Origin of Vijayanagara Empire

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The origin of Vijayanagara empire is associated with controversy. The Vijayanagara empire rose in southern India in the 14th century CE. Over the past decades historians have expressed differing opinions on whether the empire's founders, Harihara I and Bukka I, were of Telugu or Kannada origin. There are also varying opinion on the role of the sage Vidyaranya in the founding of the Vijayanagara empire.

Contents 1 Theories of origin 2 Other Theories of Origin 3 Notes 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Theories of origin

Telugu Origin

Historian Robert Sewell cites Buchanan and gives the following account: Buchanan ("Mysore," & c., iii. 110), while on a visit to Beidur in Mysore in 1801, was shown by one Ramappa Varmika a Sanskrit book in his possession called the Vidyaranya Sikka, which relates that the founders of Vijayanagar were Hukka and Bukka, guards of the treasury of Pratapa Rudra of Warangal. These young men came to the Guru, or spiritual teacher, Vidyaranya, who was head of the monastery of Sringeri, and the latter founded for them the city of Vijayanagar. This was in 1336, and Hukka was made first king. Robert Sewell concluded that Harihara and Bukka were treasury officers of Golla/Kuruba caste, in the court of Warangal (Kakatiya dynasty). Some years later the sultan sent the two brothers back to put down the rebellion of Hoyasala king. They succeeded but laid foundation of an independent kingdom (1336), with the help of sage Vidyaranya, denying any allegiance to the Tughluqs and became Hindus again. They laid foundation to the Sangama dynsaty with its citadel in Vijayanagara.

N. Venkataramanayya, more or less on the lines of Sewell, developed and postulated the Andhra origin of the founders of Vijayanagara. Taking into consideration the evidence of tradition furnished by works like Vidyaranya Kalajnana (in Sanskrit), Vidyaranya Vrittanta, Rajakalanirnaya, Piramahasamhiti and Sivatatva Ratnakara (all in Kannada), the evidence of the Muslim historians like Ziauddin Barani, Isarni and Ferishta, the evidence of the foreign visitors like Ibn Batuta and Nuniz and the evidence of inscriptions like Gozalavidu record, Venkataramanayya states that "the founders of Vijayanagara were at first in the service of Prataparudra of Warangal, and that when that monarch was defeated by Muhammad Bin Tughlak and taken prisoner, they fled to Kampili and took refuge in the court of Kampilideva. They were, however, captured by the Sultan after the sack of Kampili in 1326 and were carried away to Delhi where they were forcibly converted to Islam. On the outbreak of a rebellion in Kampili and the collapse of the provincial government, they were released by the Sultan from prison and sent with an army to Kampili to reconquer it from the rebels and rule the province as his deputies. This they successfully accomplished; but they did not long remain loyal to the Sultan. They came under the influence of Vidyaranya who persuaded them to renounce Islam, and threw in their lot with the Andhra nationalists who had just then succeeded, under the leadership of Kapaya, in expelling the Musulmans and reestablish their national independence (see Musunuri Nayaks). Harihara and Bukka then reverted to their ancient faith and, having declared their independence, assumed the leadership of the Hindus of Kampili in their fight against the Musulmans."

Kaapaya and Bukka actively collaborated with each other to ward off the Muslim threat, probably because of their close association in the court of Warangal. Venkataramanayya observed that the establishment of Vijayanagar kingdom drew inspiration from the successful exploits of Kaapaya. After the demise of Kaapaya Nayaka, Reddys of Kondavidu and Velamas of Rachakonda asserted their independence thus bringing them into natural conflict with Vijayanagar kings whose sole aim was to consolidate Hindu opposition to alien dharma. Velamas colluded with Bahmanis to save their territories thus making them enemies of Vijayanagar. It was Krishna Deva Raya who vanquished Reddys and Velamas and unified the South.

Vidyaranya

While the tradition stresses the significant role played by the sage Vidyaranya in the founding of the Vijayanagara empire and the imperial city, epigraphic evidence is not available on this subject. In the local records, his original name was given as Madhava Bhatta. He was a Smarta Brahmin of Karnataka born poor in a town on the banks of the Krishna in the last quarter of the 13th century CE, He went to Kanchi^{[citation needed]} along with his brothers Sayana and Bhoganatha for study at a very early age. After return from Kanchi, he settled down as a married man. At that time south India witnessed the onslaughts of the Muslims from the North. Vidyaranya developed religious spirit and did even penance for more than five years in the surroundings of Hampi. Subsequently his coming into contact with the Sangama brothers, their reconversion into the Hindu faith, founding of Vijayanagara empire and the city-all these were recorded in the local accounts. Nuniz also refers to the significant role of Vidyaranya. However, there are certain inaccuracies in the local records. At the time of founding Vijayanagara, Vidyaranya was mentioned as the head priest of the Sringeri Peeth. But the epigraphic evidence asserts that at least up to 1376. Bharati Tirtha was the chief pontiff of the Advaita-Matha at Sringeri. In an inscription of Bukka I dated 1356 Bukka is mentioned as making a request to Bharati Tirtha to see that Vidyaranya would come to south from Varanasi. Gangamba's 'Mathura Vijayam' makes reference to Vijayanagara city twice but does not refer to Vidyaranya. The account mentions Kalamukha Kriyasakti as the Kulaguru. Even the inscriptions of Harihara II issued in the years 1380, 1384, and 1386 eulogising Vidyaranya, make no reference to his role in the founding of Vijayanagara. No doubt, some inscriptions refer to Vidyaranya and Vidyanagara, but the genuineness of these records is questioned by Fleet, Rice, Fr. Heras, Narasimhachari and Gopinatha Rao. According to these scholars, taking advantage of the weakness of the last Sangama Dynasty rulers, the pontiffs of the Sringeri Matha fabricated and propagated these stories and even the inscriptions were deliberately forged by these gurus to highlight the Hindu religious fervour in the founding of the empire and the city. Hence these scholars treat Vidyaranya as a person of no consequence as far as the origin of the empire and the city is concerned.

Kannadiga origin

Regarding the controversies over the role of Vidyaranya in the founding of the empire, Vidyaranya was an important Sanyasi at the Sringeri order, though not the Shankaracharya until 1380.^[1] In 1346, Harihara I made a grant to Bharati Tirtha in the presence of Krishnayitayi, queen of Hoysala Veera Ballala III (a princeses from the hereditery Alupas of South Canara), who herself made a grant on the same day.^[2] No war between the Hoysalas and the Sangama brothers took place in the time frame 1336, when the empire was founded and 1343, when Veera Ballala III died fighting the Sultan of Madurai.^[3]

It has been pointed out that even famous Telugu scholars Vallabharaya and Srinatha, in their works called the Sangama brothers Karnata Kshitinatha, indicating they were a Kannada family. Early records of Harihara I also called him Karnataka Vidya Vilasa or "learned man of Karnataka". An early inscription of Harihara II called him , Lion to the scent elephant of the Andhra king, demonstrating their anti-Telugu propensity.^[4]

It is also asserted that the theory of capture of Harihara I and Bukka Raya I by the Sultan of Delhi and conversion to Islam is false and that the testimony of epigraphs proves that the area around Hampi constituted their homeland. The empire never had a Telugu origin. The patron saint of the early kings was saint Vidyaranya, the 12th Shankaracharya of Sringeri in Karnataka and this is proof enough of their unquestionable identity with the Kannada country. Persian author Ferishta of Vijayanagara days wrote the emperors as "Roies of Karnataka". The Kannada works of that time Chikkadevaraya Vamshavali and Keladinripa Vijayam state that the Sangama brothers were Kuruba by caste making them people of Karnataka^[5]

Almost half of the Vijayanagar inscriptions are in Kannada out of a total of about 7000 available today and use surnames which are pure Kannada titles such as Bhashegetappuva - rayara - ganda, Moorurayaraganda and Arirayadatta. The remaining inscriptions are in Sanskrit, Telugu and Tamil.^[6]

The Karnataka Empire or Vijayanagar Empire embraced in its ample fold all of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, all Tamil Nadu and perhaps parts of northern Kerala and even extended into the Utkal or Orissa region. But as its name implies, it was originally of the Karnataka country and it drew its inspirations from the Hoysala Empire and the Gangas of the Karnataka and the Chola and Pandya of the Tamil country. But it is chiefly remarkable in raising above all regionalism and in creating the all India nationalism of to-day in all of its spheres of activities.^[7]

Inscriptional evidence shows that Ballappa Dandanayaka, a nephew of Hoysala Veera Ballala III was married to a daughter of Harihara I, the founder of the empire. This is claimed proof enough of the association Sangama brothers had with the Hoysalas.^[8]

About the Muslim records that claim a Telugu origin of Harihara I and Bukka Raya, it is said that they are neither unanimous nor reliable in their claims. In those days of tremendous religious rigidity, it is too far fetched to accept a theory of conversion to Islam and reconversion to Hinduism and still manage to win the trust and loyalty of Hindu subjects, in an hour of impending invasions. It is further pointed out the great devotion the founders of the empire had in Lord Chennakeshava of Belur and Lord Virupaksha of Hampi though in political and administrative matters, the Vijayanagar kings followed the Hoysala, Kakatiya, Chola framework in the various regions of the empire. It is also claimed that the Sangama brothers even signed their Sanskrit records in Kannada as Srivirupaksha and used their Kannada titles even in Telugu, Tamil and Sanskrit records. No such Telugu titles were used by them. The popular chieftain and patriot of those times, prince Kumara Rama of Kummatadurga or simply Kummata (Kampili kingdom in Bellary District) was a relative of Sangama, father of Harihar I. This evidence exists in literary works by Nanjunda (Kumara Rama Charita) and others and that the early Vijayanagar kings raised memorials at Sandur, Chitradurga and Dharwad to sing the glory of Kumara Rama's valor and show their continued efforts to build an empire in his legacy. All this proved the Kannada origin of Harihara I and Bukka I.^[9]

