Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar

Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar (ಶ್ರೀ ಜಯಚಾಮರಾಜೇಂದ್ರ ಒಡೆಯರು; 18 July 1919 – 23 September 1974), sometimes simply Jayachamaraja Wadiyar, was the twenty-fifth and last ruling Maharaja of Mysore, reigning from 1940 to 1950, who later served as the governor of Mysore until 1964 and as governor of Madras from 1964 to 1966.

Wadiyar ascended the throne upon the sudden demise of his uncle Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV.

Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar was born on 18 July 1919 at Mysore Palace as the only son and the last child of Yuvaraja Kanteerava Narasimharaja Wadiyar and Yuvarani Kempu Cheluvajamanni.

He had three elder sisters: Princesses Vijaya Devi, Sujayakantha Devi, and Jayachamundi Devi.Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar graduated from Maharaja's College, Mysore, in 1938, earning five awards and gold medals from Mysore University.

He was married the same year, on 15 May 1938, to Maharani Satya Prema Kumari at the Palace.

He toured Europe during 1939, visiting many associations in London and became acquainted with many artists and scholars.

Aspirations to become a concert pianist were cut short by the untimely deaths of his father in 1939 and his reigning uncle in 1940, when he had to succeeded to the throne.

His reign as King began in 1940 during the onset of World War II in Europe and concluded with his merging the Kingdom into the Dominion of India in 1947 but continued as maharaja until India's constitution into a republic in 1950.

Kuvempu, his Kannada teacher and the vice-chancellor of Mysore University, remarked upon his ceding the kingdom: "Whereas kings have become so upon assuming thrones, he became a great king by renouncing one".

C. Hayavadana Rao, a noted historian, referred to the maharaja in the preface of his unfinished book as a "supporter of every good cause aiming at the moral and material progress of the people".

In March 1940, Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar lost his father Yuvaraja Kanteerava Narasimharaja Wadiyar who was second in line to the throne.

Five months later, his reigning uncle, Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV too expired, leaving his only nephew, Jayachamaraja Wadiyar, to succeed him to reign in what was dubbed one of the most prosperous states in Asia.

He ascended the throne of the Kingdom of Mysore on 8 September 1940 and was democratic in his administration, celebrated by his subjects as his uncle was.

With the accession, he was inducted as a freemason

Wadiyar also encouraged historical research on modern lines; this finds an echo in the dedication of the encyclopaedic work entitled History of Mysore by C. Hayavadana Rao published in three voluminous works published between 1943 and 1946.

Wadiyar was a connoisseur of both Western and Carnatic classical music.

As well as composing music himself, he also patronised numerous musicians in his court as well as international artists and became involved in acclaimed music organisations.

Wadiyar became a Licentiate of the Guildhall School of Music, London and honorary Fellow of Trinity College of Music, London, in 1945.

Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar was the first ruler to accede to merge his kingdom with the newly formed tentative Indian Union after India's independence in 1947.

He signed an instrument of accession with the Union on the eve of India's attainment of independence on 15 August 1947.

The result took three years to materialise owing to the drafting of a constitution for the country in the meantime.

Wadiyar became the first president of the Philharmonia Concert Society in 1948.

During his presidency, he founded the Medtner Society at London in 1949 in honour of the Russian composer Nikolai Medtner.

With the constitution of India into a republic, the Kingdom of Mysore was merged with the Republic on 26 January 1950.

Wadiyar was made the Rajpramukh of Mysore State in 26 January 1950.

After the integration of the neighbouring Kannada-majority parts of the Madras and Hyderabad States, the title was changed, and he became the first Governor of the reorganised Mysore State, from 1 November 1956 to 4 May 1964.

He was later appointed Governor of Madras from 4 May 1964 to 28 June 1966.

Wadiyar was a good horseman and a tennis player.

He was also well known for his marksmanship and was highly sought-after by his subjects whenever a rogue elephant or a man-eating tiger attacked their immediate surroundings in and around the city of Mysore.

There are many wildlife trophies attributed to him in the Palace Collections.

Wadiyar is credited for financially supporting the tennis player Ramanathan Krishnan participate at Wimbledon.

The maharaja also encouraged and aided the cricketer E. A. S. Prasanna's visit to the West Indies as his father was otherwise reluctant to send him.

Wadiyar was a man of letters: he was an avid reader and writer and an acknowledged authority of Indian philosophy.

His literary works deal with a range of disciplines including administration, theology, history, civics, philosophy, administrative studies, among others.

Wadiyar sponsored the translation of many classics from Sanskrit to Kannada as part of the "Jayachamaraja Grantha Ratna Mala", including 35 parts of the Rigveda.

These are essentially ancient, sacred scriptures in Sanskrit which at that time were not available in Kannada language comprehensively.

All the books contain original text in Kannada accompanied by Kannada translation in simple language for the benefit of common man.

In the history of Kannada literature, such a monumental work was never attempted!

As the courtier and astrologer Dharmadhikari H. Gangadhara Shastry, who himself contributed substantially in the above works, has stated, the Maharaja used to study each and every one of these works and discuss them with the authors.

After the state was absorbed into the Dominion of India, he was granted a privy purse, certain privileges, and the use of the title Maharaja of Mysore by the Government of India, However, all forms of compensation were ended in 1971 by the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of India.