Sri Krishnadevaraya (Kannada: ಕ್ರಷ್ಣದೇವರಾಯ, Telugu:శ్రీకృష్ణదేవరాయ;) was a Vijaynagar emperor who presided over the empire at its zenith and ruled from 1509 until his death in 1529. He is regarded as a hero of people of Kannada and Telugu descent in South India and considered to be one of the great kings of India. Much of our information about his reign comes from the accounts of Portuguese travelers Domingos Paes and Nuniz. He was assisted in the administration by the very able prime minister Timmarusu. It was Timmarusu, who was responsible for the coronation of Krishnadevaraya. Krishnadevaraya revered Timmarusu as a father figure.

Military Campaigns and Foreign Relations

Within six months of his coronation, he defeated Sultan Mahmud of Bidar and his ally, Yusuf Adil Khan.

In 1510, he attacked in the north, besieged Raichur and moved to Gulburga and Bidar. Once Krishnadevaraya secured the north, he overthrew the rebels of Ummattur and a new province of Vijayanagar was created with Sringapattana as its capital.

He subdued a local ruler, Prataparudra, and seized lands up to the Krishna river. In 1516-1517, he pushed beyond the Godavari river.

He defeated the Gajapatis of Orissa who had land in northern Andhra in five campaigns.

The complicated alliances of the empire and the five Deccan sultanates meant that he was continually at war; in one of these campaigns, he defeated Golconda and captured its commander Madurul-Mulk, crushed Bijapur and its sultan Ismail Adil Shah and restored Bahmani sultanate to Muhammad Shah.

He established friendly relations with the Portuguese, who set up the Portuguese Dominion of India in Goa in 1510. The Emperor obtained guns and Arabian horses from the Portuguese merchants. He also utilized Portuguese expertise in improving water supply to Vijayanagaram City.

The highlight of his conquests occurred on May 19, 1520 where he secured the fortress of Raichur from Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur after a difficult siege during which 16,000 Vijaynagari soldiers were killed. During the campaign against Raichur, we are told that 703,000 foot soldiers, 32,600 cavalry and 551 elephants were used. Finally, in his last battle, he razed to the ground the fortress of Gulburga, the early capital of the Bahmani sultanate. His empire extended over wide areas of the present day Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Internal Affairs

Paes summarises the king's attitude to matters of law and order by the sentence, "The king maintains the law by killing." Offences against property (designed to protect the rich against the poor) and for murder ranged from cutting of a foot and hand for theft and beheading for murder (except for those occurring as a result of duel). Paes could not estimate the size of Vijaynagar as his view was obscured by the hills but estimated the city to be at least as large as Rome. Furthermore, he considered Vijaynagar to be "the best provided city in the world" with a population of not less than a half a million.

The empire was divided into a number of provinces often under members of the royal family and into further subdivisions.

The official languages of the court were Telugu and Kannada. Both languages were written in what is known as Vijaya Lipi, considered as that version of Hale Kannada after which modern Kannada and Telugu scripts evolved. Krishnadevaraya said about Telugu: Desabhashalandu Telugu lessa meaning "Telugu is the best among the national languages." He strived for the welfare and the upliftment of Telugu people. Many Telugu, Sanskrit, and Kannada poets enjoyed the patronage of the emperor. Emperor Krishnadevaraya also earned the title Kannada Rajya Rama Ramana.

Amuktamalyada

He wrote Amuktamalyada, a prabandhamu. Prabandhamu is a variety of Telugu poetry which is mainly a narrative or a continued discourse, often with pronounced sensual content (sringaramu). In Amuktamalyada, Emperor Krishnaraya beautifully describes the pangs of separation suffered by Godadevi (the human incarnation of mother Earth, the wife of Vishnu) for her lover Lord Vishnu. He describes Godadevi’s physical beauty in thirty verses; using descriptions of the spring and the monsoon as metaphors. As elsewhere in Indian poetry - see Rasa Lila - the sensual pleasure of union extends beyond the physical level and becomes a path to, and a metaphor for, spirituality and ultimate union with the divine. One of the main characters is Vishnuchittudu, the father of Godadevi. Lord Vishnu commands Vishnuchittudu to teach a king of the Pandya dynasty the path of knowledge to moksha. Amuktamalyada is also known by the name Vishnuchitteeyam, a reference to Vishnuchittudu. Several other short stories are included in Amuktamalyada in the course of the main story of Godadevi. Krishnarayalu was also well-versed in Sanskrit and Kannada. Jambavati Kalyanamu is his Sanskrit work.

Religion and Culture

Krishna Deva Raya respected all sects of Hinduism, although he personally leaned in favour of Vaishnavism , and lavished on the Tirupati temple numerous objects of priceless value, ranging from diamond studded crowns to golden swords. Additionally, he is known to have commissioned the making of statutes of himself and his two wives at the temple complex. Kriahna Deva Raya is adored, worshipped and idolised by Kurubas & Yadavas as one of the greatest person of their community.

Krishnarayalu’s reign was the golden age of Telugu literature. Eight poets known as Astadiggajalu(eight elephants in the eight cardinal points such as North, South etc.) were part of his court (known as Bhuvanavijayamu). According to the Vaishnavite religion there are eight elephants in eight corners in space and hold the earth in its place. Similarly these eight poets were the eight pillars of his literary assembly. These Astadiggajas were: Allasani Peddana, Nandi Thimmana, Madayyagari Mallana, Dhurjati, Ayyalaraju Ramambhadrudu, Pingali Surana, Ramarajabhushanudu, and Tenali Ramakrishnudu.

Among these eight poets Allasani Peddana is considered to be the greatest and is given the title of Andhra Kavita Pitamaha (the father of Telugu poetry). Manucharitramu is his popular prabandha work. Nandi Timmana wrote Parijataapaharanamu. Madayyagari Mallana wrote Rajasekhara Charitramu. Dhurjati wrote Kalahasti Mahatyamu and Ayyalraju Ramabhadrudu wrote Ramaabhyudayamu. Pingali Surana wrote the still remarkable Raghavapandaveeyamu, a dual work with double meaning built into the text, describing both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Battumurty alias Ramarajabhushanudu wrote Kavyalankarasangrahamu, Vasucharitramu, and Harischandranalopakhyanamu. Among these works the last one is 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 converted to Vaishnavism later and wrote 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.

The period of the Empire is known as “Prabandha Period,” because of the quality of the prabandha literature produced during this time.

Domingos Paes, a Portuguese merchant who lived in Vijayanagaram City (1520-22) described Emperor Krishnarayalu: “… He is the most feared and perfect king that could possibly be, cheerful of disposition and very merry, he is one that seeks to honor foreigners, receives them kindly…. He is a great ruler and man of much justice….”

Some of this material was cited in the Oxford History of India, a public domain resource. Other parts were cited from the Vepachedu Educational Foundation, a GFDL resource. Please wikify and reword.

References and external links

• Smith, Vincent, Oxford History of India, Fourth Edition, pgs. 306-307, and 312-313.
• The Golden Era of Telugu Literature from the Vepachedu Educational Foundation
• (Krishnadevaraya's complex at Tirupati)
• Statutes of Krishnadevaraya and his wives at Tirupati.
• http://www.vijayanagaracoins.com/htm/krishna.htm (gold coins during his reign.)
• Hampi - History and Tourism

1529 deaths | Indian monarchs | Telugu people | Vijayanagara Empire | People of Karnataka | History of Karnataka

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