Vijayanagara Empire

The Vijayanagara empire was the great Hindu state of South India from the fourteenth century to the seventeenth.¹² It was named after its capital, the “City of Victory” on the south bank of the Tungabhadra.¹² The ruins of the city lie around the village of Hampi.¹² The empire was founded about 1336 by two brothers, Harihara and Bukka.¹²

Four families ruled it in turn:³⁴⁵

• the Sangama dynasty of the founders
• the Saluva and Tuluva dynasties, both founded by generals who took the throne
• the Aravidu dynasty, which ruled from Penukonda and Chandragiri after the capital was sacked in 1565³⁴⁵

For the Telugu country the empire matters in four ways:⁶⁷⁸

• Its kings held the western Telugu districts, now Rayalaseema, and the Nellore country from the fourteenth century.⁶⁷⁸
• They fought the Reddis, the Velamas, the Bahmanis and the Gajapatis of Orissa for the coast.⁶⁷⁸
• Under Krishnadeva Raya they took the forts of the Krishna and Guntur country and marched to Simhachalam.⁶⁷⁸
• Their court was one of the great homes of Telugu poetry.⁶⁷⁸

This page tells the empire’s story as it bears on the Telugu country, and summarises the rest.⁶⁷⁸ The neighbours have their own pages: the Reddis of Kondavidu and Rajahmundry, the Recherla Velamas, the Bahmanis, the Gajapatis of Orissa and the Qutb Shahis of Golconda.

The sources

Robert Sewell first put the history together in 1900.⁹¹⁰¹¹ He worked from Hindu inscriptions, the Muslim histories, the Portuguese writers and two Portuguese chronicles found in Paris.⁹¹⁰¹¹ He translated these two chronicles and printed them at the end of his book.⁹¹⁰¹¹ One is the narrative of Domingos Paes, who saw Krishnadeva Raya about 1520.⁹¹⁰¹¹ The other is the chronicle of Fernao Nuniz, a horse-trader at the capital, written about 1536 or 1537 in the reign of Achyuta Raya.⁹¹⁰¹¹

Sewell admitted that the result might “seem disjointed, crude, and uninteresting”, and called it “only a first attempt”.⁹ In 1919 S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar published Sources of Vijayanagar History.¹²¹³ It gives extracts from Sanskrit and Telugu books, many from manuscripts, each with an English summary.¹²¹³ His student A. Rangaswami Sarasvati gathered them.¹²¹³ He wrote that Sewell’s book “suffered from the neglect of the evidence available in various forms in literature”.¹²¹³

The Persian historian Ferishta, who wrote about 1607, gives the side of the sultans.¹⁴ Sewell trusted Nuniz more on the Hindu kings.¹⁴ Nuniz wrote at the capital itself, from Hindu informants, within living memory of the events.¹⁴ This page follows these sources, and names the source of each disputed point.

Origins: Telugu or Kannada?

How the brothers came to power is one of the oldest arguments in South Indian history. Nuniz tells how Muhammad Tughluq took the fortress of Anegundi on the north bank of the Tungabhadra and killed its chief.¹⁵¹⁶ Later the Sultan restored the country to the Hindus under the chief’s former minister, “Deorao”, whom Sewell identified with Harihara I.¹⁵¹⁶ With the help of the sage Madhavacharya Vidyaranya, the new chief founded the city on the south bank.¹⁵¹⁶

Ibn Batuta describes the same war.¹⁷¹⁸ The Rai of “Kampila” sheltered the Sultan’s rebel nephew, burned his women and died fighting.¹⁷¹⁸ The Sultan made the Rai’s eleven captured sons Muslims.¹⁷¹⁸

Sewell also reported traditions that the brothers had served the king of Warangal:^19202122

• One tradition makes them officers who fled when the Muslims destroyed Warangal in 1323.^19202122
• A Sanskrit book shown to Francis Buchanan in 1801 calls them guards of the treasury of Pratapa Rudra.^19202122
• Couto made the founder a shepherd.^19202122
• Nikitin, in India in 1474, spoke of “the Hindoo Sultan Kadam”.^19202122 Sewell took this to mean that Nikitin thought them members of the old royal house of the Kadambas of Banavasi.²¹²²

Sewell’s own reconstruction made them two Kuruba brothers from the treasury of Warangal, who took service at Anegundi.²²

N. Venkataramanayya put the case for a Telugu origin most strongly, in 1929.²³ He rejected the view that the brothers had been Hoysala officers.²³ He said that no inscription calls them dependants of Vira Ballala III.²³

He relied on the contemporary historian Barani.²⁴ Barani wrote that the man Muhammad Tughluq sent to govern Kampili was “one of the relations of Kanya Nayak”, the king of Warangal.²⁴ From this Venkataramanayya concluded that Harihara and Bukka “were persons of Telugu extraction, probably related to the Kakatiya royal family of Warrangal”.²⁴

In a note he added three points:²⁴

• The only poet in a spoken language that Bukka is known to have patronised, Nachana Soma, was a Telugu poet.²⁴
• Families of Telugu gowdas (village headmen) had settled in the Kannada country.²⁴
• Bukka’s daughter-in-law Ganga Devi named Telugu poets of Warangal, among them Tikkana.²⁴

