Raja Wodeyar wanted to take revenge against his defeated foe and hence ordered all the Tirumala’s property confiscated. Rani Alemelamma had brought with her all her jewellery which she would lend to the Sriranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangapatna. To reclaim these jewels, Raja Wodeyar sent his soldiers to Malangi. The soldier arrived at Rani Alamelamma’s residence on banks of Talakad. The Rani was taken by surprise. She put all the ornaments she could find in a chest and made a secret exit from the palace. When Raja Wodeyar’s soldiers barged in Rani’s apartments, they saw a dazzling apparition making its way towards the riverside. Sensing that Rani might escape, they pursued her. But by then the Rani had climbed a cliff that overlooked the torrents of Cauvery.
She cried to the troops in loud voice “Go tell your viceroy that in life in vanquished us but not in death. Honour is more important to us than life and he has tried to acquire it.” The with folded hands and closed eyes, she prayed to Lord Venkateshwara and said “O’Lord, if I have been ever sincere to you as a devotee and a faithful wife of my husband, grant me this dying wish that would be a curse for the arrogant Viceroy of Srirangapatna. –
Talakadu Maralaagali
Malangi Maduvaagali
Mysuru Dhoregalige Makkalagade hogali!
I curse Talakad to be submerged under creeping sands
May a cruel whirlpool be a scourge of Malangi
And the kings of Mysore suffer the pangs of Childlessness!
And then, Rani Alamelamma leapt to her death in the torrential waters of Cauvery. When Raja Wodeyar heard of the incident at Malangi, he was overcome by remorse. To repent, he had a bronze idol of Rani Alamelamma made which is worshiped by the Wodeyars on the 9th day of Dusshera every year.
Effects of the Curse:
The chilling effects of this curse can be seen in the following ways:
1. The historic town of Talakad was completely submerged by sand dunes and was abandoned. The sand covered historical temples can be seen to this day.
2. River Cauvery generates fierce whirlpools near the village of Malangi, which has partly been consumed by the river.
3. Every alternate generation of Wodeyars had problems with heirs including the current Maharaja of Mysore, Srikantadatta Wodeyar.
Archaeologists, geologists, genealogists, historians and rationalists all have a different explanations on this curse. While the first two parts of the curse can be explained by natural geological reasons, but how do you explain the lack of heirs among the Wodeyars even today, in 2009, almost 400 years after the family was cursed?
Loopholes in the story of the curse:
As rationalists, we need to investigate the story which has many loopholes. These unexplained answers and facts are as follows:
1. The jewellery of temples is always considered sacred. It is extremely uncommon for anyone to “lend” their jewellery to the temples on Tuesday and Thursdays.
2. Raja Wodeyar wanted the jewellery which belonged to the temples. If Rani Alamelamma was a very devout woman as the story suggests, she would not have refused to hand over the same.
3. Why did Rani Alamelamma curse the village of Malangi? What did the village where she found solace, do anything to her?
4. It is highly unlikely that anyone would curse the city of holy temples. However, people claim that as a result of her curse, the temple city of Talakad was submerged under the sand.
5. The third part of the curse was that Wodeyars would be childless; then why did the curse change its effect over time, so as to skip a generation?
A Rational Analysis of the Curse:
I have analyzed the three prophecies of the curse based on a variety of sources including Mr. Vikram Sampath’s “Splendours of Royal Mysore” as well as several articles in the CURRENT SCIENCE Magazine. The analysis is as follows:
1. Talakadu Maralaagali “I curse Talakad to be submerged under creeping sands”
Let us analyze the first part of the curse, about the historic town of Talakad to be submerged under creeping sands. Now why would a “devout” woman as Rani Alamelamma curse a holy city which had historic temples? What had Talakad ever done to her? Well, there is no answer available. There have been several researches carried out by Geologists to investigate the phenomenon of sand dunes. CURRENT SCIENCE Journal in its December 2007 features one such article.