Durgaastamana
 After Kasturi Rangappa Nayaka II dies in 1754 without an heir, 12-year old Madakari Nayaka, son of Bharamappa Nayaka of Jaanakalludurga (a small fort town close to Chitradurga), is named his successor and ascends to the throne. The young king is trained in the art of kingship by KaLLi Narasappayya, the able prime minister of Chitradurga, and Obavvanaagati, mother of Kasturi Rangappa Nayaka II, and soon blossoms into a capable administrator and fearless warrior. His brother, Parashurama Nayaka, meanwhile is trained in the art of prime ministership by Narasappayya. Madakari Nayaka soon faces challenges from neighbouring enemies of Chitradurga such as Rayadurga and HarapanahaLLi, whose rulers have long eyed this fort and try to take advantage of Madakari's youth and relative ineperience and defeat him in battle. However, young Madakari is up to the challenge and leads his forces successfully against the would-be usurpers. Soon, he establishes himself as a kind ruler of his subjects and iron-fisted vanquisher of his enemies. He weds Bangaravva (daughter of the Nayaka of Jarimale) and Padma, while also maintaining a concubinal relationship with a young woman named KaDoori and her sister Nagavva. Meanwhile, Hyder Ali begins extending the empire of Mysore all across South India. He has faced off with the English and the Mughals and only the Marathas are like a thorn in his flesh. He asks for Madakari Nayaka's friendship and assistance in defeating the Marathas. In turn, the Marathas, under Madhava Rao I, also ask for Madakari's help in their campaign against Hyder. Madakari, who leads a pack of BeDa warriors famed for their bravery and ferocity, agrees to help the Marathas (despite being prodded in Hyder's direction by prime minister Narasappayya) and, using his trained warriors, crushes the rulers of several forts in battle, the most famous being the battle of Nijagalhttp://www.sandeepweb.com/2008/10/29/the-battle-of-nijagal. He hands over these forts to the Marathas in exchange for their friendship and money. With time, however, the Marathas become disunited and their internal strife leads to Hyder Ali gaining an upper hand once again. Madakari then begins helping Hyder in several campaigns against the Marathas (this time heeding Narasappayya's advice). It seems that the Chitradurga-Mysore friendship is genuine and strong. Soon, however, the representatives of Hyder Ali in Chitradurga are discovered (by Madakari's brother, Parashurama Nayaka, an apprentice to Narasappayya) to be spying and collecting confidential information about the fort, its strengths and weaknesses, the army, the weapons in the Durga arsenal and other sensitive areas. The spies are punished and Narasappayya, shocked over his failure to nab these culprits, takes responsibility for it and resigns. He leaves for a pilgrimage with his wife as Parashurama Nayaka takes over as prime minister of Chitradurga. Relations between Chitradurga and Mysore slowly begin showing signs of strain. The rest of the novel is about the inexorable progress of the two kingdoms towards an epic confrontation.