Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions c9.s9: 9. Sāluvas
Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions c9.s9
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9. Sāluvas
c9.s9.1
The Sāluvas (or Sālvas) were of the Lunar race and originally Jains, located at Sangītapura, the Sanskrit for Hāḍuvaḷḷi, situated in Taulava-dēśa or South Kanara (Sa 164). A Sāluva-Tikkama was the general of the Sēuna kings Mahadēva and Rāmachandra, who invaded the Hoysala kingdom in 1276 and 1280, and claims to have plundered Dōrasamudra.
c9.s9.2
The records supply us with the names Indra, his son Sangi-Rāja, and his sons Sāluvēndra and Indagarasa or Immaḍi-Sāluvēndra in 1488 and 1498 (Sa 164). Then we have the Sāluvas Malli-Rāya, Dēva-Rāya, and Krishna-Dēva, down to about 1530 (Nr 46). In about 1560 the residence of the kings seems to have been at Kshēmapura (Gerasoppe, after which the celebrated Gersoppa Falls are named). We have in Sa 55 the names Dēva-Rāya, Bhairava, Sālvamalla, and again Bhairava and Sālvamalla. They were ruling the Tulu, Konkana, Haive, and other countries.
c9.s9.3
In 1384 a Sāluva-Rāma-Dēva, who seems to have been governor of Taḷakāḍ, was killed in battle against the Turukas at Kottakoṇḍa (Ck 15). Sāluva-Tippa-Rāja was married to Harimā, sister of the Vijayanagar king Dēva-Rāya II (Cd 29). And in 1431 we have Sāluva-Tippa-Rāja and his son Gōpa-Rāja, to whom Tēkal was given by order of that king (Mr 3). These Sāluvas are distinguished by the epithets mēdinī-mīsara-gaṇḍa (champion over the mustaches of the world), kaṭhāri-sāluva (dagger falcon). From this family (see My 33) sprang the short-lived dynasty, composed of Sāluva-Nṛisimha or Narasinga and his son Immaḍi-Nṛisimha or Narasinga, which held the Vijayanagar throne from 1478 to 1496.¹ The former was commander of the Vijayanagar forces under the kings Mallikārjuna and Virūpāksha. But after successfully defending the empire against the Bahmani Sultān's invasion, he took advantage of his position to usurp the crown. He is said to have been the most powerful chief in Karṇāṭa and Telingāna, and a Muhammadan historian (see vol. x, Introd. 36) represents Kānchī as being in the centre of his dominions.
c9.s9.4
¹ Immaḍi-Narasinga's son Sāluva-Dēvappa-Nāyaka was governor of the Tippur district in 1493 (DB 42, 45), and made a grant at Channapatna in 1494 (Kg 26).
c9.s9.5
Notwithstanding the late usurpation, Sāluvas continued in favour. For Sāluva-Timmarasa was a minister under Krishna-Rāya (Nj 195). And in 1513 we have his younger brother Sāluva-Gōvinda-Rāja, to whom that king gave the Terakanāmbi country (Gu 3), which had been taken away from the Ummattūr chiefs. In 1519, 1521, and 1523 he is called Krishna-Rāya’s minister (TN 73, 42, Ch 99). From 1520 to 1527 we have kaṭhāri-sāluva Krishna-Rāya-Nāyaka as the chief minister of Krishna-Rāya, and described as his right hand (Hs 48, Hg 78, 40); and in Nr 46 of about 1530 he is called a king—Sāluva-Krishna-Dēva-nṛipati, and said to be the sister’s son of Dēva-Rāya.