KRISHNADEVARAYA (1509-29 A.D.)
Robert Sewell says, "From the accession of Krishnadevaraya
to the throne of Vijayanagar in 1509 A.D. we once more
enter into a period when the history of the country becomes
less confused and we are able to trace the sequence of
events without serious difficulty. This was the period of
Vijayanagar's greatest success when its army everywhere was
victorious and the city was most prosperous." Krishnadevaraya's
reign marks, 'the grand climax in the development of the
empire, and the successful achievement of the objects for
which it was actually founded.'
According to Prof. O. Ramachandraiya, Krishnadevaraye
was born on 16th February 1487 A.D. As already noted, Nuniz
mentions the circumstances under which Krishnadeva was
raised to the throne of Vijayanagara. Paes, the Portuguese
chronicler who was in Vijayanagara about the year 1520 A.D.,
also remarks that Saluva Timma brought up Krishnadevaraya
and made him king. About the personality and character of the king, he described glowingly—"The king is of medium height and of fair complexion and good figure, rather fat than thin; he was on his face signs of small-pox. He is the most feared and perfect king that could possibly be, cheerful of disposition and very merry; he is one that seeks to honour foreigners and receives them kindly, asking about all their affairs whatever their condition may be. He is a great ruler and a man of much justice, but subject to 'sudden fits of rage; and this is his title—Krishnarao, the great, king of kings, lord of the greater lords of India, lord of the three seas and land". Sewell also narrates, "Krishnadevaraya was not only monarch de jure but was in very practical fact an absolute monarch of extensive power and strong personal influence. He was the real ruler. He was physically strong in his best days and kept his strength upto the highest pitch by hard bodily exercise. He rose early and developed all his muscles by the use of Indian clubs and the use of sword. He was fine rider and was blessed with the noblest presence of which favourably impressed all who came in contact with him. He commanded his immense armies in person, was able, brave and statesmanlike; and was withal, a man of much gentleness and generosity of character. He was beloved by all and respected by all." Krishnadevaraya's coronation was celebrated, in all probability, on the birthday of Srikrishna of Saka 1432, corresponding to August 8, 1509 A.D. His first act on coming to the throne was to send his nephew, son of Vira Narasimha, and his own two brothers. Achuta and Ranga to the Chandragiri fort to secure his own position free from all plots and intrigues of the rival claimants. Before he set on his expeditions, he remained at the capital for a year and a half teaming the affairs of his kingdom. Krishnadeva did not succeed to a peaceful kingdom. Troubles from within and attacks from without haunted the Vijayanagara ruler. Some of the Polaigars were stilt at targe contesting the overlordship of the best part of Mysore region The Gajapatis of Orissa were stilt in possession of the eastern
districts of the empire and Prataparudra was openly hostile and aggressive. In the north, though the Bahmani kingdom virtually ceased to exist, still the Muslim pressure, especially from Bijapur, continued unabated in its strength. The newiyrisen power of the Portuguese was rapidly establishing control over the routes and the maritime trade of the west coast and seeking profitable contacts with the 'country powers'. But Krishnadevaraya rose to the occasion and with the help of his mentor and minister Saluv Timmarasa, handled the situation with great tact and foresight. At the outset of his reign, Krishnadeva had to fight with the Muslim forces which declared a jihad on the infields of Vijayanagara and invaded his territory. The Bahmani Sultan was joined by all the chiefs and nobles who nominally acknowledged his sovereignty. Krishna was equal to the task. His forces checked the progress of the Muslims on the frontier, defeated them at Dony and inflicted another crushing defeat on the retreating army at Kovilkonda. Yusuf Adil Shah of Bijapur lost his life with the result Bijapur was thrown into confusion and disorder. Taking advantage of the anarchic conditions prevailing in Bijapur, Krishna invaded the doab and captured Raichur. He then advanced on Gulbarga and captured the fort. He pursued Barid, the minister and jailor of the Sultan, defeated him and captured the fort of Bidar. He restored the Sultan Mahmud Shah to power and to commemorate this act of resuscitation of the Bahmani monarchy, assumed the title of 'Yavanarajyastapanacharya'. This restoration he did to weaken his Muslim neighbours by throwing an apple of discord in their midst since he knew that so long as the shadow of the Bahmani monarchy persisted, there would be no peace among the Muslim rulers of the Deccan. Krishna then set out on an expedition against the rebels. He marched against the Kadava chieftains of the Kanchi region. After reducing them, he advanced against Gangaraja of Ummattur who had been in revolt since the last years of Vira Nara-
