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THE KINGDOM OF VIJAYANAGARA
By N. VENKATARAMANAYYA, A.A., Ph.D.
Assistant Editor, District Gazetteer, Andhra.
13. KRISHNADEVARAYA (A.D. 1509-1529)
On the death of Vira Narasimha, his half-brother Krishnadeva- rāya ascended the Diamond Throne. His coronation was celebrated, in all probability, on the Śri-Jayanti day of Saka 1432, correspond- ing to August 8, 1509. Krishnadevaraya did not succeed to a peace- ful kingdom. Though Vira Narasimha is said to have destroyed all the rebellious chiefs and confiscated their estates, some of the Pālaigārs were still at large, and the authority of the central govern- ment was by no means effective. Moreover, the Gajapati was still in possession of the eastern districts of the empire; and though the Bahmani kingdom had ceased virtually to exist, the Muslim pressure on the northern frontier had lost none of its old vigour. Yusuf 'Adil Khän, the founder of the 'Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur, had been persistently attempting to extend the boundary of his kingdom at the expense of the Raya.
(i) Expedition against the Bahmanī kingdom.
At the very outset of his reign, Krishnadeva was involved in war
with his neighbours in the north and the north-east. The Bahmani Sultān, Mahmud
Shāh, in pursuance of the compact of Bidar, and probably at the instance of
Yusuf 'Adil Khăn, declared a jihad on the infidels of Vijayanagara towards the
end of A.D. 1509;21 and he was joined by all the chiefs and nobles who
nominally acknowledged his supremacy.
The Bahmani Sultan marched from his capital at the head of a vast
army accompanied by Malik Ahmad Bahri, Nūrī Khān, Khvāja Jahan, 'Adil Khan,
Qutb-ul-Mulk, 'Imäd-ul-Mulk, Dastür-i-Mamālik, Mirza Lutfullah and other nobles
of lesser importance. When the Muslim army arrived at Dony on the Vijayanagara
frontier, their progress was checked by the Vijayanagara forces. A fierce
engagement took place in which the Bahmanī forces suffered a crushing defeat.
The Sultan himself was wounded and his nobles and captains, unable to face the
victorious enemy, beat a hasty retreat towards Kovelakonda. Krishnadevaraya did
not, however, give up the fight; he pursued the retreating Bahmani army and
forced it to fight another battle in the environs of Kovelakonda, which
resulted once again in a victory to Vijayanagara. The battle of Kovelakoṇḍa,
was more disastrous in its consequences than Dony to the Bahmanī kingdom. Yusuf
‘Adil Khan who, since the declaration of virtual independence, had been
fomenting trouble for Vijayanagara, was killed in the fight, and the infant
state of Bijapur was thrown into confusion and disorder.
Taking advantage of the anarchic conditions prevailing in Bijā-
pur, Krishnadevaraya invaded the Krishna-Tungabhadra-doāb and captured Raichur
(A.D. 1512). He then advanced on Gulbarga, and captured the fort after a short
seige, having inflicted a severe defeat on Barīd-i-Mamālik and his allies, who
were holding the place. He next set out for Bidar in pursuit of Barid, and,
having de- feated him once again in battle, captured the fort. Krishnaraya then
restored Sultan Mahmud Shah to power, and assumed, in com- memoration of the
act, the title of Yavana-rajya-sthapan-acharya, This was not a whimsical step.
Krishnaräya was not only a great general but a skilful politician. He set the
Sultan at liberty and restored him to power, because he wanted to weaken his
Muslim neighbours by throwing an apple of discord in their midst. He knew that
so long as the shadow of the Bahmani monarchy persisted, there would be no
peace among the Muslim rulers of the Deccan.
(ii) Subjugation of Ummattur
Krishnadevaraya next set out on an expedition against the Pälaigar
of Ummattur, who defied his predecessor and was ruling the upper Kāverī valley
as an independent prince. The strength of the Pälaigar lay in his possession of
the forts of Seringapatam and Śivansamudram, which, situated on islands between
two branches of the Kaveri, were considered impregnable. Gangaraja, then ruling
the principality, anticipated trouble, transferred his headquarters to
Sivansamudram, and strengthened it further by col- lecting forces and stocking
it with ammunition.
Krishnaraya's campaign against Ummattur lasted for nearly two
years. He first laid siege to the fort of Seringapatam and destroyed it; next
he proceeded against Sivansamudram and invest- ed it for more than one year.
Unable to withstand the siege longer, Gangaraja abandoned the fort and, while
fleeing to a place of safety, was drowned in the Käveri. Krishnaraya then
captured Sivan samudram and dismantled its fortifications. He subdued the
terri- tory under the sway of the rebel chief and constituted it into a new
province with Seringapatam as its headquarters, and having made the necessary
arrangement to carry on the administration returned in triumph to his capital.
