The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c20.3

v1.c20.3

WHEN Ranga I ascended the throne, the Kanarese viceroyalty was under Rama, the third son of Tirumala. It has been said that his rule at Seringapatam was weak, and that on account of this the local chieftains rebelled¹. Now we have previously spoken of the rebellion of several chiefs of the Kanara country, who refused to acknowledge the authority of the Aravidu family, the head of which did not spare bloodshed in order to ascend the throne. This, not the weak rule of the Viceroy, was the origin of the rebellion. Nevertheless if his government was really weak (though of this we have no established proofs) we may naturally suppose that this was the ultimate cause of the rebellion. The *Ramarajiyamu* only tells us that Rama ‘defeated the troops of the Nizam Shah’². Whether this victory was obtained during his viceroyalty or previously to that time, we are not in a position to ascertain. The Kuniyur plates of Venkata III praising Rama’s generosity state that his ‘deeds put to shame the celestial trees’³.