s>un; and Chsirnihn of Lhc Buard of Studies m Hindi, Iti»ra hi,'u»L g>ther laiigu>i
ms. Bcsi
Ef>IIVENT MABARA8RTRIANS Rao HahadurK. ANANDA RAO Mr.K. Anarula Rao,tl>cecond sonof Dewan B>ihadur C.Kwshns ivami Rso,wasbornat hladrason 219 1898 After s,brdll
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EMINENT MAHARASHTRIANS Dr, B, K. BADAMI Dr. B. K. Bedami, G B.V.C., thosocond sonof BadainiKwshna Rao, wasbornin 1880> in iilysorc.Hc waseducated st Bancnlore andMysore, andobtaincnc >oMacade several researches, chiefly in soilchemistry, but muchof hisv'orkstill remains unpubl>shed. Among hisinvestigat>ons special mention maybemadeof themethods of improvmg jaggery manufacture, investigations intothebe>el vinsvorth andunble>flishcd charsctts arebusiness like. Hc is anidcnlAdvocate in thepreparation andpresentation of lnscase, «rul«y>mng lawyeris sureto bcbcnefitcd by earning mtointunatc contact withhiru. BharataSimham Khape RAMACHANDRA ACHARYA Bh»rstasimharn VidyaBhuslmns Pan>ht KhapeRnmsrhanrirn Acharya is anembodiment of thebct type.of Onentsliearninp.He i. bciriin i lie 1>igbect repardui SouthInrlinfor his greatandunequalle>l facilityin ex pounrhnp theItiba asarirlPurana..Hc hssgivenanexposition of thcf>Iah«biiarata rma dozen occas'.ons anrlforbisthoroupb mastrryof thr.greatclsasic 1>c wasnn«rrfvd i,betitle,of "BharataSimhsm ". Snnilnrlyhe 1>as rleili, v;itbtheRarnayans, twenty-four t>mes andthcIihapavathsn> overn hundred times.Andoneveryoccasion hc uscrlto attriirt,largeaudiences. ~ This deptliof knrnvlcrlge wasducpartlyto hisheredity nndpartlyto bis o>vnaptitude.He is iho sonof Dadacharyn, thc Iuru ot Rai Raysitni VenkatIfao,who wastlic De>van of Travaocorc, and laicrsrttluig m Kunibakoomn, builttheAgraharam nov:knowr> «ftcrhim. Theprofound scholarship of Ramachandracliarya basbeer> e>crsitimes rcrognised by manylcnrncrl ho>lies. He hasbeenExarninor for theTirupnti Sabha;hr:hasbeenpivcntlie I;ttania Samblmvana, by thcPudukottah Durbnr;andhohasbccnheldin veryhighesteem by thr Swami of I;ttaradhi NIutt. H>ssouis Dr. R. >Vagsraja Sam>a, whogotthctitle of I'h. D. in 1932 fromthoIIIadrasUniversity f!r hisih>sis, o TheBrignrii'Realism in Indian I'hilosophy ", beingan exposition in Enghsh of thetcn gro«tstorksof Sri IViadf>aacharya. Hc >snlsoa frequentcontr>butor to thc columns of tho "Hfhdu" onplulosophiral topics. Flute NACARAJA RAO K:>psraja Rso>vas hornin,luly 1883st IVacl»arkurl, sixmilessuurliof Kumbakonmn >na respectab!c. Sinar>h:> Dcsastha fan>ilyof wcRto-dolan>i lords.Hisfatlnr, Beep>m;iiha Bao,>v«s a Violinist of a high orrleramlhepursuodtheart asa.hobbyandnr>ta profes, ior>.During!nsiiir-ti>ru., thr,propertyheinhemted wasuse>i upandhcdiddin ISS9 wlicnNagaraja, Raowasonly a youngboy. Thc'lateR. Ramachanrlra R«o,Inspector of Srbuuls, Pudu kottal> Statewaslnsmaternal uncle,aridbeings veryhosp>tablr, andnoble soulhebrought. up NapurnjaRaniri lus own houseluild. Naparaja Rao stud>cd up to thc Wlatriculation cl«ssm the AIsharajnh's College, Pudu-
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kottah.But thouncle's objectof givinghimn goodeducation, so»as to criable birnto entertheservice of theState>>as notfu!filled.Xngsraja Ra did,nottakekmdlyto hisbooks onaccount of h>sheredirsry lovefor ruusie, whichdivcrtcdhisattention.Hi. uncleadmonished himfor attending >au«ical couceri«arid «tronly:idviscdhimnotto takeupthemen«professiouuf a,musician, a. it,wasthenconsidered; buthewssslubborri andcould riot.beperuaded to givenpmusic. From1898hetookprclm«nary lessons onthoFlute,on lie sly frou> Knnnuswan>i Rau,brotlier ufSwaragsth Ch>ttuswarny Rsoanda contemporary of Sarahha Sastri;iu«llearr>t thcposition andprocess uf finger>ng. Soir>show thiscame tu thokno>vlcdgc of Mr. Ram«cliandra Raowhowouldnotl,oleratc sucha thing. So,Hngaralu R:ioleftbisprutectinn anddecided to boselfsul« portingllc attcmptcin tbcRc>lvay atTricliimfl>oly butfs>led tu doso; hiskrnnvledge of thcFlutegni,lin>itl>iun of a private 'I'utor Itirechildrenof n,Vys»c Later, mi lie deathof hi. paternal unrh Jecvanua ltao,hcwasiippointcd VillageI fun,>ff of Kachiarkoil, v;liichgave lirru opportuu>t>cs of roniingin con actwith greatiucri. Ife aasiih«>u, ly prnctiscI'lutllin thccrt wasapprr ria edi:vcnid staLe of liis lie«1>h. thoughXagaraja Raogivatlydeveluped his art on accourit, uf heoppurtnmtics lic liedof «itenonal, Hisnote»orthy feature is theelaboration of thc Repas onsound liucM andbecouldpinytlieRnga,Toili,Savcri, Gouhpnntu andYiralitu perfcetionan nc>d tert for flu>eplayers.Ilc ivesgrc lovingpeople wi>hh«ndso>uc emolunirnts audbehaskeptupthc"art i>iits purityan prestige, T. R. GNANASAGAR YoungGnanasagar is tlic sonof T. A. Ra>nn, Rao,theRepresentaffvc of Messrs. Gibbun < Cn., < 39,I mghnChettySt.,SIsdras.Bornin May1910, hebegan io playontheflutein bisIiftccnthyear.Heivastaughttheart by Ashtapu Venkatarszna ra Sastrh a rclai,ion of thcfamous Sarabhn Snstri He quicklyattained mastery in hisart.by hisoonccntrated aLicniion; andfor thelasLs>xor seven years,lic hasd>ccn givingpubhcIicrfurnu>noes at ihc requcsL of variousindividuals and Institutions.He hss a fine breath anti conimands great,speed.In:qiprcciation of his kill, hc line beenawarded overa dozmi goldmedals.Several of bis songs bnvebeen
EMINENT lvase Ibiowashorn>n1878of anancient Mahratta Brahmin fiur>ilyv hoharlc>nig>ated to SouthIndia. EIohadhiscducatingSal>u ior help. I'urthcr,t>vuYa>bsn nobles lmdcarvedout kingdorus for the>uselves in Cuddapah andKurnool;andtheybualc common cause withthr:Nawabuf Karnatic.I>,bccau>c therefore naca>sary for the Mahrattuji Bhonsle againsi, themin 1740A.D. Raghujifirst,merci>nsL thc Nawsbof Kurnoolandlicuito knve>Lup liy givuigiii exchange thofort of I'cnukonds. in thc Anar>tspur et. IV>ththe formation of the principnlityof MurariRao Ihorpade as sn outpostuf thcMal>rattas towards tl>csouth,BalajiBsji Raocouldthinkof morean>bitious schemes, sucliasthatof reducing >liepowerof theNizamand annexing, >fpossibh, theViceroyalty of the Dcccan.Sotill 1755A D.the Ycslnvanelf w>ththc CededDistricts.But n>tlmt yearan unexpected eventoccurrc, su uhl cuinnismlsnt, of the Muhro Lu artillery>rl>o l>addoser>cd the Mahrattk, 'thePcghwa proceeded againt the Nabobof Ssianur.But, unwilling to acknowledge thc supren>acy of thc Pcsliws,MurariRao Ihorpade joinedthe Naivsbuf Savanur s against >,he Pesliwa.Bui,in ihc battle fonghtnearSaviunied tribute..After receiving s largesumof money, tlm Pcsb>ia wentbackto Poona, lesv>ng Balwantltao Mebcndalo to reeuver the old iaghirof Sivaii in >Afysorc. Thisbrought Babvant RaointoconflictwiththePatlianNabobs of KurnoolsndCuddspah. But in Scptmuber 1757A.D.,in a p>tchcd battlo foughtnearCuddapsh, BalwantRao routedLhcNabobsandgainodtl>e countryroundGurrainkonda. Thusby 1760AD. it looledssif thoivi>ole of thc CcdcdDistrictsand thcKarnsuc>ccrc rg>efor falbngintothei>ands of theIxiahrattas.ButGod wigcdother>risc.. Tlic tlnrd battleugPa>upet suddc>dy crushed theirpower anddismembcrcd thc>rempire sndiriadeBslsiiBaji i so diobroken-liearted. MADIIAVARAOr'1761 1772 A.D. ThenextPcslnva irasMadlmva RaoBelial,>liegreatest, perhaps amongst tlic I'eshwas.Duringthc first t>voyearsof liis adn>inisiraLiou, NizamAli
