The Hindu Kingdoms-The Vijayanagar Empire
Political History
The early history of Vijayanagar is still shrouded in obscurity. Sewell, after referring to several traditional accounts about the origin of the great imperial city, remarks that “perhaps the most reasonable account would be culled from the general drift of the Hindu legends combined with the certainties of historical fact”. He accepts the tradition according to which five sons of Sangama, of whom Harihara and Bukka were the most eminent, laid the foundation of the city and kingdom of Vijayanagar, on the southern bank of the Tungabhadra, facing the fortress of Anegundi on the northern bank. They got inspiration for their enterprise from the celebrated Brahmana sage and scholar of the day, Madhava Vidyaranya, and his brother Sayana, the famous commentator on the Vedas. This tradition is regarded by some as a later fabrication which found currency in the sixteenth century. In the opinion of Rev. Father Heras, the foundation of the city of Anegundi, which formed the cradle of the Vijayanagar Empire, was laid by the Hoysala king Vira Ballala III, and Harihara, a near relative of the Hoysala ruling family, was a frontier officer with his headquarters there. According to another writer, “the fortification of the city that afterwards became Vijayanagar must be regarded as the deliberate act of the great Hoysala ruler, Vira BallIa III.
It was founded soon after the destruction of Kampili by the army of Muhammad Tughluq, and immediately following the invasion of the Hoysala capital, Dorasamudra . The theory of Hoysala origin has been recently challenged by a writer who, in discussing the question from different sources, has argued that Harihara and Bukka founded the city and that they “shaped the course of their conduct ” on the advice of Madhava Vidyaranya, who is described in an inscription of Harihara II as ” the supreme light incarnate “. According to some authorities, the five brothers were fugitives from the Telugu country included in the Kakatiya kingdom of Warangal, the capital of which was captured by the Muhammadans in 1424. In the midst of these conflicting opinions, this much can be said with certainty, that, Harihara and Bukka and their three brothers made earnest efforts to organise resistance against the advance of the invaders from the north. The significance of the Vijayanagar Empire in the history of India is that for well nigh three centuries it stood for the older religion and culture of the country and saved these from being engulfed by the rush of new ideas and forces. It also indirectly prevented the extension of the influence of the Bahmani kingdom and its offshoots in the north, where the power of the Delhi Sultanate had been already considerably weakened, by keeping them constantly engaged in the south. In short, “it was Vijayanagar which held the key to the political situation of the time”, characterised by the decline of the Turko-Afghan Sultanate and the rise of important indigenous powers.
The first dynasty of Vijayanagar is named after Sangama. In the time of Harihara I and Bukka I, the Vijayanagar kingdom brought under its influence many principalities and divisions, including, in the opinion of some, most of the Hoysala territory. But it has been pointed out by some writers that Harihara I and Bukka I did not assume full imperial titles. In 1374 Bukka I sent an embassy to China and he died in A.D. 1378-1379. He was succeeded by his son, Harihara, II, who undoubtedly assumed the imperial titles of Maharajadhiraja, Rajaparamesvara, etc. Sewell in his earlier work states on the authority of some Muhammadan historians that Harihara’s reign was a period of “unbroken peace”. But it is proved by certain inscriptions that there were conflicts between the Vijayanagar Empire and the Muslims during his reign. As a matter of fact, the history of the Vijayanagar Empire, like that of the Bahmani kingdom, is an unbroken record of bloody wars with different powers. In the cold weather of 1398, Bukka II, son of Harihara II, conducted a raid northwards to the Bahmani territory, with his father’s permission, with a view to seizing the Raichur Doab, situated between the Krishna and the Tungabhadra, which formed the bone of contention between the Vijayanagar Empire and the Bahmani kingdom. He was opposed and defeated by Firuz Shah Bahmani and a peace was concluded by the middle of 1399, Firuz exacting a heavy indemnity. But as several inscriptions show, the reign of Harihara II saw the extension of Vijayanagar authority over the whole of Southern India, including Mysore, Kanara, Chingleput, Trichinopoly and Conjeeveram (Kanchi). Harihara II was a worshipper of Siva under the form of Virupaksa, but was tolerant of other religions. He died in August, 1406, after which the succession to the throne was disputed for some time among his sons. Deva Raya 1, however, secured the throne for himself on the 5th November, 1406. He met with some reverses in his wars with the Bahmani Sultans and died in the year A.D. 1422. His son, Vijaya-Bukka or, Vira Vijaya, reigned for only a few months, then Deva Raya II, son of Vijaya-Bukka, ascended the throne. Though Deva Raya Il’s wars with the Bahmanis ended in defeat and loss, his reign was marked by reorganization of the administration. To compete with the Bahmanis, Mussalmans were admitted by him into the army; and, to control and regulate trade, he appointed his right- hand man, Lakkanna or Lakshmana, to the “lordship of the southern sea”, that is, to the charge of overseas commerce. Nicolo Conti, an Italian traveller, and ‘Abdur-Razzaq, an envoy from Persia, visited Vijayanagar in 1420 and 1443 respectively; and they have left glowing descriptions of the city and the Empire of Vijayanagar. In fact, the Empire now extended over the whole of South India, reaching the shores of Ceylon, and attained the zenith of its prosperity during the rule of the first dynasty.
Deva Raya II died in A.D. 1446 and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Mallikarjuna, who repelled a combined attack on his capital by the Bahmani Sultan and the Raja of the Hindu kingdom of Orissa and was able to keep his kingdom intact during his rule, which lasted till about A.D. 1465. It was during this reign that the Saluva chief, Narsimha of Chandragiri, whose ancestors had served the Vijayanagar kingdom faithfully as its feudatories, rose into prominence and resisted the aggressions of the Bahmani kingdom and the kingdom of Orissa. But Mallikarjuna’s successor, Virupaksha II, proved to be an incompetent ruler. Confusion and disorder naturally followed, taking advantage of which some of the provinces revolted, the Bahmani Sultan advanced into the Doab between the Krishna and the Tungabhadra, and Raja Purusottama Gajapati of Orissa advanced as far south as Tiruvannamalai.
To save the kingdom from these dangers, Narasimha Saluva deposed his worthless master and seized the throne for himself in about A.D. 1486. Thus the Sangama dynasty was overthrown by what has been called the “First Usurpation” and Vijayanagar passed under the rule of the SaIuva dynasty. Narasimha Saluva enjoyed the confidence of the people. With the interests of the Empire at heart, he recovered most of the revolted provinces during his six years’ rule, though the Raichur Doab remained under the control of the Bahmanis and Udayagiri under that of the Raja of Orissa.