Krishnadevaraya

The raid and plunder of Vijayanagar towns and villages by the Deccan sultans came to an end during the Raya's rule. In 1509, Krishnadevaraya's armies clashed with them and Sultan Mahmud was severely injured and defeated.[13] Yusuf Adil Shah was killed and the Raichur Doab was annexed. Taking advantage of the victory, the Raya reunited Bidar, Gulbarga, and Bijapur into Vijayanagar and earned the title "establisher of the Yavana kingdom" when he released Sultan Mahmud and made him de facto ruler.[14] The Sultan of Golconda Sultan Quli Qutb Shah was defeated by Timmarusu, the prime minister of Sri Krishnadevaraya.[15]

The Gajapatis of Odisha ruled a vast land comprising Bengal, Andhra region and Odisha. Krishna Deva Raya's success at Ummatur provided the necessary impetus to carry his campaign into Coastal Andhra region which was in control of the Gajapati Raja Prataparudra Deva. The Vijayanagar army laid siege to the Udayagiri fort in 1512.[16] The campaign lasted for a year before the Gajapati army disintegrated due to starvation.[17] Krishna Deva Raya offered prayers at Tirupati thereafter, along with his wives Tirumala Devi and Chinnama Devi.[18] The Gajapati army was then met at Kondaveedu, where the armies of Vijayanagara, after establishing a siege for a few months, began to retreat due to heavy casualties.[19] Then Timmarusu discovered a secret entrance to the unguarded eastern gate of the fort and launched a night attack that culminated with the capture of the fort and the imprisonment of Prince Virabhadra, the son of Prataparudra Deva.[20] Vasireddy Mallikharjuna Nayak took over as governor of Kondaveedu thereafter.[21]

Krishnadevaraya planned an invasion of Kalinga, but Prataparudra, learned of this plan and formulated his own plan to defeat Krishandevaraya and the Vijayanagara Empire at the fort of Kalinganagar. But the wily Timmarusu discovered Prataparudra's plan by bribing a Telugu deserter from the service of Prataparudra. When the Vijayanagara Empire did invade, Prataprudra was driven to Cuttack, the capital of the Gajapati Kingdom.[22] Prataparudra eventually surrendered to the Vijayanagara Empire, and gave his daughter, Princess Jaganmohini, in marriage to Sri Krishnadevaraya.[23] Krishandevaraya returned all the lands that the Vijayanagara Empire had captured north of the Krishna River; this made the Krishna river the boundary between the Vijayanagar and Gajapati Kingdoms.[24]

Krishnadevaraya established friendly relations with the Portuguese in Goa in 1510.[25] The Emperor obtained guns and Arabian horses from the Portuguese merchants.[26][27] He also utilized Portuguese expertise to improve the water supply to Vijayanagara City.[28]

Kannada inscription dated 1524 A.D., of Krishnadeva Raya at the Anathasayana temple in Anathasayanagudi near Hampi. The temple was built in memory of his deceased son

The complicated alliances of the empire and the five Deccan sultanates meant that he was continually at war. In one campaign, he defeated Golconda and captured its commander Madurul-Mulk, crushed Bijapur and its sultan Ismail Adil Shah,[29] and restored the Bahmani sultanate to the son of Muhammad Shah II.[30]

The highlight of his conquests occurred on 19 May 1520 where he secured Raichur Fort from Ismail Adil Shah after a difficult siege in which 16,000 Vijayanagara soldiers were killed. The exploits of the military commander, Pemmasani Ramalinga Nayudu of the Pemmasani Nayaks, during the Battle of Raichur were distinguished and lauded by Krishnadevaraya.[31] It is said that 700,000-foot soldiers, 32,600 cavalry, and 550 elephants were used.[32] Portuguese contingent [33] commanded by Cristovão de Figueiredo[34] with the use of fireweapons help to conquer the fortress,

Krishnadevaraya was brutal towards Bahmani Generals of Raichur. Many Bahmani generals lost their lands. The other Muslim kings sent envoys to the emperor on hearing of his success and received a haughty reply.. The king conveyed that if Adil Shah would come to him, do obeisance, and kiss his foot, his lands would be restored to him. The submission never took place. Krishnadevaraya then led his army as far north as Bijapur and occupied it.[35][36] He imprisoned three sons of a former king of the Bahmani dynasty, who had been held captive by the Adil Shah and he proclaimed the eldest as king of the Deccan.[37]

Finally, in his last battle, he razed to the ground the fortress of Gulburga, the early capital of the Bahmani sultanate.

In 1524, Krishnadevaraya made his son Tirumala Raya the Yuvaraja (crown prince). The prince did not survive for long: he was poisoned.[38] Suspecting Timmarusu, Krishna Deva Raya had him blinded.[39] At the same time, Krishnadevaraya was preparing for an attack on Belgaum, which was in the Adil Shah's possession. Around this time, Krishnadevaraya fell ill and eventually died in 1529, succeeded by his brother, Achyuta Deva Raya.[40]

Ashtadiggajas in the court of Sri Krishnadevaraya.

