complex in Madurai, which is known for its four towering gopurams up to 50 metres in height. The original structure that stood there during Pandyan times was neglected during the Madurai Sultanate and fell into ruin, and the Vijayanagara rulers had begun to rebuild it. However the Nayakas made the most extensive contributions to the temple complex. Each of the additions to the temple was done by different rulers in different stages, and almost all rulers of the dynasty, or their wives and ministers, made generous donations to the temple and its construction so that it grew to a size of 254 by 238 metres. The Nayakas mainly followed the Dravidian style of architecture, with much emphasis on towering structures and elaborate carving. Much of the work centered around the addition of various mandapas, or columnated halls, filled with a variety of carved pillars such as the pudu mandapa directly adjoining the complex. Other important works included the Azhagar kovil and Tiruparankundram Murugan Kovil in the outskirts of Madurai, as well as the expansion of the Ranganathaswamy temple complex in Srirangam. In the case of the Ranganathaswamy temple, the Nayakas expanded the original shrine to be seven concentric enclosures, each topped with towering gopurams. However this project was incomplete when the Nayak dynasty fell and has since been continued into the modern-day.[22]

Although temple architecture was the main pursuit of the Nayakas, they constructed other buildings as well. Thirumala Nayaka is famous for his huge Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal, which George Mitchell speculated must have been the largest of all royal residences in the 17th century, develops earlier palace architecture from the Vijayanagara period. This architecture includes both completely indigenous elements such as square and rectangular bases with u-shaped ascending floors with numerous courts and verandahs, as well as double-curved eaves, gopuram-like towers and plastered sculptures as well as elements borrowed from the Bahmanis such as significant presence of arches, cusps, and geometric designs. This style was blended with indigenous Tamil architecture, for instance, the use of cylindrical columns like Tamil wooden architecture, to create new architectural styles for grand buildings such as the Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal. Only two sections of this palace still stand, the dance hall and audience hall.[23]

The Nayakas also did many public works projects such as irrigation canals and fortresses.

## Nayaka coins

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Some early Madurai Nayaka coins portray the figure of the king. The bull also is seen frequently on the Madurai Nayak coins. Chokkanatha Nayak, one of the last rulers of the dynasty, issued coins displaying various animals, such as the bear, elephant and lion. He also issued coins featuring Hanuman and Garuda. The inscriptions on the Nayak coins are in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Nagari scripts. Unlike the coins of many of the earlier dynasties, the Nayak coins are easily available for coin-collectors.[24]

## Cadet Branchs (Sri Lanka)

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Main article: Nayaks of Kandy

The last ethnically Sinhalese King of Kandy Vira Narendra Sinha passed away without a legitimate heir on 13 May 1739. The throne passed to his Madurai born Brother-in-law Sri Vijaya Rajasinha, which led to the establishment of the Nayak dynasty in Sri Lanka known as the Kandy Nayaks.

They ruled till 1815 with Kandy as their capital and were also the last ruling dynasty of Sri Lanka. The Kings of Kandy had from an early time sought marriages with Madurai and many of the queens were from Madurai. The Kandy Nayaks received military support from the Nayaks of Madurai in fighting off the Portuguese. And in the 17th and 18th centuries, marital alliances between the Kandyan kings and Nayak princesses had become a matter of policy.[25]

## See also

[edit]

* Vijayanagara Empire
* Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal
* Thanjavur Nayak kingdom
* Nayaks of Kandy

