Tuluva Narasa Nayaka was the founder of the Tuluva dynsaty of the

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and Mahar ...

. He was the father of Emperor

Krishnadevaraya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Empire, reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the ...

Biography

Tuluva Narasa Nayaka, like his father Tuluva Ishvara Nayaka, was a commander in the Vijayanagara Empire. After the death of king Saluva Narasimha in 1491, crown prince Thimma Bhupala was murdered by an army commander. The faithful Narasa Nayaka then crowned the other prince, Narasimha Raya II but retained all administrative powers in order to bring stability to the kingdom. He was called the ''rakshakarta'' (protector) and ''svami'' (Lord). He held the offices of the ''senadhipati'' (commander-in-chief), the ''mahapradhana'' (Prime Minister) and the ''karyakarta'' (agent) of the king. He successfully kept the Bahamani Sultans and the Gajapatis away from the kingdom and quelled many rebellions by unfaithful chieftains, trying to exert their independence.

Capturing
Narasimha Raya II Narasimha Raya II (r. 1491-1505) (born = 1468)( Narasimha II, Immadi Narasimha Raya or Dhamma Thimma Raya)Majumdar R.C. (2006). ''The Delhi Sultanate'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, p. 305 was the third and last ruler of the Saluva dynasty, t ...
in fortress of Penukonda

After the death of king Saluva Narasimha in 1491, crown prince

Thimma Bhupala Thimma Bhupala (died 1491) was the elder son of Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya, the King of Vijayanagara Empire. During the reign of his father, he was holding the office of ''Yuvaraja''Majumdar, R.C. (ed.) (2006). ''The Delhi Sultanate'', Mumbai: Bh ...

was murdered by an army commander. The faithful Narasa Nayaka then crowned the other prince, Narasimha Raya II but retained all administrative powers in order to bring stability to the kingdom.

Narasimha Raya II Narasimha Raya II (r. 1491-1505) (born = 1468)( Narasimha II, Immadi Narasimha Raya or Dhamma Thimma Raya)Majumdar R.C. (2006). ''The Delhi Sultanate'', Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, p. 305 was the third and last ruler of the Saluva dynasty, t ...

was a teenager when he became Emperor of the

, and real power lay in the hands of his guardian, Tuluva Narasa Nayaka. In 1494,Narsa Captured Narasimha II in Fortress of Penukonda.Narsa ruled Vijayanagar in disguise of Narasimha raya II.

Narsa Nayak's victory over south

Hoysala campaign

During August 1463, when Vijayanagar was ruled by Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya, the region south of

Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu d ...

river had slipped out of

Vijayanagar Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and ...

control when the king was busy protecting interests closer to the capital. In 1496, Narasa Nayaka marched south and brought under control rebellious chiefs like the governor of

Trichi Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with be ...

named Salas Rai and

Tanjore Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the ...

named Vikram Shah. The whole area south of Kaveri to

Cape Comorin Kanniyakumari (; , referring to Devi Kanya Kumari), also known as Cape Comorin, is a city in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland I ...

was brought under control. The chiefs of

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

, Chera,

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration i ...

area, Heuna or Hoysala chief of

Srirangapatna Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganthaswamy temple consecrated at around 984 CE. Later, under the British rule the city ...

and

Gokarna Gokarna may refer to: Places * Gokarna, Karnataka, a town in Karnataka, India * Gokarna, West Bengal, a village in West Bengal, India * Gokarnamatam, a village in Andhra Pradesh, India * Trincomalee, a city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka also known ...

on the west coast were brought under Vijayanagar empire control in one long successful campaign which ended in May 1497.

Resistance to Gajapati Prataparudra Deva

In 27 November 1496, Gajapati king

Prataparudra Pratāparudra (r. c. 1289–1323), also known as Rudradeva II, was the last ruler of the Kakatiya dynasty of India. He ruled the eastern part of Deccan, with his capital at Warangal. Prataparudra succeeded his grandmother Rudramadevi as the Kak ...

attacked Vijayanagar and advanced up to

Pennar Penna (also known as Pinakini, Pennar, Penner, Penneru (Telugu), Pennai (Tamil)) is a river of southern India. This is a unique river in world where after originating from Nandi hills, it flows as two different streams, one in North and South ...

but Narasa Nayaka held out and succeeded in a stalemate.

Victory of Bahmani Kingdom

Narasa Nayaka wasted little time in stabilizing the kingdom. The Bahamani Kingdom by now was breaking up into smaller independent chiefdoms. Qasim Barid, a Bahamani minister offered Narasa Nayaka the forts of

Raichur Raichur (formerly Raichore) is a city and municipality in the district of Raichur in the Indian state of Karnataka. Raichur, located between Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers, is the headquarters of Raichur district. It is located 409 km fr ...

and

Mudgal Mudgal is a panchayat town in Lingsugur taluk, Raichur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Mudgal is about 10 miles south-west of Lingsugur. Mudgal has several inscriptions belonging to the Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri. It is known for it ...

in return for help in defeating Yusuf Adil Khan of Bijapur. According to writings by

Ferishta Firishta or Ferešte ( fa, ), full name Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah Astarabadi ( fa, مُحَمَّد قاسِم هِندو شاہ), was a Persian historian, who later settled in India and served the Deccan Sultans as their court historian. He wa ...

, Narasa Nayaka sent an army to the Raichur doab area that devastated the area in the doab. Yusuf Adil lost this part of the doab and repeated attempts to recover it failed. Having failed to defeat him in battle, Yusuf Adil Khan invited Narasa Nayaka to Bijapur on a peace offering and had Narasa Nayaka and seventy high-ranking officers murdered. However, it was only in 1502 that the wily ruler of Bijapur could recover the doab region for

Vijayanagar empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and ...

. Towards the end of his rule, Tuluva Narasa Nayaka had effectively carried on the dream of his king, Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya in protecting the empires interests. He built a robust administration and an effective army. He had regained control over large domains in South India and kept the Bahamani Sultans and the Gajapatis at bay and brought the rebellious chiefs under control, making way for the golden era of Vijayanagara under his talented and able son

. He was succeeded by his eldest son

Viranarasimha Raya Vira Narasimha Raya (or Vira Narasimha Vira Narasimha III) (reigned 1505–1509) became the king of Vijayanagar empire after the death of Tuluva Narasa Nayaka. Krishna Deva Raya was his younger half-brother. The death of their capable father ...

in 1503.

Notes

References

* Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat, Concise History of Karnataka, 2001, MCC, Bangalore (Reprinted 2002) * Prof K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, History of South India, From Prehistoric times to fall of Vijayanagar, 1955, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002) {{DEFAULTSORT:Nayaka, Tuluva Narasa 1503 deaths Vijayanagara Empire History of Karnataka Year of birth unknown 16th-century Indian monarchs