Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c11.s2.t3.84

v1.c11.s2.t3.84

The history of the viceroyalty of Virūpaṇṇa Oḍeyar brings us to the second feature of the office of a provincial governor. This was the long tenure of office, presumably because of some unspecified political reasons or because of the inherent efficiency of the governor. There are at least two instances of the prolonged career of a viceroy placed over Āraga—that of a royal prince and that of a minister-general who belonged to a famous line of administrators. Yadugiri Virūpaṇṇa, son of Bukka Rāya, continued to be the viceroy over Āraga from A.D. 1362 till about A.D. 1380.¹ Another well known example of a ruler who continued to govern over Āraga for about the same period is that of Viṭṭhaṇṇa Oḍeyar, (A.D. 1402-17), a Brahma-Kshariya, son of Bamma Rāja and Virūpāmbikā, of the lineage of Saṅkappa and Rāyappa.² But in these two instances it may be noted that, although both of them exercised jurisdiction for nearly eighteen years, yet the names of other viceroys continually appear within the period of their viceroyalty. Thus Mādarasa in A.D. 1369, and again in A.D. 1377.³ Sōvaṇṇa Oḍeyar in A.D. 1369,⁴ Chikka Rāya, the son of Harihara, in A.D. 1379 and A.D. 1381,⁵ and Vira Vasanta Mādhava in A.D. 1379 and A.D. 1380,⁶ ruled over Āraga. We can only suppose that some of these were merely deputies of the viceroy, although it appears strange, that the provincial ruler should have found it expedient to change his deputies in A.D. 1369 and in A.D. 1379.