Family of Ānandarāya Makhin

The author Ānandarāya Makhin hailed from a great family of scholars who gained the title Yajva due to their performing various sacrificial rites or yajñas. From Gaṅgādhara Makhin (Ānandarāya Makhin’s grandfather) starts the family’s relationship with the Tanjore Maratha kings as their ministers.

The family details of Ānandarāya Makhin and his progenitors are as below^[1] :

(i) Gaṅgādhara Makhin (alias Kākāji) of Bhāradvāja Gotra was the minister of Ekoji I (1676-1683); his father was Bāvāji^[2]; his wife was Kṛṣṇāmbā; Nṛsiṃharāya and Tryambakarāya were her sons; they occupied the position of their father after his time^[3]; and Bhagavantarāya was the son of another wife of Gaṅgādhara Makhin.

(ii) Nṛsiṃharāya Makhin succeeded his father as minister to Ekoji I. His son was Ānandarāya Makhin.^[4]

(iii) Tryambakarāya Makhin became the minister after his brother since his brother’s son Ānandarāya was quite young. He brought up all his brother’s sons along with his own.^[5] He was minister to Ekoji I and Śahaji (1684-1710) and performed a great sacrifice in 1698 A.D. (Dhatṛvarṣa)^[6] in Svāmimalai near Kumbakonam. He had a son by name Gaṅgādharādhvarin, whose son was Nārāyaṇa, author of Vikramasenacampū written when he was just 18 years old.^[7]

(iv) Ānandarāya Makhin, was the son of Nṛsiṃharāya Makhin; his wife was Jayantī^[8]; his son was Nṛsiṃharāya (II) who later became minister to Ekoji II. Ānandarāya Makhin was at first one of the ministers in the court of King Śāhāji when his uncle Tryambhakarāya had been the chief of ministers^[9]; he rose to be the Dharmadhikārin.

Pedigiree of Ānandarāya Makhin

[Transcription: Bāvājī (of Bharadvāja Gotra)—Gaṅgādhara Makhin I alias Kākāji Paṇḍita—Nṛsiṃharāya Makhin I—Tryambakarāya Makhin—Bhagavantarāya—Ānandarāya Makhin—Nṛsiṃharāya II—Gaṅgādharādhvarin II—Nārāyaṇa]

This family of ministers upheld the Vedic tradition by per-forming sacrifices; possessed of deep scholarship in Sanskrit, the family members were also great literary writers; in addition as ministers Nṛsiṃharāyamakhin and Tṛyambakarāya Makhin patronised Paṇḍitas and helped their Maratha kings provide Agrahāra settlements.^[10] Ānandarāya Makhin has been mentioned specifically by various kavis who were patronised by him.^[11]

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

See Appendix I–pp.181-85 of T.S. Kuppuswami Sastri’s article “Ramabhadra-Dikshita and the Southern Poets of His Time”, Indian Antiquary (July, 1904).

[2]:

Mudrārākṣasa-nāṭaka-vyākhyā of Ḍuṇḍirājakavi, Upodghāta, v.3:—
śrīmadbhosalavaṃśabhūpatikulāmātyeṣu vikhyātimānbhāradvājakulārṇavendurudabhūdbāvājiragnyāhitaḥ |
putrastasya kilaikabhūpatimaṇermantrī sadevādṛtastenāsīdguruvatpragalbhadhiṣaṇo gaṅgādharākhyo'dhvarī ||

[3]:

ibid., v.4:
tasya dvau tanayāvudāracaritau kṛṣṇāmbikāgarbhajāvekakṣmāpatilālitau gurupade cāropya saṃmānitau |
tatputreṇa ca śāhajikṣitibhṛtā jyeṣṭhānuvṛttyādṛtau tattādṛgvividhāgrahārakaraṇādvidvatpratiṣṭhāpakau ||

[4]:

ibid., v.6a: Ḍuṇḍirājakavi mentions that Ānandarāya was the eldest of the three sons of Nṛsiṃhārāya.

[5]:

ibid., v.8:
jyeṣṭhe tatra nṛsiṃhayajvani divaṃ yāte'nujastatsutānpaśyanputravadagrajāpacitimapyānandarāye dadhat |
vaitānāni ca kārayaṃsucaritānyetaiḥ svaputreṇa ca śrīmānatra mahāgricidvijayate śrītryambakāryodhvarī ||

[6]:

dhātṛvarṣo yadā yajṣasevārthamahamāgataḥ |
śrīmahārājarājasya mantriṇastryambakaprabhoḥ ||
–says Ācāranavanīta of Appādhavarin. See V. A. Ramaswami Sastri, “Ānandarāya Makhin versus Appādhvarin”, Journal of Oriental Research, Vol.III, p.72.

[7]:

See Śāhendravilāsa, Introduction, p.28.

[8]:

loc.cit. Mention by Nṛsiṃhārāya in his work Tripuravijayacampū.

[9]:

Śāhendravilāsa,VI.44-5:
śubhairguṇaistryambakarāya dhīraśreyānudarkāvyabhicāritarkaḥ |
diśāntaviśrāntayaśā mahīndorasevatābhyarṇamamātyamauliḥ ||
triyambakāryasya guṇānukārī nṛsihmarāyasya tadagrajasya |
ānandarāyastanubhūramātyaḥ prāpto'ntikaṃ premapadaṃ kṣitīndoḥ ||

[10]:

Mudrā rākṣasa-nāṭaka-vyākhyā, Prologue v.4d: tattāhagnidhāgraṭārakaraṇādvidvapratiṣṭhāpakau ||

[11]:

Paribhāṣā-vṛtti-vyākhyāna of Rāmabhadra Dīkṣita, vv.13-4:
jātaṃ jayantamiva śārṅgabhṛtā samasya yasyāgrajānmaghavato narasiṃharāyāt |
vṛddhaśravaḥpriyaguṇaṃ vibudhairupeyamānandarāyamakhinaṃ kathayanti santaḥ ||