Vijayanagara Kingdom (1336 – 1672 CE)

The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was based in South India’s Deccan Plateau region. It was founded in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, who were members of a pastoralist cowherd community with Yadava ancestors. By the end of the 13th century, the empire had risen to prominence as a result of southern powers’ attempts to repel Islamic invasions.

Region of Vijayanagara Empire

Background

• It was founded in 1336 by Harihara and Bukka of the Sangama dynasty, who had previously served under the Kakatiya rulers of Warangal, with the blessings of Guru Vidyaranya.
• They later declared their independence and established a new city called “Vijayanagar” on the south bank of the Tungabhadra River (City of Victory).
• Saivism was followed by early Vijayanagar rulers. Their family God was Virupaksha. They were later influenced by Vaishnavism. However, Siva was still worshipped.
• The Vijayanagar Empire and the Bahamani kingdom were constantly at odds over Raichur doab (the fertile region between Krishna and Tungabhadra), Tungabhadra doab (the fertile areas of the Krishna-Godavari delta), and Marathwada.
• The Sultans of Madurai were its main rivals in the south.
• During Rama Raya’s reign, the combined forces of Bijapur, Ahmednagar, Golkonda, and Bidar defeated him at the Battle of Talaikotta in 1565, bringing the Vijayanagar Empire to an end.
• Sri Ranga III was the last ruler of Vijayanagar.

Sangama Dynasty

The Sangama dynasty was a Vijayanagara Empire dynasty founded in the 14th century by two brothers, Harihara I (also known as Vira Harihara or Hakka Raya) and Bukka Raya I. They were the sons of Bhavana Sangama, the chieftain of a cowherd pastoralist community who claimed descent from the Yadava race. This dynasty was the first to rule over the Vijayanagara Empire.

Background

• Sangama is the name of the first dynasty of Vijayanagara. It was the first dynasty to rule over the Vijaynagar empire.
• This dynasty was home to the empire’s founders, Harihara I and Bukka. It ruled from 1334 to 1485 AD.
• During the reigns of Harihara and Bukka I, the Vijaynagar kingdom absorbed many principalities and divisions, including most of the Hoysala territory.
• The chronicle of Nuniz provides a detailed account of how the sovereigns of Vijayanagar first began to acquire the power that would later become so extensive.
• This account may or may not be accurate in every detail, but it corresponds fairly with epigraphical and other records of the time.
• According to records, after conquering Gujarat, Muhammad Taghlaq of Delhi marched south through the Dakhan Balaghat, or high lands above the western ghats, and seized the town and fortress of Anegundi around the year 1336.
• Its leader was assassinated, along with his entire family. After a failed attempt to govern this territory through a deputy, Muhammad elevated its late minister to the rank of chief of state, a man Nuniz refers to as “Deorao,” for “Deva Raya,” or Harihara Deva I.
• The new chief established the city of Vijayanagar on the south bank of the river opposite Anegundi and made his residence there, with the help of the great religious teacher Madhava, wisely believing that putting the river between himself and the ever-marauding Moslems would provide him and his people with greater security than before.
• He was succeeded by “one called Bucarao” (Bukka), who reigned for thirty-seven years, and the next king was the latter’s son, “Pureoyre Deo” (Harihara Deva II.).
• The first two kings, Harihara I. and Bukka, were brothers, and the third king, Harihara II, was undoubtedly Bukka’s son.
• The city of Vijayanagar, thus founded around the year 1335, quickly grew in importance and became a refuge for Hindu outcasts, refugees, and fighting men who had been beaten and driven out of their old strongholds by the advancing Muhammadans.
• The first rulers of Vijayanagar, however, did not dare to call themselves kings, and neither did the Brahmans who composed the text of their early inscriptions.

Harihara and Bukka (1336 – 1377 CE)

