Sri Krishnadevaraya

Śrī Kriṣhṇa Devarāya and also known as Krishna Devarayulu in some inscriptions was the famed Emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire who reigned from 1509–1529 CE.He is the third ruler of the Tuluva Dynasty. Presiding over the empire at its zenith, he is regarded as an icon by many Indians. Emperor Krishna Deva Raya earned the titles Andhra Bhoja (ఆంధ్రభోజ), Mooru Rayara Ganda (ಮೂರುರಾಯರಗಂಡ : meaning King of three kings) and Kannada Rajya Rama Ramana (ಕನ್ನಡರಾಜ್ಯರಮಾರಮಣ).

Sri Krishna Deva Raya, son of Tuluva Narasa Nayaka, founder of Tuluva dynasty(Tulu are referred to as Tuluva or Tulu people).Tuluva Narasa Nayaka was from bunts caste from the region of Tulu Nadu in the coastal region of karnataka. The Bunts claim Kshatriya descent from the Nagavanshi lineage.He was a commander under Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya. After the death of king Saluva Narasimha, crown prince Thimma Bhupala was murdered by an army commander. The faithful Tuluva Narasa Nayaka then crowned the other prince, Narasimha Raya II but retained all administrative powers in order to bring stability to the kingdom. He built a robust administration and an effective army. He had regained control over large domains in South India and kept the Bahamani Sultans and the Gajapatis at bay and brought the rebellious chiefs under control, making way for the golden era of Vijayanagar.But his elder son Viranarasimha raya,who proclaimed himself as king after his father ’s death,soon after his death his half-brother Krishnadevaraya ascended the throne in 1509.He ruled for 20 years .Tulu(which does not have script) was his mother tongue but gave equal preferance to both kannada and telugu language equally. The imperial court had representatives of Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu and Tamil poets, who contributed largely to their respective literatures.Though he was a Kannadiga he respected all languages.He gave importance to Telugu because more than half of his empire was under Telugu speaking people and his army mainly contained Telugu commanders.The amount of respect he is getting from Telugu people is great.

He had to wage wars immediately after ascending the throne. In this twenty-one years of rule (1509-1530), he had to conduct campaigns and wars continuously for a lengthy period of eleven years (from 1510 to 1521). The wars were frequent and there used to be very less time between two wars. When the logistics and the huge preparations for the war are considered, there was no rest period for the king in between the wars.

Sri Krishnadevaraya during his reign waged fourteen major wars and won all of them. Most notable war was the war against the Jihad by the three Sultans of Bijapur, Ahmamadnagar and Golkonda.

His rule marked the grand period in the development of the empire and the successful achievement of the objects for which it was actually founded. The success was due to many reforms that Krishnadevaraya brought in the administration of the empire.