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| Tipu Sultan of Mysore, India, tmilnews.com |
The Sringeri Mutt, Karnataka has 47 letters addressed by Tipu Sultan to the then Shankaracharya Sri Sacchidananda Bharati III (1770 – 1814). According to Dr. A. K. Shastry (in his book ‘The records of the Sringeri Dharmasamsthana’) these letters show Tipu’s deep affection for the Mutt and the then Shankaracharya and also reflect on the other important facets of Tipu’s character hitherto we 've not heard of. Tipu's help regarding the installation of Linga in the Mutt after the Maratha raid is mentioned in a few research work on him; historians say such reports have no authenticity His father Hyder Ali helped Queen Velu Nachiyar regain her kingdom - Sivaganga, now in Tamil Nadu. She was in exile in Dindugal as a guest of Hyder Ali, after the British raid on Sivaganga.When it comes to religion, Tipu remains as an enigma with layers of puzzle.
Some interesting facts:
01. Tipu Sultan's parents were Hyder Ali and his wife Fatima Fakhr Un Nisa. His earlier name was Fath Ali but often called him Tipu after the local saint Tipu Mastan Aulia. Tipu Sultan's full name was Sultan Fateh Ali Khan Shahab.
02. Tipu was commonly tagged as the Tiger of Mysore and he used it as the emblem of his rule.
03. He learned many aspects of the warfare when he was young - horse riding, shooting, swordsmanship, etc when he was just 15.
04. Tipu was a man of valor and wisdom. When, on a hunting trip with a French man in a dense forest, a chance encounter with a big tiger forced him to use his dagger to finish the ferocious animal as his gun failed to work. This heroic exploit earned him the name "the Tiger of Mysore".
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| Tipu Sultan of mysore. Pic: commons.wikimedia.org |
05. Haider Ali and Tipu were the first ones who used long distance traveling missiles with a strong heat-resistant iron tube and sharp sword, etc. They also had rocket launch pads built in their fort at Srirangapatnam. His technology was copied by the French and later by the British. The Mysorian rockets carrying sharp iron - objects to cause severe injuries to the enemies were better than those used in France. They could each long distance and their trajectory could be changed based on the terrain and targets.
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| Tipu sultan's Mysorian rockets. Angelo-Mysore war. .jimokane.blogspot.com |
06. Tipu Sultan's Mysorean rockets were used as main models for the new version of Congreve Rockets designed by Sir William Congreve in 1804.
07. After the death of Tipu Sultan (1799; he was shot dead), in the final Anglo-Mysore war (1798–1799) under the command of Lord Lord Wellesley, the British forces took away the sword and ring of Tipu Sultan as war trophies. Lord Wellesley himself had the gold ring removed from the slain-body soon after his death. The gold ring had the Hindu God's name Ram engraved in Devanagari script. On May 24, 2014 Somerset's great grand son Baron Raglan (descendant of Lord Wellesley) put it up for auction and the well attended auction fetched 140,500 pounds for that gold ring (41.2 gm) worn by Tipu at the time of his death on the Srirangapatnam battle ground.
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| Tipu Sultan's gold ring..bbc.com/ |
08. Tipu's world famous sword carrying the emblem of Tiger on the handle was made of special Steel called Woltz, using high carbon special alloy with amazing sharp edge.
09. Tipu Sultan's ambition was to become a Padishah after defeating the British and his Brahmin astrologers told him this would happen only upon completion of certain rituals.
10. Among the Indian rulers, Tipu had a powerful navy, consisting of 20 battleships of 72 cannons and 20 frigates of 62 powerful cannons. Mangalore was used as a port. He had his war ship made with brass bottom for long life.
11. It is believed that Tipu Sultan replaced names of some places with Muslim names. examples: Mangalore was changed to Jalalabad, Mysore to Nazarabad, Cannanore to Kusanabad, Dharwar to Quarshed-Sawad, Dindigul to Khaliqabad, Kozhikode to Islamabad, etc. Names of all these places were reverted to old names only after Tipu Sultan's death in 1799.
12. According to an official report by Colonel Fullarton, then in-charge of British forces in Mangalore, Tipu Sultan during his acquisition of Palghat Fort in the year 1783, killed the Hindus, especially Brahmins. (authenticity required).
13. Tipu had to retreat during the Battle of the Nedumkotta (1789) against the Nairs of Travancore as the British forces were behind the Travancore army.
14. Tipu Sultan was a great soldier and saved the South India from British invasions for a long time. He learned military strategies from the French.
15. There is a story going around about his romantic escapade with one legendary woman warrior Unniyarcha whom he captured in a war and later married her in May, 1790 under force. (authenticity required).
16. The 40-acre Lalbagh Botanical Garden in Bangalore owes its origin to Tipu. He was fond of horticulture and gardening and possessed considerable knowledge.
17. Before Tipu became a ruler of Mysore, official works were done in Kannada and Marathi languages. But after he ascended the thrown, Farsi was introduced as the new official language of Mysore state (authenticity required).
18. After his father, Tipu ruled the kingdom for 17 years. Just near his Srirangapatnam fort is the famous Hindu temple dedicated to lord Vishnu. During his life time he never interfered with the affairs of the Hindu temple.
As far as religion is concerned, Tipu is not free from controversies and his secular credentials have been a bone of contention for a long time. He still continues to remain
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| twitter.com/Annapurnna/status |
a controversial ruler of past era in a land dominated by the Hindus.
Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipu_Sultan
https://toshkhana.wordpress.com/2013/02/17/the-three-sources-
of-strength-of-tipu-sultan
Tipu Sultan of Mysore, India, tmilnews.com
Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipu_Sultan
https://toshkhana.wordpress.com/2013/02/17/the-three-sources-
of-strength-of-tipu-sultan
Tipu Sultan of Mysore, India, tmilnews.com
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