Tupakula/Tubaki Krishnappa Nayak was an army commander in service of the

Vijayanagar The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval 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, belonging to the ...

emperor,

Krishna Deva Raya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1509 to 1529 and the third ruler of the Tuluva dynasty. Widely regarded as one of the greatest rulers in Indian history, he presided over t ...

. He hailed from the Chandragiri family of

Balija The Balija are a Telugu-speaking mercantile community primarily living in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and in smaller numbers in Telangana and Kerala. In Tamil Nadu, they are known as Gavarais. Etymology Var ...

caste. * * * * * He served as the first Nayak or Viceroy of

Gingee Gingee, also known as Senji or Jinji and originally called Singapuri, is a panchayat town in Viluppuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Gingee is located between three hills covering a perimeter of 3 km, and lies west of the ...

from 1509 to 1521.

Early life

The ''Varadambika Parinayam'' states that in 1509, Krishna Deva Raya sent an army of over 100,000 men headed by generals Vaiyappa Nayak, Tubaki Krishnappa Nayak, Vijayaraghava Nayak and Venkatappa Nayak into the south to conquer the whole of the present-day

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. Srinivasachari, pp 73-74 On successful subjugation of the

Chola The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence ...

and

Pandya The Pandya dynasty (), also referred to as the Pandyas of Madurai, was an ancient Tamil dynasty of South India, and among the four great kingdoms of Tamilakam, the other three being the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Cheras. Existing sinc ...

kingdoms, Krishna Deva Raya divided the region into three governorates and placed each of them under a Nayak or viceroy -

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of southern Indian religion, art ...

and Gingee. Krishnappa Nayak was made the

Nayak of Gingee The Nayaks of Gingee (Senji) were Telugu rulers of the Gingee principality of Tamil Nadu between 16th to 18th century CE. The Gingee Nayaks had their origins in the Balija warrior clans of present-day Andhra Pradesh. * * * * * * * They wer ...

. Srinivasachari p 81

Reign

Krishnappa Nayak reigned from 1509 to 1521. On the whole, his reign was peaceful and he was able to devote his time to construction activity. Srinivasachari, pp 85-86 Tubaki Krishnappa Nayak and Vaiyappa Nayak are credited with having constructed temples at Srimushanam and Thirukkoilur. Krishnappa Nayak is also credited with the construction of the granaries in the

Gingee Fort Gingee Fort or Senji Fort (also known as Chenji, Chanchi, Jinji or Senchi) in Tamil Nadu, India is one of the surviving forts in Tamil Nadu, India. It is popularly known as Great Wall of South India. It lies in Villupuram District, from the st ...

, the Kalyana Mahal and the walls surrounding the three Gingee hills. A number of small townships and villages emerged during his reign. During his reign, Krishnappa Nayak controlled a territory spanning from

Nellore Nellore, also spelt as Nelluru, is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, India.Kollidam The Kollidam (referred to as Coleroon in Colonial English) is a river in southeastern India. The Kollidam is the northern distributary of the Kaveri River as it flows through the delta of Thanjavur. It splits from the main branch of the Kaveri ...

(Coleroon) River.

Death

Krishnappa Nayak died in 1521 and was succeeded by

Achutha Ramachandra Nayak Achutha Ramachandra Nayak ruled over the Gingee Nayak kingdom from 1520 to 1540. He constructed the fortified walls enclosing the Tiruvannamalai temple and the temple ''gopura''. Towards the end of his reign, Ramachandra constructed the Vishnu t ...

. Srinivasachari, p 87

Notes

References

* {{cite book, title=History of Gingee and its rulers, url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.500497, first=C. S., last=Srinivasachari, publisher=

Annamalai University The Annamalai University (AU) is a public state university in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. The sprawling campus offers courses of higher education in arts, science, engineering, management, humanities, agriculture, and physical education. ...

, year=1943, ref=Srinivasachari Nayaks of the Vijayanagara Empire Vijayanagara generals