• Harihara
  • Harihara I founded the Vijayanagara empire and was also known as ‘Hakka’ or ‘Vira Harihara.’ He was Bhavana Sangama’s eldest son and a Kuruba clan descendant.
  • He was also the founder of the Sangama Dynasty. Following his ascension to power, he built a fort at Barkuru on the western coast of what is now Karnataka.
  • He ruled the northern parts of the Hoysala Empire before assuming control of the kingdom in 1343, following the death of Hoysala Veera Ballala III.
  • Harihara I was known as ‘Karnataka Vidya Vilas,’ ‘Arirayavibhada,’ or ‘fire to enemy kings,’ and ‘Bhashegetappuvarayaraganda,’ or punisher of feudal lords who failed to keep their promises according to the inscriptions of his time.
• Bukka
  • Bukka Raya I was a Sangama Dynasty ruler who ruled over the Vijayanagara Empire. This ancient ruler supported Telugu poet Nachana Soma.
  • The accounts of Bukka’s and Raya’s early lives are shrouded in mystery, and many legends surround these people. Harihara I was also known as Hakka.
  • According to popular belief, Hakka and Bukka were born in the Kuruba clan and served as commanders in the King of Warangal’s royal army.
  • Following Muhammad Bin Tughlaq’s defeat of Warangal’s ruler, Hakka and Bukka were captured, imprisoned, and transferred to Delhi. They were compelled to convert to Islam.II

Harihara II (1377 – 1406 CE)

• Harihara II was the Vijayanagar Empire’s ruler during the Sangama Dynasty. From 1377 to 1404 CE, he was in power.
• This ruler supported the famous Kannada poet Madhura. During the reign of this emperor, who was bestowed with the titles ‘Vedamarga Pravartak’ and ‘Vaidikamarga Sthapanachary,’ significant work on the Vedas was completed.
• Harihara II primarily ruled the Vijayanagara region, known as Hampi. The ruins of Harihara II’s palace can be found among the ruins of Hampi.

Deva Raya I (1406 – 1422 CE)

• Deva Raya I (reigned 1406–1422) was a Vijayanagara Empire king (of the Sangama Dynasty).
• After Harihara II died, his sons fought over the throne, with Deva Raya I eventually emerging victorious.
• He was a capable ruler known for his military prowess and support for irrigation projects in his kingdom.
• Deva Raya I, on the other hand, secured the throne for himself in 1406. In his wars with the Bahamani Sultan, he suffered some setbacks and died in 1422.
• Deva Raya I was succeeded by his son Vira-Vijaya, whom Nuniz refers to as “Visaya,” and who reigned for six years, according to Nuniz.

Deva Raya II (1425 – 1446 CE)

• Deva Raya II ruled the Vijayanagara Empire from 1422 to 1446 CE. He was the most powerful ruler of the Sangama dynasty, and he was a skilled administrator, warrior, and scholar.
• He wrote well-known Kannada works (Sobagina Sone and Amaruka) as well as Sanskrit works (Mahanataka Sudhanidhi).
• Despite the fact that Deva Raya II’s wars with the Bahmanis ended in defeat and loss, his reign was marked by administrative reorganisation. Muslims were admitted into the army by him to compete with the Bahamanis.
• In order to control and regulate trade, he appointed his right-hand man, Lakkanna or Laksmana, to the lordship of the southern sea, which is in charge of overseas commerce.
• Nicolo Conti and Abdur Razzaq, a Persia envoy, visited Vijayanagar in 1420 and 1443, respectively, and left glowing descriptions of the city and the Vijaynagar Empire.

End of Sangama Dynasty

• Deva Raya II died in 1446 and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Malikarjuna, who repelled a combined attack on his capital by the Bahmani Sultan and the Raja of the Hindu Kingdom of Orissa and managed to keep his kingdom intact during his reign.
• Virupaksha Raya II was a Sangama Dynasty king of the Vijayanagara Empire. Virupaksha Raya II succeeded his uncle, Mallikarjuna Raya, a corrupt and weak ruler who consistently lost to the empire’s enemies, in 1465.
• During his reign, the Saluva chief Narasimha of Chandragiri, whose ancestors had faithfully served the Vijayanagara kingdom as its feudatories, rose to prominence and resisted the Bahmani kingdom and the King of Orissa.
• Raja Purusottama Gajapati of Orissa advanced as far south as Tiruvannamalai, while the Bahmani advanced into the Doab between Krishna and the Tungabhadra.
• To protect the kingdom from these threats, Narasimha Saluva deposed his worthless master and seized the throne for himself around 1480.
• Thus, the Sangam dynasty was deposed in what has come to be known as the “first Usurpation,” and Vijaynar became part of the Saluva dynasty.

Tuluva Dynasty

The Tuluva Dynasty was the third dynasty to rule the Vijayanagar Empire. They were chiefs from coastal Karnataka. The Tuluva Dynasty was one of the decision-making lines of the Vijayanagara Empire of Southern India. During this time, the Vijayanagar empire reached its pinnacle of splendour, with Krishna Deva Raya as its most celebrated king. From 1491 to 1570, they had five emperors. They ruled over much of South India, with Vijaynagar as their capital.

