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{{short description|former dynasty on the Indian subcontinent}}
 
{{Short description|Former dynasty that ruled the Kingdom of Mysore from 1399–1950.}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=September 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox monarchy
{{Noble house
| royal_title = The Wadiyars
| surname = House of Wadiyar
| realm = Mysore
| native_name = ಒಡೆಯರು
| coatofarms = Mysore Coat of Arms.gif
| native_name_lang = lang-kn
| coatofarms_article =
| estate =  
| type = other2
| image = Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar.JPG
| image = Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar.JPG
| incumbent = [[Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar]]
| image_caption = Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, the present head of the family
| incumbentsince = 28 May 2015
| coat_of_arms = Mysore Coat of Arms.gif
| his/her = His
| caption =
| heir_apparent =  
| country = [[Kingdom of Mysore]]
| first_monarch = [[Yaduraya Wodeyar]]
| website = https://www.ykcwadiyar.in/
| date = 1399
| titles = [[Maharaja of Mysore]]
| residence = [[Mysore Palace]]
| members =  
| website =  
| founder = [[Yaduraya Wodeyar]]
}}{{Mysore Kingdom series}}
| final ruler = [[Jayachamaraja Wodeyar]]
The '''Wadiyar''' (alternatively spelt '''Wodeyer''' or '''Odeyer''') dynasty was a noble family in the [[Indian people|Indian]] subcontinent that ruled the [[Kingdom of Mysore]] from 1399 to 1950, with an interruption. They were a [[Vassal|feudatory]] house under Vijayanagar Emperor, took advantage of weakening [[Vijayanagara Empire|Vijaynagar Empire]] and became free. Raja Odeyar, secured [[Srirangapatna]] in 1610, which was the seat of the Vijaynagar Viceroy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=vinayks75|date=2015-08-22|title=Karnataka history|url=https://www.slideshare.net/vinayks75/karnataka-history}}</ref> The kingdom was incorporated into the [[Dominion of India]] after its independence from British rule. Although the Maharajas’ small caste had no links to Lingayats,<ref>{{cite book |author1=E. Raghavan|author2= James Manor |author-link= |date=2012 |title=Broadening and Deepening Democracy: Political Innovation in Karnataka|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=M56aIv5a1lkC&pg=PA19&f=false |location=Hoboken|publisher=Taylor and Francis |page=19|isbn=9781136035180|oclc=821175570}}:”Since the maharajas' small caste had no links to the Vokkaligas or the Lingayats, princely governments in old Mysore took care to avoid interference in village life, lest they inspire resistance.”</ref> they temporarily adopted  [[Lingayatism|Lingayat]] faith and promoted it as their state religion between 1399 and 1610.<ref name=“Census”>{{Cite book|title=Census of India 1961 Volume XI, Mysore Part VI, VILLAGE· SURVEY MONOGRAPHS|publisher=Government of India|year=1961|location=Delhi|pages=10}}</ref>
| current head = [[Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar]]
[[File:Mysore Palace Morning.jpg|thumb|[[Mysore Palace]] is the traditional seat of the Wadiyar|260x260px]]
| founding year = 1399
[[File:Maharajah of Mysore and Princes 1887.jpg|thumb|Prince Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV with two other princes, 1887|372x372px]]
| cadet branches =  
[[File:Maharani Vani Vilasa with grandson Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar.jpg|thumb|Maharani Vani Vilasa Sannidhana with grandson Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar|403x403px]]
}}
[[File:Jcrw1.jpg|thumb|Jayachamrajendra Wadiyar with Elizabeth II|258x258px]]
{{Mysore Kingdom series}}
[[File:Srikanta Wadiyar of Mysore.jpg|thumb|[[Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar]]|343x343px]]
The '''Wadiyar dynasty''' (formerly spelt '''Wodeyer''' or '''Odeyer''' {{Lang-kn|ಒಡೆಯರು}}, also referred to as the '''Wadiyars of Mysore'''), is a [[Medieval India|late-medieval]]/[[Medieval India#Early modern period|early-modern]] [[South India]]n [[Hindus|Hindu]] royal family of former [[Maharaja of Mysore|kings of Mysore]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=S |first=Rajaram N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qGiDDwAAQBAJ&dq=Ursus+of+Mysore&pg=PT240 |title=The Vanished Raj A Memoir of Princely India |date=2019-01-12 |publisher=Prism Books Private Limited |isbn=978-93-88478-11-3 |language=en}}</ref> from the [[Urs (surname)|Urs clan]] originally based in [[Mysore]] city.
 
As [[Maharaja of Mysore|Maharajas of Mysore]], the Wadiyars ruled the [[Kingdom of Mysore]] from the late 1300s until 1950. Members of the Wadiyar dynasty and the Urs clan have also been royal advisers as [[Diwan of Mysore|Diwans]] to their reigning siblings, cousins, nephews, or distant relatives.<ref name=":0" /> Some members have also commanded army divisions as ''dalvoys'' (commander-in-chief) for their reigning monarch.
 
During the late 14th century, the family was originally ''poleygars'' ([[Kannada]] for garrison) defending the regions in and around Mysore town for the [[Vijayanagara Empire]], their feudal overlords. With the [[Vijayanagara Empire#Defeat and decline|fall and decline of the empire]] in the 17th century, the Wadiyars declared independence when [[Timmaraja Wodeyar II|Raja Wadiyar]] seized the nearby town of [[Srirangapatna|Srirangapattana]], the seat of Tirumala, [[Sriranga II]]'s viceroy, in 1610.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hüsken |first1=Ute |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZn1DwAAQBAJ&dq=Mysore+independence+vijayanagara&pg=PT222 |title=Nine Nights of Power: Durgā, Dolls, and Darbārs |last2=Narayanan |first2=Vasudha |last3=Zotter |first3=Astrid |date=2021-09-01 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-1-4384-8408-2 |language=en}}</ref> Between 1766 and 1799, when [[Hyder Ali]] and [[Tipu Sultan|Tipu]] dictated the kingdom, the Wadiyar rulers as maharajas were largely nominal without any actual powers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Iyengar |first=Venkatesa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zseCqGFRpyQC&dq=Yaduraya+Wadiyar&pg=PA56 |title=The Mysore |date=1932 |publisher=Mittal Publications |language=en}}</ref> After [[Tipu Sultan#Death|Tipu's execution]] in 1799, the [[The Crown|British Crown]] which was ruling [[British Raj|India]] at that time restored the kingdom back to the Wadiyars under a [[subsidiary alliance]]. After India's [[Independence Day (India)|independence]] from the Crown, the ruling Maharaja [[Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar|Jayachamaraja Wadiyar]] ceded the kingdom into the newly formed [[Dominion of India]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Syed |first1=Muzaffar Husain |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eACqCQAAQBAJ&dq=instrument+of+accession+mysore&pg=PA265 |title=Concise History of Islam |last2=Akhtar |first2=Syed Saud |last3=Usmani |first3=B. D. |date=2011-09-14 |publisher=Vij Books India Pvt Ltd |isbn=978-93-82573-47-0 |language=en}}</ref>


==Name==
==Name==
The word "Wadiyar" ([[Kannada]]: ಒಡೆಯರ್) in Kannada means "Lord" or "Lordship." Historical records use the term ″Wodeyar″ when referring to the dynasty's royal family members; the ″W″ is silent. In more modern Kannada transliteration, the variation ″Odeyar″ is also used.[[File:HH Sri Chamarajendra Wadiyar X.jpg|thumb|HH Sri [[Chamarajendra Wadiyar X]]|404x404px]]
In [[Kannada]], the common noun ''odeyaru'' (ಒಡೆಯರು; anglicised ''wodeyar'' or ''wadiyar'') is the plural form of the singular ''odeya'' (ಒಡೆಯ) which means ''lord'' or ''lordship''. The first poleygar and raja of Mysore, [[Yaduraya Wodeyar|Yaduraya]], assumed the term as his titular proper noun.
[[File:Chamarajendra Wadiyar X with his children.jpg|thumb|Chamarajendra Wadiyar X with his children|315x315px]]
 
