QUEEN CHENNAMMA
INTRODUCTION
Chennamma was born in a small village in Karnataka in the year 1778, she was a brave lady, and she was trained in all kinds of arts, and she was an expert in handling all kinds of weapons. From her young age itself, she was very much devoted with Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati, and she used to visit and perform puja at the Shiva Temples. At her teenage, she was married with Mallasarja, the ruler of the Kittur Village at Belgaum.
After a few years, her consort King Mallasarja was died. Due to that, the British army tried to capture the Kittur village, in order to rule it. Queen Chennama tried her level best to win in the battle, but she was defeated in the battle and was imprisoned by the British government. She didn’t get worried about her life in prison, but spent her life in the jail, by performing puja to Lord Shiva and Mata Parvati, and read the holy texts like Ramayana and Mahabharata till her last breath. She died in the year 1829, and her Samadhi is situated at Bailhongal. Still now, nearby people, used to visit her Samadhi and would offer prayers to the Holy Mother Chennamma. Rani Chennama was a noble lady and a chaste woman, who lived as per the principles of Dharma.
She showed kindness to the people of Kittur, and provided all sorts of facilities to them. In order to honour the great queen, a statue of Rani Chennamma was installed in the Delhi Parliament in the year 2007. Apart from that, several schools are functioning in her name, and every year during the end of October, grand festival would be celebrated at Kittur, and the festival is named as Kittur Utsava.
Famous queens like Chennamma had lived a pious life, and they never insulted any one at any point of time in their life. They are all considered as the incarnations of Mata Shakti Devi, and they contain good physical and mental strength with very good qualities.
“OM”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR