Bravehearts: Chennamma of Keladi - part 2

Hi!!! Today I'm continuing yesterday's post about the queen of Keladi, Rani Chennamma. Let's go…

Suddenly, Somashekar woke up and started shaking, "Chenna… A son is compulsory… Chenna… Chenna… Ah - how loving little ones are… Uuuh…" The queen shook his body. There was no response. She shook him again. There was no answer. Veeranna checked the body and concluded, "I am sorry, Your Highness…"
Chennamma roared in agony. Her husband was dead. The king of Keladi was dead. "NOOOOOOO!!!!!"

Chennamma was desolate. She couldn't think of anything other than her husband. Veeranna sat in the corner of the room, brooding over the death of his king. Chennamma hadn't a clue about why he had died so early. She only knew that he had said the same sentence that she had said the day before with the elephant. She was trying to fix the puzzle with the minimal clues which she had.
When the king's body was being burnt into ashes, Chennamma sat dismally in front of the pile of logs that the body was lying on. She couldn't bear to see the body of her husband, the King of Keladi to have such a horrid fate. Suddenly, she saw a liquid drip from the body of the king. "Huh? What is this? How can there be a liquid in the king's body? It doesn't look like blood, and it would have burnt up before? This is strange." She bent down to smell the liquid. It smelt like elephant dung!! She was aghast!! She knew that elephant poop (Haha, poop!!) would've poisoned the king. At once, the clues which she had collected pieced together like clockwork. She realised that Bharama had killed the king. "BHARAMA!!!!!!"

Early the next day, Chennamma summoned Bharama to the royal balcony. "Good morning! You've sent for me, Your Highness?" The queen stood out in the balcony, staring out into the forest. "Lovely, isn't it? The sight of the forest is quite spectacular." Bharama was confused. He didn't know what the queen was talking about. "Bharama, the king is… is dead." Bharama smiled to himself. As the queen turned to see him, his face turned into a sorrowful one. "No… It - It cannot be!!" Chennamma kept a calm face, without changing her tone. She knew that Bharama had poisoned the king. But, she didn't want to pinpoint his treachery just yet. "Bharama, as the king had no heir to the throne, he had nominated you to be his successor. When shall we have your coronation?" Bharama snickered. He thought of being the king of Keladi, slaughtering the other kingdoms and becoming the supreme king of Hindustan. He tried to be modest, "Well, a few days must surely pass in mourning…"

 Chennamma gave a slight nod and the next moment, two soldiers armed with daggers and swords held Bharama from the back and kept their daggers at his throat. "AAH!! What is this?! Your Highness, save me!!!" One of the soldiers punched Bharama in the jaw, who staggered to get up after such a hard blow. "Bury this snake in a pit. Let masses of thorns be the crown over his traitorous head. Bharama, by giving poison to your king, you have proved yourself as the blackest of traitors," Chennamma said. Bharama pulled himself from the grasp of the soldiers, but they punched him left, right and centre. He fell on his knees in pain, "That is a lie, Your Majesty!!! That's a lie!!!" Chennamma didn't budge, "By poisoning one who trusted you as a friend, you have proved yourself to be the blackest of men," Bharama wailed in woe, "MERCY!!! MERCY!!!!" Bharama admitted that it was he that killed the king, and that he had made him think that he would get an heir to the throne. Chennamma smiled, "Take this man away to someplace where he will not thus set fire to the homes of those who were once so, so happy…" One of the soldiers replied, "That place is the land of the dead, " Chennamma turned to Bharama and slapped him in the jaw. Her slap was so hard, that blood immediately flowed out of his mouth. "Then take him to the land of the dead where he has just sent his king,"

Chennamma sentenced Bharama to immediate immolation, where he would be burnt to death. She calmed her angry mind by knowing that the murderer of her husband had been finished.
Once the immolation had completed and Bharama was no more, Chennamma sent for her husband's ashes. She sat before them and proclaimed, "My dearest, in what moment of weakness did you allow your self to be led astray like this! Children? Sons? Heirs? We had each other. And need our children be born of our own bodies? The citizens of Keladi - they are our children. All the children we know - they are our kin. What a trivial cause for which you threw away your life!!!" She fell at the ashes, wailing in dismay. Veeranna approached her, "Your Majesty, his work remains."
Keladi soon became a troubled land. Every powerful minister supported and sponsored a different person as successor to Somashekar. They all proclaimed that the one they supported had a better right to the throne. But, Chennamma gave a simple answer every time, "Gentlemen, I will think the matter over and let you know." This annoyed the ministers. The queen's reply was mistaken for indecision and the intrigues consequently deepened. The ministers soon began to plot against Chennamma herself!!! They made several plans to overthrow her reign, "We shall overthrow her!!!" another one added, A merchant's daughter without a single drop of royal blood in her veins!!! We must dethrone her!!! She is unsuitable!!!"