In Kannada, the common noun ''arasa'' (ಅರಸ; anglicised ''urs'' or ''ursu''; anglicised plural ''ursus'') means ''ruler'' or ''king''. Members of the Wadiyar dynasty hail from the [[Urs (surname)|Urs]] clan;upon incarnation or by heredity, they assume the title ''Wadiyar'' and their immediate family therewith, the latest instance of its happening with the present head of the Wadiyar family [[Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar|Yaduveer Wadiyar]] upon coronation in 2015.<ref name="Yaduveera Gopal Raj Urs is heir">{{cite web |date=13 February 2015 |title=Yaduveer Gopal Raj Urs is heir of Mysuru royal family |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/yaduveer-gopal-raj-urs-is-heir-of-mysuru-royal-family/article6889018.ece?ref=tpnews |access-date=18 February 2015 |work=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=25 February 2015 |title=Mysuru new King to wed Trishika Kumari |publisher=NewsKarnataka |url=http://www.newskarnataka.com/mysore/mysuru-new-king-to-wed-trishika-kumari}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=28 May 2015 |title=In Yaduveer, erstwhile Mysuru kingdom gets new king |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/In-Yaduveer-erstwhile-Mysuru-kingdom-gets-new-king/articleshow/47456129.cms |access-date=29 May 2015 |work=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref>


==History==
==History==
According to legend the Wodiyars trace their ancestry to lord [[Krishna]] and arrived from the [[Dvārakā]], and on seeing the natural beauty of the place made [[Mysore]] their abode.<ref>{{cite book |last= Pranesh|first= Meera Rajaram |title=  Musical Composers during Wodeyar Dynasty (1638–1947 A.D.)|orig-year=2003|year= 2003|publisher= Vee Emm|location= Bangalore}}</ref> However, historians like Prof. P. V. Nanjaraj Urs, Shyam Prasad, Nobuhiro Ota, [[David Leeming]] and Aya Ikegame instead suggest that the Wodiyars were local feudal lords who adopted [[puranas|puranic]] legend to claim themselves as direct descendants of legendary [[Chandravanshi|Lunar Dynasty]].<ref name=“Census”/><ref name="Prasad 2018">{{cite book |last=Prasad|first=S.Shyam |date=2018|title=Enigmas of Karnataka: Mystery meets History|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=d-NIDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT62&dq=Enigmas+of+Karnataka+Division+on+Caste+lines&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj9tvr-2OvuAhV78HMBHV_DCbQQ6AEwAHoECAMQAg#v=onepage&q=Enigmas%20of%20Karnataka%20Division%20on%20Caste%20lines&f=false|location=Chennai|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=9781642491227}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Ikegame|first1=Aya|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=bV5ElF17ezwC&pg=PA76|title=Princely India Re-imagined: A Historical Anthropology of Mysore from 1799 to the present|date=7 May 2013|publisher=Routledge|pages=76–77|isbn=978-0-415-55449-7}}</ref><ref name="Vikram Sampath">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3aFmtr4MdLQC&q=yadava&pg=PT592 | title=SPLENDOURS OF ROYAL MYSORE (PB) | publisher=Rupa Publications | author=Vikram Sampath | year=2008 | pages=Introd. I | isbn=9788129115355}}</ref>
The Wadiyars trace their ancestry to Lord [[Krishna]]. Legend has it that they arrived from [[Dvārakā]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Pranesh|first= Meera Rajaram |title=  Musical Composers during Wodeyar Dynasty (1638–1947 A.D.)|orig-year=2003|year= 2003|publisher= Vee Emm|location= Bangalore}}</ref> However, historians like P. V. Nanjaraj Urs, Shyam Prasad, Nobuhiro Ota, [[David Leeming]], and Aya Ikegame instead suggest that the Wadiyars were local feudal lords who adopted [[puranas|puranic]] legend to claim themselves as direct descendants of the legendary [[Chandravanshi|Lunar Dynasty]].<ref name="Census">{{Cite book|title=Census of India 1961 Volume XI, Mysore Part VI, VILLAGE· SURVEY MONOGRAPHS|publisher=Government of India|year=1961|location=Delhi|pages=10}}</ref><ref name="Prasad 2018">{{cite book |last=Prasad|first=S.Shyam |date=2018|title=Enigmas of Karnataka: Mystery meets History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d-NIDwAAQBAJ&dq=Enigmas+of+Karnataka+Division+on+Caste+lines&pg=PT62|location=Chennai|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=9781642491227}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Ikegame|first1=Aya|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bV5ElF17ezwC&pg=PA76|title=Princely India Re-imagined: A Historical Anthropology of Mysore from 1799 to the present|date=7 May 2013|publisher=Routledge|pages=76–77|isbn=978-0-415-55449-7}}</ref><ref name="Vikram Sampath">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3aFmtr4MdLQC&q=yadava&pg=PT592 | title=SPLENDOURS OF ROYAL MYSORE (PB) | publisher=Rupa Publications | author=Vikram Sampath | year=2008 | pages=Introd. I | isbn=9788129115355}}</ref>
The dynasty was established in 1399 by [[Yaduraya Wodeyar]]. He ruled [[Mysore]] under the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] until 1423. After Yaduraya Wodeyar, the Mysore kingdom was succeeded by the Wadiyar rulers. The kingdom remained fairly small during this early period and was a part of the [[Vijayanagara Empire]]. After the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire in 1565, the Kingdom of Mysore became independent and remained so until 1799.


During the reign of [[Krishnaraja Wadiyar III]] (1799–1868), the region came under the control of the [[British Empire]]. His successors changed the English spelling of their royal name to Wadiyar and took the title of ''Bahadur''. The last two monarchs of the dynasty, [[Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV]] and [[Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar]], also accepted the British decoration [[Order of the British Empire|Knight Grand Cross of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire]].<ref>Annals of The Mysore Royal Family Part-1: A publication by the Royal Family of Mysore: 1916</ref><ref name="kam">{{cite web |url=http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/deccan/wodeyars/mummadi.htm |publisher=Kamat's Potpourri |title=Krishnaraja Wodeyar III |work=Wodeyars of Mysore |date=4 April 2014 |access-date=16 June 2015}}</ref>
=== Vassal fiefdom ===
The Wadiyar dynasty started when [[Yaduraya Wodeyar|Yaduraya]], a garrison leader (''poleygar''), was made the prefect of Mysore and the surrounding regions his overlord [[Harihara II]] of the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] in 1399. With this, Yaduraya assumed the title Raja and the honorary surname Wadiyar. He and his successors ruled the fiefdom of Mysore as rajas under the vassalage of the [[Vijayanagara Empire]] until around 1553.


===Expansion===
=== Independent kingdom ===
The Vijayanagara Empire disintegrated in 1565. The power vacuum created soon after was exploited by Raja Wadiyar (ruled 1578–1617). He expanded the borders of the Mysore kingdom and in 1610 changed the capital city from Mysore to Srirangapatna; a rare island formed by the river [[Kaveri]], which provided natural protection against military attacks.
The Vijayanagara Empire [[Vijayanagara Empire#Defeat and decline|disintegrated]] in 1565. With the fall of the empire, Mysore became an independent kingdom, the first independent king being [[Timmaraja Wodeyar II]], the great-great-great-grandson of the founding ruler Yaduraya. Thimmaraja's nephew [[Raja Wodeyar I]] expanded the borders of the kingdom. In 1610, he moved the capital from Mysore to nearby island town of [[Srirangapatna|Srirangapattana]] on the river [[Kaveri]], which provided strategic protection against military attacks. Raja Wadiya's cousin and successor down the line [[Kanthirava Narasaraja I]] expanded the frontiers of the kingdom to [[Tiruchirappalli|Trichy]] in present-day [[Tamil Nadu]]. The kingdom reached its peak under Kanthirava's grand-nephew [[Chikka Devaraja|Devaraja Wodeyar II]], who reformed the administration of the kingdom by dividing it into 18 departments (called ''chavadis''); he also introduced a coherent system of taxation.<gallery mode="nolines">
File:Rajawodeyar.jpg|Maharaja Raja Wadiyar who started [[Mysore Dasara]]
File:Kanthirava.jpg|Maharaja Kanthirava Narasaraja I was referred to ''ranadheera'' (valiant on the battlefield)
</gallery>
===Sultanate===
From 1760 to 1799, the rule of the Wadiyar dynasty was essentially nominal, with real power firmly in the hands of the Commander-in-chief and later self-proclaimed sultan, [[Hyder Ali]], and his son and successor [[Tipu Sultan|Tipu]]. The two, ruling the sultanate from [[Srirangapatna|Srirangapattana]], expanded the kingdom aggressively.<gallery mode="nolines">
File:"Hyder Ali," a steel engraving from the 1790's (with modern hand coloring).jpg|Hyder Ali, the commander-in-chief who usurped power
File:TipuSultan1790.jpg|Ali's son [[Tipu Sultan|Tipu]], the Sultan of Mysore
File:Indian Mysore Kingdom 1784 map.svg|The Kingdom of Mysore under Tipu
</gallery>


Later famous rulers of the dynasty included [[Kanthirava Narasaraja I]] (ruled 1638–1659), who expanded the frontiers of the Mysore kingdom to Trichy in Tamil Nadu. The dynasty reached its peak under [[Chikka Devaraja]] (ruled 1673–1704), who reformed the administration of the empire by dividing it into 18 departments (called Chavadis) and he also introduced a coherent system of taxation.
===Independent kingdom in a subsidiary alliance===
After [[Tipu_Sultan#Death|Tipu Sultan's execution]] at the end of the [[Battle of Srirangapatna|Battle of Srirangapattana]] during the [[Fourth Anglo-Mysore War]] in 1799, the Crown restored the Kingdom to Wadiyars under a subsidiary alliance requiring an annual pay as subsidy to the Crown. The capital was moved back to [[Mysore]]. The four-year-old boy [[Krishnaraja Wadiyar III]], son of the last Wadiyar king, [[Chamaraja Wodeyar IX|Chamaraja Wadiyar IX]], was anointed as the [[Maharaja of Mysore]].


