Bangaru Thirumalai Nayak
Encyclopedia
Bangaru Thirumalai Nayak, also known as Bangaru Tirumalai and Vangaru Thirumala (as per European Records and notes), was a member of Madurai Nayak royal family and Governor/Commander of the Madurai Nayak King
Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha (1704-1731). His son, a young boy was adopted and crowned to the Madurai
Throne, with the queen Meenakshi as queen regent, when the Madurai king died without heir. Strife between Bangaru Thirumalai and queen Meenakshi would later erupt into many battles leading to the downfall of the dynasty. Later Bangaru Thirumala’s relatives and kin became rulers of Kandy kingdom in Sri Lanka
till 1815 when the last king, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha
was deposed and taken captive by the British to Vellore Fort
from Kandy
.
.
Fort was the headquarters of Madurai Kingdom, while Madurai was bifurcated into a Province, still retaining the vast Fort.
“Dalavay Venkatachari”.Their first attempt at ousting the queen by attacking the Tiruchirapalli fort ended in a failure.
Bangaru Tirumala operated from Madurai Fort while the Queen held court from the Tiruchirapalli Fort Palace. During this period the Madurai Kingdom was a feudatory of the Delhi Sultanate, whose representative in the south was the Nawab of Carnatic. The Nizam of Hyderabad held an intermediate authority.
Bangaru Tirumala approached Safdar Ali Khan, son of the Carnatic Nawab
, with an offer of three million rupees to oust the queen in favour of him. The latter after accepting the offer, settled the dispute in Bangaru Tirumala’s favour by declaring him as the King. Safdar Ali Khan then left to Arcot without attacking Meenakshi’s fort in Tiruchirapalli and left the matters to his kin and advisor Chanda Sahib to enforce the new events. The wily queen, not paying any attempt at the suspicious settlement, responded by offering Chanda Sahib a crore of rupees (ten million) and to declare her duly entitled to the throne.
Startled at the detour of affairs Bangaru Tirumala left to Madurai, to rule over that province and Tirunelveli
, without wishing any harm to Chanda Sahib.
,a key fort and territory in between the Madurai and Tiruchirapalli. Two years passed (1736), when Chanda Sahib returned to Trichrapalli, combining with Meenakshi, attacked Bangaru Tirumala, who was still ruling the southern provinces of Madurai. In a battle at Ammayanayakkanur near Dindigul
, Bangaru Thirumala’s army, largely strengthened by some Polygars, fought a well-contested battle against the Queen and Chanda Sahib with over 80,000 soldiers, but was finally defeated, taking refuge in Sivaganga
palace.
Chanda Sahib, after the victory over Bangaru Tirumala, proclaimed himself ruler of Meenakshi’s kingdom, after locking the queen up in her palace, later driving her to consume poison, thus putting an end to over 200 years of Nayak rule in Madurai.
to the French
, who were Chanda Sahib’s new ally. Also Chanda Sahib was left on his own by his Uncle Carnatic Nawab, but still suspicious over the former's ambitions.
Bangaru Tirumala and the Tanjore King joined together and called in assistance of the Marathas of Satara
in Bombay. These people having their own grievances against the Carnatic Nawabs (with whom Chanda Sahib was still identified) marched down with a vast army in the south in 1741, first defeating and killing the Nawab of Arcot in the Battle, later after a three months siege at Trichinopoly fort, took Chanda Sahib as a captive, killing both Chanda Sahib’s brothers.
Finally in 1751, Chanda Sahib was captured after a series of Carnatic Wars
and beheaded by a Tanjore general, Mankoji.
(in 1741), as their governor of the conquered kingdom. In 1744, the Nizam of Hyderabad sent an army to re-establish his weakened authority in the Carnatic
making Morari Rao flee from Madurai. The Nizam appointed Anwar-ud-din
as Nawab of Arcot, and ordered Vangaru Tirumala to be appointed to the Throne of Madurai. The rulers of Ramnad, Sivaganga, Tanjore were also keen on appointing Bangaru Tirumala on the throne thereby to retain a Nayak Kingdom.