He followed the Kannada poem Ballala Rayana Yuddha in making the brothers custodians of the treasury of Kampila Raya.²⁴²⁵ He followed the chronicle Raja Kala Nirnaya in having them taken prisoner to Delhi.²⁴²⁵ In this account they were sent back to rule as the Sultan’s deputies, perhaps after accepting Islam.²⁴²⁵

H. Heras made the opposite case, also in 1929.²⁶²⁷ He traced the Telugu theory back to Buchanan and to Mark Wilks.²⁶²⁷ Wilks had written that “in the centre of Canara, a Telinga court was supported by a Telinga army”.²⁶²⁷ Heras suspected that the theory had been made up to explain the Telugu language of the later, Aravidu, kings, “who certainly were of Telugu descent”.²⁶²⁷

There is one early grant in Telugu script, the Bitragunta plates of Bukka’s nephew Sangama II.²⁸²⁹ Heras explained it by the fact that it was made for the Telugu country.²⁸²⁹ He quoted T. A. Gopinatha Rao’s verdict that the Raja Kala Nirnaya “is not of any historical value”.²⁸²⁹ In his view the Hoysala king Vira Ballala III enthroned Harihara I at Vijayanagara as his mahamandalesvara (great lord) on the northern frontier.³⁰

Heras pointed to Bukka’s inscriptions, which boast that “the Andhras ran into caves in the direction of Udayagiri”.³¹³² He also pointed to a further war of Harihara II’s general against the Andhras.³¹³² He argued that the Telugu country rebelled three times against the first kings.³¹³² That, he wrote, is “a thing which can hardly be believed if the family of Sangama is supposed to be a Telugu family”.³¹³²

S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar likewise saw the five brothers as Hoysala wardens.³³⁶ In his words they held “this impenetrable wall of garrisons” against the Bahmanis.³³⁶ B. Suryanarain Row, writing in 1905, had thought the founders perhaps fugitives from the court of Pratapa Rudra.³⁴³⁵ But he found it “difficult to say” whether they came from Warangal or Dvarasamudra.³⁴³⁵

The Sangama kings and the Telugu country

The earliest dated inscription of Harihara I, of 1340, calls him only a mahamandalesvara, “great lord”.³⁶³⁷ The first king to take imperial titles was his nephew Harihara II.³⁶³⁷ According to S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, the second brother, Kampa, held Nellore and Udayagiri.⁶ The third, Bukka, held Hampi and Dvarasamudra, with Penukonda as a second seat.⁶

A copper-plate grant of 1356 kept at Nellore records a gift by Kampa’s son Sangama II.³⁸³⁹ It says that Kampa had succeeded Harihara.³⁸³⁹ Sewell took it as evidence that Bukka’s succession was disputed.³⁸³⁹

Sayana’s grammar, the Madhaviya Dhatuvritti, is dedicated to the same Sangama.⁴⁰ Krishnaswami Aiyangar noted that Sangama’s father had been “viceroy of Udayagiri Maharajya”.⁴⁰ So Udayagiri in the Nellore country was the base of Vijayanagara in the eastern Telugu country from its first years.⁴⁰ See Udayagiri and Nellore.

Bukka I (1355–1377 in Sewell’s later dating) made the kingdom an empire.⁴¹⁴² His son Kumara Kampana destroyed the Muslim sultanate of Madura.⁴¹⁴² The Bahmani sultan Muhammad Shah fought Bukka in the Raichur doab.⁴¹⁴² This was the land between the Krishna and the Tungabhadra, which the two powers disputed for two hundred years.⁴¹⁴²

Telugu sources record his rule in the Ceded Districts.⁴³ The annals of Hande Anantapuram say that in 1364 his minister Chikkappa Odeyar built the tank of Bukkarayasamudram, named after the king.⁴³ He also built Anantasagaram, named after the queen.⁴³

On the coast and in Telangana, Bukka’s neighbours were the Reddis of Kondavidu and the Musunuri and Recherla chiefs.⁴⁴⁴² Sewell says that Bukka, “supported by his friend at Warangal”, demanded lands from the Bahmanis.⁴⁴⁴² He says that the two sent a joint embassy to the Sultan of Delhi.⁴⁴⁴² See Bukka I, Harihara I and the Musunuri Nayakas.

Under Harihara II and Deva Raya I the wars with the Bahmanis went on, and the Telugu chiefs took sides.⁴⁵⁴⁶ Firuz Shah was defeated at Pangal in 1419.⁴⁵⁴⁶ Ferishta says that the Vijayanagara king had obtained help “from the surrounding princes, even to the Raja of Telingana”.⁴⁵⁴⁶ But when Ahmad Shah attacked a little later, “the troops of Warangal deserted the Raya and withdrew”.⁴⁵⁴⁶ Ahmad Shah then took Warangal in 1424 or 1425.⁴⁷ See the Recherla Velamas and Firuz Shah.