It has been brought to light that historians Fr. Henry Heras and Prof. William Coelho have identified Hosapattana, a city founded by Veera Ballala III as later day Vijayanagara. Hosapattana was identified as an alternate capital of the Hoysalas to resist Muslim invasion in those desperate years when all other Hindu states around them had fallen to Muslim conquest. Regarding the earliest modern work on Vijayanagara Empire by Robert Sewell, A Forgotten Empire, 1901, it is claimed that he had not used all sources but had copiously used travellogues and other works by only European travellers.^[10]

Mention must be made that the entire area that constituted the Hoysala kingdom came under the rule of the Sangama brothers without any clash for power. This would not have been possible unless the Sangama brothers were local to Hampi and of Kannada origin.^[11]

[edit] Other Theories of Origin

A popular account says that the Hampi region was part of a tiny kingdom of Kampili in the 14th Century when large parts of north India was under Muslim rule. In 1326 AD Mohammed Bin Tughluq defeated and killed the king of Kampili. Among those taken prisoner were sons of Sangama, Hukka and Bukka, both treasury officers of Kampili, who were forced to convert to Islam. some years later the brothers were sent back to govern Kampili. The brothers laid the foundation of an independent kingdom, denying any subordination to the Tighluqs and became Hindu again.^[12]

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Several grants were made by Harihara I and Bukka I to the Sringeri monastery from 1346 and Vidyaranya did use his influence to secure large amounts of financial help for the Sangama brothers, A Concise History of Karnataka, pp 160-161, Dr. S.U. Kamath.
2. ^ Harihara I was a commander in the Hoysala Kingdom. He had been appointed by Veera Ballala III with autonomous powers after the fall of the Seuna and Kampili, to administer the northern territories. The very first fortress Harihara I built was the fort at Barakuru in coastal Karnataka when he was a Hoysala commander in charge of its northern territories from his seat in Gutti, modern Ananthapur district in Andhra Pradesh, at that time a Hoysala territory. A Concise History of Karnataka, pp 160-161, Dr. S.U. Kamath.
3. ^ Ibn Batuta gave a graphic description of his end. Dr. Kamath describes him as the greatest hero in the dark political atmosphere of South India, A Concise History of Karnataka, p130, Dr. S.U. Kamath.
4. ^ According to Dr. Saletore who wrote Social and political life in Vijayanagar Empire, 1934 - A Concise History of Karnataka, pp 158-159, Dr. S.U. Kamath.
5. ^ According to Dr. P.B. Desai who wrote History of Vijayanagar Empire 1936 (using numismatic and inscriptional sources) - A Concise History of Karnataka, pp 158-159, Dr. S.U. Kamath, History of Karnataka, Arthikaje, [1]
6. ^ According to G.S. Gai, chief government epigraphist (ASI)- A Concise History of Karnataka, pp 157-159, Dr. S.U. Kamath, History of Karnataka, Arthikaje, [2]
7. ^ Historian K. Appadurai sums it up in his article The Place of Kannada and Tamil in Indias National culture (INTAMM 1997).
8. ^ Spanish Indologist Fr. Henry Heras who wrote Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagar Empire, 1927 has pointed this out - A Concise History of Karnataka, p159, Dr. S.U. Kamath.
9. ^ A Concise History of Karnataka, p159, Dr. S.U. Kamath.
10. ^ A Concise History of Karnataka, p129, Dr. S.U. Kamath.
11. ^ According to Arthikaje, The Vijayanagar Empire - History of Karnataka, [3]
12. ^ Hampi - A Travel Guide, p27 Department of Tourism, India, Good Earth publication, New Delhi 2003.

[edit] References

• Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat, Concise history of Karnataka, MCC, Bangalore, 2001 (Reprinted 2002)
• Prof K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, History of South India, 1955, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002)
• N. Venkataramanayya, The Early Muslim expansion in south India.
• Durga Prasad, History of the Andhras Till 1565 A.D., P. G. Publishers, Guntur
• Hampi - A Travel Guide, pp 27 Department of Tourism, India, Good Earth publication, New Delhi 2003

[edit] External links

• History of Karnataka, Mr. Arthikaje
• A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): a contribution to the history of India (Translation of the "Chronica dos reis de Bisnaga" written by Domingos Paes and Fernão Nunes about 1520 and 1535, respectively, with a historical introduction by Robert Sewell).Free Download from Project Gutenberg