Chikka Devaraja was the wodeyar

Odeyar

Odeyar/Wodeyar is a surname in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.The word oDeyar is more popularly associated with the Royal Family of Mysore better spelled among English speaking as Wodeyers. However, it would be wrong to assume that this word is popular and typical to communities descended from or...

ruler of Mysore

Kingdom of Mysore

The Kingdom of Mysore was a kingdom of southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. The kingdom, which was ruled by the Wodeyar family, initially served as a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire...

 (then a principality

Principality

A principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or by a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....

 or petty kingdom

Petty kingdom

A petty kingdom is one of a number of small kingdoms, described as minor or "petty" by contrast to an empire or unified kingdom that either preceded or succeeded it...

 in southern India

South India

South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...

) from 1673 to 1704. During this time, Mysore saw significant expansion and also recognition by the Mughal empire

Mughal Empire

The Mughal Empire ,‎ or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...

 as a tributary

Tribute

A tribute is wealth, often in kind, that one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often the case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance. Various ancient states, which could be called suzerains, exacted tribute from areas they had conquered or threatened to conquer...

 state. During his rule centralized military power increased to an unprecedented degree for the region.

Early years

Chikka Devaraja was born on 22 September 1645, the eldest son of Rani Amrit Ammani Avaru and Doddadevaraja, who had been a Governor of Mysore town. He succeeded his uncle, Dodda Kempadevaraja, upon the latter's death on 11 February 1673, as the new wodeyar. He was installed on the gaddi at Mysore on 28 February 1673. He continued his predecessor's expansion by conquering Maddagiri, and thereby making Mysore contiguous to the Carnatic-Bijapur-Balaghat province administered by Venkoji, the Raja of Tanjore, and Shivaji's half-brother.

Taxation and the Jangama massacre

In the first decade of his rule, Chikka Devaraja introduced various petty taxes that were mandatory for the peasants, but that his soldiers' were exempted from. The unusually high taxes and the intrusive nature of his regime, created wide protests in the ryot

Ryot

Ryot was a general economic term used throughout India for peasant cultivators but with variations in different provinces. While zamindars were landlords, raiyats were tenants and cultivators, and served as hired labour...

s which had the support of the Jangama priests in the Virasaiva monasteries. According to , a slogan of the protests was:

"Basavanna the Bull tills the forest land; Devendra [Indra] gives the rains;

Why should we, the ones who grow crops through hard labor, pay taxes to the king?"

The king, resolving upon a "treacherous massacre," used the stratagem of inviting over 400 hundred priests to a grand feast at the famous Shaivite center of Nanjanagudu, and upon its conclusion having them first receive gifts and then exit one at a time through a narrow lane, whereupon his royal wrestlers strangled each exiting priest. This "sanguinary measure" had the effect of stopping all protests to the new taxes. Around this time, 1687, Chikka Devaraja also made an agreement with Venkoji to purchase Bengaluru (which later became Bangalore

Bangalore

Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

 city and Bangalore Rural district

Bangalore Rural district

Bangalore Rural District is one of the 30 districts in Karnataka. It was formed in 1986, when Bangalore district was divided into Bangalore Rural and Bangalore . Presently in Bangalore Rural district, there are 2 divisions, 4 Talukas, 35 Hoblis , 1,713 inhabited and 177 uninhabited villages, 9...

) for Rs. 3 lakhs.

Relations with the Mughal empire

However, soon thereafter, the Mughals under Aurangzeb invaded the region and, having conquered the Maratha-Bijapur province of Carnatic-Bijapur-Balaghat (of which Bangalore was a part), made it a part of the Mughal province of Sira. The payment for Bangalore was consequently made to Qasim Khan, the Mughal Faujdar Diwan of Sira and through him Chikka Devaraja "assiduously cultivated an alliance" with Aurangzeb. He also soon turned his attention to the regions to his south which were less the objects of Moghul interest. The regions around Baramahal and Salem below the Eastern Ghats were now annexed to Mysore, and in 1694 were extended by the addition of regions to the west up to the Baba Budan mountains. Two years later Chikka Devaraja attacked the lands of the Naik of Madura and laid a siege of Trichinopoly

Tiruchirapalli

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...

. Soon, however, Qasim Khan, his Mughal liaison, died. With the intention of either renewing his Mughal connections or seeking Mughal recognition of his southern conquests, Chikka Devaraja sent an embassy to Aurangzeb

Aurangzeb

Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...

, at Ahmadnagar. In response, in 1700, the Mughal emperor sent the Mysore Raja a signet ring Seal "bearing the title Jug Deo Raj" (literally, "lord and king of the world"), and permission to sit on an ivory throne, and also a Sword

Sword

A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...

 from Aurangzeb's personal Regalia

Regalia

Regalia is Latin plurale tantum for the privileges and the insignia characteristic of a Sovereign.The word stems from the Latin substantivation of the adjective regalis, 'regal', itself from Rex, 'king'...

, a Firangi (sword)

Firangi (sword)

The firangi derived from the Arabic term for a Western European [a "Frank"]) was an Indian sword type which used blades manufactured in Western Europe and imported by the Portuguese, or made locally in imitation of European blades.-Physical characteristics:...

