Yaduraya Wodeyar


Adi Yaduraya was the first raja after the Kingdom of Mysore from 1399 until his death in 1423. Chakravarthy Harihara II of the Vijayanagara Empire installed Yaduraya as his vassal and as a dedicated ruler of Mysore principality in 1399 to suppress the opposition of the Dalvoys. The Dalvoys were a decommissioned clan of royal fighters, advisers, and ministers who were active in the Vijayanagara Empire before, during, and after Harihara II and Yaduraya.

Assuming power and repressing opposition

Harihara II was already fighting hard against the insurgency of the Reddis of Kondavidu. The only other potential threat to the empire was the Dalvoys. So, he devolved Mysore's authority to Yaduraya. Hoovadiga mallanna also help to Yaduraya. Yaduraya successfully suppressed the opposition of the Dalvoys. He defeated and killed the chief Dalvoy, Mara Nayaka of Karugahalli, near the vicinity of Mysore, who had usurped power in and around Mysore, thereby becoming the first recognised and official ruler of that place.
Yaduraya functioned as a feudal king for the Sangama rulers during their hay-day. After Harihara II's death in 1404, he continued his rule in Mysore during the unstable times of the Vijayanagara Empire and during the turmoil and restoration of the Sangama dynasty, under the transient reigns of Emperors Virupaksha Raya and Bukka Raya II. After Bukka Raya II, Deva Raya I came to rule Vijayanagara with order and stability in the empire.
After Deva Raya's death in 1422, uncertainty and instability crept back during Ramachandra Raya and Vira Vijaya Bukka Raya, who are not know under the growing power of Yaduraya and recognition of his family.
He ruled under six emperors, laying a foundation with balanced power for what was to become one of southern India's most powerful kingdoms in future.
He died in 1423.