Ravivarma Narasimha Domba Heggade
Encyclopedia
Ravivarma Narasimha Domba Heggade (died 1800) was the Raja
(sovereign) of Vitla
principality who led a resistance against British
colonisers in the erstwhile South Canara
district of British India.
, Karnataka
, India
. He succeeded his maternal uncle Achyuta Domba Heggade to the throne according to the matrilineal inheritance laws of the to which the dynasty belonged. Ravivarma succeeded the throne in turbulent times as Achuyta Heggade was beheaded by Hyder Ali
,the Muslim Ruler of Mysore after being captured in a conquest campaign.the royal family had fled to Tellicherry in present day Kerala
during Hyder Ali's campaign and hence survived.
After few years in exile Ravivarma led a military campaign to reclaim his kingdom and was successful. He was helped by the Raja of Nileshwaram and the British
. But later on when the British tried to reduce the influence of the Domba heggade dynasty. Ravivarma openly revolted against their presence in south Canara district along with the neigbouring Raja of Kumbla and Raja Of Nileshwaram. The three principalities led a combined revolt against the British but were unsuccessful and defeated. Ravivarma was hanged along with 9 members of the domba heggade dynasty by the British after they gained complete control of south Canara region on 22 August 1800.
and the domba Heggade dynasty still plays a major role in the social and religious ceremonies of the region. The dynasty even today looks after the management of about nearly 18 Hindu Temples in the region. The most notable being the Shree Panchalingeshwara Temple of Vitla dedicated to the Hindu Good Shiva
.
Raja
Raja is an Indian term for a monarch, or princely ruler of the Kshatriya varna...
(sovereign) of Vitla
Vitla
Vitla also Vittal or Vittel is a village in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada district, India, around 18 km from Bantwal in Bantwal Taluk. It is also 14 km from Puttur and 40 km from Mangalore. Vitla was an assembly constituency of Karnataka Legislative Assembly, but discontinued from 2008...
principality who led a resistance against British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
colonisers in the erstwhile South Canara
South Canara
South Canara was a district under the British empire, located at . It was bifurcated in 1859 from Canara district. It was the undivided Dakshina Kannada district...
district of British India.
Life and death
Ravivarma was born in a royal dynasty known as Domba Heggade who ruled the Vitla principality which roughly comprised the southern talukas of the present Dakshina KannadaDakshina Kannada
- Geography :The district geography consists of sea shore in the west and Western Ghats in the east. The major rivers are Netravathi, Kumaradhara, Phalguni, Shambhavi, Nandini or Pavanje and Payaswini which all join Arabian sea. Vast areas of evergreen forests which once covered this district, have...
, Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. He succeeded his maternal uncle Achyuta Domba Heggade to the throne according to the matrilineal inheritance laws of the to which the dynasty belonged. Ravivarma succeeded the throne in turbulent times as Achuyta Heggade was beheaded by Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers...
,the Muslim Ruler of Mysore after being captured in a conquest campaign.the royal family had fled to Tellicherry in present day Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
during Hyder Ali's campaign and hence survived.
After few years in exile Ravivarma led a military campaign to reclaim his kingdom and was successful. He was helped by the Raja of Nileshwaram and the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. But later on when the British tried to reduce the influence of the Domba heggade dynasty. Ravivarma openly revolted against their presence in south Canara district along with the neigbouring Raja of Kumbla and Raja Of Nileshwaram. The three principalities led a combined revolt against the British but were unsuccessful and defeated. Ravivarma was hanged along with 9 members of the domba heggade dynasty by the British after they gained complete control of south Canara region on 22 August 1800.
Successors
Though Ravivarma was hanged along with 9 members of his family. The dynasty of domba heggade still survives. Though their influence was greatly reduced by the British after they took control of their principality, but the British did spare their palaces and personal properties. One of the royal places from the 18 the century still survives in VitlaVitla
Vitla also Vittal or Vittel is a village in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada district, India, around 18 km from Bantwal in Bantwal Taluk. It is also 14 km from Puttur and 40 km from Mangalore. Vitla was an assembly constituency of Karnataka Legislative Assembly, but discontinued from 2008...
and the domba Heggade dynasty still plays a major role in the social and religious ceremonies of the region. The dynasty even today looks after the management of about nearly 18 Hindu Temples in the region. The most notable being the Shree Panchalingeshwara Temple of Vitla dedicated to the Hindu Good Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
.