The Madurai Nayaks were rulers of Madurai state during the years 1559-1736. They were originally from the Vijayanagar Empire, with Telugu as their native language. Their reign marked a new era in southern Tamil Nadu with vast administrative reforms, revitalizing of temples (which was previously ransacked by Delhi sultans), and their unique architecture. Their reign consisted of 13 rulers: 9 kings, 2 queens and 2 joint kings. The most notable were Tirumala Nayak and Rani Mangammal. Their foreign trade was mainly with the Dutch and the Portuguese, as the British and the French were yet to make inroads. Madurai (மதுரை in Tamil) is situated on the banks of Vaigai River in Tamil Nadu, a southern Indian state. ... Vijayanagara (often written Vijayanagar), in northern Karnataka, is the name of the now ruined capital city of the historic Vijayanagar empire in the Southern part of India. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Telugu may refer to: TELUGU PORTAL Telugu language Telugu script Telugu people This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... The Parthenon on top of the Acropolis, Athens, Greece Architecture (from Latin, architectura and ultimately from Greek, αρχιτεκτων, a master builder, from αρχι- chief, leader and τεκτων, builder, carpenter) is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. ... The history of the temple city of Madurai( now in Tamilnadu, India) will not be complete without mentioning the name of Rani Mangammal, a woman of great skill and sagacity. ...

Decline of Pandya Rule and the Musalman Invasion, 1310

Early in the fourteenth century a dispute arose about the succession to the Pandya throne and one of the claimants appealed for help to emperor Alla-ud-din of Delhi.There followed the great invasion of the south of India by Malik Kafur, the infamous general from Delhi,in 1310 and causing most momentous changes in the political configuration of central and Southern India. Having swept away the power of the rulers of the Deccan, Malik Kafur marched on triumphantly into the Carnatic, sacked Madura, and made his way, it is said, as far as Rameswaram, where he founded a mosque. Native manuscripts,mentions of the excesses of his troops in Madura town. Life and property were unsafe, trade and commerce were paralysed, private liberty was so much at an end that one Hindu dared not even converse with another in the street, public worship was suppressed, and the great temple was almost razed to the ground. Its outer wall, with its fourteen towers, was pulled down; the streets and buildings which it protected were destroyed; and nothing was left of it but the two shrines of Sundaresvara and Meenakshi and the buildings which immediately surrounded them. Malik Kafur returned almost at once to his own country, but the Pandyas seem to have been prostrated by the invasion. Never again, indeed, did they possess any considerable independent power; though their kings continued to rule in a spasmodic fashion, with varying authority and over dominions of varying sizefew years. To Complete their collapse the neighbouring Chera ruler marched right across to defeat the Pandya ruler and crown himself in 1313 and then proceed right upto Conjeeveram,who was then checked out again by the Muslims. The Pandyan kingdom was an ancient state at the tip of South India, founded around the 6th century BCE. It was part of the Dravidian cultural area, which also comprised other kingdoms such as that of the Pallava, the Chera, the Chola, the Chalukya and the Vijayanagara. ... It has been suggested that National Capital Territory of Delhi be merged into this article or section. ... Malik Kafur ( - 1318 C.E.) was a eunuch general who conquered Tamil Nadu around 1310 C.E. Malik Kafur was a slave, who was purchased by Nusrat Khan. ... Wiktionary has a definition of: Fame Fame may refer to a number of different topics, including: Fame is the condition of being known to the general public. ... It has been suggested that National Capital Territory of Delhi be merged into this article or section. ... The Deccan Plateau is a vast plateau in India, encompassing most of Central and Southern India. ... Malik Kafur ( - 1318 C.E.) was a eunuch general who conquered Tamil Nadu around 1310 C.E. Malik Kafur was a slave, who was purchased by Nusrat Khan. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Chera dynasty. ... The Pandyan kingdom was an ancient state at the tip of South India, founded around the 6th century BCE. It was part of the Dravidian cultural area, which also comprised other kingdoms such as that of the Pallava, the Chera, the Chola, the Chalukya and the Vijayanagara. ... Kanchipuram, Kanchi, or Kancheepuram (also sometimes Conjeevaram) is the name of a temple town and district in Tamil Nadu, Indias southernmost state. ...

Musalman dynasty at Madura

This Chera occupation of the country must, however, have been very transitory, for a Musalman dynasty was very Shortly afterwards established at Madura which existed for about the next 48 years and ruled that district (with Trichinopoly and perhaps South Arcot) first as feudatories of the Delhi emperor and subsequently as independent monarchs.

Vijayanagar domination, 1365

The Muslim rule was overthrown about 1365 by the power of the new Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar, which had been founded at Hampi in the Bellary district in 1335 and for the next two centuries stemmed the tide of Muhammadan invasion from the north. Kampana Udaiyar, a prince of this line, drove the Musalmans out of Madura and set up there a little dynasty of his own which was presumably and apparently subordinate to the court of Vijayanagar. The instantaneous effect in Madura of this victorywas that‘within a few days the temples of Siva and Vishnu had been everywhere re-opened;worship was performed once more with extraordinary solemnity and fervour. Kampana was taken on an appointed day to witness the re-opening of the great pagoda, and on his entering and approaching the shrine for the purpose of looking upon the face of the god, lo!and behold! everything was in precisely the same condition as when the temple was first shut up just forty-eight years previously. The lamp that was lighted on that day was still burning; and the sandal-wood powder, the garland of flowers and the ornaments usually placed before the idol on the morning of a festival day were now found to be exactly as it is usual to find them on the evening of such a day’. Kampana Udaiyar’s dynasty only lasted down to about 1404, and thereafter the administration of the country-subject, no doubt, to the suzerainty of the kings of Vijayanagar—continued for many years in the hands of a number of chieftains, of whom the greater number bore Telugu names and titles (such as Nayak) and were apparently the nominees of the suzerain. King Krishnadevaraya (1509-30), the greatest of the dynasty, exercised a closer control over this part of his possessions. Vijayanagara (often written Vijayanagar), in northern Karnataka, is the name of the now ruined capital city of the historic Vijayanagar empire in the Southern part of India. ... Virupaksha Temple Hampi (ಹ೦ಪೆ, Hampe in Kannada) is a village in southern Karnataka, India. ... Bellary is a city and district in Karnataka state, India. ... Sri Krishnadevaraya (Kannada: ಕ್ರಷ್ಣದೇವರಾಯ, Telugu:శ్రీకృష్ణదేవరాయ;) was a Vijaynagar emperor who presided over the empire at its zenith and ruled from 1509 until his death in 1529. ...