simha's reign. He first attacked Penukonda which had passed into the hands of the rebel. The capture of this fort was followed by Ummattur and Sivasamudram. When Gangaraja fled and was drowned in the Kaveri, Krishna made the conquered territory into a province with Srirangapatna as its capital and appointed Saluva Govindaraja as Governor with three local chieftains to assist him. The eastern campaign of Krishnadevaraya against the Gajapati power of Orissa was a seven years' affair (1512-19 A.D.). Krishna's aim was to recover the two provinces of Vijayanagara, namely, Udayagiri and Kondavidu, which his predecessors failed to recover from Orissa. It is curious to note that while the Vijayanagara sources describe the defeats and losses suffered by Prataparudra Gajapati at the hands of Krishna, almost all the sources from Orissa are silent about this. Krishna's Kalinga expedition falls into five definite stages. a) The expedition began with an attack on the impregnable fort of Udayagiri in the month of January 1513 A.D. According to Nuniz, Krishna laid siege to this fort 'for a year and a half. The fort was under the command of Tirumala Rautaraya, a paternal uncle of the Gajapati king. Stubburn resistance was offered to the assaults of the Raya's forces. The Raya's generals, even after great exertion, failed to achieve anything Then Krishna took up the lead in person. He widened the narrow path and erected a wall of circumvallation around it He defeated Prataparudra who came to defend the fort and pursued his army as far as Kondavidu. He captured the Udayagiri fortress finally on 9th June, 1514 A.D. Rautaraya was taken captive. The event was celebrated on a grand scale and Krishnadevaraya visited Tirumala and paid homage to Lord Venkatesvara visited Trrumala and paid homage to Lord Lord Venkatesvara. After the fall of Udayagiri, he reduced Kandukuru also and appointed Rayasam Kondamarusayya as his regent at Udayagiri. At the capital he built a new shrine and installed the Balakrishna image brought from Udayagiri. b) With the object of reducing the Kondavidu fortress, the headquarters of the southern viceroyalty under the Gajapatis.
Krishnadevaraya once again marched against the king of Orissa. On the way to Kondavidu, he reduced some of the forts including Addanki, Vinukonda, Bellamkonda, Nagarjunakonda, Tangeda and Ketavaram sometime between February and June 1515 A,D. Simultaneously, Kondavidu was laid siege, The Gajapati ruler was obliged to divide his forces and send them to defend the different forts and with the remaining forces when he attacked the Raya in open battle, he was defeated. Krishna then blockaded the Kondavidu fort which was defended by a powerful garrison under prince Virabhadra, son of Prataparudra Gajapati. According to an inscription at Ahobalam, "he surrounded the fort with his army, having erected movable wooden platforms (nadachapparams) to enable his soldiers to stand on a level with the defenders and demolish the walls; he scaled them on all sides and captured the fort". Prince Virabhadra was taken prisoner along with many others. The fort fell on 23rd June, 1515 A.D. Krishna entrusted its administration to Saluva Timmarasa. He then conquered the coastal region upto the river Krishna. He offered worship at Amaravati. c) The third satge in Krishna's Kalinga campaign began with the siege of Bezwada. After capturing it, the Raya made it an advance base for further operations. Then he proceeded to Kondapalli, a strong and well-defended fort with very nigh walls, situated a few miles away to the north-east of Bezwada. He besieged the fort and the army sent to relieve it by Prataparudra was thoroughly defeated. After a siege of two months, Kondapalli was taken and the Gajapati commander Praharesvara Patra and other chieftains were made prisoners and sent to the imperial capital. According to Nuniz, a wife of the King of Oriya was also included among the prisoners. d) "Till he conquered Kondavidu, Krishnaraya was bent upon driving the Gajapati from the region to the south of the Krishna. Subsequent to the fall of this fort, there appears a change in the policy adopted by the Vijayanagara monarch towards the Gajapati. It was not the greed for territory that was behind
Krishnadevaraya's campaigns in the distant regions of Potnuru Simhadri and further north but his determination to weaken the Gajapati so that there might not be any more danger to Vijayanagara Kingdom from that quarter". With this objective Krishnadevaraya crossed the Krishna and after capturing Bezwada and Kondapalli proceeded to conquer Telangana and Vengi both of which formed part of the Gajapati kingdom. He took in a 'single assault' Anantagiri, Undrakonda, Urlagonda, Aruvapalli, Jallipalli, Kandikonda, Kappalavayi, Nalagonda. Kambhammettu, Kanakagiri, Sankaragin and other fortresses. He reduced Rajahmundry and finally arrived at Potnuru Simhadri. With the help of his minister Timmarasa, who by adopting 'bheda' brought about a split between the Gajapati king and his subordinate Patras and made the enemy flee from the field, Krishna won victory. He set up a pillar of victory and made rich presents in company of his wives to God Simhadrinatha on 29th March, 1516 A.D. Then he returned to Vijayanagar leaving his army behind. While at Vijayanagara, the Raya who had love for martial exercises including duel-fencings, arranged for the swordfencing. According to Nuniz prince Virabhadra Gajapati, who was taken captive at Kondavidu, was invited to fence since he was famous as a dexterous swordsman. But Virabhadra, with the misunderstanding that his opponent was not of royal blood but a man of humble birth, felt offended and put an end to himself. e) The Gajapati ruler, burning with rage and sorrow for the death of his son at the Vijayanagara court, continued hostilities with Vijayanagara. Since he did not come to terms with Krishna, the latter resolved on the Cuttack expedition. The inscriptions and the contemporary Telugu literary works like 'Manucharitra' and 'Amuktamatyada' refer to the invasion of the Raya and the devastation of the country of the Matsya chiefs of Oddadi and the burning of the capital town Kataka (Cuttack) thus sufficiently humiliating the Gajapati to sue for peace
