Rani Mangammal
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Rani Mangammal (1689—1704) (Total Reign: 15 years) was the queen regent on behalf of her grandson, in the Madurai Nayak kingdom of India, towards the end of the 17th century.
She ruled the kingdom with courage and great skill, and in her era she was one of the few female rulers in India. She was the most popular of all the Madurai Nayak rulers, and many southern Tamil Nadu towns are named for her. She was a popular administrator and is still widely remembered by people as a maker of roads and avenues, and a builder of temples, tanks and choultries. Popular belief ascribes to her every fine old avenue constructed in Madura and Tinnevelly. She was an able woman as well as a charitable one, and under her firm guidance Madura regained the proud position it had held in the days of Tirumala Nayakkan.
Her particular expertise was in irrigation and communications. She had many irrigation channels repaired, and new roads were constructed. The highway from Cape Comorin originally was built during the time of Mangammal and it was known as 'Mangammal Salai'. She built many public works, of which the Chatram in Madurai near the railway station is a standing monument. The Tamuku Maidan was built by her in 1670 and was designed to be capable of hosting royal entertainments such as elephant-fights. When later taken over by the British, it became the official residence of the District Collectors. Her palace in Madurai now houses the Mahatma Gandhi Museum.
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[edit] Beginnings
The belief was that women were not suited to succeed to the throne of a kingdom, so Mangammal shines almost alone as an able and powerful female ruler in Tamil Nadu. Circumstances forced her to administer the Madurai Nayak kingdom, at the close of the 17th century. She did so for fifteen years, during a very troubled period, skillfully and boldly.
Mangammal was the daughter of Lingama Nayaka, a general of Chokkanatha Nayaka, who ruled Madurai from 1659 to 1682. Although Chokkanatha married Mangammal early, she became the principal queen only later on after his efforts to wed the daughter of the Thanjavur ruler Vijayaraghava Nayaka had failed. Chokkanatha died in 1682, but his queen Mangammal did not commit sati as she was a politically-minded woman to whom affairs of the state was more important.
Rengakrishna Muthu Veerappa, who succeeded Chokkanatha, tried to retrieve the diminished fortunes of the kingdom. He made a name for himself by courageously ignoring Aurangazeb. The queen was pregnant when Rengakrishna died, in 1689. After she gave birth to a son, Vijayaranga Chokkanatha, she committed sati, saying that she could not live after the death of her husband. So Mangammal was forced to become regent on behalf of her infant grandson, who was crowned when he was three months old.
[edit] Military History
Mangammal was less often at war than her predecessors had been, but she did not escape the usual conflicts with her neighbors. During her reign Madurai first came into direct contact with the Mughal empire at Delhi, since Zulfikar Khan, the general sent by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb to attack the Maratha stronghold at Gingee, exacted tribute both from Trichinopoly and Tanjore in 1693, though he did not succeed in taking Gingee until five years later. Trichinopoly was besieged by Mysore in 1695, but quickly was recovered.
The first problem which Mangammal had to face was the threat from the Mughals. Zulfikhar Ali Khan, the general of Aurangzeb who was engaged in the siege of Gingee, where Rajaram son of Shivaji had entrenched himself, sent an army to the south to demand submission from Thanjavur which had gone into the hands of the Marathas during the time of her husband.
Aurangzeb's army was at Gingee Fort, and bent upon attacking Thanjavur and Madurai at any cost. Mysore in the west, had embarked on a campaign of territorial expansion by including Madurai even during the time when Mangammal's husband was alive. In the south, the Raja of Travancore, overlord of Madurai, had stopped paying the tribute. In the east, the powerful ruler of Ramanad, Raghunatha Thevar (also known as Kilavan Sethupathi) had risen in revolt in a bid for independence.
This state of affairs Mangammal had to face almost without any help from outside. With her political wisdom, diplomatic skill, administrative ability, and cool courage in the face of danger, she was able to maintain the prestige of Madurai and regain for it much of the position it had held during the days of Thirumalai Nayak.
After careful deliberation, Mangammal sent tribute, and later with the help of Zulfikhar Ali she was able to recover some portions of the kingdom lost to Thanjavur in the past. In this policy, Mangammal showed great prudence and wisdom, by skillfully bowing before the enemy. Mangammal also had to face an invasion of Tiruchi by Chikkadevaraya of Mysore who sent his famous Dalavoy Kumariyya, but an attack by the Marathas on Mysore led to his recall.
