A Revised and Enlarged Account of the Bobbili Zemindari

Front matter

A REVISED

AND

ENLARGED ACCOUNT

Bobbili Zemindari

BOBBILI ZEMINDARI.

THIS is one of the most ancient Zemindaries in India. It is included in the Vizagapatam District, Madras Presidency, and possesses a very interesting history. It is situated in lat. 18°22′ to 18°46′ N., long. 83°10′ to 83°20′ E., is surrounded by the British taluks of Chipurupalli, Gajapatinagaram, Salur, Parvatipur, Palconda and Chicacole, and consists of the Pergunnahs (Tanas) of Bobbili, Rajam, Kavitey and Sitanagaram, and each is under the charge of an officer called Ameen. The ancient Zemindari is about 300 square miles in area, and contains 139 Jeroyati villages, 53 Agraharams, and 5 Mokhasas. Its revenue is about Rs. 4,36,800 including the value of about 3,407 garces of paddy, which is rent paid in kind. The peishcush is Rs. 83,651 and the land-cess Rs. 30,832. There are about 8,116 tenants with pattas or leases. The average rate of rent per acre of wet land is Rs.7 ½, and of dry land Rs. 2. There are about 241 inams, which yield annually Rs. 18,501 enjoyed by Velama Doras, 243 inams yielding Rs. 4,896 enjoyed by Desasthulu and hill-peons, and 643 Akarams yielding Rs.38,624 enjoyed by the ryots. All the above inams are given from Jeroyati lands and are held on service tenure. As a rule they descend from father to son, subject to the will and pleasure of the raja. The population, which is about entirely Telugu Hindu, is 157,879 according to the census of 1881, 150,878 according to that of 1891, and 158,506 according to that of 1901. The estate is well supplied with tanks and irrigation channels, the former numbering about 1,725. The irrigation channels are mostly connected with the rivers Janjhavati, Vegavati and Nagavali, which run through the Zemindari. The principal wet crops are rice and sugar-cane. The dry crops are ragi, gingelly, oil-seeds, horse-gram, red-gram, green-gram, black-gram, tobacco, &c. The following estates and other villages and lands have been eventually purchased and added to the Samasthanam.

1. Tummapala, Annamrajupeta and six other villages leased to the Vizianagaram Zemindari.—The annual rent of this Hunda is Rs. 22,495.

2. Karakavalasa and Mulagavalasa estates.—The annual rent of these estates is Rs. 33,112 peishcush Rs.7,992, and land-cess Rs. 2,160. The Jeroyati and other villages number 53, and the number of pattadars is 1,021. The population according to the census of 1901 is 14,102. 3. Pedapenki Hunda and certain villages and lands situated in and about the ancient Zemindari.—The annual rent of this portion is Rs. 47,482 including the rent in kind, peishcush Rs. 9,322, and land-cess Rs. 2,902. The Jeroyati and other villages are 24 in number, and the number of tenants is 892. The population according to the census of 1901 is 14,405.

4. Siripuram Thana consisting of portions of Kirlampudi, Arempudi, Rayavaram and Dantamur Estates, all situated in the Godaveri District.—The annual rent of this Thana is Rs.85,364, peishcush Rs.18, 116, and land-cess Rs.4,927. The Jeroyati and other villages are 18 in number, while the number of pattadars is 516. The population of this Thana (census 1901) is 19,321.

5. Thiruvur Thana situated in the Chingleput District.—The annual rent is Rs.26,403, peishcush Rs.7,790, and land-cess Rs. 1,234. The number of Jeroyati and other villages is 12, and that of the pattadars 1,522. The population (census 1901) is 6,907.

The annual rent of the villages and other lands which were presented to the temples at Bobbili and Sitarampur by the former Rajas of the Samasthanam is Rs.30,668. The number of pattadars is 490.

The total annual income of the Samasthanam and of the other estates eventually bought amounts at present to about Rs.6,5 1,670. The total population living within the limits of the ancient Zemindari and the Estates added to the Zemindari excluding the first item is 213,241 according to the census of 1901. The total number of tenants is 12,067.

