Keladi Chennamma was the eleventh ruler of Keladi (a kingdom in the Malnad area of Karnataka.) She sat on the royal seat after her husband Somashekhar Nayaka. She is famous for battling against the Mughal threat to her throne. She was a strong and skilful ruler. She won the hearts of her citizenry and protected them. Keladi Chennamma is best known for an act providing shelter to Rajaram (the son of Maratha King, Shivaji’s son) against the wish of Mughal ruler, Aurangzeb. The name of Keladi Chennamma is immortal in Indian history because of her skill, kind nature, fearlessness, and acute strength.
Birth Details:
The birth year of Keladi Chennamma is not clear in Indian History. She was born in the Lingayatha community. Her father, Siddappa Shetty, was a merchant in the region of Kundapur, Karnataka.
Married Life:
The husband name of Keladi Chennamma was King Somashekara Nayaka. She married him at an early stage in life. The king saw her at a fair and was amused with her beauty. He ordered his servants to gather information about the girl. She did not belong to a royal family but to a merchant family. But the king declared that if he were to ever marry, he would marry only Keladi Chennamma. Many of his ministers did not approve of this decision and they harbored enmity in their mind and heart.
But the king was fascinated with the beauty of Keladi Chennamma. He was a great, handsome, famous, and, and efficient warrior. Many other Kings from other kingdoms wanted him to become their son-in-law. Somashekara Nayaka met many princesses, but he did not find any of them to be suitable for marriage. His ministers thought that he would become a monk someday, also the father of the king was anxious about his throne and the grand-child. Finally, the king tied the knot with Keladi Chennamma.
Her Estrangement with her Husband:
When King Shomashekara Nayaka married Chennamma, they became a great couple. Her love towards each other knew no bounds. They were like honey and milk. The king was enthralled by her beauty, and she felt secure to be the wife of a great king.
Once during the Dasara festival, different types of entertainment programmes were held in court. A famous dancer, Kalavathi, danced gracefully. She moved her body like a peahen and sang like a cuckoo. She caught the eyes of the king, Shomashekara Nayaka. The king fell in love with her and asked her to live in the court and to be her mistress. Kalavathi had a foster father, Bharame Mavuta, who lived in the royal court with her. Bharame Mavuta was a skilled black magician and he had knowledge of secret medicines. He developed a close friendship with the king, and started giving medicines in the context that the queen would give birth to a baby boy who would succeed to the throne. Consuming those medicines on a daily basis, a sickness developed in the abdomen of Keladi Chennamma and she could not get pregnant throughout her life.
On the other hand, Kalavathi enraptured the king with her beauty and charm. The king began to live a life of indulgence. Dance, alcohol, and gambling destroyed the king’s virtuous qualities. Keladi Chennmma and other ministers became fearful and worried for the kingdom. Many a time Keladi Chenamma tried to talk to the king personally for the concern of the nation, but in vain. He was not the same as “the great king”, Shomashekara Nayaka. Now he was a prisoner of temporary enjoyment in life, and his health also deteriorated.
Death of her Husband:
The famous king of his time; Shomashekara Nayaka who was famous for her intellect, valour and gallant work was reduced to a helpless, sick and dependent person. His condition was worsening day by day. At last, he was murdered by Beharame Mavuta.
Revenge the Death of her Husband:
After the death of her husband, the people of Keladi considered Keladi Chennamma as the successor of the throne. She arrested the responsible people who conspired against her husband. Many other involved people were punished and expelled from the kingdom.
Her Evolution as an Efficient Queen:
Keladi Chennamma was very young when she got married. She had a keen interest in archery, Vedas, horse-riding, political decision-making, statecraft, literature, music, relations with other kingdoms, and various religions etc. She grew into a beautiful, skilled, and intellectual woman who was a potent queen too. She was not merely a beautiful and delicate queen, but she advised her husband on the matters of taxes, boundaries with other kingdoms, and state-affair etc.
After the condition of the Shomashekara Nayaka, Keladi Chennamma understood that it was the need of the hour to take charge of the nation in her hands.
Love towards her Citizenry:
She treated her subjects with love, kindness, and warmth. She paid attention to her duties towards them and enriched her populace. She did not collect unnecessary tax from them and helped them in their time of need. She is famous for holding religious unity in her kingdom. She permitted to build many temples during her reign.
Respect for Religious Values:
Keladi Chenamma respected the religious concerns of her subjects. She built many temples and won the trust of her people. Below are the main religious activities done by her:
- She built monasteries for the Veershaiva monks and Agraharas for Shaivas and Vaishnavas
- She re-built the Veerabhadreshwara Temple and erected a flag pillar
- She donated many gifts to temples at Kashi, Rameshwara, Shrishaila, Tirupati, Mutts, and many religious institutions
- Keladi Chenamma dedicated a magnificent chariot to the temple of Lord Neelakanteshwara of Venipura near Bidanur
- She gave permission and supported significant religious fairs like Dasara, and Neelakanteshwara to be conducted every year to keep up the Keladi tradition for the generation to come
- She gave a huge charity to every to the famous temple of Goddess Mookambike of Kollur so that worship in those temples go on without any difficulty
- She offered gold and diamond studded crowns to many famous ancient temples. This tradition was set up by her father-in-law, Shivappa Nayaka
- She also gave permission to build many churches at different places within the city
Keladi People Reciprocated the Love:
Keladi Chennamma did not give birth to a child in her life, but she always treated the people of her kingdom as her own child. She loved them with no limit. Keladi people reciprocated the love abundantly.
