Article Title: Rani Mangammal
04-03-2023
History & Art and Culture Prelims Plus
Why is in news? In Madurai, legacy of Queen Regent, Rani Mangammal, is being restored
Rani Mangammal, the consort of Chokkanatha Nayak, was one of the most important rulers in the country and grandmother of VijayarangaChokkanadhar.
Rani Mangammal was the daughter of Tupakula Lingama Nayaka, a general of then-Madurai ruler, Chokkanatha Nayaka.
In 1682 A.D, Chokkanatha Nayaka died and his son, Muttu Virappa Nayaka-III became the 10th Madurai Nayaka ruler at the age of fifteen.
She ascended the throne as Queen Regent (1689-1704) in her 50s after the demise of her husband and her son, since the legal heir or her grandson was only one-and-a-half years old at that time.
She was a popular administrator and is still widely remembered as a maker of roads and avenues, and a builder of temples, tanks and choultries with many of her public works still in use.
She is also known for her diplomatic and political skills and successful military campaigns.
She gave huge funds to temples and showed special interest in irrigation. Uyyakkondan Canal was her significant irrigation project.
As a ruler, Rani Mangammal faced threats from neighbouring kingdoms, which included the Marathas, the Mughal Army with the Deccan Sultans, and the Thanjavur Kingdom.
The first major problem that Rani Mangammal had to face was the imminent threat from the Mughals.
Zulfikhar Ali Khan, the general of Aurangazeb, had sent an army to the south to demand submission from Thanjavur.
Rani Mangammal carefully analysed the situation and discovered that because the Maratha Kings (Shaji of Thanjavur, Chikka Deva Raya, and King of Mysore) sent their tribute to Zulfikhar Ali, she too followed suit and sent her tribute, thus, saving Madurai from violence and bloodshed.
When her grandson, Vijayaranga Chokkanatha Nayaka, came of age in 1704, she and her prime minister, Achayya, refused to relinquish power. They were seized by the army commander and executed.
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