Keladi Chennamma was the queen of Keladi Kingdom in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. She took birth in the household of a man called Siddappa Shetty, who was a native merchant in the region of Kundapur, Karnataka. She was from the Lingayatha community. Chennamma married King Somashekara Nayaka in 1667 CE. After Somashekhara Nayaka's death in 1677, Chennamma efficiently handled the administration of the Keladi Nayaka dynasty. During her reign of 25 years, she repelled the advance of the Mughal Army led by Aurangzeb from her military base in the kingdom of Keladi located in

Sagara Sagara may refer to: People * Sagara (ethnic group), a people of Tanzania * Sagara (Vedic king), Ikshvaku dynasty * Sagara clan, a clan of 16th century Japan * Sekihotai (Sagara Souzou), a leader of the Sekihotai military unit during the Boshin ...

, India. She adopted Basavappa Nayaka, one of her close relatives who succeeded as Hiriya Basappa Nayaka. She also rendered a trade agreement with the Portuguese involving commodities like pepper and rice.

Channagiri Channagiri is a town in Davanagere district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is a taluk headquarters in Davanagere District from 1997. Before it was the part of Shivamogga District. Etymology During Ganga Possession in this place called ' ...

is named after her. She also permitted Portuguese to establish churches at Mirjan,

Honnavara Honnavar is a town in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India. History Honnavar is a port town in Coastal Karnataka known for its beautiful landscapes and rich history. The port hosted foreign traders from the Arab world, as well as later ...

, Chandravara and Kalyanpura. In the state of

, she is celebrated along with

Rani Chennabhairadevi Rani Chennabhairadevi, (also called Raina-Da-Pimenta by the Portuguese people, Portuguese), was the 16th-century Jain queen of Nagire province under the Vijayanagara empire, Vijayanagara Empire. She was officially known as Mahamandaleshwari Ra ...

, Abbakka Rani,

Kittur Chennamma Kittur Chennamma (23 October 1778 – 21 February 1829) was the Indian Queen of Kittur, a former princely state in present-day Karnataka. She led an armed resistance against the British East India Company in 1824, in defiance of the Paramountcy ...

Belawadi Mallamma Belawadi Mallamma (ಬೆಳವಡಿ ಮಲ್ಲಮ್ಮ) was a queen of Belawadi kingdom (''samshtana''). She is also credited with being the first queen in history who built and trained a women's army in the 17th century. She fought wa ...

and

Onake Obavva Onake Obavva ( kn, ಒನಕೆ ಓಬವ್ವ, 18th Century) was a Karnataka hindu warrior who fought the forces of Hyder Ali single-handedly with a pestle (''Onake'') in the kingdom of Chitradurga of Karnataka, India. Her husband was a guard ...

, as the foremost women warriors and patriots.

Attack by Aurangazeb

She provided shelter to

Rajaram Chhatrapati Rajaram Bhosle I (Pronunciation: �aːd͡ʒaɾaːm – 3 March 1700) was the third ''Chhatrapati'' of Maratha Empire, who ruled from 1689 to his death in 1700. He was the second son of the Shivaji, the founder of the empire and younger half- ...

, son of

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adils ...

who was fleeing from the Mughal emperor

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

after a meeting with her cabinet and treated Rajaram with respect, but Aurangazeb attacked Keladi. In the battle that followed, Keladi Chennamma fought off the Mughal threat to her kingdom and the battle with Mughals ended in a treaty. A subordinate of Keladi Kingdom, Sadasiva of Swadi also helped Rajaram through a loan. Keladi kingdom was probably the last to lose autonomy to

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

rulers and subsequently to British. Her cabinet was headed by Timmanna Naik, who was the descendant of a commander of Vijayanagara.

Legacy

She is considered as the epitome of the

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

women's valor along with Belwadi Mallamma, Rani Abbakka,

and

. Chennamma was known to be a very virtuous and pious woman, and a pragmatic administrator of her times.

In popular culture

Keladi Chennamma (TV series) Star Suvarna is an Indian Kannada language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The channel telecasts Kannada language programmes such as dr ...

, a

language historical series broadcast on Suvarna TV.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chennamma, Keladi 1696 deaths 17th-century Indian women 17th-century Indian people 17th-century women rulers 17th-century Indian monarchs Hindu monarchs Indian female royalty Indian women in war Kannada people Lingayatism Women in 17th-century warfare Nayakas of Keladi