Purnaiah

Dewan of Mysore

Purniah earned the confidence of Hyder Ali thanks to his aptitude in accounting and excellent handwriting. Endowed with prodigious memory, proficiency in multiple languages, and sheer hard work, Purniah became the head of the accounting department, and minister, and a confidant and close advisor of the ruler. Hyder Ali also granted Purnaiah a jagir in Maralahalli, Mysore. From then on, many of the ruler’s decisions, including political matters, were shaped by Purnaiah’s counsel.

Premiership under Tipu

When Hyder Ali died near Chittoor in 1782, his son Tipu was encamping in the Malabar coast. Purniah kept Ali's death a top secret and sent the word only to Tipu by the speediest way possible. Meanwhile, Ali's body was kept embalmed, and business went on as usual. Purniah thus played a key role in keeping the news of Ali's death confidential owing to adversaries who could have seized this advantage and tried to usurp power. Purniah thus paved the way for the succession of Tipu. He soon became a member of Tipu's inner cabinet, eventually being labelled Dewan for the first time.

Premiership under the Wodeyars

After a series of wars with the British East India Company, Tipu was defeated in the fourth one and was killed in 1799. Soon, with lobbying efforts from Maharani Lakshmi Devi, Purniah met with George Harris, the commander-in-chief of the Madras Army, for the handing-over of the kingdom's government to the deposed Wadiyars. A subsidiary alliance was struck, and the maharani became the Queen Regent of Mysore for the infant prince Krishnaraja Wodeyar III. Purniah became the regent's adviser and educated and trained the young prince. On 27 December 1807, in recognition of his services, the queen regent awarded Purnaiah the feudal estate of Yelandur.

Krishnaraja Wodeyar III attained the age of 16 in early 1810, reaching the recognised age of discretion. Consequently, the British Resident of Mysore Arthur Cole invested the kingship in the prince in 1811. Purnaiah continued to advise the new maharaja for a brief period before retiring that year. The presiding Resident John Malcolm honoured him on his retirement by presenting him a horse, an elephant, and a rich killat. He was also honoured with handsome grants and a large pension for his services.

Military career

Purniah participated in every military campaign led by Tipu. In the Third Anglo-Mysore War of 1792, he commanded a rocket unit comprising 131 men. During the Battle of Seringapatam, Tipu had entrusted his eldest son and heir-apparent to Purniah's care. In the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, Purniah commanded the forces of Mysore against East India Company in a few battles including the Battle of Sultanpet Tope.

After Tipu's defeat at the hands of Arthur Wellesley, Purniah and Wellesley became closely associated when the latter was stationed in Mysore. Robert Frykenberg suggests that Wellesley learned how to maximise the utility of cavalry from Purniah.

Administration

After Tipu's death in 1799, he suppressed the revolting local chieftains who had become despots.

Under Maharaja Krishnaraja Wodeyar III, Purnaiah started releasing cash allowances to mathas, temples, and dargahs, which had stopped under the Company rule after Tippu's death. He opened a judicial department to hear peoples' grievances. His public works have left a great legacy. About a nine-mile canal and several tanks were dug to supply drinking water to the city of Mysore. In honour of Richard Wellesley, the Governor-General of Bengal, a stone bridge was constructed across the river Kaveri connecting Srirangapattana with Kirangur. His work to improve agriculture was also acknowledged.

A large number of public shelters open to locals and travellers were erected in the name of Krishnaraja Wodeyar III, which were known as "Dewan Purniah".

Revenue administration was streamlined: the kingdom had a volatile border with incessant skirmishes, a legacy of the previous regime. Methodical land surveys were conducted; borders were notified; and the posts of shekdars, amaldars, and tehsildars (tax officers) were created, positions that are still in force throughout modern South Asia.

Family

Purnaiah's family were devout followers of the Uttaradi Matha and the Dvaita philosophy of Madhvacharya. Religion and spirituality were very important to Purnaiah. He was a contemporary and disciple of Satyadharma Tirtha of the Uttaradi Matha.

Purnaiah's great-great grandson was Sir P. N. Krishnamurti, a lawyer and the 16th dewan of Mysore.

Death

After his retirement in 1811, Purnaiah settled at his residence (formerly known as Lord Harris's House and the Doctor's Bungalow, located near Scott’s Bungalow and Garrison Cemetery) in Srirangapatna. A tablet on the wall of this house records the connection of Harris and Puraniah to this house. A year later, he died in the residence on 27 March 1812.

Legacy

In 2013, a museum to map Purnaiah's achievements was opened at his former residence in Yelandur by the Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage.

In popular culture

Films and television

• In 1988, Vijay Kashyap portrayed Purnaiah in the television serial Bharat Ek Khoj
• In 1990, Anant Mahadevan portrayed Purnaiah in the television series The Sword of Tipu Sultan