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b
* Howes, Jennifer (1 January 1998). The Courts of Pre-colonial South India: Material Culture and Kingship. Psychology Press. p. 28\. ISBN 07-0071-585-1.
* Vink, Markus (14 October 2015). Encounters on the Opposite Coast: The Dutch East India Company and the Nayaka State of Madurai in the Seventeenth Century. Brill. p. 70\. ISBN 978-90-04-27262-0.
* Smith, Bardwell L.; Reynolds, Holly Baker (1 January 1987). The City As a Sacred Center: Essays on Six Asian Contexts. Brill. p. 12\. ISBN 978-90-04-08471-1.
* Selby, Martha Ann; Peterson, Indira Viswanathan (22 May 2008). Tamil Geographies: Cultural Constructions of Space and Place in South India. SUNY Press. p. 61\. ISBN 978-0-7914-7245-3.
* More, J. B. P. (1 November 2020). Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu and South India under French Rule: From François Martin to Dupleix 1674-1754. Routledge. p. 26\. ISBN 978-1-000-26356-5.
2. ^ a b
* Gita V. Pai, ed. (2023). Architecture of Sovereignty: Stone Bodies, Colonial Gazes, and Living Gods in South India. Cambridge University Press. p. 36, 51. ISBN 9781009150156. "Madurai rulers were of likely Balija heritage, merchant-warriors, who came from the relatively less-stratified arid zones of the Andhra region"
* Antje Flüchter, Rouven Wirbser, ed. (2017). Translating Catechisms, Translating Cultures: The Expansion of Catholicism in the Early Modern World. BRILL. p. 229\. ISBN 9789004353060. "Madurai was a prosperous city ruled by Nāyaka kings who were Telugu warriors with Balija cultivators and merchant-caste affiliations"
* Sheldon Pollock, ed. (2003). Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia. University of California Press. p. 413\. ISBN 9780520228214. ".... in the seventeenth century, when warriors/traders from the Balija caste acquired kingship of the southern kingdoms of Madurai and Tanjavur."
* David Dean Shulman, ed. (2020). Classical Telugu Poetry. University of California Press. p. 57\. ISBN 9780520344525. "..... in the Tamil country, where Telugu Balija families had established local Nāyaka states (in Senji, Tanjavur, Madurai, and elsewhere) in the course of the sixteenth century."
* Dr. B.Ramachndra Reddy R. Nata Rajan, ed. (2007). "Identity and Crisis of Telugu Migrants of Tamil Region". Itihas. 33. Andhra Pradesh State Archives and Research Institute: 145. "....It is told that the Nayak Kings of Madurai and Tanjore were Balijas , who had marital relations among themselves and with the Vijaya Nagara rulers, and so were appointed as the rulers of these regions."
* G. S. Ghurye, ed. (1969). Caste and Race in India. Popular Prakashan. p. 106\. ISBN 9788171542055. "The Nayak kings of Madura and Tanjore were Balijas , traders by caste"
* Eugene F. Irschick, ed. (1969). Politics and Social Conflict in South India. University of California Press. p. 8\. "The successors of the Vijayanagar empire, the Nayaks of Madura and Tanjore, were Balija Naidus"
* Muzaffar Alam, ed. (1998). The Mughal State, 1526-1750. Oxford University Press. p. 35\. ISBN 978-0-19-563905-6. "As an arrangement, the Golconda practice in the first half of the seventeenth century was quite similar in crucial respects to what obtained further south, in the territories of the Chandragiri ruler, and the Nayaks of Senji, Tanjavur and Madurai. Here too revenue-farming was common, and the ruling families were closely allied to an important semi-commercial, semi-warrior caste group, the Balija Naidus."
* A. Satyanarayana, Mukkamala Radhakrishna Sarma, ed. (1996). Castes, Communities, and Culture in Andhra Desa, 17th & 18th Centuries, A.D. Osmania University. p. 145\. "After the fall of the dynasty several Balija Nayudu chieftains rose into prominence. Tanjore and Madura kingdoms were the most important of such new kingdoms"