Vijayanagara’s hold on the southern coast grew under Deva Raya II.⁴⁸⁴⁹ The Telugu poet Vallabharaya, author of the Kridabhiramamu, was his governor of the fort of Vinukonda.⁴⁸⁴⁹ The poet’s ancestors had served Bukka I and Harihara II.⁴⁸⁴⁹ Krishnaswami Aiyangar called this “the first instance of a governorship in this particular frontier”.⁴⁸⁴⁹

Sewell’s list of inscriptions shows Deva Raya II recognised in many parts of the Telugu country:⁵⁰⁵¹

• in the Nellore and Kadapa (then Cuddapah) districts
• in the Godavari district in 1425
• in the Anantapur and Kurnool districts
• at Draksharama and in the Guntur district in 1444⁵⁰⁵¹

The Reddi poet Srinatha visited his capital.⁵² There, the poet said, he was bathed in gold coins in the emperor’s Pearl Hall.⁵²

The Gajapatis and the eastern frontier

From the 1430s the Gajapati kings of Orissa pressed down the coast.⁵³ Krishnaswami Aiyangar wrote that Kapilendra took advantage of the Bahmani wars “to extend his territory gradually along the coast to the Godavari”.⁵³ He “extended his raids as far south as Nellore and Udayagiri”.⁵³

A Sanskrit drama, the Gangadasapratapavilasam, records what happened when Deva Raya II died.⁵⁴⁵⁵ The Bahmani sultan and the Gajapati besieged the capital together, and his son Mallikarjuna beat them off.⁵⁴⁵⁵

The Orissan advance went on.⁵⁶ Krishnaswami Aiyangar wrote that by the time the Saluva chief Narasimha appears in the records, the Gajapati was “already in effective possession of the Nellore district”.⁵⁶ The whole country between Kanchi and Rajahmundry was his.⁵⁶ See the Gajapatis.

The recovery came from the Saluva family, whose home was around Chandragiri in the present Chittoor district.⁵⁵⁵⁷ Its ancestor Saluva Mangu had fought in Kumara Kampana’s southern campaign.⁵⁵⁵⁷ Saluva Narasimha built up his power in the eastern provinces while the court at Vijayanagara weakened.⁵⁵⁵⁷

The Bahmani sultan Muhammad Shah III came to Rajahmundry.⁵⁷⁵⁸ The Burhan-i Ma’asir says that he found beyond the river “the infidel Narasimha Raya with 700,000 cursed infantry”.⁵⁷⁵⁸ They were entrenched behind a wall “like the rampart of Alexander”.⁵⁷⁵⁸ Krishnaswami Aiyangar dated this to 1474–75 in 1919, and to about 1476 in 1928.⁵⁷⁵⁸

Ferishta calls Narasimha “a powerful raja, possessing the country between Carnatic and Telingana, extending along the sea-coast to Matchiliputtum”.⁵⁹ The Bahmani side of these wars is told on the page of Muhammad Shah III.

Saluva Narasimha and the second dynasty

The Sangama line ended in murder and usurpation.⁶⁰ The Vaishnava chronicle Prapannamritam is read with the Srisailam plates of 1465.⁶⁰ According to these, Virupaksha took the throne by setting aside his nephews.⁶⁰ He later massacred those who might claim it.⁶⁰

Nuniz says that the last king of the line, whom he calls Padearao, gave himself up to his women.⁶¹⁶² A captain of Saluva Narasimha found the gates of the capital undefended, and the king fled.⁶¹⁶² In Nuniz’s words, “thenceforward this kingdom of Bisnaga was called the kingdom of Narsymga”.⁶¹⁶²

Sewell’s later work dates the usurpation to between 1485 and 1486, and Narasimha’s reign to 1492 or 1493.³⁴ Krishnaswami Aiyangar wrote that Narasimha recovered most of the revolted provinces.⁵⁸ But he failed to take the Raichur doab, or “to recover Udayagiri, which remained in the possession of the raja of Orissa”.⁵⁸ Nuniz names Raichur, Udayagiri and Kondavidu as the three forts still in revolt at his death.⁶³

Narasimha left two young sons in the charge of his general Narasa Nayaka.⁶³⁶⁴⁵⁸ One son was murdered.⁶³⁶⁴⁵⁸ The other, Immadi Narasimha, was put on the throne, and Narasa ruled in his name.⁶³⁶⁴⁵⁸

The Tuluva family took the throne in 1505.⁴⁶⁵ Sewell held in 1932 that Narasa took it.⁴ Krishnaswami Aiyangar wrote in 1928 that it was his son Vira Narasimha.⁶⁵

Nuniz says that before Vira Narasimha died in 1509, he ordered his minister Saluva Timma to blind his brother Krishnaraya.⁶⁶⁶⁷ He wanted his own young son to succeed.⁶⁶⁶⁷ The minister showed the dying king the eyes of a goat instead, and Krishnaraya became king.⁶⁶⁶⁷ See Saluva Timma.

Krishnadeva Raya and the eastern campaigns

Krishnadeva Raya (1509–1529) is remembered in the Telugu country above all other kings.⁶⁸⁶⁹ Paes, who saw him about 1520, called him “the most feared and perfect king that could possibly be”.⁶⁸⁶⁹

Nuniz says that the king found in the testament (will) of Saluva Narasimha the order to take the three revolted forts.⁷⁰ He began with Udayagiri, of which Nuniz writes that “it belonged to the King of Orya”.⁷⁰ Krishnaswami Aiyangar dated the siege of Udayagiri to 1512–13.⁷ The king brought back from it an image of Balakrishna.⁷⁷¹ He built a temple for it in the capital, completed in 1514.⁷⁷¹

Kondavidu fell in the first half of 1515.⁷⁷² An inscription glorifying Saluva Timma, which Sewell knew through Luders, dates its capture to 23 June 1515.⁷² The Gajapati prince Virabhadra was taken there.⁷⁷²

The king then broke up his camp at Vijayawada (then Bezwada).⁷⁷² He took Kondapalli, where he captured a queen and a son of the king of Orissa.⁷⁷² Then he marched north-east as far as Simhachalam.⁷⁷² See Udayagiri, Kondavidu, Kondapalli, Vijayawada and Simhachalam.

