Deva Raya II

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Deva Raya II
Vijayanagar, Vijayanagara Empire
(modern day Hampi, Karnataka, India)
IssueDeva Raya III
HouseSangama
Father Bukka Raya III
Motherunknown
ReligionHinduism
Vijayanagara Empire
Ruling dynasties
Vira Vijaya Bukka Raya
1422–1424
Deva Raya II1424–1446
Mallikarjuna Raya1446–1465
Virupaksha Raya II1465–1485
Praudha Raya1485
Saluva dynasty
Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya1485–1491
Thimma Bhupala1491
Narasimha Raya II1491–1505
Tuluva dynasty
Tuluva Narasa Nayaka1491–1503
Vira Narasimha Raya1503–1509
Krishna Deva Raya1509–1529
Achyuta Deva Raya1529–1542
Venkata I1542
Sadasiva Raya1542–1570
Venkata III1632–1642Sriranga III
1642–1646

Deva Raya II (r. 1422–1446 CE) was an emperor of the

Parameshvara, from the Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics lived in his empire.[7]

According to the historian Sastri, Deva Raya II had the title Gajabeteegara, which literally means "Hunter of elephants", an honorific that explained his addiction to hunting elephants or a metaphor referring to his victories against enemies who were "as strong as elephants".

Tenasserim.[9][10]

The empire

Wars with the Gajapati Kingdom

Extent of Vijayanagara empire at the end of Deva Raya II's reign[citation needed]

Deva Raya II's rule is the golden age in the history of South India and in particular, that of Karnataka. He succeeded his father

Kapilendra when the later tried to conquer Rajamahendri, and again in c. 1441. An invasion by the Reddis of Kondavidu was also repulsed and by c. 1432, all the petty chiefs of the region were brought under the Vijayanagara control.[3][11][12]

Sultanate affairs

After a short period of peace, Vijayanagara was pulled into war with their traditional foes, the

Krishna river doab were lost to the Bahamani Sultanate.[3]

There are conflicting accounts provided by contemporary Persian writers

Ferishtah and Abdur Razzak regarding the events that led to the war. According to Ferishtah, Deva Raya II had bought peace earlier by paying a handsome tribute to the Bahamanis. He however refused to honor the agreement and this led to war. According to this account, with an intent of strengthening his army, Deva Raya II employed many expert Muslim archers and cavalry and this incited the war. But according to Razzak's account written in Calicut in c. 1443, the Sultans attempt to seize more Vijayanagara territory by taking advantage of the prevailing confusion (caused by the assassination attempt that he appeared to be aware of) was the cause of the war. According to Razzak who was eye witness to the episode, a brother of Deva Raya II invited the king and many important nobility to a feast and had most of the invitees beheaded. But finding that the king had not attended the dinner, he went to the royal palace and stabbed and wounded an unaided Deva Raya II. Seizing the opportunity, the Bahamani Sultan demanded seven lakh Varaha (700,000) Pagodas as tribute. Deva Raya II refused to pay and this led to war.[13] According to Chopra et al., and Sastri the first battles was a success for Vijayanagara armies who captured Raichur, Bankapura and marched up to Bijapur. But in the last three battles, Deva Raya II's son may have been killed in battle, and the Vijayanagara armies were pushed back to their original stronghold at Mudgal. Two Sultanate generals were taken prisoner but later released to end hostilities.[13][14]

Success in the south and Ceylon

Deva Raya II's empire included

Burma ruling at Pegu and Tanasserim paid tribute. This information was obtained from the writings of Nuniz.[15] Though the Zamorin maintained his independence, from Razzak's account, he feared and respected Deva Raya II.[10]

Accounts of foreign visitors

It was during this time that the explorer Nicolo Conti and Persian chronicler Abdur Razzak arrived in South India. Conti wrote :"the king of Vijayanagar is more powerful than all the other kings in India."

Calicut and his territories compromise a space of three months journey.[16][3] Both travelers concur that the country was thickly populated with numerous towns and villages. Razzaq wrote:"The country is for the most part well cultivated and very fertile. The troops amount in number to eleven Lakhs (1,100,000)." Razzaq considered Vijayanagara to be one of the most splendid of the cities in the world he had seen.[16] Describing the city, he wrote: "It is built in such a manner that seven citadels and the same number of walls enclose each other. The seventh fortress, which is placed in the center of the others, occupy an area ten times larger than the market place of the city of Herat".[16][3] With regards to the market places he wrote:"the jewelers sell publicly in the bazaar pearls, rubies, emeralds and diamonds in this agreeable locality and in the king's palace one sees numerous running streams and canals formed of chiseled stone, polished and smooth..."[17]

Culture and the arts

Deva Raya II's rule was a high point in the development of Kannada literature,[18] when competition between Vaishnava and Veerashaiva writers was fierce and literary disputations between the two sects were common.[19] Some of most noted Kannada writers of the 15th century, Chamarasa and Kumara Vyasa; Chandrashekara (Chrakavi) who wrote on secular topics; and the king's zealous Veerashaiva ministers and writers, Lakkana Dandesa and Jakkanarya (who himself patronized the Kannada poets Kumarabankanatha and Mahalingadeva) were in his court.[4][5][20] The king himself was no less a writer, the romantic stories Sobagina Sone (lit "The Drizzle of Beauty") and Amaruka are assigned to him.[2]

In the Telugu realm, this was the age of Srinatha. With an unrivaled command on Telugu and Sanskrit languages, he is known to have defeated in a debate, the reputed Sanskrit scholar Dindima. Srinatha was honored with the title Kavisarvabhauma. The king showed his appreciation with a kanakabhisheka ceremony (the "showering of gold coins on the head"). Srinatha is known to have lived a life of pleasure and moved on equal terms with the ministers in the king's court, though he died a poor man.[9][3][21]

Notes and references

  1. ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4
    .
  2. ^ a b Kotraiah in Sinopoli (2003) pp. 130-131, 134
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Kamath (1980), p.164
  4. ^ a b Sastri (1955), pp.363-364
  5. ^ a b Rice E.P. (1921), p.68, p.70
  6. ^ a b Kamath (1980), p.163
  7. ISBN 978-0-87169-213-9
    .
  8. ^ Sastri (1955), p.244
  9. ^ a b Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmanian (2003), p.32
  10. ^ a b Sastri (1955), p.245
  11. ^ Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmanian (2003), p.31
  12. ^ Sastri (1955), pp.244-245
  13. ^ a b Sastri (1955), p.246
  14. ^ Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmanian (2003), p.32
  15. ^ a b c Farooqui (2011), p.118
  16. ^ a b c d Chandra (1997), pp.180-181
  17. ^ Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmanian (2003), p.33
  18. ^ Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmanian, (2003), p.173
  19. ^ Sastri (1955), p.363
  20. ^ Kotraiah in Sinopoli (2003), p. 131
  21. ^ Sastri (1955), p.370

Bibliography

External links
Preceded by
Vira Vijaya Bukka Raya
Vijayanagar empire

1424–1446 		Succeeded by
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