The Nayaks of Kalahasti were rulers of Kalahasti and Vandavasi principalities. They belonged to the Velama

Velama

Velama or the Velama Doralu is a social group found mainly in Andhra Pradesh. Velamas are classed as "Upper Shudras". The history of Velama's is as old as Telugu bravery. Military exploits of Velamas form an important part of Telugu tradition, history and folklore...

 caste. Members of the group include Chennappa Naicker and his son Venkatapathy. These Nayaks served as loyalists to the Aravidu Dynasty

Aravidu dynasty

The Aravidu Dynasty was the fourth and last Hindu dynasty which ruled Vijayanagara Empire in South India. Its founder was Tirumala, whose brother Rama Raya had been the masterful regent of the last ruler of the previous dynasty...

 of Vijayanagara Empire

Vijayanagara Empire

The Vijayanagara Empire , referred as the Kingdom of Bisnaga by the Portuguese, was an empire based in South Indian in the Deccan Plateau region. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of the Yadava lineage. The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts...

.

Damarla Chennappa Nayaka

Chennappa Nayaka was a trusted general under Sriranga Deva Raya

Sriranga Deva Raya

Sriranga I was the king of Vijayanagara empire. He carried the restoration of the Vijayanagara empire, but his reign was marred with repeated attacks and loss of territories from his Muslim neighbours....

. Chennai

Chennai

Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

, the capital of the India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

, is named in his honor.

Yachamanendu

Yachamanendu was one of the famous chiefs of this line. He was a loyalist of Venkatapati Deva Raya

Venkatapati Deva Raya

Venkata II the younger brother of Sriranga I became the ruler of Vijayanagara Empire. His reign of three decades saw a revival of strength and prosperity of the empire. He dealt successfully with the Deccan sultans of Bijapur and Golkonda, the internal disorders, promoting economic revival in the...

 and Sriranga II

Sriranga II

Sriranga II was nominated in 1614 by King Venkata II to succeed him as king of the Vijayanagara Empire in Southern India...

. Yachamanendu was also the son of Kasturiranga, another famous general of Kalahasti. He helped Venkatapati to capture territory from the Deccan Sultans and also quelled rebellions by Nayaks of Vellore

Vellore

Vellore It is considered one of the oldest cities in South India and lies on the banks of the Palar river on the site of Vellore Fort. The city lies between Chennai and Bangalore and the Temple towns of Thiruvannamalai and Tirupati...

 and Madurai

Madurai

Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...

. When Sriranga II

Sriranga II

Sriranga II was nominated in 1614 by King Venkata II to succeed him as king of the Vijayanagara Empire in Southern India...

 succeeded Venkatapati, Yachama supported him against Jaggaraya's faction. Yachamanendu saved Sriranga's son Ramadeva by smuggling him out of the Vellore prison, with the help of a Washerman, when Sriranga's family was imprisoned by Jaggaraya. However, he was unable to prevent the murder of Sriranga's entire family. He fought on behalf of Ramadeva at Toppur with support from Raghunatha of Tanjore and killed Jaggaraya seizing his Gobburi Estates.

Further Reading

Velcheru Narayana Rao|Rao, David Shulman and Sanjay Subrahmanyam. Symbols of substance : court and state in Nayaka period Tamil Nadu (Delhi ; Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1998) ; xix, 349 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., maps ; 22 cm. ; Oxford India paperbacks ; Includes bibliographical references and index ; ISBN 0-19-564399-2.