History

• The kingdom’s original home was the western Tulu-speaking region. A Sanskrit epigraph on the eastern wall of Tirumala temple describes Krishnadevaraya’s ancestors.
• Timmabhupati and his wife Devaki are the first Tuluva ancestors to be mentioned. Timmabhupati is followed by his son Ishvara and consort Bukkamma, and then by a certain Narasa Bhupala, who is none other than Emperor Krishnadevaraya’s father, Tuluva Narasa Nayaka.
• Tuluva Narasa Nayaka, a powerful warlord, is credited with the conquest of the Gajapatis as well as certain Muslim rulers.
• Krishnadevaraya, a Tulu speaker, was noted for being linguistically neutral while ruling a multilingual empire. He is known to have patronised poets and issued inscriptions in languages as diverse as Sanskrit, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu.
• However, he elevated Telugu as a royal language, possibly due to the dominance of Telugu-speaking chiefs, and wrote the epic poem Amuktamalyada in it.
• Tuluva rulers were devout Vaishnavas who supported Vaishnavism. Krishnadevaraya’s Kulaguru was Dvaita saint Vyasatirtha.
• The fall of the Tuluva dynasty marked the beginning of the Vijayanagar empire’s demise.

Vira Narasimha Raya (1505 – 1509 CE)

• The Saluva dynasty was also short-lived, and Vira Narasimha established a new dynasty known as the Tulva dynasty. From 1505 to 1509, he ruled. He was a religious king who bestowed gifts at sacred sites.
• Legend has it that, while dying in 1509, Vira Narasimha Raya asked his minister Saluva Thimma (Thimmarasa) to blind his younger brother Krishna Deva Raya so that his own eight-year-old son could become king of Vijayanagar.
• Thimmarasa, on the other hand, brought the king a pair of goat eyes and informed him that he had killed Krishna Deva Raya.
• However, there is no evidence to support anything other than a friendly relationship between the two half-brothers and a smooth coronation of Krishna Deva Raya.

Krishna Deva Raya (1509 – 1529 CE)

• Krishnadevaraya (1509-1529 CE) was the most powerful emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire.
• At the apex of the empire, he presided over it. He is regarded as a hero by people of Kannada and Telugu descent in South India and is regarded as one of India’s most illustrious kings.
• Emperor Krishnadevaraya was also given the titles Andhra Bhoja and Kannada Rajya Rama Ramana. He was assisted in administration by the capable Prime Minister Timmarusu.
• Timmarusu was responsible for Krishnadevaraya’s coronation. Krishnadevaraya looked up to Timmarusu as a father figure.
• He was the son of Nagala Devi and Tuluva Narasa Nayaka, an army commander under Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya, who soon took over the empire’s sovereignty to keep it from disintegrating.

Achyuta Deva Raya (1529 – 1542 CE)

• Achyuta Deva Raya was the ruler of the South India Vijayanagara Empire. He was Krishna Deva Raya’s younger brother, whom he succeeded in 1529.
• Fernao Nuniz was a Portuguese traveller, chronicler, and horse trader who spent three years in Vijayanagara during the reign of Achyutaraya.
• Achyuta Deva Raya became king during a difficult period. The days of peace and prosperity under Krishnadevaraya were drawing to a close.
• Feudators and enemies were waiting for a chance to bring the empire down. In addition, Achyuta Deva Raya had to compete for the throne with the powerful Aliya Rama Raya.
• While Nuniz’s works portray Achyuta Deva Raya as a king given to vices and cruelty, there is sufficient evidence to show that the king was notable in his own right and fought hard to keep the kingdom’s prosperity alive.
• Krishna Deva Raya had personally chosen him as his successor.

Sada Siva Raya (1542 – 1570 CE)

• Sadasiva Raya (1542–1570) ruled the Vijayanagara Empire in 16th century India, a powerful Southern Indian empire based in the Deccan region.
• He ascended to power following the death of his uncle Achyuta Deva Raya in 1543.
• Aliya Rama Raya, Krishnadevaraya’s son-in-law, helped make his coronation possible.
• Sadasiva escaped the clutches of the ambitious regent Salakam Timmu Raju and was later elevated to the throne by the minister Rama Raya, who initially acted as regent but gradually became the de facto ruler of the kingdom.