* Velcheru Narayana Rao, Sanjay Subrahmanyam, ed. (1992). Symbols of Substance Court and State in Nāyaka Period Tamilnadu. Oxford University Press. p. 10\. ISBN 978-0-19-563021-3. "Originally part of the great Telugu migrations southward into the Tamil country in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Balija merchant- warriors reveal the rise of hitherto marginal, and only recently politicized.. These mobile, aggressive, land-hungry, Telugu-speaking warriors...helped to build the Nāyaka state-system and to impregnate it with their particular cultural vision; strong surviving traditions; supported by contemporary evidence, assert Balija origins and / or marital connections for the major Nāyaka dynasties in the Tamil country quite apart from the well-known Balija role in restructuring the revenue systems of Nāyaka Tanjavur and Madurai"
* Lennart Bes (2022). The Heirs of Vijayanagara: Court Politics in Early Modern South India. Leiden University Press. p. 79\. "The dynasty's first ruler was Vishvanatha Nayaka, son of the imperial courtier and military officer Nagama Nayaka. He belonged to one of the Balija castes, which originated in the Telugu region and whose members undertook both military and mercantile activities. Vishvanatha was possibly installed at Madurai around 1530 and reigned until c. 1563"
* Noboru Karashima, ed. (1999). Kingship in Indian History. Manohar Publishers & Distributors. p. 192\. ISBN 9788173043260. "To understand the historical process of the reducing of the Nayakas as an open status group into a mere shell of what they had formerly been and the growth of respective caste identities, the Telugu Balija caste and its history may give an important clue. Many Nayakas, including the three major Nayakas in the Tamil area and the Nayakas of Cannapattana, Beluru, and Rayadurga in the Kannada area, are said to have been Telugu Balijas."
* Biplab Auddya, ed. (2017). Research in Multidisciplinary Subjects. Vol. 6\. The Hill Publication. p. 18\. ISBN 9788196477660. "Many later rulers were also of different castes, such as the Madurai Nayaks, Balijas (traders) who ruled from 1559 to 1739"
* Francine R. Frankel, M. S. A. Rao, ed. (1989). Dominance and State Power in Modern India: Decline of a Social Order. Oxford University Press. p. 30\. ISBN 9780195620986. "The Nayak kings of Madura and Tanjore were balijas ( traders )"
* Peter N. Stearns, William Leonard Langer, ed. (2001). The Encyclopedia of World History Ancient, Medieval, and Modern, Chronologically Arranged. Houghton Mifflin. p. 368\. ISBN 9780395652374. "The Vijayanagara Empire developed, in its second half, into what is known as the nayaka state-system, in which administrative and political relations differed significantly from what had gone before. While the Vijayanagara rulers continued to hold ultimate power over a broad belt of territory, they shared authority locally with a number of military chiefs, or nayakas. Originally part of the great Telugu migrations southward into the Tamil country in the 15th and 16th centuries, Balija merchant-warriors who claimed these nayaka positions rose to political and cultural power and supported an ethos that emphasized nonascriptive, heroic criteria in legitimizing political power."
* Daniel D'Attilio, ed. (1995). The Last Vijayanagara Kings. University of Wisconsin--Madison. p. 81\. "......many of the Telugu migrant groups who settled in Tamil Nadu from the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries were led by Balija warriors . These Balijas and their descendants became local rulers under the auspices of Vijayanagara."
* Markus Vink (2015). Encounters on the Opposite Coast: The Dutch East India Company and the Nayaka State of Madurai in the Seventeenth Century. BRILL. p. 57\. ISBN 9789004272620.
* South Asia Politics. Vol. 5\. Rashtriya Jagriti Sansthan. 2006. p. 14.
3. ^ The Journal of the Ganganatha Jha Research Institute. Vol. 26\. 1970. p. 677.
4. ^ K. M. Venkataramaiah, ed. (1996). A handbook of Tamil Nadu. International School of Dravidian Linguistics. p. 294\. ISBN 9788185692203. "Viswanatha Nayaka (viśwanātha nāyaka), considered to be the founder of the Nayak (nāyak) Kingdom of Madurai was the son of Nagama (nāgama) Nayaka, a trusted servant of Krishnadeva Raya (krisnadeva rāya), the emperor of Vijayanagar."
5. ^
