A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c17.74

c17.74

Achyuta Rāya was succeeded by his son Venkata I, but as he was not yet of age, his maternal uncle Salakarāju Tirumala became regent despite the opposition of the nobles. The queen-mother, Varadādevi, suspected her brother’s motives and sought the assistance of the Adil Khan; but Tirumala bought off the sultan when he was already on his way to Vijayanagar. As a counter-move Rāma Rāya now liberated Sadāśiva from prison at Gutti, proclaimed him emperor, and in his turn appealed to Bijapur for aid. Nothing loth, the Adil Khan invaded Vijayanagar, but Tirumala, who had been proclaimed king by the bewildered citizens of the capital, inflicted such a defeat on the Shah that he had to turn back. Tirumala’s next step to clear his path of all rivals was to cause Venkata I and all the members of the royal family to be assassinated. Thereafter the tyranny became so intolerable that the nobles once again invited the Bijapur sultan to come to their rescue. He came, but his overweening pride aroused hatred all round, and he went back in fear of his own safety. Rāma Rāya moved at last to seize the kingdom in the name of Sadāśiva; he captured Penugonda, defeated Tirumala in a series of battles, put him to the sword in a final engagement on the banks of the Tungabhadra and then proceeded to Vijayanagar to perform the coronation of Sadāśiva (1543).