A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c17.69

c17.69

The history of the subsequent years is obscure. A rebellion in Gutti seems to have been suppressed in 1536-7, after which he paid a visit to Tirupati with his officers. Rāma Rāya was strengthening his position by removing old servants and appointing his own relatives and friends in their place. He also took into his service 3,000 Muslim soldiers whom Ibrahim Adil Khan, the new sultan of Bijapur, had dismissed from his service on his accession in 1535. He then made bold to seize Achyuta when he returned to the capital, kept him imprisoned and proclaimed himself king; but the opposition of the nobles forced him to abandon the scheme, enthrone Sadāsiva, a nephew of Achyuta, and carry on the government in his name. This went on until rebellions in the south forced Rāma Rāya to leave the capital, when he put Achyuta into the charge of a trusted servant. The campaign in the south was no unalloyed success, and lasted longer than Rāma Rāya had expected. Meanwhile, the trusted servant in charge of Achyuta set him free and assumed the office of chief minister. He was soon done away with by Salakarāju Tirumala, however, who took the direction of affairs into his hands. These occurrences made it expedient for Rāma Rāya to patch up his quarrels with the rebels in the south and return to the capital.