King Achyuta’s campaign, 1532

About 1532, however, strirring events occurred. The King of Travancore became aggressive, overan a large part of the Pandya country, and defied the authority of Vijaynagar. To reduce him to submission, Achyuta Deva Raya, king of Vijayanagar from 1530 to 1542 organised a great expendition into the extreme south of India,where, he was eminently successful in the campaign. He planted a pillar of victory in the Tamiraparni river, exacted tribute from the king of Travancore, suppressed the two troublesome chiefains and married the daughter of the Pandya king. Thenceforth the Pandya countrywas held more firmly and directly by the representatives of the Vijayanagar empire. The native chronicles, indeed, continue to confuse the authority of these suzerains, their Telugu governors, and the Pandya rulers, treating each in turn as through they were supreme, but in 1547 and 1558 the Madura country was in fact ruled by one Vitthala Raja, who was a prince of the Vijayanagar line and invaded Travancore a Second time in 1543. The Emperor Sri Achyuta Raya was a ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire of south India. ...

Nayak Dynasty, 1559

In 1559 was founded the famous Nayak dynasty of Madura, which held the Country for nearly two centuries until the under chaotic situations Musalmans took it in 1736 for a brief period ,and finally by the british in 1780’s. The origin and early doings of this line are recounted neither in inscriptions nor in really reliable histories.

Its Origin

It seems, then that at about the close of Vitthala Raja’s administration the then Chola ruler invaded the Madura country and dispossessed the Pandya king. Whereupon the latter appealed to the court of Vijayanagar and an expendition under a certain Nagama Nayak was accordingly sent to his aid. Nagama easily suppressed the Chola king and possessed himself of Madura, but he then suddenly threw off his allegiance and, declining to help the pandya, assumed the position of an independent ruler. The Vijayanagar emperor was furious at his defection, summoned a council, laid the matter before his most faithful officers, and cried out to the assemblage ‘ Where amongst you all is he who will bring me that rebel’s head?’ To the astonishment of every one present, Nagama’s own son, Visvanatha , volunteered to do so, and after some natural hesitation the king despatched him with a large force against the rebel. Viswanatha defeated his father in a pitched battle, placed him in confinement, and at length procured for him the unconditional pardon which had doubtless been from the first the object of his action. He so far obeyed the orders of the Vijayanagar king as nominally to place the Pandya on the throne, but second policy and his own interests alike deterred him from handing over the entire government of the country to the old feeble dynasty, and he set out to rule on his own account. This was in 1559. Doubtless he held a wide commission as governor from the Vijayanagar court, and perhaps there was little difference between the powers he exercised and those wielded, for example, by Vitthala Raja. But the peculiar characteristic of the new regime was that, whether by accident or design, it developed first into a governorship which became hereditary and then into what was practically and hereditary monarchy. The Nayaks never, it is true, assumed the insignia or titles or royalty, and were content with the position of lieutenants under Vijayanagar even after they had ceased to pay tribute to that power; but in essentials their away was practically absolute and the Pandyas disappear in effect henceforth from history.

Viswanatha Nayak 1559-63

Viswanatha, then, became the first of the Nayak dynasty. Viswanatha is said to have immediately set himself to strengthen his capital and improve the administration of his dominions. He demolished the pandya rampart and ditch which at that time surrounded merely the walls of the great temple, and erected in their place an extensive double-walled fortress defended by 72 bastions; and he led channels from upper waters of the Vaigai—perhaps the Peranai and Chittanai dams owe their origin to him—to water the country, founding villages in the tracts commended by them. In his administrative improvements he was ably seconded by his prime minister [[Ariyanatha Mudaliar]] (or, as he is still commonly called, Ariya Natha), a man born of peasant Vellala parents who had won his way by sheer ability to high position in the Vijayanagar court. This officer is supposed to have been the founder of ‘ the poligar system,’ under which the Madura country was apportioned among 72 chieftains—some of them local man and other Telugu leaders of detachments which had accompanied Vishvanatha from Vijayanagar— who were each placed incharge of one of the 72 bastions of the Madura fortifications, were responsible for the immediate control of their estates, paid a fixed tribute to the Nayak Kings, and kept up a certain quota of troops ready for immediate service. Unless their family traditions are uniformly false, these men did much for the country in those days, founding villages, building dams, constructing tanks and erecting temples. Many of them bore the title of Nayakkan, and hence the commonness of nayakkanur as a termination to the names of places in this district. They also brought with them the gods of the Deccan, and thus we find in Madura many shrines to Ahobilam and other deities who are rarely worshipped in the Tamil country. Their successors, the present zamindars of the district, still look upon Arya natha as a sort of patron saint. This man is also credited with having constructed the great thousand-pillared mantapam in the Madura temple, and he is still kept in mind by the equestrian statue to him which flanks one side of the entrance of this, and is even now periodically crowned with garlands by the hero-worshippers of to-day. He lived till 1600 and had great influence upon the fate of the Nayakkan dynasty until his death. Visvanatha also added the fort of Trichinopoly to his possessions. The Vijayanagar viceroy who governed the Tanjore country had failed to properly police the pilgrim roads which ran through Trichinopoly to the shrines at Srirangam and Ramesvaram, and devotees were afraid to visit those holy places. Visvanatha accordingly arranged to exchange that town for the fort of Vallam (in Tanjore), which was his at that time. He is said to have then vastly improved the tortifications and town of Trichinopoly and the temple of Srirangam, and to have cleared the banks of the Cauvery of robbers. He had some difficulty with ‘the five pandyas’ who resisted the introduction of his authority into Tinnevelly, but he vanquished them at length (in circumstances set out with much poetic detail in the manuscripts) and then greatly improved the town and district of Tinnevelly. He is also credited with an expedition to subdue a local chieftain at Kambam (in the periyakulam taluk) near the Travancore border. Visvanatha died full of years and honour in 1563. His name is still affectionately remembered as that of a great benefactor of his country. Kumara Krishnappa (1563-73) Viswanatha Nayak was succeeded by his son Kumara Krishnappa (1563-73), who is represented as a brave and politic ruler. A revolt occured among the poligars during his reign,but its leader, Tumbichi Nayakkan, was captured while holding the fort of Paramakudi in the Ramnad zamindari, and was beheaded; and the trouble was quenched. Krishnappa is also declared to have conquered Ceylon-and exploit of which heroic details are given in the manuscripts, but of which, in view of the silence of the usually candid annals of that island, the very existence may well be doubted. Joint Rulers He was succeeded in 1573 by his two sons, who ruled jointly and uneventfully till 1595; and they by their two sons, one of whom ruled till 1602.

Muttu Krishnappa (1602-09)

These were followed by Muttu Krishnappa (1602-09). He is credited with the foundation of the dynasty of the Setupatis of Ramnad, the ancestors of the present Raja of that place, who were given a considerable slice of territory in the Marava country on condition that they suppressed crime and protected pilgrims journeying to Ramesvaram through that wild and inhospitable region,thus the beginnings of Ramnad zamindari.