"Successive disasters in all battles against the Raya, the death of his son, the captivity of his wife and the burning of his capital, all these must have compelled Prataparudra to sue for peace and save the country from further devastation". Since Krishnadevaraya's object was to secure permanent peace in the eastern frontier, in the peace treaty that was concluded in August, 1519 A.D., he gave back all the territories to the north of Krishna to the Gajapati ruler. The latter gave his daughter Bhadra (or Tukka) in marriage to the former. Thus ended one of the most brilliant episodes in the military history of India, in the 16th century.' After subduing Orissa, Krishnadevaraya had to fight with the Sultans of Golkonda and Bijapur. Quli Qutb Shah of Golkonda was ambitious and wanted to make himself the master of the Telugu country. Taking advantage of the defeat and discomfiture of the Gajapati king, he occupied the Telangana districts and the coastal areas between the mouths of the Krishna and the Godavari. Then he crossed the Krishna and beseized Kondavidu. Strong contingents of Vijayanagara under Timmarasa marched against the enemy and successfully repulsed the Golkonda forces. While Krishnadevaraya was busy with his Orissa war, Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur recaptured Raichur. The Raya, therefore, made a campaign in 1520 A.D. for the recovery of Raichur. Nuniz gives an elaborate account of this war With a large army the Raya marched into the Doab. The decisive battle was fought on 19th May, 1520 A.D. and Ismail's camp was seized and he himself barely escaped with his life. The fort of Raichur was taken. Afterwards the Raya conducted a raid into Bijapur and his troops occupied the city for sometime. Then he marched on to Gulbarga and razed its fortress to the ground. Here he liberated the sons of Mahmud Shah Bahmani and made the eldest of them the Sultan. But this attempt of the Raya to revive the Bahmani Sultanate only served to irritate the five Deccan Sultans Thus with all these series of victories, Krishnadevaraya humbled the pride of his foes and extended the limits of his
empire. The Vijayanagara empire under him was in shape a triangle with its appex at Cape Comorin comprising the whole territory south of the river Krishna, Travancore and Malabar besides other regions being subordinate states. As regards Krishnadevaraya's relations with the Portuguese, he tried to maintain friendly relations with them. But he never lent support to their political designs. By the time Krishna ascended the throne, they already established their supremacy over the Indian Ocean. With their command of the sea, the monopoly of the west-coast trade, especially in horses, passed into their hands from the Arab merchants and Muslim traders They used the supply of horses as a powerful weapon in their diplomatic dealings with the native powers. The Raya was also anxious to secure horses. Albuquerque, the Portuguese governor, in 1510 A.D. offered help to Krishnadevaraya at the start of his war with the Muslims and requested, in return, the Raya's help against his enemy, the Zamorin of Calicut. He further promised to supply the Arab and Persian horses to Vijayanagara only, and not send them to Bijapur. The Raya agreed to the Portuguese request only when it was made at a second time and only after the Portuguese captured Goa from Bijapur at the end of 1510 A.D. The Raya also agreed to the Portuguese request to erect a fort at Bhatkal. In his capture of Raichur in 1520 A.D. from the Bijapur Sultan, the Raya received valuable assistance from the Portuguese musketeers. In the engineering field also, he sought the services of the Portuguese. It was during the reign of Krishnadevaraya, there was large inflow of the Portuguese travellers, merchants and adventurers, flocking to the city of Vijayanagara. Nuniz says that Krishna made his six-year old son Tirumaiaraya as the king (Yuvaraja) in 1524 A.D. At the end of the coronation festivities, the son took ill and died under suspicious conditions. Saluva Timmarasa and his sons were suspected of poisoning the prince and were thrown into prison. Three years later, a son of Timmarasa escaped from the prison and raised the standard of revolt. He was captured with great difficulty and the eyes of the rebel, his brother and their father
