The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c18: Chapter XII. The Empire Under Sri Ranga I
The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c18
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Chapter XII. The Empire Under Sri Ranga I
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SUMMARY.—1. Enthronement of Ranga I. Retains his capital at Penukonda.—2. His officers. Subdues the rebellious chiefs.—3. Muhammadan invasion of Kanara.—4. First attack of Bijapur against Penukonda. Alliance between Vijayanagara and Golkonda.—5. Second attack on Penukonda. Ranga imprisoned by his enemies.—6. Third attack. Jagadeva Raya.—7. The Sultan of Golkonda invades Ahobilam.—8. The province of Udayagiri captured by the Golkonda troops.—9. Further Muhammadan inroads.—10. Ranga I's religious conduct.—11. His death. A criticism.
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CONTEMPORARY SOURCES.—1. Hindu inscriptions and grants. 2. Ferishta, Anonymous chronicler of Golkonda.—3. Ramarajiyamu, Chikkadevaraya Vamsavali, Annals of Hande Anantapuram, Charuchandrodayam, Yayaticharitramu, Lakshimivilasam.
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SRIMAD Rajadhiraja Rajaparamesvara Sri Vira Pratapa Sri Rangarayadeva Maharayalu¹ naturally succeeded his father Tirumala at the beginning of 1572. ‘Ranga was installed in the kingdom of Penukonda’, we read in the Utsur grant of Ranga III²; and in the Kuniyur plates of Venkata III we find that he ‘was crowned to the kingdom of Penukonda’³. As to the actual ceremonies of his coronation, a grant of Venkata II, 1587, informs us that he ‘anointed by his chief Brahmans’⁴; but the Mangalampad grant of the same records that he ‘was installed according to the rules by the best of the Brahmans’⁵. Both grants mention the sovereign's munificence on this occasion; and the Vellangudi plates of Venkata II even state that ‘by the gifts made by this King at the time of his coronation poverty was completely wiped out for good men” ¹. His queens were Tirumala Devi and Krishnamba ².
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¹ Such is the full imperial title given him in the inscriptions. Cf. Rangacharya, II, p. 1098, 374.
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² Butterworth, I, p. 46, v. 23.
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³ Ep. Ind., III, p. 252. v. 19.
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⁴ Ep. Carn., VII, Sh, 83.
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⁵ Butterworth, I, p. 30, v. 22.
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¹ *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p. 319, vv. 28-30.
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² Venkata II's grant, 1589, *Ep. Carn.*, XII, Ck, 39. Tirumala Devi is called Timmamba in the *Ramarajiyamu*, S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar *Sources*, p. 213; and Sewell, II, p. 252, calls the second wife Katamba.
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The statement has been made that Ranga transferred the capital of the Empire to Chandragiri ³. This is not founded on any contemporary source. The Vellangudi plates of Venkata II say that ‘he made Penugonda his capital’ ⁴; and the Kondyata grant of Venkata III calls him the ‘king of Penagonda’ ⁵. Moreover, we know of inscriptions of all the years of his reign, excepting two. They clearly state that he was ruling over the Empire from the hilly town of Anantapur. In 1572 certain inhabitants of Mannur, Cuddapah, gave away their annual fee from the village to the god Chennakesava, in the reign of Srirangaraya of Penukonda ⁶; an inscription of 1573 says that that he ‘was ruling at Penukonda’ ⁷; his Maredapalli grant was made in 1574 ‘in the presence of the god Ramachandra (in Penukonda)’ ⁸, and it states that he was residing at Penukonda ⁹; again, another inscription of 1574 records that he was ‘ruling at Penukonda’ ¹⁰; three inscriptions of 1575 speak of him as still ‘seated in Penukonda’ ¹¹; another of 1576 again commemorates the fact of his ‘ruling at Penukonda’ ¹²; in 1577-8 he makes the Arivilimangalam grant ‘in the presence of the god Ramachandra of Perunkondapura (Penukonda)’ ¹; again, he is said to be ‘ruling over Penukonda’ in 1578 ²; and in 1579 he is ‘ruling the kingdom of the earth at Penukonda’ ³; this is also said of 1579-80, ⁴; in 1582 he is ‘seated on the diamond throne at the city of Penugonda’ ⁵; in 1582-3 he is said still to be ‘ruling at Penukonda’ ⁶, and finally he is called ‘Sri Ranga of Penukonda’ and ‘ruling at Penukonda’ both in 1584 ⁷ and in 1585 ⁸, the last year of his reign.
