The told & untold history of Mysuru Kingdom

Research and author: Ameen Ahmed ~~~ Source: Wiki Commons   Introduction The Hindu Wodeyar dynasty formed the Mysore kingdom in 1399. 1   It ruled the region until India’s independence, with a couple of breaks in between, from 1760 to 1799 and 1831 to 1881. Established as a subsidiary of the Karnata Empire (popular as Vijayanagar Empire), the Wodeyars began to spread their wings after Vijayanagar was sacked at the battle of Talikoti in 1565. 2  During its long existence it saw the rise and fall of many empires, including the Mughals and Marathas. Chikkadevaraja Wodeyar who ruled from 1673 until his death in 1704, is seen as its most successful king. This essay highlights how this far sighted ruler developed and sustained friendship with Aurangzeb to not only check their common enemy the Marathas, but also to reform his kingdom. Mysore King Chikkadevaraja Wodeyar built or repaired many Hindu temples in his reign, like this Shvetha Varaha Swamy temple at Mysore. Picture by the author in

Research and author : Ameen Ahmed Below is a  chronological   sequence  of forty four sites belonging to  Hindus (temples, towns, crops), including Sringeri Mutt, affected by Peshwa Maratha soldiers' excesses in Mysore Kingdom (present day Karnataka) between 1790 - 92 CE, during the 3rd Anglo Mysore War. Twenty six of these were eye-witnessed and documented by English soldiers accompanying the Maratha armies . Destruction of seventeen more such places is attributed  by later sources   to these attacks, which were led primarily by the Peshwa Maratha General Parshuram Bhau, his son Appa Sahib and brother Raghunath Rao.  A view of the fortified Hindu holy town of Devarayanadurga, Tumakuru District in 1862. This town was captured on Jul. 13, 1791 by the combined forces of a detachment of Bombay Army of East India Company and Maratha armies led by Parshuram Bhau, who looted and burnt it.  Credit: By Lieutenant Colonel Henry Dixon - https://clevelandart.org/art/2017.7, CC0, https://commo

Research and author : Ameen Ahmed The centuries' old Sri Vidyashankar Temple at Sringeri town. The Sringeri Mutt, among Hinduism's holiest sites, was ransacked by Peshwa Maratha soldiers in mid-1791 CE.  By Irrigator at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57547533  Background In 1791 CE, the world of Hinduism trembled in horror. A bunch of horse riding ruffians pillaged Sringeri, in south-western India. The town is home to Sri Sringeri Sharada Peetham, popular as Sringeri Mutt, one of the four education sites originally established in 8th century CE by Adi Shankaracharya to spread the faith (1). A mid-20th century Hindu nationalist historian described this attack as ‘ an affront to Hindu religion by a brother Hindu, the sad memory of which long remained fresh in Maratha memory ’ (2). On Jul. 6, 1791, Tipu Sultan, wrote a letter to Sri Sachidananda Bharati Swamy, the head of this institution, condemning this attack by the Maratha cava