8011TH INDIAN MAHARASHTRiANS 132 gavehimtrouble.Butthoyoungheroirdlicted a crushing defeatonNizam Ali m the battleof Rakslmsa, Bhavan.Madhava Raothenturnedlus attention to thegrowing powerof HaidarAli whohadextended histerritory uptheKrishnariver«,ftcrdcfcai,ing igfururiRaoandtakingSandur andhad proclaimed liiniselfto betheNabobof Sireandhudevenventuredi to drive s,Mahratta garrison fromDharivar.Earlym 1764 thegallantyou>ig Pishwa ledhisar>ny fromthewestintoAfysore.A greatsoldierasH>udar was,hc soonfoundin Madhava Itaoa greatersoldier.In iwo success>vc batt.les Haidarwasdefeated. I>itheRirsi, HaidarandRift,y menof hiscavalrywere iheonlypersons Lhai, savediheu>selvuut a yearwhenhcwasruurdered. Afmrthat therewssagainconfusionin Nlaharashtra tik thegenius of NsnaPhadnavis rcstorcd orderin 1782A.D.andtheclaimof Raghunatha Raoio beI'eshwa asagainst thc minorsonof Narayans, Raowasdefinitely negatived by thetreatyof Salbai. Thisperiodof cu>ifusion wasnsiurallytakenadvantage of by Haidar.On hearing of Nsrayana Rao's rnurdor, hcsenthissonTippuin 1773to recover tbecountry takenfromhimhy Madhava Rao. In a shortcampaign, Tippu rcrovercd all thc losttrrmtory.Hearing of this,Raghunatha Raoin 1773 advanced withan armyagainstMysore.But while hewas still near Bcllary,Haidarbought himoA'by promising to paya tributeandto support hire asagainsttl>eminorrival clai>nant for the Ofliceof Pcshwa.After
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Rsghunsths Rsoturnedback,Hsidarin 1774advanced against MurariRso.' Aftertakingthefortsof AdonisndBellary,Hsidarbesieged MursriRaoat Gooty.MurariRao'elettersto Poonsfor helpwereintercepted. Mursri Raohadto surrender andwasmadea prisoner andended his daysin the fort of Kabbaldrug. In 1771 A.D.theMshrattas, withtheEnglish ssAllies, wanted to proceed againstHsidsr. But with Gootyas hiebaseHsidar defeated theMshrsitae in thebattleof Rarsvi. In 1776heannexed Ssndur. In 1779Haidhrproceeded against theNabobof Cuddapsh snddefeated him sndannexed Cuddspah. TheNabobof Kurnoolhsdalready agreed to pay himtribute. Thusby thetimeNasaPhsdnsvie couldenterintothetreaty of Salbsi,theCeded Districtswerelostto theMshrsttse.But soonafterwards, Ae.,onDecember 1782 A.D.Haidsrdied. SHEREGENCY OFNANAPHADNAVIS 782 1795A.D.! From1782A.D.NsnaPhadnavie waefreeto actsstheregentof the minorPeshws, MadhsvsRaoNarsysn.His attentionnaturallyturned towardsHsidsr'sson,Tippu,whose territoryextended dangerously up to Dhsrwsr.Duringtheyears1784lo 1790 therewereskirmishes between the Mahrattse andthe forcesof Tippu. But in 1790A.D.NunsPhadnavic thoughtit dangerous to wait anylongersndentered into sn alliance with theEng!jsh sndtheNissmfortheinvasion of Mycore.Thusarose theThird Myeore Wsr,whichledto thetreatyof Seringapstam in 1792A.D. Asthe resultof it, t!tecountry roundDhsrwarsndalsothedistrict, of Bellarywere allottedto ths Mahrattse, subject io theirsupporting s subsidiary forces request whichNasaPhsdnavis couldnotcomply with. To theNissmwere allottedGootysndCuddspah. But soonsfterwargcp in'theyear1795A.D. theyoungPechwa fell froms terracesnddied. BAJIRAOII 795 1800A.D.! Thenextandlastof thePeehwss wssBaji RaoII, thesonof RsghunathaRsoby hisnotorious wifeAnsndibsi.In histimeoccurred theFourth MysoreWsrwhichresulted in thedeathof Tippusndthefall of Seringapstsm,1799A.D. Onthe ground that the helpof the Mahrsttae in the warwseinconsiderable, onlyHsrpsnahalli, SundaandAnegundi belowthe Western Ghatsandparteof Chitsldrug, Sire,Nsndidrug sndKolsrabove theGhatswereallottedto thePeehwa. To theNisamweregivenGooty; Ansntspur;snd alsoKurnool,wherethe formerNabobwseallowedto remainas a noblewith s jaghira jaghirwhichhe lost in 1838for his treason!.AethePeiehws refused to takehisshare, claiming more,hieshare wssdividedbetween the English' sndNisam.In 1800,for the support, of the subsidiary forcest Secuadersbsd, tbeNisamceded to the Britishthe entirearesthat,fell to himin theThirdandFmuthMysore Wars.Scwere formedthe Ceded Districts;andfrom1800A.D.the connection between Mahsraehtrs sndtheCeded Districtsmsybesaidto haveceased altogether. Thecontact with thesedistricts,startedin Siva!i'stime,thuscameto sn
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endin thetimeof Ba}iRsoII whosoonafterwards lostthewholeof Maharashtra. AftertheFourthMysore War,Ssndur wssclaimed byBsji RsoII; butafterhisdownfallit wasrestored to s predecessor of thepresent rulerby theBritish!. EPILOGUE Writingin the OxfordHistoryof Indiaa hookwrittenfnainlyfor the edigcstion of youngBritishciviliansand the checkof the growthof nationalism amongst IndiansVincent Smith, I.C.S.Retired}says: "The complete snd gnsl overthrow of the Mahrattadomination m 1818should not excitethe slightestfeelingof regretor sympathy in the breastof any person,Indianor European."With this viewthe Mahrattascan never agree.Onecanonlyhopethat,writingin hhe21stcenturyaboutOlivesnd WarrenHastings,Dyer dr O'Dwyer,Imperialiimand the exploitatiion of weaknet one!Indianhistorians will be morerestrained snd lessvitriolic. It is saidthat it is betterto havelovedsndlostthanneverto haveloved st sll. Sowssit betterto haveformedsn empire anddiscovered the6scipsrous tendencies of India than neverto haveformedan empireat sll. It must be ever remembered that it wac sn Indian Empire that, despitesll their'shortcomings, the Mahrattssblindly gropedafter,for Muslim commanders 'foughtunderthe Mahrstta bannerss frequently as MahrattaCommanders foughtunderthe banners of the Nizanrandthe Moghul.Thatthereexistsin Indiaa genius for militaryskill andpolitical statesmanship wasprovedby the all-too-brief, empireof the Mahrattsc; andI think that not the leastindicationof this geniuswasthe creationof
becca in theKarnatic plainswithlinesof communication alongtheCeded
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The Mahrattas in Mysore BY RgoSahebC. ! AYAVAOANA RAO,Banga ore RaoSaheb RajaCharitraVisarada C.Huyavadana Raois a journalist' of greatreputation in Afysore;andrcsaregratefulto himfor havingcontributedthis article,in whichhc marshalsforth all the necessary facts and figuresto makethesubjectof hischoice interesting.Ed.] Thestoryof theMahrattas in Mysorehasits originin Vijaysnsgsr times: Mshrsttafamilies,whiletheygenerallysoughtserviceunderthe neighbouring ShshiStatesof Bijapur,GolkondssndAhmadnagar, seemto havebeen occasionally connected alsoin somecapacityor other,with the administration of the greatHinduEmpireof Vijayansgsrin its heyday336 1565!. Froms lithic recordof Ssdssivs549 1570! dated1544',we learnthat s Mahrsttanobleman by nameVithalesvsradeva-Maha-Arasu wasa Viceroy of his Srimsn Mahamsndalesvara Sri-MarateyaVithalesvars-Ddva-Maha Arssu!in the Sivasandsamudra-Sime, sndthat his jurisdictionextended over Bsngslore, wherehewasrepresented by an agent Karya-karta!. Onthefall of Vijayanagar 565! sndtheshiftingof theImperialospitsl to Penukonds, direct connection of the Mshrattaswith the Hindu Empire of the Southalmostceased, snd they foundincreasing opportunities of servingundertheir Muslimsovereignsparticularlyof Bijspur!, snd distinguishing themselves ascivil andmilitaryofficers for overonehundred years s periodwhichwasmarkedin themainby therapiddeclineof theEmpire underthe fourthor the AraviduDynasty,the gradualriseto prominence of the Kingdomof MysoreundertheWodeyars, andthe systematic penetration into the Ksrnstsksndfar southof the anneof BijapursndGolkonds.The namesof Shahji,Madaji,Vedoji,Anantojinnd Balaji HaibatRao,among dthcrs,loomlargein thehistoryof this periodasMahrattaofi cere takingsn nativepart in theKsrnatskexpeditions underMuslimleaders. To Shsji 594 1664!, sonof Maloji Bhonsle, however, definitelybelongsto thecreditof havinglaid thefoundations of theMahrattapower,snd begunthe first Mshrattssettlement, in Mysore. Changinghis allegiance alternately to Ahmadnagsr, Bijsput snd the MughalEmperor, that remarkablemsn,ultimatelyin 1632, wentoverto theAdil Shahof Bijapur.In 1637 88,heaccompanied Hansdulla Khanonhisinvasion of theKisrnatsk, sndabout the closeof 1638wasplacedin chargeof Bangslore, takenfrom Immadi Kempa.Gauds of Afsgsdi569 1655!s Duringthe nexttwenty-fiveyears intssruptedby a shortintervalof his arrestsndimprisonment, at Bijapur '8. C..IX Ba,30,
