THE KINGDOM OF VIJAYANAGARA
By N. VENKATARAMANAYYA, A.A., Ph.D.
Assistant Editor, District Gazetteer, Andhra.
إمبراطورية فيجاياناغارا، التاريخ، الحكام الكبار، الاقتصاد والانحدار/الجزء الأول
كلمات رئيسية مهمة : تاريخ فيجاياناجارا، عمارة هامبي، عهد كريشناديفارايا، حكام فيجاياناجارا، سلالة فيجاياناجارا، فن وثقافة
فيجاياناجارا، معركة تاليكوتا، أطلال هامبي، الجدول الزمني لإمبراطورية فيجاياناجارا
Importent
keywords: Vijayanagara history, Hampi architecture, Krishnadevaraya
reign, Vijayanagara rulers, Vijayanagara dynasty, Vijayanagara art and
culture, Battle of Talikota, Hampi ruins, Vijayanagara Empire timeline
The important headings are as given below
PART 1. click here
1. The Foundation
2. Harihara I
3. Bukka I
4. Harihara II '
PART 2. click here
5. Devarãya I
6. Rãmachandra and Vijaya
I
7. Devarãya II
PART 3. click here
8. Vijayaraya II and
Mallikärjuna
9. Virüpäksha II and the
fall of the Sangama dynasty
10. Saluva Narasinha
11. Narasa Nãyaka
12. Vira Narasinha
PART 4. click here
13. Krishnadevaraya
(i)
Expedition against the Bahmani kingdom
(ii)
Subjugation of Ummattur
(iii)
War with Orissa
(iv)
War with Quli Qutb Shäh of Golkonda
(v)
War with Biiäour
PART 5 . click here
(vi)
Rebellion of Saluva Timma (Jr)
(vii)
Selection of Achyuta as successor and thedeath of Krishnadevaräya
viii)
Krishnadevaräya and the Portuguese
(ix)
Krishnadevaraya as a warrior and general
(x)
Krishnadevarya as an administrator
(xi)
Krishnadevarya as a patron of art and letters
1. THE FOUNDATION.
Reference has been made above to the growing Hindu resistance against Muslim aggression in Deccan and South India during the reign of Muhammad Tughluq,' and of his policy of subduing it by appointing, as governors, renegade Hindus who once held positions of authority in those regions. The policy, as we have seen, failed in Warangal, but succeeded in Kampili. The two fugitive brothers from Warangal, Harihara and Bukka, who became ministers in the old Hindu kingdom of Kampili but were taken captive by Muhammad Tughluq and embraced Islām, were entrusted by the Sultan to restore the Muslim authority in that region. In spite of reverses and failures at the beginning, they ultimately succeeded in their task as has been mentioned above. Their subsequent conduct, however, belied the expectations of Muhammad Tughluq, and in view of the obscurity surrounding it and the important consequences which followed, the whole matter requires a somewhat detailed consideration. All the relevant facts are not known with absolute certainty and widely different views have consequently been held on the subject; but the following appears to be the most reasonable reconstruction of the chain of events leading to the foundation of the kingdom of Vijayanagara.
The victories of Kapaya Nayaka and Ballala III and the libe-
ration of the Andhra and Dravida countries appear to have affected the province
of Kampili profoundly. The spirit of independence must also have stirred the
minds of the people there, and made them restive under the rule of their Muslim
governor. Harihara and Bukka, who must have followed closely the course of the
war of independence, realized that it was impossible for them, under the
changed circumstances, to maintain the authority of the Sultan in the province.
They had, however, no desire to follow the example of Malik Maqbül, the
governor of Tiling; nor did they consider it wise to declare their independence
and set up a Muslim dynasty at Kampili. Hemmed in on three sides by the two
powerful Hindu kingdoms of Karnataka and Andhra, and with no prospect of
getting any help from Delhi, the chances of establishing an independent Muslim
State on the banks of the Tungabhadra were remote. They decided, therefore, to
throw in their lot with their Hindu subjects.
