Vira Rajendra - The English Connection

Desirous of gaining the friendship of so able a partizan, and foreseeing the strategical value of Coorg in the impending struggle with Tippu, the Government of the East India Company eagerly seized the proffered hand of Vira Raja, who dreaded and hated Tippu from whom he could expect no mercy, and whose assurances and promises he knew he could never trust. His hopes depended on his success in gaining the support of a powerful ally.

Meanwhile the Mussalman garrison at Mercara had consumed all its provisions. Tippu, afraid of losing his last stronghold in Coorg, despatched a convoy with a considerable force under Khadar Khan. On its reaching Mallusoge (near Fraserpet), ViraRaja attacked and repulsed it, with a loss of 500 men on the side of the Mysoreans. Recognising in Khadar Khan, the commander of the Mussalmans, an old acquaintance who had befriended him during his captivity at Periyapatna and protected the honour of his sister, Vira Raja resolved to spare his life.These proceedings could not fail to raise a suspicion of treachery in the mind of General Abercromby, the Governor of Bombay, that the Raja was leagued with Tippu against the English. But Vira Raja was able to satisfactorily explain his motives. On the evacuation of the Fort of Mercara, all its guns, ammunition and treasure were delivered to the Coorgs, and the Raja, who had come over from Nalknad, liberally supplied the wants of the captured garrison and permitted them to withdraw in safety across the frontier. He was now for the first time undisturbed master of his ancient patrimony.

The period had now approached when Tippu was to encounter the most formidable combination he had yet met, and the capture of Bangalore gave hope of success. Lord Cornwallis advanced towards the capital from Madras, and General Abercromby was to meet him from the west for support. A passage was prepared through Coorg for the Bombay army. The route of the Heggala pass was chosen. Vira Raja accompanied Sir Robert before Seringapatam. Operations had commenced with every prospect of an immediate and successful termination, when the'severity of the monsoon of 1791 suspended active military operations and obliged both armies to fall back, Lord Cornwallis to Bangalore, Sir Robert to Bombay. The artillery, stores and ammunition belonging to the Bombay army, were left in charge of the Raja.

Aware of the great advantages that would attend the friendship of the Coorg chief at this juncture, Tippu now condescended to send a confidential officer, Khadar Khan, the friend of Vira Raja, with an autographed letter from Tippu, and letters from Mir Sadak, his prime minister, and Purnaiya, the minister of finance, soliciting Vira Raja's forgiveness and friendship, and offering as the price for his co-operation against the English, to cede the following districts on his eastern frontier, Heggadadevankote, Periyapatna, Bettadapur, Konanur and Arkalgudu, and to extend his western boundary by the addition of certain districts dependent on Cannanore. Vira Raja showed these letters to Sir Robert, who at the end of the monsoon had returned, and after consulting with him, replied to the Sultan's overtures in these words, "By similar fair speeches and promises you have formerly deceived and ruined Coorg. God has given me but one tongue, with which I have pledged fidelity to the English. I have not two tongues like you." And thus stayed faithful to the English.

Source: Mysore and Coorg, Vol. III by Lewis Rice

Vira Rajendra - Tippu Sultan's Siege of Coorg

In the beginning of 1780, the ruling Raja (Linga Raja) of Coorg died and left behind his young sons, Vira Rajendra Wodeyar, Linga Raja and Appaji. Haidar Ali, father of Tippu Sultan, conceiving it a favourable moment, assumed entire possession of Coorg, under the pretence of being guardian to the princes until they should come of age. Meanwhile they were to reside in the fort of Goruru. A Brahman named Subbarasaya, formerly karnika or treasurer of the Coorg Raja, was appointed to the government of Coorg, by the usurper, and a Mussalman garrison held Mercara fort, which Haidar caused to be strengthened.

Enraged at the abduction of their princes from their country, and at the Brahmans lording it over them, the Coorgs in June 1782 broke out in open rebellion, and on hearing that Haidar had marched for the Carnatic to oppose the British army under Sir Eyre Coote, they drove the Mussalmans out of the country and proclaimed their independence.

The death of Haidar prevented an immediate retribution; but Tippu Sultan, his son, was fully determined on the reconquest of Coorg. He first sent the family of the Coorg Rajas to Periyapatna, and after having treacherously seized General Mathews and his officers at Nagar, and reduced Mangalore in 1784, he marched through Coorg on his way to Seringapatam, when he compounded matters with the insurgents. But scarcely had Tippu left, when the Coorgs, stirred by the apprehension of incurring his vengeance, again took up arms, and repossessed themselves of their native hills in 1785.

