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The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c17: Chapter XI. The Short Reign of Tirumala

The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c17

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English

Chapter XI. The Short Reign of Tirumala

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SUMMARY.—1. Accession of Tirumala to the throne of Vijayanagara.—2. Dynastic propaganda through the Empire, revised through contemporary inscriptions and grants.—3. Rebellions of feudatory chiefs and Rajas against the Emperor.—4. Erection of the three Viceroyalties of the Telugu, Kanarese and Tamil countries.—5. Muhammadan conquests in the North.—6. Action of Tirumala against the invaders.—7. Sriranga appointed Yuvaraja. Death of the Emperor.—8. Tirumala’s piety and wisdom.—9. Final criticism of the first Sovereign of the Aravidu Dynasty.

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CONTEMPORARY SOURCES.—1. Hindu inscriptions and grants.—2. Apocryphal prophecy of the Mackenzie Collection.—3. Ferishta.—4. *Anonymous life of St. Francis Xavier*.—5. Frederick, Anquetil du Perron.—6. *Ramarajiyamu Vasucharitramu*, *Chikkadevaraya Vamsavali*.

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THE assassination of Sadasiva Raya naturally led to the accession of the Regent as Emperor of Vijayanagara. When this event took place, Tirumala was a venerable old man: his eldest brother Rama Raya was ninety-six at the time of his death, 1565. Now if we allow only a ten years' difference between them, Tirumala must have been close on ninety when the last representative of the Tuluva family was murdered four years later.

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According to an apocryphal prophecy contained in one of the MSS. of the Mackenzie Collection, Tirumala’s coronation took place in Penukonda¹. “At the coronation of this moon among kings”, we read in the Kuniyur plates of Venkata III, “foremost among the famous, this earth, being sprinkled with floods of water poured out at donations, occupied the place of queen”²; while in two grants of Venkata II and in one of the same Tirumala, 1571, it is said that “at his anointing the earth was also so anointed as to appear as his crowned Queen" ¹; and in a grant of Ranga III, 1645, it is recorded that "the streams poured forth with gifts made by this most famous of kings at the time of his anointing to the throne, caused the earth to appear as if she also was so anointed" ².

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¹ Taylor, O. H. MSS., II, p. 98.

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² *Ep. Ind.*, III, p. 252, v. 16.

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¹ Tirumala's grant, 1571, *Ep. Carn.* XII, Ck, 39; Mangalampad grant of Venkata II, Butterworth, I, p. 30, v. 20; Venkata II's grant, 1589, *Ep. Carn.*, XII, Tm, 1.

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² *Ep. Carn.*, X, Mb, 60, For this ceremony the old jewelled throne of Vijayanagara was no doubt used. It had been carried to the palace of Tremil, and from there, probably on this occasion, was brought over to Penukonda to be used at the enthronement of the first king of the Aravidu dynasty. When later on the court was transferred to the Tamil country by Venkata II, the jewelled throne was probably transferred again to the East; anyhow it went back to Penukonda after more than half a century, because all the successors of Ranga III, so far known, were at Ghanagiri (Penukonda), as the inscriptions often record.

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X. Tirumala Raya. Upper Tirupati. By kind permission of the Director General of Archæology.

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It appears certain from these extracts that the Queen was not present at the ceremony of coronation, being probably still in the palace of Tremil, as a place safer from the Muhammadan incursions. Both the Tumkur and Budihala copperplates say that Tirumala's Queen was named Channadevi or Channamadevi ³; but many other grants give the name of Vengalamba or Vengalambika, as the one belonging to the wife of Tirumala ⁴. Probably Vengalambika had been Tirumala's first wife, since she is declared to be the mother of his four sons ⁵; but it is not improbable that he should have lost her by his ninetieth year; on that supposition, Channamadevi was the second wife who sat beside him on the throne of Vijayanagara. A Telugu poem of Bhattu Murti, a poet at his court, speaks of Tirumala and his Queen sitting together, and compares them to the god Siva, and Tirumala himself to Sukracharya, the preceptor of the Asuras. The propriety of this comparison lies in the fact that "Siva is described in one of his forms as half man and half woman, and as having three eyes, the ordinary two and 'the eye of wisdom'. When Tirumala and his wife sat side by side they had only three eyes between them (Tirumala having lost one in the battle of Raksas-Tagdi). Sukracharya, the preceptor of the demons, is said to have only one eye, the other having been blinded by the god Vishnu when he took the form of a dwarf. Both Siva and Sukracharya are considered by Sanskrit writers to be omniscient, and are termed Sarvagna (all-knowing)"¹. The flattery of the poet is as delicate as it is acute.