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³ Brackenbury, *Cuddapah Gazetteer*, p. 37; Francis, *Anantapur Gazetteer*, p 21.
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⁴ *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p. 319, vv. 28-30.
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⁵ *Ind. Ant.*, XIII, p. 126.
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⁶ Rangacharya, I, p. 643, 783.
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⁷ *Ep. Carn.*, XII, Ck, 39.
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⁸ *Ep. Ind.*, XI p. 328.
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⁹ Ibid., v. 31.
10. 70 of 1915.
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¹¹ Butterworth, III, p. 1259-61; Rangacharya, II, p. 1143, 688; *Catalogue of the Copper-Plate Grants in the Government Museum, Madras*, p. 53.
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¹ Ep. Ind., XII, p. 341.
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² Sewell, I, p. 100.
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³ Butterworth, II, p. 657-9; Rangacharya, II p, 1098, 374; M. A. D., Report, 1923, p. 44.
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⁴ Butterworth, II, p. 657-9.
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⁵ Rangacharya, II, p. 1115, 491.
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⁶ Butterworth, II, p. 892-4.
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⁷ Rangacharya, I, p. 153, 193 ; 70 of 1915.
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⁸ Ibid., p. 622, 534.
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No inscription has hitherto been discovered stating that Ranga ruled at Chandragiri. What is more puzzling is an inscription of Podili, Nellore District, that records a grant of a village by a private person ‘while Ranga was ruling at Vijayanagara’, in 1575-6 ⁹. We feel sure that the capital of the Empire was never removed again to the imperial city on the Tungabhadra. Two inscriptions of these same years, mentioned above record his domicile at Penukonda. He may have visited the ancient capital of his predecessors in the course of one of his expeditions against the Muhammadans, but this would not imply his ‘ruling at Vijayanagara’; probably, the traditional capital was here mentioned out of the regard which the kings still cherished for that city.
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⁹ Butterworth, III, p. 1185-6.
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2. Penukonda was therefore the town where Ranga I ‘ruled in splendour with all insignia of royalty’, to quote the Vellangudi plates of Venkata II ¹⁰. Pemmasani Pedda Timmaraja seems to have been his minister ¹¹, or at least one of his ministers, because in an inscription of 1581 Ranga mentions Megoti Timma Nayadu as his agent and minister ¹. Another who seems to have been in charge of the matters of government is Timmaya Mantri; for the author of the *Charuchandrodayam*, his cousin, says that he "was the right hand of the Emperor Sri Ranga Raya and was presented by him with elephants, horses, palanquins and umbrellas" ². His dalavay, or commander-in-chief, was one Obala in 1572 ³; but nine years later, in 1581, Venkatappa Nayadu occupied this post ⁴. Rayasam Venkatapati was also one of his officers: in his poem *Lakshmi-vilasam* he informs us that he got the name of Rayasam after his office in the court, which was despatch-writer, and he was the manager of the Secretariat of the Empire. He was much loved by the Emperor, who presented him with a village and gold jewels ⁵.
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¹⁰ Ep. Ind., XVI, p. 319, vv. 28-30.
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¹¹ Cf. H. Krishna Sastri, The Third Vijayanagara Dynasty, l. c., p. 185.
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¹ 178 of 1913.
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² S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 241.
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³ Rangacharya, II, p. 979, 630.
4. 178 of 1913.
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⁵ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 230.
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Mr. H. Krishna Sastri suspects that the whole of the West coast and its petty rulers had asserted their independence in the beginning of Ranga's reign ⁶. He is probably right, because it is certain, in view of the above-quoted apocryphal prophecy in the Mackenzie collection, that the great disturbances and rebellions following the murder of Sadasiva lasted five years, *viz.* one year of Tirumala's reign and the first four years of the reign of Ranga. This was a trying task for the new sovereign to cope with; but it seems, he finally subdued the rebels. It is probably in this connection that his Maredapalli grant and Arivilimangalam plates inform us that he 'destroyed or reduced the Chaurasi-durga (the eighty-four hill forts)' ⁷; the Arivilimangalam plates say moreover that he 'put to shame Avahaluraya' ⁸, while the Maredapalli grant extols him 'as the vanquisher of Avahaluraya and the king of Utkala' ⁹.