Islam, which they were compelled to embrace, sat lightly on them,
and they still cherished fondness for the faith of their fathers. Under the
influence of sage Vidyaranya, whom they accepted as their guide both in
temporal and spiritual matters, they came to believe that it was their duty to
renounce Islām and champion the cause of the ancient Hindu dharma. Their path
was not free from obstacles. The Hindu society was chary in re-admitting within
its fold those who were forced to embrace Islam. Moreover, they were treated
with suspicion on account of their connection with the Musulmans. They,
however, got over these difficulties with the help of Vidyaranya, who arranged
for their reconversion to Hindu religion. He convinced Vidyatīrtha, his own
guru and the chief pontiff of the Advaita-matha at Sringeri, that the
reconversion of his disciples was necessary for saving the Hindu dharma, and
secur- ed his approval. Harihara and Bukka were then taken back to Hinduism;
and to mitigate any suspicion that might still lurk in the minds of the people,
it was declared that Harihara was not rul- ing the kingdom in his own right but
as a vicegerent of the god Virupaksha to whom it actually belonged. To lend
colour to this declaration, Harihara was persuaded to adopt the name of the god
Śrī Virūpāksha as his sign manual with which he had to sign all the state
documents. Harihara was crowned in A.D. 1336 as the king of the new kingdom of
Hampi-Hastināvatī; and to comme- morate the event he laid the foundations of
his new capital, Vijaya- nagara, on the same day. 1a
HARIHARA I (A.D. 1336-1356).
At the time when Harihara I, son of Sangama, declared his in-
dependence and celebrated his coronation, he was the master of a kingdom
extending from Nellore in the south-east to Dharwar and Bādāmi in the northern
Karnataka. His position, however, was not yet secure, as he was surrounded by
powerful neighbours who were not well disposed towards him. His kingdom marched
in the north- east and the north along the frontiers of the nascent Andhra
confede- racy which Käpaya Nayaka, after his final victory over the army of the
Sultan of Delhi, was attempting to convert into a kingdom. Though Kapaya had no
grievance against Harihara, he was an ally of Ballala III, recently discomfited
by Harihara on the battlefield. Moreover, Prolaya Vema, an important member of
the confederacy, who was driven out of the lower Pennar valley, his ancestral
home, by Harihara and his brothers, was not certainly friendly to them. The
struggle between the Rayas of Vijayanagara and the Reddis of Addanki and
Kondavīdu, which was terminated by the absorption of the territories of the
latter by the former, seems to have com- menced already. In the north-east, on
the further bank of the Krishna, lay the territory, which still remained under
the authority of the Sultan of Delhi. Qutlugh Khan, the governor of Devagiri,
who was entrusted with the administration of this province, was an able
officer; he was naturally expected to make an effort, as soon as possible, to
recover the lost Deccan possessions of the Sultan. More dangerous than Qutlugh
Khan was Ballala III, the king of Karnataka, whose territories bounded
Harihara's kingdom on the west and south. Ballala was not a friend of Harihara;
he cast greedy eyes on this small State on the Tungabhadra, the conquest of
which had been one of his long-cherished ambitions. He led several un-
successful attempts to subjugate it in the days of Kampilīdeva but could make
no headway against that doughty warrior. The revolt of the Andhras against Muhammad
bin Tughluq, and the consequent dissolution of his empire in the south gave him
another chance; but the astute statesmanship of Vidyaranya not only frustrated
his attempt, but revived under a new dynasty the old kingdom of Kampili.
However, he did not give up his designs. His preoccu- pations with the affairs
of the Tamil country and his entanglements with the Sultan of Madurä left him
no time to make a fresh effort to overthrow Harihara, but he was expected to
renew his attempt the moment he settled with the Sultan of Madura. Harihara's
first task was to consolidate his position, and organize his kingdom for
effective defence. It was an age when the security of a kingdom depended on the
strength of its forts. Anegondi, his capital, was, no doubt, perched on the top
of a hill in a mountainous tract on the northern bank of the Tungabhadrā; but
it was not impregnable. It fell easily into the hands of the enemy twice within
a decade; it was captured by Muhammad bin Tughluq in A.D. 1327, and by the
Chalukya chief Somadeva some four or five years later. Hari- hara wanted to
shift his capital to a place much more inaccessible to an enemy, where he could
take refuge in times of danger. Act- ing upon a suggestion of Vidyaranya, he
selected the opposite bank of the river in the neighbourhood of the temple of
Virupaksha, sur- rounded by the Hemakūta, the Matanga, and Malayavanta hills.
He laid the foundations of the new capital which he called Vijaya- or
Vidyanagara, on the auspicious occasion on which he celebrated his coronation.
The hills were linked together by strong walls of Cyclopean masonry and a deep
ditch surrounded them. According to one of the Kālajñānas, it took full seven
years to complete the construction. Harihara shifted to his new capital, when
it was ready for occupation, and administered the kingdom from his palace on
the Hemakūṭa hill.