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³ Tumkur copper-plates, *Ep. Carn.*, XII, Tm, 1; Budihala copper-plates, Cf. H. Krishna Sastri, *A. S. I., Report, 1911-12*, p. 180, note 8.

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⁴ Maredapalli grant of Ranga I, *Ep. Ind.*, XI, p. 328: Arivili-mangalam plates of Ranga I, *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 357, v. 19; Dalavay Agraharam plates of Venkata II, *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 186, v. 23; Vilapaka grant of Venkata II, *Ep. Ind.*, IV, p. 270, vv. 20-2; Venkata II's grant, 1587, *Ep. Carn.* VII, Sh, 83; Venkata II's grant, 1589, *Ep. Carn.*, XII, Ck, 39; Venkata III's grant, 1639, *Ep. Carn.*, III, Nj, 198; *Ramarajiyamu*, S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 213. Cf. Gopinatha Rao, *Copper-plate Inscriptions of the Karnakoti Pitha*, p. 82.

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⁵ *Ramarajiyamu*, Ibid., p. 213; *Vasucharitramu*, Ibid., p. 216.

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¹ Ibid., p. 221-2.

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Now, when did the coronation of Tirumala take place? We have said in the preceding chapter that the inscriptions belonging to the year 1570, but recording facts that occurred in Sadasiva's time, were carved in the reign of Tirumala; because the year 1569 must be assigned as the year of Tirumala's accession, and of the foundation of the new dynasty. There is in Udayagiri an inscription of 1569, "while Tirumala seated on the diamond throne was ruling the kingdom of Vijayanagara"². The above mentioned apocryphal prophecy, which was probably written in 1630, also places the beginning of Tirumala's reign in 1569; but it must have been very near the end of the year, since the same document gives Tirumala only eleven months' rule and lays down the commencement of his son's reign in 1572³.

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² Butterworth, III, p. 1328-9.

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³ Taylor, O.H. MSS., II, p. 98.

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2. From this time onwards the inscriptions of Tirumala show him with imperial titles, as successor of the old Emperors of Vijayanagara. In 1571 he is stated to be "ruling the earth" with the title of Maharajadhiraja⁴. In 1571 he is called Virapratapa Tirumalayadeva Maharaya⁵. In the same year a stone inscription from the Shimoga district calls him "the glorious king of kings, the great lord of kings, ruling the whole kingdom from his throne at Pehugundi (Penukonda) which belongs to Hampi-Hastinavati (Vijayanagara)" ¹. The Tumkur plates of the same date give him imperial titles as used by the old Emperors of Vijayanagara ². Finally in his Penuguluru grant, made in the same year, he is described "seated on his throne ruling the whole kingdom extending from the Sethu (Rameswaram) to the Sumeru, and from the hill of sunrise in the East to the end of the western mountain, eclipsing in fame and righteousness even Nriga, Nala, Nahusha and such others on earth" ³.

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⁴ Ep. Carn., XII, Mi, 10.

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⁵ 497 of 1905.

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¹ *Ep. Carn.* VIII, Sb, 55.

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² Ibid., XII, Tm, 1.

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³ *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p. 256, v. 43.

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His being anointed 'to the peerless and matchless sovereignty' is often mentioned as being that of the lawful founder of the dynasty, not only in his grants ⁴, but even in those of his successors Ranga I ⁵, Venkata II ⁶, Venkata III ⁷, and Ranga III ⁸.

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⁴ Tirumala's grant, 1571, *Ep. Carn.*, XII, Tm, 1.

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⁵ Arivilimangalam plates of Ranga I, *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 357, v. 16.