The chief town is Bobbili, the residence of the Maharajah. Lat.18° 34'-N., long. 18° 25'-E. It is about 70 miles north-west of Vizagapatam. Sir M. E. Grant Duff, who visited Bobbili in 1883, describes it as "a clean and well-kept town, furnished with all the appliances of Anglo-Indian civilisation—schools, hospitals and what not—all within a walk of the remains of the Old Fort, where 126 years ago was enacted one of the most ghastly stories which even Indian History has to record."

The population of the town with its suburbs Gollapalli, Pata-Bobbili and Mallammapettah, according to the census of 1891, is 14,468; of this number 14,075 are Hindus, 333 Muhammadans, and 60 Christians. And again the population, according to the census of 1901, is 18,025; of this number 17,373 are Hindus, 333 Muhammadans, and 59 Christians. There is a Canadian Baptist Mission in the town. This Mission maintains a Girls' School. There is also a Roman Catholic Chapel with a small congregation.

There are a Vishnu and a Siva temple; the other public institutions are:—The Sub-Magistrate's Office, the Police-station, the Sub-Registrar's Office, the Post and Telegraph Office, the Local Fund Dispensary, the Samasthanam Gosha Hospital, the Samasthanam Offices, the Samasthanam High School, Sri Maharani Caste Girls' School, the Victoria Town Hall, the Maharajah's Chattram, the Samasthanam Poor House, and the Travellers' Bungalow for Europeans. There is also a Local Fund Union or Panchayet subordinate to the Parvatipur Taluk Board. The town is supplied with drinking-water by four tanks, which are situated on the four sides of the town.

The weaving of cloths and the manufacture of brass and bell-metal articles are the chief industries carried on.

The Bobbili family belongs to the tribe known as Velama Doras, who (according to Orme) "esteem themselves the highest blood of Native Indians next to the Brahmins, equal to the Rajputs, and support this pre-eminence by the haughtiest observances, insomuch that the breath of a different religion, and even of the meaner Indians, requires ablution." The men of this race are, as a rule, well-built and of a warlike disposition. They are proverbially haughty, so much so that they are not known to serve any but the chiefs of their own caste. Most of them are very backward in education and full of prejudices. They are very daring and reckless of life when their feelings are hurt, or when anything happens to offend their notions of respect. The gallantry shown by Rajah Ranga-Rao and his followers, who consisted of Velama Doras and Desastulu (Talagas), in the memorable siege of Bobbili in 1758, made such a deep impression on the Hindus that it has been commemorated in ballads which are sung to this day by wandering minstrels in many parts of the Presidency. A Prabandha called "Ranga Raya Charitra" (History of Ranga-Rao) contains a description of the battle of Bobbili.

The following is a brief sketch of the important events in the lives of the successive Rajahs of Bobbili. It must be mentioned that in consequence of the destruction of the Bobbili Fort in 1758, and the anarchy which followed that destruction, there were hardly any records from which sufficient information regarding some of the Rajahs could be gathered.

The Founder of The Samasthanam

THE FOUNDER OF THE SAMASTHANAM.

As regards the founder of the Samasthanam, the genealogies given in those Prabandhams that have been composed by the members of the family, or are dedicated to them by poets, the history of the Zemindari compiled by the late G. Ranganayakulu, Carmichael's District Manual, and the Samasthanam records, all these differ from one another. I now, therefore, propose to examine the different accounts, and to show who is the real founder of the Bobbili family.

The Prabandhams referred to above, all begin with the ancestor Anipotamulu, and say that Lingappa Ranga-Rao built the fort and town of Bobbili. It is from the latter that they trace the genealogy of the successive generations.

The Prabandhams are the following:—

(1) "Sree Kurma Kshetra Mahatmyam," composed by K. Venkata Kristna Somayajee and dedicated to Rajah Rayadappa Ranga-Rao.

(2) "Sankalpa Suryodayam," composed by Rajah Rayadappa Ranga-Rao.

(3) "Prapadana Parijatam," composed by K. Kothandaramayya and dedicated to Rajah Swethachalapati Ranga-Rao.

