Dodda Vira Rajendra was the ruler of the Kingdom of Coorg from 1780 to 1809. He freed the kingdom from the occupation of

Tipu Sultan Tipu Sultan (, , ''Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu''; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799) commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore or "Tiger of Mysore", was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery ...

, the king of Mysore. He later aided the British in their fight against Tipu Sultan. Dodda Veera raja constructed the city of Vira-rajendrapete, today known as Virajapet.

Early life and exile

Not much is known of Dodda Vira Rajendra's childhood. In 1780, Linga Raja, his father and ruler of the Coorg Kingdom died while Dodda Vira Rajendra was still young. Hyder Ali, the king of Mysore saw this as an opportunity and took possession of the Coorg Kingdom until, as he said "the princes (Dodda Vira Rajendra and his brother) would come of age". In September 1782, the princes were deported to Garuru. Enraged at the deportation of their princes, the Coorgs revolted and proclaimed independence. Soon after in December 1782, Hyder Ali died due to a cancerous growth in his back and his son Tipu became the King. Tipu dispatched the Coorg royal family to

Periyapatna Periyapatna, also known as Piriyāpattana, is a town in Mysore district. It is known for being a major producer of tobacco, and is called 'the land of tobacco'. There are popular temples in Periyapatna, the Kannambadi Amma and Masanikamma templ ...

and proceeded to annex Coorg and other areas. In December 1788, Dodda Vira Rajendra escaped from Periyapatna and by 1790 had regained power in Coorg.

Battles against the Kingdom of Mysore

Dodda Vira Rajendra ousted the occupying army of Mysore from Bisle Ghat to Manantody and led plundering expeditions into the territories of the Mysore Kingdom. In retaliation, Tipu Sultan sent armies against him, led by Tipu Sultan's Generals Golam Ali and Buran-ud-Din, but were defeated by Dodda Vira Rajendra. In June 1789, he sacked and burnt the fort of Kushalanagar and in August he destroyed the fort of Beppunad. This was followed by the capture of the fort of Bhagamandala. Thereafter, he captured Amara Sulya. Noticing the successes of Dodda Vira Rajendra, the Government of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

offered him an alliance against Tipu Sultan in October 1790. Faced with a powerful opponent in the Kingdom of Mysore, Dodda Vira Rajendra accepted the offer and allied with the British. Alarmed, Tipu dispatched another army led by General Khadar Khan, which was also defeated. Thereafter, the fort of Mercara capitulated to Dodda Vira Rajendra without a fight. Dodda Vira Rajendra allowed the British Bombay Army to pass through Coorg, on its way to

Srirangapatna Srirangapatna or Srirangapattana is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganthaswamy temple consecrated around 984 CE. Later, under the Britis ...

, Tipu Sultan's capital. He also aided the British in their fight against Tipu Sultan, until the latter's death on 4 May 1799.

Death

Dodda Vira Rajendra died in 1809. His tomb is located in Mercara (Madikeri). He is deified and his tomb is worshipped to this day.

Works

Dodda Vira Rajendra compiled a literary work ''Rajendraname'', which records the history of the Coorg rulers from 1633 to 1807. He established the town of

Virajpet The town of Virajpet also spelled as Virajapete () is township of the district of Kodagu, in India's southern States and union territories of India, State of Karnataka. It is the main town of the ''Virajpet taluka'', south of the district, and b ...

in 1792. He also built a street called Mahadevpet in Madikeri town.

References

{{Karnataka topics 18th-century Indian monarchs History of Kodagu district History of Karnataka Coorg 1809 deaths People from the Kingdom of Coorg