Madurai Nayak dynasty


Preceding States
Succeeding States
  • Nawab of Carnatic
  • Kingdom of Mysore
    		• Breakaway States
  • Ramnad
  • Pudukkottai and
    • Sivaganga

    The Madurai Nayaks were Tamil rulers from around 1529 until 1736, of a region comprising most of modern-day Tamil Nadu, India, with Madurai as their capital. The Nayak reign was an era noted for its achievement in arts, cultural and administrative reforms, revitalization of temples previously ransacked by the Delhi Sultans, and inauguration of a unique architectural style.
    The dynasty, belonging to the Kamma social group, consisted of 13 rulers, of whom 9 were kings, 2 were queens, and 2 were joint-kings. The most notable of these were the king, Tirumala Nayaka, and the queen, Rani Mangammal. Foreign trade was conducted mainly with the Dutch and the Portuguese, as the British and the French had not yet made inroads in the region.

    The Nayak Dynasty

    Madurai Nayaks belonged to the Balija social group.

    History

    Viswanatha Nayaka

    Viswanatha's chief minister, Ariyanatha Mudaliar, assisted him in using the palayam or poligar system which was widely used to govern the Nayak kingdom. The system was a quasi-fedual organisation of the country, which was divided into multiple palayams or small provinces; and each palayam was ruled by a palayakkarar or a petty chief. Ariyanatha organized the Pandyan kingdom into 72 palayams and ruled over the 72 dry-zone poligar chiefs.
    The Meenakshi Temple, destroyed by the Mohammedans was re-constructed in 1569. At the entrance of the Thousand Pillar Mandapam, we can still see the statue of Ariyanatha Mudaliar seated on a beautiful horse-back which flanks one side of the entrance to the temple. The statue is still periodically crowned with garlands by modern worshippers. He lived until 1600 and had great influence upon the fate of the Nayaka dynasty until his death.

    Kumara Krishnappa Nayaka (1563–1573)

    Viswantha Nayak was succeeded by his son Krishnappa Nayak who along with his father's able minister Ariyanatha expanded the Madurai Kingdom under the Nayaks and brought most of the ancient Pandyan territory under its rule.

    Tirumala Nayaka (1623–1659)

    From a historical document Ramappayyan Ammanai, we know that the Dalavoy Ramappayan, a Brahmin, had also proven his mettle in the war against Randaula Khan and Sriranga III between 1639 and 1641.

    Descendants of Vangaru Thirumalai

    Nayakas of Kandy

    Some of the family members of Vangaru Thirumalai established the Nayak dynasty in Sri Lanka known as the Kandy Nayaks. They ruled till 1815 with Kandy as their capital and were also the last ruling dynasty of Sri Lanka. The Kings of Kandy had from an early time sought and procured their wives from Madurai. The Kandy Nayaks received military support from the Nayaks of Madurai in fighting off the Portuguese. And in the 17th and 18th centuries, marital alliances between the Kandyan kings and Nayak princesses had become a matter of policy.

    Nayaka coins

    Some early Madurai Nayaka coins portray the figure of the king. The bull also is seen frequently on the Madurai Nayak coins. Chokkanatha Nayak, one of the last rulers of the dynasty, issued coins displaying various animals, such as the bear, elephant and lion. He also issued coins featuring Hanuman and Garuda. The inscriptions on the Nayak coins are in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Nagari scripts. Unlike the coins of many of the earlier dynasties, the Nayak coins are easily available for coin-collectors.