(4) "Hari Bhakti Sudhodayam" and "Mitravindaparinayam," both composed by Rajah Janardana Ranga-Rao, the second son of Rajah Rayadappa Ranga-Rao.

In his history of the Bobbili Zemindari, G. Ranganayakulu says that Rajah Dharma Rao was the founder of the Samasthanam. He finds this stated in some of the records of the Samasthanam, to which much weight must apparently be attached. But this cannot, for the following reasons, be accepted as true.

In his letter, dated the 15th December, 1821, J. Smith, Esq., the then Collector and Agent of Vizagapatam, in asking the then Rajah of Bobbili, Rayadappa for his opinion on some matters then under the consideration of the Government, such as the entrusting of the police administration to the Zemindars, and the making of all the Zemindaries inalienable under certain conditions, inquired of the Rajah who the founder of the Samasthanam was and what customs prevailed in the Samasthanam in the matter of succession. In reply to the inquiry about the founder, the Rajah says that Rajah Dharma Rao, the grandson of Sarvagnya Singamulu, a scion of the Venkatagiri family, was the founder of the Samasthanam.

But five years afterwards, Rajah Rayadappa himself composed a book named "Sankalpa Suryodayam," in which lie does not even mention the name of Dharma Rao in the genealogy. On the completion of the book he made a gift of an Agraharam, by a deed dated 13th September, 1826, to a Pandit who helped in the task. In it he says that Rajah Lingappa Ranga-Rao was the ancestor that built the town and fort of Bobbili, resided there, and conquered the country as far as Bastar. He mentions also the names of Anipotamulu and Sarvagnya Singamulu as the great, victorious, and learned members of the family before Rajah Lingappa.

The other four Prabandhams also begin with the same two great members of the family, and say that Rajah Lingappa was the one who built the fort at Bobbili and resided there. It would seem, therefore, that Rajah Rayadappa must have subsequently learnt that Dharma Rao was not, as he had previously written to the Collector and Agent of Vizagapatam, the founder of the Bobbili family; for when he mentioned the name of Sarvagnya Singamulu, he would not have omitted mention of his grandson, Dharma Rao, of whom he wrote to the Collector and Agent of Vizagapatam that he was the founder of the Samasthanam.

In the genealogy of the Venkatagiri family, Sarvagnya Singamulu is shown to be childless; but in the male line, as amongst the Hindus all brothers' sons are regarded as sons of each brother, there was a descendant, Dharma Rao by name, related as a kind of grandson to Sarvagnya Singamulu. As Sarvagnya Singamulu belongs to the tenth generation, Dharma Rao must then be regarded as belonging to the twelfth. The present Rajah of Venkata , being a member of the twenty-eighth generation, comes, therefore, under the sixteenth generation after Dharma Rao. If we take this Dharma Rao as the head of the Bobbili family, there must have been about sixteen generations from him to the present Rajah of Bobbili. But from Rajah Lingappa who, all the Prabandhams say, was the builder of the fort at Bobbili, there are only ten generations. Therefore, from all these circumstances, it seems clear that Dharma Rao could not be the founder of the House. Again, opposite to the name of Dharma Rao, in the ninth generation of the Venkatagiri family, it is written that he is one of the Ravu Varu. The families of Venkatagiri, Pittapur, Bobbili, and Jetprole (in the Nizam's Dominions) are all Ravu Yaru. But Venkatagiri and Jetprole have, in later years, changed their family names for the names of the towns where they settled. All these four families, and many other families descended from these four, have the same Gotra, viz., "Recherla." The Venkatagiri family is not only the first to whom the surname Ravu Varu was applied, but is also the head of the Velama Doralu. The family was at first called Ravu Varu, but after some years they lived at Amanagallu near Warangal, and were hence called Amanaganti Varu.

Again, the thirteenth generation settled at Velugodu, and since then to the present day they have been called Velugoti Varu. This Dharma Rao, of the ninth generation of the Venkatagiri family, for some reason or other changed his family name from Amanaganti Varu for the older name of Ravu Varu; or he might have become the founder of the Pittapur or some other family called Ravu Varu. But we cannot call him the founder of the Bobbili family; for, if we take this Dharma Rao or the Dharma Rao of the twelfth generation as its founder, we have to add four or five more generations to the Bobbili family and to assign them some names as well as places for them to live in.

This family name Ravu Varu is one of historical importance, but it is not the name of a place where the members of the family lived. Its origin is this:

The Maharajah Pratapa Rudra of Warangal conferred this name of honour on the family of Chevi Reddi alias Bhetala Naidu, the founder of the Venkatagiri Samasthanam, and also ordered that every Velama Dora must have Ravu added at the end of his name. In the history of "Padmanayaka Charitra" there is a verse in regard to this family name, which translated runs as follows:—

"He who has the title Rao, which was bestowed by the king, prefixed to his name, is the ruler; and if it is affixed to the name, then it is a general mark of the Velama caste."

Now let us see who were Anipotamulu and Sarvagnya Singamulu, They were none other than the Anipotamulu and Sarvagnya Singamulu of the Venkatagiri family. The first one was a great warrior, who distinguished himself by his valour. He killed many chiefs in battle and conquered the country as far as the river Krishna. It is said that in a single battle he killed and conquered one hundred and one chiefs who had combined together against him. The second, Sarvagnya Singamulu, was celebrated for his learning. He was well versed in many branches of knowledge and always surrounded himself by pandits and poets. He composed a book called "Singa Bhupaleeyam." He was called Sarvagnya (one who knows everything) by the people. Though they were members of the Venkatagiri family, which was the original line of Ravu Varu, they were praised in the histories of Bobbili and Pittapur as the members of their own families, for the simple reason that they were their ancestors and of great reputation. But they were always mentioned before the founders of the houses. Their names have also become household words in every Velama family.

G. Ranganayakulu, the compiler of "the Bobbili Zemindari," was altogether mistaken in the view he took. Following the letter written by Rajah Rayadappa Ranga-Rao to the Collector, he takes Dharma Rao as the founder of the family, yet strangely puts Anipotamulu, who belongs to the sixth generation of the Venkatagiri family, as the son of Dharma Rao, who is of the twelfth generation in the same genealogy. Again he puts Sarvagnya Singamulu as the great grandson of Dharma Rao, while according to Rajah Rayadappa's letter and the Venkatagiri genealogy, Dharma Rao is the grandson of Sarvagnya Singamulu. He has also added two more generations before Lingappa Ranga-Rao, thus showing more generations in the line. He had not any sort of authority to add these extra generations.

Note here that Rajah Lingappa Ranga-Rao is mentioned in all the above Prabandhams as a resident of Bobbili and the builder of the fort. But they do not say he was the founder of the house. Then it must be another one who first acquired this Zemindari.

In Carmichael's District Manual, and also in the recently published histories, the name of Pedda Rayadu is mentioned as the founder of the house.

Carmichael's Manual says in para 3, page 291:—

The Bobbili Family and Estate

THE BOBBILI FAMILY AND ESTATE.

"The Zemindar is a 'Velama Dora,' of the same branch of the tribe as the Zemindar of Venkatagiri in Nellore. In A. D. 1652, an ancestor named Pedda Rayadu entered the district in the train of the Foudar or Nawab of Chicacole, Shere Mahammad Khan. Another retainer of the Khan's was Pusapati Madhava

Varma, the ancestor of the Vizianagaram family; and the rivalry between these two houses dates from this period.

"Pedda Rayadu soon distinguished himself by rescuing the Nawab's son out of the hands of certain rebels whom he defeated with great slaughter at a place called 'Rangavaka' near Palasa in Ganjam. The Nawab rewarded him with the lease of Rajam Hunda in this district and gave him the title of Ranga Row, which has been borne by all his successors. The new Zemindar built himself a fort and petta, to which he gave the name of ' Bebbuli (the royal tiger), in honour of his patron's designation, 'Shere.' From 'Bebbuli' the name of the town and Zemindari has been corrupted into Bobbili."