===Islamic rule===
In 1831, on a specious plea of non-payment by Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar III, the kingdom was placed under [[Mysore Commission]] that lasted from 1831 to 1881. [[Mark Cubbon (army officer)|Mark Cubbon]] and [[L. B. Bowring]] are among the well-known commissioners of the period.
From 1760 to 1799, the rule of the dynasty was essentially nominal, with real power given in the hands of the ''dalwai'', or commanders-in-chief, [[Hyder Ali]] and his son [[Tipu Sultan]], who expanded the kingdom aggressively and introduced ambitious economic development program that established [[Economy of the Kingdom of Mysore|Mysore as a major economic power]], but clashed with the [[British East India Company]]. After Tipu Sultan was killed by the British in the [[Battle of Srirangapatna]] in 1799, the Wadiyars were restored to a reduced kingdom.


===British Rule===
In 1868, upon Krishnaraja Wadiyar III's demise, his five-year-old adopted son Yuvaraja [[Chamarajendra Wadiyar X|Chamaraja Wadiyar X]] became the heir to the throne. When in 1881 he attained the age of majority, through an act of parliament, the British Parliament once again transferred power back to the Wadiyars. The maharaja changed the English spelling of their royal name from Wodeyar to Wadiyar and assumed the title ''Bahadur''. He established the Mysore Representative Assembly; for the first time in India, democratic experiments were being conducted in Mysore.
[[File:Gold pagoda of Krishnaraja Wodeyar.jpg|thumb|Gold pagoda of Krishnaraja Wadiyar III (1799–1868). The coin depicts Siva seated, holding his attributes of a trident and a deer, with his consort Parvati seated on his lap. The reverse reads: ''Sri Krishnaraja''|256x256px]]
After restoring the Wadiyars to the throne of Mysore, the British shifted the capital back to the city of Mysore from [[Srirangapatna]]. The four-year-old boy (Mummudi) Krishna Raja Wadiyar III, son of the last Wadiyar king, Khasa Chamaraja Wadiyar VIII, was anointed as the King of Mysore. Wadiyars were now subsidiaries of the British Raj and had to pay an annual subsidy to the British. However the British took over the administration of the kingdom on a specious plea of non-payment of the subsidy by Mummudi Krishna Raja Wadiyar in 1831, and British-appointed commissioners were then in charge of the kingdom.


British commissioners administered Mysore from 1831–1881. [[Mark Cubbon]] (1834–1861) and [[L. B. Bowring]] (1861–1870) are among the well-known commissioners of the period.
Chamaraja Wadiyar X's son and successor Maharaja [[Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV|Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV]] earned great fame as a saintly king (''rajarishi''), and his kingdom was hailed as ''Ramarajya'' by [[Mahatma Gandhi]]–as an ideal kingdom comparable to the one ruled by Lord [[Lord Rama|Rama]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 June 2009 |title=The Rajarshi of Mysore |url=https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/opinion/sunday-read/the-rajarshi-of-mysore/articleshow/22127710.cms |access-date=2021-06-09 |website=Bangalore Mirror |language=en}}</ref>


In 1868, the British Parliament heeded the king's plea and decided to restore the kingdom to his adopted son Chamaraja Wadiyar IX. In 1881, the transfer of power back to the Wadiyars heralded an important phase in the making of modern Mysore. For the first time in India, democratic experiments were introduced by the establishment of a representative assembly. The next king, Nalvadi Krishna Raja Wadiyar, earned great fame as a saintly King-Rajarishi, and his kingdom was hailed as Ramarajya by [[Mahatma Gandhi]] as an ideal kingdom comparable to the one ruled by the historical hero [[Lord Rama]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}}
Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV's nephew, successor, and the last reigning king of the Wadiyar dynasty, [[Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar]], ruled from 1940 until 1950. Upon [[Indian independence movement|India's independence]] from the British crown in 1947, Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar ceded his kingdom into the new temporary [[Dominion of India]] but continued as Maharajah until India became a Republic in 1950.<gallery mode="nolines">
File:Krishnaraja Wadiyar III, Maharaja of Mysore.jpg|Maharaja [[Krishnaraja Wadiyar III]] during his latter years
File:Gold pagoda of Krishnaraja Wodeyar.jpg|Golded coind during Krishnaraja Wadiyar III depicting [[Shiva]] holding his attributes of a trident and a deer, with his consort [[Parvati]] seated on his lap. The obverse reads: ''Sri Krishnaraja'' in [[Sanskrit]]
File:Chamarajendra Wadiyar X with his children.jpg|Maharaja [[Chamarajendra Wadiyar X|Chamaraja Wadiyar X]] with his children
File:Maharajah of Mysore and Princes 1887.jpg|Crown prince Yuvaraja [[Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV|Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV]] with two other Indian princes
File:Maharani Vani Vilasa with grandson Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar.jpg|Rajamate [[Kempananjammani Devi|Kempananjammanni Devi]] with grandson and future king [[Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar]]
</gallery>


Under British hegemony, the Wadiyars, freed from security concerns, shifted their attention to the patronage of the fine arts. They made Mysore a cultural center of Karnataka, fostering a number of famous musicians, writers and painters.
=== Dissolution of the kingdom ===
Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar became the [[Rajpramukh|rajapramukh]] of the renamed [[Mysore State]] from 1950 to 1956. After the reorganisation of Indian states on a linguistic basis in 1956, he was appointed [[Governor of Karnataka|Governor]] of the integrated Mysore State (present [[Karnataka|Karnataka State]]), a post which he held until 1964. He was then appointed [[Governor of Tamil Nadu|Governor of Madras]] (now [[Tamil Nadu]]) for two years.


The last king of the Wadiyar dynasty was [[Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar]], who ruled from 1940 until Indian independence from British rule. In the year 1947, after India attained independence, he ceded his kingdom to the Dominion of India, but continued as the Maharajah until India became a Republic in 1950. He became the Raja Pramukh—a constitutional position—as the head of Mysore State in the Republic of India from 1950–1956. After the reorganization of the Indian states on a linguistic basis, he was appointed Governor of the integrated Mysore State (present Karnataka State) in 1956 and held the post until 1964.
The [[Constitution of India|Indian Constitution]] continued to recognise him as the Maharajah of Mysore until 1971, when titles and privy purses of maharajas were abolished by the [[Government of India]] under [[Indira Gandhi]]. The maharajah died in 1974.


Then he was Governor of Madras state (now [[Tamil Nadu]]) for two years. The Indian Constitution continued to recognize him as the Maharajah of Mysore, until 1971, when [[Indira Gandhi|Mrs. Indira Gandhi]], then Prime Minister of India, abolished the titles and Privy Purse of over 560 Maharajahs. The Maharajah died in 1974. His only son, Srikantadatta Narasimha Raja Wadiyar (1953–2013), was a member of the Indian Parliament for many years.
His only son [[Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar]] became the head of the family; he was a [[member of the Indian Parliament]].


