Damarla Chennapa Nayaka

Damarla Chennapa Nayaka, ^[a] was a 16th-century Nayaka chieftain and military commander (Dalavoy) who ruled the territories of Kalahasti and Vandavasi under the suzerainty of Vijayanagar emperor Venkatapati Raya (r. 1585–1614).^[1]^[2] The Kalahasti Nayaks had their origins in the Velama clans of Andhra Pradesh.^[3]

Died1580

SpouseAkkamamba

Children

Damarla Ayyappa Nayak
Venkatadri Nayaka

Quick facts Died, Spouse ...

Damarla Chennapa Nayaka
Died	1580 (1581)
Spouse	Akkamamba
Children	Damarla Ayyappa Nayak Venkatadri Nayaka

Close

The city of Chennai (originally called "Chennapatnam") was founded by his son Damarla Ayyappa Nayaka, and named after him.^[4] It was established in order to separate the warring Europeans within the region, the Dutch based at Pulicat and the Portuguese based at Mylapore.^[5] To facilitate trade and regional stability, the Nayaka brothers leased a strip of land to the British East India Company, who subsequently set up Fort St. George.^[4]^[5] Over time, the settlement around the fort and the adjacent town of Chennapatnam merged to form the modern day city.^[6]^[b]

Early Life and Background

Damarla Chennapa Nayaka was born into the Damarla clan, a prominent Velama clan^[7] hailing from present day Andhra Pradesh. He was the son of Damarla Venkatapathi Naidu, a chieftain who already held influence in the region around present day Hosur (then part of the Vijayanagara administrative division).

Chennapa Nayaka further consolidated his family’s power through a strategic marriage to Akkamamba, the daughter of Velugoti Kasturi Ranga, the ruler of Venkatagiri, and younger sister of the powerful general Velugoti Yachama Nayaka.^[8] Damarla family initially served as governors for the Vijayanagara Empire. However, following the empire’s decline after the Battle of Talikota (1565), they began to exercise greater autonomy, effectively becoming independent rulers.^[9]

Chennapa Nayaka is said to have died in 1580.^{[citation needed]}

Legacy

Chennapa Nayaka's most significant legacy is posthumous. After his death, his son, Damarla Ayyappa Nayaka, and his brother, Venkatadri Nayaka, managed his territories. In 1639, seeking to mediate between warring European powers, the Portuguese in Mylapore and the Dutch in Pulicat, Ayyappa Nayaka granted land to the British East India Company to build a trading post.^[10]^[5]

This new settlement was named Chennapatnam (transl. City of Chennappa) in honor of his father. It later merged with the British Fort St. George to form the modern city of Chennai.^[6]

Notes

[a]
The last name is also found written as Nayakudu, Nayudu, or Nayakkar, depending on the language and orientation of the writers. The first name (which is a family name) is also written as Damal, a simplified form.
[b]
The city was known by the name "Madras" during the British rule and also after Indian independence. The Government of Tamil Nadu eventually ordered it changed to Chennai.

References

[1]
Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar (2005). History of Gingee and its Rulers. The Annamalai University. pp. 132. ISBN 978-1-135-95970-8.
[2]
Vēṅkaṭācalapati, Ā Irā; Aravindan, Ramu (1 January 2006). Chennai Not Madras: Perspectives on the City. Marg Publications. ISBN 9788185026749.
[3]
Ravula Soma Reddy, ed. (2007). Studies in the Socio-economic History of Medieval: Andhra Desa. Research India Press. p. 150. ISBN 9788189131142. Another interesting thing to be noted in this connection is that several Velama Chiefs, after the conquest of the Rachakonda and Devarakonda Kingdoms carved out small principalities small principalities like those of Velugodu (Kurnool district), Venkatagiri, Kalahasti, Bellamkonda and Nuzividu (coastal Andhra) in the Vijayanagara Empire, during the period of the last Sangama rulers.

