Biddanda Bopanna (Bopu)

Biddanda Bopanna (Bopu)is the earliest remembered ancestor of Biddanda Okka who is considered as the Moola Purusha and Karanava of this okka. He was born in 1769 and died in 1807. Biddanda Bopu and his son Somayya served Kodagu and its kings as army generals or Sarva karyakaras under Dodda Viraraja and Chikka Viraraja

Family

Father

Medappa

Mother

Cheniyappanḍa Subbavva

Son

Somayya

Madayya

Muddayya

Family Tree

family tree

Achievements

• Bopu joined Dodda Viraraja’s army at the age of 19 and served for about 19 years; gradually he rose from the lower ranks in the army to Commander in chief. With his courage and administrative skills, Bopu fought against Tipu Sultan and also subdued the enemies of Raja in Tulunad. He worked hard and became famous by the name Karyakara Bopu or Diwan Bopu.
• Born in 1769, it was believed to be an inauspicious day by the members of Panchayat. Hence, Bopu’s father divorced his mother and married his own cross-cousin. Bopu had a son called Madayya from the first marriage and two sons Sommayya and Muddayya from Second marriage.
• When Bopu was surveying in Konanjangeri for Raja’s records, he found that none left in the kadira okka and hence took raja’s permission and settled his stepbrother Bollu on 1000 battis of Kadira land, got a mund mane, revived Kadira Okka and became its Karanava.
• Bopu passed away at a very young age of 38 years, from a wound caused by fighting a tiger. In order to commemorate his remarkable term in an army, the king ordered to erect Bopu’s tomb near the royal tombs of Gaddige

Abstract 

Sarva Karyagara (General) Biddanda Somaiah was a Kodava hero, freedom fighter and general of Kodagu.

Before 1834, Kodagu was under the Rajas. Biddanda Somaiah was the Sarva Karyagara (general) of Kodagu. He was the son of Biddanda Bopu who defeated Tipu’s army in Mangalore and captured it in 1799. Their native village was Bavali. After Bopu died he was buried in Gaddige in Madikeri. The Kodagu Raja’s family members were buried in Gaddige. 

In 1834, the British invaded Kodagu. The British army had 6,000 soldiers. They were divided into four when they entered Kodagu. One group came to the forests in Somwarpet in Kodagu. They reached a village which had a wooden fence. This village was guarded by Mathanda Appachu and his men. Seeing the large army, the Kodagu Raja went into hiding in the Nalknad palace. 

In those days, the Kodavas bought guns from the Kerala coast and sometimes made them. Mathanda Appachu and his men had some old guns with them. 

From behind the fence they shot at the British. In four or five hours, Appachu and his men killed 48 British soldiers, including 3 officers and wounded 118. But nobody was killed on Appachu’s side. The British then retreated from that place. 

But the Raja of Kodagu did not want to make the British angry. So he sent his minister Diwan Apparanda Bopu to surrender to the British. Bopu surrendered to the British and brought them from Kushalnagar to Madikeri in Kodagu. Three days later the Raja came out of hiding. 

The British removed the Raja from Kodagu. They sent him first to Vellore and later to Kashi. Afterwards, from there he went to London in Britain. The British forgave Mathanda Appachu and the others who fought them. They continued to serve the British. 

But General Biddanda Somaiah resigned. He said, “I have served Indian kings all my life. I don’t want to serve the British now. So, I will leave my job.” He went back to his Bavali village where he lived as a farmer. Many years later, after he died, he was buried near Gaddige, next to his father.