To suppress this revolt, Tippu despatched a force of 15,000 men, under Zain-ul-Ab-i-din. At Ulagulli in Mudugeri-nad, the Mussalmans were opposed by a body of 4,000 Coorgs, who after a sharp encounter forced them to retire to Bettadapur with the loss of their baggage. The failure of his general induced Tippu to take the command in person, and having collected another army, he entered Coorg by the same route and reached Mercara with but little loss, where he effected an amicable settlement. But under pretence of peaceful intentions and conciliatory measures, Tippu allured most of the Coorgs to Tale Kaveri, and when they felt most secure, he suddenly seized them with their families, about 85,000 souls, sent them to Seringapatam, and had them forcibly circumcised. On this day on which he added so great a number to Islam, he assumed the royal dignity and declared himself independent of Delhi.

Into depopulated Coorg he sent Mussalman landlords, and gave to them the lands and slaves of the exiles, besides a supply of labourers from Adwani in the Bellary district. A Brahman named Nagappaya, a nephew of Subbarasaya, was charged with the government of Coorg; but was soon convicted of embezzlement and condemned to the gallows, when he fled to the Kote Raja in Malabar.

Such was the state of affairs, when in December 1788, Vira Raja or Vira Rajendra Wodeyar, accompanied by his wife and his two brothers Linga Raja and Appaji, the principal survivors of the Coorg family, effected his escape from Periyapatna after a confinement of six years. Leaving his family in a secure retreat at Kurchi in Kiggatnad, Vira Raja was persuaded beyond the frontier by Nagappaya, and fell into the power of Vira Varmma, the Kote Raja. Here a deal was struck between Vira Varmma and Vira Raja in which the latter had to give up three valuable and extensive districts, vis. Kiggatnad, Amatnad and Yedenalknad, in exchange for his freedom. Vira Raja thus purchased his freedom and returned to Coorg. With a number of Coorgs, who had rallied round their chief, he surrounded the camp of the Kote Raja, and forced him not only to return the document extorted earlier, but to renounce also on his part every claim to the Wynad country.

Vira Raja now sallied forth at the head of his Coorgs to fight the Mussalmans. During this season, the gallant Vira Raja once, on his return from an expedition into Mysore, found the residence of his family at Kurchi a heap of ruins and ashes. Every soul of his family had been destroyed and all the old family treasures carried off. The runaway Nagappaya had shown the way to a troop of Nair banditti and Mullu Kurubas, despatched upon this errand of treachery and blood by the fiendish foe of the Coorg Rajas, the Kote Arasu.

In the meantime, Tippu Sultan, irritated by the daring incursions into his territories, determined on retribution. He ordered a large force into Coorg, under the command of Golam Ali. Viraraja must soon have succumbed to the superiority in numbers and discipline of the Mysoreans, had not a revolt of the Malayalam Rajas compelled Tippu to order Golam Ali with his army to the Western Coast. On his March he was fiercely attacked by the Coorgs at the Kodantur pass and suffered severe losses. Thereupon Tippu sent a considerable reinforcement under four captains, amongst them a Frenchman. Vira Raja lay in wait for them at the Heggala pass and dispersed the Mysoreans, who left 800 men dead on the ground and 400 wounded. Tippu was alarmed, and despatched Buran-u-Din, his own brother in-law, with a strong army and large supplies, to secure Coorg by strengthening the four forts of Kushalnagara (Fraserpet), Mercara, Beppunad and Bhagamandala. On his way to Mercara he was attacked and beaten by Vira Raja, but escaped from there with the loss of one half of his military stores. Without having seen the other forts Buran-u-din returned to Seringapatam, and concerted with Tippu another campaign for the same purpose; but Vira Raja anticipated their design by storming and dismantling all the other forts.

