Krishnadevaraya (1509-1529 C.E.): Krishnadevaraya of the Tuluva dynasty was the greatest Ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire. He was the son of Tuluva Narasanayaka and Nagaladevi. He came to the throne in 1509 G.E. The glory and prestige of the Kingdom reached its zenith during the rule of Krishnadevaraya. He got a good training under his Prime minister Timmarasa whom he called as Appaji.
Military achievements of Krishnadeva- Raya:
1. The war of 1510 C.E. : Krishna- devaraya had to a war against Mohammed Shah of Bidar and Yusuf Adil Shah of Bijapur whose combined army attacked Vijayanagara. A battle took place in 1510 C.E. near Doni, in which the army was routed and it ran away from the battle field. Krishnadevaraya pursued the **** forces up to Govilkonda and once again defeated them. He then occupied the Fort of Raichur and the Krishna- Tungabhadra doab area.
2. Siege of Ummatturu – 1513 C.E.: Krishnadevaraya marched against the rebellious chief, Gangaraja of Ummatturu. Gangaraja was defeated and the forts of Shivanasamudra and Srirangapattana were captured. Krishnadevaraya created a. new province with its headquarters at Srirangapattana.
3. Kalinga (Orissa) expedition- 1513 – 1518 C.E.: Krishnadevaraya took an expedition to Kalinga to defeat the Gajapathi Ruler, Prataparudra, which was achieved in stages. Udayagiri Fort was captured first. Next, he seiged the Fort of Kondavidu and defeated the Reddies. The administration of the Krishna region of Andhra was entrusted to Salva Thimma.
Then he captured the Forts of Vijayawada and Kondapalli. Later, the rest of the Telangana region came under his rule. When the Vijayanagara army reached Cuttack, the capital of the Gajapathigg King Pratlaparudtadeva capitulated and settled for peace in 1518 C.E.
4. Battle of Raichur-1520C. E.: When Krishnadevaraya was busily engaged in his Orissa campaign, Sultan Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapura recaptured the fort of Raichur. In 1520, Krishna-devaraya marched against the Sultan, defeated him and took back the Fort of Raichur. In this battle, the Portuguese musketeers helped the Vijayanagara army.
5. Captured the Fort of Gulbarga – 1523: Krishnadevaraya went as far as Bijapura, From here, he went to Gulbarga and defeated Amir Barid. Then he went upto Bidar and released the Bahamani Sultan, who had been imprisoned by his own subordinates and placed him on the throne of Gulbarga and took the title ‘Yavanarajya Pratishtapanacharya’.
6. Relation with the Portuguese: Krishnadevaraya maintained friendly relations with the Portuguese at Goa. He did not give help to Albuquerque to conquer Goa from the Bijapur Sultan in 1510 C.E. He gave permission to the Portuguese to build a Fort at Bhatkal. Durate Barbosa (1514-1515 C.E.) and Domingo Paes (1520 C.E.) visited the court of Krishnadevaraya. They have given information about the Vijayanagara trade and the personality of Krishnadevaraya.
7. Peace in Ceylon: There was political instability in Ceylon ( Srilanka) There were revolts against King Vijayabahu. Krishnadevaraya intervened in its political affairs and peace was established. Bhuvanaikyabahu, the son of Vijayabahu was brought to power.
8. Extend of his Empire: The Empire extended from river Krishna and Godavari in the North, to Kanyakumari in the South and from the Arabian Sea – in the West to the Bay of Bengal in the East.
9. Patronage to Literature: Krishnadeva- Raya was not only a great Ruler but also a great scholar in Sanskrit and Telugu. He wrote ‘Amukta Malyada’ in Telugu. Jambavathi Kalyanam, Ushaparinayam, Madalasa Chari the and Rasamanjari in Sanskrit. He patronized eight Telugu poets popularly called as the ‘Ashtadiggajas’. He honoured the great scholar Vyasateertha and Allasani Peddanna was conferred with the title ‘Andra Kavi Pitamaha’. Krishna- devaraya is often described as ‘Andhra Bhoja’.
He abolished the marriage tax. In memory of his mother Nagaladevi, he built a new city called Nagalapura and he built Purandara Mantapa at Hampi. He built many tanks and canals for both drinking water and irrigation purposes. He was a devotee of Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupati.
He had many titles like Kannadarajya Ramaramana, Kavipungava, Karnatakan dhrabhoja, Yavanarajya Pratishtha panacharya, etc., The last days of Krishnadevaraya were unhappy. Due to his only son Tirumala’ under mysterious circumstances in 1524C. E., Krishnadeva- Raya was much grieved and in 1529 C.E.
