Deva Raya II

The empire

Deva Raya II succeeded his father Veera Vijaya Bukka Raya after a short two-year reign. As crown prince around 1423, he forced the Bahamani Sultanate to shift its capital to Bidar around 1426. He fought three major battles against the Gajapati of Odisha: against King Bhanudeva IV in the Battle of Kondavidu around 1427, against King Kapilendra around 1436 when the latter attempted to conquer Rajamahendri, and again around 1441. An invasion by the Reddis of Kondavidu was repulsed, and by around 1432 all petty chiefs in the region were under Vijayanagara control.

Wars with the Bahamani Sultanate brought mixed results. Around 1436, Ala-ud-din II became Bahamani sultan and sent his brother Muhammad to collect tribute; Deva Raya II paid a large tribute to buy peace. Vijayanagara armies were consistently defeated, leading the king to include many skilled Muslim soldiers in his army. Some accounts say the fort at Mudgal was lost around 1436, but an inscription from that year shows it remained under Vijayanagara control.

Around 1443, the king survived an attempted assassination, though some regions in the Tungabhadra-Krishna doab were lost to the Bahamani Sultanate.

Culture and the arts

Deva Raya II's reign was a high point for Kannada literature, with fierce competition between Vaishnava and Veerashaiva writers. Noted Kannada writers in his court included Chamarasa, Kumara Vyasa, Chandrashekara, and the king's Veerashaiva ministers Lakkana Dandesa and Jakkanarya, who patronized poets Kumarabankanatha and Mahalingadeva.

The king himself wrote the romantic stories Sobagina Sone and Amaruka. In Telugu, the poet Srinatha, honored with the title Kavisarvabhauma, defeated the Sanskrit scholar Dindima in debate. The king honored Srinatha with a kanakabhisheka ceremony, though Srinatha died poor.

Did You Know?

• Deva Raya II held the title Gajabeteegara, meaning 'Hunter of elephants', either for his addiction to hunting elephants or as a metaphor for victories against enemies 'as strong as elephants'.
• According to Persian chronicler Abdur Razzak, Deva Raya II's empire extended from Ceylon to Gulbarga, and Orissa to the Malabar.
• The king maintained a fleet of ships that helped with overseas connections, and levied tribute on Ceylon, Quilon, Pegu, Pulicat, and Tenasserim.
• Razzak described Vijayanagara as having seven citadels and seven walls, with the seventh fortress ten times larger than the market place of Herat.