The war ended in a marriage.⁷³ Krishnaswami Aiyangar wrote that the Gajapati gave the king a daughter and “accepted the Krishna as the boundary”.⁷³ The land to the south was given as the princess’s dowry.⁷³

The Rayavachakamu is a Telugu prose account of the reign.⁷⁴ It says that the king planted a pillar of victory at Potnuru near Simhachalam.⁷⁴ It says that the Gajapati gave him his daughter Jaganmohini and “ceded all the country to the south of the river Krishna”.⁷⁴

Krishnadeva Raya’s own poem, the Amuktamalyada, lists the stages in its colophons (closing notes):⁷⁵

• the capture of the Gajapati’s uncle at Udayagiri
• the capture of his son Virabhadra at Kondavidu
• the capture of Praharesvara and his treasure at Kondapalli
• the king’s worship at Simhachalam
• the pillar with an inscription at Potnuru⁷⁵

See Potnuru, Prataparudra Gajapati and the Velicherla grant.

The Golconda history translated by Briggs tells a different story, which Sewell summarised.⁷⁶⁷⁷⁷⁸ In it Sultan Quli Qutb Shah fought Krishnaraya over Kondavidu and Bellamkonda.⁷⁶⁷⁷⁷⁸ He defeated “his general and son-in-law Seeva Ray”, and made the Hindus of Kondavidu submit and pay tribute.⁷⁶⁷⁷⁷⁸ Sewell noted that the narrative covers more than twenty years without dates.⁷⁶⁷⁷⁷⁸ He also noted that Nuniz says Kondavidu was taken from the king of Orissa.⁷⁶⁷⁷⁷⁸ See Sultan Quli.

Krishnadeva Raya then turned west.⁷³⁷⁹ In 1520 he defeated Ismail Adil Shah of Bijapur at Raichur, a battle Nuniz describes at length.⁷³⁷⁹ Sewell wrote that after this victory the king “grew to be haughty and insolent in his demands”.⁸⁰ In his view this arrogance in his successors led, forty years later, to the downfall of the empire.⁸⁰

Telugu at the court

The Amuktamalyada tells how Krishnadeva Raya, on his campaign against Kalinga, stayed at Vijayawada.⁸¹⁷⁵ He went to Srikakulam to worship “God Andhramadhusudana (Andhra Vishnu)”.⁸¹⁷⁵ During the Ekadasi fast the god appeared to him in a dream, and told him to write the story of Goda in Telugu.⁸¹⁷⁵ The god’s verse, as printed in 1919, reads:⁸²

తెలుఁగ దేలయన్న దేశంబు దెలుఁగేను దెలుఁగు వల్లభుండఁ దెలుఁగొకండ యెల్ల నృపులు గొలువ నెఱుఁగవే బాసాడి దేశభాషలందుఁ దెలుఁగు లెస్స.

In our translation: “If you ask why Telugu: this is a Telugu land, and I am the Telugu lord; Telugu is unique. Have you not seen it, speaking with all the kings who serve you? Among the languages of the lands, Telugu is the best.” Krishnaswami Aiyangar’s summary reads the verse as saying that Telugu was “the best of the Desabhashas and could alone be understood by all those assembled in his court”.⁷⁵ Nuniz, describing the peoples of the kingdom, names the “Telumgalle”, the Telugus, as one of its classes.⁸³

P. Chenchiah and Raja M. Bhujanga Rao wrote in 1928 that the reign of Krishnadeva Raya began “a new era of literary freedom” in Telugu.⁸⁸⁴ In it the prabandha or kavya replaced the translations of the earlier age.⁸⁸⁴ This was a descriptive poem built on a little-known Puranic episode.⁸⁸⁴

The king led it with the Amuktamalyada.⁸⁵⁸⁶ Tradition counts eight poets of his court as the Ashtadiggajas, the elephants of the eight quarters.⁸⁵⁸⁶ They are Allasani Peddana, Nandi Timmana, Ayyalaraju Ramabhadra, Dhurjati, Madayagari Mallana, Pingali Surana, Ramarajabhushana and Tenali Ramakrishna.⁸⁵⁸⁶ The same authors thought it “almost certain that the last three poets did not write in the reign of Krishnadevaraya”.⁸⁵ G. R. Subramiah Pantulu had voiced the same doubt in 1898.⁸⁶ See Allasani Peddana, Nandi Timmana and Tenali Ramakrishna.

The Rayavachakamu puts Peddana, Mukku Timmana and Madayagari Mallana with the king on his campaign against the sultans.⁸⁷ Patronage went beyond the king.⁸⁸⁸⁹⁹⁰ Nadindla Gopa was the nephew of the minister Saluva Timma and governor of Kondavidu.⁸⁸⁸⁹⁹⁰ He wrote a Sanskrit commentary on the Prabodhachandrodaya and a Telugu Krishnarjunasamvadam.⁸⁸⁸⁹⁹⁰ Madayagari Mallana dedicated his Rajasekharacharitramu to Gopa’s brother Appa.⁸⁸⁸⁹⁹⁰

