Wielding such a power as he did, it is likely that Krishnappa Nayaka should have cherished ideas of independence of his royal master. In his first rebellion against Venkata I, ruler of Vijayanagar (vellore), as we have already seen, Krishnappa was imprisoned and later on released through the efforts of Raghunatha Nayaka of Tanjore.
This humiliation did not damp the spirit or diminish the ambition of Krishnappa, who continued to cherish ideas of independence. The nobles and courtiers of the Raya urged him (about 1600) to capture Gingee and humble the overgrown chief.
The Pretense of Madness
News about the insanity of Krishnappa reached the ears of the Emperor when he was about to march against him. This madness seems to have been only a pretense as Fr. Coutinho says and “that the fraud is now patent that the king feigned to be out of his senses in order to please four of the grandees of the kingdom, who were afterwards killed by his order.” Venkata seems to have abandoned his march to Gingee despite the advice of the nobles, as the Gingee Nayak was reported to have become insane.
Final Defeat (1607-1608)
A few years later, in 1604, Krishnappa Nayaka sent an embassy to Venkata, according to a Jesuit letter. But in the war that was waged towards the end of 1607, the Nayak was defeated with ignominy.
According to the letter of Coutinho, the tardiness of the Nayak in paying the tribute resulted in the dispatch of captains to conquer the lands of the kingdom of Gingee. One of these captains was Velugoti Yachama Naidu who, according to the Velugotivari Vamsavali, captured Gingee.
The Jesuit adds that Krishnappa “distributed his earrings and other jewels he bore on his chest among his opponents in order to induce them not to kill him. Such was the great victory won on the New Year’s Day 1608.”
Portuguese Relations
The Portuguese, then bitter rivals of the Dutch, exercised much influence at the court of Venkata I. Krishnappa is said to have been very fond of the Portuguese, as mentioned in a letter of the Portuguese Viceroy, Francis Vasco de Gama dated 28th November 1604.
Dutch Attempts at Settlement
The Dutch tried to penetrate into the Bay of Bengal and sought the permission of Krishnappa Nayaka of Gingee to build a fort at Devanampatnam (modern Fort St. David, Cuddalore) which was subsequently granted in 1608.
The Nayak’s olla (or farman) in which the first concession to the Dutch was made is dated 30th November 1608. However, due to pressure from Venkata I and the Portuguese, Krishnappa eventually had to expel the Dutch from his territory, despite the “large profits the Nayak hoped to get from the Dutch.”
Religious Policies and Vaishnavism
Krishnappa Nayaka was a loyal follower of Venkata I in his attitude towards religion. He was a staunch Vaishnava like his master and did much to spread and foster it. His measures in the Chidambaram temple are sufficient to show his zeal for Vaishnavism.
Chidambaram Temple Controversy
Father Pimenta found Krishnappa engaged in the settlement of internal disputes among the managers of the Chidambaram temple in 1597 A.D. A bitter controversy was raging over the question whether the shrine of Vishnu should be included within the innermost enclosure of the temple wherein the shrine of Nataraja was located.
Krishnappa Nayaka showed great determination in restoring and repairing the Govindaraja shrine within the Nataraja temple. Despite fierce opposition from Saiva priests who threatened to throw themselves from the temple tower, Krishnappa was unmoved and continued the construction work.
Pimenta observed “that twenty people had perished in that precipitation on that day of departure, whereat the Nayak being angry, caused his gunners to shoot at the rest which killed two of them while others fled to different places.”
The Great Civil War (1614-1617)
The death of the Vijayanagar Emperor, Venkata I, in 1614 A.D. led to a tragic civil war between the feudal adherents of the legal claimant to the throne headed by Yachama Nayaka, and the supporters of the putative son of Venkata headed by the infamous Jagga Raya. One of the allies of Jagga Raya was Krishnappa Nayaka of Gingee, who, with Muthu Virappa Nayaka of Madura, espoused the wrong cause and suffered in the end.
The Battle of Toppur
The great civil war lasted from 1614 to 1617 and caused considerable dislocation. The decisive Battle of Toppur was fought between December 1616 and November 1617, where Jagga Raya was killed and his forces defeated.
Krishnappa Nayaka of Gingee also fled from the battlefield, “making himself ridiculous in the eyes of his officers.” After Jagga Raya’s death, his brother Yatiraja continued to resist, joining with Krishnappa and others. The Tanjore Nayak quickly dispatched an army to attack the Gingee territory, capturing several fortresses and defeating Krishnappa’s forces.
Later Successors
The successors of Krishnappa Nayak were insignificant. According to the Mackenzie Mss. we hear of two Nayaks by name Yaradappa Nayak and Appayya Nayak who were merely noted for their imbecility.
An inscription refers to Yaradappa Nayaka of Gingee who gave some land and a golden planquin to God Kumaraswami on his way back from Sethu Rameswaram whither he had gone on pilgrimage. However, the date given in the inscriptions (Saka 1593 = A.D. 1670-71) cannot be accepted in view of the fact that the Muhammadans occupied Gingee some years before this event, about 1660 A.D.
Krishnappa Nayaka represents a significant figure in South Indian history during the late Vijayanagar period. His reign was marked by both prosperity and conflict, religious patronage and political miscalculation. While he successfully maintained Gingee as one of the most powerful fortresses in South India and fostered trade and religious activities, his political choices during the succession crisis ultimately led to his downfall. His story illustrates the complex dynamics between the Vijayanagar Empire and its powerful feudatories during this crucial period of transition in South Indian history.
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