- Even during the reign of the Shomashekara Nayaka, if the government had done any injustice to them, they would appeal before the queen. The queen would listen to the matter and converse with the king to re-think. She always idolised the rule that the guilty should be punished and the victim should get justice.
- Keladi people loved her as she always secured their religious feelings by permitting temples with huge charity.
- They felt secure during the reign of the queen as she strengthened heavy security at the borderline. It was a peaceful era.
- Keladi people felt that are valued in the royal court. Many a time, the opinion of the general people was asked to be implemented on the national level.
Her Notable Work for Education:
She built an entire street with houses on every side and invited scholars, educators, and intellectuals to settle down there. This place was named on the name of her husband: Somashekharapura. It created curiosity for education and development in the minds of the villagers.
Tribute to Keladi Chennamma by the General People:
- A famous town which earlier was a part of Shivmogga district was renamed as Chennagiri in the name of Keladi Chennamma
- The Hulikere fort near Basavapattana was in ruins. It was rebuilt and renamed as Chennagiri Fort to tribute to the queen
Child Adoption for the Throne:
Keladi Chennamma had no kids; she wanted to adopt a virtuous boy who could succeed to the throne and pay attention to the general mass. She adopted the son of a close relative. The name of the boy was Basavappa Nayaka, who later became famous as Hiriya Basapa Nayaka.
The royal ministers were not satisfied with the decision as they wanted that the son of the commander-in-chief should be adopted. The chief minister Thimmanna Nayaka went to Keladi Chenamma to suggest her to adopt the son of the commander-in-chief. But, she had already decided to adopt Basavappa Nayaka. It created a dispute between the Keladi Chennamma and royal ministers. But later, it resolved and they helped her against Aurangzeb.
Trade Agreement with Portuguese:
Keladi Chennamma had acute business skills. She made many policies and agreements to enrich her people and her kingdom.
- She made a trade agreement with the Portuguese involving commodities like pepper and rice and made her kingdom rich by foreign trade
- The Arabs and Portuguese bought rice and pepper grown in the Malnad area, it nonliterally enriched the kingdom
- Keladi Chennamma purchased horses from the Portuguese and made many agreements in barter
- She won the trust of the Portuguese by giving them permission to build churches at Kalyanpura, Chandravara, Mirjan, and Honavara. It improved the trade relations between them
Famous War Fought by Keladi Chennamma:
She fought many wars during her reign. Here are a few famous wars of Keladi Chennamma in Indian History:
War against Bijapur Sultan:
In the political state, Keladi did not have any heir to acquire the throne. Also, the king had fallen ill and was negligent by the ministers. Many neighbouring kings wanted to attack Keladi to assimilate it into their state. A neighbouring king “the Sultan of Bijapur” wanted to take the advantage of situation. He thought of a plan and sent one of his shrewd representatives, Jannopant, along with a big army under the command of Muzaffar Khan. Jannopant met the queen and told her to surrender and give up all the political rights of statecraft.
Keladi Chennamma had already sent spies to the kingdom of the Sultan. She was aware of the plan, but she already knew that this time it would not be possible to war against them. She gave three lakhs rupees to the Sultan and came to an agreement. The sultan accepted the money for a truce but did not keep his word. The army of the Sultan was still coming heavily to besiege the fort of Bidanpur where the queen resided. Bharame Mavuta, the foster father of Kalavathi, provided support and internal information to Sultan.
Looking upon the situation, the chief ministers asked the queen to leave the fort of Bidanpur and move to Bhuvanagiri. Also, all the treasury and precious items were moved. Now, the previous chief minister Thimmanna Nayaka reconciled with the queen who had become indifferent at the time of child adoption by Keladi Chennamma. They together formed an army and fought against the Sultan. This time Sultan was badly defeated and returned to his country.
This victory gave a new hope and zeal to the Keladi people. They accepted and crowned Keladi Chennamma as their queen. She gave prizes, awards, money, lands, and high offices to the people who helped her in the war against the Sultan. She was able to bring back peace in her kingdom.
War against Mysore:
After the death of Shomashekhara Nayaka, it was a question that who would become the king now. He had no kids, and Keladi Chennama, his wife, was crowned as queen by the Keladi people. The other men and relatives of the dynasty did not agree with this decision. One of her brother-in-laws, Andhaka Venkata Nayka, became jealous and went to a neighbouring country, Mysore. He suggested Mysore king, Chikkadevaraya Wodeyar, to attack Keladi and defeat the queen. He thought of a plan and told the Mysore king that after the war he would become the king and would give half of the kingdom to him.
But, the plan did not go well. The queen defeated the Mysore king. This had a great impact on the mind of Mysore king. He respected the queen and signed a friendship treaty with her. He assured her that Mysore would always be with Keladi in her time of need.