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⁶ Cf. H. Krishna Sastri, l. c. and note 3.
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⁷ *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 357, v. 20; XI, p. 328, v. 35.
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⁸ *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 357, vv. 21-26.
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Moreover the rebellions were not all confined to the West. Trouble also arose in the South of the peninsula. The country of Marava and its neighbours the Kallar tribes, had broken allegiance with the Empire; but Ranga, according to an inscription of Tindivanam, "subdued the insolent Kallar and Maravar (tribes), inhabiting Kongu and Malai-nadu, and their treasures he distributed (among the poor)" ¹.
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¹ Cf. H. Krishna Sastri, l. c., p. 183-4.
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3. In the meanwhile the Muhammadans had not yet ceased attacking the northern frontier. In the year 1575, to safeguard his new possessions, Ali Adil Shah rebuilt the ancient fortress of Chandragutti, Shimoga District, which was built upon a lofty hill ². While here, he was invited by Shankar Nayak, probably one of those petty chiefs of Kanara who had rebelled against the new dynasty of Vijayanagara, to make a tour through his own country. "Ali Adil Shah", says Ferishta, "accepting the offer, left his army at Chandarguti, and with Mustafa Khan and four or five thousand men proceeded to the fortress of Karur (Kadur)." This place is situated in a mountainous country full of forests, and so difficult of access that most of the passes allow only one horseman to enter at a time. The king, disliking the appearance of the country, returned to Chandarguti, leaving all his possessions to the Nayak; but Mustafa Khan tried to make a virtue of his master's necessity, by telling the Nayak that it was with difficulty he had dissuaded him from reducing it; therefore, if he consulted his own safety, he would submit and pay tribute and induce the surrounding rayas to do the same. Shankar Nayak, by these representations, prevailed on Siva Nayak of Jerreh, the Rani of Barcelor (Basrur) and several other chiefs, to pay their respects to the Sultan, to whom they presented offerings of considerable value, and agreed to pay annual tribute. On the day on which these chiefs received their state robes from the Sultan, women's robes were prepared for Har Devi, Bhar Devi, the Rani of Barcelor and another Rani. But these they declined accepting, saying that, though women in sex, they held their dominions by the power of masculine minds; upon which the Sultan presented them with men's robes.
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² Ferishta, III, p. 139.
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and applauded their high spirit. After this the Sultan of Bijapur appointed a Brahman to superintend the revenue of the newly-acquired country, answering more or less to the modern districts of Shimoga and Kadur. ¹.
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¹ Ibid., p. 140-1.
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4. Ranga could not render assistance to his rebel chiefs of the Kanara country against the Muhammadans. As a matter of fact, it seems that just at this time he was proceeding towards Chandragiri in the course of a royal tour ² . Ali Adil Shah, after his short campaign in the Kanara country, again joined the troops of Mustafa Khan and advanced towards Penukonda ³. When Sri Ranga learnt this he rapidly returned to his capital ⁴, but found himself unequal to the forces of Bijapur; so, perhaps even before he reached Penukonda, he despatched an envoy with magnificent presents to Ibrahim Qutb Shah of Golkonda, demanding his aid against Adil Shah. The Golkonda Sultan "readily agreed to the overtures of Sri Ranga Raya," says the anonymous chronicler of Golkonda, "promising him to oppose Ali Adil Shah, and to prevent him from making further aggression. Accordingly he detached his general, Shah Muhammad Anju, with a light force, to skirmish and plunder the borders of Adil Shah's dominions, while he prepared to move to the South in support of Sri Ranga Raya. On the Bijanagar frontier he was joined by Shah Muhammad Anju, after he had sacked the towns and laid waste the enemy's country, agreeably to his instructions. He was shortly afterwards met by Sri Ranga Raya; and their junction induced Ali Adil Shah to raise the siege of Bijanagar (viz. its capital Penukonda) ⁵ and to return to Bijapur" ⁶.
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² *Annals of Hande Anantapuram*, S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 231.
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³ Ferishta, III, p.
