Administration and Social Life under Vijayanagar c5.14

c5.14

The empire after his death passed on to the hands of Rāma, Peda Veṅkaṭa III and Śrī Raṅga III. This last ruler, though himself efficient and capable of ruling a vast empire, could not succeed in his work, for the circumstances under which he came to power were not favourable for him to achieve his object of unifying the empire and reviving the glories of Vijayanagar. His reign is a record of the treachery of his feudatories and the internecine warfare in his empire. The Nāyaks of Madura and Tanjore, and the Oḍeyārs of Mysore became too powerful for him. The intervention of the Bijapur Sultans in South Indian affairs made his task all the more difficult. After him the empire dwindled in size and importance, and it was finally destroyed by Tippu Sultan who set fire to Anegondi in 1786.