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2018 February | 2009 | Ithihas

Ithihas
Kaleidoscope of Indian civilization

In this blog you will find

Monthly Archives: February 2009
Writeups on Indian historical
themes and Biographies of
rulers and statesmen.
KRISHNADEVARAYA OF VIJAYANAGARA
February 4, 2009 – 10:12 am
Blogroll
Krishnadevaraya who ruler the kingdom of Vijayanagara in between 1509-1529
facetsofindianhistory was one of the greatest statesmen which medieval South India had produced.
Sanatana Parishad Called variously as ‘Kannadaraya’, ‘Sri Karnata Mahisa’ and ‘Kannada Rajya
Thinkerspad Ramaramana’, his rule saw all round prosperity of South India, culturally and
materialistically. He was the son of Tuluva Narasanayaka and after the death of his
brother Vira Narasimha ascended the throne of Vijayanagara in 1509.
Archives C.Hayavadana Rao opines that Krishnadevaraya was possibly ruling
February 2018
simultaneously with Vira Narasimha long before his coronation in August 1509. At
the time of Krishnadevaraya’s accession to the throne, the condition of the empire
January 2018
was unstable. Not only he had to deal with rebellious subordinates but also the
October 2017
aggression of the Gajapathis of Orissa and the Muslim kingdoms in the north. But
August 2017 he came out successfully against all his adversaries.
June 2017
May 2017 His war against the Bahamanis: Though the Bahamani kingdom had split up into
March 2017 five separate states, the sultans of these kingdoms used to organize annual jihad
October 2016
against Vijayanagar. Soon after his accession to the throne, Krishnadevaraya had
to face the combined army of the Bahamani Sultan and the Adilshah of Bijapur.
June 2016
Krishnadevaraya defeated them at a place called Doni and pursued them up to
January 2016
Kovilakonda where they were again defeated. The sultan of Bijapur, Yusuf Adil
November 2015 Khan lost his life in the battle. For the first time the Muslim kingdoms realized that
August 2015 they could no longer plunder and ravage Vijayanagar at will. In 1512,
June 2015 Krishnadevaraya re-conquered Raichur, which was in the hands of Bijapur for
February 2015 nearly 20 years. Then he marched towards Gulbarga, the capital of the Bahamini
January 2015 kingdom and freed the Bahamani sultan Mahmud II from his minister, Kasim Barid,
September 2014
reinstated him back to the throne and took the title ‘Establisher of the Yavana
(Muslim) kingdom’. But later taking advantage of Krishnadevaraya’s preoccupation
June 2014
with the Orissa campaign, Ismail Adil Khan, the successor of Yusuf recaptured
May 2014
Raichur. Ismail also refused to hand over Sidde Markar, a Muslim dealer in horses
April 2014 who had absconded with the money given by Krishnadevaraya. Hence
March 2014 Krishnadevaraya marched against the Adil Shah with an army consisting of one
December 2013 million men and defeated the Bijapur army at Kembavi and Surapur. Raichur was
November 2013 re-conquered in 1522. Then once again he marched to Gulbarga and liberated the
October 2013 sons of Mahmud II from Ali Barid, the son of Kasim Barid, made the eldest of them
September 2013
sultan and brought the others with him to Vijayanagar and treated them with much
consideration.
August 2013
May 2013 His campaign against the Gajapathis: In 1512, Krishnadevaraya turned his
April 2013 attention to the east and conquered the fort of Udayagiri from the Gajapathi in 1513
February 2013 after a long a siege of one and a half years. Prataparudra’s attempt to raise the
January 2013 siege of Udayagir resulted in his defeat and the fleeing Gajapathi army was
July 2012 pursued by the Vijayanagara army up to Kondavidu. Forts like Kandukur, Addanki,
January 2010 Vinukonda, Bellamakonda, Nagarjunakonda and Ketavaram was conquered and in
July 2009
June 1515 Kondavidu was captured. Next he captured Rajamahendri and
proceeded as far as Simhachalam. He established a pillar of victory at Potnur.
June 2009
Finally he invested Cuttack, the capital of the Gajapathis.
May 2009
April 2009 The Strategy of ‘Bheda’: The subjugation of Gajapathi whose war elephants
March 2009 surpassed those of Vijayanagar’s in numbers and efficiency was brought about by
February 2009 the chief minister Saluva Thimma who advised Krishnadevaraya to employ the
October 2008 strategy of ‘bheda’ (causing difference between the Gajapathi and his generals).
September 2008
Accordingly Thimma ordered 16 jewel boxes and placed some valuable jewels in
them and also a letter seeming to be from Krishnadevaraya written to Gajapathi’s
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August 2008 generals. These boxes were dispatched in such a manner so that it could be
July 2008 seized by Gajapathi’s men. When these boxes were placed before the Gajapathi,
June 2008 he had them opened and the letters read aloud. The letters had these words- “The
May 2008
battle is to begin tomorrow. You should while pretending to fight, deliver ‘him’ into
our hands. You may also rely on our rewarding you in a fitting and handsome
April 2008
manner”. After hearing the contents of the letter, Gajapathi suspected secret
March 2008
correspondence between his own generals and Krishnadevaraya and believing
February 2008 that he could not rely on the loyalty of his generals, left the city secretly in the night
and took shelter in a forest. Gajapathi Prataparudra was forced to sue for peace in
1518 and gave his daughter, Tukkadevi or Jaganmohini in marriage to
Krishnadevaraya. In turn Krishnadevaraya returned all the territory north of Krishna
to Prataparudra. Taking advantage of the Krishnadevaraya’s preoccupation in his
Orian war, the sultan of Golkonda marched against Kondavidu and besieged it.
Krishnadevaraya immediately dispatched a huge army of 200000 men under
Saluva Thimma, who defeated the Golkonda army and captured its commander
Madarul Mulk and several officers.

