In the course of surfing the web to find the origin of Rajapalayam,I came across Bunts,Yadavs,Balijas,kammas,reddys,rajus and several others claiming royal roots!A few facts for their reflection!
Narasa's son Vira Narasimha Raya wanted his son to be king,and asked his minister Thimmarasu to murder his brother Krishna Deva Raya and bring his eyes as proof of the execution!
Thimmarasu produced goat's eyes instead and saved KD Raya,who later blinded him believing his hand behind the poisoning of his son!The Pusapati Gajapathis of Vizianagar are believed to have done it,as revenge for their own loss!Their princess Jaganmohini married to Krishna Deva Raya attempted to kill him to avenge the murder of her brother!
Thimmarasu spent his oldage begging in Thirupathi!A reward for a lifetime of loyal service to Vijayanagar!
Achyutha Raya's son and brother were murdered and he himself was held prisoner by his brother in law Salakam Thimmaraju,who went mad when he lost the battle for succession, blinded the royal elephants,cut off their tails in a rage,before killing himself.
Aliya Rama Raya held the last Thuluva emperor Sadasiva Raya in prison,and ruled as his regent.His brother Thirumala Raya executed him.
Jagga Raya massacred the entire royal family in Vellore!Every ascension to the throne was preceded by a bloodbath.Brother killing brother,cousins killing each other,uncle killing nephew,grandson killing grand parents!The same was the case in all the Nayak kingdoms and the Palayams.We only need to recall the gruesome murder of Rani Mangammal by her own grandson,whose regent she was,till the infant could grow into an adult.
I have this question for all the claimants to Royalty!Why would you want such criminal ancestry?A bigger brigand was a prince,a lesser one was a zamindar!What pride could you have in being distantly related to one,or belonging to the clan.!Removed by time,we are blinded by glamour,and fail to realise,all that bitter struggle was to lay hands on the revenue,collected from the farm labour who toiled.No different from the elections our politicians fight,only more gruesome!
Friday, 28 February 2014
A probable trace of the origin of Rajapalayam in the Marava country!
'The Rajus were sent to maintain law and order as commandants and administrators of the Vijayanagar empire!'(1600-1650).When and by whom from the empire can be verified from known conflicts in history.
The period is full of instances where commanders,governors and local chiefs time and again tried to declare their independence,and establish their own kingdoms,or expand their territory,if a neighbour became weak.Complaints reached Vijayanagar and an army was sent to resolve the issue!This is how the Tamil country came to be ruled by the Telugu people.
Nagama nayaka settled disputes among the Pandyas,and tried to become king himself!
His son Viswanatha Nayaka fought him and took him back!(1528)
Viswanatha Nayaka was a governor,or king?This is debated,as he came and went thrice!(1529-1563)
Sellappa said to be a corruption of Saluva Virasinga Raya father of sevappa of Tanjore tried to revolt,and when defeated fled to Travancore.
Achyutha Raya himself led an army to check Travancore's expansion!Salakam Thimmaraju fought this battle
and took sellappa and Travancore chief prisoners.(1530)
Aliya Rama Raya sent Vithala Rama Raya his cousin and four of his brothers to check Travancore and stop Portugese conversion of the coastal folk to Christianity.These five princes stayed in the region for 10 years.Vithala ruled in Madurai for 12 years.(1546-1558).This is a noticeable presence of Telugu kshathriya Rajus in Madurai,when Aliya Rama Raya was controlling affairs in Vijayanagar!
Was a miltary camp left behind by Salakam or Vithala ?Did a group of war weary kshathriya rajus decide to settle down to agriculture in an area familiar to them on the way to Travancore?
Did the nayaks offer an asylum to Jaggaraya and followers fleeing Vellore,after massacring the royal family?
