The Thanjavur Nayakdynasty (or Thanjavur Nayak kingdom) were the rulers of Thanjavur in the 15th and 17th centuries.[1] The Nayaks, who belonged to the Telugu-speaking Balija social group[2] were originally appointed as provincial governors by the Vijayanagara Emperor in the 15th century, who divided the territory into Nayak kingdoms which were Madurai, Tanjore, Gingee and Kalahasthi. In the mid-15th century they became an independent kingdom, although they continued their alliance with the Vijayanagara Empire.[3] The Thanjavur Nayaks were notable for their patronage of literature and the arts.[4][5][6]
], the permission to establish a feudatory kingdom.
The Thanjavur Nayaks belonged to the Telugu-speaking Balija caste.[2][7] The Mannaru (Vishnu) of the Mannargudi temple was their kula deivam (family deity).[8]
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Telugu and Tamil literature flourished during the reign of Nayakas in Tanjavur which was referred to as the Southern School of Tamil and Telugu Literature.[9] Many Telugu and Tamil musicians and pandits were part of their court.[9]
(founder of the Madurai Nayak dynastic line). Hence Viswanatha Nayak and Sevappa Nayak were the cousins.
Before assuming power of the Tanjore kingdom, Sevappa had distinguished himself under Krishnadavaraya as an administrator and a builder. Sevappa's wife Murtimamba was the sister-in-law of Achyuta Deva Raya and the sister of the Vijayanagara Queen, Thirumalamba. Some sources suggest that Sevappa acquired the Thanjavur Kingdom as Stridhana from Achyutadeva Raya. Sevappa was also a ceremonial betel bearer to Achyuta Deva Raya, the brother of Krishnadevaraya.
According to the M. Anant Narayan Rao, the "position of a ceremonial betel bearer or adaiappan (thambul karandivan) was a post given to a very trusted subordinate and Sevappa being a powerful and influential man of the locality was appointed the first Nayak of Thanjavur".[13] The position of a betel bearer was usually not given to an outsider, as this position would make the man privy to all of the king's personal details. Therefore, the position was usually given to a trusted member within the family.
His contributions include building the prakaras at the temples of Vridhachalam and Kanchipuram, gilding the Vimanas of Srisailam and Thirumala (Tirupati) temples with gold, construction of the tallest temple tower (gopuram) at Tiruvannamalai, and repairing the Sivaganga Fort and the tank at Tanjore.[14][15]
Achuthappa Nayak
Sevappa's son,
Govinda Dikshitar
, a great scholar and a shrewd administrator. His long reign was of comparative peace apart from the internal struggles enabling him to contribute much to spiritual and public utility development.
Conflicts and wars
Wars with Madurai
During the reign of Achuthappa, the Vijayanagara Empire was defeated by the
Madurai Nayaks and the Tanjore Nayaks ultimately leading to the Battle at Vallamprakara where the Tanjore army with the Rayas fought against Veerappa Nayak of Madurai by defeating the latter. This happened at the same time as when the Rayas of Chandragiri were waging wars with the Deccan Sultanates in southern Andhra Pradesh
, Achuthappa Nayak provided support.
Wars with Portugal
Portugal controlled the
Ceylon and the entire West Coast of India. The King of Jaffna kingdom went into a war against Portugal against the methods adopted by the missionary conversions in Jaffna. Later King of Jaffna sought help from the Tanjore Nayaks in repelling Portuguese advances through many battles[16]
Public contributions
Achuthappa Nayak was deeply religious from his young days and the fertile nature of his country helped him make large contributions in gifts and infrastructure to major Temples and also important irrigation systems. The main benefactor was the Srirangam Temple. His assistant and advisor was his minister Govinda Dikshita.