Thus for a brief period Bangaru Thirumala seemed to take the crown as a de-jure ruler, while the administrative control was carried out by the Arcot army. Bangaru was also repeatedly warned of attempts by Anwar-ud-din and his aides on plans to usurp the Throne. But very little is known afterwards as some sources point out that he was poisoned by Anwar-ud-din.
one section of Bangaru Thirumala’s family established themselves as rulers of Kandy; also the last dynasties to rule Sri Lanka. They are often mentioned as Nayakkar Dynasty or Madurai Rulers or Nayaks of Kandy.
The Kandy Mahanuwara kingdoms always had brides from the Nayak rulers of Madurai and Tanjore. When the King of Kandy Vira Parakrama Narendra Singha (1707-1739) whose queen was from Madurai Nayak family died in 1739,they crowned the Queen's brother from Madurai Nayak family as the next king of Kandy according to their Marumakkathayam law.
The new king (from Madurai), assuming throne as Vijaya Raja Singha, again married a queen Upendramma from Bangaru Thirumala’s family. Later the next two kings in line to the throne were the queen's two brothers (both from Madurai) and the last king of Kandy Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Sri Lanka (1798-1815 AD), was queen Upendramma’s nephew.
lived in the Vellaikurichi Fort in Sivaganga Zamin, and their family living there till recent times. The Vellaikurichi Fort along with some encompassing villages were granted by the Raja of Sivaganga.
In the 1820s, a descendant of Bangaru was reported to be in Madurai seeking pecuniary assistance from the government. Also it is reported, every year they conducted a ceremony of reciting poems of their royal forebears of their valour and deeds on the first day of Tamil
month of Chittirai.
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha (1704-1731). His son, a young boy was adopted and crowned to the Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
Throne, with the queen Meenakshi as queen regent, when the Madurai king died without heir. Strife between Bangaru Thirumalai and queen Meenakshi would later erupt into many battles leading to the downfall of the dynasty. Later Bangaru Thirumala’s relatives and kin became rulers of Kandy kingdom in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
till 1815 when the last king, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha
Sri Vikrama Rajasinha
Sri Vikrama Rajasinha was the last king of Ceylon and the last of four kings from the Telugu origin of Nayakar dynasty...
was deposed and taken captive by the British to Vellore Fort
Vellore Fort
Vellore Fort is a large 16th-century fort situated in Vellore city near Chennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The Fort was at one point of time the headquarters of the Vijayanagara Empire...
from Kandy
Kandy
Kandy is a city in the center of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an...
.
Family origins
Bangaru Tirumala was a member of the Madurai Royal family and a Governor/Commander of the Madurai Country in charge of Madurai and Tirunelveli regions. He was a direct descendant of Thirumalai NayakThirumalai Nayak
Thirumalai Nayak ruled Madurai between 1623 to 1659 CE. He was the most notable of the thirteen Madurai Nayak rulers in the 17th century. His contributions are found in the many splendid buildings and temples of Madurai. His kingdom was under constant threat from the armies of Delhi Sultanate and...
.
Beginnings
When Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha Nayak died in 1731 without an heir, one of his queens Meenakshi adopted Bangaru Thirumala’s son Vijayakumara then a young boy as an heir for the Madurai Throne and became Queen Regent for the adopted prince. During this time TiruchirapalliTiruchirapalli
Tiruchirappalli ) , also called Tiruchi or Trichy , is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli District. It is the fourth largest municipal corporation in Tamil Nadu and also the fourth largest urban agglomeration in the state...
Fort was the headquarters of Madurai Kingdom, while Madurai was bifurcated into a Province, still retaining the vast Fort.
Queen Meenakshi
When Queen Meenakshi took over the administration, the Kingdom was in deep trouble, with enemy troops of Delhi Sultans, Mysore armies and Maratha armies attempting to seize the throne. Also pilferage of enemy spies and widespread anarchy prevailed in the kingdom. The palace administrators were rampant on treason and corruption. The queen attempting to bring order, sacked many troublesome officials and commanders, and replaced them with better ones. She was also assisted by her brother Venkata Perumal Nayak and things looked better for a period.Madurai throne claimants
Hardly a year or two passed when Bangaru Tirumala, feeling that he deserved the throne, instigated an insurrection against the queen. He was also joined by Queen Meenakshi’s recently ousted MinisterMinister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
“Dalavay Venkatachari”.Their first attempt at ousting the queen by attacking the Tiruchirapalli fort ended in a failure.
