Nayaka’s of Keladi contribution To Archetecture

Shivappa Nayaka

About Shivappa Nayaka

Shivappa Nayaka  (r.1645–1660), popularly known as Keladi Shivappa Nayaka, was a notable ruler of the Keladi Nayaka Kingdom. The Keladi Nayakas were successors of the Vijayanagara Empire in the coastal and Malnad (hill) districts of Karnataka, India, in the late 16th century. At their peak, the Nayakas built a niche kingdom comprising the coastal, hill and some interior districts (Bayaluseeme) of modern Karnataka, before succumbing to the Kingdom of Mysore in 1763, which at that time was ruled by Hyder Ali. He was known as Sistina Shivappa Nayaka because he introduced a tax system called Sist

Nayaka clan

Chaudappa Nayaka, originally Chauda Gowda, (1499–1530), was from a village called Pallibailu near Keladi He was the son of Lingayat couple Basavappa and Basavamambe, who were into farming. He was the earliest chieftain to rule the area surrounding Shimoga, rose through self capability and acumen and was a feudatory of Vijayanagara Empire

Sankanna Nayaka (1566–1570).

Chikka Sankanna Nayaka (1570–1580)Rama Raja Nayaka (1580–1586)Hiriya Venkatappa Nayaka (1586–1629)Virabhadra Nayaka (1629–1645) Shivappa Nayaka (1645–1660)Chikka Venkatappa Nayaka (1660–1662),Bhadrappa Nayaka (1662–1664)Somashekara Nayaka I (1664–1672)Keladi Chennamma (1672–1697)Basavappa Nayaka (1697–1714) Somashekara Nayaka II (1714–1739)

Kiriya Basavappa Nayaka (1739–1754)Chenna Basappa Nayaka (1754–1757)Queen Virammaji (1757–1763)

Decline and the endFor more than two hundred years the

kingdom controlled the coastal and malnad regions of present-day Karnataka and fostered a rich tradition of trade with the English, the Portuguese, and the Dutch. However, in the period of gloom brought about by the fall of the last great Hindu empire, the Vijayanagar empire, constant wars—campaigns against local chieftains and the Mysore Kingdom and the harassment of the Marathas finally drained the treasury and resulted in the end of the kingdom.

Architecture of keladi Nayaka

Rameshwara Temple

Aghoreshwara temple

Architecture of keladi Nayaka History

The Keladi Nayakas built some fine temples in Ikkeri and Keladi using a combination of late Kadamba, Hoysala, Vijayanagar, and Dravida styles. The use of granite for their construction shows they simply followed the Vijayanagar model of architecture. The Aghoreshwara temple at Ikkeri and the Rameshwara temple at Keladi are the best examples of the Nayakas' art. Vijayanagar-style pillars with hippogryphs are common; called yali columns (depiction of horses and lions as seen in Hampi) is found here. These are pillars with lions, either with their forepaws raised or simply in a sitting position, and pillars with a mythical horse-like animal with front legs raised, balancing on its rear legs, and with an armed rider on its back which are worth seeing at Ikkeri. A roof sculpture depicting a Gandaberunda, the mythical two-headed bird of Karnataka, is found in Keladi. Also, in the Rameshwara temple, a pillar sculpture shows Maratha Rajaram with Keladi Chennamma (history has it that Rajaram was protected by the queen when he was on the run from the Mughals).

By Vinni

Nadageri