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History

Origin Of Name

Mandya district is part of large plateau from Mysore to the edges of Easter Ghats. Therefore, there are not many legends describing the origin of the district as such, but there are quite a few legends describing the origin of the place.

Mandya seems to have been known as ‘Vedaranya’ and later, as ‘Vishnupura’ in Kritayuga. It is said that a rishi (sage) was doing a penance here and installed an image of God Janardana and was said to be teaching wild beast to pronounce the sacred word, VEDA. On this account, the place came to be known as ‘Vedaranya’.

Several years later, but during the same yuga, another rishi, who was residing here, setup an image of the God Sakaleshwara swami and Lord Vishnu, it is said, appeared to him. The place was thereafter renamed as ‘Vishnupura’. Another account says that towards the age of Dwapara yuga, king by name Indravarma, who had not issues, came to this place in the hope of getting a son. His prayers were granted, and his son Somavarma built a fort and an agrahara at this place and gave it the name Mandevemu, which, it is believed has been corrupted into Mandya. It is also said that in ancient days, a great and popular sage, called Mandavya, lived in the area doing tapas and the place came to be called Mandya after his name.

HISTORICAL TIMES

Gangas:-

The Gangas ruled the central and southern parts of the old Mysore State, including the Mandya District and parts of the Cauvery basin. They ruled from about 2nd Century A.D to about the beginning of the 11th Century A.D. The region ruled over by the Ganga Kings was know as Gangavadi. The Ganga kings who ruled over Gangavadi, numbered about thirty three.

Hoysalas:-

Bittideva(afterwards called Vishnuvardhana) retook Talakad and drove the cholas out of Mysore. His general Ganagaraja, who was a descendent of the old Ganga kings, effected the capture of Talakad. Hoysalas ruled till about 1346, when Hoysala kingdom was annexed by the Vijayanagar rulers.

Vijayanagar Empire:-

Narasaraja, the founder of the Third Dynasty of Vijayanagara, seized Srirangapatna around 1495. In 1610 Raja Wodeyar succeeded in capturing Srirangapatna from Tirumala-II.

The line of Wodeyars who were in power after Raja Wodeyar is as follows :-

  1. Chamaraja Wodeyar II (1617 – 1637)
  2. Immadi Raja Wodeyar (1637 – 1638)
  3. Kanthirava Narsa Raja (1638 – 1659)
  4. Deva Raja Wodeyar   (1659 – 1673)
  5. Chikka Deva Raja Wodeyar (1673 – 1704)
  6. Kanthirava Narasaraj Wodeyar II (1704 –1714)
  7. Krishnaraja Wodeyar I (1714 – 1732)
  8. Chamaraja Wodeyar VII(1732 – 1734)
  9. Krishnaraja Wodeyar II (1734 – 1766)
  10. Nanja Raja – 1766-1770
  11. Bettada Chamaraja Wodeyer VIII (1776 – 1796)
  12. Krishnaraja Wodeyer III (1799-1831)
  13. Nalvadi Krishna Raja Wodeyer (1895-1940)
  14. Jaya Chamaraja Wodeyer (1940-1959)