Vijayanagara was not the only fortress built by Harihara. To
safeguard the kingdom from any possible attack by the armies of the Delhi
Sultan from Devagiri, he strengthened the fortifications of the old Chalukyan
capital Badāmi, and posted there a strong garrison under a capable officer. He
also made the famous fort of Udayagiri in the Nellore district the headquarters
of his eastern province, and entrusted its administration to his younger
brother Kampana.1 He appointed his second younger brother, Bukka, his Yuvaraja
and co-regent and placed him in charge of the fortress of Gooty in the
Anantapur district to keep a watchful eye on the activities of Ballala III and protect
the western frontier. Having completed his arrangements for the defence of the
realm, Harihara next turned his attention to internal administration. Two
important measures adopted by him to increase the resources of his dominions
and im- prove the character of local administration deserve special notice. He
encouraged the farmers to cut down the forest and bring fresh land under
cultivation by leasing it to them on easy terms. He divided the country into
sthalas, nāḍus, and simas and created a hierarchy of officials to collect the
revenue and carry on the local administration. These measures increased the
income of the State and improved the character of local government.
The reign of Harihara I marks the beginning of a great era of
conquest and territorial expansion. The small kingdom which at the beginning
comprised a few Telugu and Kannada districts had grown considerably in size and
was fast developing into an empire during the last years of his reign. This was
due mainly to the conquest of the Hoysala kingdom which seems to have commenced
after A.D. 1338 during the last years of Ballala III. A few border incidents
between the forces of Bukka and Ballapa Dandanayaka, the chief minister and
commander-in-chief of Balläla III, soon deve- loped into a general conflict
which seems to have gone from the first against the Hoysalas. Some time after
A.D. 1340, Bukka wrest- ed from Balläla the important fortress of Penugonda in
the Ananta- pur district to which he shifted his headquarters from Gooty. This
was a valuable acquisition, as it served him later as a convenient base of
operations against the Hoysala kingdom. The success of Bukka was not due to the
weakness of the Hoysala military force. Ballāla III was, as stated already,
preoccupied with the affairs of the Tamil country. Not satisfied with the
liberation of Tondai- mandalam and the establishment of Sambuvaraya on the
throne of Käñchî, he set out on an expedition to conquer the entire south and
bring it under his hegemony. This naturally involved him in a conflict with the
Sultan of Madura (Ma'bar), and all his attention was absorbed in prosecuting
war against him. Ballala, therefore, was not able to take effective steps to
check the aggressions of Vijayanagara, and as a consequence lost some territory
along his eastern frontier. What might have happened, had Ballāla succeeded in
his enterprise against Madura it is not possible to surmise. The course of
events in the south, however, took an unexpected turn, quite favourable to
Vijayanagara, by the sudden disappearance of the enemy who was blocking her
path of expansion. Though Ballāla was successful at first in his war against
the Sultan of Madura, disaster fell upon him towards the close of A.D. 1342.
The Sultan of Madura, under the cover of a truce which Balläla granted him,
suddenly made a treacherous attack on his camp, destroyed his army, and having
taken him prisoner murdered him after extort- ing from him all his wealth. 10
This disaster sounded the death-knell of the Hoysala monarchy.
Though Virupaksha Ballāla or Ballala IV, the son of Ballāla III, was crowned
king in June, 1343, he was utterly helpless and had no power to maintain his
authority. The flower of the Hoysala army was annihilated in the campaign of
Ma'bar; his treasury was emptied in the vain hope of purchasing the liberty of
his father; and many of the nobles including the commander-in-chief, Ballappa
Daṇḍanayaka, deserted him like rats in a sinking ship and joined the king of
Vijayanagara. Therefore, when he was attacked by the armies of Vijayanagara, he
was unable to offer any effective resist- ance, and was obliged to abandon his
kingdom and seek safety in flight within three months after his coronation. 1a
The flight of Balläla IV was not, however, followed by the immediate submis- sion
of the Hoysala dominions to Vijayanagara. Though abandoned by their king and
some of the leading nobles, local chieftains in vari- ous parts of the kingdom
stoutly opposed the invaders; and it was not until A.D. 1346 that Bukka could
reduce them to subjection. The conquest of the Hoysala kingdom was the most
notable military achievement in the reign of Harihara I. There was great
jubilation in Vijayanagara. To commemorate the victory, a grand festival under
the aegis of Vidyātīrtha was celebrated at Sringerī in 1346, which was attended
not only by Harihara and his brothers but also by all the chief generals and
noblemen of his court.
