sri krishna deva raya

8/11/2019 Sri Krishna Deva Raya

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/sri-krishna-deva-raya 1/13

E-book: For free circulation

Sri Krishnadevaraya

By

Tamarapu Sampath Kumaran



Preface:

The 500th anniversary of the coronation of Sri Krishnadevaraya , who ruled theVijayana ara empire, will !e cele!rated in a rand manner with all the pomp and

randeur at Hampi in Bellary district and the world"famous Hampi , the capital

city of the Vijayanagara Empire , will !e ifted with a theme par# to depict the past lory of the #in dom !y the state overnment to mar# the event$

% &5"ft tall !ron'e statue of Sri Krishnadevaraya, the erstwhile emperor of Vijayana ar who is considered on par with %sho#a Samudra (upta and )arshaVardhana, is !ein planned as part of the theme par#$

To commemorate this event an e"!oo# on the life of Sri Krishnadevaraya is presented$

*uch information a!out Krishna +eva aya is o!tained from inscriptions andfrom the accounts of forei n travelers$ The notin of the Portu uese -hroniclerDomingo Paes , and Fernao Nuniz is !ein viewed !y historians as authentic onthe life of Sri Kruishnadevaraya, is !ein referred to for this !oo#$

Paes praises Krishna +eva aya as, . the most feared and perfect King, a greatruler and a man of much justice /$ Paes could not estimate the si'e of Vijayna aras his view was o!scured !y the hills !ut estimated the city to !e at least as lar eas ome$ urthermore, he considered Vijayna ar to !e 1 the best provided city inthe world 1 with a population of not less than a half a million$

Tamarapu Sampath Kumaran

Ackno le!gement:eferences ta#en from the wor#s of Prof$ K$%$ 2ila#anta Sastry, +r$ 2$

Venta#aramanayya, Prof$ B$ Surya 2arayana ao, +r$ +esai, +r$)enry )eras,Prof$ +r$B$%$ Saletore, -arla * Sinapoli of 3niversity of *ichi an, and"ourtes#: (oo le$



About the Author:

*r T Sampath Kumaran is a freelance writer$ )e re ularly contri!utes articles on*ana ement, Business, %ncient Temples and Temple %rchitecture to many leadin+ailies and *a a'ines$

)avin wor#ed in the 4ndian -ouncil for -ultural elations at -hennai, and !ein oneamon the first !atch of Tourist (uides trained !y the (overnment of 4ndia Tourist

ffice, -hennai, he had ood e6posure of handlin V4P uests from a!road as wellforei n and 4ndian Tourist roups$ )e is well versed of the archaeolo ical and )istorical places of tourist interest in Southern 4ndia$

)e was associated in the production of two +ocumentary films on 2ava TirupathiTemples and Tiru##urun udi Temple in Tirunelveli distrct of Tamilnadu$

)is !oo#s .The Path of amanuja/, .(uide to 708 +ivya +esams/, .(uide to &95 SivaSthalams, ., .(uide to Kanchipuram/, and .Vision of (uru a havendra/ have !eenwell received in the reli ious circles$ )is e"!oo#s on varied su!jects are posted in.scri!d$com$/



KrishnadevarayaSri Krishna +eva aya, who ruled !etween 750 "75& %$+$ was the most famous#in of Vijayana ara ;mpire, and was re arded as a hero !y Kannadi as andTelu u peopleKrishna +eva aya was the son of 2a ala +evi and Tuluva 2arasa 2aya#a, anarmy commander under Saluva 2arasimha +eva aya, who later too# control ofthe empire to prevent its disinte ration$

The #in had a cheerful disposition, !ut was prone to fits of an er and wasruthless in maintainin the law$ )e maintained himself to a hi h level of physicalfitness throu h daily e6ercises$ Travelo ues indicate that the #in was not only ana!le administrator, !ut also an e6cellent (eneral, leadin from the front in !attleand even attendin to the wounded$ )e was reputed to !e respectful to orei n

Visitors,

The a!le Prime *inister Timmarasu, who was re arded !y the #in as a fatherfi ure, was responsi!le for the coronation of Krishna +eva aya$ %fter a &7"year

lorious rule from 750 "75& %+, Krishnadevaraya left !ehind a rich le acy ofartifacts, treasury troves, temples, palaces, e6<uisite monuments and the royal citythat was declared in 7 8= a world heritage site !y the 3nited 2ations;ducational, Scientific and -ultural r anisation > UNES !" ?$