R. Parthasarathy, ed. (1984). Andhra Culture: A Petal in Indian Lotus. Government of Andhra Pradesh. p. 120.
[4]
"History | Chennai District | India". 9 December 2023. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023.
[5]
Srinivasachari, C S (1939). History of the City of Madrae. P Varadachary and co. pp. 63–69. Retrieved 27 November 2023 – via Government of Tamil Nadu.
[6]
Aiyangar, S. Krishnaswami (1994) [first published 1939 by Oxford University Press], "The Character and Significance of the Foundation of Madras", in Madras Tercentenary Celebration Committee (ed.), The Madras Tercentenary Commemoration Volume, Asian Educational Services, pp. 39–50, ISBN 978-81-206-0537-4
[7]
Alpana Pandey, ed. (2015). Medieval Andhra: A Socio-Historical Perspective. Partridge Publishing. ISBN 9781482850178.

Ravula Soma Reddy, ed. (2007). Studies in the Socio-economic History of Medieval: Andhra Desa. Research India Press. p. 150. ISBN 9788189131142. Another interesting thing to be noted in this connection is that several Velama Chiefs, after the conquest of the Rachakonda and Devarakonda Kingdoms carved out small principalities small principalities like those of Velugodu (Kurnool district), Venkatagiri, Kalahasti, Bellamkonda and Nuzividu (coastal Andhra) in the Vijayanagara Empire, during the period of the last Sangama rulers.

Alladi Jagannatha Sastri, ed. (1922). A Family History of Venkatagiri Rajas. Addison Press. p. 78. According to the social right established so early as during the days of the second descendant Prasaditya Naidu, under orders of the Emperor Ganapathi Rai, making the Padmanayaka Velamas the first and foremost in rank, the chiefs belonging to the other seventy - six Velama sects, Damara Venkatapathi Naidu of Kalahasti included, paid the customary respects to the Rajah on this occasion by keeping themselves standing. Damara Venkatapathi Naidu himself being the brother - in - law of the Rajah was allowed a seat in the south - east of the hall

W. Francis, ed. (1989). Gazetteer of South India. Mittal Publications. p. 20. Kalahasti Zamindari - One of the largest zamindari estates in Madras, situated partly in North Arcot District, partly in Nellore, and partly in Chingleput. Number of villages, 406 in North Arcot, 201 in Nellore, and 206 in Chingleput; area, 638 square miles in North Arcot, 576 in Nellore, and 250 in Chingleput; total population (1901), 223,327. The capital is the town of Kalahasti, where the zamindar resides. The history of the family, which belongs to the Velama caste, is obscure. The original owner of the estate probably received it from a king of the Vijayanagar dynasty in the fifteenth century, on condition of maintaining order. The estate at one time spread as far as the site of Fort St.George, and the Company obtained the land on which Madras now stands from the proprietor in 1639. The settlement is traditionally said to have been named Chennappapatnam in honour of the zamindar's father. The estate came under British control in 1792, and a formal grant to the family was made in 1801. The zamundar afterwards received the hereditary title of Raja. The gross income amounts to over 5 lakhs.

Illustrated Guide to the South Indian Railway. Higginbotham Publishing. 1900. p. 336. The Rajahs of Kalahasti appear to have always belonged to the Velama caste and to have come south with the Vijayanagar kings who made them menkavalgars or minor custodians, from which position they rose to be Poligars.

R. Parthasarathy, ed. (1984). Andhra Culture: A Petal in Indian Lotus. Government of Andhra Pradesh. p. 120.

C. D. Maclean, ed. (1982). Maclean's Manual of the Administration of the Madras Presidency. Asian Educational Service. p. 58.
[8]
A. Krishnaswami, ed. (1964). The Tamil country under Vijayanagar. Annamalai University. p. 188.

Madras Tercentenary Celebration Committee, ed. (1994). The Body as Temple Erotica from Telugu. Asian Educational Services. p. 43. ISBN 978-81-206-0537-4.

LS, Vuppuluri Lakshminarayana Sastri (1920). Encyclopaedia of the Madras Presidency and the Adjacent States. Oriental Enclyclopaedic Publishing Company. p. 105.

Journal of Indian History. University of Kerala. 1927. p. 43.

IAP, Indo-Aryan philology (1930). The Journal of the Bihar Research Society. p. 145.
[9]
Nanditha Krishna (2001). Varahishwara Temple - a history of Darmarla. C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation, Chennai.
[10]
Srinivasachari, C. S. (1943), A History of Gingee and its Rulers, Madras: Annamalai University, pp. 157, 158 – via archive.org

Damarla Chennapa Nayaka

Early Life and Background

Legacy

Notes

References

Further reading

Related Articles