Chikka Vira Rajendra - The Proclamations

Following was the proclamation published by Chikka Vira Raja (Possibly a literal translation) -

Proclamation published for the information and guidance of the Hindus, Musalmans, Palegars, Public servants, Ryots, Chetty Merchants, and people of other castes in Hindustan.

1. It is well known that the Kaffers, Nasara (Christians), low Pheringhies, with the view of converting people of other religions to their dirty faith, have ill intentionally polluted the Devastanams, Muszeeds, and other temples at Bangalore, Cuddapah, Mussulibunder, Nagpoor, Eameetpet and several other countries, sent out their padres and ruined them. This circumstance being certainly too well impressed on the mind of every one, what more need be said?

2. Those who have from time to time strenuously attempted to convert, by force, people of other religions to their faith, have by the commands of God perished—but set this aside, an instance in proof of this may be given. Tippu Sultan attempted to force all the other religions to embrace his religion and with this view ruined a great number of people, destroyed the Hindu temples and committed various sorts of oppressions; which acts not being acceptable to God, he was destroyed. This fact is well known to all of you. Now the Kaffers, Nasara, low Pheringhies have in like manner commenced to destroy the religion observed by people of different castes, and to introduce their own religion. When evil comes, people lose their senses. "When death comes, medicine avails naught; thus then their end is fast approaching. There is no doubt of it. The Hindus and Musalmans having respectively consulted their Shasters have found, that if for the protection of their religions, these Kaffer, Nasara, Pheringhies be now fought with, God will help us and make us successful. There is no doubt of this, so let all be fully convinced of it.

3. These Kaffers, Nasara, low Pheringhies have now wickedly determined to wage war with the Halery Samsthanam, and have accordingly collected some black people of Hindustan whom they are going to send in front, that they may all be cut down and the race thus annihilated in some degree, thinking that by these means they will be able easily to convert the rest to their faith. It is therefore to protect people of all castes against such invasion, the Halery Samsthanam have determined to meet with arms these Kaffers, Pheringhies, Nasaras. Accordingly, if all of you will join the army of the Halery Samsthanam, you will not only be defended but you will also render the devastation of those Kaffers, Pheringhies quite easy; after this is done you will be protected and enabled to live happy and contented, following the religion of your respective castes unmolested. Do not think that another such opportunity will offer itself again.

4. To avert the evil which threatens you now, we have taken all this trouble and published this proclamation. Should any of you pay no attention to it, but keep yourself neutral, you will at last find yourselves under the yoke of the Pheringhies, lose your caste, and experience the greatest misery to the end of your lives, and after death you will not be admitted before God for having thus sinned against him. Do not doubt this. Therefore, if you people of all countries, join the Halery Samsthan and help it, you will meet with every kind of protection from it and be able to live happy. Accordingly it is expected that all of you will come forward and help the Halery Samsthanam.

5. P. S. It is further hereby commanded. Those Nasaras, Kaffers, Pheringhies will, in order to get possession of the Halery Samsthan, spare no pains to gain you over. They will even give ten where one would be enough. Let not this allure you and make you swerve from your real intention or lead you to entangle yourselves; for after they attain their object, they will oppress you and violate your religion. Be sure of this.

In reply, the Governor General, through his Political Agent, Col. Fraser issued the following proclamation —

The conduct of the Raja of Coorg has, for a long time past, been of such a nature as to render him unworthy of the friendship and protection of the British Government.

Unmindful of his duty as a ruler, and regardless of his obligations as a dependent ally of the East India Company, he has been guilty of the greatest oppression and cruelty towards the people subject to his government, and he has evinced the most wanton disrespect of the authority of, and the most hostile disposition towards the former, from whom he and his ancestors have invariably received every degree of kindness and protection.