Muttu Virappa (1609-23)

Muttu Krishnappa was succeeded by Muttu Virappa (1609-23), a hardly more distinct figure. But he started construction of the Fort at Dindigul on the Hill, along with the Temple on it, which was later completed by Tirumala Nayak.

Fall of Vijayanagar Kingdom, 1565

Meanwhile, in 1565, the power of the rulers of Vijayanagar, the Suzerains of the Nayaks, had been dealt an irreparable blow by the combined Musalman kings of the Deccan at the memorable battle of Talikota, one of the great landmarks in the history of south India. They were forced to abandon a large part of the districts of Bellary and Anantapur to the victorious Muhammadans, to flee hastily from Vijayanagar, and to establish their capital successively at Penukonda in Anantapur and at Chandragiri,near Tirupathi(which later granted Land to the British East India Company) to build a fort at the present day Chennai) and Vellore in North Arcot. Their governors at Madura and Tanjore still paid them usual tribute and marks of respect, but in the years which now follow traces begin to appear of the weakness of the suzerain, and of contempt and finally rebellion on the part of his feudatories.

Tirumala Nayak, 1623-59

Muttu Virappa mentioned above was succeeded by the great Tirumala Nayakkar, the most powerful and the best known of his dynasty, who ruled for thirty-six eventful years. He was called upon to play his part in much more stirring times than his predecessors. The peace imposed upon the south by the sway of Vijayanagar had been dissolved by the downfall of that power, and the pandya country was torn by the mutual quarrels of the once feudatory governors (‘Nayaks’) of Madura, Tanjore, Gingee and Mysore;by the unavailing attempts of the last rulers of the dying empire to reassert their failing authority; and finally by the incursions of the Muhammadan kings of the Deccan, who now began to press southwards to reap the real fruits of their victory at Talikota. An added trouble lay in the in-subordination of the Setupathis of Ramnad, who took advantage of the embarrassments of the rulers of Madura to disobey their commands and finally to assume independence. The last-named danger was not experienced by Tirumalai Nayak himself, but was reserved to perplex his successors.

He defies Vijayanagar

Almost the first act of his reign was to withhold the tribute due to the king of Vijayanagar. As he anticipated trouble in consequence, he massed large bodies of troops in Trichinopoly and strengthened its fortifications. But none the less still sent annual complimentary messages and presents to his suzerain, and this sufficed for some time to appease the resentment of the incapable representatives of that ancient line. But about 1638 king Ranga, a more resolute prince, succeeded to the throne of Chandragiri, and he soon resolved to put an end to the contumacy of Tirumala and prepared to march south with a large and formidable force. Tirumala had meanwhile persuaded the Nayaks of Tanjore and Gingee (in south Arcot) to join him in his defiance of their mutual suzerain, and thus Ranga was left with only Mysore, of all his tributaries, to support him. He however continued his preparations, with the result that the governor of Tanjore eventually grew alarmed, sent in his submission, and betrayed the designs of the confederates.

Calls the Muhammadans to his aid

Ranga advanced upon Gingee, but his plans were frustrated by a desperate move on the part of Tirumala, who, reckless of the claims of a larger relief of Gingee, but hardly had they arrived there when the Bijapur troops went over to the enemy, and joined in the Siege of the fort they had been sent to deliver. The Golconda king, however, was soon recalled by trouble in other parts of his new conquests, and Tirumala threw himself into the Gingee fortress. Owing to dissensions between his troops and those of the former garrison, however the gates were opened not long afterwards to the troops of Bijapur and the town fell into the possession of the Musalmans,thus ending the reign of Gingee Nayaks.

and becomes their feudatory

Tirumala retreated in dismay of Madura, and the Mohammedans advanced triumphantly southwards, exacted submission from the governor of Tanjore, and proceeded to lay waste the Madura country. Tirumala then submitted, apparently with out striking a blow, paid a large sum to the invaders, and agreed to send an annual tribute to the Sultan of Bijapur. Thus, after an interval of nearly 300 years, the Mohammedans were once back there in the South.

His wars with Mysore

Tirumala’s next conflict was with Mysore. In the early years of his regin, before his troubles with the king of Vijayanagar and the Muhammadans, he had been involved in a short war with that kingdom. His territories had been invaded by the Mysore troops and territories upto Dindigul had been besieged, but the enemy had been eventually driven out and their country was successfully invaded in revenge by a general of Tirumala’s. Since then, as already noted, the Vijayanagar ruler had taken refuge with the king of Mysore, and now these two monarchs combined to endeavour to recover those portions of the former’s territories which had recently been captured by Golconda. They were at first successful;but,at this point Tirumalai Nayak, whether actuated by jealousy or fear, turned the tables against all his Hindu rivals in the region by persuading the Sultans of Golconda and Bijapur to help him attack Mysore from the south, throwing open the passes in his own country for the purpose. The Sultan of Golconda accepting his proposal, graciously leapt into the fray, flattened out Mysore resulting in the final extinction of the power of Vijayanagar and the humbling of Mysore, and in return extracted huge amounts of tribute from the Nayaks of Madura and Thanjavur. Whether Tirumalai Nayak regretted his action is not known, but for the next century or so, Madura was left alone to progress under the Nayaks. So Tirumala profited little from this new treachery to the cause of Hinduism. It is not clear exactly when these events happened, but they appear to constitute the last interference of the Muhammadans in Madura affairs. Tirumala’s only other external war occurred towards the close of his reign and was with Mysore. In this he is represented to have been altogether successful. The campaign began with an invasion of Coimbatore by the Mysore king-apparently in revenge for Tirumala’s contribution to his recent humiliation at the hands of the Muhammadans. That district was occupied by the enemy with ease, and then Madura itself was threatened. The Mysore troops were however beaten off from the town (Chiefly by the loyal assistance of the Setupati of Ramnad) defeated again in the open, and driven in disorder up the ghats into Mysore.

Hunt for Noses

The campaign was known as the ‘hunt for noses’ owing to the fact that under the orders of the Mysore king the invaders cut off the noses of all their prisoners (men, women and children) and sent them in sacks to Seringapatam as glorious trophies. A counter invasion of Mysore was undertaken shortly afterwards by the Madurai Nayaks under the command of Kumara Muttu Nayak, the younger brother of Tirumala, and was crowned with complete success, in which the king of Mysore himself was captured and his nose was cut off and sent to Madura.

