The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c32.73

v1.c32.73

8. Sadasiva's Regent, Rama Raya, was a no less fervent worshipper of Vishnu than his master. The Aravidu family appears to have worshipped Vishnu from ancient times. The names of the majority of its chiefs are names of Vishnu or of his avatars. Moreover several of those chiefs are mentioned as staunch Vaishnavas: such are Rajanarendra, called ‘a devotee of Vishnu’; Vira Hemmaliraya, stated to be ‘a devotee of Murari (Vishnu)’, and Ramaraja (the grand father of the founders of the Aravidu dynasty) who ‘was poisoned by his relatives, but by the grace of Vishnu, whose devotee he was, suffered no harm" 1.