Basic facts about the Sangama dynasty that established the Vijayanagara empire
Period of their reign~ 1336 to 1646
Capital/s~ Apart from Vijayanagara, ie.Hampi, they also briefly ruled from Perukonda and Chandragiri, two small towns in present-day Andhra Pradesh.
Since the extent of their empire spread throughout peninsular India, there were a succession of conflicts with several dynasties of South India that preceded them. Likewise, they were succeeded by several other rulers during the course of time.
Continued from- Road to HAMPI
How the Vijayanagara empire began: the brothers Hakka and Bukka
The founders of the Vijayanagara Empire namely; Harihara I (1336 to 1356 CE) and Bukka Raya I (1356 to 1377 CE) were the sons of Sangama Raya whose lineage apparently belonged to the glorious Yadava dynasty that existed before them. At the time (1336 CE), muslims plunderers from the north such as Allauddin Khilji and Muhammad bin Tughlaq posed a serious threat to the Hindu kings of south India. They had already taken much control of the Deccan region (IE areas falling within present-day Maharashtra and Telangana).
Note- the story about the brothers Hakka (Harihara I) and Bukka (Bukka Raya I) have several other variations.
As a matter of fact Harihara's daughter got married within the Hoysala dynasty household thus bringing the two dynasties closer. Harihara-I initially started by bringing much of the Tungabhadra river valley under his control and with the death of the Hoysala ruler, the Hoysala territories also came under his rule.
Bukka Raya I along with his son Kumara Kampana expanded the kingdom even further, but his greatest achievement was in uprooting Jalaluddin Ahsan Khan the muslim ruler of Madurai Sultanate thereby extending his territory all the way to Rameswaram. This conquest is authentic and recorded in a 14th century Sanskrit poem called 'Madhura Vijayam' written by his daughter-in-law Kumara Kampana's wife Gangambika.
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| a blog on the erstwhile Vijayanagara empire of South India |
The legacy of Harihara-II (1342 till 1404 CE)
Harihara-II was the son of Bukka Raya I and took over the reigns of the kingdom after his father's death in 1377. He contributed immensely towards major works on the Vedas and Kannada literature besides taking control of Goa, Chaul and Dabhol (IE. areas to the west coast of India), after the death of Mujahid Bahamani in 1378.
đź’ˇ While in Hampi, watch out for the ruined base structure of Harihara-II's palace, located nearby the Queen's bath
Another significant legacy of Harihara-II is that he sowed the seeds for the kingdom of Mysore by installing Yaduraya Wodeyar also called Vijay Raja Wodeyar (1371 -1493 CE) as the first Raja of Mysore.
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| A man getting his traditional coracle ready for a ride on the Tungabhadra river in Hampi |
The tragic tale of brotherly disputes
There arose bitter disputes for the throne between the three sons of Harihara-II resulting in the black sheep of the family~ IE. Virupaksha Raya (reign 1404-1405 CE) getting murdered and thereby relinquishing his rights to his brother Bukka Raya-II (reign 1405-1406 CE). Bukka Raya-II ruled for the next two years before being overthrown by the other surviving brother Deva Raya-I.
Nothing good came out of this dispute. Goa, Chaul and Dabhol were once again lost to the Muslims.
The shining star: Deva Raya-I (1406-1422 CE)
Well, something good did come up after all! Deva Raya-I proved to be a truly capable king. His outstanding military acumen and skills made the Vijayanagara army a force to reckon with. His architectural legacy include masterpieces such as the Hazare Rama temple and an irrigation system set up on the river Tungabhadra. VIJAYANAGARA was now looking up..
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| The Hazare Rama temple at Hampi |
Good to know- Vijayanagara rulers were major exponents of Jainism and contributed towards Jain literature as well as building Jain temples in Shravanabelagola~ a major Jain pilgrimage center.
One more thing, Deva Raya-I had brought in many skilled archers of Turkish descent into his cavalry. Turks are muslims and in order to accommodate their needs he took on a secular approach and built a mosque and a slaughter house in Hampi (Vijayanagara). But let's keep this bit of info for later...
Military achievements of Deva Raya-I
With the help of his fantastic military Deva Raya-I took much of South India in his control.
He died in 1422 leaving his empire into the hands of his two sons Ramachandra Raya and Veera Vijaya Bukka Raya, who unlike him have no contributions on record other than keeping the family line going.
Like grandfather, like grandson: the saga of Deva Raya-II
Deva Raya-II was the son of Veera Vijaya Bukka Raya and grandson to Deva Raya-I.
His patronage in the field of literature and poetry brought forth great poets in Kannada, Sanskrit and Telugu such as; Kumara Vyasa who is known for his rendition of the Mahabharata in Kannada and Chamarasa, another Kannada poet.
Even as a young prince he had brought major defeat to the Bahmani Sultanate in a battle, thus forcing them to move their capital to Bidar (1426).
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| The reign of Deva Raya-II of Vijayanagara empire, South India |
The rot sets into the mighty Vijayanagara empire
The incapable Mallikarjuna Raya (r. 1446 to 1465 CE)
Also known as Deva Raya-III, this son of a mighty Raya was unable to rise above his weaknesses. Among his many defeats, the most notable is of the Bahmani Sultanate taking back what they had once lost.
