18/10/2024
Arial view of the Mysore Palace, India.
Built in parts over five centuries—with the final set of changes as late as the 1940s—Mysore Palace is Mysore Palacea classic product of the evolving history of the erstwhile kingdom of Mysore, that once included not only Karnataka but also parts of modern-day Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Its fortunes, too, have been closely linked to its key rulers, the Wadiyars. Yaduraya, the first Wadiyar king, started building the palace (then fort) in the fourteenth century. It was a small affair as Mysore was then a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire. Yaduraya took on the name ‘Wodeyar’ (meaning ruler), which metamorphosed to ‘Wadiyar’ after the state came under British rule in the early nineteenth century. Chamaraja Wodeyar IV finished constructing this ‘fort’ in CE 1574.
According to Shrimanmaharaja's Vamshaavali (history of the Mysore royal family), the palace was destroyed by lightning and reconstructed by Kanthirava Narasaraja Wodeyar (r. CE 1638–59). By then, Mysore had not only become an independent state, but was one of the largest and most industrialised, with a modern, liberal and cultural society. Problems stills plagued the palace as it was remodelled by Tipu Sultan in 1797, who destroyed areas within the palace walls to make room for his new capital, Nazarabad. However, the temples in the complex were left untouched. New structures were built, and Mysore Palace became the city of Nazarabad. But this didn’t last long either.