Madurai Nayak dynasty | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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• Established | 1529 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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TheMadurai Nayaks were aTelugu dynasty[1] who ruled most of modern-dayTamil Nadu, India, withMadurai as their capital. The Madurai Nayaks had their origins in theBalija warrior clans of present-dayAndhra 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 theDelhi Sultans, and the inauguration of a unique architectural style.[3]
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 kingTirumala Nayaka and queenRani Mangammal. Foreign trade was conducted mainly with theDutch and thePortuguese, as the British and the French had not yet made inroads into the region.
The Dalavay Agraharam Plates ofVenkata I, mention that Virappa Nayaka, the grandson ofViswanatha Nayak of theMadurai line mentions him with the title of lord of Ayyavalipura ('Lords of the town of Ayyavole').[4] The lords of Ayyavolu were called Vira- Balanjas.[5] The term Vira-balija inTelugu, Vira-Banajiga inKannada and Vira-Valanjiyar inTamil, all of them mean valiant merchants.[6] These merchants styled themselves as protectors of Vira Balanja Dharma[7] and their capital was atAyyavole orAihole inBijapur district ofKarnataka.[8] Description of the Nayakas of Madurai was compiled by an official of theDutch East India Company in 1677, it mentions that the founder of the dynasty,Viswanatha Nayak, as belonging to the Wellen Chetti merchant community.[9]
Originally, the Nayakas wereTelugu-speakingBalija warriors from present-dayAndhra Pradesh.[2][1] TheKaifiyat of the Karnata Kotikam Kings (c.1800-1804) mentions the founder of the dynasty,Viswanatha Nayak, as belonging to the Garikepati family of theBalija caste.[10] Dewan BahadurRamabadra Naidu, Zamindar of Vadagarai was adescendant of the famous warrior and diplomat Ramabhadra Nayak, who had held the post ofMilitary Chief andCollector of Revenue under his close relativeViswanatha Nayak, the ruler ofMadurai country. He belonged toBalija caste.[11] According toSrivamsa Prakashika, an18th centuryTelugu writing mentions the last ruler of the dynasty, Vijayaranga Chokkanatha Nayak, as belonging to the Garikepati family of theBalija caste.[12] According to aThe Madura Country A Manual written by J. H. Nelson in 1868, it mentions that the descendants of theMadurai Nayaks belonged to theBalija community.[13]
They started askartakkals (agents) of theVijayanagar empire in southern regions of what would becomeTamil 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 ofKrishnadevaraya. Krishnadevaraya sent Nangama Nayaka with a large army to bringPandya 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 toTravancore, 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 recaptureMadurai.Viswanatha Nayaka defeated his father and sent him as prisoner toKrishnadevaraya, who in turned pardoned Nangama Nayaka for his valued service. After defeating his fatherKrishnadevaraya made Viswanatha governor of Madurai and other Tamil provinces in 1529, beginning the Madurai Nayaka dynasty.[14]
Another story goes that thePandyas were under attack from theCholas and appealed to Krishnadevaraya for help. He then sent Nangama Nayaka to restore thePandyas to their rightful throne. Nangama defeated theCholas, 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 madenayaka of the region. However, this story does not have epigraphic evidence to support it.[15]
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| Kings and Queen Regents of Madurai Nayak Dynasty | |
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| Part ofHistory of Tamil Nadu | |
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| 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 palaceMadurai | |
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 overChola Nadu as well, which was ruled by a feudatory Chola prince, but this was transferred to theThanjavur Nayakas. In 1544, Viswanatha Nayaka helpedRama Raya's army subdue Travancore, which had been refusing to pay tribute.[14]
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 thepalayam orpoligar system. The system was a quasi-fedual organisation of the country, which was divided into multiplepalayams or small provinces; and each palayam was ruled by apalayakkarar or a petty chief. Ariyanatha organized thePandyan kingdom into 72palayams and ruled over the 72 dry-zone poligar chiefs.[16] Of these 72,Kurvikulam and Ilayarasanendal, which were ruled byKamma Nayakas of thePemmasani, Komatineni and Ravella clans, were considered royalpalayams.[17] 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.[18] Viswanatha's son, Krishnappa, was crowned in 1564.[14] He immediately faced threats from nobles disgruntled with the newpalayam 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 theBattle 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 toAnuradhapura and placed his own brother-in-law Vijaya Gopala Naidu as his viceroy there to ensure tribute.[18]
After his death in 1572, power in the kingdom went to his son Virappa Nayaka. Some documents claim the two sons ofKrishnappa Nayaka were co-rulers, while other historians claim some member of the royal family was associated with rule, but not actually a ruler, like ayuva 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 recognizedVenkatapati Raya as emperor of VIjayanagar. During his reign, Ariyanatha Mudaliar died, and he himself died in 1601.[18]
