A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c17.24

c17.24

Vijaya Rāya was succeeded by his son Devarāya II in about 1426. Devarāya's title gajabeṭekāra (‘Hunter of Elephants’) has been explained in two ways—as a metaphor referring to his victories over enemy kings who were strong as elephants, and more literally as indicating the monarch's addiction to the sport of hunting elephants. By about 1428 Devarāya effected the conquest and annexation of the Kondavidu country which had been in a weak and disorganized state after the death in 1420 of the intrepid Peda Komati Vema. He followed this up by invading the Gajapati kingdom of Orissa, possibly because the conquest of Kondavidu brought Devarāya into conflict with Gajapati's subordinates; but before hostilities could proceed, Allāḍa Reddy of Rajahmundry intervened and brought about peace between the combatants. Allāḍa died shortly after this and was succeeded by his sons Allaya Vema and Virabhadra who followed their father's general policy of aggrandizement at the expense of Kalinga. The accession of Kapileśvara, an energetic ruler in Kalinga, in 1435, naturally resulted in a Gajapati invasion of the kingdom of Rajahmundry. The rulers of Rajahmundry sought help from the Vijayanagar ruler connected with them by ties of political and dynastic alliance. Devarāya II responded, and his troops drove the Kalinga army back and secured a temporary respite for the kingdom of Rajahmundry until it was swallowed up by Kapileśvara after Devarāya II's death.