,( see Swords of India ), with Gold Etching on the Hilt

Hilt

The hilt of a sword is its handle, consisting of a guard,grip and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons. A ricasso may also be present, but this is rarely the case...

, to be used as a Sword of State

Sword of State

A sword of state is a sword, used as part of the regalia, symbolizing the power of a monarch to use the might of the state against its enemies, and their duty to preserve thus right and peace.It is known to be used in following monarchies:...

 by the Mysore Raja, while seated on the Ivory Throne

Throne

A throne is the official chair or seat upon which a monarch is seated on state or ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monarchy or the Crown itself, an instance of metonymy, and is also used in many expressions such as "the power behind the...

. " Chikka Devaraja at this time also reorganized his administration into eighteen departments, in "imitation of what the envoys had seen at the Mughal court." When the Raja died on 16 November 1704, his dominions extended from Midagesi

Tumkur district

Tumkur district is an administrative district in the state of Karnataka in India. The district headquarters are located at Tumkur. The district occupies an area of 10,598 km² and had a population of 2,584,711, of which 19.62% were urban as of 2001...

 in the north to Palni

Palni Hills

The Palni Hills are a mountain range in Tamil Nadu state of South India. The Palni Hills are an eastward extension of the Western Ghats ranges, which run parallel to the west coast of India. The Palni Hills adjoin the high Anamalai range on the west, and extend east into the plains of Tamil Nadu,...

 and Anaimalai

Anaimalai

Anaimalai is a panchayat town in Coimbatore district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India.-Geography:Anaimalai is located at . It has an average elevation of 258 metres . The nearest village is Vettaikaranpudur....

 in the south, and from Kodagu

Kodagu

Kodagu , also known by its anglicised former name of Coorg, is an administrative district in Karnataka, India. It occupies an area of in the Western Ghats of southwestern Karnataka. As of 2001, the population was 548,561, 13.74% of which resided in the district's urban centres, making it the least...

 and Balam

Balam

B'alam, Balam, Balaam, B'ahlam, Bahlam, Bahlum or Bolom are variant spellings which may refer to:* Asteroid 3749 Balam*A Mayan language name for "jaguar", see also Jaguars in Mesoamerican cultures...

 in the west to Baramahals in the east.

Clash with the Marathas

Hearing about the intrusion of Chikka Devaraja into Maratha territory, Sambhaji

Sambhaji

Sambhaji Raje Bhosle was the eldest son and successor to Emporer Shivaji, the founder of the Maratha empire.- Early life :...

 had sent his emissary to Chikka Devaraja. But the emissary was insulted in the Mysore Durbar. Furious at this, Sambhaji decided to attack Chikka Devaraja. Marathas marched into the Tamil state. Chikka Devaraja too prepared to fight and decided to stop the Marathas before they could reach Mysore’s capital. Both the armies were poised for a battle. The Mysore bowmen started striking and the Maratha army was greeted with a heavy showewr of arrows. The long-ranged metallic arrows from the Mysore bowmen started inflicting fatal wounds on the Maratha

Maratha

The Maratha are an Indian caste, predominantly in the state of Maharashtra. The term Marāthā has three related usages: within the Marathi speaking region it describes the dominant Maratha caste; outside Maharashtra it can refer to the entire regional population of Marathi-speaking people;...

s. Thus, realizing the increasing Maratha casualties, Sambhaji retreated for the time being and camped nearby. Sambhaji then ordered all the local cobblers to prepare rubber clothing. These garments were ordered to be laden with oil. Marathas then started making bows and arrows using a local tree. These bows and arrows were ordinary and crude. A piece of cloth was wound at the arrows’ head and it was set on fire using oil. The ordinary arrows were thus transformed into lethal ones by Sambhaji. The Mysore bowmen had longer, stronger and better quality bows and arrows than the Marathas. Soon the forts of Chikka Devaraja were under Maratha attack. The bowmen from atop the forts started striking. But, their arrows proved futile, as the oil-laden rubber clothing neutralized the effects of the arrows. To counter them, Maratha bowmen started striking. These arrows would strike the explosives(gunpowder) store and cause explosions. This led to high casualties in the Mysore army. The Marathas pressed on attacking and the forts of Chikka Devraja started falling into the hands of the Marathas one by one. Thus, Chikka Devraja realising the situation he was in sued for peace and agreed to abide by the terms of the Marathas.

Legacy

According to , the state that Chikka Devaraja left for his son was "at one and the same time a
strong and a weak state." Although it had uniformly expanded in size from the mid-seventeenth century to the early eighteenth, it had done so a result of alliances that tended to hinder the very stability of the expansions. Some of the southeastern conquests described above (such as of Salem), although involving regions that were not of direct interest to the Mughals, were nonetheless the result of alliances with Mughal Faujdar Diwan of Sira and with Venkoji, the Maratha ruler of Tanjore. For example, the siege of Trichnopoly

Tiruchirapalli

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...

had to be abandoned because the alliance had begun to rupture. Similarly, in addition to receiving a signet ring and a Sword described above, a consequence of the embassy sent to Aurangzeb in the Deccan in 1700 was formal subordination to Mughal authority and a requirement to pay annual tribute. There is evidence too that the administrative reforms mentioned above might have been a direct result of Mughal influence.