The conquest of the Hoysala kingdom seems to have involved
Harihara I in war with two of his neighbours. The Kadambas who were ruling the
small kingdom of Banaväsi on the coast of Konkan, incurred his displeasure,
probably on account of the shelter which they offered to Ballala IV in their
territory. Märapa, one of Hari- hara's younger brothers, set out from Kalasa in
the Kadur district in A.D. 1347, and having defeated the Kadamba king and
annexed his territories, established himself at Chandragutti in the Shimoga
district. More important than this was the expedition against the Sultan of
Madura. The circumstances under which Harihara had to send an army against
Madura are not quite clear. It is, however, certain that he embarked on this
expedition to rescue the Sambu- varāya who seems to have been defeated and
taken prisoner by the Sultan. Two armies were despatched simultaneously in A.D.
1352-3 against the Sultan, one from Udayagiri in the east coast under Prince
Savanna, son of Kampa I, and another from Mulbagal in the Kolar district under
Kumāra Kampana, son of Bukka I, with instructions to unite on the frontiers of
Madura and compel the Sultan to set the Sambuvaraya at liberty. The
Vijayanagara generals success- fully accomplished the task with which they were
entrusted. The Sultan of Madura was defeated and taken prisoner and the Sambu-
varāya was freed from captivity and re-established upon his throne.
Though the victory of Vijayanagara was complete and the road to
Madurā was open and undefended, the Sultanate was perhaps saved from
destruction by the activities of 'Ala-ud-din Hasan Gangú or Bahman Shah, the
ruler of the newly founded Bahmani kingdom, who was hostile to Vijayanagara
from the beginning. The Bahmani Sultan, himself a rebel against Delhi, appears
to have claimed some sort of suzerainty over Vijayanagara. His claim was
rejected with scorn and as a consequence the relations between the two kingdoms
were always strained. As mentioned above, Firishta credits Bahman Shah with
some conquests in the Karnatak, though he does not refer to any conflict
between him and the king of Vijaya- nagara. Bahman Shah's success, probably
over some local chiefs, must have been a source of anxiety to Vijayanagara. It
seems that Harihara I had to give up for the time being his designs over the
Sultanate of Madura and devote his attention exclusively to the defence of his
northern frontier.
The latest known date of Harihara is A.D. 1356.2 As he is not
mentioned in the records of the subsequent years, he probably died in the
course of the same year. Harihara's reign was a period of great political
activity. Though he did not directly participate in the wars, he took keen
interest in organizing the defence of the realm. He was a great administrator;
and with the help of his trusted minister, Anantarasa Chikka Udaiya, he laid
the foundations of a strong and stable system of civil administration which,
with few modifications, lasted until the very last days of the empire.
3. BUKKA I (A.D. 1356-1377)
Harihara I died without issue; and Bukka I succeeded him as the
sole sovereign of the kingdom. The first step which he took after assuming control
of the State was to unify the kingdom and strengthen his position. Harihara I
had entrusted the administra- tion of some of the outlying provinces to his
younger brothers, who, though they acknowledged his supremacy, regarded
themselves as virtual masters of the territories under their control. Kampana
I, the governor of Udayagiri, died about A.D. 1355, and on his death, his two
sons, Sāvanņa and Sangama II, divided the province bel- ween themselves, as if
it were their family property. Mārapa, who conquered in A.D. 1347 Male-nādu and
Banavāsi, became its first governor, and most probably he was succeeded by his
sons, Sovanna and Hariappa. Though the arrangement was working satisfactorily
at the time, Bukka I realized that it contained the seeds of disinte- gration
which would, in course of time, lead to the disruption of the kingdom and
defeat the purpose for which it was founded. To check the power of his nephews,
and bring them more effectively under the control of the central government,
Bukka appointed his own sons as the governors of the provinces and made them
respon- sible for the maintenance of the royal authority. Bhaskara Bhava- dūra
was made the governor of Udayagiri, Kumāra Kampana of Mulbagal and Paḍaivīḍu,
Virupanṇa at first of Penugonda and later of Araga, and Chikka-Kampana,
Mallapa, and Harihara (II) of the Hoysala-rajya.