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⁶ Vellangudi plates of Venkata II, *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p. 319, v. 20; Mangalampad grant of Venkata II, Butterworth, I, p. 30, v. 19; Venkata II's grants, 1587 and 1589, *Ep. Carn.*, VII, Sh, 83 and XII, Ck, 39.

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⁷ Kuniyur plates of Venkata III, *Ep. Ind.*, III, p. 252, v. 15; Venkata III's grant, 1639, *Ep. Carn.*, III, Nj, 198.

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⁸ Ranga III's grant, 1645, *Ep. Carn.*, X, Mb, 60.

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Accordingly, the pedigree of the Aravidu family and its connection with some of the ancient and most famous dynasties of India, whether true or forged, were propagated in those days throughout the length and breadth of the Empire, with a view to establishing the new Aravidu family firmly on the throne. Thus in the Madanagopalasvamin temple at Madura, Tirumala's pedigree is found engraved on thirteen stones ⁹. Then in an inscription of Gurzala, Krishna District, he is called 'the most excellent in the family of Satyasraya and the gem of the Chalukyas' ¹. And in the above mentioned Penuguluru grant he is said to be 'the foremost of the Chola family' ².

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⁹ 510 of 1907.

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¹ Sewell, I, p. 58.

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² *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p. 257, vv. 44-62.

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3. This propaganda in favour of his family's rights to the imperial throne would appear to suggest that his authority was in danger; and we find indeed that a good number of his subjects did not acknowledge him in the beginning of his rule—not on account of his ancestors, who had been several times connected with the previous dynasties, but because of the murder of Sadasiva.

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The author of the anonymous life of St. Xavier quoted above, who finished his work during the reign of Tirumala ³, writes to this effect: "There were several wars over the question of the succession to the throne; for there was no more issue of the royal family, and various nobles and leading chiefs of the kingdom did not acknowledge the one who is ruling at present" ⁴. This fact is also recorded in a letter of Tirumala ⁵ to Velappa Raya of Bankapur, kept by Ferishta. The King complains that "most of the dependents of the house of Bijanagar (Vijayanagara) had become rebels from their duty" ⁶. But Frederick, who was travelling through the Empire at the time, gives us more details. While describing 'the place where they get Diamants', 'sixe dayes journey from Bezeneger (Vijayanagara)' he states that "it is many yeeres agone since they got any there, for the troubles that have been in that kingdome. The first cause of this trouble was, because the sonne of this Temaragio had put to death the lawful king,...for which cause the Barons and Noblemen in that kingdome would not acknowledge him to be their king, and by this meanes there are many kings, and great division in that kingdom" 1. Again, Anquetil du Perron, after the account of the regicide, adds: "Many troubles sprang from these revolutions: the nobles refused to acknowledge the new king" 2.

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³ Cf. *M. H. S. J., Mon. Xav.*, I, p. XXIII-XXIV.

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⁴ Ibid., p. 62.

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⁵ Ferishta says Venkatadri, but this is an evident mistake. The one who was at Penukonda at this time was Tirumala. Anyhow the letter we are going to quote here would prove the same if written by Venkatadri.

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⁶ Ferishta, III, p. 136.

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³ Ep. Carn., XII, Tm, 1.

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⁴ Taylor, l.c.

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⁵ Ep. Ind., XII, p. 357, v. 19.

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This was certainly a very difficult position for the new sovereign in his ninetieth year. On the one hand there was the Muhammadan menace on the northern frontier; on the other he suddenly saw many of the feudatory chiefs of the Empire rebelling against his authority. We do not know who these rebels were; but we may assume that the Nayaks of Madura and Tanjore did not make any movement, because their first rebellion is mentioned as having taken place during the reign of Venkata II. It seems quite certain that the King set out without delay to subdue these disloyal chiefs, and actually received the homage of several of them. One of his grants of 1571 records that "he subdued and made his own the eighty-four durgas; he curbed the pride of Avahalu Raja, and showed his skill in conquering the Utkala king (Orissa), the chief gem in the garland, Araviti-pura, the Suratrapa of Urigola (Warangal)" 3.