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¹⁴¹ Ferishta's following account of the attack of Penukonda is evidently out of place. I shall prove in due course that facts narrated here by the Muhammadan writer could not have taken place except during the reign of Venkata II.
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⁴ *Annals of Hande Anantapuram*, l. c.
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⁵ The removal of the capital from Vijayanagara to Penukonda seems to be completely ignored by the anonymous chronicler.
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Such is the account of the retreat of Ali Adil Shah as given by the Mussulman writer; but the *Annals of Hande Anantapuram* provide us with some other details. Ranga had also summoned Hande Malakappa Nayadu, the governor of Bukkasamudram, and ‘with the assistance of his troops fought with the Muhammadan invaders and routed them’ ¹. This seems to imply that a battle was fought between the two armies; and it was probably then that ‘Ranga’s war-drums were heard in the town of Vijapura (Bijapur)’, as we read in the *Narapati-vijayam* ².
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¹ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, l. c. Cf. Brown, *The Wars of the Rajas*, p. 6.
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² Cf. H. Krishna Sastri, l. c., p. 183, note 3.
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After this combined action the relations beween Golkonda and Vijayanagara apparently became still more friendly. It was perhaps then that Fak-l Khan went with a large army as an envoy of the Sultan of Golkonda to the court of Ranga and took the latter to his sovereign’s capital, where a treaty of alliance was concluded between the two monarchs ³.
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³ *Yayaticharitram*, S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 236.
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5. But not long after, probably in the following year 1576, the Sultan of Bijapur reappeared in the territories of Vijayanagara with a large army. Ranga set out from Penukonda to check this expedition. When the two armies met, a great battle ensued, in the course of which the Emperor Ranga unfortunately fell a prisoner into the hands of Ali Adil Shah; this mishap turned the tide against the Hindu army, which was beaten and routed by the enemy. The immediate result of this victory was the possession of the territories to the North of Penukonda, which never went back into the hands of the Vijayanagara Emperors. “On hearing about this defeat of Sri Ranga,” continues the author of the *Annals of Hande Anantapuram*, “Hande Malakappa Nayadu, thinking that the Muhammadan fortunes were destined to rise and his master’s to wane, transferred his allegiance to them and behaved obediently in their service. So they showed great favour to him, and bestowed upon him the lands formerly granted to him by the Vijayanagara sovereigns: Bukkapatnam in the Elamanchi country, and Anantasagaram along with the hamlets under them, with the title of Padishah Vazir¹. This misfortune of Ranga justified a strange title given him two years before: in a grant of 1574, this sovereign is called ‘Establisher of the kingdom of the Mussulmans’².
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¹ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 231-2. Cf. Brown *The Wars of the Rajas*, p. 6.
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² Sewell, II, p. 185.
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More fortunate still was another chief who also fought in this battle against the Muhammadans. Sal Nayaka had, after the battle of Raksas-Tagdi, become the leader of a band of freebooters, and succeeded in capturing Kandikere and Shettikere. Incidentally, he joined Ranga at Penukonda with a force, on condition of his conquests being confirmed. After the defeat of the Hindu army and the capture of their Emperor, he escaped to his own country with such plunder as he could secure, including, it is said, twelve elephants. Chiknayakanhalli was founded a while after, made the seat of his government and named after his brother; then Honnavalli, Turuvekere and Nonavinkere were added to his possessions. Such was the origin of the Hagalvadi chiefs, whose territory was finally annexed to Mysore by Chikkadeva Raya³.
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³ Rice, *Mysore*, II, p. 165.
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6. Ranga I, probably, soon won his liberty by a heavy ransom; because the inscriptions of the following year 1577 show him ‘ruling at Penukonda’⁴. But the attack on Penukonda was renewed that very year; unquestionably Ali Adil Shah was bent on destroying the new capital of the Empire, as he had helped in the destruction of the old. We are not aware whether Adil Shah was present at the siege of the fortress; the Satya-parinayam mentions only four generals of his army. Jagadeva Raya, the Sudra chief of Baramahal, was at the moment in charge of the defence of the city; he was closely related to the Emperor by his marriage with one of the latter's daughters ¹. The attack was more than once valiantly repulsed by this hero. One general, Sujata Khan, was slain in one of the actions; another, Chitta Khan, was captured; and the other two, Murtija Khan and Naru Khan, being successively defeated, the Bijapur army was forced to raise the siege ².