SOUTH INDIAN !tfAHARASHTRIANS in 16491650!Shshji, whileostensibly attached to the interests of hie master, theBijspurSultan, gradually extended hicswayoverparteof BsngsloreandKolardistricts, rulingthemin sn independent capacity assisted by MahrsttsBrahmans aegfficials, sndmaintaining unimpaired theHindutraditioneof governmenl, in I,becouquered tracts.cMeantime, aboutthemiddle of 1654, thewarsof BijspursndGolkonda in theKarnstskwerepractica!fy over,thetwopowere finallyaccompliehing thedivisionof theirconquests in 1656.TheBijapurbeltof territoryto thenorthof theKingdom of Myeore, underthearrangemente effected, wentby thedesignation of Kcrsatok-Bijcpur-Bofaffkot whiletheterritorybelowtheGhats,almostcAt-terminous with the South-eastern frontierof Mycore,by the designation of KoroafokBfjopur-Paffoogkot. Shshjiwaecontinued in charge of theentiretract,being confirmed in thepossession of Bsngalore, Hoskote, Kolsr,Dodsballspur and SiraashieJohgfr,Thesedevelopments tended to increase thepowersnd prestige of Shahjilocally,andwefindhimin 1657referring to himselfas Ajoraka-Kkoa ftfakarajo-Rojocri Sakujirajo-Sakcb. With Bsngslore, the headquarters of theJakfftr,asthebaseof hiepowerin thesouthsndhie ancestral fiefeof Poona sndSupein thedistantnorthunderhissecond son Sivaji theeldest Sambhaji I havingdiedin 1658!,Shahji, in theservice of Bijspur,continued hiewarlikeactivities in theKarnstaktill his ownaccidentaldeathin Bsesvspstns in January 1664. Thereupon Ekoji Venkoji!, eonof Shshjiby hiesecond wifeTuksBsi Mobile,stepped intotheMahrattsinheritance in Myeore,Indeedthereis evidence' of Ekojthavingsucceeded to thepatrimony seesRyse 1662,if not1664.Evidently Shshji,already duringhialifetime,hadnominated him to the Jokgt'r.Theoretically exercising the powers of s Bijapurgeneral, Eltoji stayedin Bangaloro till hic oooqueci, of Taojorefromthe Nayska familyandhiseventual usurpstioti of sll sovereign authority therein 1675. Promhence hethrewoff hieallegiance to Bijspur,sndTsnjorebecame hie headquarters. Ekoji'econquest of Tanjore, though s distinctloseto Bijapur, wses landmark of considerable eignificsnce fromtheMshrattspointof view. WithBsngalore asthenucleus of hiepower, it meantthefirst stepin the advance of theMahrattse in SouthIndiast justthetimewhenBijapurand Golkonds, hardpressed bytheMughsle sndtheMshrsttaeunderSivaji!in theDeccsn, hadto retirehomeward, leaving theirKsrnstak posceeeione under theirdeputies to theirownfate. Evenafterhieconquest of Tanjore, Ekojicontinued to maintain a footholdonthedistantJokgirof Bangslore, whiletheMahrsttsarmsunderhim gradually wentshouteetabliehmg themselves onthefrontiers of thegrowing Kingdom of Myeore sndproceeded sefsr seTrichinopoly by 1676.Ekoji's government of Tsnjoresince1675, however, hadbeenfsr fromsatisfactory, andthis eventually ledto Rsghunsth Psnth,theableconfidential minister ' Vide inccriptione of Bbshli'c timecitedbelow, cg.C.IX NLee. 'Ibid,Xed.47,
MAHRATTAS IN MYSORR of Shshjithenin charge of Ekoji'sheritage in Myaore organising sn expeditionto the'Karnstsk undertherisingpowerof Sivsji'half-brother of Ekoji! fromtheDeacon, in 1'677, witha view to securing theKingdom of Tsnjore, and' perhaps thesoveruignty of theentireSouth,to him. Theexpedition, while it wssanthewhaleattended with success, left Ekojipractically masterof Tanjore andSivaji,afterpassing through hisancestral possessions in Mysore, returned to theDeccsn aboutApril 1678.Incidentally Sivsji'einvasion of theKarnstskleft thesovereigaty of theKingdom of Mysore undisturbed, his progress in that direction in August1677 duringhis marchfromGingee! havingbeendefinitely snested by herthenruler,Chikka-devsraja Wodeyar 673 1704!,who,asthenaturalheirsndsuccessor of theVijsysnagsr Empire,hsdasserted hisclaimto rulefromthethroneof theKsrnstskscountry asearlyas1675, underthetitled'kuraatuku-Chakravcrti sndDakahiacdtkChakragcrti, Mshrsttssovereignty in theSouth, however, tended rapidlyto assume s definiteshape in thewakeof Sivsji'sexpedition tft theKarnstsk,andmore particularly afterhisdeathin April 1680.Of that sovereignty, extension of Mshrsttspowerand.influence overthelengthandbreadth of SouthIndia, andtheestablishment of outposts at convenient points,whichwouldenable themto levysndrealise theirduestheChsuthsndSsrdeamukhi! Iromjhe conquered,tracts, weretheprimefeatures.Alreadyby 16'IS, theMshrattss hsdbeenreckoned a forcein SouthIndia. Besides, Bangslore, Ginjee,VelloreandTsnjorehsdbecome thestrongholds of theMshrattas there.And between 1678'1680theywereextending thesphere of theiractivities. from the Ksrnstsk-Bijapur-Bslghst in the northup to Trichinopoly in the fsr South.Further,in keeping withthetheoryof Mahratta sovereignty, weRnd' SsmbsjiII, sonandsuccessor of Sivsji,assuming thetitle of EmperorSumbhojiChakravarthi!, for thefirsttimein July1680. In therealisation oftheirambition; however, theMshrsttss during1680 1686, foundthemselves drawnintoaninevitable conflictwithChikkadevarsja Wodeysr of Mycore, who,asthesolerepresentative of theVijsyanagsr Empirein SouthIndia,hadbeen since1673 systematically extending thefrontiers of hiskingdom at theexpense of Madursin thefsr southsndBijspurin the north,sndin 1682laidseige to Trichinopoly itself,theobjective of thesouthernexpansion of Mysoreeversince1642.In that conflict, the Mahrsttss, though st Rrsttheysustained serious reverses in theneighbourhood of Seringspatsmdurings diversion of theirforces fromTrichinopoly in 1683, eventually cameoutsuccessful, andwere,in July 1686, obliged to cometo termswith Mysoreandretirefromthesouth,hardpressed in theirhomelsnds by the advance of theMughalarmsontheDeccsn. Thewithdrawal of theMshrattsv wssfollowed by the fall of Bijapur September 1686!,theinfluxof theMughsls intoSouthIndiasndtherapid recovery by Chikkadevsrsjs Wodeysr fromtheeffects of theMahrattswars in Mysore.These circumstances doubtless toldheavilyonEkoji,whofound 'Ibid,Mib117. 18
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it exceedingly difficultsndexpensive to maintain Bsngslore, theseatof his father's Joghirin Myeore, fromdistantTsnjore.Accordingly, earlyin 1687, hemanaged to sellit through hisVoleto i Chikkadevsrsjs Wodeysr forthree lskhsof rupees.Theplacefinallypassed intothdpossession of Mysore on July14,1687, afternearlyfifty yearsof Mshrattaswaythere. Mshrsttaconnection withportions of Bsngslore> KolarandTumkurdistrictswhich originallyformed partof Shshji's Johgfr however,continued duringtheclosing years oftheseventeenth century 687 1700!anda greater partof theeighteenth, downto 1761.Mshrsttaarmies andirregulars freely passed through thesetractsduringtheirstruggles withtheMughsls in the Karuatak6S9 1696!. Again,during. therenewed bid for supremacy in theSouthin theeighteenth centuryc.1720 1761! these tracts,withtheir well-garrisoned outposts, formed thebase of operations ofthePeshwas against thekingdom of Mysore sndotherrivals liketheNisamsndtheNswsbof Arcot!ssfsr ssTrichinopoly, sndprovided s fertileground fortheirsystematic collection of Chautk andScrdeemukki in theKsrnatsk sndtherealisation of Peshws