== Wadiyars Of Mysore ==
Upon Srikantadatta Wadiyar's demise 2013, his widowed wife Devi Pramoda Wadiyar adopted [[Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar|Yaduveer Wadiyar]], who was anointed as the maharaja of Mysore and the head of the family in 2015.<gallery mode="nolines">
{{for|details|Maharaja of Mysore}}
File:Jcrw1.jpg|[[Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar|Jayachamaraja Wadiyar]] with [[Elizabeth II]]
File:Srikanta Wadiyar of Mysore.jpg|[[Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar|Srikantadatta Wadiyar]] holding a private [[Durbar (court)|durbar]] during a [[Mysore Dasara|Dasara]] festival
File:Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar.JPG|[[Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar|Yaduveer Wadiyar]], the present head of the Wadiyar dynasty
</gallery>
== Residences ==
[[Mysore Palace]] has been the official residence of the Wadiyars for most of the family's recorded history. Briefly, [[Srirangapatna|Srirangapattana]] was also the seat of the Wadiyars. By the early 1900s, Bangalore had seen significant infrastructural development and had become a secondary residence for the Wadiyars at the [[Bangalore Palace]].<gallery mode="nolines">
File:Mysore Palace Morning.jpg|[[Mysore Palace]] is the traditional seat of the Wadiyars in [[Mysuru]]
File:Bangalore Mysore Maharaja Palace.jpg|[[Bangalore Palace|Bengaluru Palace]], the Wadiyars' residence in [[Bengaluru]]
File:Jagan mohan palace2.jpg|[[Jaganmohan Palace]] served as a temporary residence in the early 1900s when the old Mysore Palace burnt down
</gallery>


== Curse on Wadiyars ==
== Alamelamma's Curse ==
With a declining Vijayanagara Empire, in 1610 [[Raja Wodeyar I|Raja Wadiyar]] conquered the fort of Srirangapattana from Tirumala, the Vijayanagara viceroy stationed there. Tirumala is said to have retired to the nearby town of [[Talakadu]] with his two wives. At about the same time, Tirumala suffered from a terminal disease; his condition deteriorated and he eventually died.


A curse was believed to be cast on the Wadiyars in 1612 by Alamelamma, wife of King Tirumalaraja, who ruled the [[Vijayanagar Empire]]. It is believed that when her jewels were being taken under the orders of the Wodeyar ruler, she ran over to a cliff overlooking the Kaveri river and cursed before jumping to death — "Talakadu MaraLagali, Malangi Maduvagali, Mysooru Arasarige Makkalaagadirali" ( May [[Talakadu]] become a barren land, Malangi turn into a whirlpool and may Mysore kings never beget children). 400 years since, the Wadiyar dynasty never had any children for alternate generations. Hence the adopted child becomes the king. Even till date, most parts of Talakadu (Talakad) lie under sand, and Malangi village in present Mysore district is slowly eroding due to whirlpools.<ref>{{cite web | title = Does Alamelamma's curse continue to haunt Wadiyars? | url = http://www.deccanherald.com/content/373910/does-alamelamma039s-curse-continue-haunt.html |work=Deccan Herald|date=10 December 2013| access-date = 2015-10-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = 400-year-old curse haunts Wodeyar royals of erstwhile princely state of Mysore|work=India Today | url = http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/wadiyar-royals-mysore-vijayanagara-empire-tirumalaraja-alamelamma-talakadu/1/330702.html |date=12 December 2013| access-date = 2015-10-11}}</ref>{{cleanup section|reason=Needs to be rewritten|date=July 2013}}
One of his wives was Alamelamma, a staunch devotee of Ranganayaki, the consort of Lord [[Ranganatha]], the presiding deity of the famous Adi-Ranga temple in the island fortress of [[Srirangapatna]]. Alamelamma had a large amount of jewellery, including a fine nose ring studded with a large pearl. As a widow, customs forbade jewellery on her. She frequently lent the jewels to the temple of Ranganayaki. Every Tuesdays and Fridays, Ranaganayaki's idol would be decorated with the jewellery, returned to Alamelamma's safe custody for rest of the week.


The Mysore kingdom, founded by Yaduraya in the year 1399, consisted of only the areas surrounding the present Mysore City. The original fort was supposed to have been at a place known as haDadana — now a small village on the southern side of [[Chamundi Hill]]. The Wadiyars, like others at that time, were under the [[suzerainty]] of the Vijayanagar Empire. The Viceroy of the Vijayanagar kingdom was headquartered at [[Srirangapatna]]. Under Yaduraya, the Wadiyars increased their influence and territory over the next 200 years. Raja Wadiyar, the ninth ruler of the dynasty, was known for his valour and patronage of art and culture. He ruled from 1578 to 1617. In 1610, he conquered the fort of Srirangapatna from Tirumala, then Viceroy of Vijayanagar. Tirumala is said to have retired to Talakad with his two wives. One of them, Alamelamma, was a staunch devotee of Sri Ranganayaki, the consort of Sri Ranganatha, the presiding deity of the famous Adi-Ranga temple in the island fortress of [[Srirangapatna]].
On one instance, the temple requested the king's soldiers to fetch the jewels from Alamelamma as has become a practice. An approaching king's emissaries, headed by Chief Courtier Ramanath Molahalli, seems to have scared her off. To escape an ill-presumed imminent wrath of the king, she ran over to a cliff overlooking the Kaveri river into the whirlpool and cursed before plunging to her own death, "may [[Talakadu]] become a barren expanse of land, Malangi turn into a whirlpool, and may kings of Mysore never beget children to all eternity" ([[Kannada]]: ತಲಕಾಡು ಮರಳಾಗಲಿ, ಮಾಲಂಗಿ ಮಡುವಾಗಲಿ, ಮೈಸೂರು ದೊರೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಹೋಗಲಿ; transliteration: talakāḍu maral̤āgali, mālaṃgi maḍuvāgali, maisūru dŏrĕgal̤igĕ makkal̤illadĕ hogali).


Tirumala suffered from a terminal disease on his back known as the "disease of the kings". The condition of Tirumala deteriorated and he died. Alamelamma had a large amount of precious jewellery, including a fine nose ring studded with a large pearl. As a widow she was no longer permitted jewellery. She donated the jewels to the temple of Sri Ranganayaki. Every Friday and Tuesday Sri Ranaganayaki was decorated with a large pearl-studded nose ring and other precious jewellery, which was put into the safe custody of Alamelamma the rest of the week, since she was known to be a staunch devotee of Sri Ranganayaki.
=== Alamelamma's idol ===
Learning of this accident, the king felt repentant and had an idol of Alamelamma made in gold, installed it in the palace, and worshipped it as a deity. To this day, the idol can be found in [[Mysore Palace]]. The king's only surviving son, Narasaraja Wadiyar, died (believed to be an effect of the curse in folklore).


The temple authorities requested Raja Wadiyar to give them the custody of the jewels, as was the normal practice. The treasury officials informed the king of this fact. Raja Wadiyar thought these jewels were of no value to Alamelamma, as she was now a widow and didn't have children, she would no longer need them. Raja Wadiyar sent emissaries to Malangi, where Alamelamma was staying, with a request to return the jewels. Only the pearl-studded nose ring was returned by Alamelamma. Raja Wadiyar then sent his army to Talakad to ask her once again and, if she refused, to seize them by force. To escape the wrath of the Mysore army, Alamelamma uttered the legendary curse on Raja Wadiyar and jumped into a whirlpool in the river Kaveri at Talakadu with the rest of the jewels and escaped unscathed. The curse, as passed down in folklore over the last 400 years, is:
The [[Mysore Dasara|Dasara]] festivities inside the palace end on the evening of [[Navaratri|Navarathri]] with a formal pooja to Alamelamma. Another interesting part of the story is that the Alamelamma temple is under the care of her legal heirs. Strangely, these priests/caretakers appear to be cursed by the same curse, following the same pattern afflicting the Wadiyars.


{{cquote|ತಲಕಾಡು ಮರಳಾಗಲಿ, ಮಾಲಂಗಿ ಮಡುವಾಗಲಿ, ಮೈಸೂರು ದೊರೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಹೋಗಲಿ}}
=== Talakadu and Malangi ===
{{cquote|Talakadu maraLagali, Malangi Maduvagali, Mysuru Doregalige Makkallilade Hogali}}
[[File:Talakadu Temple.jpg|thumb|Lord Vishnu Temple under sand dunes in [[Talakadu]], Karnataka]]
{{cquote|May Talakad turn into (a barren expanse of) sand, may Malangi turn into a whirlpool, may the Rajas of Mysore not have children (for all time to come).}}
Talakadu and Malangi are two small towns near [[Tirumakudalu Narasipura]] on the banks of the Kaveri where the river takes a bend. To date, most parts of Talakadu lie under sand, and the village of Malangi is slowly eroding due to whirlpools.<ref>{{cite web |date=10 December 2013 |title=Does Alamelamma's curse continue to haunt Wadiyars? |url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/373910/does-alamelamma039s-curse-continue-haunt.html |access-date=2015-10-11 |work=Deccan Herald}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=12 December 2013 |title=400-year-old curse haunts Wodeyar royals of erstwhile princely state of Mysore |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/wadiyar-royals-mysore-vijayanagara-empire-tirumalaraja-alamelamma-talakadu/1/330702.html |access-date=2015-10-11 |work=India Today}}</ref> Talakadu's temples lie buried in a vast expanse of sand and are dug up and exposed every 12 years. At Malangi, on the other hand, the river is at its deepest. Whether these phenomena appeared only after Alamelamma's curse in 1610 is a matter of conjecture.


