Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar
Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar (born Yaduveer Gopalraj Urs, 24 March 1992) is the twenty-seventh head or "custodian" of the erstwhile ruling family of the Kingdom of Mysore and head of the Wadiyar dynasty, a branch of the Yaduvanshi clan within the Chandravanshi lineage. Although he has no official title or role, he is known as Maharaja of Mysore.
| Yaduveera Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 27th Maharaja of Mysore | |
| Reign | 28 May 2015 – present (titular) |
| Predecessor | Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar (great uncle) |
| Born | Yaduveer Gopal Raj Urs 24 March 1992 Bangalore, Karnataka, India |
| Spouse | Trishikha Kumari Wadiyar |
| House | Wadiyar |
| Father | Swarup Anand Gopal Raj Urs; Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar (adoptive father) |
| Mother | Tripurasundari Devi; Pramoda Devi Wadiyar (adoptive mother) |
Early life and education
Yaduveer Wadiyar was born as Yaduveer Gopal Raj Urs, the only son of Swarup Anand Gopal Raj Urs of Bettada Kote by his wife Leela Tripurasundari Devi of Kallahalli. He has a younger sister, Jayathmika Lakshmi.
Bettada Kote was one of the larger Jagirs (feudal estates) bearing allegiance to the Maharaja of Mysore, and Yaduveer was born a scion of that feudal family. His paternal family is related distantly (but agnatically) to the Wodeyar family of the Maharajas of Mysore, because Yaduveer's great-great-great-granduncle had been adopted into the royal family and had ascended the throne as Maharaja Chamarajendra Wadiyar X in 1868. A closer connection to the royal family exists through Yaduveer's mother. Leela Tripurasundari Devi is the daughter of Kantharaj Basavaraj Urs, ruler of Kallahalli feudal estate (again under Mysore) by his wife Princess Gayatri Devi, eldest daughter of Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, last ruling Maharaja of Mysore. Thus, Yaduveer's maternal grandmother, Gayatri Devi, was a sister of the late Maharaja Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, Yaduveer's adoptive father.
Yaduveer received his education in Bangalore, initially at Vidya Niketan School and then at the Canadian International School. He then obtained an undergraduate degree in English literature and economics from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.[1]
Accession
Yaduveer Wadiyar's great-uncle, the previous head of the erstwhile royal family Srikantadatta Wadiyar, died childless on 10 December 2013 without naming a successor, leaving the family headship vacant. As per the traditions of the family, and in accordance with timeless Hindu custom, it was left to his widow, now the Rajamaate to adopt an heir to assume the position of head of the family. She and other members of the family, as also the erstwhile senior nobility of the state, pondered the question for over one year. During this interregnum, no celebrations or non-religious observances of any kind were held in the palace, except for the rituals connected to Dasara, which, according to tradition, are never deferred even by the death of the head of the family because it is the connection to honouring Goddess Durga Chamundeshwari, presiding deity of Mysore, in the palace. On this occasion, the "royal sword" was used to represent the majesty of the late head of the family and the rituals were conducted using that traditional device.
The interregnum lasted for more than one year, during which the Rajamate held consultations with members of the family, the Rajaguru and priesthood which traditionally advises the head of the family, and with important members of the erstwhile nobility of Mysore. Finally, on 12 February 2015, fourteen months after the death of her husband, the dowager Satya Pramoda Devi Wadiyar held a press conference in the Palace and announced the name of her 'adopted son designate.' The chosen candidate was Yaduveer Urs, son of Swaroopanand Gopalraj Urs of Bettada Kote, and he was a grandson of Princess Gayatri Devi, the deceased eldest sister of the late head of family. The choice, said the Pramoda Devi, had met with the consent of almost every member of the family, as also of the other eminences temporal and spiritual whose opinion had been sought.
The announcement was met with both relief and acclaim across Mysore state, where people were becoming disturbed at the unprecedented length of the interregnum. The monarchy does not have formal existence at present; the state had been merged with the rest of India in 1948 and the residual titles and privileges of the titular Maharaja had been taken away by the government of India in 1971. The idea was shocking to the inhabitants of the state, who continue to have a strong emotional resonance with the erstwhile royal family. The Srikantadatta had continued to play an important, pivotal role in religious and social ceremonies, and the family is a lodestar and fountainhead of honour for many talented performing artists, musicians, and craftsmen; it continues to have an important role in the cultural life of Karnataka state. Rajamate Pramoda Devi's announced that the customs and traditions of the family, and its bond with the people, would continue as before.
Nevertheless, some slight controversy did arise at the time of Yaduveer's adoption.
Pramoda Devi formally adopted him in a ceremony on 23 February 2015. The ceremony was a private affair, followed by a public procession late in the evening. This adoption made him the natural son of Srikantadatta Wadiyar and Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, and he was formally renamed Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar.[2][3][4]
As head of family
With his anointment ceremony on 28 May 2015, he became, at 23, the twenty-seventh head of the erstwhile royal family of the Kingdom of Mysore. He conducted his first Dasara durbar in September 2015.
On 27 June 2016, over a year after his appointment, Yaduveer Wadiyar married Trishikha Kumari, daughter of Harshvardhan Singh and Maheshree Kumari of the erstwhile Dungarpur royal family from Rajasthan.[5] Yaduveer and Trishikha gave birth to a boy, Aadyaveer Narasimharaja Wadiyar, on 6 December 2017 in Bangalore.
References
- Foster, Stuart (11 June 2015). "UMass graduate crowned head of 600-year-old Indian kingdom". The Massachusetts Daily Collegian.
- "Yaduveer Gopal Raj Urs is heir of Mysuru royal family". The Hindu. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- "In Yaduveer, erstwhile Mysuru kingdom gets new king". The Times of India. 28 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- "Mysuru new King to wed Trishika Kumari". NewsKarnataka. 25 February 2015.
- "The big royal wedding: When Mysuru went gaga". The Times of India. 28 June 2016.
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