In speaking about the population of the Circars, and after mention is made of the Brahmins, the following occurs on page 140 of the "Fifth Report":—

"In like manner, the Rachewars, Row-wars, and Velamas,* of which denominations the principal Zemindars in the Circars are actually composed, affect the warlike character and manners of Rajputs to entitle themselves to be ranked with the more genuine offspring of the Chesteree or second class."

The foot-note on the same page runs as follows:—

Madras Manual of the Administration by Dr. Macleane says in para. 1 1, page 60:—

Sketch Account of The Bobbili Zemindari

SKETCH ACCOUNT OF THE BOBBILI ZEMINDARI.

"This estate is in Vizagapatam District. It is surrounded by the British talooks of Gujapatinugger, Cheepoorpully, Saulore, Parvatipore, Palcondah, and Bobbili. It consists of five pergunnahs, Bebbooly, Rajam, and Kavitey, Seetanagaram, and Mettoogramamoolu, and yields to its owner a revenue of Rs.3,75,000 per annum. Of this, Rs.90,000 is paid to Government as peishcush. The estate possesses an interesting history. When in 1652, Sher Mahomed Khan, the Nawab of Chicacole, entered the district, he was accompanied by two men, rivals to each other, one being Peddarayoodoo, the ancestor of the present chief of Bobbili, and the other the ancestor of the Vizianagaram family; and from this time dates the rivalry between the two houses.

Peddarayoodoo soon after received in reward for gallantry the estate of Rajam, where he built a fort, naming it Bebbooly (the royal tiger), in honor of his patron's designation, Sher (tiger). From Bebbooly the name of the town and zemindari has been corrupted into Bobbili. This estate bordered on Vizianagaram, and the ill-feeling between the chiefs was increased by constant conflicts of interest. In 1756 the disorderly behaviour of the Poligars called for measures of repression, and M. Bussy marched with a European force to restore order. On his reaching Vizianagaram the Rajah assured him that the chief of Bobbili was the instigator of all disturbances, and to testify his own loyalty, joined the French with a force of 11,000 men to assist in crushing his rival. Before attacking the latter, M. Bussy offered the chief a pardon for the past, and land of equal value elsewhere, if he would abandon his ancestral estate; but the offer was refused. The attack on the fort of Bobbili is one of the most memorable in Indian History. At daybreak, the field pieces began to play on the mud defences, practicable breaches were at once made, and the assault sounded. After four hours' desperate righting, hand to hand, Bussy called off his men to allow the cannon to widen the breaches. A second assault was then ordered, but with no better results; for not a man had gained footing within the ramparts when five hours later Bussy again withdrew the storming party to repeat the argument of artillery. The defenders now recognised their desperate position, and collecting their wives and families put them to death, and returned to their posts. The assault soon recommenced; and when at sunset Bussy entered the fort as victor with the remnant of his army, it was only because every man of the garrison was dead or desperately wounded. An old man, however, crept from a hut, and leading a child to Bussy presented him as the son of the dead chief. Four other men had preserved their lives; and two nights later, when the Vizianagaram camp was buried in sleep, they crept into the Rajah's tent, and before the sentries had discovered and shot down the assassins, they had stabbed the Rajah to death with thirty-two wounds. The child, Chinna Ranga Row, saved from the slaughter, was invested by Bussy with the chiefship of the lands that had been offered to his father; but before he attained his majority, his uncle regained by force of arms the former estate of Rajam. At last the Vizianagaram family compromised with their rivals, and leased to them the Kavitey and Rajam pergunnahs. The old feud, however, again broke out, and the Bobbili chief fled into the Nizam's country. In 1794, when the Vizianagaram estate was dismembered, Chinna Ranga Row was restored by the British to his father's domains, and in 1801 a permanent settlement was concluded with Chinna Ranga Row's adopted son, Rayadappa, at an annual tribute of Rs. 90,000. Since then the peace of the estate has been undisturbed. Rayadappa was succeeded in 1830 by his son Swethachellaputty, who was an excellent manager of the property. Dying in 1862, Swethachellaputty was succeeded by Seetharamakrishna, whom he adopted out of the family of the Zemindar of Pittapur in the Godaveri District. Seetharamakrishna having died childless in 1868, his widow, Lakshmee Chellegoomma (Chellayyamma) succeeded to the estate. In 1876, the title of Ranee was conferred upon her in consideration of her liberality in contributing 1,000 garces of paddy to alleviate the distress during the Bengal famine. In 1871, she adopted the present Zemindar, Vencata Swetachellaputty, out of the family of the Zemindar of Vencatagherry in the Nellore District. Vencata Swetachellaputty assumed charge of the estate in 1881 on his attaining majority."

