Deva Raya I (reigned 5 November 1406 – 25 February 1423) was an Emperor of the
Vijayanagara Empire
The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...
(of the
Sangama Dynasty
The Sangama dynasty was a Veerashaiva dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire founded in the 14th century by two brothers: Harihara I (also called ''Vira Harihara'' or ''Hakka Raya'') and Bukka Raya I. They were the sons of Bhavana Sangama. They ...
).
After
Harihara II
Harihara II (died 31 August 1404) was an Emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from the Sangama Dynasty. He patronised the Kannada poet Madhura, a Jaina. An important work on the Vedas was completed during his time. He earned the titles ''Vaidik ...
died, there was a dispute among his sons over succession, in which Deva Raya I eventually emerged victor. He was a very capable ruler noted for his military exploits and his support to irrigation works in his empire.
[Kulakarṇī, Nayeem, De Souza (1996), p.106] He modernized the Vijayanagara army by improving the cavalry, employed skilled archers of the Turkic clans and raised the fighting capacity of his bowmen and imported horses from
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world.
Geographically, the ...
and Persia.
[Bowman,(2013) p.271]
The Italian traveler
Niccolo Conti, who visited Vijayanagara 1420, described Deva Raya I thus: "In this city, there are 90,000 men fit to bear arms... their king is more powerful than all the kings of India".
[Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmanian (2003), p.31] Conti also noted that the royal city had grown to a circumference of 60 mi.
[Kamath (1980), p.163]
Deva Raya I was a patron of
Kannada literature
Kannada literature is the Text corpus, corpus of written forms of the Kannada language, which is spoken mainly in the Indian state of Karnataka and written in the Kannada script.
Attestations in literature span one and a half millennia,
R.S. ...
and architecture. Madhura, a noted Jain poet was in his court and wrote in Kannada the ''Dharmanathapurana'' on the life of the fifteenth Jain
Tirthankara
In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a ''Tirtha (Jainism), tirtha'', a fordable passage across ''Saṃsā ...
(Dharmanatha), and a poem in eulogy of
Gommateshvara of
Shravanabelagola
Shravanabelagola (pronunciation: ) is a town located near Channarayapatna of Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is from Bengaluru. The Gommateshwara Bahubali statue at Shravanabelagola is one of the most important tirthas ...
.
[Sastri (1955), p.360]
Irrigation works and general administration
The credit for making the capital city of the Vijayanagara Empire one of the biggest cities in the 15th century goes to Deva Raya I. He realized that the scarcity of water, both for drinking and irrigation, was restricting the growth of the royal capital.
In 1410 he had a barrage constructed across the
Tungabhadra River
The Tungabhadra River () starts and flows through the state of Karnataka, India, for most of its course, then through Andhra Pradesh where it ultimately joins the Krishna River near Murvakonda.
The Tungabhadra derives its name from two strea ...
and commissioned a 24 km long aqueduct from the Tungabhadra River to the capital. The account provided by Nuniz gives details of the projects undertaken by Deva Raya I that brought prosperity to the empire. He maintained a secular attitude in administrative matters. He had a mosque and a slaughter house constructed for the convenience of the Muslim soldiers in his army.
[Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmanian (2003), pp.30-31] In 1413, a dispute over property between the Shanka Jainalya of
Lakshmeshwara
Lakshmeshwara is a town, and newly created Taluk place along with Gajendragad in Gadag district, in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is about 40 km from Gadag and 55 km from Hubli. It is an agricultural trading town. Lakshmeshwara ...
and the Someshvara temple trust of the palace was settled in favor of the Jains. Deva Raya I had a Muslim bodyguard who built a
choultry in honor of the Emperor.
Military campaigns
Throughout his reign, Deva Raya was continually at war with the Velamas of Golconda, the Bahmani Sultan of
Gulbarga, the Reddis of Kondavidu, and the traditional rivals of Vijayanagara, the Gajapatis of Kalinga. Deva Raya I was capable of managing the vast territory that he controlled by employing skilled archers of the Turkic clan and raised the fighting capacity of his bowmen. Following a confusion in the Reddi kingdom, Deva Raya I entered into an alliance with Warangal for partitioning the Reddi kingdom between them.
