Mysore curse

The Mysore curse is a legend about the kings of the Mysore Kingdom, a princely state that ruled what is now Karnataka, which is today in India. The Mysore state was ruled by the Wodeyars or Wadiyars. The queen of the Vijayanagara dynasty, Alamelamma, wife of King Tirumalaraja, put the curse on them.

When the Mysore state took over the Vijayanagara empire in 1612, Queen Alamelamma of the Vijayanagara Empire tried to run away with some treasure that belonged to her but was stolen by the Mysore army during the invasion. When she escaped, The Mysore king ordered the soldiers to catch her. She jumped into a river and before committing suicide, shouted the curse: "May the land at Talakadu would be barren, May the river at Malangi turn into a whirlpool and may the Mysore kings never beget children."

Since then, Talakadu has been buried underneath sand dunes, with only some areas successfully excavated. The Kaveri river at Malangi always turns into a whirlpool and the Mysore kings had male children only once every two generations. Many Mysore kings and queens have adopted children, for example nephews or cousins. An attempt was made to ward off the curse by installing an idol of Alamelamma in the Mysore Palace premises.

In 2017, The current ruler, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wodeyar and his queen wife, Trishikha Kumari, gave birth to a healthy baby boy. The heir, Aadyaveer Narasimharaja Wadiyar, was greatly anticipated by the public as it was believed that Aadyaveer will end the 400-year old curse.