Suppression of Internal revolts: The chieftain of Ummatur, Gangaraya had been

in revolt since the last days of Vira Narasimha’s reign. In 1512, Krishnadevaraya
marched against him and captured Sivanasamudra, the headquarters of
Gangaraya. Gangaraya fled and was drowned in the river Kaveri. The conquered
territory became a new province with Srirangapatana as capital. The same year
Mangalore was also captured.

As a Warrior: Krishnadevaraya used to personally lead his army against

adversaries in the battlefield and showed amazing resourceful ness in overcoming
obstacles in his path. During the siege of the Udayagiri fort, he got boulders and
rocks smashed to make passage wider and smoother for the movement of his
troops. He showed extraordinary courage even in the face of gravest danger. For
instance during the siege of the fort of Raichur, when the first line of defense was
broken by the artillery fire from the enemy, Krishnadevaraya who was in charge of
the second line stood firm and exhorted his men to fight without caring for their
lives. Motivated by his call his men fought heroically and won the battle.
Krishnadevaraya loved and cared his men and on the conclusion of a battle used
to go to the battlefield looking for the wounded, making arrangement to pick them
and treat.

His Personality: According to Domingo Paes, the Portuguese traveler who visited
Vijayanagara in 1520, Krishnadevaraya was of medium height and of fair
complexion and with a good figure, rather fat than thin and had the signs of
smallpox on his face. Paes records that Krishnadevaraya used to do exercises
daily in the morning by applying oil on his body and used to work out till all the oil
came out in the form of sweat. This was followed by a long ride over his horse.
Then he used to take his bath, offer worship to gods and began his official work.
“He is the most feared king, but very cheerful and merciful”- he adds.
Krishnadevaraya was known for his compassion and humane treatment of a fallen
foe. According to Nuniz after Vijayanagara’s victory in the battle of Raichur,
Krishnadevaraya asked his soldiers who were chasing and killing the retreating
Muslim soldiers to retire from the battle field. Though his captains advised him to
complete the work of destruction of all his enemies, Krishnadevaraya would not
accede to their proposal. Krishnadevaraya was also known for his generosity. At
the time of Vasantotsava every year, he bestowed presents to the poets. A number
of times he performed the Tulapurushapradhana and weighed himself against gold
and pearls, which were later donated. On several occasions he rewarded his
ministers and officers with presents. After the Kalinga war, it is said
Krishnadevaraya made Thimmarasa (his mentor) sit on a carpet and bathed him in
gold and precious stones.

Scholar and Patron of Arts: Krishnadevaraya was a great patron of literature and
was known as Abhinava Bhoja. Himself being a scholar, he wrote the Telugu work
Amuktamalyada and a Sanskrit play, Jambavati Kalyana. He had eight great
scholars called Ashtadiggajas in his court. They included Allasani Peddana often
described as the Andhrakavitapitamaha. His famous work was Manucharitamu,
Another famous poet was Nandi Thimmanna, the author of Parijathapaharanamu.
Others eminent literary luminaries were Tenali Ramakrishna, Kumara Dhurjati and
Rama Raja Bhushana. He asked the Kannada poet Thimmanna to complete the
Kannada Mahabharatha started by Kumara Vyasa. Telugu poet Peddanna was
personally honoured by him for his proficiency in Telugu and Sanskrit and

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Krishnadevaraya himself gave a helping hand to lift the palanquin in which the
poets book ‘Manucharitamu’ was placed and taken in a procession. It is said
whenever Krishnadevaraya met the poet while riding on his elephant, he gave him
a lift. Peddanna was also honoured with the governorship of a district. According to
Nidatavolu Venkata Rao, the reign of Krishnadevaraya is a glorious chapter in the
South Indian literary history. The imperial court had representatives of Sanskrit,
Telugu, Kannada and Tamil poets, who contributed largely to their respective
literatures.