* Epigraphia Indica. Vol. 12\. Department of Archaeology. 1982. p. 187\. "(Vv . 67-79 .) Virabhupa , a devout worshipper of Vishnu , was born in the family of Viśvanatha Nayaka . He was living gloriously . He constructed a mandapa of rare sculptures in front of the shrine of Sundaranayaka and presented the goddess Minakshi with a golden kavacha ( mailcoat studded with gems ) . The munificence of this prince is praised . He held the birudas , Samayadrōhara - ganda , and Dakshina - samudrādhipati , and was the lord of Ayyavalipura , He was the grandson of Viśvanatha Nayaka , and son of the king Krishņa by Lakshmama . At the request of this prince Virabhupa , the village was granted by Vira- Venkatapatidevaraya and it consisted of 142 shares"
* Tamil Civilization: Quarterly Research Journal of the Tamil University. Vol. 5\. Tamil University, Thanjavur. 1987. p. 158.
* Bhasker Anand Saletore, ed. (1934). Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346-A.D. 1646). Vol. 2\. B.G. Paul & Company. p. 263.
6. ^
* K. Sundaram, ed. (1968). Studies in Economic and Social Conditions of Medieval Andhra, A. D. 1000-1600. Triveni Publishers. p. 69.
* Kambhampati Satyanarayana, ed. (1975). A Study of the History and Culture of the Andhras: From stone age to feudalism. People's Publishing House. p. 334.
* Itihas. Vol. 6\. Government of Andhra Pradesh. 1978. p. 71.
* Mallampalli Sōmaśēkharaśarma, ed. (1948). History of the Reddi Kingdoms (circa. 1325 A.D. to Circa 1448 A.D.). Andhra University. p. 397.
7. ^
* Sakkottai Krishnaswami Aiyangar, ed. (1941). Ancient India and South Indian History & Culture: Papers on Indian History and Culture; India to A.D. 1300. Oriental Book Agency. p. 801.
* S.S. Shashi, ed. (2000). Encyclopaedia Indica: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh. Vol. 106\. Anmol Publications. p. 86\. ISBN 9788170418597.
* The Indian Antiquary. Vol. 56\. Popular Prakashan. 1927. p. 197\. "This occurs in inscriptions in various localities where flourished mercantile guilds or communities called Valanjiyar in Tamil , Banajigas in Kanarese , Balija in Telugu , corresponding exactly to the North Indian term Baniya"
8. ^ The Journal of Oriental Research, Madras. Vol. 30\. Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute, Mylapore. 1963. p. 174.
9. ^
* Aravind Kumar, ed. (2006). Studies in Kannada Inscriptions in Telangana. Department of History, Archaeology and Culture, Dravidian University. p. 88.
* A. Satyanarayana, Mukkamala Radhakrishna Sarma, ed. (1996). Castes, Communities, and Culture in Andhra Desa, 17th & 18th Centuries, A.D. Osmania University. p. 105\. "The andhra sources state that the Balija's migrated to Dekhan from North or West . The statement that they hailed from Ahicchatra in North India may be an attempt to explain their Aryan origin . But a large number of inscriptions refer to them as ' Ayyavole Swamis ' and many scholars believe that the Balijas came from Ayyavole , Aihole in Bijapur District of Karnataka. They are frequently referred to as Ayyavole Swamis and Ayyavole Puravaradishwaralu in medieval inscriptions."
* Angadipuram Appadorai, ed. (1936). Economic Conditions in Southern India (1000-1500 A.D.). University of Madras. p. 394.
* V. Vedachalam, ed. (2009). Avanam. Vol. 20\. Tamil Nadu Archaeological Society, Thanjavur. p. 171.
10. ^
* Gijs Kruijtzer; Jos J. L. Gommans; Marcus P. M. Vink; Carolien Stolte (2012). Dutch Sources on South Asia, C. 1600-1825: Mission to Madurai: Dutch embassies to the Nayaka court of Madurai in the seventeenth century. Manohar Publishers & Distributors. pp. 285–287, 344–345\. ISBN 9788173049316.
* Gita V. Pai (2023). Architecture of Sovereignty: Stone Bodies, Colonial Gazes, and Living Gods in South India. Cambridge University Press. p. 24\. ISBN 9781009174770.
* Lennart Bes (2022). The Heirs of Vijayanagara: Court Politics in Early Modern South India. Leiden University Press. p. 79\. ISBN 9789087283711.
11. ^ T. V. Mahalingam, Colin Mackenzie, ed. (1972). Mackenzie Manuscripts; Summaries of the Historical Manuscripts in the Mackenzie Collection: Tamil and Malayalam. University of Madras. p. 336.
12. ^
* T. Chandrasekharan, ed. (1951). A Descriptive Catalogue of the Telugu Manuscripts (PDF). Vol. 13\. The Government Oriental Manuscripts Library, Madras. p. 2863\. "No.2607 KOTIKAMVARI KAIFIYATU - A Kaifiyat relating to Garikipati Viswanathanayaka of Balijakula who was given Pandya kingdom by Atchutadevaraya."