(iii) War with Orissa
Krishṇarāya now felt strong enough to declare war upon the
Gajapati who had conquered two provinces of Vijayanagara, namely, Udayagiri and
Kondaviḍu, which Krishnaraya's predecessors failed to recover. Krishṇarāya's
war against Orissa falls into five definite stages.
(a) The war opened with an attack upon the fort of Udayagiri in
the month of January, 1513. Pratäparudra sent a large army to relieve it, but
Krishṇarāya inflicted a severe defeat on the Oriyas and pursued them as far as
Kondaviḍu. He now tried to capture the fort of Udayagiri by escalade, but
failed on account of its in- accessibility. It could only be reached by a
narrow road which allowed only one man to pass at
time. As rocks and boulders pre- vented large bodies of men from
approaching the fort, Krishṇarāya cut the rocky hills and broke down many
boulders so that the narrow road, which had hitherto been the only means of
approach, was greatly widened to enable his men to reach the fort. As a
consequence of these operations, the Vijayanagara forces surrounded the fort
and erected a wall of circumvallation around it. The Oriyas could hold out no
longer and surrendered the fort which was lost to them for ever.
(b) After the fall of Udayagiri, Krishṇarāya returned to
Vijayanagara, while the army marched into the Kondaviḍu province, burning the
villages and pillaging the country-side. The Oriya garrisons stationed in
various places abandoned their posts and fled in panic to Kondavidu. The forts
of Kandukur, Addanki, Vinukonda, Bellamkonda, Nägarjunakonda, Tangeda and Keta-
varam fell rapidly one after another into the hands of the Raya. Having
completed the subjugation of the forts and the territories dependent upon them,
the Vijayanagara army pro- ceeded at last against Kondavīdu and laid siege to
it. Kondaviḍu was a strong fortress with lofty battlements perched on the top
of a hill. Owing to the natural strength of the fort, and the concen- tration
of Oriya noblemen and their troops in it, Saluva Timma, the Vijayanagara
general, could not reduce it to subjection, even after three months. It was at
this stage that Krishnadevaraya arrived at the place. The siege operations were
pushed on vigorously. The fort was surrounded, and egress and ingress were com
pletely blocked. Krishṇaraya ordered several naḍa-chapparams i.e. wooden
platforms to be constructed, and when they were ready, he caused his soldiers
to be mounted on them so that they might stand on a level with the defenders
and fight with them. Krishṇarāya's forces demolished the walls of the fort in
some places, and ulti- mately captured it by escalade. A large number of Oriya
noblemen, including Prince Virabhadra, the son and heir of the Gajapati, and
one of his queens, were captured and carried away as prisoners of war to
Vijayanagara. The fall of Kondavidu was followed by the conquest of the coastal
region up to the Krishna.
(c) The army advanced to Bezwada on the Krishna and laid siege to
the fort. Krishṇarāya having joined the army once again, the pressure on the
fort increased, and, unable to hold out, the defenders delivered the keys into
the hands of the Raya. He next proceeded against Kondapalli situated on the
north bank of the river at a distance of about ten miles to the north-west of
Bezwada. While Krishṇarāya was engaged with siege operations, the Gajapali
Prataparudra advanced against him with a large army with the object of
attacking him in the rear while the garrison of the fort would engage him in
the front. Krishnaraya left a part of his forces around the fort and, with the
bulk of the army, marched against the Gajapati. While Krishnaraya was
attempting to cross a small river in the neighbourhood, the Gajapati attacked
him but, in the engagement that ensued, he sustained severe defeat and sought
safety in flight. Krishṇaraya then returned to his camp under the walls of
Kondapalli, and captured it after a siege lasting for two months.22
(d) The capture of Bezwada and Kondapalli was a prelude to the
conquest of Telingana and Vengi, both of which now formed part of the kingdom
of the Gajapati. The Velama chiefs dominated Telingana in the 14th and 15th
centuries, but a certain Shitäb Khän (i.e. Sitäpati) of Bhogikula, who had
recently conquered it from the Muslims, probably with the help of the Gajapati,
was ruling over the region. Instead of marching along the coast towards
Rajahmundry, Krishṇaraya turned westwards and reduced at first all the forts in
the Nalgonda and Warangal districts. Reaching the Godavari he turned towards
the east and marched along the banks of the river towards Rajahmundry. The Gajapati
made one more attempt to check the progress of the invader. The Vijayanagara
army had to pass through defiles in the hills. Shitäb Khan, at the instance of
the Gajapati, occupied the passes with 60,000 archers, and attacked the
invaders fiercely. Krishnaraya commanded his cavalry to climb the hills on both
the sides and attack Shitab Khan's men from behind.