Timmarasa were put out. The Raya, then, nominated his halfbrother Achyutaraya to be his successor. In the meantime, in 1526 A.D. when Nagama Nayaka, a trusted lieutenent of the Raya, who went to south to put down the aggression of a vassal, occupied Madurai and became insubordinate to the Raya, However, he was brought to his senses by his own son Visvanatha Nayaka. Thereby Visvanatha was appointed viceroy of the south. During the last days of Krishnadevaraya, Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur again made a futile attempt to recover Raichur. The Raya wanted to teach him a lesson. But while he was preparing for an attack on Belgaum, he fell seriously ill and died in 1529 A.D. 'Pre-eminent as a warrior, Krishnadevaraya was equally great as statesman.' His uniform success against all his enemies was largely due to his capacity for his organisation and skilful generalship. 'He showed amazing resourcefulness in overcoming obstacles besetting his path.' His equanimity of mind and extra-ordinary courage even in the face gravest danger is praiseworthy. N. Venkataramanayya writes, "But even more than his personal bravery, or his skilled management of troops, what enabled him to overthrow hostile forces was his devotion and attachment of his soldiers to his person. Krishnadevaraya was accustomed, after the conclusion of every battle, to go to the battlefield, looking for the wounded; he would pick them up and make arrangements for their medical help and other conveniences needed for their recoveryThose that specially distinguished themselves in the fight were placed directly under his supervision so that he might bestow particular attention on them and help them regain their health as quickly as possible. The care with which Krishnadevaraya nourished the wounded soldiers and warriors did not go unrewarded. It won him the affection of the rank and file of the army. The soldiers as well as officers were prepared to throw themselves into the jaws of death in executing his commands."
The Raya, as a practical politician and administrator, brought in changes in Vijayanagara polity. His ideas are contained in his own composition 'Amuktamalyada' in Telugu. The work contains every aspect of royal duties, the mode of appointing ministers, controlling the frontier tribes, conducting an assembly, treatment of the vanquished ruler, administration of justice and foreign policy. The Raya paid greater attention to the civil administration of his empire. He checked the mal-administration of the provincial governors and the inefficiency and negligence of the other officials as well. He redressed the grievances of ryots and punished the evil-doers. He used to conduct tours of inspection in various parts of his empire. He improved the facilities of communication. Krishnadevaraya 'could set himself to investigate the rates and taxes which proved oppressive, and abolished some of them which were regarded as such'. He took keen interest in constructing irrigation tanks and in digging canals to provide water for agricultural operations. With the help of a Portuguese engineer, he constructed in 1522 A.D. the great dam and channel at Korragal and the Basavanna channel, both of which are still in use. He dammed up the lake at the capital and used it for the supply of water to the new township 'Nagalapura'. With regard to his religious policy, though he was a staunch Vaishnavite, he was devoted to Siva and patronised the Saivites, Madhvas and Jains. Among the 'Diggajas' whom he patronised in his court, three were Saivites and Peddana was an Advaitin. Virupaksha was still regarded as the god of the city and the empire. The Vittobha cult of the southern Maratha country also gained some prominence in Vijayanagara, According to Peddana, the Raya's favourite deity was Lord Venkatesvara of Tirupati. He seems to have visited Tirupati as many as seven times and endowed the shrine richly. His grand religious trip to the shrines of the south, remittance of taxes, construction of many Rayagopurams and thousand pillared halls at different places highly speak of his religious devotion and patronage of art.
The Raya was a munificent patron of arts and letters. As a great patron of men of letters, he was known as the 'AndhraBhoja'. His extension of patronage to the writers in all languages—Sanskrit as well as the South Indian vernaculars—was well known. He was himself a scholar both in Sanskrit and Telugu. 'Jambavati Kalyanam' and 'Ushaparinayam', the two Sanskrit dramas are the only extant works of the emperor in Sanskrit. Laksnmidhara, Lakshminarayana and Nadendla Gopa produced their works in Sanskrit. Vyasaraya, the preceptor of the king, wrote his works on dvaita philosophy and logic in Sanskrit. The Kannada poet Timmana completed the Kannada Mahabharata of Kumara Vyasa. The Tamil poets Haridasa, Kumara Saraswati and Jnanaprasa also flourished during this period. The Raya had his contribution much to the development of Telugu literature. His own work 'Amuktamalyada' easily ranks with the greatest of the Telugu Prabandhas. His court 'Bhuvanavijayam' was adorned with the eminent Telugu poets called 'the Ashtadiggajas' (the elephants supporting the eight cardinal points of the Telugu literary world). Allasani Peddana was the poet-laureate. Apart from Peddana, Dhurjati, Mallana. Surana, Timmana and others produced their outstanding works in the Vijayanagara court. Krishnadevara's constructions of new townships (Nagalapura etc.), shrines (Krishnaswami, Hazararama and Vitthala temples at Hampi), Rayagopurams and thousand pillared halls, enormous statues of Ganapathi and Ugra-Narasimha and the various structures in the Palace-complex stand as a testimony to his keen interest in art, architecture, music, dance and other cultural pursuits.
