Short biography of Harihara-I (A.D. 1336—A.D. 1355)

Harihara had four brothers, Kampa I, Bukka I, Marappa and Muddappa. Their father Sangama belonged to Yadava family. These five brothers worked hard to extend their kingdom.

It was no easy task as they were surrounded on all sides by powerful neighbours. Kapaya Nayak who had expelled the Imperial governor Telingana, Malik Maqbul and captured Warangal was anxious to annex the territories intervening between his state and that of Harihara.

He was also sore over the defeat of his friend and ally Ballala III at the hands of Harihara. In the north-east, Qutlugh Khan, governor of Devagiri, was looking for an opportunity to recapture the areas which once formed part of the Imperial dominions in Deccan.

Perhaps his strongest rival for supremacy in Deccan was Ballala III, the king of Karnataka, who wanted to conquer Harihara’s small state of Tungabhadra. But in spite of these apparent difficulties, the time was quite opportune for Harihara and his brothers who were fired with a missionary zeal to build up a strong empire in the south which could serve as a bulwark against the tyranny of the Muslim rulers.

Ballala III, the doughty warrior, now over eighty was engaged in a life and death struggle with the Sultan of Madura. Harihara was quick to take advantage of the opportunity. Bukka defeated Ballapa Dandanayaka, chief minister and commander-in-chief of Ballala III in a battle and wrested the fortresses of Penugonda in Anantpur District which he made his headquarters.

The victory was, however, not due to the weakness of the Hoysala king. Ballala’s primary concern was to extinguish the Madura sultanate and bring the whole of South India under his control. He was, therefore, not in a position to pay adequate attention to the incursions of the Vijayanagar rulers.

His initial successes and later on treacherous murder by Sultan Ghiyas-ud-din of Madura in 1342 has already been referred to. This left the field quite open to Vijayanagar princes who conquered the Hoysala districts of Hassan, Shimonga, Kolar, Mysore, Chitaldrug, etc. one by one.

Though Virupaksha Ballala succeeded his father Ballala IV, he was unable to check the advance of Vijayanagar forces. His choicest soldiers had been killed in war against sultan of Madura. He had given away his entire treasure to the sultan in the vain hope of purchasing the liberty of his father.

His general Ballappa Dandanayaka now also deserted him. In spite of all these difficulties, he still put up a stout resistance and it was only after a continuous struggle of 6 years (A.D. 1346) that the Vijayanagar rulers were able to conquer and annex the whole of Hoysala kingdom.

It was indeed a greate occasion and was celebrated at a grand scale at Sringeri by Harihara and his brothers under the auspices of their guru Vidyatirtha. Harihara came into conflict with two of his neighbours who had resented his conquest of Hoysala kingdom.

The Kadambas, who were ruling over Banavasi, on the coast of Konkan and had given, shelter to Ballala IV. To chastise them, Harihara deputed his brother Marapa. The latter defeated the Kadamba ruler and annexed his territory.

Next Harihara turned his attention to the sultan of Madura who was jealous of the growing power of the Vijayanagar rulers and was persecuting the Hindus. The arrest of Sambuvaraya, the Tamil prince by the Sultan provided him with an opportunity.

Bukka I who had taken upon himself the difficult task of clearing South India from Turkish invaders deputed his son Kumara Kampana to compel the Sultan to release Sambuvaraya. He was also assisted by Prince Savanna, son of Kampa I. The Sultan of Madura was defeated and taken prisoner.

Sambuvaraya was got released and restored to his throne. Madura Sultanate was completely eclipsed during the period A.D. 1343 A.D. 1344 to A.D. 1353-A.D. 1354, as it’s evident from the absence of their coinage during this period. It, however, escaped annihilation mainly due to hostility of the newly founded Bahmani kingdom against Vijayanagar.

The founder of the Bahmani dynasty Bahman Shah made some claims over Vijayanagar which were rejected by Harihara. It led to a conflict between the two states which seemed to have been confined to some border areas, particularly Raichur and Kimha (near Sagar) held by a chieftain.

No major battle took place but Harihara had to give up his designs over the sultanate of Madura. In fact, the Vijayanagar rulers found themselves in a very difficult position, sandwitched as they were between the Bahmani kingdom in the north and Madura sultanate in the south.

Estimate of harihara

Harihara was a great administrator. He was fully conscious of the dangers which the infant state faced both from its neighbours and the Delhi sultans. He strengthened the old fort of Badami as a protection against invasions from Delhi rulers. He fortified Gooty in Anantpur District as a safeguard against Hoysala kings.

He also converted Udayagiri into a strong fort and placed his younger brother Kampana in charge of it. With the help of his able minister Anantarasa Chikka Udaiya, he reorganized the civil administration.

In order to increase the resources of the state, he encouraged the farmers to cut down forests and bring this land under cultivation. The kingdom was divided into sthalas, nadus and simas. A number of officers were appointed to run the administration and collect the revenues.