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These were probably some of the rebel chiefs reduced by Tirumala to his obedience; but they were not all, for according to the apocryphal prophecy of the Mackenzie Collection, from the year 1569 onwards, 'the country will be in great confusion then for five years' 4. From this we conclude that the rebellion lasted until the first years of the reign of Ranga I, and was perhaps one of the causes of Tirumala's abdication.

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4. One of its immediate results was beyond doubt the inauguration of a new system of government, which proved efficient for some years. Such was the division of the whole Empire into three viceroyalties to be distributed among the sons of the sovereign.

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The Arivilimangalam plates 5 and the Maredapalli grant 6 mention only one son of Tirumala, Ranga; the Vellangudi ¹ and the Dalavay Agraharam plates ² and the Vilapaka grant ³ give two names, Ranga and Venkata, as corresponding to two sons of Tirumala; three are to be found in the *Chikkadevaraya Vamsavali* ⁴ but the Kuniyur plates of Venkata III ⁵ and a grant of Ranga III, 1645 ⁶, along with the *Vasucharitramu* ⁷ and the *Ramarajiyamu* ⁸ mention four-Raghunatha, Ranga, Rama and Venkata. The eldest died probably after the battle of Raksas-Tagdi, and this is the reason why no reference to him is made in many of the preceding documents; while Rama was also overlooked in several of them, because he never ascended the masnad. Ranga and Venkata were the future Ranga I and Venkata II.

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¹ Purchas, X, p. 97.

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² Anquetil du Perron, l.c., p. 166.

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¹ Ibid., XVI, p. 300.

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² Ibid., XII, p. 186, vv. 23 and 27.

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³ Ibid., IV, p. 270, vv. 20-22.

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⁴ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 302.

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⁵ *Ep. Ind.*, III, p. 252, v. 18.

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⁶ *Ep. Carn.*, X, Mb, 60.

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⁷ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, o. c., p. 216.

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⁸ Ibid., p. 213.

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At this time Raghunatha was already dead. Hence the whole Empire was divided into three viceroyalties, and each of them placed under one of the three surviving brothers. The division was made on a racial basis, and followed the different peoples that occupied the territory of the Empire: the Telugu viceroyalty in the North, the Kanarese viceroyalty in the West, and the Tamil viceroyalty in the East and South ⁹.

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⁹ None of the contemporary sources say that Tirumala appointed his four sons to the several governorships of the kingdom, as it has often been asserted. Raghunatha is not mentioned at this time, from which we conclude he was dead. Even in Richards, *Salem Gazetteer*, p. 67, we read that "the Empire, about this time, was divided into six viceroyalties: 1. Andhra; 2. Karnata; 3. Madura; 4. Chandragiri; 5. Jinji; 6. Tanjore". Here the three great Nayakships of Madura, Tanjore and Jinji have been mixed up with the three viceroyalties created by Tirumala.

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"Sri Ranga Raya was the Viceroy of the whole Telugu country with his capital at Penukonda", says the *Chikkadevaraya* *Vamsavali*¹. The establishment of his capital at Penukonda took place later, when he was appointed Yuvaraja; but the capital of his viceroyalty seems to have been Udayagiri, in the heart of the Telugu country. "Making Udayagiri his residence," we read in the Dalavay Agraharam plates of Venkata II, "he conquered Kondavidu, Vinikondapura and other forts, and began to rule at Penukonda" ². The same is recorded in the Maredapalli grant of Ranga I³, in the Vellangudi plates⁴ and the Padmaneri grant of Venkata II⁵, and another grant of the same monarch of the year 1589⁶. Another of the same Ranga, of 1576, says that when he was at Udayagiri he conquered the inaccessible fortress of Kondavidu, Vinukonda, etc.; and that he was, at the time of the inscription, residing with all the insignia of royalty at Penukonda⁷. It is quite evident from these grants that Ranga's rule at Udayagiri was previous to his rule at Penukonda. At this time and after the conquest of Kondavidu, he is also called governor of this place, when in that capacity he granted a village to a local temple⁸.

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¹ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 302.

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² *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 186, v. 23-26.

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³ *Ep. Ind.*, XI, p. 328, v. 31.

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⁴ *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p. 319, vv. 28-30.

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⁵ *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p. 297, vv. 24-25.