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 theParavars. 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 calledSethupathis 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.[18] 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 whileRaghunatha Nayaka of Thanjavur and Yachama Nayaka ofKalahasti 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.[18]
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Muttu Virappa was succeeded by his brotherTirumala 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 theSethupathi 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.[18]
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.[18]
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.[18]
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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 theMarathas underVenkoji 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 withRani 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, QueenMeenakshi, decided to adopt the son ofBangaru 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, theNawab 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.[18]
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The Madurai Nayakas followed a decentralized governance style. The king was supreme ruler, but his main advisor was thedalavai, who controlled both civil and military matters. The three most effectivedalavais wereAriyanatha Mudaliar, Ramappayya and Narasappayya. The next most important figure was thepradhani or finance minister, and then therayasam, 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.[18]
The Nayakas also had a parallel system of administration. They divided their territory into 72palayams, each of which was ruled by apalaiyakkarar, better known aspolygar. 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 thepalaiyam's revenue to the Nayaka and another third for the upkeep of an army. Often, however, thepolygars were completely outside central control and would raid and pillage nearby territory.[18]
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.[18]
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.[18]
The earliest Muslim work in Tamil that survives complete is a translation by Vaṇṇapparimaḷappulavar of the PersianBook of One Thousand Questions that was presented at the Madurai court in 1572.[19]
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 theMeenakshi-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 theDravidian style of architecture, with much emphasis on towering structures and elaborate carving. Much of the work centered around the addition of variousmandapas, or columnated halls, filled with a variety of carved pillars such as thepudu mandapa directly adjoining the complex. Other important works included theAzhagar kovil andTiruparankundram Murugan Kovil in the outskirts of Madurai, as well as the expansion of theRanganathaswamy temple complex inSrirangam. In the case of the Ranganathaswamy temple, the Nayakas expanded the original shrine to be seven concentric enclosures, each topped with toweringgopurams. However this project was incomplete when the Nayak dynasty fell and has since been continued into the modern-day.[20]
Although temple architecture was the main pursuit of the Nayakas, they constructed other buildings as well. Thirumala Nayaka is famous for his hugeThirumalai 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.[21]
The Nayakas also did many public works projects such as irrigation canals and fortresses.
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 featuringHanuman andGaruda. The inscriptions on the Nayak coins are inTamil,Telugu,Kannada, andNagari scripts. Unlike the coins of many of the earlier dynasties, the Nayak coins are easily available for coin-collectors.[22]
The last ethnicallySinhalese King of KandyVira Narendra Sinha passed away without a legitimate heir on 13 May 1739. The throne passed to hisMadurai born Brother-in-lawSri Vijaya Rajasinha, which led to the establishment of the Nayak dynasty inSri Lanka known as theKandy Nayaks.
They ruled till 1815 withKandy 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.[23]
Madurai rulers were of likely Balija heritage, merchant-warriors, who came from the relatively less-stratified arid zones of the Andhra region
Madurai was a prosperous city ruled by Nāyaka kings who were Telugu warriors with Balija cultivators and merchant-caste affiliations
.... in the seventeenth century, when warriors/traders from the Balija caste acquired kingship of the southern kingdoms of Madurai and Tanjavur.
..... 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.
....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.
The Nayak kings of Madura and Tanjore were Balijas , traders by caste
The successors of the Vijayanagar empire, the Nayaks of Madura and Tanjore, were Balija Naidus
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.
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
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
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
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.
Many later rulers were also of different castes, such as the Madurai Nayaks, Balijas (traders) who ruled from 1559 to 1739
The Nayak kings of Madura and Tanjore were balijas ( traders )
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.
......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.
(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
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
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.
No.2607 KOTIKAMVARI KAIFIYATU - A Kaifiyat relating to Garikipati Viswanathanayaka of Balijakula who was given Pandya kingdom by Atchutadevaraya.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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
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