The affairs of the Tamil country soon engaged Bukka I's atten-
tion. Rajanārāyaṇa Sambuvaraya, whom Harihara I had restored to the throne in
A.D. 1353, ruled the country undisturbed until A.D. 1359-60. Either because he
had assorted his independence or for some other reasons not known, Bukka sent a
military expedition against Rajanärāyaṇa who was not able to hold his own.
Rāja- nārāyaṇa died in the early stages of the war; Venrumankoṇḍān II, his son
and successor, held out for some time, but was ultimately killed in A.D. 1360.
With the death of Venrumankoṇḍān, the shortlived kingdom of the Sambuvarayas
came to an end and Vijaya- nagara became the mistress of the Tamil country
extending as far south as the southern Pennär and the Kolladam rivers.
Shortly after this Bukka was involved in a war with the Bah- manis. On the death of 'Ala-ud-din Hasan Gangü (A.D. 1358), his son, Muhammad Shah Bahmanī I, ascended the throne. His posi- tion, on the throne, however, was not quite secure. Dangers threatened him on every side. Some of his nobles were disaffected towards him, and were ready to make trouble for him. Bukka I and the king of Telingana, with whom he seems to have entered into an alliance, sent Muhammad Shah an ultimatum threatening war in case he failed to satisfy their demands. The former claimed that the forts of Raichur and Mudgal with their dependent terri- tory extending as far as the river Krishna should be returned to him. The latter similarly demanded that the fort of Kaulas with the dependent territory which 'Ala-ud-din Hasan had unjustly wrested from him should be restored to him. Muhammad Shah, after temporizing for a time, declared war on the Hindu kings. Bukka I immediately despatched twenty thousand men to support his ally, and invaded the Krishna-Tungabhadra-doab with a large force.
The account of the war given by Firishta is inaccurate and
one-sided. Acording to him, Muhammad Shah I defeated Bukka I on every
battlefield, chased him from place to place, and when at last Bukka crept back
into his capital, the Balimani Sultan lured him out of his stronghold and,
having crushed him in a battle, dictated to him the terms of peace which he had
no option but to accept. Though some of the facts mentioned by Firishta might
be true, the Vijayanagara army did not fare so badly in the war as he would
have us believe. They contended with the Bahmanis on equal terms, and struck
blow for blow. In the end, the Bahmani Sultan had to sign a treaty which left
Bukka I master of the whole of the Krishnā-Tungabhadra-doab excepting some
mahals on the southern bank of the Krishna which were to be governed jointly by
the two monarchs.3 The terms of this treaty, to which Firishta himself alludes
indirectly, clearly show that the war ended practi- cally in a victory for
Vijayanagara. As the war had commenced on account of the refusal of Muhammad
Shah I to recognize the river Krishna as the boundary between Vijayanagara and
the Bahmani kingdoms, and as the river Krishna, according to the terms of the
treaty, was fixed as the boundary between the two kingdoms, though a few mahals
on the southern bank of the river were subjected to the joint authority of the
two governments, it is obvious that Bukka I got the better of his rival.
The Bahmani war came to an end in A.D. 1365. Shortly after this
Bukka I was engaged in a war with Kondavidu. Very little is known about the
causes and incidents of this war with the Reddi kingdom. Prolaya Vema, the
founder of the kingdom, died in A.D. 1355 and his successor Anapota or
Vira-Anapota was defeated by Bukka. The Reddis lost Ahobalam and Vinukonda with
their dependent territories which were permanently annexed to the king- dom of
Vijayanagara.
When the affairs of the northern and eastern frontiers were thus
settled to his satisfaction, Bukka I turned his attention to the south. The
overthrow of the Sambuvarayas and the annexation of Tonḍaimandalam had brought
Vijayanagara directly into contact with the Sultanate of Madura. A clash
between the two kingdoms was inevitable; and the miserable plight to which the
Hindus were reduced by the Muslim rulers of Ma'bar loudly called for interven-
tion. Most of the Hindu shrines were destroyed; good many of them were converted
into mosques. The people were killed by hundreds and thousands; their
properties were confiscated; religious practices were forbidden; cows were
butchered; and terror reigned supreme. Bukka, as the head of a Hindu State
which was founded specially to protect the Hindu society and re-establish the
Hindu dharma, could not remain indifferent, and launched an attack some time
about A.D. 1370. He entrusted the supreme command of his army to his son,
Kumāra Kampana, who had been governing the Tamil districts of the kingdom as
his viceroy since the overthrow of the Sambuvarāya in A.D. 1360-61.