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⁶ *Ep. Carn.*, XII, Cf. 39. Ck, *Ep. Carn.*, VII, Sh, 83.

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⁷ 23 of 1911. One year previous to this grant, in 1576, Kondavidu had been granted by the same Ranga to a Brahman. *Catalogue of the Copper-plate Grants in the Government Museum, Madras*, p. 53.

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⁸ Sewell, II, p. 188.

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"The next brother, Rama", says the *Vasucharitramu*, "was governing in peace the whole country from the Kaveri to the Sea (Arabian Sea), with his capital at the island town of Seringapatam" ⁹. The country under Rama is specified in greater detail in the *Chikkadevaraya Vamsavali*. "His brother Rama Raya ruled the whole Kanarese country from his capital Seringapatam" ¹⁰. During the reign of Sadasiva, immediately before the battle of Raksas-Tagdi, Rama Raya seems to have been governor of the fortress of Penukonda ¹, and about that time he made a gift of the village of Kolagala to a certain Ramaraja Nayaka ². He is said to have previously defeated the Nizam Shah ³; but his rule at Seringapatam has been noted as weak ⁴. The times however were not favourable to the Kanarese Viceroy. I feel sure that many of the petty chieftains of the Kanarese country were in revolt against Tirumala and the new dynasty; several rebellions occurred there, too, after the accession of Sadasiva ⁵. Rama's task was not at all easy, and his life was not to last long. During the time of his viceroyalty, he constructed the math of Satyabhodarayalasvami at Penukonda, as recorded in a Kanarese inscription in the same place ⁶. By his wife Narasingama ⁷ he had two sons, Tirumala and Sri Ranga ⁸, whose great influence in the history of the Aravidu family will be traced in due course.

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⁹ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 217.

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¹⁰ Ibid., p. 302.

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¹ Cf. H. Krishna Sastri, *The Third Vijayanagara Dynasty*, l. c., p. 183.
2. 15 of 1910.

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³ *Ramarajiyamu*, S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, o. c., p. 213.

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⁴ Cf. Richards, *Salem Gazetteer*, p. 67.

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⁵ Cf. Ch. IV, No. 2.

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⁶ Sewell, I, p. 120.

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⁷ *Ramarajiyamu*, l. c.

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⁸ Kuniyur plates of Venkata III, *Ep. Ind.*, III, p. 253, v. 21; Ranga III's grant, 1645, *Ep. Carn.*, X, Mb, 60; *Ramarajiyamu*, l. c.

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The Tamil country was under the third brother Venkata. "The last of the four brothers, Venkatapati", says the *Vasu-charitramu*, "was governing as Viceroy the kingdom of Chandragiri, having under his authority many feudatory princes" ⁹. Who several of these princes were, is mentioned in the *Chikkadevaraya Vamsavali*: "Venkatapati, the third brother, was the Viceroy of the Tundira (Jinji), Chola (Tanjore) and Pandya (Madura) countries with his capital at Chandragiri" ¹⁰. We have no special information about his rule as Viceroy; his authority was above that of the three powerful Nayaks of Madura, Tanjore and Jinji, and was similar to that of Prince Vitthala, the cousin of Rama Raya, during the time of his viceroyalty in the South.

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⁹ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 217.

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This new administrative arrangement, inaugurated by Tirumala, was intended to meet the then urgent necessities of the Empire. The monarch, leaving the affairs of government in the hands of his sons, could devote himself to checking the advance of the Muhammadans on the northern frontier. The division being naturally made according to the three great different races of the Empire, a greater administrative success in each part could reasonably be expected; and the Viceroys being of the royal blood, and in this case sons of the Sovereign himself, the fear of rebellion was reduced, since they were bound to be very loyal to the Emperor their father. The only fear was that these viceroyalties being hereditary, the future viceroys, though related to the Emperor, would not feel that love which is natural between close relations, and the consequences would prove fatal to the Empire. But this apprehension was never realised, since the viceroyalties ceased to exist after half a century.