The rule of Krishna Deva Raya is known as golden age of Telugu literature. Eight Telugu poets were regarded as eight pillars of his literary assembly and known as Ashtadiggajas. Krishna Dev Raya himself composed an epic Telugu poem Amuktamalyada.[48]

During the reign of Krishnadevaraya Telugu culture and literature flourished and reached their heyday. The great emperor was himself a celebrated poet having composed Amuktamalyada.[49] In his court, eight Telugu poets were regarded as the eight pillars of the literary assembly.[48] In the olden days, it was believed that eight elephants were holding the earth in eight different directions. The title Ashtadiggajas celebrates this belief and hence the court was also called Bhuvana Vijayam (Conquest of the World). This period of the Empire is known as the "Prabandha Period," because of the quality of the prabandha literature it produced.[49]

• Allasani Peddana is considered to be the greatest and given the title of Andhra Kavita Pitamaha (the father of Telugu poetry). Svarocisha Sambhava or Manucharita, his popular prabandha work, was dedicated to Krishnadevaraya
• Nandi Thimmana wrote Parijathapaharanam
• Madayyagari Mallana wrote Rajasekhara Charitramu
• Dhurjati wrote Kalahasti Mahatyamu
• Ayyalaraju Ramabhadrudu wrote Sakalakatha Sangraha and Ramaabhyudayamu
• Pingali Surana wrote Raghava Pandaviyamu, Kalapurnodayam and Prabhavate Pradyamana

--Raghavapandaveeyamu is a dual work with double meaning built into the text, describing both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

--Kalapurnodayam ("full bloom of art") has been considered the first original poetic novel in Telugu literature

• Battumurthy, alias Ramarajabhushanudu, wrote Kavyalankarasangrahamu, Vasucharitra, Narasabhupaliyam and Harischandranalopakhyanamu, a dual work which tells simultaneously the story of King Harishchandra and Nala and Damayanti
• Tenali Ramakrishna first wrote Udbhataradhya Charitramu, a Shaivite work. However, he later converted to Vaishnavism and wrote the Vaishnava devotional texts Panduranga Mahatmyamu, and Ghatikachala Mahatmyamu. Tenali Rama remains one of the most popular folk figures in India today, a quick-witted courtier ready even to outwit the all-powerful emperor.

Other well-known poets were Sankusala Nrisimha Kavi, who wrote Kavikarna Rasayana,[49] Chintalapudi Ellaya, who wrote Radhamadhavavilasa and Vishnumayavilasa, the poet Molla, who wrote a version of the Ramayana,[49] Kamsali Rudrakavi, who wrote Nirankusopakhyana,[49] and Addamki Gangadhara, who wrote Tapatlsamvarana[49] and Basavapurana. Manumanchi Bhatta wrote a scientific work on veterinary science called Haya lakshanasara.[49]

He patronised the Kannada poet Mallanarya, who wrote Veera-shaivamruta, Bhava-chinta-ratna and Satyendra Chola-kathe, Chatu Vittalanatha who wrote Bhagavatha' and Timmanna Kavi, who wrote a eulogy of his king in Krishna Raya Bharata.[50][51] Vyasatirtha, the great Dvaita saint from Mysore of the Madhva tradition was his Rajaguru.[52] Krishna Deva Rayana Dinachari in Kannada is a recently discovered work.[53] The record highlights the contemporary society during Krishna Deva Raya's time in his personal diary. However, it is not yet clear if the record was written by the king himself.

Purandara Dasa explored the Madhwa philosophy and the Rajaguru of Krishnadevaraya, emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire. According to Prof. Sambamoorthy,[54] Srinivasa had his formal initiation at the hands of Vyasatirtha in 1525 when he was about 40 years old, with the name Purandara Daasa bestowed on him. Purandara Daasa traveled extensively through the length and breadth of the Vijayanagara Empire and Pandharapur in Maharashtra composing and rendering soul-stirring songs in praise of God. He spent his last years in Hampi and also sang songs in Krishnadevaraya's court.

Tamil inscription of Krishnadevaraya, Severappoondi

Krishna Deva Raya patronised the Tamil poet Haridasa, and Tamil literature soon began to flourish as the years passed by.[55]

In Sanskrit, Vyasatirtha wrote Bhedo-jjivana, Tat-parya-chandrika, Nyaya-mrita (a work directed against the Advaita philosophy) and Tarka-tandava. Krishna Deva Raya, himself an accomplished scholar, wrote Madalasa Charita, Satyavadu Parinaya and Rasamanjari and Jambavati Kalyana.[56][57][58]