The Nayakas of Kalahasti were a line of rulers of

Kalahasti Srikalahasti is a holy town in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the revenue division of Srikalahasti mandal & Srikalahasti revenue division. It is a part of Tirupati Urban Development Authority, ...

and

Vandavasi Vandavasi, earlier called Wandiwash is a major town and a municipality in the Tiruvannamalai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The town is well known in the Carnatic history for the Battle of Wandiwash. Vandavasi town is also the large ...

principalities. Members of the group include Damarla Chennapa Nayaka, after whom the city of

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

is named. These Nayakas served as vassals of the late

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and Mahar ...

, then held by the

Aravidu Dynasty The Aravidu Dynasty was the fourth and last Hindu dynasty of Vijayanagara Empire in South India. Its founder was Tirumala Deva Raya, whose brother Rama Raya had been the masterful regent of the last ruler of the previous dynasty. Rama Raya's deat ...

and headquartered at

Chandragiri Chandragiri is a suburb and neighbourhood of Tirupati and located in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a part of Tirupati urban agglomeration and a major growing residential area in Tirupati It is the mandal headqua ...

and

Vellore Vellore (English: ), also spelt as Velur (), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River in the northeastern part of Tamil Nadu and is separ ...

Notable rulers

Damarla Chennappa Nayaka

Chennappa Nayaka was a Nayaka and trusted general under

Sriranga Deva Raya Sriranga Deva Raya (a.k.a. Sriranga I) (r. 1572–1586 CE) was the eldest son of Tirumala Deva Raya and a king of Vijayanagara empire based at Penukonda. He carried the restoration of the Vijayanagara empire, but his reign was marred with repea ...

, the capital of the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

, is named in his honor.

Damarla Moodu Venkatappa Nayaka

Also known as Damarla Venkatadri or Venkatappa as he is called in Dutch records, was the son of Damarla Chennapa Nayaka. He was also in-charge of the administration of the

during the reign of

Peda Venkata Raya Venkata III (a.k.a. Pedda Venkata Raya) was the grandson of Aliya Rama Raya. Venkata III belonged to the Telugu Family and became the King of Vijayanagara Empire from 1632–1642. His brothers in law were Damarla Venkatappa Nayaka and Damarla ...

, and was the Nayaka of Kalahasti and directly controlled the region up to

Wandiwash Vandavasi, earlier called Wandiwash is a major town and a municipality in the Tiruvannamalai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The town is well known in the Carnatic history for the Battle of Wandiwash. Vandavasi town is also the larges ...

. The land grant for the city of Madras was offered to the British by him and his brother, when they negotiated on behalf of

Damarla Ayyappa Nayaka

Damarla Ayyappa Nayaka was the brother of Damarla Venkatappa Nayaka and resided at

Poonamallee Poonamallee is suburb of Chennai, India under the Chennai Metropolitan Area. It was historically called ''Pushpagirimangalam'', later renamed in Tamil as ''Poovirundhavalli'' (), and now colloquially called as ''Poondhamalli''. It is a town in ...

to the west of Madras and administered the territory of Kalahasti for his brother.

Damarla Ankabhupala Nayaka

Damarla Ankabhupala Nayaka was younger brother of Damarla Venkatappa Nayaka and Damarla Ayyappa Nayaka Damarla Ankabhupala Nayaka was son of Damarla Chennapa Nayaka. He was Chief of Kalahasti. Ankabhugala was a well-known Writer In the Telugu literature Ankabhupala known by a Telugu Poem, Ushaparinayam which he wrote and dedicated to his father, Chennappa Nayaka and Ankabhupala has a single kanda verse (16 ganas with 64 matras) from which one can obtain 108 verses in the metre by shortening or elongating the vowels and changing the sequence of the word Damarla Ankabhupala was Royal Telugu poet

Damarla Timmappa Nayaka

Damarla Timmappa Nayaka son of Damarla Chennapa Nayaka. He was the Chief of Kalahasti.

Damarla Chenna Venkata

Damarla Chenna Venkata was the son of Damarla Chennappa Nayaka. Chenna Venkata was a poet. He wrote the Telugu poem ''Chitra Kavita''.

Second Mysore Wars

During the

Second Mysore War The Second Anglo-Mysore War was a conflict between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company from 1780 to 1784. At the time, Mysore was a key French ally in India, and the conflict between Britain against the French and Dutch in ...

, the Nayakas of Kalahasti took to the side of

Hyder Ali Hyder Ali ( حیدر علی, ''Haidarālī''; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the at ...

while their northern superiors Venkatagiri Kings took to the side of Arcot and the British.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{citation , first=C. S. , last=Srinivasachari , title=A History of Gingee and its Rulers , publisher=Annamalai University , location=Madras , year=1943 , url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.500497/page/n5 , via=archive.org History of Chennai Telugu monarchs Tamil Nadu under the Vijayanagar Empire