A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c17.89

c17.89

He took up his abode in Penugonda and began rebuilding an army by all possible means; in his dire need, he is said to have taken several horses from Portuguese merchants and refused to pay for them. He gave up Vijayanagar partly because opinion in that city favoured the claims of Rāma Rāya's son Peda Tirumala, alias Timma, for the regency. Six years of anarchy and confusion intervened before Tirumala actually became king. Rāma Rāya's evil policy of breaking up the trained civil service for the sake of promoting relatives now added to the troubles of the realm in the crisis; there were rebellions everywhere; crime increased and the tyranny of pālayagars and dacoits also grew apace. The effective independence of the Nāyaks of Madura, Tanjore and Gingee may be traced to this period.