The Nayaks of Gingee (Senji) were rulers of the

Gingee Gingee, also known as Senji or Jinji and originally called Singapuri, is a panchayat town in Viluppuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Gingee is located between three hills covering a perimeter of 3 km, and lies west of the Sa ...

principality of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

between 16th to 18th century CE. They were subordinates of the imperial

Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () was the capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire. Located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, it spread over a large area and included the modern era Group of Monuments at Hampi site in Vijayanagara district, Bell ...

emperors, and were appointed as provincial governors by the

Vijayanagar Emperor The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and Maharas ...

who divided the Tamil country into three Nayakships viz.,

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

Tanjore Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the ...

and

. Later, after the fall of the Vijayanagara's Tuluva dynasty, the Gingee rulers declared independence. While they ruled independently, they were sometimes at war with the

neighbors and the

overlords later based in

Vellore Vellore (English: ), also spelt as Velur (), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River in the northeastern part of Tamil Nadu and is separ ...

and

Chandragiri Chandragiri is a suburb and neighbourhood of Tirupati and located in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a part of Tirupati urban agglomeration and a major growing residential area in Tirupati It is the mandal headqua ...

The Nayaka Rulers clan

The Gingee Nayak line was established by Tubaki (aka Tupakula) Krishnappa Nayaka, the son of Koneri Nayaka and grandnephew of Achyutappa Nayaka. Sanjay Subrahmanyam and Brennig provide the following details on Achyutappa Nayak:
Some of the Nayakas in the Gingee line were: # Krishnappa Nayaka (1509–1521) # Chennappa Nayaka # Gangama Nayaka # Venkata Krishnappa Nayaka # Venkata Rama Bhupaala Nayaka # Thriyambamka Krishnappa Nayaka # Varadappa Nayaka # Ramalinga Nayani vaaru # Venkata Perumal Naidu # Periya Ramabhadra Naidu # Ramakrishnappa Naidu (- 1649) Srinivasachari takes chronicles mentioned in copper plate grants into account and mentions the following nayakas in the Gingee line, noting governorship of Gingee began in Saka era 1386 / CE 1464: # 1490 - Vaiyappa Nayak # 1490-1520 - Tubaki Krishnappa Nayaka (originally Bala / Vala Krishnappa who became Tubbaki / Dubakki / Dubala Krishnappa in local legends). # 1520-1540 - Achyuta Vijaya Ramachandra Nayak # 1540-1550 - Muthialu Nayak # 1570-1600 - Venkatappa Nayak # 1600-1620 - Varadappa Nayak # Appa Nayak - up to Muslim conquest.

Territory

The Gingee Nayak kingdom when established covered most of Northern Tamil Nadu including the present day

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry t ...

and vast areas of

Nellore Nellore is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of the district, as well as Nellore mandal and Nellore revenue division. It is the fourth most p ...

Chittoor Chittoor is a city and district headquarters in Chittoor district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also the mandal and divisional headquarters of Chittoor mandal and Chittoor revenue division, respectively. The city has a popu ...

and

. Its Southern boundary extended up to Kollidam River which marked the boundary between the Tanjavur and Madurai kingdoms. Later, during mid 16th centuries, the Gingee Nayaks lost control of the

Vellore Fort Vellore Fort is a large 16th-century fort situated in heart of the Vellore city, in the States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu, India built by Vijayanagara Empire, Vijayanagara kings. The fort was at one time the headquarters of ...

and its Northern provinces when their erstwhile Vijayanagara overlords under

Aravidu Dynasty The Aravidu Dynasty was the fourth and last Hindu dynasty of Vijayanagara Empire in South India. Its founder was Tirumala Deva Raya, whose brother Rama Raya had been the masterful regent of the last ruler of the previous dynasty. Rama Raya's deat ...

took possession of these places and re-established their later Kingdom.

Origins

Supposed origins

Two inscriptions from Thirupparankunram in Madurai giving a list of nayaks in Gingee state they migrated originally from Maninagapura in northern India to Vijayanagara and subsequently settled in Gingee under Vaiyappa Nayak. An inscription of Surappa Nayak of the Gingee line mentions him with the title of 'lord of Maninagapura'. Maninagapura is supposedly Manikhpur (near Allahabad, UP) with the immigration supposed to have taken place in 1370 AD.Srinivasachari, C.S., (1943). History Of Gingee And Its Rulers, p.78-84, 96, 121-122. Available from: https://factmuseum.com/pdf/south-india/pdf/History-of-Gingee-and-its-Rulers-By-C.S.Srinivasachari.pdf However, neither the cause of migration could be established nor any other evidence exists to prove they originally came from Maninagapura. Circumstances leading to the foundation of the Gingee governorship are also not ascertainable. As per legends in the ''Karnataka Rajakkal Savistara Charitam'' and ''Vaishnara Guruparampara'', the line was established around the time when Vedanta Desikan requested Gopanarya to restore the idol of Govindaraja Perumal which had been thrown out of the Chidambaram shrine. At that time the nayaks were possibly deputies of Saluva Narasinga. As per MacKenzie manuscripts Krishnadevaraya had around this time marched into Carnatic with his chief nayaks, who were Vaiyappa Nayaka, Tubbaki Krishnappa Nayaka and others; exercised his authority, and installed his second in command, Tubbaki Krishnappa Nayaka as the Gingee governor. The Jesuit traveler, Father Pimenta reportedly met Tubaki Krishnappa Nayaka when he was carrying out restoration works at the Chidambaram temple.

