CleanupBot: Robot: Replacing encoded entity with character

2026-03-22T05:31:50Z

Robot: Replacing encoded entity with character

Show changes

Loz12: Updated formatting and sections

2026-01-28T09:01:12Z

Updated formatting and sections

Show changes

imported>Gotitbro: Undid revision 1034117412 by 2600:8806:405:A000:9014:FF0C:4F07:FA2F (talk) under British suzerain

2021-08-26T08:12:19Z

Undid revision 1034117412 by 2600:8806:405:A000:9014:FF0C:4F07:FA2F (talk) under British suzerain

New page

{{Use Indian English|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2013}}
{{Infobox Prime Minister
| honorific-prefix = ''Mir Miran''
| name = Krishnacharya Purniya
| honorific-suffix =
| image = Purniya,_Chief_Minister_of_Mysore.tif
| caption = Purniya, Prime Minister of Mysor by Irish painter [[Thomas Hickey (painter)|Thomas Hickey]]
| order =
| office1 = 1st [[Diwan of Mysore|Diwan of Mysore Kingdom]]
| election =
| term_start1 = Dec 1782
| term_end1 = May 1799
| vicepresident =
| monarch1 = [[Hyder Ali]]<br/> [[Tipu Sultan]]
| predecessor1 =
| successor1 =
| order2 =
| office2 =
| term_start2 = 30 June 1799
| term_end2 = 23 December 1811
| president2 =
| monarch2 = [[Krishnaraja Wadiyar III]]
| predecessor2 =
| successor2 = [[Bargir Bakshi Balaji Rao]]
| birth_date = 1746 CE
| birth_place = [[Yelandur|Coimbatore]], [[Kingdom of Mysore]]
| death_date = 27 March 1812 (aged 65 or 66)
| death_place = [[Srirangapatna]], [[Kingdom of Mysore]], [[Company rule in India|British India]]
| nationality =
| spouse =
| party =
| relations =
| children =
| residence =
| alma_mater =
| occupation = Administrator
| profession =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
'''Purnaiah (Purniya)''' (1746 – 27 March 1812), aka '''Krishnacharya Purniya''' or '''Mir Miran Purniya''' was an [[Indian people|Indian]] Administrator and statesman and the 1st [[Divan|Diwan]] of [[Mysore Kingdom]]. He has a rare distinction of governing under three kings, [[Hyder Ali]], [[Tipu Sultan]] and [[Krishnaraja Wadiyar III]]. He governed the [[Mysore kingdom]] from 1782 to 1811. He was known for his skill with [[Account (bookkeeping)|accounts]], prodigious memory and proficiency in several [[languages]]. He was also a wartime [[military commander]] while serving under [[Tipu Sultan]]. After [[Tipu Sultan]]'s defeat, [[Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar]] was educated and trained by Purniah from 1799 till 1810 (when [[Krishnaraja Wodeyar III]] came of age), he governed the [[Kingdom of Mysore]] together with the English resident of the [[East India Company]].
[[File:Yellandur1.jpg|thumb|Residence built by Purniah in Yelandur, now a museum.]]

==Early years and rise==
Purniah came from an orthodox [[Deshastha Brahmin|Deshastha Madhva Brahmin]] family.<ref>{{cite book|title=Western colonial policy: a study on its impact on Indian society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bDY-AAAAMAAJ|page=257|publisher=Institute of Historical Studies|year=1981}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TdrzDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA359|title=India, Modernity and the Great Divergence: Mysore and Gujarat (17th to 19th C.)|page=359|author=Kaveh Yazdani|publisher=BRILL|accessdate=10 January 2017|isbn=9789004330795|date=10 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society (Bangalore)., Volume 72|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RwNuAAAAMAAJ|publisher=The Society|year=1981|page=182|quote=Poorniah himself was a Marathi Madhwa brahmin and there were many more such.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Explorations in the Deccan History|author=A. Rā Kulakarṇī|publisher=Pragati Publications|year=2006|page=105|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TzJuAAAAMAAJ|quote=Purnayya, a Diwan of Mysore state, was a Maratha brahman and had brought many Marathas in his council of ministers.|isbn=9788173071089}}</ref> He was born in 1746 CE. He lost his father at the age of eleven and had to seek employment to support his family. He started writing accounts at a trader's shop. This grocer had close contact with a rich merchant, Annadana Shetty, who supplied large quantities of groceries to Hyder Ali's palace and army.