Much that is told of this court is legend.⁶⁵⁹¹ Krishnaswami Aiyangar wrote that the stories of “Rayar and Appaji”, the king and his minister, resemble those told of Harun-ur-Rashid and of Vikramaditya.⁶⁵ The tales of Tenali Ramakrishna as a court jester belong to the same stock.⁹¹ Heras, following Subramiah Pantulu, retold one of them in a footnote as “the following humorous anecdote”.⁹²

Achyuta Raya

Achyuta Raya succeeded his half-brother in 1529 or 1530.⁹³⁹⁴⁹⁵ Nuniz says that Krishnadeva Raya had kept him in the fortress of Chandragiri.⁹³ The Achyutarayabhyudayam says that he was crowned first at Tirupati and then at the capital.⁹⁴⁹⁵

At once the Adil Shah took Raichur and Mudkal.⁹⁶⁹⁷ Sewell says that Sultan Quli of Golconda attacked Kondavidu about this time.⁹⁶⁹⁷ Sultan Quli built a tower in the fort to mark its capture.⁹⁶⁹⁷

Nuniz wrote that Achyuta “gave himself over to vice and tyranny”.⁹⁸ Ferishta says that the army of Bijapur entered the capital in 1535–36, at the invitation of one of the factions.⁹⁹ On the other hand, the Sanskrit poem of his court credits him with a campaign in the far south and a victory at Raichur.¹⁰⁰ Real power passed to his brothers-in-law, the two Salakam Tirumalas.¹⁰¹¹⁰⁰

Rama Raya and the battle of 1565

After Achyuta’s death in 1542 the three Aravidu brothers, Rama Raya, Tirumala and Venkatadri, fought their way to power.¹⁰²¹⁰³ The Telugu Ramarajiyamu and the annals of Hande Anantapuram tell the story.¹⁰²¹⁰³ The brothers withdrew to Gooty and gathered forces from Adoni, Penukonda, Gandikota and Kurnool.¹⁰²¹⁰³ They killed the regent Salakam Timma, and placed Krishnadeva Raya’s nephew Sadasiva on the throne.¹⁰²¹⁰³

Aliya Rama Raya, the son-in-law of Krishnadeva Raya, then held the government with his brothers until 1565.¹⁴¹⁰¹ He kept Sadasiva virtually a prisoner.¹⁴¹⁰¹ He played the five sultans of the Deccan off against each other.¹⁴¹⁰¹ His titles, listed in the Ramarajiyamu, include ruler of Kondavidu and of Chandragiri, capturer of Kondapalli and protector of Warangal.¹⁰⁴¹⁰⁵

The sultans at last combined.¹⁰⁶¹⁰⁷ On 23 January 1565 the armies of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Golconda and Bidar defeated Rama Raya south of the Krishna.¹⁰⁶¹⁰⁷ He was captured and beheaded on the order of Husain Nizam Shah, and the Hindu army broke.¹⁰⁶¹⁰⁷

The battle is called after Talikota.¹⁰⁸¹⁰⁹ Sewell noted that it was fought many miles to the south of that town.¹⁰⁸ Heras called it the battle of Raksas-Tagdi.¹⁰⁹ Tirumala fled to Penukonda with the puppet king Sadasiva and the treasure.¹¹⁰¹¹¹ For five months the victors destroyed the capital.¹¹⁰¹¹¹ Sewell called the defeat “a cataclysm”.¹¹⁰

The Aravidu kings at Penukonda and Chandragiri

Tirumala made Penukonda in the present Anantapur district his capital.¹¹²¹¹³ The fort was repaired and enlarged under his orders.¹¹²¹¹³ Heras dated his coronation to late 1569, and his death to early 1572.^{114115116117118}

Heras wrote that Tirumala divided the empire into three viceroyalties “on a racial basis”:^{114115116117118}

• the Telugu viceroyalty in the north under his son Sriranga, with its capital first at Udayagiri and later at Penukonda
• the Kannada viceroyalty under Rama at Srirangapatna (then Seringapatam)
• the Tamil viceroyalty under Venkatapati at Chandragiri^{114115116117118}

Sewell in 1932 has him seize the throne about 1570 and die in 1578.⁵

Golconda now took the Telugu coast.¹¹⁹¹²⁰ Its general took Rajahmundry in 1571–72.¹¹⁹¹²⁰ In 1579 the Qutb Shah, breaking his agreements, took Vinukonda and Kondavidu and occupied large tracts south of the Krishna.¹¹⁹¹²⁰

An inscription of 1592 at Aminabad is known from the Mackenzie records.¹²¹¹²² It says that Ibrahim Qutb Shah marched against Vijayanagara in 1580 and drove out “Venkata Raju”.¹²¹¹²² He took Vinukonda, Bellamkonda, Tangeda and Kondavidu.¹²¹¹²²

Sriranga I was defeated and captured.¹¹⁸¹²³ Krishnaswami Aiyangar wrote that the Muslims then held the territory north of Penukonda.¹¹⁸¹²³ Penukonda itself held out against Bijapur in 1577, and against Golconda in 1589.¹²⁴¹²⁵ In 1589, the Anantapur gazetteer says, the chief Jagadeva Raya of Channapatna drove off the besiegers.¹²⁴¹²⁵ See Kondavidu and Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah.

