Swaminatha Iyer, a British agent had noted as early as 1797 that extreme popularity of Raja was on account of the fact that he remained in his country with his subjects during Mysore invasions and shared with them the trials and tribulations and also due to his extreme generosity to this peasantry. It was on account of love and support from his subjects that Raja could evade and fight British for a decade even when he had a bounty on his head.