Was the Jagga Raya faction sheltered by the Madurai nayaks,post Thoppur war?(1616)
Is this a probable trace of the origin of Rajapalayam?Or were they recruited by the east India company and Yussuf Khan in Vellore Arani and Pulicat region to fight in the Polyger wars?(1765 )One or many of these must hold the answer,as the Rajus are kshathriyas and have lived here for years in a tightly knit regiment fashion.A better than vague guess is due and just waiting to be found!
The period is full of instances where commanders,governors and local chiefs time and again tried to declare their independence,and establish their own kingdoms,or expand their territory,if a neighbour became weak.Complaints reached Vijayanagar and an army was sent to resolve the issue!This is how the Tamil country came to be ruled by the Telugu people.
Nagama nayaka settled disputes among the Pandyas,and tried to become king himself!
His son Viswanatha Nayaka fought him and took him back!(1528)
Viswanatha Nayaka was a governor,or king?This is debated,as he came and went thrice!(1529-1563)
Sellappa said to be a corruption of Saluva Virasinga Raya father of sevappa of Tanjore tried to revolt,and when defeated fled to Travancore.
Achyutha Raya himself led an army to check Travancore's expansion!Salakam Thimmaraju fought this battle
and took sellappa and Travancore chief prisoners.(1530)
Aliya Rama Raya sent Vithala Rama Raya his cousin and four of his brothers to check Travancore and stop Portugese conversion of the coastal folk to Christianity.These five princes stayed in the region for 10 years.Vithala ruled in Madurai for 12 years.(1546-1558).This is a noticeable presence of Telugu kshathriya Rajus in Madurai,when Aliya Rama Raya was controlling affairs in Vijayanagar!
Was a miltary camp left behind by Salakam or Vithala ?Did a group of war weary kshathriya rajus decide to settle down to agriculture in an area familiar to them on the way to Travancore?
Did the nayaks offer an asylum to Jaggaraya and followers fleeing Vellore,after massacring the royal family?
Was the Jagga Raya faction sheltered by the Madurai nayaks,post Thoppur war?(1616)
Is this a probable trace of the origin of Rajapalayam?Or were they recruited by the east India company and Yussuf Khan in Vellore Arani and Pulicat region to fight in the Polyger wars?(1765 )One or many of these must hold the answer,as the Rajus are kshathriyas and have lived here for years in a tightly knit regiment fashion.A better than vague guess is due and just waiting to be found!
Tuesday, 25 February 2014
Nethi!Nethi! Not This! Not This!
There is a version that Rajus first settled down in Keela Rajakularaman,found a dog being chased by a rabbit during one of their hunting trips,and relocated in Rajapalayam,as it was more in tune with their valour.
There is an ancient Ramar temple with a tank waiting for renovation in Keela Rajakularaman.There is a school in the residence of an erstwhile village head,the lands are fertile,there is an agraharam-all evidence of a once prosperous settlement,a few hundred years old.
BUT the settlers here were not kshathriya rajus of Rajapalayam,but another clan of telugu people called bhatt rajus,who relocated to Tanjore,after donating or selling their lands to the local brahmins.Bhat rajus were bards and chroniclers,and perhaps moved to Tanjore as political climate there was more conducive to their vocation.We do know that music and art thrived under the telugu nayaks of Tanjore!Probably they were loyal to Vijayanagar and preferred Tanjore that continued to be vassals of Vijayanagar,that had shifted its capital to Vellore.around 1623 after the Thoppur war ,predating Thrumalanayak
The story of a rabbit chasing a dog is told in many places ,as a favoured spot chosen by a reigning chieftain for the construction of a fort!Do rabbits chase dogs?They do!Young foolish dogs are puzzled by these hopping creatures and engage in a game of chasing and being chased!You Tube has several videos to show.
A land grant was said to have been given by Chokkanatha Nayak,-for services rendered,and more land was bought from Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha Nayak.Perhaps so!The period is 1662-1731,with a glorious well-documented 15 year rule by Rani Mangammal.A former document writer is said to be in possession of copper plates to the effect.So,this can be verified!