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⁴ Cf. above No. 1. Nevertheless there is an inscription of this year in the Nellore district, in which Ranga appears as ‘ruling at Chandragiri’. Butterworth, I, p. 399, note. Was his capture perhaps concealed by saying that he was ruling at Chandragiri, where his brother Venkata was perhaps governing the Empire on his behalf?
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¹ Rice, *Mysore and Coorg*, p. 164, says that Jagadeva's daughter was married to Ranga, but he himself in his further work, *Mysore*, I, p. 356 and 357, affirms that he was the king's son-in-law. Sewell, I, p. 194 and II, p. 251, agrees.
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² S. Krishnaswsmi Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 229.
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The Emperor rewarded Jagadeva Raya's services liberally. He gave him a large district which extended from Baramahal in the East to the western Ghats in the West. He fixed his capital at Channapatna, which his descendants held till 1630, when it was captured after a long siege by the Raja of Mysore ³. Perhaps Koneru Raya also distinguished himself on this occasion; because an inscription of 1579 records the fact that the Emperor Ranga gave two villages to him for services rendered in a bloody battle, and exempted them from all taxes ⁴.
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³ Rice, *Mysore*, I, p. 22, This author, as well as Sewell, II, p. 251, assigned the year 1577 as corresponding to the date of this third siege of Penukonda.
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⁴ M. A. D., *Report*, 1923, p. 44.
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7. In the meanwhile the Sultan of Golkonda, Ibrahim Qutb Shah, had broken the alliance made lately with Ranga; and having joined the Hande chief Malakappa Nayadu, who, as we have already noted, had been a traitor to the Empire, invaded and occupied the Ahobalam district. A local inscription dated 1584-5, from which we get this information, adds that the religious teacher, Sri Van Sathagopa Swami, then went to the Emperor Ranga; and "reporting to him the sad condition of the temple of Ahobalam and the surrounding country, requested him to recover the district from the Muhammadans and to restore the temples to their ancient glory. Thereupon the Emperor Sri Ranga Raya himself prepared to lead an army into the district in person and to drive out the enemy. But the High Priest said that he need not lead the expedition in person, but might entrust it to his subordinates, Kondaraju Venkataraju and Kondaraju Tirumalaraju who were designated by the god of Ahobalam in a dream, as the fittest persons to lead the attack and to restore the temples. The Emperor was struck with this; and having presented the chiefs with jewels and titles, ordered them to march against the enemy. Then the chiefs started with their army along with the priest; and having defeated the Hande chiefs and the other allies of Ibrahim, made vast additions to the temples and bestowed on the temples more than their former prosperity" ¹. This action is probably the one referred to in the Lakshmivilasam, which states that Ranga I "defeated the large armies of Qutb Shah and captured his royal inisgnia" ². And again the Narapati-vijayamu says that 'his sword split the bodies of the Golkonda warriors' ³.
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¹ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources, p. 233-4. Cf. 70 of 1915.
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² Ibid., p. 230.
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³ Lives of Telugu Poets, p. 356. Cf. H. Krishna Sastri, The Third Vijayanagara Dynasty, l. c., p. 183, note.
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8. Soon, at the end of 1579 or beginning of 1580, the Golkonda troops entered the province of Udayagiri situated at the North-East of the Empire ⁴. After crossing the Krishna they easily captured the forts of Inaconda, Cacherlacota and Cammum (Cumbum); but the fortress of Kandbir was not so easily taken. "Here Haidar-ul-Mulk", says the anonymous chronicler, "was informed that Kandi Timana, Mudna Chinna and Kasturi Ranga had collected a force of thirty thousand men, and were on the point of marching to attack him. He therefore deferred the siege of Kandbir and moved to meet them. The Hindu infantry poured in upon the king's troops on all sides from the woods; but they only rushed on to their own destruction. The Muhammadans gained a complete victory, and pursued the enemy to the fort of Guram, which surrendered". The fort of Belamkonda and all the minor forts of the neighbourhood fell also into the hands of the Muhammadans; and thereafter Haidar-ul-Mulk proceeded to Kandbir. "A long time was expended in attempting to reduce this strong fortress without effect; and Haidar-ul-Mulk found it necessary to apply for reinforcements to Golkonda, on which Ibrahim Qutb Shah appointed Syad Shah Tacki, known by the appellation of Amir Shah Mir, with a considerable detachment of Mughals and Persians, to proceed and to take the command from Haidar-ul-Mulk of all the forces South of the Krishna. On his arrival at Kandbir, Shah Mir made many attempts to carry the place by escalade, but invariably failed, till at length he resolved, whatever might be the loss sustained, to drag his guns up the hill to within a moderate distance of the walls. By this means part of one face was battered down, and an attack made one morning both at the breach and on the South gateway. The Hindus were prepared to receive the storming parties and fought desperately; but they were driven back, though not without heavy loss on the part of the assailants. The fort was eventually taken through the exertions of the elephants, who forced open one side of the gate. The Muhammadans then rushing in took the place; and Kapury Timraj, son-in-law of the celebrated Ramraj of Bijanagar, fell into the hands of the victors¹.