Bangaru Tirumala operated from Madurai Fort while the Queen held court from the Tiruchirapalli Fort Palace. During this period the Madurai Kingdom was a feudatory of the Delhi Sultanate, whose representative in the south was the Nawab of Carnatic. The Nizam of Hyderabad held an intermediate authority.
Bangaru Tirumala approached Safdar Ali Khan, son of the Carnatic Nawab
Nawab of the Carnatic
Nawabs of the Carnatic , ruled the Carnatic region of South India between about 1690 and 1801. They initially had their capital at Arcot,vellore city...
, with an offer of three million rupees to oust the queen in favour of him. The latter after accepting the offer, settled the dispute in Bangaru Tirumala’s favour by declaring him as the King. Safdar Ali Khan then left to Arcot without attacking Meenakshi’s fort in Tiruchirapalli and left the matters to his kin and advisor Chanda Sahib to enforce the new events. The wily queen, not paying any attempt at the suspicious settlement, responded by offering Chanda Sahib a crore of rupees (ten million) and to declare her duly entitled to the throne.
Startled at the detour of affairs Bangaru Tirumala left to Madurai, to rule over that province and Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli , also known as Nellai , and historically as Tinnevelly, is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Tirunelveli District and the sixth biggest city in Tamil Nadu...
, without wishing any harm to Chanda Sahib.
End of Nayak dynasty
Bangaru Tirumala‘s withdrawal was only temporary as he collected a good number of discontents from the army and Polygars again launched offensive attacks on the Tiruchirapalli Fort. Several battles and attacks continued on either sides, with Bangaru Tirumala finally seizing the Dindigul FortDindigul Fort
The Dindigul Fort is a 17th-century hill fort situated in the town of Dindigul in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The fort was built by the Madurai Nayak kings in 1605 and was later passed on to Kingdom of Mysore in the early 18th century. Later it became an important fort during Hyder Ali and...
,a key fort and territory in between the Madurai and Tiruchirapalli. Two years passed (1736), when Chanda Sahib returned to Trichrapalli, combining with Meenakshi, attacked Bangaru Tirumala, who was still ruling the southern provinces of Madurai. In a battle at Ammayanayakkanur near Dindigul
Dindigul
Dindigul is a town and municipality in the Tamil Nadu state of southern India. The name Dindigul comes from the Portmanteau of “Thindu” meaning pillow and “kal” meaning Rock and refers to the bare hill dominating the city’s both land and skyscape...
, Bangaru Thirumala’s army, largely strengthened by some Polygars, fought a well-contested battle against the Queen and Chanda Sahib with over 80,000 soldiers, but was finally defeated, taking refuge in Sivaganga
Sivaganga
Sivaganga, also known as Sivagangai, is a town and a municipality in Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Sivaganga district.-Geography:...
palace.
Chanda Sahib, after the victory over Bangaru Tirumala, proclaimed himself ruler of Meenakshi’s kingdom, after locking the queen up in her palace, later driving her to consume poison, thus putting an end to over 200 years of Nayak rule in Madurai.
With the Tanjore Marathas
Bangaru Tirumala still undaunted joined with the Tanjore Marathas to oust Chanda Sahib. Tanjore Kingdom was recently (1740) attacked and subjugated by Chanda Sahib, compelling them to cede KaraikalKaraikal
Karaikal is a major port city of east coast of India and a municipality in Karaikal district in the Union Territory of Pondicherry, India. Several explanations are offered for the word 'Karaikal'. The imperial Gazetteer gives it the meaning 'fish pass'. According to Julien vinson the town is said...
to the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, who were Chanda Sahib’s new ally. Also Chanda Sahib was left on his own by his Uncle Carnatic Nawab, but still suspicious over the former's ambitions.
Bangaru Tirumala and the Tanjore King joined together and called in assistance of the Marathas of Satara
Satara
Satara is a city located in the Satara District of Maharashtra state of India. The town is 2320 ft. above sea-level, near the confluence of the Krishna and its tributary river Venna. The city was the capital of the Maratha empire in the 17th century, hence one of the the historical cities of...
in Bombay. These people having their own grievances against the Carnatic Nawabs (with whom Chanda Sahib was still identified) marched down with a vast army in the south in 1741, first defeating and killing the Nawab of Arcot in the Battle, later after a three months siege at Trichinopoly fort, took Chanda Sahib as a captive, killing both Chanda Sahib’s brothers.