and made him king. About the personality and character of the king, he described glowingly—"The king is of medium height and of fair complexion and good figure, rather fat than thin; he was on his face signs of small-pox. He is the most feared and perfect king that could possibly be, cheerful of disposition and very merry; he is one that seeks to honour foreigners and receives them kindly, asking about all their affairs whatever their condition may be. He is a great ruler and a man of much justice, but subject to 'sudden fits of rage; and this is his title—Krishnarao, the great, king of kings, lord of the greater lords of India, lord of the three seas and land". Sewell also narrates, "Krishnadevaraya was not only monarch de jure but was in very practical fact an absolute monarch of extensive power and strong personal influence. He was the real ruler. He was physically strong in his best days and kept his strength upto the highest pitch by hard bodily exercise. He rose early and developed all his muscles by the use of Indian clubs and the use of sword. He was fine rider and was blessed with the noblest presence of which favourably impressed all who came in contact with him. He commanded his immense armies in person, was able, brave and statesmanlike; and was withal, a man of much gentleness and generosity of character. He was beloved by all and respected by all." Krishnadevaraya's coronation was celebrated, in all probability, on the birthday of Srikrishna of Saka 1432, corresponding to August 8, 1509 A.D. His first act on coming to the throne was to send his nephew, son of Vira Narasimha, and his own two brothers. Achuta and Ranga to the Chandragiri fort to secure his own position free from all plots and intrigues of the rival claimants. Before he set on his expeditions, he remained at the capital for a year and a half teaming the affairs of his kingdom. Krishnadeva did not succeed to a peaceful kingdom. Troubles from within and attacks from without haunted the Vijayanagara ruler. Some of the Polaigars were stilt at targe contesting the overlordship of the best part of Mysore region The Gajapatis of Orissa were stilt in possession of the eastern
districts of the empire and Prataparudra was openly hostile and aggressive. In the north, though the Bahmani kingdom virtually ceased to exist, still the Muslim pressure, especially from Bijapur, continued unabated in its strength. The newiyrisen power of the Portuguese was rapidly establishing control over the routes and the maritime trade of the west coast and seeking profitable contacts with the 'country powers'. But Krishnadevaraya rose to the occasion and with the help of his mentor and minister Saluv Timmarasa, handled the situation with great tact and foresight. At the outset of his reign, Krishnadeva had to fight with the Muslim forces which declared a jihad on the infields of Vijayanagara and invaded his territory. The Bahmani Sultan was joined by all the chiefs and nobles who nominally acknowledged his sovereignty. Krishna was equal to the task. His forces checked the progress of the Muslims on the frontier, defeated them at Dony and inflicted another crushing defeat on the retreating army at Kovilkonda. Yusuf Adil Shah of Bijapur lost his life with the result Bijapur was thrown into confusion and disorder. Taking advantage of the anarchic conditions prevailing in Bijapur, Krishna invaded the doab and captured Raichur. He then advanced on Gulbarga and captured the fort. He pursued Barid, the minister and jailor of the Sultan, defeated him and captured the fort of Bidar. He restored the Sultan Mahmud Shah to power and to commemorate this act of resuscitation of the Bahmani monarchy, assumed the title of 'Yavanarajyastapanacharya'. This restoration he did to weaken his Muslim neighbours by throwing an apple of discord in their midst since he knew that so long as the shadow of the Bahmani monarchy persisted, there would be no peace among the Muslim rulers of the Deccan. Krishna then set out on an expedition against the rebels. He marched against the Kadava chieftains of the Kanchi region. After reducing them, he advanced against Gangaraja of Ummattur who had been in revolt since the last years of Vira Nara-
simha's reign. He first attacked Penukonda which had passed into the hands of the rebel. The capture of this fort was followed by Ummattur and Sivasamudram. When Gangaraja fled and was drowned in the Kaveri, Krishna made the conquered territory into a province with Srirangapatna as its capital and appointed Saluva Govindaraja as Governor with three local chieftains to assist him. The eastern campaign of Krishnadevaraya against the Gajapati power of Orissa was a seven years' affair (1512-19 A.D.). Krishna's aim was to recover the two provinces of Vijayanagara, namely, Udayagiri and Kondavidu, which his predecessors failed to recover from Orissa. It is curious to note that while the Vijayanagara sources describe the defeats and losses suffered by Prataparudra Gajapati at the hands of Krishna, almost all the sources from Orissa are silent about this. Krishna's Kalinga expedition falls into five definite stages. a) The expedition began with an attack on the impregnable fort of Udayagiri in the month of January 1513 A.D. According to Nuniz, Krishna laid siege to this fort 'for a year and a half. The fort was under the command of Tirumala Rautaraya, a paternal uncle of the Gajapati king. Stubburn resistance was offered to the assaults of the Raya's forces. The Raya's generals, even after great exertion, failed to achieve anything Then Krishna took up the lead in person. He widened the narrow path and erected a wall of circumvallation around it He defeated Prataparudra who came to defend the fort and pursued his army as far as Kondavidu. He captured the Udayagiri fortress finally on 9th June, 1514 A.D. Rautaraya was taken captive. The event was celebrated on a grand scale and Krishnadevaraya visited Tirumala and paid homage to Lord Venkatesvara visited Trrumala and paid homage to Lord Lord Venkatesvara. After the fall of Udayagiri, he reduced Kandukuru also and appointed Rayasam Kondamarusayya as his regent at Udayagiri. At the capital he built a new shrine and installed the Balakrishna image brought from Udayagiri. b) With the object of reducing the Kondavidu fortress, the headquarters of the southern viceroyalty under the Gajapatis.
