Page:A Family History of Venkatagiri Rajas.djvu/166

 Somayajulu for performing a religious sacrifice known as Athirathra Yagam. In 1861, he gave four villages to the four temples of Manner Polur, respectively. In 1863, the Rajah's attention was turned to the improvement of the local Viswanatha temple. A mandapam, a stone-built hall was built in the south-west of the main streets for His festival. A silver-plated horse, a peacock, and a Yali were added to the list of Vahanams. The chariot-ropes were replaced by big iron chains. A music-hall (Naupat-khana) was also added to the temple. The choultries at Nayudupet and Benares were soon discontinued as they were not working properly and the choultry at Venkatagiri improved in their stead. In 1873 and 1874, there was the big famine in Bengal, and the Rajah being invited to attend the meeting held with the idea of affording relief to the famine-striken, gave a liberal donation of Rs. 20,000. Like his father and grandfather