During British rule in India, the princely state of Mysore was ruled by different princes. They served the state as Maharajas of the kingdom of Mysore. These princes are given below.
Krishnaraja Wadiyar III
Krishnaraja Wadiyar III ruled the state of Mysore from 30th of June, 1799 to 19th of October, 1831. He is recognized to have brought about cultural growth in the state. This can be comprehended from the fact that Krishnaraja Wadiyar III was a great Kannada and Sanskrit Scholar, a writer, knew different languages and was skilled in playing the musical instrument, called veena. Krishnaraja had patronized many scholars in his court. He had revived the Ganjifa game. He is credited with the growth and survival of the Yakshagana form of Literature.
Chamarajendra Wadiyar X
Chamarajendra Wadiyar X served as the 23rd Maharaja of Mysore between 1868 and 1894. He is known to have patronized art and music. Chamarajendra is credited with the institution of the Representative Assembly of Mysore state in 1881, which was the first modern, democratic legislative institution of its kind in princely India. Giving importance to women`s education, Chamarajendra had established the Kannada Bashojjivini School. He had instituted several industrial schools as well. He helped in the establishment of agricultural banks as a source of financial aid to farmers.
Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV
Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV acted as the Maharaja of the princely state of Mysore from 1894 until his death in 1940. According to Paul Brunton, this philosopher-king used to follow the ideal expressed in Plato`s Republic. He is regarded as a appreciator of Carnatic and Hindustani music. During the rule of Krishna Raja, various kinds of development had taken place in Mysore. Some of the establishments that took place were University of Mysore, Yuvaraja College, State Bank of Mysore, Mysore Boy Scouts, Mysore Legislative Council, Mysore Medical College and Krishna Rajendra Hospital. At that time, Bangalore became the first city in India to get electric street lights.
Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar
Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar is documented in the pages of history as the last and the 25th Maharaja of the princely state of Mysore. He had ruled the state from 1940 to 1950. He is also remembered as a philosopher, musicologist, political thinker, philanthropist and the founder-president of Vishva Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council). He is known to be a good horseman and a tennis player who helped Ramanathan Krishnan to participate in Wimbledon. He was an appreciator of both Western and Carnatic music. He had sponsored the translation of many classics from Sanskrit to Kannada.
