The Battle of Bobbili, and the attack on the fort of Bobbili on 24 January 1757, is a significant historical event in Princely state of

Vizianagaram Vizianagaram is a city and the headquarters of Vizianagaram district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is central Eastern Ghats, about west of the Bay of Bengal and north-northeast of Visakhapatnam. The city has a population of 228,02 ...

, the present day

Vizianagaram district Vizianagaram district is one of the six districts in the Uttarandhra region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh with its headquarters located at Vizianagaram. The district was once the part of ancient Kalinga.Saripilli Dibbilingeswara te ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. Tandra Paparayudu was the Army General of Bobbili during the Battle.

Events leading to the Battle

On 23 November 1753, a Paravana of Asif ad-Dawlah Mir Ali

Salabat Jang Salabat Jung, born as Mir Sa'id Muhammad Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi on 24 November 1718, was the 3rd son of Nizam-ul-Mulk. He was appointed as ''Naib Subahdar'' (Deputy Viceroy) to his elder brother, Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung II, the Prime ...

, Subedar of

Deccan The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...

conceded to Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau the parganas of

Chicacole Srikakulam is a city and the headquarters of Srikakulam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. census,. it has a population of 165,735. There are many other places of Buddhist Tourism such as Salihundam, Kalinga Patnam, Dabbaka Vaan ...

Ellore Eluru is a city and the district headquarters of Eluru district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the 14 municipal corporations in the state and the mandal headquarters of Eluru mandal in the Eluru revenue division. The city ...

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry, officially known as Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and District headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the sixth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the District of Rajah ...

etc. with an annual revenue RS.2, 00,000 for the maintenance of the French troops in the Subah in recognition of the help of these Circars amounted up to 10 lakhs of Rupees per year. de Bussy helped

to be the Subedar of Deccan. The agreement (Treaty of Aurangabad) made between the French and Salabat Jang in

Aurangabad Aurangabad ( is a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Aurangabad district and is the largest city in the Marathwada region. Located on a hilly upland terrain in the Deccan Traps, Aurangabad is the ...

bears the signature of Said Loukshur, Minister of Salabat Jang. Actually, he was one of the key sub-ordinates of Dupleix who helped him in expanding French activities in Northern Circars and along the

Coromandel Coast The Coromandel Coast is the southeastern coastal region of the Indian subcontinent, bounded by the Utkal Plains to the north, the Bay of Bengal to the east, the Kaveri delta to the south, and the Eastern Ghats to the west, extending over an ...

. Men in his command also included the famous

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 ...

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 ...

. In 1756 Marquis de Bussy visited Rajahmundry. Vijayaramaraju had given a warm welcome to Bussy by going in front at Rajahmundry. There were differences between Vizianagaram Maharaja and the ruler of Bobbili, which led to the battle of Bobbili starting on 23 January 1757. The

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

was fought by Bussy and the Raja of Vizianagaram-Pusapati Vijayarama Gajapati Raju I (Ruled 1710 – Died 1757) (Founder of

. During the battle the Bobbili fort was totally destroyed and many Bobbili soldiers died. There is still a street named after Bussy in

Yanam Yanam (Telugu: ''యానాం'') is a town located in the Yanam district in Puducherry. It has a population of 35,000 and is entirely surrounded by Andhra Pradesh. It was formerly a French colony for nearly 200 years, and, though united ...

.''A History of Telugu Literature''
p. 36

The battle

On January 24, 1757, Bussy with his army and the army of Pusapati Vijayarama Gajapati Raju I in tow marched towards the Bobbili fort. The army of Gopalakrishna Ranga Rao was no match for the combined armies of Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau and Pusapati Vijayarama Gajapati Raju I. ''Gopalakrishna Rayudu'' was led by his Army General ''Tandra Paparayudu'' and his army, who put up a brave fight till the end. The French General knew that it would be impossible to reach Bobbili via Rajam as Paparayudu was camping there and took a different route to reach the fort. Rani Mallamma Devi, wife of Ranga Rao and sister of Paparayudu, sent a message to him on coming to know of the enemy's advance towards the fort. However, the enemy intercepted the courier and the message did not reach Paparayudu. Meanwhile, Ranga Rao and his men after defending the fort for several hours realised that the enemy could not be contained for long. Ranga Rao did not want the women and children in the fort to be at the mercy of the enemy. He ordered them to be sacrificed. ''Rani Mallamma Devi'' committed suicide. When the news reached him, Tandra Paparayudu rushed to the demolished fort and saw his sister and the entire family lying on the ground in a pool of blood. Seething with vengeance he took an oath to kill Pusapati Vijayarama Gajapati Raju I. Pusapati Vijayarama Gajapati Raju I was camping in a ''Tent'', basking in the ''glory'' of the war, which annihilated his enemy. ''Tandra Paparayudu'' along with ''Devulapalli Peddanna'' and ''Buddaraju Venkaiah'' managed to reach the tent in which Pusapati Vijayarama Gajapati Raju I was sleeping. Paparayudu gained entry through the rear of the tent, while the other two stood guard at the entrance. He woke up Pusapati Vijayarama Gajapati Raju I shouting "Puli, Puli... Bobbili Puli" ''(Tiger, Tiger... The Tiger of Bobbili)''. Pusapati Vijayarama Gajapati Raju I tried to divert his attention saying that he should not belittle their clan as cowards gaining entry through the backdoor. "You have wiped out our entire clan through dubious means and have no right to get ethical treatment," replied Paparayudu and stabbed him repeatedly in the chest. Hearing the commotion, the bodyguard of Pusapati Vijayarama Gajapati Raju I tried to enter the tent but was killed by Peddanna, who was guarding the entrance. ''The entire army was alerted and Paparayudu and the other two killed themselves.''

In popular culture

* Bobbili Yuddham * Tandra Paparayudu

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bobbili 1757 in India History of Andhra Pradesh Battles involving the Indian kingdoms Conflicts in 1757