Mangammal#War with Mysore
{{Multiple issues|
{{Cleanup rewrite|date=November 2023}}
{{Lead too short|date=November 2023}}
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Rani Mangammal
| title = Queen Regent of Madurai Nayak Kingdom
| image = Rani Mangammal.jpg
| caption = Rani Mangammal with her grandson Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha c.17th–18th century
| succession = Nayak (Rani) of Madurai
| reign = 1689–1704
| coronation =
| full name =
| predecessor = Rangakrishna Muthu Virappa Nayak
| successor = Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha Nayak
| spouse = {{Marriage|Chokkanatha Nayak|1659|1682|end= d.}}
| issue = Rangakrishna Muthu Virappa Nayak
| royal house = Madurai Nayaks
| birth_date =
| birth_place = Madurai
| death_date = 1705
| death_place = Madurai, present dayTamil Nadu, India
| father = Tupakula Lingama Nayaka
| mother =
}}
{{Madurai Nayak Dynasty}}
Rani Mangammal (Mangamma; died 1705) was a queen regent of the Madurai Nayak kingdom (in present-day Madurai, India) during the minority of her grandson Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha in 1689—1704.N. Subrahmanian: History of Tamilnad, Koodal Publishers, 1972 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. The capital of Madurai Kingdom during her times was Tiruchy.
==Life==
Mangammal was the daughter of Tupakula Lingama Nayaka,and was the wife of a general of Madurai ruler Chokkanatha Nayak (1659–1682). She married Chokkanatha Nayak and became the mother of Rangakrishna Muthu Virappa Nayak (1682—1689).{{Cite book|editor-last1=Madhavananda |editor-first1=Swami |editor-last2=Majumdar |editor-first2=Ramesh Chandra |year=1953 |title=Great Women of India |location=Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas, Uttarakhand |publisher=Advaita Ashrama |pages=341–342 |oclc=602056 |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/602056.html }}
When her husband died in 1682, he was succeeded by her son Rangakrishna Muthu Virappa Nayak. Upon the death of her son in 1689, her son's widow was pregnant. Her son was succeeded by her grandson in 1689. Her daughter-in-law committed sati, and Mangammal became regent during the minority of her grandson Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha.{{Cite journal|author=E.H.B. |year=1899 |title=Mangamma's Folly |journal=Calcutta Review |volume=109 |issue=218 (October 1899) |pages=350–352 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fmsoAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA350 }}
=Regency=
During Mangammal's regency, many irrigation channels were repaired, new roads were constructed, avenue trees were planted, and several municipal buildings were completed, including temples and her "Spring Palace" at TumKum.{{Cite book|last=Pal̲aniyappan̲ |first=Ki |year=1963 |title=The Great Temple of Madurai: English version of the book Koilmanagar |location=Madurai |publisher=Sri Meenakshisundareswarar Temple Renovation Committee |page=24 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wJoTAAAAMAAJ |oclc=1031652394}} (no preview) The "Spring Palace" now houses the Gandhi Memorial Museum in Madurai. The highway from Cape Comorin was originally built during the time of Mangammal and it was known as Rani Mangammal Salai.{{Cite news|title=Plan to improve Rani Mangammal Salai |date=17 February 2006 |newspaper=The Hindu |url=http://hindu.com/2006/02/17/stories/2006021703940500.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810122918/http://hindu.com/2006/02/17/stories/2006021703940500.htm |archive-date=10 August 2007 }}
She played a key role in assisting the Mughal Army during the Siege of Jinji (Gingee). Queen Mangammal had realized that the renegade Rajaram had entrenched himself within Jinji and had been bent upon attacking Thanjavur and Madurai if the Mughal Army were to withdraw. Mangammal soon recognized Aurangzeb as her suzerain and began to assist Zulfiqar Khan in attacking the Jinji fort. When the fort was captured by both Zulfiqar Khan and Mangammal after 8 years, she and her family had control over the fort under the leadership of the Mughals.
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.{{Cite book|last=Balendu Sekaram |first=Kandavalli |year=1975 |title=The Nayaks of Madura |location=Hyderabad |publisher=Andhra Pradesh Sahithya Akademi |language=English |page=24 |oclc=3929107 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fR5BAAAAMAAJ }} (no preview)
Rani Mangammal first celebrated the Unjal festival in Meenakshi temple during the Tamil month of Ani. During the festivities, all the royal families visit the temple and pay tribute to Meenakshi Amman. Even today, we can see her contemporary portrait in the Unjal Mandapam.
Gallery
File:Mangammal.jpg|Marriage function is witnessed by the Devas and Rani Mangammal and Muthu Vijayaranga Chokkanatha Nayak.
File:Queen Mangammal Palace Madurai.jpg|Queen's Summer Palace
File:Queen Mangammal Palace Inside View.jpg|Queen's Summer Palace
File:Queen Mangammal.jpg|sculpture of Mangammal
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- {{cite web |url=http://www.hinduonnet.com/2000/05/07/stories/1307049c.htm |title=The Hindu : A town by the Vaigai |work=The Hindu |accessdate=2008-06-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080817053402/http://www.hinduonnet.com/2000/05/07/stories/1307049c.htm |archive-date=17 August 2008 |url-status=usurped }}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060902121835/http://www.aravind.org/usi2006/madurai.htm Madurai]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20060616023009/http://www.maduraitourism.com/hotels/madurai_meenakshi_temple.asp Meenakshi Temple]
- [http://www.madurai.com/rani.html Madurai.com - Rani Mangammal]
- {{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20080817053941/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/fr/2007/10/19/stories/2007101951290400.htm The Hindu: Rani Mangammal Durbar Hall Palace at Trichy]}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20081201084651/http://www.gandhimmm.org/mid.htm Tamukkam Palace at Madurai, Now Gandhi Memorial Museum]
{{authority control}}
Category:17th-century women regents
Category:Indian queens consort
Category:18th-century women regents
Category:17th-century Indian women
Category:17th-century Indian people