BarneyMoh54 at 23:13, 27 February 2026

2026-02-27T23:13:59Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Dodda Vira Rajendra
| image =
| title = Raja of Coorg
|dynasty =
| reign = 1780–1809
| predecessor = Linga Raja I
| successor = Devammaji (as Rani)<ref>{{Cite book |page=[https://archive.org/details/TheImperialGazetteerOfIndia-Volume11/page/n20/mode/1up 15] |title=[[The Imperial Gazetteer of India]] |volume=11 |language=en|year=1908|edition=New|publisher=Clarendon Press|location=Oxford}}</ref>
| birth_name =
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date = 1809
| death_place =
| burial_date =
| burial_place = Mercara (Madikeri)
| spouse = Mahadevamma
| father = Linga Raja - I
| religion = [[Hinduism]]
| mother =
|succession=Raja of [[Kingdom of Coorg|Coorg]]
}}

'''Dodda Vira Rajendra''' was the ruler of the [[Kingdom of Coorg]] from 1780 to 1809. He freed the kingdom from the occupation of [[Tipu Sultan]], the [[Kingdom of Mysore|king of Mysore]]. He later aided the British in their fight against Tipu Sultan. Dodda Veera raja constructed the city of Vira-rajendrapete, today known as [[Virajpet|Virajapet]].<ref name="Mysore Gazeteer">{{cite book |last1=Rice |first1=Benjamin Lewis |title=Mysore and Coorg, a gazetteer |date=1878 |page=100 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ZwIAAAAQAAJ |access-date=28 June 2018}}</ref>

==Early life and exile==
Not much is known of Dodda Vira Rajendra's childhood. In 1780, Linga Raja, his father and ruler of the Coorg Kingdom died while Dodda Vira Rajendra was still young. [[Hyder Ali]], the king of Mysore saw this as an opportunity and took possession of the Coorg Kingdom until, as he said "the princes (Dodda Vira Rajendra and his brother) would come of age". In September 1782, the princes were deported to [[Gorur, Hassan|Garuru]]. Enraged at the deportation of their princes, the Coorgs revolted and proclaimed independence. Soon after in December 1782, Hyder Ali died due to a cancerous growth in his back and his son Tipu became the King. Tipu dispatched the Coorg royal family to [[Periyapatna]] and proceeded to annex Coorg and other areas.
In December 1788, Dodda Vira Rajendra escaped from Periyapatna and by 1790 had regained power in Coorg.<ref name="Mysore Gazeteer"/><ref name="Coorg Memoirs"/>

==Battles against the Kingdom of Mysore==
Dodda Vira Rajendra ousted the occupying army of Mysore from [[Bisle|Bisle Ghat]] to [[Mananthavady|Manantody]] and led plundering expeditions into the territories of the Mysore Kingdom. In retaliation, Tipu Sultan sent armies against him, led by Tipu Sultan's Generals Golam Ali and Buran-ud-Din, but were defeated by Dodda Vira Rajendra. In June 1789, he sacked and burnt the fort of [[Kushalanagar]] and in August he destroyed the fort of Beppunad. This was followed by the capture of the fort of [[Bhagamandala]]. Thereafter, he captured [[Sullia|Amara Sulya]].<ref name="Mysore Gazeteer"/><ref name="Coorg Memoirs">{{cite book |last1=Mögling |first1=Herrmann |title=Coorg Memoirs |date=1855 |page=222 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k5ABAAAAQAAJ |access-date=28 June 2018}}</ref>

Noticing the successes of Dodda Vira Rajendra, the Government of the [[British East India Company]] offered him an alliance against Tipu Sultan in October 1790. Faced with a powerful opponent in the Kingdom of Mysore, Dodda Vira Rajendra accepted the offer and allied with the British.<ref name="Mysore Gazeteer"/><ref name="Coorg Memoirs"/> In the same year, he recaptured the [[Bhagamandala|Bhagamandal fort]] which was captured by Tipu in 1785 and forcibly converted the Kodavu captives into Islam.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hunter |first=William Wilson |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Imperial_Gazetteer_of_India.html?id=uI4bAQAAIAAJ#v=onepage&q=dodda%20rajendra%20tipu%20sultan&f=false |title=The Imperial Gazetteer of India |publisher=Trübner & Company |year=1885 |volume=2 |publication-place=The University of California |pages=353 |language=English}}</ref>

Alarmed, Tipu dispatched another army led by General Khadar Khan, which was also defeated. Thereafter, the fort of [[Madikeri|Mercara]] capitulated to Dodda Vira Rajendra without a fight.<ref name="Mysore Gazeteer"/><ref name="Coorg Memoirs"/>

Dodda Vira Rajendra allowed the British Bombay Army to pass through Coorg, on its way to [[Srirangapatna]], Tipu Sultan's capital. He also aided the British in their fight against Tipu Sultan, until the latter's death on 4 May 1799.<ref name="Mysore Gazeteer"/><ref name="Coorg Memoirs"/>

==Death==
Dodda Vira Rajendra died in 1809. His tomb is located in [[Mercara]] (Madikeri). He is deified and his tomb is worshipped to this day.<ref name="Coorg District Gazetteer">{{cite book |last1= |first1= |title=Coorg District Gazetteer |date=1855 |page=517 |url=https://karunadu.karnataka.gov.in/Gazetteer/Publications/District%20Gazetteers/Kodagu/Coorg_1965_Chapter19.pdf |publisher=Government of Karnataka|access-date=27 July 2021}}</ref>

==Works==
Dodda Vira Rajendra compiled a literary work ''Rajendraname'', which records the history of the Coorg rulers from 1633 to 1807.<ref name="Mysore Gazeteer"/>

He established the town of [[Virajpet]] in 1792.<ref>{{cite web|title=A melting pot of cultures|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/212863/a-melting-pot-cultures.html|publisher=Deccan Herald|access-date=24 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224150529/http://www.deccanherald.com/content/212863/a-melting-pot-cultures.html|archive-date=24 February 2017|date=19 December 2011}}</ref>

He also built a street called Mahadevpet in [[Madikeri]] town.<ref name="Mysore Gazeteer"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Karnataka topics}}

[[Category:18th-century Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:1809 deaths]]
[[Category:People from the Kingdom of Coorg]]

Dodda Vira Rajendra - Revision history

BarneyMoh54 at 23:13, 27 February 2026