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5. The Muhammadans, indeed, continued seriously to menace the northern territories. After the battle of Raksas-Tagdi, Tirumala had delivered the territory from an invasion of Ali Adil Shah, by soliciting the aid of the Queen Mother of Ahmadnagar, Bibi Khunzah Humayun, who by marching an army into the Bijapur dominions had forced Ali Adil Shah to retreat from Vijayanagara ¹. But in the year 1569, the same Ali Adil Shah and Murtaza Nizam Shah met on the borders of their kingdoms, and came to a mutual agreement to extend their conquests in such different directions as not to interfere with each other: the Sultan of Ahmadnagar should be allowed to occupy Berar, and the sovereign of Bijapur should be permitted "to conquer as much of the dependencies of Bijanagar (Vijayanagara) as he thought proper, without any interference on the part of Murtaza Nizam Shah" ².

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¹ Cf. Ch. X, No. 12.

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² Ferishta, III, p. 135.

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This agreement was fatal to the Hindu Empire. Ali Adil Shah set out at once to invest the fortress of Turkal, then in possession of Venkatayasu Raya, who surrendered after seven months of strenuous defence. Then the Sultan proceeded to reduce Dharwar, "one of the strongest of the forts in the Karnatik, and at that time in possession of one of the officers of the late Ramraj, who, though he paid annually a small tribute to Yeltumraj (Tirumala), had now acquired great power." The fortress, however, took six months to subdue. Then Ali Adil Shah turned his arms to Bankapur. Its Raja, Velappa Raya, who rebelled against Vijayanagara after the Raksas-Tagdi disaster ¹, "shut himself up in the fort, and detached his son, with a thousand horse and ten thousand foot, to occupy the woods and passes, in order to harass the enemy as opportunity offered, and to endeavour to cut off his resources". At the same time, he sent a message to Tirumala asking for help. But the Emperor's answer carried unutterable despair to his heart; for Tirumala replied that "by his wickedness and evil example most of the dependents on his house had become rebels, and departed from their duty, so that it was with difficulty he could support himself at Penukonda and Chandragiri, the only places which the kings of Islam had left him. He advised him therefore, if money or jewels could purchase terms from the Muhammadans, to procure them on any conditions; but if he should find this impossible, he recommended him by all means to induce the neighbouring Rajas to espouse his cause, and to prevail on them to join his son with their followers, in order to harass the Mussulmans by cutting off their supplies and making frequent night attacks. He promised, moreover, to issue orders to all his vassals to assist him, though he could not rely on their obedience". Accordingly, Velappa Raya prevailed on some chiefs to join his son; and they acted with such vigour "that grain became scarce in the king's camp", says Ferishta, "which was molested every night by bands of robbers and assassins, who did much execution... They entered the tents at night, and without mercy stabbed the soldiers while sleeping. Every night numbers were killed by them in this treacherous manner: and so great a dread and discontent prevailed among the troops, that they were near forcing the king to raise the siege; but the tactics of Mustafa Khan freed the camp of these night marauders, and then confidence was restored among the Muslim soldiers. The siege, however, lingered on for one year and three months. Velappa Raya surrendered at last after the demise of his son, on condition of being allowed to depart with his family and effects ¹. When this fort fell, Ranga I was already Emperor.

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¹ Cf. Ch. X, No. 17.

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¹ Ferishta, III, p. 135-9. This campaign against Bankapur is also mentioned by the anonymous chronicler of Golkonda, Ibid., p. 432.

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6. What was the action of Tirumala against the invaders of his Empire? We have read somewhere that teritorially he left it at the time of his death just as it was before the battle of Raksas-Tagdi; but we have not anywhere discovered any source of information so optimistic about his reign. His great military prowess is extolled in many of the grants of his succesors ²; he is called ‘the king of the powerful arm’ ³ who ‘defeated his enemies’ ⁴, ‘conquered’ or ‘subdued hostile kings in battle’ ⁵ and ‘scorched hostile kings with the fire of his valour’ ⁶.

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² Penuguluru grant of Tirumala, *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p. 256, vv. 44-62; Arivilimangalam plates of Ranga I, *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 357, v 16; Mangalampad grant of Venkata II, Butterworth, I, p 30, v. 19; Kuniyur plates of Venkata III, *Ep. Ind.*, III, p. 252, v. 15.

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³ Penuguluru grant of Tirumala, *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p. 257, vv. 44-62.

