2016-11-03 Thu

Wodeyar dynasty is the longest and most continuous empire to rule in Karnataka from 1399 when it was established by Yaduraya Wodeyar till 1947.

Krishnaraja Wodeyar III ascended the throne in the most unlikely of conditions. It is significant because he was the first Wodeyar king to resume the rule of Mysore by the Wodeyar lineage after a gap of nearly 40 years.

The credit for making Krishnaraja Wodeyar III the king of Mysore under extraordinarily difficult circumstances goes to Maharani Lakshmi Ammani Devi, his grandmother. Hyder Ali followed by his son Tipu Sultan unleashed a reign of autocracy for about 17 years throughout South India. Tipu Sultan imprisoned the surviving members of Wodeyar dynasty in house arrest.

It was only after she conspired and joined forces with British who promised to restore the Wodeyar dynasty to the throne of Mysore if Tipu Sultan was defeated that Wodeyar Dynasty was able to rule again.

After Tipu Sultan’s defeat, on 30 June 1799, the five-year-old Krishnaraja Wodeyar III was crowned the king of Mysore. He was Lakshmi Ammani’s adopted grandson, and he was only five when he ascended the throne of Mysore on 30 June 1799. He was the longest ruling Wodeyar king, for nearly 70 years, till 27 March 1868.

The coin in the portrait is a one of its kinds gold pagoda issued by Krishnaraja Wodeyar III. The obverse of the coin has Siva and Parvati seated with Siva holding a trident and deer, with the sun and the moon above. The reverse is inscribed with legend “Sri Krishna Raja”