In the Imperial Gazetteer of India by W. W. Hunter, Vol. III., on page 21, a similar account is given about Bobbili.

Evidently Pedda Rayadu came in 1652 in the train of Sher Mahammad Khan, Nawab of Chicacole. The other chief was Madhava Varma, the ancestor of the Vizianagaram family. Madhava Varma and Pedda Rayadu could not be common persons coming in the train of Sher Mahammad Khan to help him in the conquering of the Circars. Madhava Varma was said to be a chief of Pusapadu near Kondapalli, close to Bezwada. At that time, the country as far as the southern bank of the River Krishna was under the Venkatagiri Raj. The then Rajah of Venkatagiri was Nirvana Rayappa alias Pedda Rayappa. He was generally called by the latter name, and must in all probability be the same Pedda Rayadu who came in the train of Sher Mahammad Khan. In the history of the Venkatagiri family, he is placed in the fifteenth generation of that line. He must have been a great warrior and a distinguished person; otherwise the name Rayappa would not have been given to several descendants of the families of Venkatagiri and Bobbili. Before him there was not such a name as Rayappa in the Venkatagiri family. At Bobbili, Pedda Rayappa or Pedda Rayadu, being the founder of the Raj, his name was given to several descendants of the Bobbili House, as hereinafter shown in the genealogy. There are also two big tanks that bear his name in the Zemindari, each of them being called "Rayaningari Tank."

From the above circumstances it is pretty clear and certain that Nirvana Rayappa alias Pedda Rayappa, the fifteenth lineal descendant of the Venkatagiri family, came to the Circars in the train of Nawab Sher Mahammad Khan, rendered valuable military services to the Mogul Government in conquering the Circars, and, in return, was granted this Zemindari by the Mogul Government.

Mr. Carmichael in his Manual says that Pedda Rayadu soon distinguished himself by rescuing the Nawab's son out of the hands of certain rebels, for which the Nawab rewarded him with Rajam Hunda, then called by that name, as the town of Bobbili was subsequently built. The Bobbili taluq was then known as the Sitanagaram taluq. Mr. Carmichael also says the hereditary title of Ranga-Rao was also conferred upon him at the same time. It is a well-known fact that Rajah Lingappa Ranga-Rao was the rescuer of the Nawab's son, and that for his services he received the title Ranga-Rao and also twelve villages in the Zemindari free from peishcush. When I come to Rajah Lingappa Ranga-Rao I shall write a full account of his valour. Rajah Lingappa Ranga-Rao's valour in the battle of Rangavaka and the title Ranga-Rao conferred upon him have become household topics of conversation in these parts.

Now let us see what is said of Pedda Rayappa in the Venkatagiri history. On page 28, it runs as follows:—

FIFTEENTH GENERATION.

"China Singama Naidu's son was Nirvana Rayappa Naidu alias Pedda Rayappa Naidu. This individual defeated the Rajahs of Velugodu, took possession of the fort, and planted his white umbrella thereon. Hence he obtained the title of Velugodugu Raya Vibhudu from a descendant and namesake of the great Pratapa Rudra Maharajah.

"Nirvana Rayappa Naidu was also noted for his liberality and religious disposition. He was a strict follower of the Vishnava sect, and he is also said to have granted away a large number of houses to Brahmins on account of their having invoked rain on one occasion, when the country was suffering from drought.

"Poet Mallanna has written a poem called 'Vykuntarohanam' on his death.

