Structure:

• Introduction: (upto 30 words) brief introduction about Krishna raja Wodeyar III
• Body: (upto 100 words) mention his contributions to the culture of Mysore state
• Conclusion: (upto 30 words) Overall note on KRW-III’s achievements

Supporting Points:

• Krishnaraja Wodeyar III, who was born at Srirangapatna, was the son of Chamaraja Wodeyar IX and his first wife, Maharani Kempa Nanja Ammani.
• He was the longest ruling Wodeyar king, for nearly 70 years, from 30 June 1799 to 27 March 1868, and laid the foundation on which his successors, chiefly Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, built, and transformed Mysore into a modern and model state.
• He is known for his contribution and patronage to different arts and music during his reign.
• Due to the fallout of the civil insurrection the British citing maladministration, took direct control of the princely state. For the next fifty years, Mysore passed under the rule of successive British Commissioners;

Contribution to culture of Mysore:

• Freed from the pains and concerns of administrative matters, he set upon a path that not only transformed Mysore in every positive way imaginable, but bequeathed a legacy that the Karnataka of today continues to enjoy.
• If the city of Mysore still boasts of being the cultural capital of Karnataka, majority of the credit for it goes to Krishnaraja Wodeyar III.
• Krishnaraja Wodeyar III was a multifaceted, multitalented genius. He was a polyglot, scholar, an accomplished poet, writer, artist, and musician among other things. He has to his credit at least 50 literary works on various subjects.
• His Sritattvanidhi (literally: The Illustrious Treasure of Realities) is an encyclopaedic treatise interspersed liberally with iconography. The objective of the work was to collate and combine all available information about the iconography and iconometry of divine figures in South India.
• He also wrote the illustrated epic prose-romance, Sougandhikaparinaya. It was a new prose style he devised, breaking away from the styles handed down until his time. The theme was neither borrowed nor adapted from any earlier work. However, it has a mythological theme written in the puranic style infused with puranic, Vedic and other epic characters like the sage Durvasa, and the God Indra.
• Of the most distinctive and unique regional dance forms in India hailing from Karnataka, Yakshagana (literally, song of the demigods) perhaps occupies the top spot. And its survival, resurgence and growth owes a huge debt of gratitude to Krishnaraja Wodeyar III. It was during his reign that he patronized Parti Subba, a renowned Yakshagana writer and performer from South Canara. This legacy has endured: the Karnataka state government, long ago instituted a Parti Subba award for Yakshagana artistes, a tradition that continues till date.
• Krishnaraja Wodeyar III was an accomplished player of the Veena and patronized great musicians and composers of his time like Sadashiva Rao, Veena Venkatasubbayya and Doddaseshanna. Like in other areas, it was under Krishnaraja Wodeyar III who created a sprawling cultural ecosystem where musicians received patronage, honour, and recognition for their talent and were able to live comfortably. This ecosystem existed even in the modern time all the way up to Mysore Vasudevachar in whose presence legendary contemporary musicians like M.S Subbulakshmi and M. Balamuralikrishna proved their mettle.
• Krishnaraja Wodeyar III also encouraged graphic arts. He had an army of accomplished artists under his patronage. Among other things, they were engaged to paint court-life in all its grandeur. Apart from this, portraiture developed as a fine art in Mysore during Krishnaraja Wodeyar’s rule. He had several portraits of well-known people of the kingdom painted by the best artists of the time. Along with the paintings of court life, these form a very valuable resource for researchers because of the visual clues they provide to the past. He was also responsible for the creation of the Jaganmohan art gallery of Mysore, and built the original building in 1861. The grandfather of the renowned K. Venkatappa (after whom the famed Venkatappa art gallery in Bangalore is named) was Krishnaraja Wodeyar’s personal friend.
• Krishnaraja Wodeyar III also introduced English education in the Mysore state by starting Maharaja’s English School which paved way for the famous Maharaja’s college and finally, the Mysore University later under Sir M. Vishweshwarayya.
• The nearly-70 year long rule of Krishnaraja Wodeyar III witnessed at least three generations of a galaxy of poets and other literary figures mainly in Kannada and Sanskrit. These litterateurs have stood the test of time, and their writings, plays, and poems are still read and recited in the state.
• Other important literary works that emerged during Krishanraja Wodeyar’s rule include Kalavati Parinaya by Yadava and Vachana Kadamabari.
• Krishnaraja Wodeyar III was also an expert player of board games and is credited to have revived the Ganjifa card game, which originated in Persia. It was wildly popular during the Mughal rule.

Conclusion: Krishnaraja Wodeyar III did not distinguish himself as a great administrator but his life and long rule indicates that it is possible to earn immortality by showing a humane side and encouraging refinement and culture like culture, art, music, and so on.