Srirangam Temple
Stone carving at Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam. Source: The National Geographic Magazine, November 1909
The
Srirangam Temple towers (Gopurams) of the North and West and the eighth Prakara (temple Wall Street) and several Halls (Mandapam) inside the Temple complex were built by him. The Golden Vimana of the inner most shrines (Temple Flag) and the image of God studded with Crown jewels was presented by Achuthappa Nayak.[1]
Other Temples
His other major contributions include the Pushyamantapas (Halls) with steps leading to river
Tanjore regions namely Temples in Tiruvidaimarudur and Chidambaram
received villages as grants.
Irrigation
His one remarkable contribution is the construction of a dam across Cauvery near Tiruvadi leading to efficient irrigation in its vicinity.
Housing
Numerous
Tanjore
country were built in his period.
Final years
During his last days the Rayas now ruling from Chandragiri and Vellore had rival claimants within the family to the title and were heading for a war with the other Nayak kings taking sides with some suited to their vested interests.
Raghunatha Nayak
Tarangambadi. This encouraged the English to seek trade with the Thanjavur Nayaks. The Tanjore cannon or Raghunatha cannon, supposed to be the largest cannon in the world was installed during Raghunatha Nayak, built with Danish metallurgy know how.[17]
Raghunatha was a gifted scholar in Sanskrit, Kannada and Telugu languages, as well as a talented musician. His court was distinguished for its assembly of poets and scholars. Ragunatha is credited with writing several books on music and literature.[18] Maduravani and Ramabhadramba were two famous poets in his court, while Sudhindra and Raghavendra were two famous Madhva gurus patronised by him. Govinda Dikshita's son Yajnanarayana has written an account on Raghunatha's rule in his work Sahitya Ratnakara. Raghunatha was a gifted scholar and an expert in the art of swordplay, a fine marksman and a skilled master in horse riding. In the field of music, Raghunatha created new ragas, talas, and melas like Jayanta sena (Ragam), Ramananda (Talam), Sargita vidya and Raghunatha (Mela). His Sanskrit treatise on music, Sangita Sudha opened the secrets of music to all. Raghunatha also composed kavyas and dance-dramas like Prabandkas, Parijatapaharana, Valmika Charitra Kavya, Achyutendrabhyudayam, Gajendramoksham, Nala Caritiam and Rukmini Krishna Vivaha Yakshagana.[19][20]
It was during Raghunatha's reign that a palace library was established. Sarasvati Bhandar is where the manuscripts of Raghunatha's prolific court scholars were collected and preserved. This library was developed and enriched later by Rajah
During Raghunatha's rule, a civil war involving succession to the throne was taking place in the Vijayanagara Kingdom, now based in Vellore and Chandragiri. Gobburi Jagga Raya, brother of the previous ruler Venkata II's favourite Queen Obayamma claimed her putative son as the King and murdered
Madurai
to attack Yachamanedu and Rama Deva. Yachamanedu and Ramadeva sought support from Raghunatha, who still treated the Vijaynagar as his authority.
Tanjore forces headed by Raghunatha.Yachama's army was further strengthened by nobles from Karnataka and (according to some accounts) Dutch and Jaffna
armies.
Both the Armies met at the Toppur, at an open field on the northern banks of River
Grand Anicut
in late months of 1616. The huge assembly of forces on either side is estimated to be as many as a million soldiers (according to Dr. Barradas in Sewell's Book) and considered to be one of the biggest battles in southern India.
Result
In the Battle Jagga Raya's troops could not withstand the aggression generated by the imperial forces. Yachama and Raghunatha, the generals of the imperial camp led their forces with great discipline. Jagga Raya was slain by Yachama, and his army broke the ranks and took flight. Yethiraja, the brother of Jagga Raya, had to run for his life. Muttu Virappa tried to escape, he was pursued by Yachama's general Rao Dama Nayani who captured him near
Venkata II
, cause of all trouble was captured. The Victory was celebrated by the imperial armies headed by Raghunatha and Yachamanedu, who planted pillars of Victory and crowned Rama Deva as Rama Deva Raya, in early months of 1617. Rama Deva Raya was barely 15 years old when he ascended the throne.