Balsji Bsji Rso's740 1761! grandidealof HinduEmpire Hindu-Psd-Padshshi!. Thesoaring ambition of Balajiwssunluckily frustratedbythelastbattleof Psnipet761!, when, under thestress of necessity, hehsdto recallhisreserve forces fromMysore fortheservice of hiscountry sndnation;sndthiscontributed nots littleto complete theusufpation by HaidarAli of Mysore, followed byhisacquisition oftheMshratts outposts in rapidsuccession. Mahrsttspowerin Mysore thusended ssfortuitously ss it hadbegun, though theyneverceased to haveaneyeonthekingdom, snd soughtto maintaindisplomatic relations with the Courtof Seringspstsm, throughout theregime ofHaidsrAli sndTipu761 1799!; whileindividual Mahrsttae hadincreasing oppcrtunitiee for distinguishing themselves sscivil sndmilitaryofficers in theStateduringtheperiodof Restoration sndsfterfrom1799 onwards s period marked bythedecline sndfall of theMshrstta Empirein India. Memorisb of Mahrsttaswayin Mysoreextend overthe seventeenth sadeighteenth centuries. These areinvariably lithicinscriptions in Kannada, snd comefrompartsof Bsngalore, Chsnnspstns, Hoskote, Nelamsngsla, Dodbsllapur, Kolsr,Mulbsgal, Chintsmani, Srinivssspur, Bagepalli, MsdhugirisndChsnnagiri Tsluks.Theybearoutin anample measure thefactthat theMahrattadomination overthisareawassomething morethanits mere temporary occupation by analienpower, sndindicate to some extentthatit wssclosely bound upwiththewell-being ofthelocalpopulace withwhom they hadto come intointimate contact in every-dsy fife. Tbeearliest of thesedocuments, datedNovember 3, 1637,s records the grantof a rent-free landin Hssugur by the grfvsauta the Desskulakorsf Saurusuu. Thenextseries of record-. "belongto thetimeof Shahjisndrange from1647 1663. Oneof these, datedSeptember 99,1657,v registers hisgift 'E. C.Sd.seirsvsis, Ksriiks bsir, 'lM, IX NlN:Heviismbi, Asvijs sug
of landsin Lskkur Nelamangals taluk!to Bsvanur Ahsmmsd, for hisown merit. Another, datedJanuary 12,1660, ' refersto hiegrantof tbevillageof Naguvslli, in Channspatnsethsla se3 rent-free estate to Siddalinge-Gauds. A third,datedOctober 5, 1660,s records a giftof landto Antrsji-Pandits MshrsttsBrahmin olficislunder Shahji!.A fourthdatedSeptember 1,1661,to relatesto 3 grantof dry fieldsof thesoaking capacity of 100~/3 Kitsadugca to BysligiJsvirsnns.Ands fifth,datedMsy 1, 1663/a registers a gift of landsyielding6 Khandupcs of paddyto oneAlsmbigiri TippsSettifor having restored theold tankof Holur,belonging to Kolar. Againoneof the records, datedMarch8, 1647,"relates to 3 grantby Ssmbhaji I eldestson of Shahji!of thevillageof Hsnchipura to Channsbsesppa Wader of theSsjiMatha.Another datedNovember 5,1658,'s refers to therent-free gift Ksttu Kodige!of thevillageKondiganahalli by KsnsysjsPundits, agentof Sambhsjifontheborder districtof Kolareime.A third,datedOctober 20,1654,tt relates to s grantby thesameofficislof landundertheMuduvadi Mallaasmudrs tankto Chsndaya Tsmbsrshslli DepaGauds, forhaving constructed thetank. A fourth,datedAugust16,1661,'s records theconstruction of s pillar for tbeservice of GodVenksteavsrs of theBevurHill in theMslur Hobliof Channspstns sthala by DundojrHsibstRao sonof BalajiHaibatRsol,another officia!underShsji. Anda fifth,datedMarch14,1662,' refersto thegift of rentfreeland nettauru-Kodige! by BsranajsiRajs Hsvaldar of Rahadurgs underShshji,in honour of Simsngals Chikka-Deva's son,Timmsppswhofell,perhaps, in s battle!.Wehaveagain,s record of Ekoji'etime,datedJanuary 20,1666,"in whichJsysntaBai daughter-inlawof Shah!i!makes a grantof Utturvillagein theKolsreime belonging to Kolar-chavadi! assn uprohoro to oneBhsvsjiPant,aonof VirupskshaSsnkara of Ksayaps Gotrs. Among therecords of thetimeof Sambhaji II, eonof Sivsji!,onedatedJuly81,1680,'a communicatee anorder nirupa! of hieto theEar«busof Ho!sr,regarding thegift to oneVenkstess Ssstri, sonof Chenni-Bhstts, of thevillageUttanur-Madsvals, with sll rights. Another datedJanuary 20,1685,"relates thegrantof 3 plotof landof the sowing capacity of halfa Kharufuga in theAgrsharam village, Hoskote tsluk, for theworship of GodMsdeevars, by DevsiysNsyaks.Anda thirddated January 4, 1686,"registers thegift by Malukoji sonof Sambhsji! of the 'IbidCp.26:Vikari, Maghs, su10. 'Ibid, XKl 176:Sarvari, Asviis, su12. M.A.R.1923, P.46No.19:Plavs Bhadrspads, ha3. aaS.C.Xtl 219, Sohhakrit, Vsisskha, su5. «IbidixDb28'Vyays, Phalguua su7. Ibid,XMh164:Vilsys, Kartika, hs11. Ibid,Kl 193, Jays, Aevi!a, hs6. Ibid,IX Cp.68:Plavs, Bhsdrspads su12. IMd,X Sd.47:Suhhal-rit, Chsitrs su6. "Ibid,Kl.227; Visvavssu, Pushya hs10. «Ibid,bi.h.117Raudri, Sravaus su16. «M.d.R.1976, P.27,No.15;Rsktakshi, Msgha su6. «8.C.X Ct.64Krodhans, Pushys hs6.
140
SOUTH INDIANMAHAItASPP1'RIANg
villageof AvslsmbagiriAlamgiri!in theKaivsrs-athsls of theKolsr-sime, for services to GodTiruvengadanaths. Among theepigraphs of theeighteenth century, one,datedin April1727,~ refersto thegrantby Msnukoji-Rsjs of landto Hadaksnahslli Baira-Gauds asa rentfreeestate.Twodocuments datedJanuary15,1728/ relateto 8 gift by Annsjito Sesho Pantfor havingbuilt s bigtankin frontof Sulibele, Hoekote tsluk. A fourth,datedJanuary10,1740,'e records a grantby SubedsrYsntsji Bassle Raoto MariGaudsfor s similar service in frootof Dsaerahslli nearVokksleri,Kolsrtsluk. A fifth,datedAugust28,1759/Irefersto a grantby the'SrimaniaSahib Peshws Bslaji Bsji Rao! with the SarJsmindsr, in thepresence of theSettisof theSagerPeteof Bassvspatna, to Msrilingsppa fortheolficeof a Settss , s Pclofci Urnboliof thevillageof Udova belonging to Kolein theSulekere aims.Wehavealsodocuments dated 1767;s' and1775,"registering gifts by MalhariRao,MadhsvaRsoBelial Pradhan sndMurariRaoGhorpsde. Mostof the Mshrattssresident in the Stateto-daysre descendants of thosewhohadfollowed in thewakeof theMshrattsincursions since1565 A.D'. barringthosewhomighthavefollowed thereligious leaders belonging to the organised Muttsof SsnksraandMadhvabetween the 14thsnd16lhcenturiee. Duringtheperiodof theearlierMysoreKings,individualirjshrsttae. mostlyBrahmins servedin thehigheroffices of theState.Khande Rao,who opposed Hsidsrin his usurpation of sovereign powerin the State,wsscne such.Hewasa trusted Ministerof KingKriehnarsja II. Tosbikhsns Krishna Rao,wholedtheinsurrection againstTipuwssthefaithfulTreasury Officer of thereigningsovereign. Bishtopanth Badami the Bisnapsh Panditof the Wellington Despafcftes who commanded theArmyin theearlieryearsof the postrestoration period,wasanother MshrsttaBrahminwhose services were muchappreciated by H. H. Sri Kriehnarsja WodeysrIII sndthe British. WhenBaji RaoII fell in 1816sndthePeshwa's territories wereannexed, s number of Mshrattafamiliesdependent onhimemigrated sndsought, shelter in Mysore.Krishnsrsjs Wodeysr III notonlygavethemsn asylumbutalso afforded opportunities for service underhim. Thecontinued effectuf theinfluence wieldedby theseMshrsttsfamiliesin theStatehasbeenthespread of Marathilanguage sstbe language of the administration st onetimesnd the spreadof Mahrsttsculturewhichmadeactiveservicefor the goodof the Stateits primaryduty. Whetherin the higheradministrative or the militarywalksof life, the Msbrattsshavealwaysdistinguished themselves Ibid,IX.Ht.40:Plavangs; Vsisahha haI seIbid, Ht.63and66Plsvangs, Msghs su16. Ibid,X Kl05 hie!:Siddharrhi, Pnehys hs7. "Ibid,VII, ! Co.51S.1680:Bahudsnys, Srsvsns hs10 Ibid,X Sp.VfXI1Mi 55-04 Serve!it. «Ibid,Bg.45Manrnaths. * PaloM Vrsbala. Arent-free giftforthedignity attached to s person ofheing conveyed in s Palsnheen.