His death

Tirumala died before his victorious brother’s return. He was between sixty-five and seventy years of age at the time and had reigned for thirty-six eventful years. His territories at his death comprised the present districts of Madura (including the zamindaris of Ramnad and Sivaganga), Tinnevelly, Coimbatore, Salem and Trichinopoly, with Pudukkotai and part of Travancore. Native tradition is persistent in declaring that he met his death by violence. Several stories are current, but two of them are more widely repeated than the others. The first of these says that he so nearly became converted to Christianity that he stopped his expenditure on the temples of the Hindu gods. This roused the Brahmans, and some of them, headed by a bhattan (officiating priest of the great temple), enticed him to the temple under the pretence that they had found a great hidden treasure in a vault there, induced him to enter the vault and then shut down its stone trap-door upon him, and gave out that the goddess Meenakshi had translated her favourite to heaven. The second story avers that he had an intrigue with the wife of a Bhattan and that as he was returning from visiting her one dark night he fell into a well and was killed. The Bhattan was so scared when he found what had happened that he at once filled in the well, but afterwards told the Brahmans what he had done. Tirumala’s character is summed up, probably with justice, in a letter written by one of the Jesuit priests just after his death and dated Trichinopoly,1659— It is impossible to refuse him credit for great qualities, but he tarnished his glory at the end of his life by follies and vices which nothing could justify. He was called to render account to God for the evils which his political treachery had brought upon his own people and the neighbouring kingdoms. His reign was rendered illustrious by works of really royal magnificence. Among these are the pagoda of Madura, several public buildings, and above all the royal palace the colossal proportions and astonishing boldness of which recall the ancient monuments of Thebes. He loved and protected the Christian religion, the excellence of which he recongnised; but he never had the courage to accept the consequences of his conviction. The chief obstacle to his conversion came from his 2oo wives, of whom the most distinguished were burnt on his pyre.

Rebellions among his vassals

During his reign, two rebellions, occurred among his vassals. The first was raised by the Setupati of Ramnad. It was due to an unjust order of Tirumala’s regarding the succession to the chiefship of that country in 1635, which was resisted by the rightful claimant and by the Maravans themselves. Tirumala was successful in placing his nominee on the throne and in imprisoning the rival aspirant, but he was ultimately compelled to allow the latter to succed. He was rewarded by the loyalty of Ramnad in his last war with Mysore. The other rebellion was raised by a confederacy of poligars headed by the powerful chief of Ettaiyapuram in the Tinnevelly district. Its cause is not clear. The Setupati of Ramnad, as chief of all the poligars, was entrusted with the duty of quelling it, and performed this undertaking satisfactorily. The leader was put to death and the others suitably punished; and peace was restored in a few months.

A curious rumour

The letters of the Jesuits relate a curious event which took place in the Madura country about 1653. The whole territory was thrown into a state of great nervous excitement by the spreading in every direction of one of those mysterious and extraordinary rumors which spring up now and again in India, no one knows where or how. An infant emperor of divine birth, it was declared, would shortly appear from the north and usher in a millennium of peace and plenty. The story obtained universal credence, and large sums of money were collected for the use of the deliverer when he should arrive. But he never did arrive. A woman and child were brought to Bangalore by the perpetrators of the rumor, and vast multitudes flocked thither to pay their respects and offer presents to the supposed emperor; but after squeezing all that was possible out of the pretenders, the Musalman rulers of that town cut off their heads and ordered their followers to disperse immediately.

Tirumala’s Capital

Tirumala’s capital was Madurai. The royal residence had been removed thence to Trichinopoly by his predecessor, but Tirumala moved it back again, notwithstanding the fact that Trichinoploy, with its almost impregnable rock, its never failing Cauvery river and its healthy climate, was by nature far superior to Madura, where the fort was on level ground, the Vaigai was usually dry and fever was almost endemic. The reason given in the old manuscripts for the change is that Tirumala was afficted with a grievous long-standing catarrh which none of the vaishnavite gods of Trichinoploy could (or would) cure. One day when he was halting at Dindigul on his way to Madura, Sundareswara and Meenakshi, the Saivite deities of the latter place, appeared to him in a dream and promised him that if he would reside permanently in their town they would cure him. He vowed that he would do so and would spend five lakhs of pons on sacred works. Immediately afterwards, as he was cleaning his teeth in the early morning, the disease left him; and thenceforth he devoted himself to the cult of Saivism and the improvement of Madura. None the less, he resided a good deal at Trichinopoly, and successors (though they went to Madura to be crowned) generally dwelt there permanently.

His Public buildings

It is, however, by his many splendid public buildings in Madura that he is best remebered at the present time. They are referred to in some detail in the account of the place given below. The largest and most magnifient of them was the great palace which still goes by his name. Much of this was removed to Trichinopoly in later years by his grandson Chokkanatha, but none the less the portions of it which survive were thoughts by Bishop Caldwell to constitute the grandest building of its kind in Southern India. The beautiful Teppakulam at Madura, the Pudumantapam and the unfinished tower called the Raja gopuram belonging to the Great temple there (and doubtless other additions to that buildings), and (perhaps) the Tamakam, the curious buildings in which the Collector now resides, were also due to his taste for the magnificent.

Muttu Alakkadri, 1659-62

Tirumala was succeeded by his son Muttu Alakadri. It is perhaps Surprising that Tirumala’s brother — who, as has been seen, had just returned to Madura from Mysore at the head of a victorious army-should not have attempted to seize the crown; but he was prevailed upon to accept the governorship of Sivakasi in Tinnevelly district. Almost the first act of the new king was an attempt to shake off the hated Muhammadan yoke. He tried to induce the Nayakkan of Tanjore to join the enterprise, but only succeeded in involving him in the punishment which the Musalmans meted out when his efforts ended in failure. For though the Tanjore ruler disclaimed all connection with his neighbour’s aspirations and attempted to conciliate with his Musalmans, the latter none the less marched into his country, took Tanjore and Vallam and drove the Nayakkan to fly into the jungle. The invaders then moved against Trichinopoly and Madura, spreading havoc far and wide, while Muthu Alakadri remained inactive behind the walls of the former of these forts. Fortunately for him, enemy soon had to retire, for their cruel devastations produced a local famine and pestilence from which they themselves suffered terribly. They accordingly made a half-hearted attempt on Trichinopoly and then permitted themselves to be bought off for a very moderate sum. Muttu Alakadri did not long survive their departure, but gave himself to debauchery with an abandon which soon brought him to a dishonoured grave.