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⁴ Sewell, I, p. 137, has an inscription of a local chief of this province acknowledging Ranga I as his sovereign in the year 1579.
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¹ Ferishta, III, p. 436-8.
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The Aminabad inscription of Amin Mulk gives further information concerning this campaign. Besides the successive capture of the fortresses of Vinukonda, Bellamkonda, Tangeda and Kondavidu, it specifies the taking of the fort of Udayagiri which was defended by Venkata Raju—probably the brother of Ranga and his successor to be—who was driven back to the South². It seems that one of the leaders of this expedition was a Maratha Brahman called Raya Rao, who was in the service of the Qutb Shah monarch; he was the one who attacked Kondavidu, the governor of which place was assailed with bribes and surrendered in 1580³.
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² S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 230-40.
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³ Sewell, II, p. 188, who gives his information as taken from Telugu chronicles on Kondavidu.
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It was probably at this time that Vemala Nayadu, second Raja of Udiripikonda, was defeated and sent away to Golkonda to serve the Sultan⁴.
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⁴ Francis, *Anantapur Gazetteer*, p. 165. Information gleaned from the Mackenzie MSS.
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Thus one of the provinces of the Empire that constituted the greatest part of the Telugu country, fell into the possession of the Golkonda Sultan, and was lost for ever to Vijayanagara. Nevertheless, even under the domination of the Muhammadans, inscriptions were carved, specially in the southern taluks, acknowledging the suzerainty of the Vijayanagara Emperors. Naturally the Telugu folk preferred the rule of the Telugu sovereigns to the blood-thirsty sway of the followers of Islam ¹.
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¹ Cf. Butterworth, II, p. 892.
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9. These were the last conquests of Ibrahim Qutb Shah. In the year 1580 Ali Adil Shah of Bijapur was assassinated ²; and in the same year Ibrahim Qutb Shah passed away and was succeeded by his son Muhammad Kuli Qutb Shah. This monarch attempted to conquer the fortress of Naldrug, but without any success. He was even deserted by one of his generals, Ali Khan Lur, who with his army and with the assistance of Mikar Tima, the son-in-law of Ranga Raya, wished to recover some of the fortresses of the province of Udayagiri for the Emperor of Vijayanagara. But his campaign was a most dismal failure. The anonymous chronicler says that Ranga I ‘refused them his countenance or support’ ³.
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² Ferishta, III, p. 142. Cf. Ind. Ant., XVII, p. 221.
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³ Ibid., III, p. 447-9.
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The new Sultan of Bijapur, Ibrahim Adil Shah II, being a mere child, was under the regency of the Dowager Queen, the famous Chand Bibi; but she was soon confined by the minister Dilawar Khan, and this intriguer assumed the reins of government. “The first act of his power”, says Ferishta, “after he found himself secure, was to detach Balil Khan with an army to collect the arrears of tribute from the Rays of Malabar (Kanara). Balil Khan, after being joined by Arsappa Naik, Ray of Jerreh, marched against the fort of Shankar Naik, Ray of Carur, who refused to pay the tribute. One night during the siege, while visiting the batteries, Balil Khan had the misfortune to be taken prisoner by a body of the enemy, and was carried into the fort, where he was confined in heavy chains. His troops, missing their chief, raised the siege and dispersed to various quarters. Balil Khan, after some time, by promises of great rewards, prevailed on his keepers and a seller of grass to assist in his escape; and he was carried out by the latter upon his shoulders, concealed in a bundle of forage. When he had gained a convenient spot he contrived to strike off his chains, and hastened with all expedition towards the Bijapur frontiers. Arriving in safety he procured a horse and proceeded to Bankapur, from whence he informed Dilawar Khan of his escape and requested to be supplied with another army to take revenge on Shankar Naik. But the Regent declined for the present to make any further attempts in that quarter" ¹.