It would be needless to enumerate the several instances of his misconduct but it is sufficient to state that, in consequence of asylum having been afforded in the British Territories to his own sister Devammaji and her husband Channa Basavappa, who to preserve their lives had fled from his oppression, the Raja has presumed to address letters replete with the most insulting expressions to the Governor of Fort St. George and the Governor General of India, that he has assumed an attitude of hostility and defiance towards the British Government, that he has received and encouraged the proclaimed enemies of that Government, and that he has unjustifiably placed under restraint an old and faithful servant of the Company, named Kulputty Karnikara Manoon, -who had been formally deputed by the British representative for the purpose of opening a friendly negotiation, thus committing a gross outrage, not only upon the authority by whom the above named individual was deputed, but upon the established rules of all civilized nations, by whom the persons of accredited agents are invariably held sacred.

The ancient alliance and the firm friendship which had so happily subsisted between the predecessors of the present Raja and the Honourable Company, have caused his errors to be treated uniformly with indulgence. The most earnest remonstrances have been in vain tried to bring him to a sense of his obligations, and it is not until further forbearance would be culpable, that His Excellency the Right Honourable the Governor General, at the suggestion and with the concurrence of the Right Honourable the Governor in Council of Fort St. George, has resolved on employing the only means left of vindicating the dignity of the Sovereign State and of securing to the inhabitants of Coorg the blessings of a just and equitable government.

It is accordingly hereby notified, that a British army is about to invade the Coorg territory, that Vira Rajendra Wodeyar is no longer to be considered as Raja of Coorg, that the persons and property of all those who conduct themselves peaceably or in aid of the operations of the British troops shall be respected, and that such a system of government shall be established as may seem best calculated to secure the happiness of the people.

It is also hereby made known to all British subjects who may have entered the service of Vira Rajendra Wodeyar, that they are required to place themselves under the protection of the British authorities, by whom they will be kindly received, aud their rights and privileges respected, and that such of them as may in any way render assistance to the enemy, will be considered as traitors and punished accordingly.

This proclamation will be carefully made known in Chitaldroog, Raidroog, Mysore, Bellary, Malabar, Canara, in order that the relatives of such persons as have taken service in Coorg from those places or adjoining districts, may adopt the earliest means of communicating its purport to the parties in whose safety they are interested.

Upon this Vira Raja, through the Devan, published the following counter proclamation -

The explanation of a proclamation issued for the knowledge of the bad English people, who are mean slaves and servants of the auspicious feet of the Halery Samsthan Maharaja.

In answer to a proclamation of bad Englishman, son of a w**re, who in a state of forgetting Mahadeva (God) and through pride had written on a paper whatever occurred to his mind, for the purpose of giving information to the inhabitants of Halery Samsthan, and fastened the same near the boundary, I the slave of my Master's Majesty, let you know as follows, that the proclamation (containing the evil subjects) which was fastened in the boundary by the wicked Englishman, the son of a slave, is not at all possible even to be seen with our eyes or heard with our ears, and in the very time of tying the said proclamations, which are replete with indecent subjects, the hearts of all of us who are the servants of the king's feet were inflamed as the fire through wind. The wicked Christian European, the son ofa slave, who resolved to prepare this, should be beheaded and his head thrown out, the hands, mouth and bead of the person who wrote this should be cut off, the generation of the low caste blasphemer and bad European should be burnt down. These hopes are to be soon effected. All the above subjects are certain. All the wicked Europeans, the sons of whores, have evil intentions. Very well, very well, we will fill up all your bellies according to your wishes. Be this known to you, written on Sunday, 6 th decreasing of the moon, month of Phalguna, of the year Vijaya, corresponding with 30th March 1834.

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

Chikka Vira Rajendra

With the death of Linga Raja, affairs in Coorg did not improve. The unfortunate people had only changed masters. As soon as the young Vira Raja, who was about 20 years old, had taken possession of his father's throne and treasure, he destroyed the people who had displeased or thwarted him during the life of his father. Many members of the family of the Coorg Rajas seem to have fallen at that time. One Channa Vira escaped with his family across the Mysore frontier. But to no purpose; his relative knew how to turn to account his connection with the British Government. Letters and messages were despatched to Mr. Cole, the Resident in Mysore, requesting him to order the seizure of a refractory farmer who had made his escape from Coorg after having committed a crime, and the delivery of the criminal to the servants of the Raja. Mr. Cole had the man apprehended near Periyapatna, and sent him back to Coorg with a letter to the Raja, requesting information as to the guilt of and the punishment awarded to the refugee. No answer was given to the Resident. Channa Vira was carried to Kantamurnad, where he was massacred with his whole family, twenty two souls on one day. After this inaugural bloodshed, the new Raja seems to have shown less cruelty than his father or uncle.

