Administration and Social Life under Vijayanagar c6.39

c6.39

It seems that the leading people in the empire had a voice in the choice of the heir. On the death of Śrī Ranga I and his brother Rāma, Veṅkaṭa II ascended the Vijayanagar throne in 1586, to the exclusion of Tirumala, the son of Rāma, and with the "unanimous vote of all the classes." A Jesuit letter says: "After the demise of this Prince's father the kingdom was given by the unanimous vote of all the classes to the brother of the deceased (Rāma III), i.e., the one that is ruling at present, rejecting the rights of the deceased's children who on account of their age were not able to rule over a kingdom."²² It is, however, doubtful if there was a voting system and all the people took part in the choice of a king. It is only likely that a few of the leading nobles of the empire might have been consulted by the emperor who sought their support when he nominated some one who could not have come to the throne under the ordinary rules governing succession.