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¹ Ibid., p. 157-8.
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This was the last attack of the Muhammadans on the possessions of Vijayanagara during the reign of Sri Ranga I. The result was not very satisfactory to him. "Most of the petty Rajas of Bijanagar (Vijayanagara)", says the anonymous chronicler, "had now bent their necks to the Muhammadan yoke" ². Of course, the Muhammadan writer speaks only of the Rajas of the North of the Empire, who were near the frontier of the Deccani states.
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² Ibid., III, p. 453.
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10. These military operations did not in any way interfere with the piety of the Emperor; for he was a staunch devotee of Vishnu, as we shall see in one of the following chapters. An inscription of 1572, just a little before he ascended the throne, in the Gopinatha temple of Srirangarayapuram, Guntur, records a gift of land to Gangadeva Rameswara for worship by Prince Sri Ranga, son of Tirumala ³. We know besides several other religious grants made by Ranga during his reign, in 1575-6 ⁴, 1578 ⁵ and 1585 ⁶. In 1573 his agent in Nellore made arrangements for a religious festival ⁷; in 1581 the Dalavay Venkatappa Nayadu, under orders of Negoti Timma Nayadu, the minister of the king, remitted several taxes due on the land owned at Bukkasagaram and Anantapuram by the temple of Chavudesvari ¹.
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³ Rangacharya, I, p. 762, 130-B.
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⁴ Butterworth, III, p. 1185-6 and 1259-61.
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⁵ Ep. Carn., IV, Ch, 23.
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⁶ Sewell, I, p. 92.
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¹ 178 of 1913.
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The inscriptions also record that some new temples and shrines were consecrated during Ranga's reign. In 1577 the image of Chennakesavaraya was set up in the village of Mogalluru, and a gift of land was made to the temple ². In 1580 the temple of Kesavasvami of Penukonda was solemnly dedicated ³. Finally, a record from Tindivanam fixes the voluntary contributions to be paid by the principal inhabitants, "by the merchants whose business extended over the fifty-six countries and the eighteen districts", and by others who gathered together on each Wednesday-market held at Gidangil. These contributions were supposed to be needed to carry out repairs in the Tindisuramudaiya-Nayinar temple at Tindivanam ⁴.
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² Rangacharya, II, p. 1143, 688.
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³ Sewell, II, p. 120.
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⁴ Cf. H. Krishna Sastri, The Third Vijayanagara Dynasty, l. c., p. 184.
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II. Ranga's latest inscription corresponds to the year 1584-5 ⁵. In Ahobilam, Karnul, there is an inscription by a local chief in the reign of Sri Ranga of Vijayanagara at Penukonda, dated 1584 ⁶. Another inscription by the same chief, of the following year 1585, mentions the name of Venkatapati of Vijayanagara as ruling in Penukonda ⁷. Hence the inscription of Srimushnam, of the year 1586, stating that Ranga was still ruling in Penukonda, must be an evident mistake ⁸. Ranga must have died in about the first half of the year 1585, and, as the Chikkadevaraya Vamsavali informs us, 'without issue' ⁹, viz. without male offspring; for the anonymous chronicler of Golkonda mentions a son-in-law of his, named Mikar Tima ¹⁰, and Jagadeva Raya of Chennapatna probably married another daughter of the King ¹¹.
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⁵ 237 of 1903.
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⁶ Sewell, I, p. 101.
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⁷ Ibid.
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⁸ 262 of 1916.
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⁹ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources, p. 302.
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¹⁰ Ferishta, III, p. 448.
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¹¹ Cf. above No. 6.
