Madakari Nayaka and the last years of the Nayaka kingdom

The Nayakas of Chitradurga began as local chieftains and grew into one of the most important powers of central Karnataka. Their most remembered ruler is Madakari Nayaka – the last of the line.

A kingdom between empires

In the 18th century, Chitradurga sat between larger powers – the Marathas to the north and the rising state of Hyder Ali in Mysore to the south. Madakari Nayaka navigated shifting alliances, at times fighting alongside Hyder Ali and at other times against him.

The siege of 1779

Hyder Ali besieged Chitradurga more than once. The fort's seven walls, water tanks and granaries allowed it to hold out for long periods – the story of Onake Obavva belongs to these sieges. In 1779 the fort finally fell, Madakari Nayaka was taken prisoner, and the Nayaka kingdom came to an end.

Legacy

Madakari Nayaka remains a figure of local pride. His statue stands in the city, and his story has been retold in novels, plays and films, most famously through T. R. Subbanna's Kannada novel Durgasthamana.