MAHRATPAS IN bfYSORE 141 by theirseal,hardwork,sndinfinitecapacityfor takingpainsin the interestsof common good.Politicallytheyhavebeenin theforefront, theirsagacity,alertness sndadaptability beingwellknown.At present theMahrattae la thoMyeoreStatenumbershout53,000, but this figuredoesnot include MahrsttsBrahmins.Theyareto befoundscattered throughthe eightdistrictsof theState,butmorelargelyin theShimoga, KolarandBsngslore districts. TheMarathilanguage is epoktnby about50,000, s numberof the Mshrattsfamilieshavingtakento Kannsdaunderlocalinfluences. A good partof theMysoreArmypart of theIndianarmyof to-dsyis manned by theMahrattas whohavealwayssupplied recruitsfor it. Amongtheofficere area number of Brahmans of Mshrattaorigin,mostof whomcsntracetheir destentbackto ancestors whowondistinction centuriee agoin theservice of theMysoreKings.
A l>rief Note on the Mahrattas of South India By Rao Bahadut R. KRISHNA RAO Bhonsje, I.S.O. IThisic o verftgoodresume of thetffctorgandachievements of South IndianMohrottocfor thelast threeccntunes.Ed.j HISTORICAI.ANTIQUITY AND GREATNESS HieunTsang,the great,Chinesepilgrim,recorded thc character of the Mahrattasin the followingterms: "To their benefactors, theyaregrateful; to their enemies rclentlmw.If they orc askedto helponein distress, they will forgetthemselves tn rendering ssststance." Bfacaulay, the Histonan,referredto themss a formidable race,"which waslongthe terrorof everynativepower,andwhich,after manydesperato anddoubtfulstruggles, vieldedonlyto the fortuneandgeniusof England." H. R. H. thePrinceof IVales,in laytngthefoundation stoneof tbeSivsji Memorialat Poonaon November 19,1921,said"A fewminutessgo,I laid the foundationstoneof the Memorialto Mshrsttssoldierswholaid down their livesin theGreatIVar,menwhoprovedthat.the spint whichanimated tbe armiesof Sivsji still burnebright andclear." LINEAGEOF SIVAJI,THE GREAT Fromthe Rsnssof Chittoorsprangthe Runesof Udaipur,universally admittedto bethe oldestfamilyin Hindustban;sndfromthemthc founder of the MshrattaNationtracedhis lineage. Sivajibelonged to theBhonslcfstnily. ThctennBhonsle is probablythe prahriticformof theBhasavakuls, i.e., theSolarrace. "NeitherGrantDuff norsny of the Indianwritersof MsrathiBhskarshasgivenmuchattention," saysRanade in hisRiseof theBforathnPower,"to thefortunes of theMaraths colonyin the Southat Tanjore,thoughthe MarsthaDominiontherewasof an olderdatethanin manyotherpartsof India andthe familywhichruled overTsnjorefor nearlytwo centuries11675 1855! wascloselyalliedto the founderof the Marathspowerin IVesternIndia." CONf}UEST OF SOUTHINDIA Thefirst entrance of the Msrsthssin SouthIndiatookplaceunderthe
fead~ip of ShabjiBhonsle, thefatherof Sivajiin 1638.Heledanarmy
as a General in the serviceof the Bijapur Kings. The Ksrnaticwarskept Shahjibusyfor thirty years;duringwhichperiodhe conquered Velloreand
Ginjiandobtained asJahgir, Myeore, Kolarandotherplaces.Healsoforced
A NOTE ONNIAHRATTAS OFSODTII INDIA
143
thookl >Naik chiefsof Nlmluraand'I'nnjorcto . ulnnitto thc authorityot BijapurandI>;iytrihutr AtterShahl>h Store; nd :tfmlu>a.Tak>ng ndvantage uf thisVenkojicaptured 'I'»niurc:>ml nind«>t hislicadqnnrtcrs in lii76. TIIE TANJORE RAJAS WhenSivajiinvaded Kurimt»kin 1676. andubiamen of tractafteriract.of territoiy,Vcnkojiv:u unableto maintainhisposition Heiva therefore filledivithdespair andresolved to retirefromthev;orldnnd bocome n 8Foil But Sivaji>vrutc u clmracteristic lettertn his brother, andrvcnkv-three yrnrsnnalphisrlaimsto Ihethrone>vere recognised smlhe ance>idcd theG'adi in 1798,tivt>en Auiaisingl> >>us forceet>re, onpension'I. Sarfoliwassuceecdcd by hissonSivajiiihodiedin 1865iv>thout any male, heiraniltherefore theterritorywaemmexed hy theleast,india '.umpany;theRances lwingpfun>c in South India."ThelistofKininrnt Mshiriishtrisns whose acrouni, i. given >n some ilctaiiin s previous art>sic v;>11 alsomake>t,clearthatthcSimrhIndia>i 1>fnratha colonyluis pro>luce>1 greatailinii>istraiors, e>fucationists, lawyers, judges, engineer, nndri.carch-workers in alinostcvcryfieldof importance. CONOI. ISIObi IL iusy«l>peur Lliai,Llicpreeni cuudiLiun of lie ydsraLhss is noi,quite satisfactory, AsSirA.Seshsyya Sastm said,"theyarcnoi.rich,theycannot bcg,theycannot starve, theymustlive." ln order thatall of them1>lsy gct a decent livelihoorl, thefirst msential is thattheyshould hswelleducsttil Theignorance thatisprevailing in thecommunity oughtto bebanished somehoworother.AsIliaRoyalIIigbncss, thePrince ofygsles saidin 1021, tho lvfsratha people "shoulilbemadysndesgorto >nake, usei>fthesilvantages of education, bythesidof whirhs1one, theycanhope to maintain in thc inoderiiirorldtheposition to ivhichtheyareentitledby theirpresent importanci, theirpastgloryandtheirinnatequalities of sturdycoin>i>on sense anilselfreliance." TheMshratta Education Fundisthcconiiecting linkin Southern India between "1lhtcracy " and"Mucation".