Vijayanagar in Sans#rit means city of victory $Paes could estimate the si'e ofVijayna ar as lar e as ome, and he considered Vijayna ar to !e 1the !est

provided city in the world1 with a population of around half a million$

The ;m!lem of Krishnadevaraya was desi ned with . Varaha / @ the !oar an #vatara of Vishnu$

Krishnadeva aya was well"versed in %aja Neeti and followed the a e old

traditional teachin s of reat historians such as &anu, Kautilya, Su'ra, Vidura, and (hishma $

Vijayana ar ;mpire em!raced in its ample fold all of the present states ofKarnata#a, %ndhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu and Kerala and even e6tended



into the 3t#al re ion of rissa$

The official lan ua es of the court were Kannada and )elugu $

Krishnadeva aya divided the entire ;mpire into several administrative divisions$Ahile %ayala Seema " Bellary and Karnool re ions " was loo#ed after !y the;mperor himself, other major parts of the empire were under many eudal ords$as has !een the practice introduced !y Tuluva Kin s$ The feudatories !uilt fortsaround their capitals$ Temples were !uilt and #nowled ea!le Brahmins weremade in char e of these temples$

The empire had a -entral (overnment, uided !y a roup of *inisters, headed !ySaluva Thimmarasu$ The Kin paid considera!le attention to civil administration$The e6ecutive authority was entrusted with the local or the communal institutions$The Kin and his ministers were supervisin them$

The Kin maintained a lar e and powerful army consistin of elephant corps,cavalry and infantry$ The 2aya#s of the military were assi ned certain areas foradministration and collection of ta6es$



There were rou hly a!out two hundred of such 2aya#as$ There were re ularmilitary schools to train youn and new recruits$ *aintenance of forts was alsothe duty of the 2aya#as$ Vijayana ara city itself was well fortified with sevenrounds of ramparts, with circuitous approaches to protect them from stran ers$%rmy also maintained a roup of musicians li#e trumpeters and drummers$ There

was social harmony in the army and even the low caste men were promoted tothat of a 2aya#a$ Keladi Sadashiva Naya'a was one such person$ The ;mpire hada navy with several ports under its command, includin some in -eylon @ Sri

an#a$

Paes sarcastically summarises the #in Cs attitude to matters of law and order !y<uotin that 1 )he 'ing maintains the law by 'illing $1 ffences a ainst propertyand theft ran ed from cuttin of a foot and hand and !eheadin for murder$ Aiththe active cooperation of Saluva Thimmarasu he administered the Kin dom well,maintained peace in the land and increased the prosperity of the people$

)e was of the opinion that the Kin should always rule with an eye towards *harma $ )is concern for the welfare of the people is amply proved !y hise6tensive tours throu hout the empire, durin which he studied everythin

personally and tried to redress the rievances of the people and to punish the evildoers$

The Portu uese -hronicler Domingo Paes praises Krishna +eva aya as, . themost feared and perfect King, a great ruler and a man of much justice /$ Thou h afollower of Vaishnavism , he respected all sects$

)e esta!lished friendly relations with the +ortugese , who set up the Portu uese

+ominion of 4ndia in oa , in 7570$ The ;mperor o!tained uns and %ra!ianhorses from the Portu uese merchants$ )e also utili'ed Portu uese e6pertise inimprovin water supply to Vijayana ara -ity$



*adurai came under the control of the Vijayana ar #in dom in the 75th and 7=thcenturies$ 2aya#s of 2aya# +ynasty were rulers, from 755 until 79D=, of there ion comprisin most of the present Tamilnadu, with *adurai as the -apital$Viswanatha 2aya#a who won the confidence of Vijayana ar emperor was made

the ruler of *adurai territory$ +urin this time the *eena#shi Temple was reatlye6panded and some of the temple towers the aja (opurams and Teppa##ulamtan# were constructed$

Krishna +eva aya was formally initiated into the Vaishnava Sampradaya !yVyasatirtha of 3dipi and other Vedanta scholars of that time$

