Although he was married nine times, direct descents in the Wodeyar lineage stopped with him; a son was born to his first wife, but died aged six months.

Just before Dodda Krishnaraja I's accession, a change had come in the governance of the Mughal province of Sira (Carnatic Bijapur) to the north and northeast of Mysore.

This division, and the resulting loss of revenue from the rich maidān region of Mysore, made Sadat-ulla Khan unhappy and, in collusion with the rulers of Kadapa, Kurnool, Savanur, and the Maratha Raja of Gutti, he decided to march against Krishnaraja Wodeyar I.

While no opposition was made to an establishment of almost incredible absurdity, amounting to a lakh of rupees annually, for the maintenance of an almshouse to feed beasts of prey, reptiles, and insects; he believed himself to be an unlimited despot; and, while amply supplied with the means of sensual pleasure, to which he devoted the largest portion of his time, he thought himself the greatest and the happiest of monarchs, without understanding, or caring to understand, during a reign of nineteen years, the troublesome details through which he was supplied with all that is necessary for animal gratification.

After Krishnaraja Wodeyar I's death in 1736, the dalvoys would appoint "puppet maharajas," and effectively rule Mysore until the rise of Haidar Ali in 1760.