Finally in 1751, Chanda Sahib was captured after a series of Carnatic Wars
Carnatic Wars
The Carnatic Wars were a series of military conflicts in the middle of the 18th century on the Indian subcontinent...
and beheaded by a Tanjore general, Mankoji.
Madurai again
The Marathas disregarding the claims of Bangaru Tirumala appointed a Maratha Morari Rao of GootyGooty
Gooty is a census town in Anantapur district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The history of Gooty dates back to the 7th century when is was previously known as Gowthamapuri. The region of Gooty was first under the rule of king Ashoka and there is a minor rock edict in Yerraguda...
(in 1741), as their governor of the conquered kingdom. In 1744, the Nizam of Hyderabad sent an army to re-establish his weakened authority in the Carnatic
Carnatic region
The Carnatic coast is the region of South India lying between the Eastern Ghats and the Coromandel Coast, in the modern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, south eastern Karnataka and southern Andhra Pradesh....
making Morari Rao flee from Madurai. The Nizam appointed Anwar-ud-din
Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan
Muhammad Anwaruddin was the 1st Nawab of Arcot of the second Dynasty. He was a major figure during the Second Carnatic War.He was a direct descendant of Hazarath Omar, the Second Caliph of Islam . Nawab Anwaruddin Khan was born at Gopamau, a place in Hardoi District, United Provinces, India in...
as Nawab of Arcot, and ordered Vangaru Tirumala to be appointed to the Throne of Madurai. The rulers of Ramnad, Sivaganga, Tanjore were also keen on appointing Bangaru Tirumala on the throne thereby to retain a Nayak Kingdom.
Thus for a brief period Bangaru Thirumala seemed to take the crown as a de-jure ruler, while the administrative control was carried out by the Arcot army. Bangaru was also repeatedly warned of attempts by Anwar-ud-din and his aides on plans to usurp the Throne. But very little is known afterwards as some sources point out that he was poisoned by Anwar-ud-din.
Kandy
See Nayaks of KandyNayaks of Kandy
The Nayaks of Kandy were the rulers of Sri Lanka with Kandy as their capital from 1739 to 1815. They were also the last dynasty to rule Sri Lanka. They were related to the Madurai Nayak dynasty and to the Tanjore Nayak dynasty...
one section of Bangaru Thirumala’s family established themselves as rulers of Kandy; also the last dynasties to rule Sri Lanka. They are often mentioned as Nayakkar Dynasty or Madurai Rulers or Nayaks of Kandy.
The Kandy Mahanuwara kingdoms always had brides from the Nayak rulers of Madurai and Tanjore. When the King of Kandy Vira Parakrama Narendra Singha (1707-1739) whose queen was from Madurai Nayak family died in 1739,they crowned the Queen's brother from Madurai Nayak family as the next king of Kandy according to their Marumakkathayam law.
The new king (from Madurai), assuming throne as Vijaya Raja Singha, again married a queen Upendramma from Bangaru Thirumala’s family. Later the next two kings in line to the throne were the queen's two brothers (both from Madurai) and the last king of Kandy Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Sri Lanka (1798-1815 AD), was queen Upendramma’s nephew.
Other descendants
Several of Bangaru Thirumala’s descendantsKinship
Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
lived in the Vellaikurichi Fort in Sivaganga Zamin, and their family living there till recent times. The Vellaikurichi Fort along with some encompassing villages were granted by the Raja of Sivaganga.
In the 1820s, a descendant of Bangaru was reported to be in Madurai seeking pecuniary assistance from the government. Also it is reported, every year they conducted a ceremony of reciting poems of their royal forebears of their valour and deeds on the first day of Tamil
Tamil calendar
The Tamil calendar is a solar and sidereal Hindu calendar used in Tamil Nadu. It is also used in Pondicherry , and by the Tamil population in Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius and Sri Lanka. It is also used by Telugu speaking people in Tamil Nadu...
month of Chittirai.
Sources
- Biography of Dhandavarayan Pillai:Pradhani of Sivaganga Zamin; Author: Mu.Balakrishnan M.A.,M.Ed.; published by Manickvasagar Pathipagam, Chennai in 2005