BY Mr. T. B. ]IAMACHAND]IA GOSWAMINarasimhapurkar,B.A.,Tanjorc [TheKirtan is o pecuLiarLy Mahoraehthion institutionwhichhashelped a 'greatdealin popularisingDevotionto the Lord;.and it is gratifyingto natethot it hasbeenadoptedin the chiefvehnacutore of the South,suchas Tamil, Teluguand Kanarese.In this article by Mr. T. B. Ramachandhal Itao, himselfa goodKirtanhar wc havea full accountof thewayia which a KirtaII is performed ando briefmentionof the chiefKirtanharsfrom the timeof Sri Eamachandtu Morgaumhar whocameto Tan]orein 1864. TheEnglishrendering reproduces faithfufiy the charraof the original Marathi. Ed.] It is a matterof sincere pleasure that duringthe yearIewars,the Mahratta EducationFund, Madras,completed twenty-fiveyearsof ite useful existence.Out of the manyinstitutionsstartedin Madrasfor the uplift of the Maharashtrisne, this Fundheshada uniquerecordof longanduseful work. The creditfor this achievement goesto thosemenand womenwho havelaboured'forthe causeat,greatpersonal sacrific andthosewhohave supportedthe movement with monetarycontributions.It is my earnest prayerthat the Fundshouldsecurethe full sympathyandpatronage of all our peopleandmarchfrom success to success, wi%outinterruption,till we are ableto celebrate its centenaries. On this greatfestiveoccasion, I have beeninvited by Mr. T. RamachsndraRso,my kinsmananda prominent nlemberof the Fund,to contributean articleon the subjectof "Kirtan" for the SilverJubileeSouvenir. But theinfirmitieeof eightcombined with the di5cultieeof securing materials prompted meat firetto sends negative reply; onsecond thoughts, however, I wasreminded of the adviceof Sri Ramdasthat "one shouldserveGodaccordingto one'smight; it is hardlyright to refuseservice ". With a feeling of remorse I havedecided to placethe full factsbeforemy readersandproceedto my taskwith humility. Thesubjectof "Kirtan" is a greatone; but therearevery fewwriters amongue with expertknowledge whocan giveuethe materialswe require. TheDrsvidianein theSouthfreelyadmitthat theKirtan waefirst introduced in the MadrasPresidency from the North. Ite earlyoriginis to be traced first to the musicalhymnsattlempting to describe Godi.e. Iswsra,by means of praisesnd prayer,whichin dueprocess, of evolutiontook the forhcof Pul'arise conveying the meaning of Srutissndulti'matelyappeared ashistory in verse,whenLavasndKuessangof theexploitsof Sri Remain the Rsma19
SOUTH INDIAN MAHARASHTRIANS 146 yana,viih themetrekevpinp timeio themusic.Fromthisepicit is clear hoivby its de«eription of Godlicad in entrancing melody, inusircameto occupy s,prominent placein HieKirtan. TotheKirtan1in>self. W>ththerapiddevelopment of the1«iarathi language andtheexposition of tlie gems of Sanskrit, lureby ourpoetsand~aint.in tlic nativetongue, theKirtanbegan to a««um< a most beaut< oimform Whruthvgraceful Hindi tongue mldedto its beauties, thc Kirtancanicion of thehiglivrtruth«refer rcdto in a "PurvaPads"sungat,the«tart.Nextcome! theUpakhyana f.e«theupplieation of thosetruthsin hfetlironghintere«ting illustrations
fromthestoriee of theAvatars, to showthewaysin whichthetruthcsnbe followed in action,interspersed with Bhsjsnandthepronunciation of His namein unison withthehearers, sndSnslly,! theAratiand! distribution of "Prasad ". Withtheadvent of Brshmssri Rsmachsndrs BuvsMorgsumkar to Tan!orein 1864 A.D.th~prevailing practices in Kirtanunderwent s reformation, andeventheDravrdiane beganto imitatehiewsye.Sri KrishnaBhsgsvstsrwsstheffrstto eetthenewmodelfor Kirtsns Hsriksthse! in Tsmih The Teluguversesof Sri ThysgsrajsSwami knownin theseparte sskirtsnsie!, theTamilsongs of Sri KambarandtheMarathipedesin the SakisndDinditunesall formpartof thekirtansonthenewmodeLOfsuch Kirtsnkars, themostnotable of thepresent dsyareSriChidambsrs Bhsghsvatsr,SriVaidysnaths Bhagavatsr, SriAnnsewsmi Bhsgsvstsr sndothers, Priorto the adventof Sri Morgaumksr, the localheadsof Muttsor Mahsnts usedto perform Kirtsnein Marsthi,witheongq full of Bhskti,in varioustunes, including Gametic, snd Hindustani tunes!.Sanskritwss notmuchin uee.Among theaeeompanimente therewssnoharmonium, but theyusedtheThamburs, theMridsng, Jslsr,Swsrabsth, Ssrangi, Violinsnd suchotherinstruments ascouldbehsd. CertainKirtanksre usedonlythe thsmburs. At thisetages few wordeaboutthe MshsrsjMorgaumkar andhia Kirtanewill notbeoutof place.Morgaum claimsto bethebirthplaceof Sri Rsmschsndra Buvs Morgaumkar. li'rom hiachildhoodhe hsd s hankering afterdivineknowledge and.theKirtsne. Whenever sndwhereeverhecouldsecure s chanceof hearingrecitalsof songsin Sanskrit or Marathi,hewsssureto bethere,By his ownintelligent effortssndthe constant attention to themethods of hiecontemporary Kirtsnkare sndunremitting practice, hesoonbecame anexpert in theline. Through theworship of Gsjsnansor LordGanesha! hewonthegraceof God. Afterthis time theGovernment of H.H.theScindis of Gwaliorconstructed a Muttfor bim in Lsehkar,theCantonment! in appreciation of hisKirtsne,andsettledfor hims permanent annuity.Evennowhiedescendants continue to livethere. Of hiethreesons,Sri VishnuBsvsattained equaleminence ass Kirtsnksr sndbecame a domicile of Tanjore.His grandsons SriBsluBhayyaand Ra!aBhsyya!alsohavebecome famousKirtsnksrssnd musicians. His greatgrandson Yeswant RajaBhayysis nowabout10yearsof sgesnd resides st GwalisrMutt. It mayappear that the abovefactssre irrelevant to the subjectof Kirthsn,but it haebeennecessary to eetthemdownherefor thefollowing reason.My re'veredfather,Sri Bahuewsmi Goewami, the headof Sri Govindsewami Baluewami Mutt,Tsnjore, waethebeloved andchiefdisciple of Sri Morgaumkar' Mahsraj,sndthelatter lovinglytutoredhim in the practice of the Kirtanin all ita detsile.In thismanner Sri Bahuewami Goswsmi, instead of becoming snexpert, in Kirtsnaccording to theoldschool thenprevsiTing in Tsnjore, followed thepurenorthern formof speech sndsang
SOUTH INDIANMAHARASHTRIANS 148 songs thatwerewhollyof Hindustanitype.In chaste Msrathimingled with quotations fromSanskritor Hindi,heelaborated histhemewith appropriate episodes in suchs sweetsndsttrscNvetonethat he mightalmostbesaid to havecrested a revolution in currentmodes of Kirtsnperformances. Among' thefollowers of theoldstylewereSriRsghunsth Goswsmi of Sri BhimsrsjsswamiMutt.,Srj DevaGoewsmi of Sri JholirsmBsvsMutt,Sri Tysgarsjaswamiof SriAnnsjiBsvsMutt,SriSethursmsewsq!i of SdiSethuBsvaMutt, Sri Lsghueyams GoewarniDuttsSsmprsdayi! andSri Meruswsmi of Trsvsncore.Theyhsd,however, adapted someof thenorthern tunesandpadse to their performances. Thereare descendants of 'thesewhoareMstsdhipsthisandKirtsnkare, Onaccount'of this,theperiodwhenSriRamachsndra Morgaumksr came overto Tanjoremsy beregardedasuniquein history. Tha lssi of the TsnjorcMaharsjse, Sri Sivsji,hsdpassed swayin 1855A.D.,but 55or 16 of hie Rsniewere living. Besides, therewere severalwealthy families including tbeMangalvilae! sewellsePanditeandVidwsne learned in the variousShsstrss.Expertsongsters sndplayerson instruments in the Csrnaticstyle tooks fancy to snd madeit a point to sdd to theirstores Hindustani musicfromthetimeof Sri Ramachsndra Morgsumkar; because theywereverymuchimpressed withthegrandeffectproduced by hieexpositionsndmusic.At snyrateit will beclearthatto someextentt!tarewssa greatinfluence of the northernoverthe southern art. AmongthosewhoplayedontheMridangin accompaniment to Csrnstie andHindustani musicNsrsysnsswsmi Apps,Rsmadaewsmi, Sethurama Rso snd othersareworthyof mention;amongthe eongetere we haveMshavsidysastha Iyer, PstbsmSubramanis Iyer,ThodiSunder Rsoandothers. Amongplayers,VeenaVaithysnathsIyer, FluteSsrsbhsSsetri,Fiddle Govindsewami Pillai snd GottuVadhysmSskhsrsm Raosre welllrnown. BhsrstsNatyawasalsoin ite highestpitchamong professional ladiesj the heads of sll theMuttewereKirtankarsof repute;among thosesongetere who were perfectmastersof Tumri etcoof the Hindustanitunesmsy be mentioned Bhayysyi Puntsmbeksr; snd in the Khyalasnd Dhrupsda vsrietiee,Sskhsram Bavahad attainedsupreme mastery. Of thosewhc wrotethe materialfor the Kirtsns,'Sri Rsngsnsths Dadaof Gwaliorand Nsrsysnschsrys andRaghuBhuttof Tanjore areijhemost important; Morgsumksr'e collections arefull of their poems.EvenamongChristians nowadays, theresrea fewwhohavebegunto usetheKirtsn ass mesne for instructing thepublic. Although Sri Rsmachandra Morgaumkar MahsrsjcamefromtjheNorth, heestablished a Mutt at Tsnjore,did considerable propaganda in ourparts for the furtherance of the srt of Kirtsn, became a sanyaei andultimately tookleaveof theworldhere. His Sanfadhi msybeseenclose to thenothern gateof theTanjoreFort sndhsebegome almosta placeuf pilgritnage,He msythusbesaidpracticallyto belongto the South. I havedealtat suchlengthwiilhtheKirtsnsof Sri Morgaumksz, because hefulfflledin sn eminent measure sll therequirements of anidealKirtsnkar,
TEEKIRTAN .40 sslaiddownin.theDasabodha of Sri Samarth Rsmdas probablythesole methodist onthissubjecil.SriMorgaumkhar Bsvahadall thequafiffcations of a typicalKirtanker, beinga learned man,full of Bhaktito theLord,and 'endeavouring hiebestto expound hieknowledge to theaudience according to theircapacity. Kirtanksrsareof threedifferentkinds.Thebesttypenevercareto makemoneyout of theirperformsucem Theysetshouttheirworkas a matterof dutiysndinstructthepublicin thesubject, of BhaktiandGnana withnothoughtof s rewardat all. Nexttherearethosewho,afterthe Kirtsnis over,feelpleased withwhatbver collections aremadeoverto them. Last,theresrethosewhoenterintoa previous money contract in connection with theirKirtsns,andit is a matterof regretthat now-a-daye thereare manywhoasa rule,followthistrade'system. TheMarsthiKirtsnkars havestill retsiued thepristinepurityof their idealsin thesubject andobjectof theirwork; whiletheotherBhagavatare withhonourable exceptions! in theirperformances mixupa number of irrelevantdetails, meantmainlyto divertthe audience by theexhibition of mere buffoonery andlevity. In consequence, theseriousness of thesubject ispracticallylost,andtheKalekshspsm becomes a mere pastime.It is a matterof pleasure to notethatourKirtankars havenotdescended to suchlevels. Afterthedsyeof Morgsumksr, therehavebeenmanyamong his descendants and theircontemporaries that achieved fameas Kirtankars or Songeters. Theirmostgenerous andnoblepatronwasthelateKrishnaswsmi Naigof Tanjore. Ksshinath BavaMssurkar, Rsmsehsndrs BavaChsndurkar, NsnaBavsSupekar, among Kirtanksre, RahimatKhanandothers among songetcrs andNanumiah Ssheb, the expertplayeron Dhelokwere therecipients of his patronage. ThenwehaveDurgaBsi Bapst,sndSri Vishnu Digambar Psluskar, whocame to Tanjore andrevitslieed theKirtan, andtheBhajsns.My reason for makingmention of theseis thefactthat fromancient timesthepeople of Tsnjorehavedistinguished themselves in Marathilanguage sndin musicbothvocalandinstrumental; sndsuccessive tidesof Kirtanperformances havehelped to keepintacttheculturalafgnb tiesof Tanjore sndMsharaehtrs proper.AstheDravidian Kirtankars and Vidwsns haveshared thesepartieswith us,to themalsotheseforceshave beenof greatvalue. Let meconclude this articlewith a quotation fromSri Ssmarih himself:" Kirtanhelpsto wsehswayall sin,t'oleadusto thehigherpathand ultimately to thefeetof God;of this youneednot entertain sny doubt." "Listento thepureKirtan,andbecome deserving andpure". I sm oncemoregratefulfor the valuable opportunitv givento meto writethisarticlebytheM.E.F.Needless tc esythat it ie full of imperfections. ButI hopeit will beof some ueeto research workers in thcgeld.