Through this connection Purniah very soon earned confidence of Hyder Ali because of his proficiency in accounting and excellent handwriting. Endowed with prodigious memory, proficiency in several languages and sheer hard work, Purniah became head of Accounts Department and a confidant of the ruler.

Purniah was fluent in [[Kannada]] (mother tongue), [[Marathi language|Marathi]],<ref>{{cite book|title=A History of Karnataka, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g09uAAAAMAAJ|author1=H. V. Sreenivasa Murthy|author2=R. Ramakrishnan|publisher=S. Chand|year=1977|page=311|quote=Since the prince was young , Purnaiah , a Marathi speaking Madhwa Brahmin , was appointed as Dewan Regent , while Lieutenant Colonel ( afterwards Sir Barry ) Close was appointed Resident at the Mysore court immediately after....}}</ref> [[Sanskrit]] and Persian. He understood [[English language|English]], but could not read or write the language.

==Years with Tipu==
In 1782, when Hyder Ali died, near [[Chittoor]], Tipu was encamping in [[Malabar coast]]. Purniah kept the king's death a top secret, and sent the word to Tipu by the speediest way possible. Meanwhile, Hyder's body was kept embalmed, and business went on usual. Purniah thus played a key role in keeping the news of Hyder's death confidential, as many adversaries could have seized this advantage and tried to usurp throne. Purniah thus paved the way for the succession of Tipu. Purniah became a member of Tipu's inner cabinet.
<ref name=Parsons>{{cite book|last1=Parsons|first1=Constance E|title=Seringapatam|date=1931|publisher=H. Milford|pages=[https://archive.org/details/SeringapatamConstanceParsons1931/page/n214 155]–157|url=https://archive.org/details/SeringapatamConstanceParsons1931|accessdate=25 September 2015}}</ref>

Purniah attended every military campaign Tipu Sultan led. In the [[Third Anglo-Mysore War]] of 1792, Purniah commanded a rocket units (131 men).<ref>[http://www.nal.res.in/pdf/pdfrocket.pdf], Page 5 of Rockets in Mysore and Britain, 1750-1850 A.D.</ref> In his [[Battle of Seringapatam|last battle with the British]], Tipu had entrusted his eldest son and heir-apparent to Purniah's care. In the [[Fourth Anglo-Mysore War]], Purniah commanded the forces of Mysore against the English in some of the battles including [[Battle of Sultanpet Tope]]. Tipu died on the battlefield in 1799.

==Meeting with British==
{{tone|date=January 2015}}
[[File:Lord Harris Residence 01, Seringapatam.jpg |thumb|200px|Lord Harris Residence, later residence of Puraniah, [[Seringapatam]]]]
[[File:Lord Harris Residence 02, Seringapatam.jpg |thumb|200px|Inscription at the Lord Harris Residence, Seringapatam]]
After Tipu's death Purniah sought an interview with the [[George Harris, 1st Baron Harris|General Harris]], who was very much impressed with Purniah's political acumen, maturity and fearlessness. He informed the General that administration had nearly collapsed, many of the able army and civil officers were killed and plundering had already set in.

The British were convinced and made Purniah the first Dewan of the newly formed [[state of Mysore]]. Queen Regent Lakshammanni readily agreed to the arrangement. The child-king, later Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar, was educated and trained by Purniah. He was granted the [[jagir]] of Yelandur, which yielded an annual revenue of 10000 star pagodas, by the Maharaja of Mysore at a special Durbar on 27 December 1807. The British Resident Sir John Malcolm and the [[East India Company]] honoured him on his retirement by presenting him a horse, an elephant and a rich killat.<ref name="Parsons"/>

Krishnaraja Wodeyar attained the age of 16 in early 1810 and hence attained the age of discretion. After discussing with the British Resident, A. H. Cole, the reins of the state were transferred from Dewan Purnaiah to the king. Purniah retired from service in 1811.