Chokkanatha, 1662-82

Age at time of ruling : 16 to 36 years

His troubles with his neighbours

He was succeeded by his son Chokkanatha (1662-82), a promising boy of sixteen. This young ruler began his reign with a second ill-considered attempt to drive out the Musalman troops, despatching a large army against the Gingee fortress. His general, however, sold himself to the enemy and wasted time and money in a long and unprofitable campaign which was little but pretence. Chokkanatha was also harassed by a domestic conspriacy (in which the same unfaithful general took a prominent part) and though he detected and quashed this, the general went over openly to the Muhammadans and induced them to join in an assault upon Trichinopoly in which they had the countenance (if not the practical assistance) of the Nayakkan of Tanjore. The officers whom Chokkanatha entrusted with the duty of repelling the attack were again disloyal, and it was not until he himself at length took command of the army that the invaders were driven back to Tanjore and eventually to Gingee. So far things had not gone so badly, but in the next or the following year (1663 or 1664) Chokkanatha paid a heavy price for his temporary success. The Muhammadans burst into the Trichinopoly and Madura districts and devastarted the country with almost incredible cruelty. They again besieged Trichinoploy, and this time Chokkanatha had to buy them off with a large sum. He consoled himsen by punishing the Nayakkan of Tanjore for assisting them, and he attempted similar reprisals on the Setupati of Ramnad, who had failed to help him in repelling them. This latter enterprise was unsuccessful, for though Chokkanatha succeeded in taking several forts in the Marava country, he was baffled by the guerilla tactics of his adversary, and had to retire without obtaining that chief’s submission. The Campaign marks a new in the relations of Ramnad and Madura; from thence forthe Setupati aspired to an Independent kingdom.

His conquest and loss of Tanjore

Chokkantha’s next war was with Tanjore, and it resulted in the capture of that ancient city and the extinction of its Nayakkan dynasty. The reason for war was the refusal of the Tanjore Nayakkan to give his beautiful and gifted daughter in marriage to Chokkanatha. The latter determibed to fetch the maiden by force back into their capital, and successfully stormed that place. But they did not get the princess; her father placed her and all the other ladies of the palace in one room, blew this up with gunpowder and then, with his son and his body-guard, charged furiously into the thickest of the enemy, was captured after a desperate resistance, and was beheaded. Chokkanatha placed his foster-brother Alagiri in charge of the Government of Tanjore, but within a year the latter threw off his allegiance, and Chokkanatha was now so given up to self-indulgence and so ill-served by his disloyal officers that, after an outburst of indignation which ended in nothing, he was forced to acquiesce in the independence of Tanjore. Alagiri, however, was not long permitted to enjoy his illgotten kingdom. A son or grandson of the last Tanjore Nayakkan had escaped to the Musalman court of Bijapur and had induced that power to help to place him on the throne of his fathers. In 1674 the sultan of Bijapur sent a force commanded by the Maratha general Venkaji (alias Ekohji) to turn out the Madura usurper and reinstate the scion of the old line. Venkaji ventured little until the occurrence of the rupture between Chokkanatha and Alagiri; but he then defeated the latter with ease, and occupied Tanjore. He did not, however, place his protege on the throne, thought he treated him kindly enough, but seized the kingdom for himself. So the outcome of Chokkanatha’s feebleness was that a Maratha, instead of Nayakkan, sat upon the throne of Tanjore. Venkaji shortly afterwards became embroiled with his famous half-brother Sivaji, and Chokkanatha attempted to take advantage of the circumstance to regain his hold on Tanjore. But he was dilatory in the field and in his negotiations, and Venkaji succeeded in buying off the hostility of Santoji (the son of Sivaji, whom the latter had despatched against him) before Chokkanatha could effect anything. This was in 1677-78.

Attacked by Mysore and the Marathas

Soon afterwards, Chokkanatha was forced to turn from aggression to the defence of his own kingdom. The famous Chikka Deva Raya, king of Mysore from 1672 to 1704, had for some time been massing troops on his frontier, and now burst upon Coimbatore and spread havoc far and wide. Chokkantha did little to repel him, the country was moreover visited with famine and pestilence, and in despair the ministers of the State deposed their incompetent ruler in favour of his brother. The Change was not for the better, and the parlous state of Madura and its territories in 1678 may be gathered from the following passage in a letter written by one of the Jesuit missionaries in that year:- ‘The capital, formerly so flourishing, is no longer recognizable, Its palaces, once so gorgeous and majestic, are deserted and falling to ruin. Madura resembles less a town than a brigand’s haunt. The new Nayakkan is essentially a do-nothing king. He sleeps all nights, he sleeps all days; and his neighbours, who do not sleep, snatch from him each moment some fragment of his territories. Nations who would profit from a change of rulers do not trouble to repel invaders and everything foretells that this kingdom, so powerful twenty years back, will soon be the prey of its enemies, or rather the victim of the insane policy of its own government.’ Chokkantha was replaced on his tottering throne about 1678 by a Muhammadan adventurer who during the next two years usurped the whole of his authority (and even the ladies of his and fallen brother’s harems) and at last was slain by Chokkanatha himself and a few of his friends. But the Nayakkan’s position was still far from enviable. In 1682 his capital was besieged by Mysore; was shadowed by forces belonging to the Marathas, who, while pretending to be on his side, were only waiting for a chance to seize his territory for themselves; and was threatened by a body of Maravans who norminally and hurried to his assistance, but in reality had only come to share in the booty which the sack of Trichinopoly was expected to yield.

The latter seize his country

While Chokkanatha thus sat helpless behind his defences, matters were taken out of his hands by the more virile actors upon this curious scene. The Marathas, who were now established in Gingee as well as Tanjore, inflicted a crushing defeat on the Mysore troops and drove them out of almost every corner of the Madura and Trichinopoly districts, Madura itself they were unable to capture, for the Maravans, regarding the men of Mysore as on the whole more eligible neighbours than the Marathas, helped the former to hold that fortress. The latter had pretended to be, and laid siege to Trichinopoly itself. In despair at their treachery, Chokkantha died of a broken heart in 1682.

Ranga Krishna Muttu Virappa, 1682-89

(Total Reign: 7 years) Age at time of ruling: 15 to 22years Rengakrishna Muthu Virappa, who succeeded Chokkanatha was a spirited youth a boy of fifteen who ruled for seven years. He tried to retrieve to some extent the diminished fortunes of the kingdom. He made a name for himself by ignoring Aurangazeb with courage. Little enough of his territories remained to him to rule. The greater part of them was held by Mysore, some by the maravans, some by the Marathas of Gingee and some by the Marathas of Tanjore. The country was a prey to complete anarchy and universal pillage, foreign enemies occupying all the forts and robber chiefs being masters of the rural areas and carrying on their brigandage with impunity.

