1837-] Historical Sketch of the Kingdom of Pandya. 207 



namented with black granite pillars, some of which are twenty feet 

 high cut out of one stone.* 



The reign of Tirumalla Nayak was of considerable duration ; one ac- 

 count says forty years; another, thirty-six; and the lowest computa- 

 tion, therefore, brings it to the year 1657,f when he was succeeded by 

 his son Virapa, a prince of an effeminate and indolent disposition, and 

 who, accordingly, was unable to repress the incursions of the Mysore - 

 ans, under so active a prince as Kanti Deva Nana Raj. They took se- 

 veral places in the western districts during this reign from the Madura 

 Nayak.J 



Chokanath Nayak succeeded his father ; he was a prince of some 

 conduct and enterprise, and rendered himself formidable to all his 

 neighbours. He first turned his arms against Vijaya Raghava, king 

 of Tanjore, whom he defeated and put to death, taking prisoner his 

 ally, Surya Deva, the Setupati, and assisting Kilavan, the cousin of the 

 captive prince, to become master of Ramnad. He then invaded the 

 kingdom of Mysore, expecting to reduce it under his authority, but 

 the events of the war reversed his expectations, and inflicted severe 

 losses on the government of Madura. 



The son of the late king of Tanjore, Chengamal Das, had made his 

 escape from the fort of Trichanapali, where he had been confined. 

 His escape was effected probably with the aid of Rustam Khan, a 

 Mohammedan chief, who had been a favourite of Chokanath, and who 

 commanded the garrison under the orders of Mudala Rudra Nayak, the 

 brother of Chokanath, an extravagant and indolent prince, who lavish- 

 ed on his personal gratifications the sums destined for the pay of the 

 troops. Taking advantage of their discontent, Rustam Khan liberated 

 himself from all controul, and made himself master of Trichanapali. 

 This event, with the escape of Chengamal Das, encouraged the Raja 

 of Chenji to advance to Srirangam, whilst the raja of Mysore on that 

 side now became the aggressor. In this state, Chokanath found some 

 difficulty in preserving the shadow of his former power, and his enemies 

 retained the superiority for a considerable period, the Mysoreans oc- 



* Blackader's Account of the Buildings at Madura, Archaeologia, vol. x- Views of 

 the Choltri, &c. have been given by Daniel, and Langles' Monumens de L'Hindoustan. ' 



t It must have been in the early part of this reign that the Portuguese Jesuits, under 

 Robert de Nobilibus, established the Madura mission, although a liberal benefactor to 

 the Brahmans ; therefore, Tirumalla Nayak could not have been a bigot. There were 

 two Christian churches in the city of Madura. — Lettres Edifiante, xiii. 130. 



t As Denaikan-cotta, Satyamangal, and other ta'alluks. — Wilks, i. 54. These aggres- 

 sions are dated 1653 in the History of Mysore, but, as it is said, they were taken from 

 Virapa, Naik of Madura ; and, as the character of this prince renders such an event pro- 

 bable, it is most likely that Colonel Wilks's date is a few years erroneous. 