The Contribution Maharashtrians
of South Indian
to Marathi
Literature
Mr. T.S. I!AMACHAN]!j!A COSWAMNsrssimhapurkar,S.A., Tanjcre [Thisiea eerylearned articlebf! hfr. F. B. Raeicchandra Rao,andwe aresurethat it uv'llbe of real ueeto ull eerneeleludenle of Mare hiond research uorherein thefield. Kd.] I am gladto+avea second opportunity of makinga contribution fo the SilverJubileeSouvenir of the MahrattsEducation Fund; but the loftiness of tbesubjectmakesnie a bit nervous, for it is no easytaskfor s student, behisqualiflcations evereohigh,to ensure s satisfactory presentation of the matterto a group of learnedmen. This is eo because, very often chance playshavocoverhumancapacityat!the nick of tiine, Thereie sll the morcreasonwhy s person with my poorquafl]!cations shouldahrinkfroma taskof suchmagnitude, butI shallnevertheless setabout it with anhumblerequest, to my readers in wordssimilarto thoseof Msyura Puntin bieKckavalii 0 Lord! ssyin yourmind,"A creature, thoughvoidof sense sndspeech, full of passions andknowingnothingof the Lord'spraise,yet crineout to invokeMe,whois veryfondof praise". But howcoulds childdoanything vrellst flretI So, slowlyandnicely,let mebeput in thcgoodwayby YourselfI Theresre severalWonders iu God'screation, sndof theseIndia is one. It requiresthe geniusof a greatpoetlike Bansto describe its beautyand greatneee. In ite physicalfeatures our motherland resembles s humanbody withits head" bedecked withs hundred gems", thepeaks of theHimalayas!, tbe Gangesandthe Juiuna flowingthroughthe mid-region of the heart NorthernIndia!, the language andDharmaof gfsharaehtra providingtbe foodfor theentirecountryfromthe centre aefromthe stomach!andthe Deccanforming,as it were,the feet of Hindustan.Our ibfahsrsshtrians havespreadoverthc diferentparteof this countryandabroad,but out of this "GreaterMsharsehtra"we havelimitedtbe scenefor the purpose of this articletu the South. This doesnot by any means reducethc scopeof thesubject.Indeeilthe Mars!biliteratureof the Southoffersa verywide fleldfor study. Tffewriterof this articlewaefor sometimes Maralbitranslatorin tbe MadrasHigh Court. He thenusedto comeacrossvariousSanade, documents,letters,paimaehaccounts etc.in theModi script fromdi!fcrcnt
MAHARASHTRIANE A THEIRLITERATURE
151
districts of thePresidency. A remarkable factandonethatshould beborne in mindbyeveryMsharschtrian asbeingof undoubted historical importance emerges fromtheseevidences; cic,theextentof theMshrattapowersnd influence in thosedaysandthcdeeprootthattheirliterature andculturehad takenin ourprovince. In thefsr southof India,evenfmtherto thesouththanTsnjore, is the historiccityof Madurs.To thisdsyit hssbeens greatcommercial centre. It contains a number of buildings well-known for theirarchitectural beauty. Of thesethegrandtempleof Sri Meenakchi Sundareswar sndthepalace of thePsndyss needspecial mention.A document onbehalfof thistemple wse filedin theMadras HighCourt I forgetthesuitnumber, buttheacknowledgmentoftherecords isdatedabout1910!.Thecopywasonthecurrent stamp paperwrittenin the cld Modiscript,andthewriterwacan IyerI The document waesn agreement in favourof thetempletrusteein respect of properties setapartfor charitable purposes. Thelanguage of thedocument fromfirstto lastwasTamilthroughout I Evennowwehavethedeedof gift madeby VijaysRsghunath Sethuyathi of Ramnad in 1634Salivahans Saks.Thelanguage of this deedie s mixtureof TamilsndMsrathi,the scriptModiandthe writeris one Kuppurguthu, s Sudra by caste! All thishashappened whenTamilsndits stoutsupporters werein the ascendant! Fromthisjt canindeed besaidwithtruththatthepenetration of Msrsthi fificrature in thecountry wsca measure of theextentof Mahrattsconquests sndtheir ultimateabsorption. Thechurning of this greatoceanwith s viewto takeoutthegems thatlie hidden bcnestih sndto writesn adequate appreciation of themsll is by no mesne a taskthat csnbesatisfactorily fulfilledby snyonemsn. Forfihisreason let meendeavour to givesnlys briefaccount of theliteraryworksthat areto bc foundin theSarsswathi MshalLibraryattached to theTsnjorePalace. Of thekingdoms tihatchampioned theHinducivilixation afterthe fall of theCholaDynasty,Vijaysnagar is amongtheforemost.One of the famous rulersof thiskingdom established his rule st Tsnjoreby sending bis con-in-law,Chavanalias Sevsppsn,and his laureatePandit Govinda Dikshit. A full description of theseeventsmay befound in the note sent for translationto me by H. H. JsgsdguruSri Ssnksrscharys of Ksmskoti Peetsh.I sm just, giving this hint to research workers sothugtheymsymakes thorough investigation of the subject!.Thereafter in thewarethat arosebetween theNsiksof Tsnjore andthePsndyas of Madursreferred to above, thelatterwon for further detailsof thesereference msybemadeto Record No.2122!,sndin course oftimetheKingdom wsstakenoverfromthePsndyse by theMshrsttss. Theseveral msnuecripte sndbooks in tbeSarsswathi MabelLibrary,it msybenoted,consist of thecollections madeby thesuccessive sovereigns among the NayskcandMsrsthacin their owntimee.Theyhavebeen
152
SOUTE INDIANMAEARASETRIANS
written on paper in various scripts, Telugu,Sanskrit,Tamil snd Grsntha,an ancientformof Tamil script.Manyof the old Sanskritand Teluguworkssre on palmleaves.But, the collection madeby the Mshrsttas,insteadof beingonpalm leaves, is mostlyon paper.Many of theseworksseemta beveryvaluable, beingcomposed exactlyin the style andmanner described by Sri Ramdoss in hisDssobodh' regarding theart of writing. A catalogue af these, worksIiss beenprintedin threevolumes.In the metricalcampoeitions af the'Southern writers,the.subjectof Vedanta occupies s pre-emineht place, Apart from 'the.'Bskhsrsand L'svsnisongs, generallyspeaking, the worksof the sqcientAuthors mainlyconcern themsel'ves with the evolution of the spirit; for,in theGita,the.Lord hssgivento the studyof matters relatingto the spirit,the fommost placeamong the eci'ences. Thishseled themto the'pursuitogananswer to the questions: 'Wbosm12''Whais the creator'P 'Ho!v did He create.theuniveree2' etc. They believedthat s knowledge oi' thenatureof the Jiva,tlie worldsndIswarswasthe highest knowledge to besought,.snd afterfallowingup theseenquiries theyrecorded their experiences in writingfor thebenefitof others.Therearepeople wbo ssythat theseworkssreuomorethana parrot-like repetition of thesariptures. But let ustakea su!nin Arithmeticor Algebrafor instance.If the answerta that sumis Erst correctlyobtained, naturallyeverysgbsequent solutiouof theproblemshouldalsoyieldthe sameresult;but theinethods of solutionmsy nat bethe same.Justss by their beautysnd fragrance theflowers openoutoursense of appreciation, theprscticee sndexperiences of