Matters improve

Matters, however, slowly improved. Mysore was soon distracted by a war with the Marathas of Gingee, and both the Setupathis of Ramnad and the Marathas of Tanjore were occupied by domestic out breaks in their own countries. A new disturbing in south Indian politics had also appeared on the scene in the person of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who in 1686-87 conquered the kingdoms of Madura’s old enemies, Golconda and Bijapur, and was for many years engaged in a war with its foes the Marathas which was most exhausting to both parties. Moreover the young Nayak of Madura, though imbued with a boyish love of fun and adventure which endeared him to his countriers, had also a stock of sound ability and spirit which moved the admiration of his ministers, and he took advantage of his improving prospects. He recovered his capital about 1685, and though he failed in an attempt to reduce the Setupati in 1686, he gradually reconquered large parts of the ancient kingdom of his forefathers and succeeded in restoring the power of the Nayakkans of Madura to a position which, though not to be compared with that held by it at the beginning of his father’s reign, was still far above that which it occupied at the end of that period. He unfortunately died of small-pox in 1689 at the early age of 22. The story goes that his young window Muttammal (the only woman, strange to say, whom he hd married), was inconsolable at his loss and, though she was far advanced in pregnancy, insisted upon committing sati on his funeral pyre. Her husband’s mother, Mangammal, with great difficulty persuaded her to wait until her child should have been born, solemnly swearing that she should then have her way. When at length the child (a son) arrived, she was put off day after day with various excuses until, despairing of being allowed her desire, she put an end to her life.

Rani Mangammal, 1689-1704

Mangammal, the mother of the late Nayakkan, acted for the next fifteen years as Queen-Regent on behalf of his posthumous son.

Her charities

She was a popular administrator and is still widely remembered by people as a maker of roads and avenues, and a builder of temples, tanks and choultries. Popular belief unhesitatingly ascribes to her every fine old avenue in Madura and Tinnevelly. Native writers assign a curious reason for her passion for charitable acts. One day, they say, she inadvertently put betel into her month with her left (instead of her right) hand, and was warned by the Brahmans that this offence against manners must be expiated by expenditure of this kind, Mr.Taylor has suggested that this stroy hides her repentance for some amorous escapade. She was an able woman as well as a charitable, and under her firm guidance Madura apparently all but regained the proud position it had held in the days of Tirumala Nayakkan. Unluckily, the Jesuit letters from 1687 to 1699, both inclusive, have again been lost and the events of her regency cannot be given with any fullness.

Her wars

She was less frequently in war than her predecessors, but she did not escape the usual conflicts with her neighbours. In her reign the kingdom of Madura first came into direct touch with the Mughal empire of Delhi, since Zulfikar Khan, the general who was sent by Aurangzeb to attack the Maratha stronghold of Gingee, exacted tribute both from Trichinopoly and Tanjore in 1693, though he did not succeed in taking Gingee till five years later. Trichinopoly was besieged (according to Wilks) by Mysore in 1695, but relieved owing to pressure on the invader’s country from the north. The style of the architecture of the principal room, a circular apartment, with a vaulted roof, surrounded by a raised gallery, exactly resembles that of parts of the Palace..."The distinctive features of the building have now been to a great extent lost, owing to the adaptation of the building to a European residence... In 1698 Mangammal had to subdue a rebellion in Travancore. The ruler of that country had of recent years been very remiss in sending his tribute to Madura, and it had been necessary on several occasions to send an army to collect the arrears. In 1697, a force despatched for this purpose was taken off its guard and almost cut to pieces. A punitive expedition was organized in the following year, and after hard fighting Travancore was subdued and an immense booty was brought home. Part of this consisted of many cannon, and these were mounted, says one of the vernacular manuscripts, on the ramparts of Trichinopoly and Madura. In 1700 a desultory war, the origin and course of which are alike obsure, was carried on between Madura and the Marathas of Tanjore. In the following year the latter were crushingly defeated near their capital, and were glad enough to buy off the invading army with an enormous bribe. The Tamuku Maidan, built by Rani Mangamal, was built in 1670, capable of hosting royal entertainments such as elephant-fights. When later taken over by the British, it became the official residence of the District Collectors. In 1955 the palace and the land of 12 acres were dedicated to Gandhi Smarak Nidhi by the government of Tamilnadu in remembrance of the life and work of father of the nation, now as Mahatma Gandhi Museum.

Her tragic death

In 1704-05 Mangammal’s grandson came of age. Tradition says that she refused to make way for him and that she was supported in her intention to make way for him and that she was supported in her intention by her chief minister, a man with whom she was on terms of undue intimacy. A strong party formed against her, seized her and confined her in the building in Madura which is still called ‘Managammal’s palace,’ was once the Judge’s Mansion and is now occupied by the taluk cut cherry and other public offices. There, goes the story, she was slowly starved to death, her sufferings being aggravated, with horrible cruelty, by the periodical placing of food outside her prison bars in such a position that she could see and smell, but not reach, it. Some slight confirmation of the tradition is derived from the facts that in the little chapel built by Mangammal on the west side of ‘the golden lily tank’ in the Madura temple is a statute of a young man who is declared to be her minister and paramour, and that in a picture on the ceiling of the queen, who (be it noted) is dressed, not as an orthodox Hindu window should be, but in jewels and finery appropriate only to a married woman. A Lyon is referring to the building which was once a palace of Rani Mangammal who reigned over Madurai in the second half of the 17th century.

Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha, 1704-31

 (Total Reign: 26 years) 

Age at time of ruling: 16 to 41years

Her grandson Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha (1704-31) enjoyed a long but apparently dull reign of 26 years. It is unfortunate that the Jesuit letters which so greatly illumine previous periods of Madura history now cease altogether, and from this time forth we are driven to rely almost entirely upon native manuscripts and the secondary evidence afforded by english historians. And, curiously enough, the nearer we approach the period of the beginning of British ascendancy in the south, the more meagre and unsatisfactory does our information becomes.

His feeble rule

The new ruler of Madura was vain and weak-minded, and unfit to govern either himself or others. His reign was distinguished by the ill-regulated and extraordinary Munificence of his gifts to Brahmins and religious institutions. Every other year he used, it is said, to travel to one or other of the famous shrines within his territories, and on these occasions he lavished gifts on all who could gain access to him. The injustice of his rule caused a serious riot in Madura, the mutiny of the whole of his troops, and incessant internal commotions. It must have owed solely to their own embarrassments that his neighbours did not attempt to despoil his kingdom.

The only warfare in which he seems to have been engaged was connected with the succession to the throne of Ramnad in 1725. Of the two claimants to that position, one was supported by Tanjore Marathas and the other by Madura and the Tondaiman of Pudukkotai. The Tanjore troops won a decisive victory and placed their protege on the throne. A year or two later, however, the Tanjore king himself deposed this very protege, and divided the Ramnad kingdom into the two separate divisions of Ramnad and Sivaganga, which hence forth remained independent Marava powers.