Though less cruel, Vira Raja, young as he was at his accession to the government of Coorg, became a monster of sensuality. He kept the youngest of his father's wives for his use and increased his establishment of concubines to about one hundred. A number of other women, of the best families, were summoned to Mercara after accouchements, and kept in a house near the palace during the period when they gave milk to their babes. Part of their milk was daily taken for the Raja, to be used as a medicinal ingredient of his food, which according to some superstitious notion became thereby more wholesome and nourishing.

To refuse compliance with the demands of the master of Coorg was certain death, not to the recusant party only, but probably to the whole family. The wretch was free to riot as he pleased. He actually demanded to have the choice of all unmarried girls in the country. When hearing of this outrageous resolution, the Coorgs at once—it is said in one night—married all their grown up daughters. The Raja was furious. Many of the unfortunate parents who thus saved the honour of their children were dreadfully flogged or had their ears cropped, or were thrown into prison.

On the 17th September 1832, Mr. Casamaijor, Mysore Resident, reported to the Chief Secretary to the Government of Fort St. George, that a Coorg of the name of Channa Basava and his wife Devammaji, sister to the Raja of Coorg, had taken refuge at the Residency. They had fled their country to save their honor and their lives, and implored the protection of the British Government. Devammaji had long been kept from her husband. After an engagement of eight years she had been permitted to join him. Of late the Raja had made incestuous proposals to her through an old woman-servant, and had threatened to kill her husband, if she refused compliance, on the following Sivaratri festival. In this extremity they had drugged the guard of honor who watched them, and set off from Appagalla, their residence, at nightfall. During the night they reached Beppunad, passed Amadnad in the morning, and were drawing near the Mysore frontier when they were stopped by the Coorg frontier guard. Being fired at, their party returned fire. Channa Basava placed his wife behind him on his horse, and made his escape into Mysore, followed by a few of his attendants. The rest fell into the hands of the Coorgs and were carried to Mercara. Also the child of Channa Basava, a boy of a year and a half, was seized and delivered to the Raja his uncle. This is the substance of the reports of the Resident.

These cruelties of Vira Raja accelerated his downfall. On the 18th January 1833, Sir F. Adam, Governor of Madras, addressed a long letter to the Raja of

Coorg, giving him a sound lecture on the principles of good government, warning him most earnestly, and positively demanding compliance in future with the order of Government communicated to the Raja in 1827, to report all capital punishments taking place in Coorg. But the personal conference of Mr. Casamaijor with the Raja in the beginning of 1833 proved fruitless. The accounts from Coorg continued as bad as ever.

The patience of the most peace-loving Governor General was thus exhausted, and a British force was organized to march into Coorg and depose the Raja. As it drew near his frontiers, the Raja published a proclamation which can be found here - http://thetaleofkodagu.blogspot.in/2012/07/chikka-vira-rajendra-proclamations.html

The invading force numbered six thousand men, and was placed under Brigadier Lindsay, in whom was vested the supreme command of the expedition, whilst Col. Fraser was to accompany him in the capacity of Political Agent of the Governor General for Coorg affairs. On the 5th April, 1834, Devan Apparanda Bopu, with a party of 400 Coorgs, went to meet Col. Fraser, surrendered to him, and offered to conduct the Company's troops to the capital. At 4 p. m. on the 6th April they entered the Fort of Mercara ; the Raja's flag, which was flying on one of the bastions, was lowered and the British colours hoisted in its stead under a salute of twenty-one guns.