Historical time

In 1509, under the orders of Krishnadeva Raya, Vaiyappa Nayak led the Vijayanagar forces against the local chieftains of the Gingee area. Thereafter, Krishnadevaraya consolidated this area under one of his men, Tubakki (or Tupakula) Krishnappa Nayaka. Sanjay Subrahmanya and Brennig note that Krishnappa was the son of Koneri who in turn was the son of an unnamed brother of Achyutappa Chetti. However,

Burton Stein Burton Stein (1926 – April 26, 1996) was an American historian, whose area of specialization was India. Life and career Stein was born and grew up in Chicago, Illinois and served in the Second World War, before commencing tertiary study at the ...

notes that Tubaki Krishnappa was the son of Vaiyappa Nayak, the Army General of Krishnadeva Raya. We can therefore surmise that either Koneri and Vaiyappa are the same person or that Vaiyappa was in some form related to the unnamed brother of Achyutappa Chetty. Krishnappa Nayaka established a heredity line of Nayak rulers who ruled Gingee from 1509 to 1648 AD. Krishnappa Nayaka reign lasted from 1507 to 1521. `

Krishnappa's rule

Krishnappa Nayak is said to be the founder of Gingee city. The earlier name of Gingee was Krishnapura. Krishnappa Nayak built the Singavaram Venkataramana and Venugopalaswami temples and other structures inside the Gingee Fort. Krishnappa was said be a native of Conjivaram (Kanchipuram) and kept a flower-garden dedicated to the God, Varadaraj Perumal. The granaries of the Gingee Fort, the Kalyana Mahal and the thick walls enclosing the three hills of Gingee are attributed to Krishnappa Nayaka. Although Gingee had been a fortified centre as early as 1240 CE, it was during the rule of Krishnappa that the present layout of the Garh Mahal (fort) was established. Krishnappa is said to be the first Nayaka who converted a fort into an outstanding example of military architecture. Krishnappa Nayaka's rule was fraught with wars against the Muslims.

Raghunatha Nayaka Raghunatha Nayak was the most powerful king of the Thanjavur Nayak Dynasty. He was the third ruler of Thanjavur, southern India, from the Nayak dynasty. He ruled from 1600 to 1634 and is noted for the attainments of Thanjavur in literature, art, ...

of Tanjore is said to have secured the release of Krishnappa Nayaka from the Muhammedans with the sanction of the Vijayanagar emperor. A grateful Krishnappa reportedly gave away his daughter in marriage to the Tanjore king.

Krishnappa's family

Krishnappa Nayaka came from a family of merchants. He was the grandnephew of Achyutappa Chetti who was a trader, a broker and a shipping merchant. Achyutappa's home-base was Devanampattinam of

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is the city and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important port during the British Raj. While the early history of Cudda ...

which he got fortified using his ties with the Nayakas and local militia leaders. Initially no more than a broker and an interpreter, by the 1620s Achyutappa's power as an independent merchant came to be on the rise, as was his standing in the elite politics of southern and central coromandel. He was aided by his brothers Chinanna, Kesava and an other unnamed brother. Achyutappa manoeuvered his quasi-diplomatic position by mediating in the internecine warfare of the 1620s between the poligar factions of Senji (Gingee) and Chingleput regions. Achyutappa's quasi-diplomatic rise in status also emerged from his relations with the King of Arakan and Nayak of Madurai and even the Cochin ruler who used Achyutappa as an intermediary while attempting a rapprochement with the Dutch in the early 1630s. Acyutappa's main trade was shipping. He dominated the coromandel coast. Until 1634, the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC) was almost completely dependent on Achyutappa and his relatives for the supply of rice to provision company factories. Together with Chinnana, Koneri, Kesava and Laksmana, Tubaki Krishnappa Nayak owned the Coromadel Shipping, with Royal Shipping as a partner. The Royal Shipping was owned by the rulers of Ayutthaya, Arakan and Kedah of Southeast Asia. However, Acyutappa's activities were diversified. By the 1620s, along with his brother Chinnana, Achyutappa had become increasingly involved in farming revenue in the territories of the Nayakas and the Chandragiri ruler. When Acyutappa died in Mar 1634, the mantle of VOC's chief broker of Coromandel fell on his brother Chinanna. Chinnanna lived an exorbitant lifestyle with 40 wives and innumerable children. Chinanna was politically more ambitious than his brother, Achyutappa, with a penchant for diplomacy and even direct participation as a field general in internecine warfare of the 1630s. However, his abrasiveness led him to fall out with his own brother Kesava and his nephews Seshadra and Laksmana. By early 1638, the family feud led Kesava and Lakshmana to persuade Tubaki Krisnappa to take Koneri as a prisoner. Koneri fled and sought refuge under Chinanna. However, when faced with the superior force of Tubaki Krishnappa, Chinanna surrendered. Subrahmanyam, p. 309

References

External links

* Epigrāphiya Karnāṭaka (5,1): Hassan district 1: Hassan, Belur, Channarayapattana, Hole-Nasipur, Arkalgud, Manjavabad, Arsikere Taluks. Available from: http://idb.ub.uni-tuebingen.de/diglit/EC_05_1_1902/0929

Bibliography

*{{cite book , ref=Subrahmanyam, title=The Political Economy of Commerce: Southern India 1500–1650 , first=Sanjay , last=Subrahmanyam , edition=Reprinted , publisher=Cambridge University Press , year=2002 , isbn=9780521892261 , url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jgSMPKVh7f8C