This manoeuvre produced the desired result. Un- able to resist
this unexpected attack, Shitab Khan's men fled in con- fusion, pursued by
Vijayanagara forces, until they took refuge in a neighbouring fort. Krishṇarāya
left 30,000 infantry to guard the passes and marched forward with his remaining
forces. He reached Rajahmundry which he captured without difficulty. Then he
reduced the whole of Vengi to subjection, and having established his autho-
rity in all the cities of the land, he proceeded towards Simhachalam,
devastating the country all along the route. He set up a pillar of victory at
Potnur, offered worship to God Simhadrinātha, and leaving behind his army
there, returned to Vijayanagara. 23
(e) Notwithstanding the series of defeats suffered by him, and the consequent loss of territory, the Gajapati was not inclined to come to terms. Krishnaraya therefore resolved to conquer Cuttack, the Gajapati's capital, and his army advanced to the city.2 According to the Rāyavāchakam, which gives a fairly detailed account of the expedition, the Gajapati was induced by a wicked stratagem to sue for peace. According to Nuniz, what induced the Gajapati to ask for peace was the suicide of his son and heir Virabhadra who was in captivity at Vijayanagara. However that may be, a treaty of peace was at last concluded in A.D. 1518, according to the terms of which, the Gajapati gave his daughter in marriage to Krishna- devaraya, and obtained from him in return all the territory north of the Krishna conquered by him during the war. Thus ended one of the most brilliant episodes in the military history of India in the 16th century.
(iv) War with Quli Qutb Shah of Golkonda.
The defeat and discomfiture of the Gajapati brought into
prominence a new enemy, the Qutb Shahi ruler of Telingana. Qulī Qutb Shah was
no friend of the Hindus of Karnataka; he was am- bitious and was desirous of
making himself the master of Telugu country. While Krishṇaraya was busy with
his Orissa war, he at- tacked some of the forts, specially Pangal and Guntur in
the Vijaya- nagara frontier, and conquered them. After his defeat at the hands
of Krishṇarāya, the Gajapati lost his power and prestige, and Quli Qutb Shah
took advantage of it to wrest from Shitab Khan, men- tioned above, Warangal,
Kambhammet and other forts in his pos- session. Next he invaded the coastal
region, took possession of Kondapalli, Ellore and Rajahmundry and compelled the
Gajapati to code to him the whole of the territory between the mouths of the
Krishnä and Godavari. After this conquest he could not resist the temptation of
making inroads into the Vijayanagara territory. Taking advantage of the
departure of Krishnaraya to Chatuir in order to subdue the chief who was in
revolt for fifty years, Quli Qutb Shah marched at the head of an army to
Kondavidu and laid siege to the fort. Säluva Timma, whom Krishṇarāya had
appointed the governor of the place, was absent at Vijayanagara, and Nädindla
Gopa, his nephew, who was in charge of the place, was not able to repel the
enemy. As soon as Krishnaraya returned to his capital, he despatched Saluva
Timma, with 200,000 men to Kondavidu to drive away the invader. On his arrival
at Kondavidu, Saluva Tim- ma defeated the Qutb Shāhī army and took the
commander, Madar- ul-Mulk, and his officers prisoners and sent them to
Vijayanagara. He remained in the province for some time, making arrangements
for its defence and administration, and then returned to the capital.24
(v) War with Bijapur
It has been mentioned above, that Krishnadevaraya captured the
fort of Raichur from Ismail 'Adil Khan in A.D. 1512 during his minority when
Kamal Khan was the regent of the kingdom. Isma'il did not, however, reconcile
himself to the loss of the fort and, together with it, the mastery over the
Krishna-Tungabhadra- doab. Therefore, when he came to power after the overthrow
of Kamal Khän, he took advantage of Krishnadevaraya's preoccupation with the
Orissan and other wars on the east coast, and invaded the doab and captured
Raichur.25 In A.D. 1520, as soon as Sāluva Timma returned to the capital from
Kondavidu, he set out at the head of a large army, and laid siege to Raichur.
Isma'il ‘Adil Khān hastened towards the doäb with all his forces, crossed the
Krishna, and established himself in an entrenched camp near the village of
Gobbur. A fierce engagement took place in which the Bijäpuris sustained a
crushing defeat; large numbers were massacred and many were drowned in the
river while attempting to escape. Isma'il 'Adil Khan fled precipitately from
the field, abandoning his camp and war equipment to be plundered by the
victorious Vijayanagara forces.
The defeat and flight of 'Adil Khan from the battlefield did not
end the war. The Bijapur garrison, defending the fort of Raichur, did not
surrender, but held out obstinately, protected by the strong fortifications of
the city. Krishnaraya, however, persisted; and with the help of a band of
Portuguese musketeers in his service, he succeeded in making a breach in the
outer fortifications. There was dismay in the city and people rushed into the
citadel for refuge. The commandant of the fort, who came out to pacify the
people, was shot dead while inspecting the breach caused by the enemy; and on
the death of their leader the garrison submitted and surrendered the fortress.
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