ROSHEN DALAL
Monday, 11 April 2022 | ROSHEN DALAL | Dehradun
In India’s history there were numerous small kingdoms and minor dynasties that are little known. The tiny kingdom of Coorg or Kodagu, today a district in Karnataka, was ruled by the Haleri dynasty from around 1600-1834. The population of Kodagu was largely made up of Kodavas, a distinct group with their own unique traditions and customs, but the Haleris came from outside, and have been described as Lingayats or Virashaivas. The Haleris were among the many Nayakas who ruled large or small kingdoms in the Deccan and southern India.
The origin of these Nayakas or military chiefs can be traced to the time of the Bahmani and Vijayanagara empires, which themselves arose at the time of the Delhi Sultanate.
Among the most interesting sultans of Delhi, who seemed to have two sides to his nature, was Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq (1325-1351), who conquered new territories, put down revolts harshly and tried out innovative schemes, such as moving the capital to the Deccan and introducing token money. At the same time, he was open-minded and interested in different religious ideas, holding discussions with Sufis, Yogis and Jain philosophers. His conquests extended down to Madurai in the south, yet the kings of the north could never retain their Deccan and southern conquests for long. It was during the reign of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq that two independent kingdoms, the Bahmani and Vijayanagara came into being. The Bahmani kingdom to the north covered parts of present Maharashtra, north Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka while the Vijayanagara covered south Andhra and Karnataka. These two kingdoms fought many wars, mainly to gain control of ports and fertile agricultural land. The Bahmani arose from a revolt of some nobles against Muhammad Bin Tughlaq, beginning, in fact, from the capital he had tried to found, Daulatabad. Tughlaq defeated them, but then left for Gujarat to suppress another rebellion. In his absence, the nobles made Ismail Mukh the king, but being old, he handed over power to another noble, called Hasan, who took the title of Alauddin Bahman Shah. This gave the Bahmani kingdom its name.
Alauddin ruled from 1347-1358, with Gulbarga as his capital. He conquered Goa, Dabhol, Kolhapur and Telangana. There were several other rulers, but soon the Bahmani kingdom broke up into five smaller kingdoms of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Berar, Golkonda and Bidar. These kingdoms continued into Mughal days.
Yusuf Adil Shah founded Bijapur in 1489. Ibrahim Adil Shah (1579—1625) was the best known ruler. Bijapur was annexed by the Mughals in 1686.
Malik Ahmad founded the kingdom of Ahmadnagar in 1490. He conquered Daulatabad in 1499. His son Burhan-i-Nizam Shah succeeded him in 1508. In 1636 it was annexed by the Mughals. Golkonda was founded by Qutb Shah, a Turkish officer, in 1512. He started the Qutb Shahi dynasty. Golkonda was annexed by the Mughals in 1676.
Berar, founded in 1490 was annexed by Ahmadnagar in 1574. Bidar, under the Barid Shahi dynasty, was founded in 1526 and annexed in 1618—1619 by Ibrahim Adil Shah of Bijapur.
Meanwhile Harihara and Bukka, two brothers, founded the kingdom of Vijayanagara. They were ministers of the ruler of Kampili in the region of Karnataka. Captured by Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq when he invaded Kampili, they were then sent back to Karnataka to suppress revolts there. They asserted their independence and founded Vijayanagara. They were said to be of the Sangama dynasty as they were the sons of Sangama. The Vijayanagara kings came from four dynasties. Each dynasty was the descendant of one family. When a minister or local chief overthrew the king, a new dynasty started. The dynasties were Sangama, Saluva, Tuluva and Aravidu. The Bahmani and its offshoots, as well as Vijayanagara were constantly involved in wars and battles, not only with one another, but with other areas too. In the reign of of Sadashiva Raya (1542—1570) of Vijayanagara, the five kingdoms of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Berar, Golkonda and Bidar, combined to defeat Vijayanagara in the battle of Talikota in 1565. The Vijayanagara kingdom continued to exist till 1672 under the rulers of the Aravidu dynasty but it never regained its former glory.
In Vijayanagara, territory was often granted to military chiefs, known as palaiyagars or nayakas, who often ruled almost independently, and were totally independent after the decline of the empire. The Nayakas belonged to different groups with varying backgrounds. Conflicts among them too were common.
Among the main Nayakas were the Madurai Nayakas, who were Telugu speakers. According to a story of their origin, Nangama, a general of Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara kingdom, started a revolt, but was defeated by his son Vishvanatha, who became the first Nayaka of the region in 1529. The Madurai Nayakas remained semi-independent until the battle of Talikota. The Ikkeri Nayakas were based in Keladi in Karnataka. Among them, Shivappa Nayaka [1645-1660] was successful in the many wars he fought, including against the Portuguese and the kingdom of Bijapur. There were many other Nayaka kingdoms based in Kalahasti, Gingee, Thanjavur, and even in Sri Lanka, where the Kandyan Nayakas ruled from 1739-1815. Nayakas themselves had feudatories, who went on to form their own small kingdoms. Nayaka kingdoms are known both from inscriptions and from stories and legends . Some stories and traditions are difficult to substantiate. One such story is about the Haleri Nayakas of Kodagu, mentioned in the beginning, who were an offshoot of the Nayakas of Ikkeri. Veeraraja, an ambitious young man, was part of the army of Venkatappa Nayaka of Ikkeri. He came to know that the Nayakas of Kodagu ruled tiny territories and were at war with one another. It is said that disguised as a jangama (priest), he began to live in Haleri village in the north of Kodagu. As a jangama, he was respected, and soon he asked permission to build a Shiva temple near his hut. Kodavas were not initially worshippers of traditional Hindu deities, focusing instead on nature, sacred groves and ancestor worship. Their deities included the river goddess, Kaveri, and the forest deity, Ayyappa, but gradually, other beliefs were spreading. Living near his Shiva temple, Veeraraja also healed people through herbs and persuaded them that his religious ceremonies bestowed occult powers on him. Then, he overthrew the local Nayaka, and through a series of wars extended his hold over the rest of Kodagu, starting a line of hereditary rulers.
Nayakas, though not well-known in mainstream history, are described in several books. Notable among the books are Noburu Karashima’s A Concordance of Nayakas; Velceru Narayanaravu et al., Symbol and Substance: Court and State in Nayaka Tamil Nadu; and Christopher Chekkuri, Between Family and Empire: Nayaka Strategies of Rule. Among many others are monographs on individual Nayaka dynasties. Despite this, there is scope for more analysis and study of these and other small kingdoms that existed across India.
(A PhD in ancient Indian History, the writer lives in Dehradun and has authored more than ten books. Views expressed are personal)
