Narasaraja Wodeyar II

Infobox Monarch
name = Narasaraja Wodeyar II
title = Maharaja of Mysore


reign = 1704 - 1714
coronation =
predecessor = Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar
successor =
suc-type =
heir =
consort =
issue =
royal house = Wodeyar
royal anthem =
father = Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar
mother = Devajammanni
date of birth = 1673
place of birth =
date of death = 1714
place of death =
buried =

Narasaraja Wodeyar II (1673 - 1714 CE), also known as Kanteerava Narasaraja Wodeyar II, ruled the Indian Kingdom of Mysore from 1704 to 1714 CE. Through out his rule, he remained silent and preferred to communicate with his council of ministers in sign language and written communication. Contemporary records called him "Mukarasu" or mute king. This issue has caused a debate among historians whether the king was really mute or simply preferred not to speak.Kamath (2001), p230] Pranesh (2003), p36]

Early life

Narasaraja Wodeyar II was born to the King Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar, the most famous among the early rulers of the Mysore Kingdom, and his first queen Devajammanni in 1673. Seeing that the prince had not spoken even by the age of five, the worried king proclaimed that whoever made the prince speak would be rewarded handsomely. Gopala Bhatta, a devotee of the sun god "Surya", came forward to make the prince speak. Gopala Bhatta performed many rituals and meditation to his deity, the sun, and asked the prince to speak. To everyone's surprise, not only did the prince begin to speak, he also had revelations of his past life.

The prince narrated that in his previous birth, he was a potter who attended the daily discourse on the "Bhagavad Gita" by an ascetic called Krishna Bhatta in the city of Kashi. One day, after the discourse, the ascetic left the book on the "Bhagavad Gita" behind, and the potter sold the book and bought milk for the ascetic with the proceeds of the sale. When the ascetic came to know how the potter had purchased the milk, he cursed the potter that he would be reborn as a mute prince and that he would later become a king. The ascetic also stated that he himself would be reborn as the mute king's son, as an atonement for trying to enlighten a low class person like the potter with the teachings in the "Bhagavad Gita".Pranesh (2003), p37] After having narrated this story, the prince became silent and never spoke again.

King and poet

Whatever the truth behind the king's silence, it did not hinder his daily administrative duties. Narasaraja Wodeyar II was a polyglot and was adept in writing in Kannada, Sanskrit, Telugu, Tamil and Prakrit. His rule was a golden age of Yakshagana writings in Mysore (literature that includes "sangita" - music, "nataka" - drama, and "natya" - dance).Pranesh (2003), p37] The king himself authored fourteen books on Yakshagana in various languages, all of which were written in the Kannada script. His writings were discovered at the Government Oriental manuscript library in Chennai and later transferred to the "Adhyayana Samasthe" in Mysore. The writings consist of songs, Sanskrit slokas, Kannada Vachana, Telugu "padya", "dvipadi" (two liners) and "Sangatya" (compositions meant to be sung to the accompaniment of a musical instrument) etc.Pranesh (2003), p38]

Notes

References

* Suryanath U. Kamat, A Concise history of Karnataka from pre-historic times to the present, Jupiter books, MCC, Bangalore, 2001 (Reprinted 2002) OCLC: 7796041
* Pranesh, Meera Rajaram (2003), Musical Composers during Wodeyar Dynasty (1638-1947 A.D.), Vee Emm Publications, Bangalore