But, the very next day in court, amidst noisy arguments and angry shootings, the biggest blow fell. Chennamma silenced everyone when their chief spy had arrived. "Your Highness!!!! Your Highness!!!! News had arrived that the Bijapur army, under the lead of Jannopant, has come to attack Keladi!!!!!" Everybody fell into a tizzy. The court, which was so quiet weeks before, had turned into a fish market!! Everyone was shouting at the top of their voices and running amock!!! Nobody could stop them, not even the queen.
Suddenly, the queen screamed, "SILENCE!!!!!!!" The whole court fell silent. They all kept their mouths shut. "You have heard the news: Keladi is under attack!!! Who is to rule is not important. Our first job is to repel the invader." The court agreed with Chennamma and praised her. But, one person did not. Thimmanna Nayak, the commander-in-chief, began to walk out. Chennamma tried to stop him, "Thimmanna, wait!! We need you now more than ever!" Thimmanna didn't say a word. When he reached the door, he just said, "I cannot stay in a kingdom that does not have a true ruler, " and then he stomped out of Keladi.

Chennamma rallied the Keladi army and the people of Keladi. She gave them a speech, "Brave soldiers and citizens of Keladi!!! This, our land, nurtured and handed down to us by our ancestors is in danger!! We must guard it safely!! Do not think of me as your queen!! Think of me as Somashekar Nayak!!!! It is his spirit who shall lead you into battle!! Will you fight for Keladi?!" This speech was so strong, that all of the Keladi citizens replied, "WE SHALL FIGHT!!! WE SHALL FIGHT!!!!!!" The queen smiled, "I shed my jewels. I present them all to the war effort! To you too, O citizens, and your families!!! These hands that once wore gold bangles, now take up the sword to fight with you!!!"
So, the army of Keladi marched against the far larger army of Bijapur. The soldiers held their heads high and their hearts were elated. They rode on to the Bijapur army, where they saw that Bijapur's army was a hundred times bigger than theirs. The Keladi army continued to march on. But, the Bijapur army forced their way through and captured the palace. Many brave soldiers died that day, whereas Rani Chennamma and the citizens of Keladi fled to the Bhuvanagiri fortress, deep in the forest. She felt sad, to see so many of her bravest soldiers die at the hands of the Bijapur army. 

A few days after, an unusual visitor came to Chennamma. It was Thimmappa Nayak. He had something to confess, "I am sorry, Your Highness. After the fall of our beloved capital, I - " Chennamma stopped him and smiled. Thimappa felt happy. He knew what his queen was about to tell him.
The next day, he rallied all of the nearby chieftains and citizens and assembled a formidable mercenary force. They were going to go for the big kill: The whole Bijapur army. Every day, the mercenaries would do a hit and run slaughter of a whole regiment!! When they came for their daily marches in the forest, the Bijapur army would get routed by the Keladi mercenaries.
Soon, the Keladi army, led by Chennamma, rode to Bidanur and overthrew the Bijapur rule!!!! Chennamma was officially crowned queen in 1671.

Years passed. Chennamma earned a super name for herself, by ruling the Kingdom of Keladi well and just.
One day, when Chennamma was giving alms to the poor, she saw a young, muscular man, who had become a monk. She was confused. Why did he renounce worldly life at such a young age? She inquired him, "Who are you? Why have you embraced the life of a monk at this age?" The man just said, "I am no monk, mother. I am a fugitive, running away from a dangerous pursuer. I am Rajaram, son of Chhatrapati Shivaji!!" The queen was shocked!!! The son of Shivaji, coming here!! "What happened, Rajaram? Who are you running from?" "I am running from Aurangzeb, the Mughal emperor. After murdering my brother, Sambhaji, Aurangzeb wants to finish me off." Chennamma assured Rajaram that he had protection in Keladi. But, Rajaram wanted only safe passage to Jinji (A fort in Tamil Nadu). Chennamma said that she would let Rajaram pass safely, without Aurangzeb thrashing him.

Soon, the Mughal Army, under Jaan Nisar Khan, got wind of Rajaram's presence in Keladi and immediately marched towards its borders. Even as the army approached, Chennamma received a letter from Aurangzeb. It read, "I hear that my enemy, Rajaram, is in your kingdom. Hand him over or feel the wrath of the Mughal army." Chennamma wasn't perturbed. She just calmly replied, "Rajaram is not in my kingdom. But, he has indeed passed through Keladi." Before her letter reached Aurangzeb, the Mughal army came to the Malenadu forests. But, they knew their way around. They thought they could manoeuvre around the forests. But, the mercenaries came and slashed and bashed the Mughal army into pieces. They lost a few times, but they cut up the Mughal army like a chef would do to veggies!!!!
Sometime later, the forests turned into soggy marshes. Jaan Nisar Khan was sooooo confused!! He didn't know what to do? He stayed in his camp for days, angrily passing his time. He finally received a letter from the emperor, telling him to go directly for Jinji.

Aurangzeb called for peace with Keladi and won themselves an ally. But, Keladi only fought alongside the Mughals if they were fighting for the right reason. Chennamma supported Rajarama and blessed him. Chennamma ruled for 25 more years, until she passed away peacefully. Her adopted son, Basava Nayak, became the ruler of Keladi. He ruled very well, with strength and power. The kingdom of Keladi was ruled well.

Fun Fact Nº 1: Chennagiri, in the Nandi Hills, was named by Basava Nayak in honour of his mother.

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