Hearing of this extreme step taken by Alamelamma, Raja Wadiyar was truly repentant. He wanted to return the jewellery to the temple and not confiscate it for his own use. In his grief he had an idol of Alamelamma made in gold, installed it in the palace, and worshiped it as a deity. A remnant of her hair was preserved in a box. To this day, Alamelamma’s idol can be found inside the Mysore Palace and is worshiped by the royal family. One can see the same huge pearl nose-stud adorning the Goddess Ranganayaki and Alamelamma today.
== Family tree of the Wadiyars ==


The Dasara festivities inside the palace end on the evening of Navarathri with a formal pooja to Alamelamma, and the kankana worn by the royal couple is removed thereafter paving the way for the Vijaya Dashami – Sami pooja the next day. For these nine days the royal couple are required to stay inside the precincts of the palace. Another interesting part of the story is that this Alamelamma temple is under the care of the legal heirs of Alamelamma: They live inside the Mysore Palace fort. Strangely, these priests/caretakers appear to be cursed, and they do not beget children and follow the same pattern afflicting the Wodeyars.
=== Direct lineage from Yaduraya ===
Raja Yaduraya is recorded as the founding [[Maharaja of Mysore|ruler]] of the [[Kingdom of Mysore]]. The sixteenth maharaja [[Dodda Krishnaraja I|Krishnaraja Wodeyar I]] was the last direct male lineage of Raja Yaduraja.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilks |first=Mark |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SlzbN6GpTTQC |title=Historical Sketches of the South of India, in an Attempt to Trace the History of Mysoor, Etc |date=1869 |language=en}}</ref> However, Krishnaraja Wodeyar I's successor was his adopted son, [[Chamaraja Wodeyar VIII|Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar VII]] from the Ankanahalli Urs branch. After him, Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar III's second daughter Rajakumari Chikkadevi's family with the Bettada Kote Urs branch takes over the monarchy.{{Tree chart/start|align=center|summary=Mysore Wadiyar branch}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | |M1|y|M1W|| |M1=I. [[Yaduraya Wodeyar|Yaduraya]]|M1W=Chikkadevi|boxstyle_M1=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_M1W=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart| | | | | | | |M2|y |M2W|M2W=?|M2=II. [[Chamaraja Wodeyar I]]|boxstyle_M2=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_M2W=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | |M3|y |M3W|M3W=?|M3=III. [[Timmaraja Wodeyar I]]|boxstyle_M3=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_M3W=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | || |M4|y |M4W|M4W=?|M4=IV. [[Chamaraja Wodeyar II]]|boxstyle_M4=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_M4W=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | || | | |M5|y |M5W ||||P1|y|P1W|M5W=?|M5=V. [[Chamaraja Wodeyar III]]|P1=<small>[[Kalale]]</small><br>Mallaraja Urs I|P1W=?|boxstyle_M5=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_P1=border:solid 1px lightgrey;color:grey;|boxstyle_P1W=border:solid 1px lightgrey;color:grey;|boxstyle_M5W=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | |M6||M6Y1|y|M6Y2W||M6Y2|~|M6Y2H|||M7|y|M7W|M6=VI. [[Timmaraja Wodeyar II]]|M6Y1=<small>Rajakumara</small><br />Krishnaraja|M6Y2=<small>Rajakumari</small><br />Chikkadevi|M6Y2H=Mallaraja Urs II|M7=VII. [[Chamaraja Wodeyar IV]]|M6Y2W=?|M7W=?|boxstyle_M6=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_M7=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_M6Y2=background-color:lightgoldenrodyellow;|boxstyle_M6Y2H=border:solid 1px lightgrey;color:grey;|boxstyle_M6Y2W=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_M7W=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | ||||| |M8||||M9|y|M9W|||||||M9Y1|y|M9Y1W||M9Y2|y|M9Y2W||M9Y3|M8=VIII. [[Chamaraja Wodeyar V]]|M9=IX. [[Raja Wodeyar I]]|M9W=?|M9Y1=<small>Rajakumara</small><br />Devaraja|M9Y1W=?|M9Y2=<small>Rajakumara</small><br />Bettada Chamaraja|M9Y3=<small>Rajakumari</small><br />Chikkadepa|M9Y2W=?|boxstyle_M9Y3=background-color:antiquewhite;|boxstyle_M8=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_M9=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_M9W=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_M9Y1W=border-width:1px;}}
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==The Curse from the Time of Raja Wadiyar==
=== Bettada Kote (Hill Fort) Urs branch ===
The Bettada Kote Urs was one of the larger ''[[Jagir|jagirs]]'', or feudal estates, in the Kingdom of Mysore. After the death of the 22nd ruler [[Chamaraja Wodeyar VIII|Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar VIII]], his widowed queen mother [[Lakshmi Ammani Devi|Maharani Lakshmi Devi]] adopted [[Chamaraja Wodeyar IX]] of the Bettada Kote Urs branch which continues to-date.{{Tree chart/start|align=center|summary=Mysore Wadiyar branch}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | |P1|y|P1W|||||||||P2|y|P2W|P1=<small>Chikkanahalli</small><br>Chamaraja Urs|P1W=?|P2=<small>Bettada Kote Sardar</small><br>Gopalraj Urs|P2W=?|boxstyle_P1=border:solid 1px lightgrey;color:grey;|boxstyle_P1W=border:solid 1px lightgrey;color:grey;|boxstyle_P2W=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart| | | ||M17|~|M17W||M18|y|M18W|||P3|y|P3W||||||!|M17=XVII. [[Chamaraja Wodeyar VII]]|M17W=?|M18=XVIII. [[Krishnaraja Wodeyar II]]|M18W=<small>Maharani</small><br />[[Lakshmi Ammani Devi|Lakshmi Devi]]|P3=<small>Karugahalli Sardar</small><br />Devaraj Urs|P3W=Honnajamma|boxstyle_M17=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_M17W=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_M18=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_M18W=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_P3=border:solid 1px lightgrey;color:grey;|boxstyle_P3W=border:solid 1px lightgrey;color:grey;}}
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{{Tree chart| | ||||||||||M19||||M20||||M21|y|M21W||||!|M19=XIX. [[Nanjaraja Wodeyar]]|M20=XX. [[Chamaraja Wodeyar VIII]]|M21=XXI. [[Chamaraja Wodeyar IX]]|M21W=<small>Maharani</small><br />Kempananjammani Devi|boxstyle_M19=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_M20=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_M21=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_M21W=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart| | ||||||||||||||||||||||||M22|y|M22W||!|M22=XXII. [[Krishnaraja Wadiyar III]]|M22W=<small>Maharani</small><br />Devarajammanni|boxstyle_M22=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_M22W=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||P4|y|P5|P4=<small>Rajakumari</small><br />Puttammanni|P5=<small>Sardar</small><br />Krishnaraja Urs II|boxstyle_P4=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||||M23W|y|M23|||Y23|y|Y23W|M23=XXIII. [[Chamarajendra Wadiyar X]]|M23W=<small>Maharani</small><br/>[[Kempananjammani Devi]]|Y23=<small>Yuvaraja</small><br />Sardar Gopal Raj Urs|Y23W=Kantamanni Devi|boxstyle_M23W=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_Y23W=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_M23=border:solid 2px orange;|}}
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{{Tree chart| | | | | |M24|~|M24W||Y25|y|Y25W||YR1|~|YR1H||YR2|~|YR2H||YR3|~|YR3H||||YR4|y|YR4W|M24=XXIV. [[Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV|Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV]]|M24W=<small>Maharani</small><br />Pratapa Kumaribai Devi|Y25=<small>Yuvaraja</small><br />[[Kanteerava Narasimharaja Wadiyar]]|Y25W=<small>Yuvarani</small><br />Kempu Cheluvaja Devi|YR1=<small>Rajakumari</small><br />Jayalakshmi Devi|YR1H=<small>[[Diwan of Mysore|Diwan]]</small><br />M. Kantharaj Urs|YR2=<small>Rajakumari</small><br />Krishnajammani Devi|YR2H=Col Desaraja Urs|YR3=<small>Rajakumari</small><br /> Cheluvajammani Devi|YR3H=<small>Sardar</small><br />M. Lakshmikantha Raj Urs|YR4=<small>Col.</small><br />Madan Gopala Krishna Urs|YR4W=Kempumallaja Ammanni|boxstyle_M24=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_M24W=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_YR4W=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_Y25W=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_YR1=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_YR1H=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_YR2=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_YR2H=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_YR3=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_YR3H=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart|||||||||P6W|~|P6|||P7W|~|P7|||P8W|~|P8||M25|y|M25W|||||||||||P11|y|P11W|P6W=[[Rani Vijaya Devi]]|P6=?|P7W=Sujayakantha Ammani Devi|P7=?|P8W=<small>Maharani</small><br/>Jayachamundi Ammani Devi|P8=?|M25=XXV. [[Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar]]|M25W=Tripurasundari Devi|P11=K.G. Madan Gopala Raj Urs|P11W=Uma Devi Ammanni|boxstyle_M25=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_P6=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_P6W=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_P7=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_P7W=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_P8=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_P8W=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_M25W=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_P11W=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart|||YR1|y|YR1H||YR2|~|YR2H||MH26|~|MH26W||YR3|~|YR3H||YR4|~|YR4H||YR5|~|YR5H|||YR1=Gayatri Devi|YR1H=Kanthraj Basavaraj Urs|YR2=Meenakshi Devi|YR2H=?|YR3=Kamakshi Devi|YR3H=?|YR4=Indrakshi Devi|YR4H=?|YR5=Vishalakshi Devi|YR5H=?||||!|MH26=XXVI. [[Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar]]|MH26W=<small>Maharani</small><br/>Pramoda Devi|boxstyle_YR1=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_YR1H=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_YR2=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_YR2H=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_YR3=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_YR3H=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_YR4=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_YR4H=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_YR5=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_YR5H=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_MH26=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_MH26W=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart|||||P9|y|P9H|P9=Leela Tripurasundari Devi|P9H=Swarup Anand Gopalraj Urs|boxstyle_P9=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart|||||M27|y|M27W||P10|~|P10H|M27=XXVII. [[Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar]]|M27W=Trishikha Kumari Devi|P10=Jayathmika Lakshmi|P10H=Kunwar Divyraj Singhji|boxstyle_M27=border:solid 2px orange;background-color:#fac8a088;|boxstyle_M27W=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_P10=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_P10H=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart|||||||M28|M28=Adyaveer Narasimharaja Wadiyar}}
{{Tree chart/end}}