Krishnadevaraya once again marched against the king of Orissa. On the way to Kondavidu, he reduced some of the forts including Addanki, Vinukonda, Bellamkonda, Nagarjunakonda, Tangeda and Ketavaram sometime between February and June 1515 A,D. Simultaneously, Kondavidu was laid siege, The Gajapati ruler was obliged to divide his forces and send them to defend the different forts and with the remaining forces when he attacked the Raya in open battle, he was defeated. Krishna then blockaded the Kondavidu fort which was defended by a powerful garrison under prince Virabhadra, son of Prataparudra Gajapati. According to an inscription at Ahobalam, "he surrounded the fort with his army, having erected movable wooden platforms (nadachapparams) to enable his soldiers to stand on a level with the defenders and demolish the walls; he scaled them on all sides and captured the fort". Prince Virabhadra was taken prisoner along with many others. The fort fell on 23rd June, 1515 A.D. Krishna entrusted its administration to Saluva Timmarasa. He then conquered the coastal region upto the river Krishna. He offered worship at Amaravati. c) The third satge in Krishna's Kalinga campaign began with the siege of Bezwada. After capturing it, the Raya made it an advance base for further operations. Then he proceeded to Kondapalli, a strong and well-defended fort with very nigh walls, situated a few miles away to the north-east of Bezwada. He besieged the fort and the army sent to relieve it by Prataparudra was thoroughly defeated. After a siege of two months, Kondapalli was taken and the Gajapati commander Praharesvara Patra and other chieftains were made prisoners and sent to the imperial capital. According to Nuniz, a wife of the King of Oriya was also included among the prisoners. d) "Till he conquered Kondavidu, Krishnaraya was bent upon driving the Gajapati from the region to the south of the Krishna. Subsequent to the fall of this fort, there appears a change in the policy adopted by the Vijayanagara monarch towards the Gajapati. It was not the greed for territory that was behind
Krishnadevaraya's campaigns in the distant regions of Potnuru Simhadri and further north but his determination to weaken the Gajapati so that there might not be any more danger to Vijayanagara Kingdom from that quarter". With this objective Krishnadevaraya crossed the Krishna and after capturing Bezwada and Kondapalli proceeded to conquer Telangana and Vengi both of which formed part of the Gajapati kingdom. He took in a 'single assault' Anantagiri, Undrakonda, Urlagonda, Aruvapalli, Jallipalli, Kandikonda, Kappalavayi, Nalagonda. Kambhammettu, Kanakagiri, Sankaragin and other fortresses. He reduced Rajahmundry and finally arrived at Potnuru Simhadri. With the help of his minister Timmarasa, who by adopting 'bheda' brought about a split between the Gajapati king and his subordinate Patras and made the enemy flee from the field, Krishna won victory. He set up a pillar of victory and made rich presents in company of his wives to God Simhadrinatha on 29th March, 1516 A.D. Then he returned to Vijayanagar leaving his army behind. While at Vijayanagara, the Raya who had love for martial exercises including duel-fencings, arranged for the swordfencing. According to Nuniz prince Virabhadra Gajapati, who was taken captive at Kondavidu, was invited to fence since he was famous as a dexterous swordsman. But Virabhadra, with the misunderstanding that his opponent was not of royal blood but a man of humble birth, felt offended and put an end to himself. e) The Gajapati ruler, burning with rage and sorrow for the death of his son at the Vijayanagara court, continued hostilities with Vijayanagara. Since he did not come to terms with Krishna, the latter resolved on the Cuttack expedition. The inscriptions and the contemporary Telugu literary works like 'Manucharitra' and 'Amuktamatyada' refer to the invasion of the Raya and the devastation of the country of the Matsya chiefs of Oddadi and the burning of the capital town Kataka (Cuttack) thus sufficiently humiliating the Gajapati to sue for peace
"Successive disasters in all battles against the Raya, the death of his son, the captivity of his wife and the burning of his capital, all these must have compelled Prataparudra to sue for peace and save the country from further devastation". Since Krishnadevaraya's object was to secure permanent peace in the eastern frontier, in the peace treaty that was concluded in August, 1519 A.D., he gave back all the territories to the north of Krishna to the Gajapati ruler. The latter gave his daughter Bhadra (or Tukka) in marriage to the former. Thus ended one of the most brilliant episodes in the military history of India, in the 16th century.' After subduing Orissa, Krishnadevaraya had to fight with the Sultans of Golkonda and Bijapur. Quli Qutb Shah of Golkonda was ambitious and wanted to make himself the master of the Telugu country. Taking advantage of the defeat and discomfiture of the Gajapati king, he occupied the Telangana districts and the coastal areas between the mouths of the Krishna and the Godavari. Then he crossed the Krishna and beseized Kondavidu. Strong contingents of Vijayanagara under Timmarasa marched