Source: Mysore and Coorg, Vol. III by Lewis Rice

Kodagu's History - Part 2

The history of the Coorg Rajas is delineated in the Rajendraname, a work compiled by order of Dodda Vira Rajendra Wodeyar, the hero of Coorg history, and the Coorg beau ideal of a warrior king. It comprises a period of 175 years, from 1633 to 1807. A manuscript copy of the Kannada original was found in the archives at Mercara in 1834. The English translation made by Lieutenant R. Abercromby in 1808 at Mangalore, renders accurately the contents of Dodda Vira Rajendra's original, and very likely remained untouched by the Raja's successors, who were unacquainted with the English language. But the Kannada original was undoubtedly destroyed, after the preparation of spurious copies, one of which remained in the Mercara archives. The two last pages of the English translation are not to be found in the Kannada. They were probably expunged by Linga Raja or his son, because they contained the last will of Dodda Vira Rajendra, the suppression of which lay in their interest.

Rajendraname commences with the reign of Muddu Raja, who is introduced as the son of Appaji Raja, and the grandson of Vira Raja. He reigned at Haleri in 1633, but subsequently established himself at Madikeri (Mercara), where he built the Fort and a Palace in 1681. He had three sons : Dodda Virappa, Appaji Raja and Nanda Raja. After a long reign of 54 years, Muddu Raja died in 1687, and his eldest son Dodda Virappa succeeded him. The second son settled at Haleri, and the third at Horamale.

Dodda Virappa, with the harelip, was succeeded by his son Appaji Raja. The latter had a son, whose name was Chikka Virappa, and with him this branch of the family came to an end. The succession thus passed to the Haleri branch, in which, though disputed at first by the Horamale branch, it continued till the extinction of the dynasty.

Appaji of Haleri had five sons, of whom three died in early life. Of the others, the eldest, Muddu Raja, had a son Appaji Raja ; the second, Linga Raja, married Devambikegamma, who bore him a son at the full moon of June 1763, the celebrated Vira Rajendra Wodeyar, the author and hero of the Rajedraname. His two brothers were Linga Raja and Appaji, the former of whom was the father of Vira Raja, the last king.



 

Source: Mysore and Coorg, Vol. III by Lewis Rice

Kodagu's History - Part 1

The Coorgs, according to the traditions, are of the Ugra race and descendants of a prince named Chandra Varmma. These statements point to the Kadamba kingdom in the north-west of Mysore as the seat when the first colonists of Coorg migrated. A reference to the history of the Kadambas will show that the name of Chandra Varmma was a familiar one among the first princes of that line, and also that their possessions embraced all the countries contiguous to Coorg. According to three stone inscriptions dating back to A.D. 857, south Coorg was ruled by the Cheras.

To the Chera and Chalukya dominions in Mysore, the Hoysala Ballala kings succeeded. Their dynasty first rose to power in the 1Oth century, and as the Karkala rulers are known to have been subject to them, as well as the Malabar country, there is little doubt that Coorg too came under their sway. When the Ballala dominion was overthrown by the Muhammadans under Kafur in 1310, the western provinces, and Coorg amongst them, seem to have escaped the ravages of the conquerors, for the Ballala king retired to Tondanur (Tonnur, near Seringapatam). But ten years later, when Mubarak Khilji made his expedition into the Deccan and put an end to the Yadava dynasty of Devagiri, he sent a force under his favourite, Khusru Khan, to conquer Malabar, which the latter effected in the course of a year and brought a great treasure to Delhi. In this conquest it is supposed that Coorg was included.

In 1336 was founded the city of Vijayanagar, whose princes, also said to have derived their origin from the Kadambas, were the paramount sovereigns in the south of India until 1565. It seems that under the Vijayanagar empire Coorg was subdivided into a number of small districts called Kombus, ruled by chiefs styled Nayaks, who, like the Palegars of Mysore, were doubtless tributary to the supreme power but exercised rights of sovereignty. According to tradition Coorg was divided into 12 Kombus and 35 nads. The Nayaks guarded their respective territories by the boundary and defensive ditches called kadangas but were engaged in constant feuds among themselves, until they finally succumbed to the wily encroachments of the Haleri Palegars.

(the below para is as-of 1878, hence feedback needed)
The number of principalities governed by separate Nayaks is not known, there may have been one to each Kombu. The kaimatta or ancestral monument of the Achu Nayaka of Anjigeri-nad in Kiggatnad taluk is still in good preservation. The family was exterminated about 60 years ago. Of the Beppu-nad chiefs, the name of Utta Nayaka of the Armeri house is still in popular remembrance. In Padinalknad the name of Karanembau, the chief of Bhagamandala, is mentioned with veneration. There may have been others, but the names of their houses are no longer known.