After shifting to Srirangapatna, Raja Wadiyar is credited with holding the famous Dasara festivities for the first time in 1610. His only surviving son, Narasaraja Wadiyar, died (believed to be an effect of the curse in folklore) just a day before the commencement of Navaratri, but the king after consulting experts laid down the rule that the celebration of the ceremonies was not to be interrupted even by the death of members of the royal family. Raja Wadiyar was a devoted Vaishnavaite, and he donated the famous bejewelled crown to Lord Cheluvarayaswami of Melukote that is a feature of the Raja Mudi car festival even today. This is contrary to his own lineage as the Wadiyars regarded the temple of Karigiri Lakshmi Narasimha (Devarayana Durga, Tumkur) as their household deity. The mere fact that all the Wadiyars end their names by -"Narasimharaja Wadiyar" stands testimony to what was previously stated. This crown was confiscated from the royal Family by the Karnataka Government during an emergency. Legend has it that Raja Wadiyar, having entered the garbha–gruha (sanctum sanctorum) of Cheluvarayaswami Temple on 20 June 1617, became one with the deity (aikya). Even today one can find a Bhakthi Vigraha of the King inside the Temple. Another Bhakthi Vigraha of the King can be found inside the Lakshmi-Narayanaswami Temple inside the Mysore Palace Fort. Malangi and Talakad are two small towns near [[Tirumakudalu Narasipura]] on the banks of the Kaveri where the river takes a bend. Talakad's temples lie buried in a vast expanse of sand and are dug up and exposed every 12 years. At Malangi, on the other hand, the river is at its deepest. Whether these phenomena appeared only after Alamelamma's curse in 1610 is a matter of conjecture. What can be stated with certainty is that the curse on the royal family seems to have come true. Their chief courtier Ram Nath Molahalli was the army head.
=== [[Kalale]] Urs branch ===
{{Tree chart/start|align=center|summary=Mysore Wadiyar branch}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | |P1|y|P1W|P1=<small>[[Kalale]]</small><br>Mallaraja Urs I|P1W=?|boxstyle_P1W=border-width:1px;}}
{{Tree chart| | | | || |||!||}}
{{Tree chart| | | | || ||P2|y|P2W|P2=Mallaraja Urs II|P2W=<small>Rajakumari</small><br />Chikkadevi|boxstyle_P2W=background-color:lightgoldenrodyellow;}}
{{Tree chart| | | | |||||||!||}}
{{Tree chart| | | | ||||||P3|y|P3W|P3=Thimmaraja Urs|P3W=<small>Rajakumari</small><br />Chikkadepa|boxstyle_P3W=background-color:antiquewhite;}}
{{Tree chart| | | | |||||||||!|}}
{{Tree chart| | | | |||||||||P4|y|P4W|P4=<small>Sardar</small><br>Karikala Mallaraja Urs|P4W=?|boxstyle_P4W=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart| | | | ||||||||||P5|y|P5W|P5=Thimmaraja Urs II|P5W=?|boxstyle_P5W=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart| | | | |||||||||P6|y|P6W||P7|P6=Kantaraja Urs I|P6W=?|P7=<small>[[Maddur, Mandya|Maddur]]</small><br>Narasaraja Urs|boxstyle_P7=background-color:lightcyan;|boxstyle_P6W=border-width:1px;}}
{{Tree chart| | | | ||||||||||||!||||}}
{{Tree chart| | | | |||||||||||P8|y|P8W|P8=<small>Sardar</small><br />Raja Urs I|P8W=?|boxstyle_P8W=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart| | | | |||||||||||||P9|y|P9W|P9=<small>Sardar</small><br />Viraraja Urs|P9W=?|boxstyle_P9W=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart| | | | |||||||||||||||P10|y|P10W|P10=<small>Sardar Karachuri</small><br />Nanjaraja Urs|P10W=?|boxstyle_P10W=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart| | | | |||||||||||||||||M16W|~|M16|M16W=<small>Maharani</small><br />Devaja|M16=XVI. [[Dodda Krishnaraja I|Krishnaraja Wodeyar I]]|boxstyle_M16=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_M16W=border-width:1px;}}
{{Tree chart/end}}
=== [[Maddur, Mandya|Maddur]] Urs branch ===
{{Tree chart/start|align=center|summary=Mysore Wadiyar branch}}
{{Tree chart|P1|y|P1W|P1=<small>[[Maddur, Mandya|Maddur]]</small><br />Narasaraja Urs|P1W=?|boxstyle_P1=background-color:lightcyan;|boxstyle_P1W=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart|||P2|y|P2W|P2=<small>[[Maddur, Mandya|Maddur]]</small><br />Kantharaja Urs II|P2W=?|boxstyle_P2W=border-width:1px;}}
{{Tree chart||||||! |}}
{{Tree chart|||||P3|y|P3W|P3=<small>[[Maddur, Mandya|Maddur]]</small><br />Krishnaraja Urs|P3W=?|boxstyle_P3W=border-width:1px;}}
{{Tree chart||||||||!}}
{{Tree chart|||||||P4|y|P4W|P4=<small>[[Maddur, Mandya|Maddur]]</small><br />Krishnaraja Urs III|P4W=?|boxstyle_P4W=border-width:1px;}}
{{Tree chart||||||||||!}}
{{Tree chart|||||||||P5|y|P5W|P5=<small>[[Maddur, Mandya|Maddur]]</small><br />Narasaraja Urs II|P5W=?|boxstyle_P5W=border-width:1px;}}
{{Tree chart||||||||||||!}}
{{Tree chart|||||||||||P6|y|P6W|P6=<small>[[Maddur, Mandya|Maddur]]</small><br />Kantharaja Urs III|P6W=?|boxstyle_P6W=border-width:1px;}}
{{Tree chart||||||||||||||!}}
{{Tree chart|||||||||||||P7|y|P7W|P7=<small>[[Maddur, Mandya|Maddur]]</small><br />N. Kantharaja Urs IV|P7W=?|boxstyle_P7W=border-width:1px;}}
{{Tree chart|||||||||||||,|-|-|^|-|.}}
{{Tree chart||||||||||||P8|||M23W|y|M23|P8=<small>[[Diwan of Mysore|Dewan]]</small><br />[[M. Kantharaj Urs]]|M23W=<small>Maharani</small><br />[[Kempananjammani Devi]]|M23=XXIII. [[Chamarajendra Wadiyar X]]|boxstyle_P7W=border-width:1px;|boxstyle_M23=border:solid 2px orange;|boxstyle_M23W=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart|||||||||||||L|~|~|y|~|~|P8W|P8W=<small>Rajakumari</small><br />Jayalakshmi Devi|boxstyle_P8W=border-width:1px;}}
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{{Tree chart|||||||||||||||P9|P9=<small>Rajakumari</small><br/>Lelavathi|boxstyle_P9=border-width:1px;}}
{{Tree chart/end}}