%ll the reat rulers of the southern peninsula have paid homa e to ord SriVen#ateswara in this ancient shrine at Tirupati$ The Pallavas of Kancheepuram,the -holas of Thanjavur, the Pandyas of *adurai, and the #in s and chieftains ofVijayana ar were devotees of the ord and they competed with one another inendowin the temple with rich offerin s and contri!utions$ Krishna +eva aya

respected all sects of )induism and he lavished on the Tirumala Ven#ateswaraTemple numerous o!jects of priceless value, ran in from diamond studdedcrowns to olden swords$

)is devotion was at its pea# when he issued D0,000 Especial editionC old coins,with which he had performed EKana#a!hishe#amC to the presidin deity at



Tirumala, as a than#s ivin on capturin the 3daya iri ort, now in 2elloredistrict, after defeatin Prataparudra (ajapathi of Kalin a dynasty$

%dditionally, he is #nown to have commissioned the ma#in of statues of himselfand his two wives and consorts installed at the portals of the temple$

4t was durin the rule of the Vijayana ar dynasty that the contri!utions to thetemple increased$ The characteristic feature of this period is the development ofthe temple comple6: concentric series of rectan ular enclosure walls with the

opuras >towered ateways? in the middle of each side$ f the numerousvijayana ara comple6es in southern 4ndia, the most ma nificent ones are those atKancheepuram, Tiruvannamalai and Vellore$

)e not only mar#ed the clima6 in the territorial e6pansion of the Vijayana ara;mpire !ut was also remar#a!le for the encoura ement and development of %rtsand etters$ )imself an accomplished scholar, aya was a enerous patron oflearnin $ . He was in no way less famous F, writes Krishna Sastri , E for hisreligious -eal and catholocity. $ )e respected all sects of )indu reli ion ali#e,thou h his personal leanin s were in favour of VaishnavismG

The rule of Krishna +eva aya was an a e of prolific literature in manylan ua es, althou h it is also #nown as a olden a e of Telu u literature$ *anyTelu u, Sans#rit, Kannada and Tamil poets enjoyed the patrona e of the emperor$;mperor Krishna +eva aya was fluent in many lan ua es includin his mother

ton ue/Tulu/$ )e patronised poets and scholars in Kannada, Telu u, Tamil andSans#rit$

The rule of Krishna +eva aya was an a e of prolific literature in manylan ua es, althou h it is also #nown as a olden a e of Telu u literature$ *anyTelu u, Sans#rit, Kannada and Tamil poets enjoyed the patrona e of the ;mperor$Sri Krishna +eva aya wrote the !oo# #mu'tamalyada in Telu u, !eautifullydescri!in the pan s of separation suffered !y Sri #ndal >incarnation of (oddess

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amuktamalyada&action=edit&redlink=1

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Amuktamalyada&action=edit&redlink=1



Sri *ahala#shmi? for her lover ord Vishnu$ )e descri!es %ndalFs physical !eauty in thirty versesH usin descriptions of the sprin and the monsoon asmetaphors, and the sensual pleasure of union e6tends !eyond the physical leveland !ecomes a path to, and a metaphor for, spirituality and ultimate union withthe divine$

ne of the main characters is Periyalvar , the father of %ndal$ ord Vishnucommands Periyalwar to teach a #in of the Pandya dynasty the path of#nowled e to mo'sha $ %mu#tamalyada is also #nown !y the name Vishnu/chitteeyam, a reference to Vishnu/chittudu , the Telu u name of Vishnuchittar>Periyalwar?$ Several other short stories are included in %mu#tamalyada in thecourse of the main story of odadevi , the Sans#rit name of Kothai Naachiyaar >%ndal?$ Krishna aya was also well"versed in Sans#rit, Tamil and Kannada$

0ambavati Kalyanamu is his Sans#rit wor#$ )e strove for the welfare and theupliftin of Telu u people$

;i ht poets #nown as #sta'avidiggajalu >ei ht elephants in the ei ht cardinal points such as 2orth, South etc$? were part of his court #nown as (huvana/vijayamu $ %ccordin to the Vaishnavite reli ion it is !elieved that there are ei htelephants in ei ht corners in space which hold the earth in its place$ Similarlythese ei ht poets were the ei ht pillars of his literary assem!ly$ Krishna +eva

ayaFs rei n was the olden a e of Telu u literature $ These include %llasaniPeddana, 2andi Timmanna, *adavya iri *allanna, +hurjati, %yyalaraju

ama!hadrudu, Pin ali Suranna and Tenali ama#rishna$ %mon these ei ht poets %llasani Peddana is considered to !e the reatest and is iven the title of #ndhra Kavita +itamaha >the father of Telu u poetry?$ &anu/charitramu is his popular Pra!handa wor#$ 2andi Timmana wrote +ari/jata/apaharan/amu $