After his retirement from service in 1811, Purnaiah lived at the house is known as Lord Harris's House or The Doctor's Bungalow or Puraniah's Bungalow in Seringapatam, near the [[Scott’s Bungalow, Seringapatam|Scott’s Bungalow]] and [[Garrison Cemetery, Seringapatam|Garrison Cemetery]], and died there on 28 March 1812. Days before his death, he wrote a letter to his friend Col. Hill, Commandant of Seringapatam, ''Old and infirm, after a life of unusual activity and care, I am going to the land of my fathers'', for which Col. Hill replied ''Say I am travelling the same road'', and passed away a short time after Purnaiah. A tablet on the wall of this house records the connection of Lord Harris and Puraniah to this house.<ref name=Parsons />

The photo of the bungalow at Bangalore shown as that of Purniah is actually{{citation needed|date=January 2015}} that of his grandson Sir [[P. N. Krishnamurti]], who was also Dewan of Mysore during the first decade of the 1900s. Purniah's bungalow is at Yelandoor, which is now a taluq headquarters at Chamaraja Nagar district. This Yelandoor bungalow is now developed as a museum for Dewan Purnaiah's memory by Karnataka Government.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}

Purniah was closely associated with Gen. Arthur Wellesley ([[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington]]), when he was stationed in Mysore. American historian [https://history.wisc.edu/people/frykenberg-robert-eric/ Prof. Robert Frykenberg https://history.wisc.edu/people/frykenberg-robert-eric/] suggests that Wellesley learned how to maximize the utility of cavalry from Purniah<ref>{{Cite web|last=Frykenberg|first=Robert|date=American Historical Review, 2006, p1155}}</ref>

==Years with Wodeyars==
[[File:PurniahPostoffice7.jpg|thumb|The home of Purnaiah's descendants in Bangalore<ref>[http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/date-with-history-the-107-year-old-home-in-bengaluru-that-is-a-tribute-to-mysores-first-dewan/articleshow/56499881.cms Heritage building]</ref>]]
{{quote|"The Diwan seems to pursue the wisest and the most benevolent course for the promotion of industry and opulence" (Gen. Wellesley in Kamath 2001, p. 249)}}

Purniah's first concern was law and order. He suppressed the revolting [[Palegar]]s (local chieftains) who had become despots. He started releasing cash allowances to Mathas, temples and dargahs, which the British had stopped after Tippu Sultan's death. He opened a judicial department for peoples' complaints.

His public works have left a great legacy. About nine mile canal was dug to supply drinking water to Mysore. Several tanks were dug. A stone bridge, dedicated to [[Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley|Marquess of Wellesley]], the [[Governor-General of India|Governor General]] was constructed across river [[Kaveri]] connecting Srirangapattana with [[Kirangur]].<ref>[https://archive.today/20110809200913/http://www.hampi.in/srirangapatna-photos-10.shtml], Wellesley Bridge Pictures.</ref> It has stood stead fast for the last two hundred years.

Large number of [[choultry|choultries]] were built in the name of [[Maharaja of Mysore]], but people called them "Dewan Purniah's Chatras". They were available to all travelers.

Revenue administration was streamlined. Mysore state had a volatile border with incessant skirmishes, a legacy of the previous regime. Methodical land surveys were conducted. Borders were notified. Posts of Shekdars, Amaldars and Tehsildars were created which came down to modern times.

He was honoured with big grants and a large pension. His desire to make his position a hereditary one, just like that of a ruler, did not materialise.

Purniah is remembered for laying the foundation of sound administrative machinery for the state. Mysore came to be recognised as one of the foremost progressive native states in [[British India]].

==In Popular Culture==
===Films and Television===

*In 1988 Doordarshan Serial [[Bharat Ek Khoj]] produced and directed by [[Shyam Benegal]] also Picturised a Full One Episode on [[Tipu Sultan]]. The titular role of [[Purnaiah]] was played by Noted TV actor [[Vijay Kashyap]].

*In 1990, a television series, ''[[The Sword of Tipu Sultan]]'' was directed by [[Bollywood]] actor [[Sanjay Khan]] based on a [[historical novel]] by Bhagwan Gidwani. In that The titular role of [[Purnaiah]] was played by Noted TV actor [[Anant Mahadevan]].

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{commons category|Purnaiah}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Diwans of Mysore]]
[[Category:1746 births]]
[[Category:1812 deaths]]
[[Category:Srirangapatna]]
[[Category:Madhva Brahmins]]

Purnaiah - Revision history

CleanupBot: Robot: Replacing encoded entity with character

Loz12: Updated formatting and sections

imported>Gotitbro: Undid revision 1034117412 by 2600:8806:405:A000:9014:FF0C:4F07:FA2F (talk) under British suzerain