 After an unremarkable period of rule by short @-@ lived incumbents , in 1672 , Kanthirava 's 27 @-@ year @-@ old grand nephew , Chikka Devaraja , became the new <unk> . During his rule , centralized military power increased to an unprecedented degree for the region . ( See Map 5 and Map 7 . ) Introducing various mandatory taxes on peasant @-@ owned land , Chikka Devaraja , however , exempted his soldiers ' land from these payments . The perceived inequity of this action , the unusually high taxes , and the intrusive nature of his regime , created wide protests which had the support of the wandering Jangama ascetics in the monasteries of the Lingayats , a monotheistic religious order that emphasizes a personal relationship with the Hindu god Shiva . According to Nagaraj 2003 , a slogan of the protests was : 