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Ranga I, who, according to the Kuniyur plates of Venkata III, 'was renowned in the eight regions' and 'had crossed the milk-ocean of policy'¹, seems to have been the kindest and most obliging sovereign that had ever sat on the jewelled throne of Vijayanagara. He 'was a parijata to dependants', says the Utsur grant of Ranga III²; this is more clear in the Mangalampad grant of Venkata II, which states that he was 'the bestower of wealth on dependants'³. According to an inscription at Nagalapuram, Ranga granted several privileges to the five artisan communities⁴.
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¹ Ep. Ind., III, p. 253, v. 19.
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² Butterworth I, p. 46, v. 22. Parijata is a mythical tree of the Hindu Paradise.
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³ Ibid., p. 30. v. 28.
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⁴ 620 of 1904. These five classes of artificers are also mentioned in another inscription of the year 1573, that records the remission of the taxes payable by them by the chief of the Budihal country, Sripati Raja Vallabha Rajayya Deva Maharasu. Ep. Carn., XII, Ck, 8.
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The public aspect of his life, as defender of the interests of the Empire, is not as bright as his private one. It is striking, indeed, to read in the Ramarajiyamu that Ranga "resuscitated the glory of the Karnata Empire which had waned"⁵. This poetical flattery is nothing but an echo of the laudatory expressions which we find applied to him in certain inscriptions. In one at Elvanasur he is called 'the conqueror of all countries'⁶; and in another at Tindivanam he is said to have 'received tribute from all countries and from Ilam (Ceylon)'⁷. In his own grants we also read some characteristically empty boasts, as the two following: in the Arivilimangalam plates he says that he has 'been praised by the kings of the Kamboja, Bhoja, Kalinga and Karahata countries'⁸; and in the Maredapalli grant he calls himself 'the suzerain of the Rattas and Magadhas'⁹. And even several years later the Kallakursi grant of Ranga III states that he was ‘honoured by the kings of the Bhojas and Magadhas’ ¹. More inexplicable still is an inscription of Kanchivaram, dated 1574, which gives him the titles of ‘establisher of the kingdom of the Mussulmans and destroyer of the Gajapatis’ ². We cannot fathom the real meaning of this most original piece of flattery.
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⁵ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources, p. 213.
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⁶ Cf. H. Krishna Sastri, The Third Vijayanagara Dynasty, l. c., p. 183.
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⁷ Ibid.
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⁸ Ep. Ind., XII, p. 343.
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⁹ Ep. Ind., XI, p. 328.
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¹ *Ind. Ant.*, XIII, p. 153.
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² Sewell, I, p. 185.
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Now, if we consider dispassionately the reign of Sri Ranga I, we cannot but say that it is one of the most fatal periods in the history of Vijayanagara. The Mussulmans were not checked at all in their conquests within the boundaries of the Empire; in their depredatory expeditions they thrice reached the walls of Penukonda, and on one of these occasions even Ranga himself fell a prisoner into their hands. The territory to the North of Penukonda was already in the possession of Bijapur, and the Sultan of Golkonda had likewise taken possession of the province of Udayagiri; the only territory that was recovered by Vijayanagara was the country round Ahobilam in the Karnul district. We do not deny Ranga’s good qualities and military prowess; we even admit that he perhaps deserved the appellation of ‘long-armed brave king’, found in a grant of Venkata III ³, and borne out by the very fact of his imprisonment. But ill-luck dogged his footsteps. In managing his home affairs he was, it seems, more fortunate; but even here the subjugation of the rebel chiefs was only apparent, as the desertions to the Muhammadans prove. Even some of the rebellions that broke out during the reign of Venkata II were nothing but later manifestations of the same antipathy towards the new dynasty which had been created by the bloody event that had opened to its members the door to the throne.
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³ Venkata III's grant, 1639, *Ep. Carn.*, III, Nj, 198.
Linked texts (7)
- Tārīkh-i Firishta — Muḥammad Qāsim Hindū Shāh Firishta 1606, Persian
- Epigraphia Indica
- Indian Antiquary
- Epigraphia Carnatica
- G.—Of the time of Saṅkamadēva: A.D. 1179 — Kannada
- Phiraṅgipuram pillar inscription of Vēmaya-Rāchavēma (C) — Telugu
- Kanchipuram Kamakshi Temple Inscription of Harihara II; Saka-Samvat 1315 (ed. Venkayya 1895) — Sanskrit