Venkatapati II (1586–1614) was the last strong king.¹²⁶ A Jesuit letter of 1602 says that he was chosen “by the unanimous vote of all the classes”.¹²⁶ The young sons of his brother Rama were set aside.¹²⁶ He moved the capital back to Chandragiri about 1592, and in 1606 to Vellore.^127128129

Heras wrote that Venkatapati II repulsed Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah from Penukonda and recovered much of the Telugu country.^130131132 The Golconda chronicle in Briggs describes the same campaigns as Muslim victories.^130131132 The Ramarajiyamu says that peace was made with the Krishna as the boundary.^130131132

The end of the empire

Venkatapati II died at Chandragiri in 1614, at the age of sixty-seven.¹³³¹³⁴ In the account of the Jesuit Manuel Barradas, he had named his nephew Chikka Raya, Sriranga II, as his heir.¹³³¹³⁴

The chief Jagga Raya was the father of one of the dead king’s queens.¹³⁵¹³⁶ He raised her putative son (the boy said to be hers) against Sriranga, and massacred Sriranga and his family.¹³⁵¹³⁶ One boy, Rama, was smuggled out by the loyal Yachama Nayaka, ancestor of the Venkatagiri family.¹³⁵¹³⁶ With the help of Raghunatha Nayaka of Tanjore, Rama was placed on the throne after Jagga Raya fell in battle at Toppur.¹³⁵¹³⁶

Krishnaswami Aiyangar wrote that after this war the empire “did not return to its normal condition”.¹³⁷¹³⁸ By the time of the last kings, he wrote, “a considerable portion of what was Vijayanagar had passed into the hands of the Muhammadans”.¹³⁷¹³⁸

The last stages were fought out in the Telugu south.¹³⁹¹⁴⁰ Sewell’s list of inscriptions records these events:¹³⁹¹⁴⁰

• Abdullah Qutb Shah’s general took Udayagiri in 1642.
• Golconda ruled the Kadapa district by 1646.
• In that year its army took Chandragiri, the royal residence, and Sriranga III fled to the chief of Bednur.¹³⁹¹⁴⁰

The Anantapur gazetteer adds that for many years afterwards grants to temples were still made in the name of the fallen kings, as “merely polite fiction”.¹¹³ See the Qutb Shahis and Golconda.

Captains, nayakas and amaram lands

Nuniz describes how the kingdom was held.¹⁴¹ “The kingdom of Bisnaga is divided between more than two hundred captains”, he wrote.¹⁴¹ He added that “according to the lands and revenues that they have so the King settles for them the forces that they are compelled to keep up”.¹⁴¹ The king also settled “how much revenue they have to pay him”.¹⁴¹

He called these nobles “like renters who hold all the land from the King”.¹⁴² They paid half their revenue to the king, and kept the rest for their troops.¹⁴² He added that “the common people suffer much hardship, those who hold the lands being so tyrannical”.¹⁴²

His list of captains gives the lands of Krishnadeva Raya’s last minister as Udayagiri, Kondavidu and Penukonda.¹⁴³¹⁴⁴ It adds two places that Sewell identified doubtfully with Kanigiri and Siddhavattam.¹⁴³¹⁴⁴ Nuniz says that “all these large cities” border “on the kingdom of Oria”.¹⁴³¹⁴⁴ Sewell summarised that each chief “was allowed entire independence in the territory allotted to him so long as he maintained the quota” of troops and paid his tribute.⁷⁹

The Telugu sources call such military chiefs amaranayakas.¹⁴⁵ The Rayavachakamu has Krishnadeva Raya consult “his Amaranayakam generals”.¹⁴⁵ Among them was Pemmasani Ramalinga, whom Krishnaswami Aiyangar took for an ancestor of the Pemmasani governors of Kondavidu.¹⁴⁵

The annals of Hande Anantapuram tell how Rama Raya rewarded Hande Hanumappa Nayudu, who had captured the Nizam Shah.¹⁴⁶ He gave him Nandela, Bukkarayasamudram, Dharmavaram and “Kanicallu” in the east, and Bellary and Kurugodu in the west.¹⁴⁶ Hanumappa governed them until 1583.¹⁴⁶

Heras described the related palaiyams of the Madura country, “held in military tenure”.¹⁴⁷ The title of their holder means “a holder of an armed camp”.¹⁴⁷ After the empire fell, local chieftains called poligars held most of the Telugu interior under the sultans and the Marathas, “virtually in independent power”.¹²⁴

What the foreign visitors saw

Several foreign visitors left descriptions.¹⁴⁸¹⁴⁹ The Italian Nicolo Conti, who came about 1420, said that the king was “more powerful than all the other kings of India”.¹⁴⁸¹⁴⁹

The Persian envoy Abdur Razzaq was at the capital in 1443.¹⁵⁰¹⁵¹ He wrote that “the city of Bidjanagar is such that the pupil of the eye has never seen a place like it”.¹⁵⁰¹⁵¹ He said the king’s dominion reached “from the frontier of Serendib to the extremities of the country of Kalbergah”.¹⁵⁰¹⁵¹ The Russian Athanasius Nikitin called its king “the Hindu Sultan Kadam”.¹⁵²

Paes in about 1520 and Nuniz in about 1536 described Krishnadeva Raya’s court, his festivals and his army.¹⁵³ The Italian Cesare Federici came two years after the sack.¹⁵³ He found the houses of the city standing “but emptie, and there is dwelling in them nothing, as is reported, but Tygres and other wild beasts”.¹⁵³