War against Aurangzeb:
Keladi Chennamma fought a war against the Mughal ruler, Aurangzeb. The idea behind this war was to follow “Rajadharma”; and, Keladi Chennamma did it religiously.
Once upon a time, during a daily alms-giving day, a monk tried to approach her. He told the queen that he was not an ordinary monk. His name was Rajaram, the son of the Maratha ruler Shivaji. He elaborated on why Aurangzeb is behind him and how his brother, Sambhaji, was killed. Due to the fear of Aurangzeb, every southern ruler denied Rajaram to take refuge in their kingdom. He asked Keladi Chennamma to help him and give him shelter in his kingdom. He planned to flee to Jinji Fort in a few days.
Though, the Keladi kingdom was attacked by Shivaji in the past. Yet, Keladi Chennamma followed Rajdharma and followed her royal duty of creating amicable relations with the neighbouring countries. She gave shelter to Rajaram and helped her to safely reach the fort of Jinji.
This news did not go well with Aurangzeb, he wrote a letter to the queen informing her that he did not have any enmity against Keladi. He only wanted Rajaram back. The queen replied that Rajaram was not in her kingdom. But, by then Aurangzeb had attacked Keladi with an army under the command of Jaan Nisaar Khan. This war was halted due to heavy rains. The unfamiliar conditions of the forests in Keladi gave a major challenge to Jaan Nisaar Khan. After some time, he received a letter from Aurangzeb telling him that Rajaram was in Jinji.
Jaan Nisaar Khan removed his troops from there and began his journey towards Jinji. After some days, Keladi Chennamma received a letter of gratitude from Rajaram. He thanked her for the help and appreciated her kind gesture. This strengthened her political relations with the neighbouring country.
Keladi Chennamma Honorary Titles:
The name of Keladi Chennamma has been recorded in the history of Indian annals. She is remembered as a very powerful, thoughtful, kind, and brave-hearted woman. She was praised by many renowned men of her time.
- Aurangzeb called her “Female Bear.”
- Portuguese called her the Reina de Pimenta; the pepper queen
Keladi Chennamma Shourya Awards:
She is still remembered as one of the celebrated personalities of her time. The Department of Women and Child Development has decided to present a bravery award every year. It garners respect for the Keladi Chennamma. It is given to the children who exhibit extraordinary courage and presence of mind to save the lives of others in life-threatening situations. It is named as Hoysala and Keladi Chennamma Bravery Awards. An amount of Rs.100 Lakhs was granted to such brave kids in the year 2006-07. These are the details of the award:
- The child age must be between 6 to 15 years
- It carries a cash price of Rs.10000 along with a citation in the child’s name.
- The child will also get a scholarship of Rs.2000 till their schooling.
Book Written on Keladi Chennamma:
The valour and gallantry story of Keladi Chennamma has been described in detail in the book Saffron Swords.
Satue of Keladi Chennamma:
Keladi people loved and respected her a lot. They built of a statue of Keladi Chennamma in their village. Here is a glimpse:
TV Serial on the Name of Keladi Chennamma:
The famous filmmaker and director of Karnataka Film Academy, T. S. Nagabharana took up the initiative of an epic serial based on the life of Keladi Chennamma. It actively captures her life. It includes drama, love, betrayal, courage, murder, and intriguing plots.
Life Lessons Given to her Son:
When Keladi Chennamma was on her deathbed, she advised her son to protect her beloved kingdom. She garnered the protection of the Keladi people by advocating for her son on equality, freedom of religion, upholding truth, kindness, and righteousness. She guided her son to be loyal to the throne, protecting the rights of the Keladi people, giving charity, and following ancient traditions. These were the last words of Keladi Chennamma to her son: “Let Keladi State be the home of happiness. Let the people be satisfied and joyful. And may God bless you.”
Keladi Chennamma Death:
Keladi Chennamma breathed her last in the holy month of Shryawana, the famous and celebrated month in the Hindu religion. She was cremated in the Koppalu monastery in Bidanur. She has left behind not a great legacy, but a complete era. She epitomised strength, courage, fortitude, bravery, and valour in her life. She proved that a Kingdom is protected by not only a king but a queen who is known for her beauty and gentleness and can go beyond limits to save her kingdom.
Survey Done by the Government around her life:
A deep-gauged survey was done by the Indian government in Karnataka. It emerged out that 36 out of 50 people have known Keladi Chennamma and consider her a legendary female of her era.
She is a noted personality along with other iconic women like Abbakka Rani, Belawadi Mallamma, Onake Obavva, and Rani Chennabhairadevi.
Importance of Rani Chennamma in Indian History
At the time, when even kings were not able to save their kingdoms from invasions. Keladi Chennamma not only saved her throne, but she established herself as a notable personality of her time. She proved that one does not need royal heritage or noble lineage to save the nation. She secured a foothold for herself from a trader’s daughter to a fearless queen.
Her name will be fondly remembered not only by the people of Karnataka but by the entire India and the world. If she had not saved Rajaram from Aurungzeb, Indian history could have taken a different path altogether.