*adayya" ari *allana wrote %aja/se'hara haritramu$ +hurjati wrote Kalahasti &ahatyamu and %yyal"raju ama"!hadrudu wrote %ama/abhyuday/amu$ Pin aliSurana wrote the still remar#a!le %aghava/pandaveey/amu, a dual wor# withdou!le meanin !uilt into the te6t, descri!in !oth the amayana and the*aha!harata $ Battumurty alias ama"raja"!hushanudu wrote Kavya/lan'ara/

sangrahamu, Vasu/charitramu, and Haris/chandrana/lopa'hyanamu$ %monthese wor#s the last one is a dual wor# which tells simultaneously the story ofKin )arischandra and 2ala +amayanthi$ Tenali ama#rishna first wroteUdbhataradhya haritramu, a Saivite wor# and later wrote Vaishnava devotionalte6ts +andu/ranga &ahatmyamu, and hati/'achala &ahatmyamu$ The period of the ;mpire is #nown as .Pra!andha Period,/ !ecause of the <uality of the

pra!andha literature produced durin this time$ Tenali ama remains one of themost popular fol# fi ures in 4ndia today, a <uic#"witted courtier ready even tooutwit the all"powerful ;mperor$ Tenali ama Krishna was also the court jester of whom there are innumera!le stories for the children$

)e patronised Kannada poets *allanarya who wrote Veera/saivamrita , (hava/chinta/ratna and Satyendra hola/'athe , -hatu Vittal"anatha who wrote (haga/vatha , Timmanna Kavi who wrote a eulo y of his #in in Krishna %aya

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periyalvar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandya

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moksha

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telugu_literature

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramayana

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharata

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenali_Ramakrishna

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periyalvar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandya

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moksha

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telugu_literature

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramayana

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharata

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenali_Ramakrishna



(harata $Vyasatheertha, the reat saint from *ysore !elon in to the *adhwaorder$ Krishna *eva %ayana *inachari in Kannada, a recently discoveredhi hli hts the contemporary society durin Krishna +eva ayaCs time in his

personal diary$

Krishna +eva aya patronised Tamil poet )aridasa$

4n Sans#rit Krishna +eva aya himself an accomplished scholar wrote &adalasaharita , Satyavadu +arinaya and %asamanjari and 0ambavati Kalyana$

The rei n of Krishnadevaraya was also remar#a!le for the encoura ement anddevelopment of arts and letters$ )e constructed the famous Vittalaswami and)a'ara amaswamy temples$ % opuram was added to the Virupa#sha temple onthe occasion of his coronation$ )e restored many shrines throu hout South 4ndia$

% num!er of towns, dams and pu!lic !uildin s were also constructed$ *any

festivals and ceremonies were held durin the period of Krishnadevaraya$ %fterKrishna +eva aya, the reat, Vijayana ara ;mpire started declinin and almostended followin the !attle of )ali'ot$

I 4n 75&J he made his son Tirumalai aya the 1uvaraja thou h the crown princedid not survive for lon $ )e was poisoned to death$ Suspectin the involvement of saluva Timmarasa, Krishna +eva aya had his trusted commander and adviser

!linded$ %t the same time, Krishnadevaraya was preparin for an attac# onBel aum that was in the %dil ShahFs possessionH Krishnadevaraya too# seriouslyill$ )e died soon after in 75& $ Before his death, he nominated his !rother,%chyuta +eva aya as his successor$

The rule of Krishnadevaraya was a lorious chapter in the history of Vijayana ara;mpire$;ven the ruins at )ampi tell the lorious tale of that mi hty empire$



2o sin le *uslim #indom was capa!le to face the mi ht of the Vijayana ar;mpire$ )ence all the five *uslim #in doms " )ena ar, Barer, Bidar,Bijapur(olconda and even the sufis of Bijapur ot to ether under a E ihadF and attac#edVijayana ar, durin 75=5$ The attac# was !rief and concentrated: The aftermathwas the pilla e of Vijayana ar, and the ma nificence of Vijayna ar ended

sri krishna deva raya

Documents