SIXTEENTH GENERATION.

"Nirvana Rayappa Naidu had four sons, of two of whom nothing is known. The descendants of the eldest are known only for five generations after him, but nothing is known about them.

"The third son Kumara Timma Naidu continued the line. This individual is said to have ruled his dominions from his capital Velugodu and to have conquered all his enemies. He was also very liberal to Brahmins and gave them houses and lands."

In the above quotations nothing is said about Pedda Rayappa's obtaining the Bobbili Raj. But it is said he had four sons, and of the second and the fourth of these the compiler of the history knows nothing. And even of the eldest nothing is known but the names of his descendants for five generations. But nobody knows why the eldest did not succeed his father. Of the second and the fourth son, nothing is mentioned in the book. The youngest or fourth son's name is Rangappa; in Telugu, the letter "Ra" and the letter "La" are written in such a way that many people, unless they are clearly written, mistake one for the other. In the old days, I need not say, it must have been far more difficult to distinguish those letters when written on palmyra leaves, the writing material of that time. Therefore, very likely, the name Lingappa was misread or miswritten as Rangappa.

Evidently Pedda Rayadu must have gone to the Circars in the train of Sher Mahammad Khan with his youngest son, Lingappa, left him to reign over the newly-obtained Zemindari of Bobbili, and returned to Venkatagiri. Or Pedda Rayappa must have given to the accompanying youngest son, Rangappa, the name of his great ancestor Lingappa, of the ninth generation of the Venkatagiri family. This Lingappa reigned from A.D. 1434 to 1476. During his reign he came to the Circars, conquered the country as far as Jagannad or Puri, to the entire appreciation of the Maharajah Gajapati, the then Maharajah of Jagannad or Cuttack. The country thus conquered extended from Jagannad on the north to Kondavati Seema in the south, and from Calingapatam on the east to Cheekati in the west. In one battle he killed 32 chiefs who combined together against him.

Mr. J. Talboys Wheeler in his History of India, in describing the battle of Bobbili of 1758, says:—

"The Raja of Bobbili claimed to be a Rajput of high descent, whose ancestors had fought under the ancient Maharajahs of Jagannath in the old mythical wars against the South."

Though Mr. Wheeler calls these wars mythical, yet as a myth contains a germ of truth, the germ in this case, as gathered from the Venkatagiri history, seems to be that Lingappa conquered the Circars as shown above. Therefore, it is pretty certain that Pedda Rayadu's son Lingappa, whose name must have been misread or miswritten in the history of Venkatagiri, or changed by his father for his great ancestor's name, is the one who built the fort at Bobbili and resided there. Thus Pedda Rayadu becomes the founder of the Bobbili Raj, and Lingappa the second in generation. That Pedda Rayadu, who, it is said in the Venkatagiri history, was a strict follower of the Vishnavite religion, was the founder of the Bobbili Raj, is to a certain extent supported by the fact that the members of the Bobbili House have been strict Vishnavites.

I have shown and explained this account in detail to my brother, the present Rajah of Venkatagiri, K.C.I.E., Dr. J. Marsh, my old tutor, and several others, all of whom have concurred in my conclusions as above stated.

The Founder of The Samasthanam

I. THE FOUNDER OF THE SAMASTHANAM.

Rajah Pedda Rayadu Bahadur Garu.

Nirvana Rayappa, generally called Pedda Rayadu, the fifteenth Rajah of the Venkatagiri Samasthanam, was one of two chiefs who arrived in the Northern Circars in the train of Sher Mahammad Khan, when that General came to conquer the country for the Mogul Government; and for his valuable services at that time was rewarded by the grant to him of the Rajam Samasthanam. The other chief was Madhava Varma, the founder of the Vizianagaram Samasthanam. With the Samasthanam Pedda Rayadu was granted the hereditary titles of Rajah and Bahadur, and the right to use a white flag, Dhanka, Nowbat, and other insignia of royalty. After everything was settled in the Circars, he returned to his ancestral Raj of Venkatagiri, leaving the newly-obtained Raj to his son Lingappa.