It appears that in between 16th to 18th century, an Ikkeri prince came to Coorg and settled in Haleri nad. At first he assumed the pious garb of a Jangam or Lingayat priest, and as such gained a considerable influence over the people of the surrounding nads. When feeling sure of his position, he imposed upon his followers, instead of the voluntary offering of dhuli batta (the dusty grain of the threshing floor), a regular tax of one and a half butty of rice, and nine annas eight pies in cash per house per annum. His next step was to require alternate parties of the people to guard his dwelling on the Haleri farm. These watchmen were called chaudigara, a name ever afterwards retained for the Coorg Raja's troops.

Having at length openly declared himself, and being acknowledged by his adherents as ruler of Haleri and of the surrounding nads, Karanembau, Nayak of Padinalknad, also submitted, and so did the others, under the condition that they should receive three-fourths of the revenue and pay one-fourth to the Haleri chief. But his increasing power soon threatened the safety of the Coorg Nayaks, who at last were put to death, and the whole country brought under the Haleri government.

The following is the succession of the line of Coorg Rajas thus established, so far as it has been traced :—

                                Period A. D.
Vira Raja
Appaji Raja
Muddu Raja                1633-1687
Dodda Virappa            1637-1736
Chikka Virappa           1736-1766
Muddu Raja, Muddaya  1766-1770
Devappa Raja             1770-1774
Linga Raja                 1775-1780
Dodda Vira Rajendra    1780-1809
Linga Raja                 1809-1820
Vira Raja                   1820-1834 deposed
(died 1862)

With the ascendancy in Coorg, of the Haleri princes, who spoke Kannada, this language became the written official medium, and counteracted the Malayalam influence.

contd.

Source: Mysore and Coorg, Vol. III by Lewis Rice

Mythological Origin of Kaveri

The Kaveri Purana or Kaveri Mahatmya describes the sacred river from its source to its union with the sea, and enumerates the holy bathing places and the temples on its banks.The Kaveri Purana seeks to glorify the holy river, whose divine origin, its intimate relationship with the rishi Agastya (the settler of the Vindhya mountain range, the great son of both Mitra and Varuna), and its course through the eastern country into the sea being directed in obedience to the counsel of Agastya, all conspire to give it a character of surpassing sanctity.

The account of Kaveri's mythological origin begins with the seizure by the Asuras, of the amrita or nectar of immortality produced at the churning of the ocean, which spread consternation and despair among the hosts of the gods. They invoked Vishnu, from whom emanated the enchanting Mohini, while Lakshmi at the same time sent forth Lopamudre (a form of Parvati). Mohini, charming the Asuras by her transcendent beauty, rescued the drink of immortality and restored it to the gods. After this she retired to Brahmagiri, the hill at the source of the river Kaveri, and was changed into a rocky cave. Lopamudre was given to Brahma, who brought her up as his daughter.

Kavera muni, a devout follower of Brahma, retires to Brahmagiri, there to give himself wholly to meditation on Brahma. He asks Brahma for children. Brahma gives him Lopamudre for a daughter, this is when she obtained the name Kaveri. In order to procure beatitude for her new father, she resolves on becoming a river, pouring out blessings on the earth, and all the merits arising from this course of devoted goodness are to be appropriated to Kavera muni. For this purpose she resorts to one of the heights ot Brahmagiri, and invokes Brahma to give her the privilege, when turned into a river, of absolving all people bathing in the holy waters from every sin they may have committed. Brahma, of course grants this blessing to his daughter.

While Kaveri is still absorbed in her devotions, the great rishi Agastya espies her, and asks her to become his wife. Though longing after the fulfilment of her vow, she consents to live with Agastya, under the condition, however, that she shall be at liberty to forsake him whenever she is left alone. One day Agastya went to bathe in the river Kanake, leaving Kaveri near his own holy tank, guarded by his disciples. Thus deserted by Agastya against his promise, she plunged into the holy tank, and flowed forth from it a beautiful river. The disciples tried to stay her course. She went under ground. At Bhaganda kshetra she appeared again, and flowed on towards Valamburi. When Agastya, on his return, saw what had happened, he ran after Kaveri, begged her pardon, and entreated her to return and to remain with him. Unwilling to change her mind, yet loathing to grieve Agastya, Kaveri divided herself, one half flowing off as a river, the other half staying with the rishi. Agastya then explained to the river half which road to take to the eastern sea, enumerating all the holy places lying in the way of the new stream.

Source: Mysore and Coorg, Vol. III by Lewis Rice