Raja Sri Vijaya Raghunatha Tondaiman Bahadur (c May 1759 – 1 February 1807) was the ruler of the pudukottai kingdom from 30 December 1789 to 1 February 1807.

Early life

Vijaya Raghunatha Tondaiman was born in May 1759 to Thirumalai Raya Tondaiman Sahib and was educated privately.

Reign

Vijaya Raghunatha Tondaiman succeeded to the throne on the death of his first cousin, Raya Raghunatha Tondaiman, the Raja of Pudukkottai without any male heirs. Vijaya Raghunatha's reign was a period of incessant wars in

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territ ...

. Vijaya Raghunatha supported the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

in the wars and in return for his services, he was given the title "Raja Bahadur" by

Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah, or Muhammed Ali, Wallajah (7 July 1717 – 13 October 1795), was the Nawab of the Carnatic from 1749 until his death in 1795. He declared himself Nawab in 1749. This position was disputed between Wallajah and Ch ...

, the

Nawab of the Carnatic The Carnatic Sultanate was a kingdom in South India between about 1690 and 1855, and was under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad, until their demise. They initially had their capital at Arcot in the present-day Indian state of Tamil N ...

on 17 October 1796. Vijaya Raghunatha played a pivotal role in

Polygar Wars The Polygar Wars or Palaiyakkarar Wars were wars fought between the Polygars ('' Palaiyakkarars'') of the former Tirunelveli Kingdom in Tamil Nadu, India and the British East India Company forces between March 1799 to May 1802 or July 1805. T ...

leading to the capture and arrest of

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and his brother

Oomaithurai Oomathurai (real name Kumarasamy Naiyakar), was an Indian Poligar (Palaiyakkarar) from Tamil Nadu, who fought against the British East India Company in the Polygar Wars. He was the younger brother of Veerapandiya Kattabomman. He died by hanging ...

by the British. The British recognized his services by handing him the territory of Kilanilai in 1803. The

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was annexed by the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

in 1799, followed by the

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and

Sivaganga Sivaganga () is a city and headquarters of the Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Sivaganga is a rani velunachiyar kingdom of Tamil Nadu. It is an important city in this district for official and commercial purposes. Its ni ...

kingdoms which were reduced to the status of ''zamindari'' estates. The annexation of the Carnatic kingdom in 1801 made the British East India Company, the paramount power in South India. Pudukkottai was allowed to remain independent in recognition of the services the Tondaiman kings had rendered to the company.

Family

Vijaya Raghunatha Tondaiman married Rani Brihannayaki Ayi Sahib and later, Rani Ayi Ammani Ayi Sahib. Vijaya Raghunatha Tondaiman had five sons of whom two survived him. * Vijaya Raghunatha Tondaiman II (1797-1825) * Raghunatha Tondaiman II (1798-1839)

Death

Vijaya Raghunatha Tondaiman died on 1 February 1807 at the age of 47. The junior queen Rani Ayi Ammani Ayi Sahib committed ''

sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

''.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tondaiman, Vijaya Raghunatha 1759 births 1807 deaths Hindu monarchs Pudukkottai state