BUT this is Madurai Nayak kingdom and not Vijaynagar empire!!The nayaks had declared their independence from Vijayanagar,and fought the royal family in the Thoppur war!Did the Rajus belong to the Jagga Raya faction,which massacred the royal family in Vellore?Was Chakka Raja kottai founded by him or perhaps by his followers?patronised by Thirumalai Nayak?given independent identity and settlement?
Services were rendered to Chokkanatha nayak,-in his battle for a bride with the Tanjore nayak?There was a constant struggle along the borders of the kingdom both during Chokkanatha and Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha's time.Did they belong to the army in Madurai?or did they serve in the palayams nearby?
There is an underlying distaste in accepting that they served the nayaks or the palayams that maintained an army which was pressed into service in times of conflict internal or external.The Rajus don't admit to serving in a regular army or being mercenaries.They claim a direct link to Vijayanagar!Did Vijaynagar involve itself directly in the deep south?Yes it did!Were the Rajus left behind after such expeditions,as independent military camps,monitoring and reporting to Vijayanagar directly,bypassing the palayams and the Nayaks?That would pre date 1600-1650 claimed by Rajus as their origin by a century or more!!
More questions than answers as usual!BUT worth exploring!
There is an ancient Ramar temple with a tank waiting for renovation in Keela Rajakularaman.There is a school in the residence of an erstwhile village head,the lands are fertile,there is an agraharam-all evidence of a once prosperous settlement,a few hundred years old.
BUT the settlers here were not kshathriya rajus of Rajapalayam,but another clan of telugu people called bhatt rajus,who relocated to Tanjore,after donating or selling their lands to the local brahmins.Bhat rajus were bards and chroniclers,and perhaps moved to Tanjore as political climate there was more conducive to their vocation.We do know that music and art thrived under the telugu nayaks of Tanjore!Probably they were loyal to Vijayanagar and preferred Tanjore that continued to be vassals of Vijayanagar,that had shifted its capital to Vellore.around 1623 after the Thoppur war ,predating Thrumalanayak
The story of a rabbit chasing a dog is told in many places ,as a favoured spot chosen by a reigning chieftain for the construction of a fort!Do rabbits chase dogs?They do!Young foolish dogs are puzzled by these hopping creatures and engage in a game of chasing and being chased!You Tube has several videos to show.
A land grant was said to have been given by Chokkanatha Nayak,-for services rendered,and more land was bought from Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha Nayak.Perhaps so!The period is 1662-1731,with a glorious well-documented 15 year rule by Rani Mangammal.A former document writer is said to be in possession of copper plates to the effect.So,this can be verified!
BUT this is Madurai Nayak kingdom and not Vijaynagar empire!!The nayaks had declared their independence from Vijayanagar,and fought the royal family in the Thoppur war!Did the Rajus belong to the Jagga Raya faction,which massacred the royal family in Vellore?Was Chakka Raja kottai founded by him or perhaps by his followers?patronised by Thirumalai Nayak?given independent identity and settlement?
Services were rendered to Chokkanatha nayak,-in his battle for a bride with the Tanjore nayak?There was a constant struggle along the borders of the kingdom both during Chokkanatha and Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha's time.Did they belong to the army in Madurai?or did they serve in the palayams nearby?
There is an underlying distaste in accepting that they served the nayaks or the palayams that maintained an army which was pressed into service in times of conflict internal or external.The Rajus don't admit to serving in a regular army or being mercenaries.They claim a direct link to Vijayanagar!Did Vijaynagar involve itself directly in the deep south?Yes it did!Were the Rajus left behind after such expeditions,as independent military camps,monitoring and reporting to Vijayanagar directly,bypassing the palayams and the Nayaks?That would pre date 1600-1650 claimed by Rajus as their origin by a century or more!!
More questions than answers as usual!BUT worth exploring!
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