thesesaintsandsagesserveto improveour Gnsns,so necessary foc our salvation. That ourMshrsttssforgot"whoweare"mustaccount for ourpresent decayed condition.A director indirectknowledge of th'eVedassndVedanta,the storehouse of spirituality,is indispensable to a higherlife. Of theremaining Marsthiclassics in theSsrsewsthi MshalLibrary,! thePuranas, ! the Ramsysn,! the Bharat,! theBhsgavstsnd ! the Ksths-'Kslpa-Tharu fall underthe category opthe Smarthai.e.,relatingto the'Smrihis!snd'Dhsrmic workA Theylall dealwith thesuperiority of humanlife avertheotheror'dere of'crefition in thesearch'for andthe knowledge of theSelf: Theyaretheexplanations of thesrutisor Vedas, as abserved snd practised in actuallife. To enableordinaryfolk to understandthat the path'tothe knowledge of 'theSelfliesalong'thepracticeof Swa-Dharma, andto serveasexamples of thepractice of suchSws-Dharma, classias liketheRsmsyanaembodying thelife of SriRema!wereproduced. Theyindicatethe wsy to secure happiness in the presentworldandthe utility of Bhaktisss means to s betteyfuture. Thisis thechiefpointthat our writershavebeentrying to impressupantheir countrymen by their valuable expositions. The aboverelateentirelyto Puranichistory. The nextpart of the catalogup of the Saraswathi MabelLibrary dealswith ! PureHistory
a r
ng iL d>fhru!L Locuir>ply witl>hisrequest, promised ingtcad to senda fewchosen Bavafounded theMeru.wami Mutt named afterbisdisriple!at,kfannsrgudisndRaghavadas organiscd another aninent disciples. Letusmnvproceed togivea fcwdetails about them. I. Sri Rhimarajaswami vas bornabout, they64 BaliSaksand diedaboutSaks1663.IIsvingbeensentby SriSamarth to Tanjore in the circumstances detailed! ~hove, Shapurkar arnvr Maharaj to give1iof Sw Sauiartli fromthelienof Iiagbavaoce !Vcmay. ayi»ili i>utliilmtof i>H the writerstlmt MalirattaTanjore liacproduced, Madhsvaswsmi andhissons should beranked veryhigh. 7. Virupaksha. Particulars relating to thispoetarenotavailable. His greatworkis BhaktiVilasortheValueof SivaBhakti.It is saidthatthis waswrittenunderorders fromSriSarfoji,sonof SriPratapSingh.Wehas alsos.workentitled Panchansda Mahatmyam. 8. Rulnna Gangadbar belonged to thefamilyof Ivfadhyasta Vcnkoba of Tanlore.Ile ic tlie autl«iroi Sii Nsrs»mha Pnrana, liberateHanviunsa bc>ha Dbaim:i 'I'ik>i anili. >viII-known forlnc"Knsluiam»ia ". >J.oiuAlt>kill>ilaw>i'sill>, Ilcplitvoi SI'iGo> ill>lab>>lite>i>I>Ill ivlluivesc discqileof bri H;uumlas Iilnksli NIaliarai,aiul ounili r uf I 1mTaiiiore ikluii, H v;:i i lt gv I, a folio>vcr of A-vchyi a, f hlulg I. Ioi .. tl Naiai>ill>cpu>'kiri ils bls sill'lit>Ill>c 8>'ihlui>>>lib> >i>>11>i lliul Ills Mutt at Karunthsttangud> anil»a ilmance:ior of lie iir:icr of tlieprese>it:iiticle. Ilia great, workisSriRiimaKrq>s, Vuas>the storyofRani>>yeas m 7Kandss! ui lcugi.liy uviverve butui coil tyle A secocil corkof i>isis DevaBhaktanuvada. Iie lia alsocvcralpoco>' to inccrcd>t. Sorus of ilia ltaja oi Taniorc>>ere al o gun>i poii OftheseSriShel> raidSnPratap Singb wereilncflydrauiai.isi,, SriPraq0 Smgli w well-knoivn I'or hisPrabhoda Chandrodaya, ParvatiKalyan, MitraVindsI'arinaya, etc. These writings srenotin secor>lance withthcrulesof Sanskrit composition. Theabove particulars relateto volumes I and2 ofthecatalogue. ' Our readers arcperhaps familiarwiththenameof thepoetRaghunatha Pandit. Sri AnentKal.baPriyolkar, B.A., of Bombay! a research workerof eminence, a friendof iuincands.frequent contributor to thea Vividha Gnana Vistar"is anardentadmirer of Raghunatha Pandit,whohastakengreat painsto collectfromdifferent places themanuscripts of thepoemandpublishedhisfineeditionof "NaiaDsmsyanti Swayamvsra" withappropriate illustrations. Wehavehisauthority for saying thatRaghunath Panditbe. longsto theSodth;hewasoncof thceightministers AshtaPradhan! of Sri Chatrapathl> thegreatSivajiMaharaj;thework"NaiaDamayanti Swayamvara, in thc styleof thegreatepics> hasno parallelin thc Marathi langoage. SriPriyolkar doesnot,of course, makethisassertion ashisfinal conclusion. Hemerely states fhatuntilfur lierfactsareknown, hisopinion is wmthyof acceptance. Noloverof Marathicanaffordto beignorant of thisgroatpoem.
MAHARABHTRIANB 4 THEIRLITERATURE
iM
Onmedicine sndothersubjects' therearevarious works.Though these areunrelated to ourtheme, I havemadejust a mention of themastheysre all in theMsrsthilanguage. Thethirdvolume of theMarathicatalogue nowclaimsourattention.It covers s widefieldsndconcerns itselfwith manuscripts only. Thereare various pedes sndsbhsngss carefullychosen fromdifferent wnters.Though not of literaryvalue,our readers shouldparticularly noteserialNo. 2122 oldVshiNo.595!. It contains s character sketch of SriChstrspathi Mahsraj,thenames of Mahrsttsfsmiliee endof forts,e.list of MoghulKingssnd of Rsjsputhouseholds, thenames of variousbreeds of horses etc.,covering several pages.WefindalsotheoldBalrhrs referred to above in thisoldVahi No.595sswellasothermatters of interest. Besides thosementioned in the abovevolumes, therearea number of lavsniwritersof theSsvayjandMaujeparties, suchssUtakeGovindacharys andGangaram Pant.Thuieleven relate a io Vedanta, Sringsrs, History,etc. Thisarticlewill beincomplete withoutsomereference.io the workof women poetswhohavewrittenseveral padae, etotras, etc. Themostimportantof themareSriAmbuBsi of Pudukotsh, SriGojiDsbirsndSriBanuBai Kshirsssgsr of Tsnjore. ThcStateaccounts in Modiscriptavailable in thc TanjorcSarnewsthi MabelLibrary,themanuscripts in theTanjorecollectorate andotherpublic officeey thevarious inscriptions in temples, etc.,all formin onesense partof Marathiliterature.Theyoffergoodenough material forresearch. HueainAmber.Special inentionmustbe madeof HuesinAmberor AmberHussin,s Mussslmsn by birth,whohaswrittenHussinAmbari,a treatise ontheGitaI 575 Saks!.Hesays' Scrutinising theBhasbya of Sri Sankars sndthe commentary of Sridhsra, AmberHussinhaewrittenthis workaccording to theVskyarthasndTatparysof theGita.' Probably it wsscopied byTirumalast Ginjithenextyear. It hasbeenmygoodfortune withthehelp, of SriS.Subrsmsnys Sastriof K. H. School, Tanjore, to translate intoTamiltheGitaItahaeys of thelate Loksmsnys Tilsk. Underthe authorityof the Ssrsewathi MabelLibrary Oommittee, it wssgivento meto prepare s complete catalogue of sll the Marathiworkskeptthere.Again,sn opportunity to present to thepublicsn ideaof thecontents of theabovecatalogue hssbeenprovided to meby the MshrsttsEducation Fund,Madras.Forthis I sm indeed deeplygrateful. Suchshortcomings astheremsybein theexposition will, I hope,befreely pardoned. Letmeconclude withtheprayerthatthefutureshould holdbrightprospectsfor Mahsraehtrs sndthatsll thr endesvours of ourpeople should meet withsuccess I
