the tenets of the Lingáyat faith[1]. Such was the commencement of the rule of the present Mysore sovereigns, who, though of noble descent, were, unlike most of their predecessors in the Karnátik, of foreign origin.
For a period of two hundred years they held the status of petty chieftains only, but in 1609 Ráj Wodiar, seventh in descent from Vijayaráj, taking advantage of the weakness of the decaying Vijayanagar kingdom, to which Mysore was nominally subject, seized the fortress of Srírangapatan (Seringapatam), and made it the seat of his government. Shortly afterwards he renounced the Lingáyat faith, reverting to the worship of Vishnu, as practised by his ancestors. From this time he and his successors gradually extended their territory by conquest till, on the death of Chikka Devaráj, their possessions yielded a considerable revenue. In order to conciliate the Emperor Aurangzeb, who was said to contemplate the invasion of the Mysore country, Chikka Devaráj despatched an embassy in 1699 which was favourably received by the Great Mughal, who bestowed upon the Rájá, as he was now styled, the title of Jaga Deva, and an ivory throne, which was afterwards used on the installation of his successors. Chikka Devaráj was a brave soldier and an excellent administrator, but those who followed him being incompetent rulers, all power, as in the case of the descendants of the famous Sivají,
- ↑ The Lingáyats are worshippers of Siva, and wear the phallus in a small silver box, which is suspended by a string from the neck.