From Raja Wadiyar’s death in 1617 to that of [[Chikka Devaraja|Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar]] in 1704 (there were four rulers in between) the kingdom was ruled by the surviving descendants of Yaduraya, but none could beget legal heirs. Incidentally, Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar is credited with the composition of Gita Gopala – an opera in Kannada. The sole exception to the curse was Chikka Devaraja's deaf and mute son Kantheerava Narasaraja Wodeyar II, also known as Mookarasu. He was succeeded by his son Dodda Krushna Raja Wodeyar, who ruled from 1714 to 1732. With him Yaduraya’s direct lineage came to an end. What followed was a succession of nominal rulers adopted by the surviving queens to continue the tradition. Traditional army commanders known as Dalvoys virtually ruled the kingdom and paved the way for the ascendancy of a foot soldier like Hyder Ali by 1762. There were five rulers from 1732 to 1796. In this period a definite pattern emerged under which no natural heir to the throne born to a king (adopted or otherwise) could beget children, whereas one who became king by virtue of adoption or other indirect inheritance was blessed with a legal heir. [[Hyder Ali]] and Tipu continued the tradition of having a nominal Wodeyar King on the throne, and even the Dasara Celebrations continued as usual. After the famous [[Fourth Anglo-Mysore War]] and the death of [[Tipu Sultan]], a British army, in which the legendary [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|Arthur Wellesley]] (later Duke of Wellington, also known as the Iron Duke) was serving, conquered Srirangapatna in 1799.
 
== Contributions ==
The Wadiyars were patrons of fine arts, fostering a number of famous musicians, writers and painters. Their contributions to music and literature has rendered the city of Mysore a cultural centre of [[Karnataka]].


==See also==
==See also==
* [[Diwan of Mysore]]
* [[Karnataka]]
* [[Kingdom of Mysore]]
* [[Kingdom of Mysore]]
* [[Maharaja of Mysore]]
* [[Mysore]]
* [[Mysore State]]
* [[Mysore State]]
* [[Hyderabad State]]
* [[Srirangapatna]]
* [[Baroda State]]
* [[Gwalior State]]
* [[Karnataka]]
* [[Mysore]]
* [[Talakad]]
* [[Talakad]]
* [[Srirangapatna]]
* [[C. Hayavadana Rao]]


==References==
==References==
Line 100: Line 223:


==External links==
==External links==
{{commons category|Wadiyar dynasty}}
 
* [http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/deccan/wodeyars.htm The Wodeyars of Mysore (1578 A.D. to 1947 A.D.)]
* [http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/deccan/wodeyars.htm The Wodeyars of Mysore (1578 A.D. to 1947 A.D.)]
* [http://www.karnataka.com/tourism/mysore/ Mysore – Imperial City of Karnataka]
* [http://www.karnataka.com/tourism/mysore/ Mysore – Imperial City of Karnataka]

Revision as of 09:41, 22 July 2023


Template:Noble house Template:Mysore Kingdom series The Wadiyar dynasty (formerly spelt Wodeyer or Odeyer Kannada: ಒಡೆಯರು, also referred to as the Wadiyars of Mysore), is a late-medieval/early-modern South Indian Hindu royal family of former kings of Mysore[1] from the Urs clan originally based in Mysore city.

As Maharajas of Mysore, the Wadiyars ruled the Kingdom of Mysore from the late 1300s until 1950. Members of the Wadiyar dynasty and the Urs clan have also been royal advisers as Diwans to their reigning siblings, cousins, nephews, or distant relatives.[1] Some members have also commanded army divisions as dalvoys (commander-in-chief) for their reigning monarch.

During the late 14th century, the family was originally poleygars (Kannada for garrison) defending the regions in and around Mysore town for the Vijayanagara Empire, their feudal overlords. With the fall and decline of the empire in the 17th century, the Wadiyars declared independence when Raja Wadiyar seized the nearby town of Srirangapattana, the seat of Tirumala, Sriranga II's viceroy, in 1610.[2] Between 1766 and 1799, when Hyder Ali and Tipu dictated the kingdom, the Wadiyar rulers as maharajas were largely nominal without any actual powers.[3] After Tipu's execution in 1799, the British Crown which was ruling India at that time restored the kingdom back to the Wadiyars under a subsidiary alliance. After India's independence from the Crown, the ruling Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wadiyar ceded the kingdom into the newly formed Dominion of India.[4]

Name

In Kannada, the common noun odeyaru (ಒಡೆಯರು; anglicised wodeyar or wadiyar) is the plural form of the singular odeya (ಒಡೆಯ) which means lord or lordship. The first poleygar and raja of Mysore, Yaduraya, assumed the term as his titular proper noun.

In Kannada, the common noun arasa (ಅರಸ; anglicised urs or ursu; anglicised plural ursus) means ruler or king. Members of the Wadiyar dynasty hail from the Urs clan;upon incarnation or by heredity, they assume the title Wadiyar and their immediate family therewith, the latest instance of its happening with the present head of the Wadiyar family Yaduveer Wadiyar upon coronation in 2015.[5][6][7]

History

The Wadiyars trace their ancestry to Lord Krishna. Legend has it that they arrived from Dvārakā.[8] However, historians like P. V. Nanjaraj Urs, Shyam Prasad, Nobuhiro Ota, David Leeming, and Aya Ikegame instead suggest that the Wadiyars were local feudal lords who adopted puranic legend to claim themselves as direct descendants of the legendary Lunar Dynasty.[9][10][11][12]

Vassal fiefdom

The Wadiyar dynasty started when Yaduraya, a garrison leader (poleygar), was made the prefect of Mysore and the surrounding regions his overlord Harihara II of the Vijayanagara Empire in 1399. With this, Yaduraya assumed the title Raja and the honorary surname Wadiyar. He and his successors ruled the fiefdom of Mysore as rajas under the vassalage of the Vijayanagara Empire until around 1553.

Independent kingdom

The Vijayanagara Empire disintegrated in 1565. With the fall of the empire, Mysore became an independent kingdom, the first independent king being Timmaraja Wodeyar II, the great-great-great-grandson of the founding ruler Yaduraya. Thimmaraja's nephew Raja Wodeyar I expanded the borders of the kingdom. In 1610, he moved the capital from Mysore to nearby island town of Srirangapattana on the river Kaveri, which provided strategic protection against military attacks. Raja Wadiya's cousin and successor down the line Kanthirava Narasaraja I expanded the frontiers of the kingdom to Trichy in present-day Tamil Nadu. The kingdom reached its peak under Kanthirava's grand-nephew Devaraja Wodeyar II, who reformed the administration of the kingdom by dividing it into 18 departments (called chavadis); he also introduced a coherent system of taxation.

Sultanate

From 1760 to 1799, the rule of the Wadiyar dynasty was essentially nominal, with real power firmly in the hands of the Commander-in-chief and later self-proclaimed sultan, Hyder Ali, and his son and successor Tipu. The two, ruling the sultanate from Srirangapattana, expanded the kingdom aggressively.

Independent kingdom in a subsidiary alliance

After Tipu Sultan's execution at the end of the Battle of Srirangapattana during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799, the Crown restored the Kingdom to Wadiyars under a subsidiary alliance requiring an annual pay as subsidy to the Crown. The capital was moved back to Mysore. The four-year-old boy Krishnaraja Wadiyar III, son of the last Wadiyar king, Chamaraja Wadiyar IX, was anointed as the Maharaja of Mysore.