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

Linga Raja - The Consequences

Since Linga Raja was now actually in possession of Coorg, Mr. Cole, the Mysore resident, advised the English Government to countenance him as long as he would respect the rights of the little Rani. He innocently thought that such a declaration of Government was sufficient to secure the safety and happiness of the princess.

Later that year, Mr. Cole had some disagreeable correspondence with Linga Raja about the seizure of a British subject, Parsi Byramji, who had been cast into prison under a fictitious charge of having forged papers for the Raja of Sode. And then followed reports of Linga Raja's arrogance and dominance.

Now that Linga Raja was the acknowledged guardian of the young Rani and regent of Coorg, the next step was, to make his helpless ward sign a paper, in which she abdicated her sovereignty in favour of her excellent and loving uncle. The document was duly transmitted to Mr. Cole, who was requested to forward it to the Governor of Madras and to the Supreme Government. This was done in the summer of 1810.

One thing remained to be accomplished. Linga Raja had taken possession of Coorg, supplanted his niece, and obtained the sanction or at least the acquiescence of the Government of the East India Company, but there were three lakhs of rupees in the Bombay funds, and upwards of five and a half lakhs of rupees in the Madras funds, both sums standing in the name of Devammaji.

Before the end of 1812 Linga Raja had succeeded to his full satisfaction in all his plans. He had taken possession of the inheritance of his brother Vira Rajendra, Coorg was his, and he was almost formally acknowledged as Raja by the paramount power. The large legacy left to Devammaji by her father, was as good as his own.

Though Linga Raja's actions were of no great consequence to the Supreme Government, he felt uneasy from time to time and distrusted the disposition of the English Government. Drunk with power, he prided himself on his European manners and character, and pretended to be adored by his subjects, while he kept them in the most abject bondage and crushed their spirit by a system of savage cruelty. Cruelty seems to have been his sport. He liked to kill his victims with his own hand, with gun, bow or knife. For small offences people had their ears cropped, their noses cut, or their tongues clipped. For an impertinent answer men or women had their mouths rinsed, that was the phrase, i. e. their lips were cut off all round their mouths, and they were left to perish without food or drink. Others were thrown down a precipice on the hill side, near the Raja's Seat in Mercara. Many seem to have been destroyed merely for the purpose of confiscating their property, for Linga Raja had as great a passion for gold as for blood.

During the first years of his reign he was restrained from giving full vent to his atrocious propensities by the influence of his Devan, Kshauryakere Appanna, who seems to have been a man of character and independence, bold enough to lecture the tyrant whom he had placed on the throne in preference to the rule of a stranger, the Raja of Sode. But by degrees Linga Raja became impatient of the control of a subject. Appanna, relying on the Raja's gratitude, continued to exhort, to warn and at times "to resist his master. He had mistaken his man. One day the Devan was seized and carried before the Raja. He was charged with treason. He knew that he was doomed. The Raja himself conducted the investigation. "Confess your guilt," he cried. "I am guilty indeed," replied the intrepid minister, "of one crime—of having made a wretch like you Raja of Coorg." Linga Raja was mad with rage. Appanna, with several other so called accomplices, was carried out into the jungle to a distance of some miles. There they were nailed to some large trees, the Raja feasting his eyes on the torments of his helpless victims. A large number of people, the families, relations and friends of the condemned men, were slaughtered on the occassion.

After a terrifying reign, Linga Raja died in the year 1820 at the age of forty five, and was succeeded by his son, Vira Raja.

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

Linga Raja - The Coup

When Vira Rajendra died, there seemed to be a good prospect of peace and prosperity for Coorg. A short time before his decease, Vira Raja had permitted the Sode Raja to act for him as principal Devan, and expressed a desire that his son-in-law should have the regency of Coorg during the minority of Devammaji, in conjunction with an Agent of the East India Company, to be appointed by the Governor General.

As soon as the Raja had expired, his daughter Devammaji was acknowledged as Rani of Coorg by the assembled chiefs. The Sode Raja continued to perform the duties of principal Devan, and all people seemed to be happy and contented.