Where the sources disagree

• Origins. Traditions reported by Sewell, Buchanan’s informant and Wilks make the brothers officers of the treasury of Warangal.²⁰²¹ Venkataramanayya (1929) made them custodians of the treasury of Kampila, and men of Telugu descent related to the Kakatiyas.²⁴ Heras (1929) and Krishnaswami Aiyangar (1921 and 1928) made them Hoysala officers enthroned by Ballala III.³⁰³³ Couto made the founder a shepherd, and Nikitin, as read by Sewell, connected them with the Kadambas.²⁰²¹
• The first reigns. Harihara I to 1343 and Bukka I 1343–1379 (Sewell 1900).³⁷³⁹ Harihara I to about 1355 and Bukka I 1355–1377 (Sewell 1932).³ Kampa and Sangama II as kings after Harihara (the Nellore plates of 1356).³⁹
• Virupaksha. Son of Mallikarjuna (Sewell’s pedigree of 1900).¹⁵⁴ Son of Deva Raya II and younger brother of Mallikarjuna (the Srisailam plates as read by Krishnaswami Aiyangar in 1919, and his chapter of 1928).¹⁵⁵⁵⁸ Son of Pratapa Deva Raya, a younger brother of Deva Raya II (Sewell 1932).³
• The Tuluva usurpation. By Narasa in 1505 (Sewell 1932).⁴ By his son Vira Narasimha after Narasa died in 1505 (Krishnaswami Aiyangar 1928).⁶⁵ Nuniz makes Narasa’s son “Busbalrao” the predecessor of Krishnaraya.⁶⁶
• Kondavidu, 1515. Taken from Orissa (Nuniz, the inscriptions, the Amuktamalyada).⁷²⁷⁵ Fought over with Sultan Quli of Golconda (the Golconda history in Briggs).⁷⁷
• Tirumala. Crowned late in 1569 and dead in 1572 (Heras).¹¹⁴¹¹⁷ King from about 1570 to 1578 (Sewell 1932).⁵ Murdered Sadasiva in 1568, “so it is said” (Sewell 1900).¹⁵⁶
• Venkatapati II’s wars. Victories over Golconda, and the Krishna fixed as the boundary (Heras, the Ramarajiyamu).¹³¹¹³² Golconda victories (the Golconda chronicle).¹³¹¹³²
• The battle of 1565. Talikota (the usual name); fought far south of Talikota (Sewell); Raksas-Tagdi (Heras).¹⁰⁸¹⁰⁹ Fought on 23 January (Sewell 1900) or 25 January 1565 (Sewell 1932).¹⁰⁶¹⁵⁷

Footnotes

1. Robert Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar) (1900), p. 1 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 2 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 400, pedigree of the first dynasty (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

4. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 401, pedigrees of the second and third dynasties (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

5. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 402, pedigree of the Aravidu dynasty (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

6. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, “Hindu States in Southern India”, in Wolseley Haig (ed.), The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III (1928), p. 489 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰

7. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, in Cambridge History of India, Vol. III (1928), p. 496 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴

8. P. Chenchiah and Raja M. Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (1928), p. 69 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

9. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 3 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

10. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), preface, p. vi (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

11. Nuniz, in Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 361, Sewell’s note (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

12. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar (ed.), Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), preface, p. v (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

13. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), introduction, p. 1 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

14. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 110 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

15. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 7 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

16. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 19 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

17. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 16 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

18. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 17 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

19. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 20 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

20. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 21 and note (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

21. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 22 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

22. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 23 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

23. N. Venkataramanayya, Kampili and Vijayanagara (1929), p. 22 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

24. Venkataramanayya, Kampili and Vijayanagara (1929), p. 26 and note (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

25. Venkataramanayya, Kampili and Vijayanagara (1929), p. 27 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

26. H. Heras, Beginnings of Vijayanagara History (1929), p. 61 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

27. Heras, Beginnings of Vijayanagara History (1929), p. 62 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

28. Heras, Beginnings of Vijayanagara History (1929), pp. 63–64 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

29. Heras, Beginnings of Vijayanagara History (1929), p. 64 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

30. Heras, Beginnings of Vijayanagara History (1929), p. 67 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

31. Heras, Beginnings of Vijayanagara History (1929), pp. 118–119 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

32. Heras, Beginnings of Vijayanagara History (1929), pp. 120–121 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

33. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, South India and her Muhammadan Invaders (1921), pp. 181–182 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

34. B. Suryanarain Row, A History of Vijayanagar: The Never to be Forgotten Empire (1905), p. 19 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

35. Suryanarain Row, A History of Vijayanagar (1905), p. 28 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

36. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 25 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

37. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), pp. 26–27 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

38. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 27 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

39. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 28 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

40. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 47, extract 8, the Madhaviya Dhatuvritti (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

41. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, in Cambridge History of India, Vol. III (1928), p. 490 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

42. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), pp. 32–33 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

43. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 45, extract 7, the annals of Hande Anantapuram (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

44. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), pp. 30–31 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

45. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 63, quoting Ferishta (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

46. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 67 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

47. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 71 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

48. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), introduction, pp. 4–5 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

49. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 56, extract 17, the Kridabhiramamu (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

50. Robert Sewell, ed. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, The Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (1932), pp. 215–216 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

51. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), pp. 217–220 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

52. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), pp. 61–62, extract 20, verses attributed to Srinatha (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

53. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, in Cambridge History of India, Vol. III (1928), p. 491 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

54. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 65, extract 25, the Gangadasapratapavilasam (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

55. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, in Cambridge History of India, Vol. III (1928), p. 493 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

56. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), introduction, p. 7 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

57. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), introduction, p. 8, quoting the Burhan-i Ma’asir (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

58. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, in Cambridge History of India, Vol. III (1928), p. 494 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰

59. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 101, quoting Ferishta (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

60. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), introduction, p. 6 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

61. Fernao Nuniz, “Chronicle”, in Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 306 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

62. Nuniz, in Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 307 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

63. Nuniz, in Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 308 and note (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

64. Nuniz, in Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 309 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

65. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, in Cambridge History of India, Vol. III (1928), p. 495 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

66. Nuniz, in Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 314 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

67. Nuniz, in Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 315 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

68. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 121 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

69. Domingos Paes, “Narrative”, in Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 247 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

70. Nuniz, in Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 316 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

71. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 130 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

72. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 131 and note (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

73. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, in Cambridge History of India, Vol. III (1928), p. 497 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

74. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 116, the Rayavachakamu (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

75. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 133, the Amuktamalyada (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

76. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 132 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

77. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 134 and notes (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

78. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 135 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

79. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 136 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

80. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 122 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

81. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 132, extract 40, the Amuktamalyada (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

82. Krishnadeva Raya, Amuktamalyada, canto I, as printed in Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 135 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). The English translation is ours. ↩

83. Nuniz, in Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 390 and note (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

84. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (1928), p. 70 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

85. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (1928), p. 72 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

86. G. R. Subramiah Pantulu, “Discursive Remarks on the Augustan Age of Telugu Literature”, Indian Antiquary XXVII (1898), p. 299 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

87. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 113, the Rayavachakamu (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

88. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 144, extract 45, Nadindla Gopa’s commentary on the Prabodhachandrodaya (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

89. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 146, extract 46, the Rajasekharacharitramu of Madayagari Mallana (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

90. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 149, extract 47, the Krishnarjunasamvadam of Nadindla Gopa (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

91. Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (1928), p. 83 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

92. Heras, The Aravidu Dynasty, Vol. I (1927), p. 520 and note (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

93. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 165 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

94. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 158, extract 53, the Achyutarayabhyudayam (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

95. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), introduction, pp. 11–12 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

96. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 166 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

97. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 167 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

98. Nuniz, in Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 367 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

99. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), pp. 170–171, quoting Ferishta (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

100. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), introduction, p. 14 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

101. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, in Cambridge History of India, Vol. III (1928), p. 498 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

102. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), introduction, p. 16 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

103. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 178, extract 56, the annals of Hande Anantapuram (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

104. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 182, extract 57, the Ramarajiyamu (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

105. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 184, the Ramarajiyamu (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

106. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 202 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

107. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 205 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

108. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 199 and note (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

109. Heras, The Aravidu Dynasty, Vol. I (1927), p. 194, chapter IX (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

110. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 206 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

111. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 207 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

112. W. Francis, Madras District Gazetteers: Anantapur (1905), p. 20 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

113. Francis, Anantapur (1905), p. 21 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

114. Heras, The Aravidu Dynasty, Vol. I (1927), p. 250 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

115. Heras, The Aravidu Dynasty, Vol. I (1927), p. 254 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

116. Heras, The Aravidu Dynasty, Vol. I (1927), p. 255 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

117. Heras, The Aravidu Dynasty, Vol. I (1927), p. 260 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

118. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), introduction, p. 19 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

119. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 217 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

120. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 218 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

121. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 239, extract 77, the Aminabad inscription of Amin Mulk (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

122. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 240 and note (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

123. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 232, extract 73, the annals of Hande Anantapuram (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

124. Francis, Anantapur (1905), p. 22 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

125. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 229, extract 71, the Satyaparinayam of Ekamranatha (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

126. Heras, The Aravidu Dynasty, Vol. I (1927), p. 301, quoting a Jesuit letter of 1602 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

127. Heras, The Aravidu Dynasty, Vol. I (1927), p. 310 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

128. Heras, The Aravidu Dynasty, Vol. I (1927), p. 311 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

129. Heras, The Aravidu Dynasty, Vol. I (1927), p. 320 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

130. Heras, The Aravidu Dynasty, Vol. I (1927), p. 327 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

131. Heras, The Aravidu Dynasty, Vol. I (1927), p. 328 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

132. Heras, The Aravidu Dynasty, Vol. I (1927), p. 334 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

133. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 222, the letter of Manuel Barradas (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

134. Barradas, in Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 224 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

135. Barradas, in Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 223 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

136. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), introduction, p. 20 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

137. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), introduction, p. 21 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

138. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), introduction, p. 22 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

139. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 278 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

140. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 279 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

141. Nuniz, in Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 389 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

142. Nuniz, in Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 373 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

143. Nuniz, in Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 385 and notes (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

144. Nuniz, in Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 386 and notes (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

145. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 112 and note, extract 38, the Rayavachakamu (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

146. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), p. 179, the annals of Hande Anantapuram (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

147. H. Heras, The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I (1927), p. 135 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

148. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 81 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

149. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 84, quoting Nicolo Conti (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

150. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 73 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

151. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 88, quoting Abdur Razzaq (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

152. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 105, quoting Nikitin (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

153. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 208, quoting Federici (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

154. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), p. 24, pedigree after Epigraphia Indica III (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

155. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History (1919), pp. 68–69, extract 26, the Srisailam plates of Virupaksha (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

156. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire (1900), pp. 212–213 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩

157. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 403, notes to the pedigrees (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