In 1697, Mangammal sent an expedition to Travancore to punish its ruler, Ravi Varma, who had attacked and destroyed an army sent from Madurai to Travancore to collect the annual tribute which the king had not been paying. The ruler of that country had of recent years been very remiss in sending his tribute to Madura, and it had been necessary on several occasions to send an army to collect the arrears. In 1697, the force despatched for this purpose was taken off its guard and almost cut to pieces. A punitive expedition was organized in the following year, and after hard fighting Travancore was subdued and an immense booty was brought home. Part of this consisted of many cannon, and these were mounted, on the ramparts of Trichinopoly and Madura.
Mangammal's next war was against Shaji, the Maratha ruler of Thanjavur. In 1700 A.D., Dalavoy Narasappiah defeated the Thanjavur forces. For some time afterwards, friendly relations existed between the two kingdoms. They even united and proceeded against Chikkadevalaya of Mysore who had built an anicut across the river Cauvery and prevented adequate supply of water for the irrigation of land in Thanjavur district. But by that time, heavy rains had washed off this anicut, which was located at the site where the present Kannambadi dam stands. In the following year the Marathas were crushingly defeated near their capital, and were glad enough to buy off the invading army with an enormous bribe.
Mangammal's greatest trial and serious failure was her expedition against Raghunatha Sethupathi. This ended in a defeat for the Madurai and the death of Dalavoy Narasappiah in the battle. This was a serious blow to Madurai from which it never recovered again. Mangammal died in about 1706 and was succeeded by her grandson Vijayaranga Chokkanatha Nayaka.
[edit] Civil Administration
Mangammal worked industriously at civil administration, trade and industry. She paid special attention to irrigation and communications. Many irrigation channels were repaired, new roads were constructed, and avenue trees were planted. The highway from Cape Comorin was originally built during the time of Mangammal and it was known as 'Mangammal Salai'. She built many public works, of which the Chataram in Madurai near the railway station is a standing monument. Her own original palace in Madurai now houses the Mahatma Gandhi Museum although modified several times.
Mangammal was Hindu but nevertheless she was tolerant of other religions. She endowed both temples and mosques, and she was friendly with Christian missionaries and their converts. She began the famous Unjal (swing) festival in the temple of Meenakshi, performed in the month of Ani. Her contemporary portrait may be seen in the Unjal Mandapam. A painting in the Meenakshi temple shows the temple priest handing over the royal sceptre to the Queen. Mangammal was an efficient and popular ruler and her memory is cherished even today in the rural areas of the district.
[edit] Death
Managammal’s grandson Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha came of age in 1704—1705. Tradition says she refused to make way for him and that she was supported by her chief minister, a man with whom she was on terms of undue intimacy. The story is that she was locked in a palace prison and slowly starved to death.
[edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
- Rao, Velcheru Narayana, and David Shulman, Sanjay Subrahmanyam. Symbols of substance : court and state in Nayaka period Tamilnadu (Delhi ; Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1998) ; xix, 349 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., maps ; 22 cm. ; Oxford India paperbacks ; Includes bibliographical references and index ; ISBN 0-19-564399-2.
- Devakunjari, D., 1921-. Madurai through the ages : from the earliest times to 1801 A.D. general editor, R. Nagaswamy (Madras : Society for Archaeological, Historical, and Epigraphical Research, [1979]) ; 336 p., [26] leaves of plates : ill. ; 22 cm. ; SAHER publication no. 8. ; "Thesis submitted to the University of Madras for the award of Ph.D. degree in the year 1957"--T.p. verso. ; bibliography: p. 334-336.
- Rajaram, K. (Kumarasamy), 1940-. History of Thirumalai Nayak (Madurai : Ennes Publications, 1982) ; 128 p., [1] leaf of plates : ill., maps ; 23 cm. ; revision of the author's thesis (M. Phil.--Madurai-Kamaraj University, 1978) Includes index ; bibliography p. 119-125 ; on the achievements of Tirumala Nayaka, fl. 1623-1659, Madurai ruler.
- Balendu Sekaram, Kandavalli, 1909-. The Nayaks of Madura by Khandavalli Balendusekharam (Hyderabad : Andhra Pradesh Sahithya Akademi, 1975) ; 30 p. ; 22 cm. ; "World Telugu Conference publication." ; History of the Telugu speaking Nayaka kings of Pandyan Kingdom, Madurai, 16th-18th century.
- Sathianathaier, R. History of the Nayaks of Madura [microform] by R. Sathyanatha Aiyar ; edited for the University, with introduction and notes by S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar ([Madras] : Oxford University Press, 1924) ; see also ([London] : H. Milford, Oxford university press, 1924) ; xvi, 403 p. ; 21 cm. ; SAMP early 20th-century Indian books project item 10819.
