Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV GBE GCSI GCStJKGSJM KGCM DD |
|
---|---|
Maharaja of Mysore | |
Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV
Portrait by K. Keshavayya (1906) |
|
Reign | 28 December 1894 — 3 August 1940 |
Coronation | 1 February 1895, Mysore Palace |
Predecessor | Chamarajendra Wadiyar X |
Successor | Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar |
Born | 4 June 1884 Mysore Palace, Mysore, Kingdom of Mysore |
Died | 3 August 1940 Bangalore Palace, Bangalore, Kingdom of Mysore |
Spouse | Lakshmivilasa Sannidhana Sri Pratapa Kumari Ammani Avaru |
House | Wadiyar dynasty |
Father | Chamarajendra Wadiyar X |
Mother | Maharani Vani Vilas Sannidhana |
Religion | Hinduism |
Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV (Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar; ಶ್ರೀ ಶ್ರೀ ಶ್ರೀ ನಾಲ್ವಡಿ ಕೃಷ್ಣರಾಜ ಒಡೆಯರ್) GCSI GBE (4 June 1884 in Mysore Palace – 3 August 1940 in Bangalore Palace) was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Mysore from 1894 until his death in 1940. At the time of his death, he was also one of the world's wealthiest men, with a personal fortune estimated in 1940 to be worth US$400 million, equivalent to $56 billion at 2010 prices.
He was a philosopher-king, who was seen by Paul Brunton as living the ideal expressed in Plato's Republic. He has been compared to the Emperor Ashoka by the English statesman Lord Samuel. Mahatma Gandhi called him Rajarshi, or "saintly king", and his kingdom was described by his followers as Rama Rajya, an ideal kingdom akin to the rule of Lord Rama.
Krishna IV was the 24th ruler of the Wodeyar dynasty of Mysore that ruled over Mysore State from 1399 to 1950.
Krishna was born on 4 June 1884 at the Royal Palace, Mysore. He was the eldest son of Maharaja Chamaraja Wadiyar X and Maharani Vani Vilas Sannidhana. After the death of his father in Calcutta in 1894, Krishna's mother ruled the state as Regent until Krishna reached the age of majority, 8 August 1902.