Achuthappa Nayak
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Achyutappa | |
---|---|
2nd Nayaka of Tanjore | |
In office 1580–1614 | |
Preceded by | Sevappa Nayak |
Succeeded by | Raghunatha Nayak |
Yuvaraja of Tanjore | |
In office 1560–1580 | |
Personal details | |
Died | Thanjavur, Nayakdom of Tanjore, Vijayanagara Empire. (present-day Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India) |
Children | Raghunatha Nayak |
Parents |
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Military service | |
Allegiance | Vijayanagara Empire |
Battles/wars | Battle of Vallamprakara |
Achuthappa Nayak was the Nayaka of Thanjavur under the Vijayanagara Empire from 1560 to 1614. From 1560 to 1580, he was co-Nayaka along with his father and from 1580 to 1614, he ruled on his own. His reign was eventful and its later years were marked by conflict.
Personal life
Achyutappa Nayaka was the eldest son of Sevappa Nayak, the Vijayanagar feudatory of Arcot who was appointed the first Nayaka of Tanjore. His principal queen was Murtimamba.
Names
Achyutappa Nayak was named by Sevappa Nayak in the honour of
Reign
Achyutappa ruled for a total of 54 years during which Thanjavur experienced architectural and cultural development. While the earlier part of his reign was peaceful, there was warfare with
Battle of Vallamprakara
In 1579, the
Campaign against the Portuguese
The Sahityaratnakara describe Achyutappa's victory over Parasikas at Nagapattinam. Ramabadramba too refers to the campaign but names Achyutappa's enemies as "Parangi", the Tamil word used for colonial Eurochristians. During the early 17th century, the Portuguese were waging a concentrated campaign to conquer Jaffna and Achyutappa's attack on Nagapattinam might have been launched to assist the king of Jaffna. To supplant the Portuguese, Achyutappa also maintained friendly relations with the Dutch towards the end of his reign.
Art and architecture
On the whole, however, the kingdom progressed during Achuthappa's reign. Achuthappa built the Thiraikattuvar Mandapam in the Vilanagar temple in 1608 and made generous land grants to the
Literature flourished during his reign. The works Sahityaratnakara and Raghunathabyudayam give a detailed picture of life in the Thanjavur Nayak kingdom. They describe the whole kingdom as a "paddy forest" (Salivanam).
Later life
According to sources, Achuthappa abdicated following the death of the Vijayanagar Emperor Venkatapathi in 1614 and anointed his son Raghunatha Nayak as the next ruler. According to the Sahityaratnakara, Achuthappa retired to Srirangam upon abdication spending the rest of his life discoursing with Hindu scholars. The Raghunathabyudayam says that Raghunatha Nayak approached Achuthappa to seek his blessings after the Battle of Toppur in 1617. It is assumed that Achuthappa must have died after that date.
References
- Vriddhagirisan, V. (1942). "Achyutappa Nayak". The Nayaks of Tanjore. Annamalai University. pp. 35–52.