The first serious disturbance was occasioned by a rumour that the Sode Raja had forged the last will of the Raja. Dr. Ingledew inquired into the charge, and found that the copy of the will produced by the Sode Raja had a signature not attached to it by Vira Raja himself, but by a farrier who had been in his favour. However, the alterations in the will itself were of no great consequence, and were in perfect harmony with Vira Rajendra's wishes shortly before his death. Yet, to quiet the minds of the Coorg chiefs, the spurious though honest document was cancelled. The Sode Raja retained his position. But soon affairs began to take a new turn.

Linga Raja, then 34 years old, appears to have had many interviews with Dr. Ingledew, the Coorg resident, and impressed him with a strong conviction of his honesty, simplicity and humility. Linga Raja confessed, indeed, that he was somewhat disappointed at being entirely superseded. But his elder brother, he said, having recovered the country by force of arms, had a perfect right to dispose of the succession. He had therefore no cause, nor any inclination, to complain. He would ever cheerfully submit to whatever arrangements were sanctioned by the Governor General. Dr.Ingledew was quite charmed with the man, and recommended him strongly to the favour of Government, as he had well deserved of the country.

The peaceable Linga Raja, however, was not quite as unworldly minded as he appeared to the honest Doctor. He was much at the palace, and was busy among the principal Coorgs. They certainly did not much approve of the rule of a foreigner like the Sode Raja, but they seem to have had no particular predilection for the late Raja's brother either.

One day there had been a large gathering of the chiefs at the palace, of which Dr. Ingledew knew nothing. It was proposed to displace the Sode Raja by Linga Raja but the proposition was thrown out. Linga Raja mounted his horse and rode away in the direction of Haleri, his own residence. As he rode through the market street of Mercara, actually weeping like a child, Kshauryakere Appanna, one of the Devans, on his way to the palace, met him. Appanna asked Linga Raja about what had happened and upon finding out, took Linga Raja back to the palace claiming that he can get Linga Raja the throne. Being a man of known integrity and considerable influence, he prevailed. The Coorgs changed their minds, and Linga Raja was preferred to the Raja of Sode.

On the 9th of July, five weeks after Vira Raja's death, Devammaji sent for Dr. Ingledew and told him that she had reason to be dissatisfied with the conduct of the Raja of Sode, and wished to have Linga Raja her uncle for her guardian. Immediately afterwards, the Sode Raja came to him and asked his leave to return to his own country, as he had convinced himself that he had to deal with a formidable opposition, and considered it prudent to withdraw from a situation of imminent danger. Dr. Ingledew objected strongly to so hasty a step. He was waiting for orders from Government, and before the Governor General had signified his will, he wished that no change should be made in the arrangements which had been in operation before Vira Rajendra's death. But the Sode Raja informed him that Linga Raja had already taken possession of the government of the principality. A similar announcement was made by Linga Raja himself. Dr. Ingledew now saw that he had been duped by the usurper.

contd.

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

Vira Rajendra - The Madness

With the death of Mahadeva Rani, Vira Rajendra's hopes of a son and heir were buried. He had loved her, it appears passionately. Her loss almost drove him mad. It had also soured his temper and he fell prey to the suspicion that some traitors had conspired against the life of Mahadeva Rani and destroyed her by charms and incantations. He himself began to live in dread of secret enemies. He detested Hindus in general and Coorgs in particular. He had killed hundreds of his own people on some idle suspicion or malicious denunciation, or on the mere impulse of a sudden gust of passion.

The Raja had surrounded himself with an African bodyguard, and eunuchs from Mysore had charge of his harem. But the guards of the palace and all the military officers, with very few exceptions, were Coorgs. No longer able to bear the iron yoke, they conspired against the Raja's life. The day and the hour were  fixed. All the Coorg guards, who held the gates of the fort and the entrances of the palace, being of one accord, his destruction seemed to be certain. But a few minutes before the signal was given, the secret was betrayed to Vira Raja. With great presence of mind he imitated Haidar Ali, who had in similar circumstances gained time by placing a bundle of clothes on his bed covered with a blanket. The Coorgs rushed in and cut in pieces the form which they mistook for the sleeping Raja. Next moment they discovered that the Raja had fled, that he had at the last moment been warned.