His Religious Beliefs: Krishnadevaraya patronized all religious sects and was a
devotee of Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupati and even now we can see the images
of Krishnadevaraya along with his two queens standing with folded hands in the
Tirupati temple. The images have their names written in Kannada. Vallabhacharya
and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the renowned saints of the bhakti movement visited
his court. Krishnadevaraya honoured the former by performing Kanakabhisheka
(showering gold coins on him). Madhwa saint Vyasathirtha was the Rajaguru of
Krishnadevaraya and the latter held him in much reverence. When
Krishnadevaraya was afflicted with ‘Kuhu Yoga’ (an inauspicious period),
Vyasathirtha sat on Krishnadevaraya’s throne for three days to save him from the
inauspicious period. Whenever he visited a shrine he would make a liberal
donation. For instance Krishnadevaraya presented a necklace set with precious
stones, a golden prabhavali set with precious stones to the temple at Kalahasthi.

As an Administrator: Krishnadevaraya toured the remote corners of his empire

and heard the grievances of the people and redressed them then and there. He set
up an excellent administrative system. The empire was divided into Mandalas,
Nadus and Seeme. For the purpose of assessment and fixation of revenue,
Krishnadevaraya had the whole of his empire surveyed. The unit of land for
assessment was known as Rayarekhe or the royal line and which measured
roughly about seven feet and nine inches. Twenty of these units made a bigha and
36 bigha’s, a mar or plot of 16 to 18 acres. Land revenue was fixed based on the
yield, normally 1/3rd of the produce. While Krishnadevaraya tried to augment his
income by the imposition of many taxes he abolished many unjust taxes that
obstructed the growth of commerce. He maintained a surplus treasury as pointed
out by Paes who says Krishnadevaraya put 10 million of Pardoas (Pagoda, a gold
coin) in the treasury every year and does not use it unless it is necessary. That the
economy was flourishing during his period is indicated by the fact that four types of
gold coins, Varaha, ½ Varaha (Pratapa), ¼ Varaha and 1/20 Varaha (Hana) were in
circulation. Krishnadevaraya provided irrigation facilities by building reservoirs and
channels across the kingdom. He helped the Portuguese to conquer Goa from the
Bijapur rulers in 1510 maintained friendly relations with them. This relationship also
helped him obtain high bred Arabian horses and expansion of overseas trade of
the empire.

A Great Builder: It was during Krishnadevaraya’s time that Hampi rose to be the
paramount metropolis and unparalleled city for its splendor, vastness and richness.
On his accession to the throne he erected towers to the Pampapathi and
Hazararama temples and the huge statue of Ugranarasimha. Krishnadevaraya built
two new suburbs in the capital and called it Nagalapura and Tirumala
Deviyarapattana (Hospet or new town) in honour of his mother, Nagala Devi and
queen Tirumalamba respectively. At the request of Krishnadevaraya, the
Portuguese governor of Goa sent Joas Della Ponta, an engineer who supervised
the building of a large water reservoir known as Rayarakere. Also a reservoir
across river Tungabhadra called Vallabapuram and a channel called Basavanna
were constructed. The Krishnaswamy and Vithalaswamy temples in the imperial
capital were built by him. Krishnadevaraya repaired and restored many south
Indian temples. Most of the big towers on temples in south India go by the name
Raya gopuram in his honour. It is said that Krishnadevaraya built the Gaggan
Mahal at the fort of Penukonda hill and made Penukonda his summer residence.
The gopuram and pillared mandapas of the Kalahasthi Eshwara temple, the
northern entrance gate of Chidambaram temple and the storied gopuram of
Tirupathi temple were constructed by him. He also built the rows of mandapams on
both sides of the car street at Srisailam temple.

Accounts by Foreign Travellers: Portuguese travelers Domingo Paes and Durate

Barbosa visted his court and have left accounts of their experience there.
According to the former Vijayanagar was very prosperous with abundance of
foodstuffs, vegetables, fruits and animals being sold in profusion in the markets of

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the city at cheap rates. Barbosa speaks of the trade in jewels, diamonds, pearls
and silk brocades, which were in plenty on its streets. “The city of Vijayanagar is
constantly filled with an innumerable crowd of all nations and creeds”, he adds.

The End: It is said that Krishnadevaraya in his own lifetime had made his six year
old son prince Tirumalaraya as the king and himself took up the post of minister.
But Tirumalaraya fell ill and died possibly poisoned by the son of Saluva Thimma
(chief minister). When Krishnadevaraya came to know of it, he sent for the chief
minister, accused him in open court and cast him and his whole family into prison.
Meanwhile Krishnadevaraya was preparing for an attack on Belgaum, then in the
Adil Shah’s possession when he took seriously ill and died soon after in 1529.
Before his death, he nominated his brother, Achyutaraya to be his successor. The
rule of Krishnadevaraya was a glorious chapter in the history of Vijayanagara
Empire.

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