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 CHAPTER XII

Siege of Chitaldrúg – Operations against the Maráthás – Reduction of Chitaldrúg

Haidar availed himself of this respite to punish the defection of the Pálegár of Chitaldrúg, who had failed to send his contingent to support him in the recent contest. It will be remembered that on the invasion of Madhu Ráo, this Pálegár had distinguished himself in the assault of the Nijagal fort, then held by Haidar, who never forgave him for this gallant feat, and was determined to compel his unconditional submission.

The clan of Bedars, of which the Pálegár Madakeri Náyak was the chief, is said to have migrated from Jádíkaldrúg in Kadapa, some marches west of the famous shrine of Tirupati, and to have settled in the neighbourhood of Chitaldrúg in the year 1475. Their leader, named Timmana, was appointed by the King of Vijayanagar to the office of Náyak of Chitaldrúg, and his son Obana, on the fall of Vijayanagar in 1564, assumed independence. The Bedars gradually extended their possessions, which eventually yielded a revenue of four or five lacs, but during the rule of Barmappa Nayak, the páliam became tributary to the Mughal