Vira Raja in the mean time had run out and summoned his Africans. The fort gates were shut. Some three hundred Coorgs had assembled in the palace yard. The Africans received orders to cut them down to a man. The Raja himself took his post at a window and fired upon the terrorstricken conspirators. They allowed themselves to be slaughtered like sheep. Vira Raja himself boasted of having shot twenty five of them. The rest fell without resistance under the swords of the Siddis, who waded ankle deep in blood. An old Jemadar, who had been eyewitness of the dreadful scene, said that the blood ran out of the palace yard as the rain in a heavy monsoon day. Three hundred Coorgs, by his account, fell that morning in front of the palace. Coorg tradition says eight hundred. Both accounts are probably correct, for Vira Raja would, as a matter of course, destroy many of the families of the fallen conspirators, ordering the men to be killed and distributing the women among the slaves.

Mahadeva Rani had left him four daughters, the eldest of whom was eight years old when the mother died. The eldest of them, Devammaji, when she was about nine years old was betrothed to a Coorg of the name of Mallappa.

Some time in October or November 1808, Vira Raja was seized with forebodings of his own death, and terrible fears for the safety of his daughters overtook him. In a fit of madness, he decided to execute his two brothers, Appaji and Linga Raja, to ensure the safety of his daughters and their rightful succession to the throne. A party was despatched to Appagalla, a second party to Haleri, to bring the heads of the brothers, Appaji and Linga Raja. Within an hour of this despatch, however, reason and humanity gained the mastery, and the decree of death was revoked. Sadly, the messengers who ran down to Appagalla, were met by the executioners carrying Appaji's head. The distance to Haleri was greater, and perhaps Linga Raja had had a friendly warning. He had not been found by the executioners on their first arrival, and before he was discovered, his pardon arrived.

In the beginning of the year 1809, Mr. Cole, the Resident of Mysore, received a message from Mercara that the Raja was insane, and that the assistance of an English physician might be granted. Dr. Ingledew was despatched immediately and on reaching he found the Raja in a dangerous state. His madness came upon him in fits, which were succeeded by the darkest melancholy. The presence of an English gentleman was a relief to him. There was one man now near him whom he could trust.

From May 1809, Vira Raja's health started declining. During his last days he seems to have been more favorably inclined than formerly towards the Sode Raja, who was appointed to transact business for him, and whom he desired to act as Devan during the minority of Devammaji. On the 9th June 1809, the unhappy prince called his beloved daughter to his bedside, gave his seal into her hands, and shortly afterwards breathed his last. He lies buried in one of the mausoleums which grace the hill overlooking the town of Mercara.

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

Vira Rajendra - The Family

Vira Raja, having no sons, resolved in 1796 to marry a second time. The ceremony was honoured by a deputation from the English Commissioner at Malabar and a company of sepoys, and took place amidst a large concourse of people from Coorg and the adjacent provinces. Mahadevamma was declared Rani, and her childrenwere to succeed to the throne of Coorg.

In 1801, Vira Raja contracted a matrimonial alliance between his daughter Rajammaji, by his first Rani, and Basava Linga, the Raja of Sode, who resided in the Goa territories. Vira Raja wrote to the Governor General to apprise him of the intended marriage, and to procure for the Sode Raja three months leave from the Portuguese Government. He also wished to settle upon the Sode Raja, who was poor, one lakh of rupees, out of the property held by him in Bombay Government paper, as Rajammaji's portion. The wedding took place in December 1801 at Nalknad.

Before the end of 1805, Rajammaji, the Rani of Sode, was delivered of a son, who received the name of Sadasiva Raja. Meanwhile, Vira Raja had grown very fond of his new wife Mahadeva Rani, who had borne him two daughters, and might have lived and died a happy man, if he had had a son and heir, if he had not distrusted his nearest relatives, and if his violent temper had not often carried him beyond the bounds of humanity. He lived in constant dread of poison, and it was difficult to say whether the frenzy which seemed at times to seize him was not caused by drugs administered to him in spite of all his caution.

