Get complete information on the Origin of Vijayanagar Empire

The early history of Vijayanagar is obscure. Sewell, the famous author of “A Forgotten Empire”, has referred to many traditional accounts about the origin of the city of Vijayanagar and observed that “perhaps the reasonable account would be called from the general drift of the Hindu legends combined with the certainties of historical facts.”

Sewell accepts the tradition according to which five sons of Sangama, including Harihara and Bukka; laid the foundation of Viajayanagar on the southern bank of the river Tungabhadra facing the fort of Anegundi on the northern bank. Madhava Vidyaranya and Sayana, two great scholars of the age, were responsible for inspiring the sons of Sangama to do the needful.

It is stated in an inscriptions of Marappa that evil having encompassed the earth, God caused Sangama to be born in royal line for the help of Dharma. Out of the five sons of Sangama, three guarded the northern frontier from Goa in the west to Nellore in the east and the other two captured the south from the Sultanate of Madura. There could be no better opportunity to liberate their country from the Muslims than the present one.

The view of the Late Rev. Father Heras was that the foundation of the city of Anegundi, which formed the cradle of the Vijayanagar Empire, was laid by Vira Ballala III, the Hoysala King and Harihara who was a near relative of the ruling family of Hoysala, was a frontier officer.

According to another writer, “The fortification of the city that afterwards became Vijayanagar must be regarded as the deliberate act of the great Hoysala ruler. Vira Ballala III. It was founded soon after the destruction of Kampili by the army of Muhammad Tughluq and immediately following the invasion of the Hoysala capital, Doara-Samudar.”

Another view is that five sons Sangama were fugitives from the Telugu country included in the Kakatiya kingdom of Warangal whose capital was captured by the Muslim in 1424 A.D. This much can be said with certainly that the Vijayanagar Empire was founded in 1336 by Harihara and Bukka, two of the five sons of Sangama.

They were responsible for organising the resistance against the advance of the invaders from the north and they were successful in doing so for about three centuries. The Muslim conquest of the South was not a peaceful one. The lands of the Hindus were ravaged by Muslim invaders. Their accumulated riches were confiscated. Their rulers were humiliated.

A Yadava King and a Hoysala crown prince had to wait upon Ala-ud-Din Khalji begging for mercy and forgiveness. Another Yadava King killed in battle by Malik Kafur. Harpaldeva was taken captive and flayed alive by the orders of Mubarak Shah Khalji. Prataparudra, the Kakatiya ruler, committed suicide on the Narmada while he was being taken to Delhi as a prisoner by the Muslim conquerors.

The famous temples of Chidambaram, Srirangam and Madura were sacked and many others were pulled down. Gangadevi, the daughter-in-law of Bukka I, says that places like Chidambaram and Srirangam had become the haunts of tigers and jackals and despair was writ large on the faces of the people of the South.

The Muslims conquered the South but did nothing to set up an administrative system worth the name. It was the scene of frustration that brought certain leaders to the forefront. A war of liberation started in the coastal districts of the Andhra country.

Taking advantage of the preoccupation of Ulugh Khan with his accession to the throne of Delhi in 1325, the Hindus first regained possession of the eastern seaboard. The rebellion of Jalaluddin Ahsan Shah in Maabar in 1335 brought Muhammad Tughluq to the South, but he could not proceed beyond Warangal due to the out-break of plague in his camp.

He gave up the campaign against the Maabar rebels and ordered immediate retreat to Delhi. This encouraged other rebels. Kapaya Nayaka appeared on the sence, expelled Malik Maqbul, the Muslim Governor of Telangana, captured Warangal and made it the seat of his Government and took up the title of Andhradesadhisvara. However, he was not able to put an end to the Tughluq rule in the whole of South India.

The freedom movement spread west-wards into the Kingdom of Kampili. Nuniz, the Portuguese chronicler, tells us that as soon as the people of Anegondi learnt of the departure of Muhammad Tughluq, they revolted against his Deputy and made his position extremely precarious.

The Malik Naib informed his master about his pitiable condition and appealed for immediate help. Muhammad Tughluq sought the advice of his nobles and released from prison the six men who had been in his custody since the overthrow of the Kingdom of Kampili, appointed one of them (Harihara) as the new King and made another Governor and after taking from them oaths of fidelity, sent them with a large army to their country.

When they arrived at Anegondi, they were warmly welcomed by the people and the Malik Naib surrendered to them the fortress and the Kingdom. The persons who were sent by Muhammad Tughluq were Harihara and Bukka. They became disloyal and laid the foundations of a Hindu Empire, known as Vijayanagar. It is stated that Harihara who had become a convert to Islam, reverted to his ancestral faith of Hinduism and asserted his independence,