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⁴ Arivilimangalam plates of Ranga I, *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 357, v. 16; Vellangudi plates of Venkata II, *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p. 319, v. 20.

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⁵ Kuniyur plates of Venkata III, *Ep. Ind.*, III, p. 254, v. 15; Mangalampad grant of Venkata II, Butterworth, I, p. 30. v. 19.

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⁶ Penuguluru grant of Tirumala, *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p. 257, vv. 44-62.

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The *Vasucharitramu* relates that Tirumala destroyed the forces of the Muhammadans sent against him under the command of a certain Khana (Khan). Incidentally the poem says that Tirumala “verily bestowed upon the hills of Penagonda (Penukonda) the *girisabhava* (the state of being the best of hills), by spreading thereon the skins of mad elephants and the skulls (of slaughtered soldiers)” ⁷. This was probably the occasion when Tirumala's minister, Chennappa Nayadu, distinguished himself by defeating the Muhammadans near Penukonda, as is recorded in a local inscription ¹.

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⁷ Cf. H. Krishna Sastri, *The Third Vijayanagara Dynasty*, l. c. p. 181.

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¹ 341 of 1901.

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7. It is generally asserted that Tirumala retired from the Karnata throne in favour of his son Ranga. But I cannot support this statement with any contemporary authority. The *Vasucharitramu* only says that "Sri Ranga was nominated Yuvaraja by Tirumala Raya and was looking after the affairs of the whole Empire" ². His appointment as heir-apparent does not imply his father's renunciation of the throne; nor is this implied by the second fact, which was probably contemporary with the first, *viz.* that he was looking after the affairs of the whole Empire. Tirumala no doubt felt that he was too old to rule so turbulent a country, and therefore appointed his eldest living son his heir-apparent and associated him in the government; it was then that Ranga 'began to rule at Penukonda' ³.

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² S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 217.

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³ Dalavay Agraharam plates of Venkata II, *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 186, vv. 23-26.

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This occurred probably at the end of 1571; but in the beginning of 1572 Tirumala, who was then ninety-two, passed away, according to the apocryphal prophecy in the Mackenzie Collection ⁴.

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⁴ *Taylor*, l. c.

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8. The grants of his successors extol the virtues of the 'excellent' Tirumala, as he is called in the Kuniyur plates of Venkata III ⁵. The Penuguluru grant pronounces him "an ocean of praiseworthy qualities, the prosperous abode of unrestrained charities" ⁶, "illustrious, distinguished for his prudence, the gifts from whose hands excelled even those of the tree of Indra, and who was a fountain of good qualities" ⁷. He is said "to rule the whole earth with great glory and unequalled renown, like Hari (Vishnu) among the Trimurti” ¹, or “to protect the earth like Vishnu among the Trimurti” ².

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⁵ *Ep. Ind.*, III, p. 252, v. 73.

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⁶ Ibid., XVI, p. 257, vv. 44-52.

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¹ Arivilimangalam plates of Ranga I, *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 357 v. 16; Mangalampad grant of Venkata II, Butterworth I, p. 30, v. 19; Kuniyur plates of Venkata III, *Ep. Ind.*, III, p. 252, v. 15.

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² Vellangudi plates of Venkata II, *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p 317, v. 20.

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Two qualities among the rest are selected for special praise: his piety and his wisdom. As to the first, the Penuguluru grant says that he is ‘a repository of nectar-like devotion to Hari (Vishnu)’ ³. “This king,” the Vellangudi plates of Venkata II inform us, “performed frequently all the danas mentioned in the agamas, such as the kanaka-tuba-purusha and the upadanas in the temple of Kanchi, Sriranga, etc., and at the sacred tirthas” ⁴. He built temples and bathing-places for pilgrims at Kanchi, Srirangam, Seshachala, Kanakshaba, Ahobaladri and other places ⁵. In 1569, while ‘seated on the diamond throne’ and ‘ruling the Kingdom of Vijayanagara, he made a grant to the god Anjaneya’ at Udayagiri ⁶. In the following year another was made “with pleasure and libations of gold and water, as a sarva-manya, to Brahmans, of several sakkas, names, gotras and sutras, of the rich village named Penuguluru, with the two other villages, Yalanimapadu-Chennapalli and Konduru-Chennapalli, beautiful with gardens” ⁷.