against the enemy and successfully repulsed the Golkonda forces. While Krishnadevaraya was busy with his Orissa war, Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur recaptured Raichur. The Raya, therefore, made a campaign in 1520 A.D. for the recovery of Raichur. Nuniz gives an elaborate account of this war With a large army the Raya marched into the Doab. The decisive battle was fought on 19th May, 1520 A.D. and Ismail's camp was seized and he himself barely escaped with his life. The fort of Raichur was taken. Afterwards the Raya conducted a raid into Bijapur and his troops occupied the city for sometime. Then he marched on to Gulbarga and razed its fortress to the ground. Here he liberated the sons of Mahmud Shah Bahmani and made the eldest of them the Sultan. But this attempt of the Raya to revive the Bahmani Sultanate only served to irritate the five Deccan Sultans Thus with all these series of victories, Krishnadevaraya humbled the pride of his foes and extended the limits of his
empire. The Vijayanagara empire under him was in shape a triangle with its appex at Cape Comorin comprising the whole territory south of the river Krishna, Travancore and Malabar besides other regions being subordinate states. As regards Krishnadevaraya's relations with the Portuguese, he tried to maintain friendly relations with them. But he never lent support to their political designs. By the time Krishna ascended the throne, they already established their supremacy over the Indian Ocean. With their command of the sea, the monopoly of the west-coast trade, especially in horses, passed into their hands from the Arab merchants and Muslim traders They used the supply of horses as a powerful weapon in their diplomatic dealings with the native powers. The Raya was also anxious to secure horses. Albuquerque, the Portuguese governor, in 1510 A.D. offered help to Krishnadevaraya at the start of his war with the Muslims and requested, in return, the Raya's help against his enemy, the Zamorin of Calicut. He further promised to supply the Arab and Persian horses to Vijayanagara only, and not send them to Bijapur. The Raya agreed to the Portuguese request only when it was made at a second time and only after the Portuguese captured Goa from Bijapur at the end of 1510 A.D. The Raya also agreed to the Portuguese request to erect a fort at Bhatkal. In his capture of Raichur in 1520 A.D. from the Bijapur Sultan, the Raya received valuable assistance from the Portuguese musketeers. In the engineering field also, he sought the services of the Portuguese. It was during the reign of Krishnadevaraya, there was large inflow of the Portuguese travellers, merchants and adventurers, flocking to the city of Vijayanagara. Nuniz says that Krishna made his six-year old son Tirumaiaraya as the king (Yuvaraja) in 1524 A.D. At the end of the coronation festivities, the son took ill and died under suspicious conditions. Saluva Timmarasa and his sons were suspected of poisoning the prince and were thrown into prison. Three years later, a son of Timmarasa escaped from the prison and raised the standard of revolt. He was captured with great difficulty and the eyes of the rebel, his brother and their father
Timmarasa were put out. The Raya, then, nominated his halfbrother Achyutaraya to be his successor. In the meantime, in 1526 A.D. when Nagama Nayaka, a trusted lieutenent of the Raya, who went to south to put down the aggression of a vassal, occupied Madurai and became insubordinate to the Raya, However, he was brought to his senses by his own son Visvanatha Nayaka. Thereby Visvanatha was appointed viceroy of the south. During the last days of Krishnadevaraya, Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur again made a futile attempt to recover Raichur. The Raya wanted to teach him a lesson. But while he was preparing for an attack on Belgaum, he fell seriously ill and died in 1529 A.D. 'Pre-eminent as a warrior, Krishnadevaraya was equally great as statesman.' His uniform success against all his enemies was largely due to his capacity for his organisation and skilful generalship. 'He showed amazing resourcefulness in overcoming obstacles besetting his path.' His equanimity of mind and extra-ordinary courage even in the face gravest danger is praiseworthy. N. Venkataramanayya writes, "But even more than his personal bravery, or his skilled management of troops, what enabled him to overthrow hostile forces was his devotion and attachment of his soldiers to his person. Krishnadevaraya was accustomed, after the conclusion of every battle, to go to the battlefield, looking for the wounded; he would pick them up and make arrangements for their medical help and other conveniences needed for their recoveryThose that specially distinguished themselves in the fight were placed directly under his supervision so that he might bestow particular attention on them and help them regain their health as quickly as possible. The care with which Krishnadevaraya nourished the wounded soldiers and warriors did not go unrewarded. It won him the affection of the rank and file of the army. The soldiers as well as officers were prepared to throw themselves into the jaws of death in executing his commands."