In Jan 1806, Vira Raja told Captain Mahoney that on the day of his second marriage he had determined that any son of his by this wife should be his successor. That his wife had borne him two daughters, but if any son should be hereafter born of her, he would be the heir. But if it was the will of God that she should bear no son, then his concubine's three sons, called Rajashekarappa, Sisushekarappa and Chandraskekarappa, should succeed to the throne. Since the above date, two more daughters, in all four, had been borne by MahadevaRani, who died in May 1807.

The Raja soon succumbed to his fear that if the succession devolved on the sons of another mother, they would create trouble to the four daughters of his lawful queen. So he decided that of the four daughters who are named Devammaji, Muddammaji, Rajammaji and Mahadevammaji, the eldest should be married, and whatever son she might have, he should be named Vira Rajendra, receive the Raja's seal and be the successor to the throne. If she should, however, have no son, the son of either of her younger sisters, according to seniority, should be the successor, and so long as the line of any of his four above named daughters continued, none of the heirs of the other mother should succeed to the throne; but, upon the family of his four daughters being extinct, the fittest of the above three sons or their posterity should succeed.

Vira Raja had his above intentions recorded in the Rajendraname and also requested the English Sirkar to be the guardian of his family, and see the execution of his will was attended to.

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

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Vira Rajendra - Tippu's Defeat

The success of the first operations by Lord Cornwallis having driven the Mysore troops during two night attacks to seek shelter under the walls of Seringapatam, about 5,000 Coorgs who had been carried away by Tippu, with their wives and children, altogether about 12,000 souls, made their escape in the confusion that ensued and returned to their native country.

Lord Cornwallis made peace with Tippu under the walls of Seringapatam, on severe but still too easy terms. Tippu had to pay three crores of rupees, and to cede one half of his dominions to the Company and to its allies the Nizam and Peshwa. Coorg was in danger of being overlooked and sacrificed. It required the zealous intercession of Sir Robert Abercromby, to induce the Governor General to make an after demand for the cession of Coorg, though not adjacent to the Company's territory, in order to keep faith with Vira Raja and to save him from the fangs of Tippu, whose first move after the peace would no doubt have been to wreak his vengeance upon his former vassal. This demand enraged Tippu beyond all limits. The treaty was in danger of being broken off; but Lord Cornwallis remained firm. English guns, which had already been sent away, were ordered back, and Tippu began to prepare for defence. At the last moment he gave an unwilling assent to the demand, and admitting the stipulation which guaranteed the independence of the Coorg principality from Mysore, he transferred to the English his claims of allegiance and the annual tribute of Rs.24,000 from the Raja; whereupon peace was concluded in March 1792.

From this time to the end of his life, Vira Raja remained the trustworthy friend of the Company, and his affairs prospered. On the place where he had first met with General Abercromby on his march to Seringapatam in 1791, the Raja had founded the town of Virarajendrapet. This was in 1792. In April 1795 he took up his residence in the new palace built at Nalknad.

Meanwhile, Tippu, maddened with revenge against the Chief who had so long alarmed his fears and so successfully defied his power and resisted his arms, resolved on his destruction by the basest means. He gained over Linga Raja, a relative of Vira Rajendra, to undertake with some Coorgs the foul plot of shooting the Raja at a favourable spot in the jungle on his way to Mercara. The first attempt failed; but Tippu concerted with Linga Raja more effective measures to accomplish his design. Two of his best marksmen were to lie in ambush in some place belonging to Linga Raja, and shoot the Raja when coming from his new palace at Nalknad to attend the Sivaratri festival at Mercara. The conspiracy, however, was betrayed, the assassins seized, and during the night-scuffle Linga Raja and his family were killed. The two would-be murderers were kept alive at Virarajendrapet as manifest witnesses of Tippu's treachery, but each had one leg cut off to prevent their flight.

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

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