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³ *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p. 245.

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⁴ Ibid., p. 319, v. 27.

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⁵ Tirumala’s grant *Ep. Carn.*, XII, Tm, 1; Venkata II’s grant, 1587, *Ep. Carn.*, VII, Sh, 83; Venkata II’s grant, 1589, *Ep. Carn.*, XII, Ck, 39.

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⁶ Butterworth, III, p. 1328.

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⁷ *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p. 257, vv. 44-52.

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His wisdom is likewise acknowledged and highly praised by his successors: he is called ‘wise’ ⁸ and ‘learned’ ⁹; and even in a Sadasiva’s grant of 1558 he is said to be as ‘learned as Bhoja Raja’¹. He was ‘highly esteemed by wise kings’². He sedulously patronised wise people and endeavoured to propagate wisdom among his subjects. In order to commemorate the first death anniversary of his father, he granted the village of Jillellamuduku to a wise man, called Srinivasacharya³. Then, when he made the Penuguluru grant to Brahmans, the entire village was divided into 128 *vrittis* and given to Brahmans who were highly learned in the sastras and were masters in the Vedanta: one of the *vrittis* was granted for the study of the Rig-Veda and another for that of the Yajur-Veda⁴. At the end of this volume we shall mention his literary exploits; we shall here only quote some words of the Penuguluru grant mentioned already, which gives a beautiful description of the pious and wise Tirumala, “being surrounded by pious and loving priests and attendants, and by various wise men who follow the ways laid down in the Vedas and are highly educated”⁵. Such was the company with which Tirumala loved to surround himself; the great warrior never lost sight of the claims of piety and the value of high education.

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⁸ Arivilimangalam plates of Ranga, I, *Ep. Ind.* XII, p. 357, v. 16; Mangalampad grant of Venkata II, Butterworth, I, p. 30. v. 19; Kuniynr plates of Venkata III, *Ep. Ind.*, III, p. 252, v. 15.

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⁹ Ranga III’s grant, 1645, *Ep. Carn.*, X, Mb, 60.

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¹ *Ep. Carn.*, IX, Cp, 186.

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² Penuguluru grant of Tirumala, *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p. 257, vv. 42-62.

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³ Rangacharaya, I, p. 639, 678.

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⁴ *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p. 245.

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⁵ Ibid., p. 257, vv. 44-62.

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9. We cannot doubt that Tirumala had the most excellent qualities which must adorn a ruler; since he proved it when a minister during the reign of Sadasiva, and specially after the usurpation of his brother, when he was in charge of all state matters. He marvellously co-operated with Rama Raya for the welfare of the Empire, and the success they attained was due to the efficiency of both; the glory of the Empire of Krishna Deva Raya still illuminated the combined rule of Rama Raya and Tirumala. But after the disaster of Raksas-Tagdi, and specially during his short rule as Emperor, he was too old to maintain the Empire in its pristine glory. The Muhammadan attacks on the northern frontier and the rebellions of the feudatory chiefs throughout the whole of the Empire were too much for the old Sovereign. He then thought of dividing his task among his sons, by creating the three Viceroyalties of Udayagiri, Seringapatam and Chandragiri; and as even that was not enough, he associated his eldest son in the government to share with him the conduct of state affairs. The weakness he showed in translating the court and capital from Vijayanagara to Penukonda became clearer and clearer every year. The Muhammadans were continuously advancing and even reached the walls of Penukonda. Nor were the domestic revolts yet brought under at the time of his demise. Tirumala was not at all a successful monarch.

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His usurpation of the throne may be easily justified. A pageant king like Sadasiva was a grave danger to the Empire at such a turbulent time; and if any relics of imperial power were to be saved, the removal of Sadasiva was a political necessity. Nevertheless political necessity never justified a murder; if Tirumala is responsible for the assassination of Sadasiva Raya, the first monarch of the Aravidu dynasty of Vijayanagara will always be blamed for having sprinkled the steps of his throne with the blood of his predecessor.

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