The army set out about the beginning of A.D. 1370 from Gingee in
the South Arcot district and inflicted a crushing defeat on the forces of
Madura at Samayavaram near Srirangam. Kannanur- Kuppam, the chief stronghold of
the Musulmans in this region, fell into the hands of the invaders who, after
having restored god Śrīranganatha at Srirangam and Hoysaleśvara at
Kannanur-Kuppam to their respective shrines, marched against Madură. A severe
engagement took place somewhere between Trichinopoly and Madura in which the
Sultan was defeated and killed. The death of the Sultan, however, did not put
an end to the war. Some of his follow- ers appear to have shut themselves in the
capital and declined to submit. Kumāra Kampana laid siege to Madurã, and took
it by storm. Thus ended the Sultanate of Madurä after a brief but bloody
existence of nearly forty years during which the Hindus of the country were
subjected to inhuman tyranny.3
With the conquest of Madura, the whole of South India, extend- ing
up to Setubandha Rāmeśvaram, came under the sway of Vijaya- nagara, and it thus
rapidly grew up into an empire. The conquered territory, together with the
remaining parts of the Tamil country, was placed under Kumāra Kampana who
proved as great an admini- strator as he was a soldier. Unfortunately, however,
he died pre- maturely, about the beginning of A.D. 1374, plunging the kingdom
in grief. His death brought the question of succession to the fore- front.
Bukka I had several sons who distinguished themselves on the field of battle as
well as in the civil administration of the king- dom, but he chose as
heir-apparent and successor, Harihara II, his son by queen Gaurāmbikā, a prince
who took little or no part in the affairs of the kingdom until the time of his
selection. The reasons which prompted Bukka to nominate Harihara as his crown
prince, ignoring the claims of his more distinguished sons and grand- sons, are
not quite apparent.
Bukka I did not long survive his son Kampana and died in A.D.
1377. He was one of the greatest monarchs of the age, and was the real
architect of the Vijayanagara empire. He was a great soldier and achieved
conspicuous success on the field of battle, speci- ally against the Muslims. In
an age marked by religious bigotry and fanaticism, special reference must be
made to the policy of tolerance adopted by Bukka I in dealing with the
religious sects in his kingdom. Taking advantage of the dispute between the Vaishnavas
and the Jainas, he issued an edict, copies of which were set up in important
centres, proclaiming that from the standpoint of the State, all religions were
equal and entitled to protection and patronage. The policy of religious
concord, indicated in this edict, was followed by all his successors. All
religious communities of the kingdom including the Jews, Christians and
Muslims, looked upon the Raya as the guardian of their religious rights and
privileges.
Bukka I took an active interest in the revival of the Vedic
dharma. He assumed the title of Vedamarga-pratishṭhāpaka or the establisher of
the path of the Vedas, and gathered together all the scholars learned in the
Vedic literature. Having placed them under his kula-guru,
Madhavacharya-Vidyaranya and his famous brother Sāyaṇācharya, he commanded them
to compose fresh commentaries and expound the meaning of the Vedas and the
allied religious texts. He also encouraged Telugu literature and was a patron
of Nachana Soma, the greatest Telugu poet of the age.
4. HARIHARA II (A.D. 1377-1404)
Bukka I died about the beginning of February, 1377, and Harihara
II immediately ascended the throne. His authority, how- ever, does not seem to
have been acknowledged in all parts of the kingdom at once. There were
insurrections in Konkan and other provinces. A wide-spread rebellion broke out
in the Tamil country, in which the chiefs of Tundira, Chola and Pandya
countries were involved. It is not unlikely that the sons and some of the
officers of Kumāra Kampana, who were dissatisfied with the late king's
arrangements about succession, should have made a common cause with the rebels.
Harihara II, however, succeeded in putting down the rebellions and enforcing
his authority. His son, Virupaksha or Viruoanna Udaiyar, whom he appointed as
the viceroy of the Tamil country, put down the rebels with a stern hand and
brought the Tamil country back to subjection by the middle of A.D. 1377.4 It
was probably on this occasion that Virupanņa Udaiyar crossed over to the island
of Ceylon and exacted tribute from its ruler.