Vijaya Raghava Nayak
Vijaya Raghava Nayak (1634–1673), was the last of the Nayak Kings of Thanjavur. He was also called Mannaru Dasa; and like the rest of his family, he built prakaras, gopurams, mandapams and tanks in the Mannargudi Rajagopalaswamy temple.[21] Vijayaraghava's long reign witnessed a large amount of literary output both in music and Telugu literature. Vijayaraghava's court had a number of poets and literary scholars. Vijayaraghava Nayak wrote more than thirty books in Telugu.[18] His long reign was sadly brought to an abrupt end by Chokkanatha Nayak of Madurai.
The end of the Thanjavur Nayak dynasty was brought on by Chokkanatha Nayak, the
Nayak of Madurai
. The dispute was due to the refusal of Vijaya Ragava Nayak to give his daughter in marriage to Chokkanatha Nayak. Chokkantha determined to fetch the maiden by force back into their capital, successfully stormed the Thanjavur palace in 1673 after flattening much of the fort walls by cannons. But Chokkanatha Nayak was thwarted in his attempts by Vijaya Ragava Nayak, when he, in a gruesome act of defiance, blew up his daughter and all the other ladies of the palace. He then charged at the attacking army with his son and his body-guard. He was captured after a brief fight, and was beheaded by the Madurai General Samukham Venkata Krishnappa Nayak.
Maratha conquest
Chokkanatha placed his younger brother
Venkoji (alias Ekoji) to drive away the Madurai usurper. Venkaji defeated Alagiri with ease, and occupied Thanjavur. He did not, however, place his protege on the throne, but seized the kingdom and made himself king due to the disintegration of the Bijapur state.[22] Thus ended the reign of Nayaks and the start of Maratha power
David Shulman, ed. (2020). Classical Telugu Poetry. University of California Press. p. 57. ..... in the Tamil country, where Telugu Balija families had established local Nāyaka states (in Senji, Tanjavur, Madurai, and elsewhere) in the course of the sixteenth century.
Andhra Pradesh Archives, Andhra Pradesh State Archives & Research Institute, ed. (2007). Itihas. Vol. 33. Director of State Archives, Government of Andhra Pradesh. p. 145. ....It is told that the Nayak Kings of Madurai and Tanjore were Balijas , who had marital relations among themselves and with the Vijaya Nagara rulers
^Harmony of Religions: Vedānta Siddhānta Samarasam of Tāyumānavar, Thomas Manninezhath
^['Nayek of Tanjore sends an army of Vadugas with King Varuna Gulata (Varnakula Aditya/Nilayitta) of the Karieas to assist'; The temporal and spiritual conquest of Ceylon, Fernão de Queyroz, p. 468]
Velcheru Narayana Rao|Rao, David Shulman and Sanjay Subrahmanyam. Symbols of substance : court and state in Nayaka period Tamil Nadu (Delhi ; Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1998) ; xix, 349 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., maps ; 22 cm. ; Oxford India paperbacks ; Includes bibliographical references and index ;
Sathianathaier, R. History of the Nayaks of Madura [microform] by R. Sathyanatha Aiyar ; edited for the university, with introduction and notes by S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar ([Madras] : Oxford University Press, 1924) ; see also ([London] : H. Milford, Oxford university press, 1924) ; xvi, 403 p. ; 21 cm. ; SAMP early 20th-century Indian books project item 10819.
The Political Career of E.V. Ramasami Naicker: A Study in the Politics page 79 by I. Vicuvanatan, E. S. Visswanathan
The Mysore Tribes and Castes by L Anantha Krishna Iyer and H.V Nanjundayya
Encyclomedia Indica by Jagadish Saran Sharma
Gazetteer of the Nellore District: Madras District Gazettees - Page 105, Government Of Madras Staff - History - 2004 - 384 pages
Questioning Ramayana: A South Asian Tradition by Paula Richman
Literary Cultures in History by Sheldon Pollock
Castes and Tribes of Southern India by Edgar Thurston and Rangachari
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