The Raya, as a practical politician and administrator, brought in changes in Vijayanagara polity. His ideas are contained in his own composition 'Amuktamalyada' in Telugu. The work contains every aspect of royal duties, the mode of appointing ministers, controlling the frontier tribes, conducting an assembly, treatment of the vanquished ruler, administration of justice and foreign policy. The Raya paid greater attention to the civil administration of his empire. He checked the mal-administration of the provincial governors and the inefficiency and negligence of the other officials as well. He redressed the grievances of ryots and punished the evil-doers. He used to conduct tours of inspection in various parts of his empire. He improved the facilities of communication. Krishnadevaraya 'could set himself to investigate the rates and taxes which proved oppressive, and abolished some of them which were regarded as such'. He took keen interest in constructing irrigation tanks and in digging canals to provide water for agricultural operations. With the help of a Portuguese engineer, he constructed in 1522 A.D. the great dam and channel at Korragal and the Basavanna channel, both of which are still in use. He dammed up the lake at the capital and used it for the supply of water to the new township 'Nagalapura'. With regard to his religious policy, though he was a staunch Vaishnavite, he was devoted to Siva and patronised the Saivites, Madhvas and Jains. Among the 'Diggajas' whom he patronised in his court, three were Saivites and Peddana was an Advaitin. Virupaksha was still regarded as the god of the city and the empire. The Vittobha cult of the southern Maratha country also gained some prominence in Vijayanagara, According to Peddana, the Raya's favourite deity was Lord Venkatesvara of Tirupati. He seems to have visited Tirupati as many as seven times and endowed the shrine richly. His grand religious trip to the shrines of the south, remittance of taxes, construction of many Rayagopurams and thousand pillared halls at different places highly speak of his religious devotion and patronage of art.
The Raya was a munificent patron of arts and letters. As a great patron of men of letters, he was known as the 'AndhraBhoja'. His extension of patronage to the writers in all languages—Sanskrit as well as the South Indian vernaculars—was well known. He was himself a scholar both in Sanskrit and Telugu. 'Jambavati Kalyanam' and 'Ushaparinayam', the two Sanskrit dramas are the only extant works of the emperor in Sanskrit. Laksnmidhara, Lakshminarayana and Nadendla Gopa produced their works in Sanskrit. Vyasaraya, the preceptor of the king, wrote his works on dvaita philosophy and logic in Sanskrit. The Kannada poet Timmana completed the Kannada Mahabharata of Kumara Vyasa. The Tamil poets Haridasa, Kumara Saraswati and Jnanaprasa also flourished during this period. The Raya had his contribution much to the development of Telugu literature. His own work 'Amuktamalyada' easily ranks with the greatest of the Telugu Prabandhas. His court 'Bhuvanavijayam' was adorned with the eminent Telugu poets called 'the Ashtadiggajas' (the elephants supporting the eight cardinal points of the Telugu literary world). Allasani Peddana was the poet-laureate. Apart from Peddana, Dhurjati, Mallana. Surana, Timmana and others produced their outstanding works in the Vijayanagara court. Krishnadevara's constructions of new townships (Nagalapura etc.), shrines (Krishnaswami, Hazararama and Vitthala temples at Hampi), Rayagopurams and thousand pillared halls, enormous statues of Ganapathi and Ugra-Narasimha and the various structures in the Palace-complex stand as a testimony to his keen interest in art, architecture, music, dance and other cultural pursuits.
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