[Chandra (1997), p.180] The split of Warangal changed the balance of power in the Deccan. In c.1420, Firoz Shah invaded Pangal but the two-year siege at Pangal ended in disease and disaster for Firoz Shah's armies. Deva Raya inflicted a shattering defeat on Firoz Shah.
[Chandra, Satish (1997), p.180, ''Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals - Delhi Sultanat (1206-1526)'', Har-Anand Publications Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi] Deva Raya's army massacred Firoz Shah's troops and created a great platform with their heads upon the field of battle. Firoz was followed deep into his own territory, which was completely devastated by the rampaging Hindu army under Deva Raya I. The Hindu army destroyed many mosques and holy places belonging to the Islamic community, and committed great carnages on the civilian Muslim population. The Sultan had to hand over the southern and eastern districts of his kingdom to Deva Raya I to secure peace. Consequently, by c.1422, Deva Raya I came to control territory up to the
Krishna River
The Krishna River in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau is the third-longest in India, after the Ganga, Ganga and Godavari. It is also the fourth-largest in terms of water inflows and river basin area in India, after the Ganga, Indus and Godav ...
-
Tungabhadra river
The Tungabhadra River () starts and flows through the state of Karnataka, India, for most of its course, then through Andhra Pradesh where it ultimately joins the Krishna River near Murvakonda.
The Tungabhadra derives its name from two strea ...
doab including Pangal
[Chaurasia (2002) p.109] In the following days, the distressed Sultan died after leading a life of piety after abdicating power to his brother Ahmad.
[Sastri (1955). p.225] Unable to accept this turnaround, the Gajapati Emperor Bhanudeva of Odisha invaded Rajamahendri. When a war with Vijayanagara seemed imminent, some skilful diplomacy by Vijayanagara chief Dodda Alla averted it.
[Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmanian (2003), p.30] Deva Raya was to be succeeded by his sons
Ramachandra Raya and shortly thereafter by
Vijaya Raya.
Ferishta's account
Persian writer Ferishta narrates an interesting story, of the kings' love for a beautiful girl, a daughter of a goldsmith from Mudugal in the
Raichur district
Raichur District is an administrative district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located in the northeast part of the state and is bounded by Yadgir district in the north, Bijapur district, Karnataka, Bijapur and Bagalkot district in the n ...
. Unable to wed her, a frustrated Deva Raya I attacked Mudgal and laid to waste a few villages. Aroused by this provocation, the
Bahmani Sultan
Taj ud-Din Firuz Shah invaded Vijayanagara leading to defeat of Deva Raya I. Though injured in the conflict, Firuz Shah sent his able commanders who successfully invaded Vijayanagara territory south of
Adoni.
According to this account, Deva Raya I had to give as tribute, one of his daughters in marriage to the Sultan's prince,
several pearls and cash,
Bankapura territory, fifty elephants, and 2,000 dancers. The goldsmith's daughter who was the reason for the war was wedded to Hassan Khan, a prince in the Sultan's family.
[Sastri (1955), pp.224-225]
Personal life
One of Deva Raya's queens Bhima Devi was a disciple of the Jain guru Abhinava Charukirti Panditacharya. She was a devotee of
Shantinatha, 16th Jain ''
tirthankara
In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a ''Tirtha (Jainism), tirtha'', a fordable passage across ''Saṃsā ...
'' and built a temple at the Mangayi Basti in
Shravanabelagola
Shravanabelagola (pronunciation: ) is a town located near Channarayapatna of Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is from Bengaluru. The Gommateshwara Bahubali statue at Shravanabelagola is one of the most important tirthas ...
.
[Sangave (1981), p.46]
Gallery
File:Mallikarjuna temple (1406-1422 AD) at Hospet.JPG, Mallikarjuna temple in Mallapangudi, near Hospet, built by Deva Raya I
File:Kannada inscription of Deva Raya I (1406-1422 AD) at Mallikarjuna temple in Hospet.JPG, Kannada inscription of Deva Raya I at the Mallikarjuna temple in Mallappanagudi
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Our Karnataka article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raya, Deva
1422 deaths
15th-century Indian monarchs
Vijayanagara emperors
Indian Hindus
Hindu monarchs
Sangama dynasty
Year of birth unknown