Short biography of Achyuta (A.D. 1530—A.D. 1532)

With the death of Krishnadevaraya ended the glorious period of Vijayanagar Empire. It had reached the zenith of its power and prestige and now began the inevitable decline. Krishna had only a 18 months old son who was unfit to rule, and therefore, he selected his half brother Achyuta Raya to succeed him.

This was resented by his son-in-law, Rama Raya who sponsored the claim of his infant brother-in-law. But a compromise was arrived at and Rama Raya got some share in the governance of the country.

The struggle for power in Vijayanagar provided an opportunity to Prataparudra Gajapati and Ismail Adil to attack the kingdom and recover their territories which they had lost earlier. Gajapati was defeated and his efforts were foiled, but Ismail Adil was more successful and captured Raichur and Mudkal.

Before Achyuta Raya could recover them, he was called back to the south to crush a rebellion by one of his ministers Saluva Narasingha Nayaka supported by the Raja of Travancore.

Achyuta deputed Salakaraju Tirum who crushed the rebellion. Achyuta was also able to recover Raichur and Mudkal from Adil Shah who was not able to offer any resistance due to the internal troubles.

He was ultimately deposed and his younger brother Ibrahim succeeded him. Meanwhile, the events in Vijayanagar also took a turn for the worse. Achyuta Raya who had given himself to pleasure and merry making was imprisoned by Rama Raya who tried to arrange for his coronation.

The nobles in the extreme south refused to recognize him as the king and, therefore, he led an expedition against them. In his absence, some of the nobles at the court released Achyuta who took over the reins of the Government. Rama Raya thought it advisable to return to his jagir. Finding the time opportune, Ibrahim Adil Shah recovered Raichur without much resistance in 1535.

Achyuta proved to be a despot who ruled ruthlessly during the last seven years of his reign. He antagonized the nobles and the people by extorting money from them. The distant provinces in the south defied his authority and he had neither the will nor the energy to subjugate them.

We can trace the development of the semi-independent nayakships in Madura, Tanjore and other places from this period. Portuguese also set up their factory at Tuticorin during his reign.