Queen Meenakshi, 1731-36 (Total Reign: 4 years)

Age at time of ruling : around late 20’s or 30’s Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha died in 1731, and was succeeded by his window Meenakshi, who acted as Queen-Regent on behalf of a young boy she had adopted as the heir of her dead husband. Meenakshi had only ruled a year or two when an insurrection was raised against her by Vangaru Tirumala, the father of her adopted son, who pretended to have claims of his own to the throne of Madura. At this juncture the representatives of the Mughals appeared on the scene and took an important part in the struggle. The Mughal Empire (alternative spelling Mogul, which is the origin of the word Mogul) of India was founded by Babur in 1526, when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi, the last of the Delhi Sultans at the First Battle of Panipat. ...

Musalman interference

Since 1693, Madura had been nominally the feudatory of the emperor of Delhi, and that since 1698 the Carnatic north of the Coleroon(Kollidam) river had been under direct Muhammadan rule. The local representative of the Mughal was the Nawab of Arcot, and an intermediate authority was held by the Nizam of Hyderabad, who was in theory the subordinate of the emperor, and the superior of the Nawab. How regularly the kings of Tanjore and Madura paid their tribute is not clear, but in 1734-about the time, in fact, that Meenakshi and Vangaru Tirumala were fighting for the crown-an expedition was sent by the then Nawab of Arcot to exact tribute and submission from the kingdoms of the south. The leaders of this were the Nawab’s son, Safdar Ali Khan, and his nephew and confidential adviser, the well-known Chanda Sahib. The invaders took Tanjore by storm and, leaving the stronghold of Trichinopoly unattempted, swept across Madura and Tinnevelly and into Travancore, carrying all before them. It was apparently on their return from this expedition that they took part in the quarrel between Queen Meenakshi and Vangaru Tirumala. The latter approached Safdar Ali Khan with an offer of three million rupees if he would oust the queen in favour of himself. Unwilling to attack Trichinopoly, the Musalman prince contented himself with solemnly declaring Vangaru Tirumala to be king and taking a bond for the three millions. He then marched away, leaving Chanda Sahib to enforce his award as best as he could. The queen, alarmed at the turn affairs had now taken, her side had little difficulty in persuading that facile politician to accept her bond for a crore of rupees(Ten Million) and to declare her duly entitle to the throne. Queen Meenakshi, says Willks, required him to swear on the Koran that he would adhere faithfully to his engagement, and he accordingly took an oath on a brick wrapped up in the spledid covering usually reserved for that holy book. He was admitted into the Trichinopoly fort and Vangaru Tirumala-apparently with the good will of the queen, who, strangely enough, does not seem to have wished him any harm—went off to Madura, to rule over that country and Tinnevelly. Chanda Sahib accepted an earnest of the payment of the crore of rupees and departed to Arcot. Two years later (1736) he returned, was again admitted into the fore and proceeded to make himself master of the kingdom. Meenakshi was soon little but a puppet. Orme, indeed, suggests that she had fallen in love with Chanda Sahib and so let him have his own way unhindered. Tiruchirapalli (also spelled Tiruchchirappalli, commonly known as Tiruchi or Trichy, formerly known as Trichinopoly under British rule) is a city situated on the banks of the Kaveri river, centrally located in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. ... A crore is a unit in a traditional number system, still widely used in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. ...

End of Nayak dynasty ~1736…

The latter eventually marched against Vangaru Tirumala, who was still ruling in the south, defeated him at Ammaya Nayakkanur and Dindigul, drove him to take refuge in Sivaganga, and occupied the southern provinces of the Madura kingdom. Having now made himself master of all of the unfortunate Meenakshi’s realms he threw off the mask, ceased to treat her with the consideration he had hitherto extended to her, locked her up in her palace and proclaimed himself ruler of her kingdom. The hapless lady took poison and ended her life shortly afterwards. Arcot - Chanda Sahib (1736-40) For a time, Chanda Sahib had everything his own way. His success was indeed regarded with suspicion and even hostility by the Nawab of Arcot; but family reasons prevented a rupture, and Chanda Sahib was left undisturbed while he strengthened the fortifications of Trichinoploy and appointed his two brothers as governors of the strongholds of Dindigul and Madura. It was at this period that he subjugated the king of Tanjore (though he did not annex his territory), and compelled him to code Karaikkal to the French.

A Maratha interlude (1740-43)

Unable to help themselves, the king of Tanjore and Vangaru Tirumala determined to call in assistance of the Marathas of Satara in Bombay. These people had their own grievance against the Muhammadans of Arcot (with whom Chanda Sahib was still identified) because the latter had long delayed payment of the chouth, or one-fourth of the revenues, which they had promised in return for the withdrawal of the Marathas from the country, and the discontinuance of their usual predatory incursions. They were also encouraged to attempt reprisals by the Nizam of Haidarabad, who jealous of the increasing power of the Nawab and careless of the loyalty due to co-religionists, would gladly have seen his dangerous subordinate brought to the ground.

Early in 1740, therefore, the Marathas appeared with a vast army in the south and defeated and killed the Nawab of Arcot in the pass of Damalcheruvu in North Arcot. They then came to an understanding with his son, the Safdar Ali mentioned above, recognised him as Nawab, and retired for a time.

Chanda Sahib had made a faint pretence at helping the Nawab to resist the Marathas, and he how came to offer his submission to Sardar Ali. The princes parted with apparent amity, but at the end of the same year the Marathas (at the secret invitation of Safdar Ali) suddenly reappeared and made straight for Trichinopoly. Their temporary withdrawal had been designed to put chanda Sahib off his guard; and it so far succeeded that Trichinopoly was very poorly provisioned. They invested the town closely, defeated and killed the two brothers of Chanda Sahib above mentioned as they advanced to his help from their provinces of Madura and Dindigul, and, after a siege of three months, compelled the surrender of Trichinopoly. They took Chanda captive to Satara, and, disregarding the claims of Vangaru Tirumala, appointed a Maratha, the well-known Morari Rao of Gooty, as their governor of the conquered kingdom.

Musalman Authority reestablished, 1743

Morari Rao remained there for two years (it is not clearly known what he did or how far his authority extended) and he finally retired in 1743 before the invading army of the Nizam, who marched south in that year, re-established his weakened authority in the Carnatic, and in 1744 appointed Anwar-uddin as Nawab of Arcot. The whole of the Madura kingdom now fell under the rule of this latter potentate. There is reason to believe that he governed it through his sons Mahfuz Khan and Muhammad Ali, both soon to play an important part in the history of these districts. It is said that the Nizam ordered that Vangaru Tirumala should be appointed king of Madura;but, if such an order was ever made, it was disregarded;and that feeble individual soon disappeared finally from the scene, poisoned, some say, by Answer-ud-din.