A greater danger than the internal disturbances threatened the
stability of Harihara's position on the throne. The Bahmanī Sultān invaded his
kingdom in large force. Muhammad Shah I died in 1375, and was succeeded by his
youthful and warlike son, Mujahid Shah. He sent an envoy to the court of the
Raya demanding the abrogation of the treaty of A.D. 1365, and the recognition
of the Tungabhadra as the southern boundary of his dominions. Hari- hara II
naturally turned down this demand, and Mujahid invaded the Vijayanagara kingdom
by way of reply in the spring of A.D. 1377.
Firishta has given an elaborale account of this war, but most of
the incidents described by him are not noticed by other Muslim historians; and
even in places where they refer to them, their narra- tive differs from his in
important respects. According to Firishta, the Raya of Vijayanagara, whom, by
the way, he calls Krishna Raya, massed his troops on the bank of the
Tungabhadra, somewhere in the neighbourhood of Adoni, but took to flight at the
approach of the Sultan's army. Mujahid thereupon laid siege to Vijayanagara,
and though he achieved some measure of success at first, he was obliged
ultimately to raise the siege. On his way back he besieged Adoni, an important
fort, guarding the road from Gulbarga, for nine months. His attempts to capture
the fort, however, ended in failure, and while returning to his capital, having
achieved nothing in the war, he was assassinated in his tent (A.D. 1378). Of
the three im- portant events of this war described by Firishta, the first two,
namely, the flight of the Raya and pursuit by Mujahid, and the siege, by the
latter, of the city of Vijayanagara, are not mentioned by other Muslim
historians. Though the flight of the Raya and pursuit by the Sultan may be
dismissed as exaggerated, there is nothing improbable in his attempt to besiege
Vijayanagara. The invasion, even taking Firishta's account at its face value,
must be regarded as an inglorious failure. The war, however, did not come to an
end with the defeat of Mujahid Shāh at Adoni and his retreat towards his kingdom.
It had an interesting sequel which is not noticed either by the Muslim
historians or modern scholars who have dealt with the subject. The defeat of
the Bahmani army at Adoni and the subsequent assassina- tion of the Sultan on
his way home presented a great opportunity to Harihara II for retaliation. The
Bahmanī kingdom was defence- less and there were dissensions in the royal
family. Harihara II took full advantage of the situation and invaded Konkan and
North- ern Karṇāṭaka at the head of a large army. Though the details of the
campaign are not definitely known, two or three incidents stand It out clearly.
Madhava mantrin, who was in charge of the Banavasi. country, defeated the
Turushkas, captured the port of Goa and re- duced the seven Konkanas to subjection
(A.D. 1380). The Turushkas, from whom Madhava mantrin wrested Goa and the
neighbouring territories, must have been the officers of the Bahmani Sultan.
must have been during the campaign in which Mädhava mantrin re- duced the
sapta-Konkanas that the important ports of Chaul and Dabhol on the coast of
Northern Konkan were acquired by Harihara; and the possession of these ports,
besides Goa, must have made him master of the entire west coast of the
Deccan."
Harihara II, now firmly etablished on his throne, next sought to
make himself the lord of the east coast so that he might establish his control
over the eastern as well as the western sea. The idea of the conquest of the
east coast was not new. Bukka I, it may be re- membered, attacked the Reddi
kingdom of Kondavidu which blocked the expansion of Vijayanagara towards the
sea, and seized some oul- lying districts of Kondavidu between A.D. 1365 and
1370. The ap- pointment of Devaraya as the governor of Udayagiri in A.D. 1370,
however, marks a new epoch in the relations between Vijayanagara and Kondavidu.
He resolved from the first to annex the Reḍdi terri- tories and pursued his
object with unwavering zeal. The internal dissensions in the kingdom of Kondaviḍu,
on the death of king Anavema in A.D. 1382-3, gave him an excellent opportunity
to attack the Reddi dominions, and he occupied at once the Addanki and the
Śrīsailam districts adjoining the Vijayanagara frontier. The occupa- tion of
the Reddi territories, especially the district of Srisailam which abutted on
the kingdom of Rachakonda, brought in its train another war with the Velamas
and their ally the Bahmani Sultān.
After the death of Anapota Reddi of Kondavidu, the Velamas had
seized Srisailam and the neighbouring territory. Their king, Anapota Nayaḍu I,
is even credited with having built steps to the Srisailam hill. Anavera Reddi,
the younger brother and successor of Anapota Reddi, dislodged the Velamas from
Srisailam and recon- quered the lost territory. After the death of Anavema, the
Velamas naturally desired to re-establish themselves in this region; but the
prompt action of Devaraya baulked them of their prey. The Velama ruler Anapota
Nayaḍu I appealed to his ally, the Bahmani king Muhammad Shah II, for help and
prepared himself for war. To counteract the warlike activities of Anapota Nayaḍu,
Harihara II despatched an army under the command of his son Immadi Bukka,
against the Velamas. The army penetrated as far as Warangal, and defeated the
Muslim cavalry at Kottakonda, a fort to the north-west of Warangal.