* K. A. Nilakanta Sastri (1946). Further Sources of Vijayanagara History. University of Madras. p. 179\. "Moreover, Acyutadeva Maharaya formally crowned Viswanatha Nayadu of the Garikepati family of the Balija caste as the king of Pandya country yielding a revenue of 2 and 1/2 crores of varahas; and he presented him the golden idols of Durga, Laksmi and Lakshmi-Narayana and sent him with ministers, councillors and troops to the south. Visvanatha Nayudu reached the city of Madhura, from which he began to govern the country entrusted to his care. – Kaifiyat of Karnata-Kotikam Kings: L.R.8, pp. 319–22."
* Konduri Sarojini Devi (1990). Religion in Vijayanagara Empire. Sterling Publishers. p. 100\. ISBN 978-81-207-1167-9. "According to the Kaifiyat of the Karnata Kotikam Kings, "Acyutadeva Maharaya formally crowned Visvanatha Nayadu of the Garikepati family of the Balija caste as the King of Pandya country yielding a revenue of 2 and 1/2 crores of varahas; and he presented him with golden idols of Durga, Lakshmi and Lakshminarayana and sent him with ministers, councillors and troops to the South.""
13. ^
* T. Sreetharamurthy, K.Damodaran, ed. (1999). Pandya Nayaka Rajulu (in Telugu). Madras Government Oriental Manuscripts Library. p. 19.
* Modugula Ravikrishna, ed. (2013). Rayavachakamu (in Telugu). Mitramandali Prachuranalu, Guntur. p. 10.
14. ^
* A. Vadivelu, ed. (1915). The Ruling Chiefs, Nobles and Zamindars of India. Vol. 1\. G.C. Loganadham. p. 679\. "The Honourable Diwan Bahadur V. Rama Bhadra Naick Garu is one of the most prominent noblemen of South India . As a representative of the zamindari interests of the Southern Group , he has , since 1910 , been in the reformed Legislative Council of Madras. He represents the ancient house of Vadagarai , and is the lineal descendant of the famous Rama Bhadra Naick . To trace the ancestry of the founder of this well - known ancient family we have to go back to the events that had occurred three centuries ago , that is , to the period when the power of the once famous kingdom of Vijianagar was at its height , Rama Bhadra Naick I is said to have been a follower as well as a close relation of the well - known Kottiya Nagama Naick , the Revenue Collector and Commander of the Vijianagar army in the South."
* The Who's who in Madras: ... A Pictorial Who's who of Distinguished Personages, Princes, Zemindars and Noblemen in the Madras Presidency. Pearl Press. 1938. p. 52\. "Dewan Bahadur V. Ramabhadra Naidu , member of a family which had close relations with the ruling house of Madura , the Great Tirumal Nayak. Belongs to an ancient Palayagar family of Madura."
* Vuppuluri Lakshminarayana Sastri, ed. (1920). Encyclopaedia of the Madras Presidency and the Adjacent States. University of Minnesota. p. 450.
* Parthiban Rajukalidoss, ed. (2013). The Spice Road 'Vaṭakarai Zamīndāri' Its Historicity and Architectural Remains. Vol. 74\. Acta Orientalia. p. 97.
* The Feudatory and zemindari India. Vol. 9\. the University of California. 1938. p. 250\. "He was a lineal descendant of the famous warrior and diplomat Rama- bhadra Nayak who had held the post of Fouzdar or Military Chief and Collector of Revenue under his relative Viswanatha Nayak of the House of Vijianagar , King of the Pandyan country"
* T. V. Mahalingam, Colin Mackenzie, ed. (1972). Mackenzie Manuscripts; Summaries of the Historical Manuscripts in the Mackenzie Collection: Tamil and Malayalam. University of Madras. p. 153.
* C. Hayavadana Rao, ed. (1915). The Indian Biographical Dictionary. Forgotten Books. p. 344.
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## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Madurai Nayak Dynasty.

* Images of Nayak kings
* The Hindu : Crafted coins
* Namma Madurai: From Vedas to military strategies – The Hindu
* Images of Nayak kings found in Sri Nellaiyappar Temple – TAMIL NADU – The Hindu
* Thirumalai Nayak period inscription found at temple – The Hindu
* "Madurai City Chronicles : Unique in its own way". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 4 August 2007. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
* "Vanishing wall paintings". The Hindu. India. Archived from the original on 16 September 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2008.

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