Chikka Deva Raja Wodeyar was the Wodeyar ruler of Mysore, ruled the state of Mysore from 1673 to 1704. During this time, Mysore saw significant expansion and also recognition by the Mughal Empire as a tributary state in the Southern part of India. During rule of Chikka Deva Raja Wodeyar, he centralized military power increased to an unprecedented degree for the region.
Early Life of Chikka Deva Raja Wodeyar
Chikka Deva Raja Wodeyar was born on September 22, 1645, the eldest son of Rani Amrit Ammani Avaru and Dodda Deva Raja, who had been a Governor of Mysore town. He succeeded his uncle, Dodda Deva Raja Wodeyear, upon the latter`s death on February 11, 1673, as the new Wodeyar. Dodda Deva Raja Wodeyar was installed on the gaddi at Mysore on February 28, 1673. He continued his predecessor`s expansion by conquering Maddagiri, and thereby making Mysore contiguous to the Carnatic-Bijapur-Balaghat province administered by Venkoji, the Raja of Tanjavur, and Shivaji`s half-brother.
In the first decade of his rule, Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar introduced various petty taxes that were mandatory for the peasants, but that his soldiers were exempted from.
Later life of Chikka Deva Raja Wodeyar
Chikka Deva Raja Wodeyar left for his son was "at one and the same time a strong and a weak state." Although it had unvaryingly extended in size from the mid-seventeenth century to the early eighteenth, it had done so as a result of alliances that tended to hold back the very steadiness of the expansions. Some of the south eastern conquests like Salem, although involving regions that were not of direct interest to the Mughal Emperors in India, were nonetheless the result of alliances with Mughal Faujdar Diwan of Sira and with Venkoji, the Maratha ruler of Tanjore. Similarly, in addition to receiving a signet ring and a Sword, a consequence of the embassy sent to Aurangzeb in the Deccan in 1700 was formal subordination to Mughal authority and a requirement to pay annual tribute. There is evidence, too, that the administrative reforms mentioned above might have been a direct result of Mughal influence.
