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Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV (4 June 1884 – 3 August 1940) was the twenty-fourth
Maharaja of Mysore The maharaja of Mysore was the king and principal ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore and briefly of Mysore State in the Indian Dominion roughly between the mid- to late-1300s and 1950. The maharaja's consort was called the maharani of Mysore. In ...
, reigning from 1902 until his death in 1940. Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV is popularly deemed a ''
rajarshi Rajarshi () is a title in Hinduism and Hindu mythology, referring to a sage who hails from a royal background. Description A rajarshi may be described to be a king (raja) who adopted a path of devotion, thereby becoming a royal sage (rishi). A ...
'', or 'saintly king', a moniker with which
Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...
revered the king in 1925 for his administrative reforms and achievements. He was a philosopher king, seen by
Paul Brunton Paul Brunton is the pen name of Raphael Hurst (21 October 1898 – 27 July 1981), a British author of spiritual books. He is best known as one of the early popularizers of Neo-Hindu spiritualism in western esotericism, notably via his be ...
as living the ideal expressed in
Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born  BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
's ''Republic''.
Herbert Samuel Herbert Louis Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel (6 November 1870 – 5 February 1963) was a British Liberal politician who was the party leader from 1931 to 1935. He was the first nominally-practising Jew to serve as a Cabinet minister and to becom ...
compared him to Emperor
Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...
. Acknowledging the maharaja's noble and efficient kingship, John Sankey declared in 1930 at the first
Round Table Conference The three Round Table Conferences of 1930–1932 were a series of peace conferences, organized by the British Government and Indian political personalities to discuss constitutional reforms in India. These started in November 1930 and ended in De ...
in London, "Mysore is the best administered state in the world". He is often regarded as the "father of modern Mysore" and his reign the "golden age of Mysore".
Madan Mohan Malaviya Madan Mohan Malaviya (25 December 1861 — 12 November 1946; ) was an Indian scholar, educational reformer and activist notable for his role in the Indian independence movement. He was president of the Indian National Congress three times and ...
described the maharaja as "
dharmic Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold'' or ''to support' ...
" (virtuous in conduct).
John Gunther John Gunther (August 30, 1901 – May 29, 1970) was an Americans, American journalist and writer. His success came primarily by a series of popular sociopolitical works, known as the "Inside" books (1936–1972), including the best-sell ...
, the American author, heaped praise on the king. In an obituary, ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' called him "a ruling prince second to none in esteem and affection inspired by both his impressive administration and his attractive personality". At the time of his death, Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV was one of the world's wealthiest men, with a personal fortune estimated in 1940 to be worth US$400 million, equivalent to $7 billion in 2018 prices.


Early years

Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV was born on 4 June 1884 in
Mysore Palace Mysore Palace, also known as Amba Vilas Palace, is a historical palace and a royal residence. It is located in Mysore, Karnataka, India. It used to be the official residence of the Wadiyar dynasty and the seat of the Kingdom of Mysore. The pala ...
as the son of Maharaja
Chamarajendra Wadiyar X Chamarajendra Wadiyar X (22 February 1863 – 28 December 1894) was the twenty-third Maharaja of Mysore between 1868 and 1894. Adoption and accession Chamarajendra Wadiyar X was born in the old palace in Mysore on 22 February 1863, as the thir ...
and Maharani
Kempananjammanni Devi Kempananjammanni Devi (1866–1934) was the Maharani of Mysore and later queen mother and regent of the Kingdom of Mysore. She was the wife of Maharaja Chamarajendra Wadiyar X and the mother of Maharaja Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV, Krishnaraja W ...
. After the sudden death of his father in
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
in 1894, the widowed queen mother Kempananjammanni Devi ruled the state as regent from 1895 to 1902, until Krishnaraja Wadiyar reached the age of maturity on 8 August 1902. Upon accession to the throne, he became the fourth king of Mysore by the name, hence known in the vernacular language
Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...
as ''Nalwadi'' Krishnaraja Wadiyar (the qualifying prefix means "the fourth"). The maharaja had his early education and training at Lokaranjan Palace in Mysore under the direction of P. Raghavendra Rao. In addition to Western studies, he was instructed in Kannada and
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
. He was taught horse-riding and Indian and Western classical music. His early administrative training was imparted by Sir Stuart Fraser of the
Bombay Civil Service In India, the Civil Service is the collection of civil servants of the government who constitute the permanent executive branch of the country. This includes servants in the All India Services, the Central Civil Services, and various State Ci ...
. The study of the principles of jurisprudence and methods of revenue administration was supplemented by extensive tours of the state during which he gained immense knowledge of the nature of the country which he was later to govern.


Reign


Accession

Shortly after the death of his father Maharaja Chamarajendra Wadiyar X on 28 December 1894, Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, still a boy of eleven, ascended the throne on 1 February 1895. His mother Maharani Kemparajammanni Devi ruled as
queen regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...
until Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV took over on 8 February 1902. The yuvaraja was invested as the Maharaja of Mysore, with full ruling powers, by George Curzon, the
Governor-General of India The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the emperor o ...
, on 8 August 1902 at a ceremony at Jaganmohana Palace.


Government

Mysore became the first Indian state to have a representative assembly, Mysore Representative Assembly, a democratic forum in 1881. During the maharaja's reign, the assembly was enlarged and became
bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...
in 1907 with the creation of the Mysore Legislative Council, a house of elders which introduced much new legislation for the state.During the maharaja's reign, the Kingdom of Mysore witnessed development in a range of fields. Mysore became the first Indian state to generate hydroelectric power in
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
, and Bangalore was the first Asian city to have street lights, first lit on 5 August 1905. Princes from other sections of India were sent to Mysore for administrative training.