In 1831, on a specious plea of non-payment by Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar III, the kingdom was placed under Mysore Commission that lasted from 1831 to 1881. Mark Cubbon and L. B. Bowring are among the well-known commissioners of the period.

In 1868, upon Krishnaraja Wadiyar III's demise, his five-year-old adopted son Yuvaraja Chamaraja Wadiyar X became the heir to the throne. When in 1881 he attained the age of majority, through an act of parliament, the British Parliament once again transferred power back to the Wadiyars. The maharaja changed the English spelling of their royal name from Wodeyar to Wadiyar and assumed the title Bahadur. He established the Mysore Representative Assembly; for the first time in India, democratic experiments were being conducted in Mysore.

Chamaraja Wadiyar X's son and successor Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV earned great fame as a saintly king (rajarishi), and his kingdom was hailed as Ramarajya by Mahatma Gandhi–as an ideal kingdom comparable to the one ruled by Lord Rama.[13]

Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV's nephew, successor, and the last reigning king of the Wadiyar dynasty, Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, ruled from 1940 until 1950. Upon India's independence from the British crown in 1947, Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar ceded his kingdom into the new temporary Dominion of India but continued as Maharajah until India became a Republic in 1950.

Dissolution of the kingdom

Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar became the rajapramukh of the renamed Mysore State from 1950 to 1956. After the reorganisation of Indian states on a linguistic basis in 1956, he was appointed Governor of the integrated Mysore State (present Karnataka State), a post which he held until 1964. He was then appointed Governor of Madras (now Tamil Nadu) for two years.

The Indian Constitution continued to recognise him as the Maharajah of Mysore until 1971, when titles and privy purses of maharajas were abolished by the Government of India under Indira Gandhi. The maharajah died in 1974.

His only son Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar became the head of the family; he was a member of the Indian Parliament.

Upon Srikantadatta Wadiyar's demise 2013, his widowed wife Devi Pramoda Wadiyar adopted Yaduveer Wadiyar, who was anointed as the maharaja of Mysore and the head of the family in 2015.

Residences

Mysore Palace has been the official residence of the Wadiyars for most of the family's recorded history. Briefly, Srirangapattana was also the seat of the Wadiyars. By the early 1900s, Bangalore had seen significant infrastructural development and had become a secondary residence for the Wadiyars at the Bangalore Palace.

Alamelamma's Curse

With a declining Vijayanagara Empire, in 1610 Raja Wadiyar conquered the fort of Srirangapattana from Tirumala, the Vijayanagara viceroy stationed there. Tirumala is said to have retired to the nearby town of Talakadu with his two wives. At about the same time, Tirumala suffered from a terminal disease; his condition deteriorated and he eventually died.

One of his wives was Alamelamma, a staunch devotee of Ranganayaki, the consort of Lord Ranganatha, the presiding deity of the famous Adi-Ranga temple in the island fortress of Srirangapatna. Alamelamma had a large amount of jewellery, including a fine nose ring studded with a large pearl. As a widow, customs forbade jewellery on her. She frequently lent the jewels to the temple of Ranganayaki. Every Tuesdays and Fridays, Ranaganayaki's idol would be decorated with the jewellery, returned to Alamelamma's safe custody for rest of the week.

On one instance, the temple requested the king's soldiers to fetch the jewels from Alamelamma as has become a practice. An approaching king's emissaries, headed by Chief Courtier Ramanath Molahalli, seems to have scared her off. To escape an ill-presumed imminent wrath of the king, she ran over to a cliff overlooking the Kaveri river into the whirlpool and cursed before plunging to her own death, "may Talakadu become a barren expanse of land, Malangi turn into a whirlpool, and may kings of Mysore never beget children to all eternity" (Kannada: ತಲಕಾಡು ಮರಳಾಗಲಿ, ಮಾಲಂಗಿ ಮಡುವಾಗಲಿ, ಮೈಸೂರು ದೊರೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಹೋಗಲಿ; transliteration: talakāḍu maral̤āgali, mālaṃgi maḍuvāgali, maisūru dŏrĕgal̤igĕ makkal̤illadĕ hogali).

Alamelamma's idol

Learning of this accident, the king felt repentant and had an idol of Alamelamma made in gold, installed it in the palace, and worshipped it as a deity. To this day, the idol can be found in Mysore Palace. The king's only surviving son, Narasaraja Wadiyar, died (believed to be an effect of the curse in folklore).

The Dasara festivities inside the palace end on the evening of Navarathri with a formal pooja to Alamelamma. Another interesting part of the story is that the Alamelamma temple is under the care of her legal heirs. Strangely, these priests/caretakers appear to be cursed by the same curse, following the same pattern afflicting the Wadiyars.

Talakadu and Malangi

Lord Vishnu Temple under sand dunes in Talakadu, Karnataka

Talakadu and Malangi are two small towns near Tirumakudalu Narasipura on the banks of the Kaveri where the river takes a bend. To date, most parts of Talakadu lie under sand, and the village of Malangi is slowly eroding due to whirlpools.[14][15] Talakadu's temples lie buried in a vast expanse of sand and are dug up and exposed every 12 years. At Malangi, on the other hand, the river is at its deepest. Whether these phenomena appeared only after Alamelamma's curse in 1610 is a matter of conjecture.

Family tree of the Wadiyars

Direct lineage from Yaduraya

Raja Yaduraya is recorded as the founding ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. The sixteenth maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar I was the last direct male lineage of Raja Yaduraja.[16] However, Krishnaraja Wodeyar I's successor was his adopted son, Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar VII from the Ankanahalli Urs branch. After him, Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar III's second daughter Rajakumari Chikkadevi's family with the Bettada Kote Urs branch takes over the monarchy.

Bettada Kote (Hill Fort) Urs branch

The Bettada Kote Urs was one of the larger jagirs, or feudal estates, in the Kingdom of Mysore. After the death of the 22nd ruler Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar VIII, his widowed queen mother Maharani Lakshmi Devi adopted Chamaraja Wodeyar IX of the Bettada Kote Urs branch which continues to-date.

Kalale Urs branch

Maddur Urs branch


Contributions

The Wadiyars were patrons of fine arts, fostering a number of famous musicians, writers and painters. Their contributions to music and literature has rendered the city of Mysore a cultural centre of Karnataka.

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 S, Rajaram N. (12 January 2019). The Vanished Raj A Memoir of Princely India. Prism Books Private Limited. ISBN 978-93-88478-11-3.
  2. Hüsken, Ute; Narayanan, Vasudha; Zotter, Astrid (1 September 2021). Nine Nights of Power: Durgā, Dolls, and Darbārs. State University of New York Press. ISBN 978-1-4384-8408-2.
  3. Iyengar, Venkatesa (1932). The Mysore. Mittal Publications.
  4. Syed, Muzaffar Husain; Akhtar, Syed Saud; Usmani, B. D. (14 September 2011). Concise History of Islam. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN 978-93-82573-47-0.
  5. "Yaduveer Gopal Raj Urs is heir of Mysuru royal family". The Hindu. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  6. "Mysuru new King to wed Trishika Kumari". NewsKarnataka. 25 February 2015.
  7. "In Yaduveer, erstwhile Mysuru kingdom gets new king". The Times of India. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  8. Pranesh, Meera Rajaram (2003) [2003]. Musical Composers during Wodeyar Dynasty (1638–1947 A.D.). Bangalore: Vee Emm.
  9. Census of India 1961 Volume XI, Mysore Part VI, VILLAGE· SURVEY MONOGRAPHS. Delhi: Government of India. 1961. p. 10.
  10. Prasad, S.Shyam (2018). Enigmas of Karnataka: Mystery meets History. Chennai: Notion Press. ISBN 9781642491227.
  11. Ikegame, Aya (7 May 2013). Princely India Re-imagined: A Historical Anthropology of Mysore from 1799 to the present. Routledge. pp. 76–77. ISBN 978-0-415-55449-7.
  12. Vikram Sampath (2008). SPLENDOURS OF ROYAL MYSORE (PB). Rupa Publications. pp. Introd. I. ISBN 9788129115355.
  13. "The Rajarshi of Mysore". Bangalore Mirror. 6 June 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  14. "Does Alamelamma's curse continue to haunt Wadiyars?". Deccan Herald. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  15. "400-year-old curse haunts Wodeyar royals of erstwhile princely state of Mysore". India Today. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  16. Wilks, Mark (1869). Historical Sketches of the South of India, in an Attempt to Trace the History of Mysoor, Etc.

External links