As late as 1820, a descendant of his(Vangaru Tirumala), bearing the same name, was in Madura endeavouring to obtain pecuniary assistance from Government. He and his family lived Vellaikurichi in the Sivaganga zamindari and their children were there until quite recently. It is said that they still kept up the old from of having recited, on the first day of Chittrai in each year, a long account of their pedigree and the boundaries of the great kingdom of which their forebears were rulers.

Afterwards

Later in the skirmish between Chanda Sahib an the Arcot Nawabs ended in the British profited by Sieging Madura, 1751,after the Arcot Nawab,killed Chanda Sahib (who was supported by French), ceded the Southern Domains for his huge borrowings from the British East India Company,and started their rule afterwards after much wars with the Mysore Hyder Ali,Tipu Sultan ,and various other Palayams,notable being Puli Thevan and Veerapandya Kattabomman.By the end of 18th Century the British comfortably settled in the Madurai country,after extinguishing most of the rebellious Polygars of the former Madurai dynasty.

Nayak rule and Tiruchi

The significance of Nayak rule in checking invasion by northern rulers elevated Tiruchi in the eyes of national history. But for the Nayak rule, the central part of Tamil Nadu, particularly what has today come to be known as Tiruchi, Thanjavur and Perambalur districts, would not have gained its historical identity and cultural development. The Nayak dynasty at Madurai, which established the concept of `paalayams' facilitating a link between the masses and the rulers through the formation of 72 divisions or `Paalayams'. They often shifted the capital from Madurai to Trichy or vice versa according to prevailing political compulsions. The Tiruchi range comprised five major Paalayams viz Udayarpalayam, Ariyalur, Marungapuri, Thuraiyur and Cuddalore. A detailed study about these paalayams should be undertaken, he said. They constructed new `mandapams' or structures at several temples including the Srirangam Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple,and the Rock Fort. Even tough the Vijayanagar dynasty was chiefly responsible for the present and permanent glory of Tamil Nadu,which was ransacked by the earlier Delhi Sultans. But for the invasions by Kumara Kambanna Udayar against the Sultans of Madurai, the State's cultural civilisation would have been doomed. Wasteland development and setting up of water harvest structures formed part of the Nayak rulers' welfare programmes. It was at Rani Mangammal Hall in Tiruchi, where one of the Nayak rulers, Vijayanagara Chokkanatha Nayak, launched a stiff opposition to Aurangazeb.

Nayak coins

Most of the Nayak coins were of gold or copper. The design, figures size and weight of the Nayak coins are similar to that of the Vijayanagara coins. Sadasiva Nayak of Keladi haD issued some beautiful Nayak coins. One gold coin shows Lord Shiva and goddess Parvati seated next to each other. Shiva holds the trisula (trident) and the mriga (antelope) in his hands. Another gold coin of the same ruler features the mythical bird gandaberundha. This coin is almost identical to the gandaberundha coins minted by the Vijayanagara ruler Achyutaraya. Sevappa, the first Nayak king of Thanjavur, issued a coin featuring a conch. Raghunatha Nayak of Thanjavur minted coins featuring Lord Rama, Lakshmana, Sita and Hanuman — all in standing posture. A rare copper coin of this ruler displays, on its obverse, the standing figure of God Kartikeya or Muruga with his favourite peacock behind him. The reverse depicts the Nandi (sacred bull) below the Shivalinga. The Madurai Nayaks issued many coins featuring fish — the emblem of the Pandyas who ruled Madurai before the Vijayanagara and Nayak rulers. Some early Madurai Nayak coins portray the figure of the king. The bull is also frequently seen on the Madurai Nayak coins. Chokkanatha, one of the last rulers of this dynasty, issued coins displaying various animals such as the bear, elephant and lion. He also issued coins featuring Lord Hanuman and the Garuda. The inscriptions of 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.

Nayak temples

The Madurai and Tanjavur Nayaks made great contributions - the main characteristics of this period being the elaborate mandapas of the hundred and thousand pillared type, the high gopurams with stucco statues on the surface, the long corridors. The main temples representing this style in various portions are The Ranganatha temple at Srirangam - for the increase in the no. of enclosures. The temple at Rameswaram - for the long corridors. TheThe Subramanya temple at the Brihadiswara temple court at Tanjavur - for the fine vimana with ardha and maha mandapas. Meenakshi Sundareswara Temple at Madura - for the Grand Splendour of the Gopuras and the1000 pillar Mandapam and the Mariamman Teppakulam.

Portugese Influence in civilian Buidings

Tough the Nayak architecture was a grand fusion of Hindu,Muslim and European styles,Portugese influence during the Nayak Dynasty, can be still seen in general civilian buildings around southern Tamilnadu, the red tiles (known as Calicut Tiles or Mangalore Tiles) used for construction along with the commonly known as Madras roof,an RC roof with huge Wooden beam support undeneath.They are mostly found in towns and villages in Southern TamilNadu built upto 1950’s,also closely resembling the Spanish colonial structures found in Americas notable in California and Mexico.Also thus influence was later adopted by the more colourful Chettinad Mansions.Otherwise most of the rural poor houses were constructed from thatched palm leaves. Also the Nayaks wielded great troops,thanks to the trade with the Portugese and Dutch.Most of Guns Power and Horses in the Nayak troops were supplied by the Portugese. A Nayak (also Nayaka, Nayaker/Naicker (Tamil) or Nayadu/Naidu (Telegu) or Nair (Malayalam) Nayake/Naike (Sinhala) or Naik (Marathi) ) is the title of a government official, equivalent to a provincial governor or viceroy, in the Telugu kingdoms of southern India, including the Kakatiya kingdom of Warangal (11th-14th centuries... The Parthenon on top of the Acropolis, Athens, Greece Architecture (from Latin, architectura and ultimately from Greek, αρχιτεκτων, a master builder, from αρχι- chief, leader and τεκτων, builder, carpenter) is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. ... Fusion typically refers to the merging of two or more entities into a single one: In physics and technology nuclear fusion is the combination of two atomic nuclei into a single nucleus, usually the isotopes of hydrogen, Deuterium and Tritium. ... This article is about the continent. ... The word Portuguese can mean: From or related to Portugal The ethnic Portuguese people, see list of Portuguese people The Portuguese language Portuguese Creole Portuguese sidewalk Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who was nicknamed My little Portuguese by her husband Robert Browning. ... Influence Science and Practice (ISBN 0321188950) is a Psychology book examining the key ways people can be influenced by Compliance Professionals. The books authors is Robert B. Cialdini, Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq. ... Chettinad is a region of southern Tamil Nadu state, India. ...