The Velama king did not, however, give up the hope of conquer- ing
Śrīśailam. With the help of the Bahmani Sultan Muhammad Shāh II, in A.D.
1390-91, he attacked 'Udayagiri-rājya', that is the province governed by
Devaraya. The last-named made a counter- move by invading the Bahmani kingdom.
The Bahmani forces accom- panied by the Velamas seem to have made an attack
upon Udayagiri, but Ramachandra Udaiya, the son of Devaraya, whom he left in
charge of his capital and province, is said to have subjugated hostile kings
and vanquished by his skill the Musulman king. Though the final result of the
war is not known, the Velamas did not achieve their object and the Bahmanī
Sultān won no victories which the Muslim historians could boast of.
The conflict was renewed seven years later (A.D. 1398), when Harihara II planned another attack on the Velamas and their ally the Bahmanīs. He evidently took advantage of the confusion fol- lowing the usurpation of the Bahmani throne by Firuz Shah to in- vade that kingdom, and captured the fort of Sagar. According to Firishta, Fīrüz not only recaptured the fort, but crossed the Krishna, looted the camp of his enemy, besieged Vijayanagara, laid waste the surrounding territory, and compelled Harihara II to buy peace by payment of a large sum of money. Though according to the terms of the treaty, the boundaries of both the kingdoms remained as they were, Firüz is said to have directed Füläd Khan to assume the government of the Raichur doab, which, as shown above, be- longed to Vijayanagara. Other Muslim authorities do not refer to the invasion of the doab or the siege of Vijayanagara. They all, however, ignore the part played by the Velama allies of the Sultan, as well as the reverses sustained by him. The Muslim accounts of the sweeping victories of Firüz Shah are contradicted by Hindu sources, both literary and epigraphic. An inscription at Pangal, in the Nalgonda district of the old Hyderabad State, clearly proves that an expedition sent by Harihara II against the Velamas defeated them as well as their Bahmani ally near that place, almost at the very time when, according to Firishta, Firüz was dictating a most humiliating peace treaty to his enemy. This treaty, however, practi- cally recognized the status quo. On the whole, the fact seems to be that in spite of some initial successes gained by Firüz, he was ultimately forced to retreat and lost some territory to the north of the doāb.
The last years of the reign of Harihara II were peaceful, un-
disturbed by foreign invasions or internal troubles. He fell ill in the latter
part of A.D. 1403 and died on August 16, 1404, having ruled for a period of
twenty-eight years. During his reign of nearly three decades, the kingdom
extended in all directions, and assumed the proportions of a mighty empire. His
conquest of the west and east coasts made him the master of many ports through
which flowed the wealth of Europe and Asia into his dominions. In the internal
administration of the kingdom, he followed in the footsteps of his father.
Though he entrusted the government of some of the provinces such as Mangalore,
Barakur, and Goa on the west coast to his nobles, he appointed only his sons as
governors of the impor- tant provinces in the interior and the east coast. As
already noted above, Virupaksha succeeded his uncle Kumära Kampana as the
viceroy of the Tamil country. Immadi Bukka, the heir-apparent, became the
governor of Araga and Hoysala regions, and Devaraya I, the most capable of
Harihara's sons, assumed the government of Udayagiri, the premier province of
the empire. Though this arrangement worked efficiently in the lifetime of
Harihara, it foster- ed disintegrating tendencies which led immediately after
his death to the outbreak of the first civil war in the Vijayanagara history.
On the death of Harihara II, the succession to the throne was disputed. His three sons Virūpāksha I, Bukka II, and Devaraya I laid claim to the throne, and attempted to take forcible possession of it. Though the struggle for succession lasted for two years, much is not known about the course of events during the period. Viru- pāksha I appears to have crowned himself immediately after the death of his father, but his rule came to an end after one year. He was probably overthrown by Bukka II who proclaimed himself king. He, in his turn, yielded place to Devaraya I, who ascended the throne in A.D. 1406 and ruled for sixteen years until his death in A.D. 1422.
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