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The Wodeyar dynasty (also spelt Wadiyar-by the British) was an Indian royal dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Mysore from 1399 to 1947, until the independence of India from British rule and the subsequent unification of British dominions and princely states into the Republic of India.
The spelling Wodeyar/Wodiyar is found in most records and is used by the royal family members themselves. The spelling by modern transliteration rules from Kannada is Odeyar. The word is pronounced to start with a vowel sound and not with the consonant as present in the English spelling. Odeyar in Kannada means the king or the owner.
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History
The dynasty was established by Vijaya, a Yadava who by some accounts came to Mysore from Dwaraka while other accounts describe them as natives to the south Karnataka region. Vijaya took on the name Yadu-Raya and ruled Mysore, then a small town, from 1399 CE to 1423 CE. The Wodeyars of Vijaya's dynasty belong to the Arasu community of Karnataka, which includes many of the noble clans of the region.
The Mysore kingdom was ruled by a succession of Wodeyar rulers for the next couple of centuries. However, the kingdom remained fairly small during this early period and was a part of the Vijayanagara Empire. Later, after the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire in 1565, the Kingdom of Mysore became independent and remained so until 1799. The Kingdom of Mysore came under the British during the reign of King Krishnaraja Wodeyar III (1799-1868). His successors changed the English spelling of their royal name to Wadiyar, and took the title of Bahadur. The last two monarchs also accepted the British decoration G.B.E.
Expansion
The Vijayanagara Empire disintegrated in 1565. The power vacuum created soon after was utilized by Raja Wodeyar, who ruled Mysore from 1578 to 1617. He expanded the borders of the Mysore kingdom and also shifted the capital from the city of Mysore in 1610 to Srirangapatna, a rare island formed by the river Cauvery , which provided natural protection against military attacks.
Subsequent famous rulers of the dynasty include Kanthirava Narasaraja I (ruled 1638-1659) who expanded the frontiers of the Mysore Kingdom to Trichy in Tamil Nadu. The dynasty reached its peak under Chikka Devaraja (ruled 1673-1704), who widely reformed the administration of the empire by dividing it into 18 departments (called Chavadis) and also introduced a coherent system of taxation.
British Rule
After restoring the Wodeyars to the throne of Mysore the British shifted the capital back to the city of Mysore from Srirangapatna. The four year old boy (Mummudi) Krishna Raja Wodeyar III, son of the last Wodeyar King Khasa Chamaraja Wodeyar VIII, was anointed as the King of Mysore. Wodeyars were now subsidiaries of the British Raj and had to pay annual subsidy to the British. However British took over the administration of the Kingdom on a specious plea of non-payment of subsidy amount from Mummudi Krishna Raja Wodeyar in 1831 and British appointed commissioners were in charge of the Kingdom.
British Commissioners administered Mysore from 1831 to 1881. Mark Cubbon (1834-1861) and L. B. Bowring (1861-1870) are among the well-known Commissioners of the period.
But in 1868, the British Parliament upheld the King's plea and decided to restore the Kingdom back to his adopted son Chamaraja Wodeyar IX. In 1881, transfer of power back to the Wodeyars heralded an important phase in the making of modern Mysore. For the first time in India, democratic experiments were introduced by the constitution of the representative assembly. His son Nalvadi Krishna Raja Wodeyar earned great fame as a saintly King-Rajarishi and his Kingdom was hailed as Ramarajya by Mahatma Gandhi; an ideal kingdom comparable to the one ruled by the historical hero Lord Rama.
Under British hegemony, the Wodeyars, freed from security concerns, shifted attention to the patronage of the fine arts. Under their patronage, Mysore became a cultural centre of Karnataka, fostering a number of famous musicians, writers and painters.
The last king of the Wodeyar dynasty was Jayachamaraja Wodeyar, who ruled from 1940 until Indian independence from British rule. In the year 1947, after India attained independence, he acceded his Kingdom to the dominion of India, but continued as the Maharaja until India became a Republic in 1950. He became the Raja Pramukh—a constitutional position—as the head of Mysore State within the Republic of India from 1950-1956. After the re-organization of Indian States on linguistic basis, he was appointed as the Governor of the integrated Mysore State (present Karnataka state) in 1956, which post he held until 1964 and after that Governor of Madras state (now Tamil Nadu) for two years. But the Indian Constitution continued to recognize him as the Maharaja of Mysore until 1971, when Mrs. Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India abolished the titles and Privy Purse of well over 560 Maharajas spread over different parts of India. The Maharaja died in 1974, and his only son Srikanta Datta Narasimha Raja Wodeyar (b. 1953) was a member of the Indian Parliament for many years.
Wodeyar Rulers of Mysore
- Yaduraya (1399–1423)
- Hiriya Bettada Chamaraja Wodeyar I (1423–1459)
- Thimmaraja Wodeyar I (1459–1478)
- Hiriya Chamaraja Wodeyar II (1478–1513)
- Hiriya bettada Chamaraja III Wodeyar (1513–1553)
- Thimmaraja Wodeyar II (1553–1572)
- Bola Chamaraja Wodeyar IV (1572–1576)
- Bettada Chamaraja Wodeyar V(1576–1578)[1]
- Raja Wodeyar I (1578–1617)
- Chamaraja Wodeyar VI (1617–1637).
- Raja Wodeyar II (1637–1638)
- (Ranadhira Kantheerava) Narasaraja Wodeyar I (1638–1659)
- Dodda Devaraja Wodeyar (1659–1673)
- Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar (1673–1704)
- Narasaraja Wodeyar II (1704–1714)
- Dodda Krishnaraja Wodeyar I (1714–1732)
- Chamaraja Wodeyar VII (1732–1734)
- (Immadi) Krishnaraja Wodeyar II (1734–1766)
- Nanajaraja Wodeyar (1766–1770)
- Bettada Chamaraja Wodeyar VIII(1770–1776)
- Khasa Chamaraja Wodeyar IX (1766–1796)
- (Mummudi) Krishnaraja Wodeyar III (1799–1868)
- Chamaraja Wodeyar X (1868–1894)
- Vani Vilas Sannidhana, queen of Chamaraja Wodeyar X, was Regent from 1894–1902.
- (Nalvadi) Krishnaraja Wodeyar (1894–1940)
- Jayachamaraja Wodeyar (1940 - 1950)
- Rajpramukh of Mysore state, (1950–1956)
- Governor of Mysore state (present-day Karnataka), (1956–1964)
- Governor of Madras State (present-day Tamil Nadu), (1964–1966)
- De-recognized as Maharaja of Mysore by the 26Th Amendment to the constitution in 1971.
- Died on 23-9-1974.
- Srikanta Datta Narsimharaja Wadiyar, (b-1953, ascended the throne in 1974- though a private affair)
- Arjun Wodeyar (1994-Present)
See also
References
- ^ According to Court Hostorian and Chief Editor of Mysore Gazeeteer - Mr C. Hayavadana Rao, this Ruler's name as Bettada Devaraja Wodeyar. But as the Annals of Mysore Royal Family a book poublished by the Royal House sticks to this version, the same is adopted here as authentic<
External links
- The Wodeyars of Mysore (1578 A.D. to 1947 A.D.)
- History of Mysore Wodeyars
- Mysore - Imperial City of Karnataka
- [http://www.4dw.net/royalark/India/mysore.htm Genealogy of the Wodeyar Dynasty
- [1] Curse on Wodeyars: Documenting a Legend
- [2] Curse on Wodeyars: ORAL TRADITIONS -Legend and history ]
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