Later his nephew and successor Virupaksha II (1465-1485) followed suit... losing more territories to the Bahmani Sultanate thereby causing considerable damage to his own credibility and eventually losing his life at the hands of his own son.
This brought an end to the Sangama dynasty that was started by the brothers Hakka and Bukka.
Vijayanagara empire continues: The rise of SALUVA DYNASTY & TULUVA DYNASTY
The loss of many Vijayanagara territories caused increased hostilities and rebellion against the last Sangama dynasty rulers. And then out of the ashes rose a general named SALUVA NARASIMHA DEVA RAYA who took over the reigns in 1485 thus giving rise to the SALUVA DYNASTY.
Will he succeed in salvaging the damage, and restoring the glory of the great Vijayanagara empire?
SALUVA Narasimha ruled from 1486 to 1491. During his lifetime he undertook several military campaigns which were successful in restraining the Suryavamsa kings of Orissa as well as restoring the horse trade sea routes that had fallen into the hands of the Bahmani kings. However he was eventually overpowered by the Orissa Suryavamsas who imprisoned him and that subsequently led to his death in 1491.
Narasimha's chief minister Tuluva Narasa Nayaka took charge of the kingdom from 1490 until his death in 1503. He was as capable as his predecessor and defended the kingdom well.
Thereafter, a power struggle began between SALUVA Narasimha's youngest son Narasimha Raya II and his chief minister TULUVA Narasa's son Vira Narasimha; which resulted in Narasimha Raya II (also called Immadi Narasimha) getting murdered in 1505 at the hands of Vira Narasimha . Vira Narasimha ruled from 1503-1509. thereby giving rise to a third dynasty called *TULUVA DYNASTY named after Tuluva Narasimha Nayaka.
* TULUVA- named so, as they belonged to the Tulu speaking Bunt community.
Krishna Deva Raya (17 Jan 1471 to 17 Oct 1529): A great Vijayanagara king
Krishnadevaraya was the brother and next Tuluva monarch to succeed Vira Narasimha Raya. When the word Vijayanagara comes to mind, historians recall with pride about the illustrious period of his reign from 1509 to 1529.
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| Krishna Deva Raya, erstwhile ruler of the Vijayanagara empire |
Krishna Deva Raya's military achievements
Krishna Deva Raya was well-known for his swordsmanship and excellent military tactics. He led from the front and would change/ improvise his war strategy quickly, thus bringing consistent success in his military achievements.
During his reign the empire's greatest challenges were ~
Adil Shahis of Bijapur
Bahamani Sultanate
Gajapatis of Orissa, and finally
The Portuguese who had by now gained a stronghold along India's west coast region.
In 1509 a battle ensued between Bahamani Sultanate and the Vijayanagaras in which Krishnadevaraya's armies gravely injured and defeated Mahmud Shah Bahamani II. This was a big victory that helped free Deccan from the Bahmani rule. Krishnadevaraya is said to have later released Mahmud Shah and made him a de facto ruler*. I am not sure whether that was a good decision, but still let's keep it for later.
de facto ruler- he ruled on behalf of Krishna Deva Raya.
As the Bahmani Sultanate disintegrated in 1518 AD, it split into 5 distinct territories, one of which was Golconda. Quli Qutb Shah (r. 1518 to 1687) was the Sultan of Golconda, but his reign was cut short after being defeated by Timmarusu, Prime Minister to Krishnadevaraya.
Timmarusu was certainly a dynamic leader and military strategist. We can say that by the manner in which he also defeated the mighty Gajapatis of Orissa and took control of the Udayagiri fort.
And then there was Yusuf Adil Shah. Interestingly, both the Portuguese and the Vijayanagaras shared a common enmity with Adil Shah's of Bijapur. Krishnadevaraya joined hands with the Portuguese in 1510,
Thereafter Krishnadevaraya defeated Ismail Adil Shah in The Battle of Raichur and consequently took control of the Raichur Doab region. He once again reunited Bidar, Gulbarga and Bijapur~ bringing it under the fold of the Vijayanagara empire.
An able administrator, a fine statesman and Dharma above all
Besides his many military achievements; Krishna Deva Raya brought about breakthrough changes in the overall improvement of his kingdom, such as; abolishing unwanted taxes, bringing new lands into cultivation and improving the irrigation system. He is also said to personally meet and address the grievances of his subjects.
His patronage towards arts and literature in Telugu, Tamil and Kannada are commendable. He was also a huge patron of Tirumala's Venkateswara temple and made rich contributions here. One can go on and on about this great emperor, but moving on to the next topic.
Achyuta Deva Raya (r. 1529 to 1542)
Achyuta Deva Raya was the younger brother of Krishna Deva Raya who took charge of the Vijayanagara empire after the prior's death in 1529. The Vijayanagara empire was at the pinnacle of its glory under his predecessor, but by no means was it a safe haven from opportunistic feudal rulers such as the Nayakars. He too contributed in the field of arts, literature and building temples.
However, Aliya Rama Raya who was Krishnadevaraya's son-in-law and a strong contender for the throne got the better of him and imprisoned the emperor in a coup in 1540. Achyutaya Deva Raya died 2 years later in 1542.
Conclusion~
An invaluable point to note; Muslim rulers had gained a firm ground in the Deccan and came even further down south. Had it not been for the brothers Hakka and Bukka who established the Vijayanagara empire, South India would have most likely turned into a Muslim dominated region.
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