தளவாய் அரியநாத முதலியார்
149
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கி.பி. 1572-1595.
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மாளவீரன் மதுரை என்ற பெயர் இவ்வாறு மருவியது போலும்! இவரது ஆட்சிக்காலம் 1595-1601.
"A Warrior as well as statesman. Visvanatha had the further advantage of the precepts and counsels of a remarkable minister and companion, Ariyanatha. No king has ever had an abler or a more faithful lientenant and no master ever been served with a greater devotion of a more genuine feeling of loyalty. But Ariyanatha was not a mere devoted servant. He was much more. He was an uncommonly prudent and orderly minded statesman with a keen eye for practical organisation and administration. Among the many rules, generals and public men that flit across the pages of Indian History and vanish into darkness as soon as their meteoric career is over, there are comparatively few substantial statesmen whose wisdom, foresight and zeal were such as introduce a new institution or policy which became an enduring factor in the history of their country. But even such rare individuals have either owing to the scarcity of materials or ignorance of historians, been thrown into undeserved oblivion. Of these real but unrecognised makers of history, Ariyanatha Mudaliyar is one. A contemporary of Akbar and Tondarmal, a trusted lieutenant of Vijayanagar and Visvananha, he has left, as monuments of his genius, institutions which have not died to the present day. A profound scholar, it is said, in the sciences of astrology and mathe- matics, a good geneal and a far seeing statesman, Ariyanatha was a versatile genius, and could acquit himself with as much felicity in the field as in the court. He took a prominent part in the establishment of the Naik dynasty of Madura, and co-operated with its founder, Visvanatha, in the government of the Kingdom, the evolution of order in place of confusion, and good gov- ernment in place ofo anarchy. For more than half a century after Visvanatha's death, he was the pilot of othe infant Kingdom, the trusted minister and adviser-thanks to the amiability of his mannes, the moderation of ohis counsels and his fact in managing men of different noods, desires and temperaments, of three successive rulers of Madura; so that. when he died about 1600, he left it a strong and well-defended state, with sound finances, an efficent army and a wholesome policy to be pursued by his successors.”
-Professor V. Rangachari, M.A.L.T., Indian Antiquary, 1915, PP. 62-64.