Reforms

The maharaja worked towards alleviating poverty and improving rural reconstruction, public health, industry and economic regeneration, education and the fine arts. He abolished child marriage (for girls below the age 8), gave special importance for girls' education, and offered scholarship for widowed women. At a time when support for domestic products was pivotal for India's self-reliance and eventual independence from British India, the maharaja encouraged
spinning Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...
at scale, for which Gandhi greatly praised him.


Education and arts

Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV set up numerous educational infrastructures and institutions. Krishnaraja Wadiyar was the first chancellor of
Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU), formerly Benares Hindu University, is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. The university incorporated the Central Hindu College, ...
(whose co-founder he also was) and the
University of Mysore The University of Mysore is a public state university in Mysore, Karnataka, India. The university was founded during the reign of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV and the premiership of Sir M. Visvesvaraya. The university is recognised by t ...
(whose founder he was). The latter was the first university chartered by an Indian province. The
Indian Institute of Science The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a Public university, public, Deemed university, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The ...
at
Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
, which was initiated during his mother's tenure as regent, functionally started during his reign in 1911 with a gift of 371 acres (1.5 km2) of land and a donation of funds. The maharaja was a patron of Indian music, both Carnatic and Hindustani, and Western classical music. He was an accomplished musician and, like his predecessors, patronised fine arts.Pranesh (2003), p. 162 The maharaja was a connoisseur of Carnatic and
Hindustani music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...
himself. He played eight
musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...
s:
flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
, violin, saxophone, piano,
mridangam The ''mridangam'' is an ancient percussion instrument originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion in ...
, nadaswara,
sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...
, and
veena The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( IAST: vīṇā), is any of various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps.
. Members of the
Agra Gharana The Agra gharana is a tradition of Hindustani classical vocal music descended from the Nauhar Bani. So far, Nauhar Bani has been traced back to around 1300 AD, during the reign of Emperor Allauddin Khilji of Delhi. The first known musician o ...
, including Nattan Khan and Ustad
Vilayat Hussain Khan Ustad Vilayat Hussain Khan (1895–1962) was an Indian classical singer and teacher belonging to the Agra gharana (singing style). Vilayat composed bandishes in many ragas under the pen name "Pran Piya".Abdul Karim Khan Ustad Abdul Karim Khan (Devanagari: उस्ताद अब्दुल करीम ख़ान, Persian: ) (11 November 1872 – 27 October 1937)Gauhar Jan Gauhar Jaan (born Angelina Yeoward; 26 June 1873 – 17 January 1930) was an Indian singer and dancer from Kolkata. She was one of the first performers to record music on 78 rpm records in India, which was later released by the Gramophone Co ...
.
Barkatullah Khan Barkatullah Khan (25 October 1920  – 11 October 1973) also known as Pyare Miyan was an Indian Urdu-language poet, Advocate and politician. He served as the 6th Chief Minister of Rajasthan as the first Muslim Chief Minister of Rajastha ...
was a palace musician from 1919 until his death in 1940. Asthana Vidwan Kadagathur Seshacharya has written various works and is famous for his contributions towards Sanskrit and Kannada literature. The maharaja also composed many poems in Kannada himself.


Contributions


Personal life

Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV was wedded on 6 June 1900 at
Jaganmohan Palace Sri Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery, commonly known by its former name Jaganmohana Palace, is a former royal mansion, arts museum and auditorium, and formerly an alternative royal residence of the ruling maharaja of Mysore, located in Mysore, Indi ...
to Maharani Pratapa Kumari Devi of
Kathiawar Kathiawar (), also known as Saurashtra, is a peninsula in the south-western Gujarat state in India, bordering the Arabian Sea and covering about . It is bounded by the Kutch district in the north, the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest, and by the ...
, the youngest daughter of Rana Bane Singh of Vana,
Kathiawar Kathiawar (), also known as Saurashtra, is a peninsula in the south-western Gujarat state in India, bordering the Arabian Sea and covering about . It is bounded by the Kutch district in the north, the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest, and by the ...
(present-day
Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
State). The couple had no children. He died of heart attack on 3 August 1940. His nephew Jayachamaraja Wadiyar succeeded him as Maharaja.


Honours

*
King George VI Coronation Medal The King George VI Coronation Medal was a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir of King George VI's coronation. It was awarded to th ...
, 1937 *
King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver Ju ...
, 1935 *
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(GBE), 1917 * Bailiff Grand Cross of the
Order of St John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...
(GCStJ), 1911 * Delhi Durbar Gold Medal, 1911 * Knight Grand Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India (GCSI), 1907 * Delhi Durbar Gold Medal, 1903


Honorary doctorates

* Honorary Doctorate,
University of Mysore The University of Mysore is a public state university in Mysore, Karnataka, India. The university was founded during the reign of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV and the premiership of Sir M. Visvesvaraya. The university is recognised by t ...
, (posthumously in 2011) * Honorary Doctorate,
Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU), formerly Benares Hindu University, is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. The university incorporated the Central Hindu College, ...
(at its 21st convocation held on 28 December 1937)


Memorials

* K.R.S. Dam, Mysore; K.R. Circle, Mysore; K.R. Nagara, Mysore * K.R. Market, Bangalore; K.R. Pura, Bengaluru * K.R. Pete, Mandya


References


Further reading

* * * * * ;Books * ;Articles * * * * *


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wadiyar Iv, Krishna Raja 1884 births 1940 deaths Kings of Mysore Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India Indian Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Bailiffs Grand Cross of the Order of St John Krishnaraja IV Kannada people 20th-century Indian royalty