Achyuta Deva Raya

-
                                                        Achyuta Raya Temple in Hampi / Image credit

Achyuta Raya was a Vijayanagar ruler who succeeded to the throne in 1529 following the death of his half-brother Krishna Deva Raya, the greatest Vijayanagar emperor. If Portuguese chronicler Fernao Nuniz, who spent three years in Vijayanagar empire during the reign of Achyuta Deva Raya from 1535 to 1537, is to be believed, the Vijayanagar ruler was given to cruelty and tyranny. However, Achyuta Raya was not such a dishonest and weak ruler as maligned by Nuniz. 

Achyuta Deva Raya ruled for 13 years and internal revolts ruled the roost during the period. However, he managed to keep the vast Vijayanagar dominions intact.

Achyuta Raya is more known for his work in the field of culture and religion. In 1534 he built the Tiruvengalanatha shrine in Hampi, more popularly known as Achyuta Raya Temple, named after him. The presiding deity of the temple is Lord Tiruvengalanatha, a form of Vishnu.  

Purandaradasa, known as Father of Carnatic music or Karnataka Sangeetha Pitamaha. was patronized by Achyuta Deva Raya in whose court also flourished Sanskrit scholar Rajanatha Dindima and Kannada poet Chatu Vittalanatha. Rajanatha Dindima had written a Sanskrit poem named Achyutaraydbhyudaya dealing with the life of Achyuta Deva Raya. 

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sanskrit Books and Authors in Ancient India

-
  Books Authors Abhigyan Shakuntalam (Recognition of Shakuntala) Kalidasa Aihole Prasasti Ravikirti Amarakosha   Amarasimha   Arthashastra Kautilya Ashtadhyayi   Panini Bhattikavya Bhatti Brihat Samhita   Varahamihira Buddhacharita   Asvaghosa   Charaka Samhita ( Compendium of Charaka ) Charaka Devichandraguptam   Vishakhadatta Gita Govinda  ( Song of the Cowherd) Jayadeva Gatha Saptashati Hala Lilavati   Bhaskara II   Hammira Mahakavya   Nayachandra Suri Janakiharana   ( Janaki's abduction) Kumaradasa   Kama Sutra Vatsyayana Kathasaritsagara (Ocean of the Streams of Stories )
Read more

Turkan-i-Chahalgani, the Group of Forty

-
Amir-i-Chahalgani, known variously as Turkan-i-Chahalgani and Chalisa (The Forty), was a group of 40 faithful slaves which came into existence with the task of protecting Shamsuddin Iltutmish, the third Slave Sultan of Delhi Sultanate. The idea to form the group was taken by him when he came to realize that Turkish nobles cannot be trusted and could be a threat to his rule. With the passage of time the group went on to become very influential and powerful. Though Iltutmish succeeded in keeping the group under control, after his rule they became notorious and intrigued against nearly all his successors.  The Forty acquired domination on the affairs of the state so much so that no ruler could defy them. Without their support it was utterly out of questions for the rulers to win the battle for succession. The members of this Turkish nobility used to appropriate all the offices of the state to themselves. Some of the rulers of the Slave dynasty after Iltutmish were murdered by these slaves
Read more

Hala – The Satavahana king who wrote Saptasataka

-
Hāla was a Satavahana king who is traditionally assigned the authorship of Saptasataka (Seven Hundred) or Gathasaptashati, the most important literary work in Prakrit. Written in the Arya metre, Saptasataka is a collection of self contained stanzas full of beauty.  Out of seven hundred poems, some forty-four were penned by Hala, who, according to the Matsya Purana, was the 17th Satavahana ruler.  Hāla ruled in the Deccan in the 1st century AD.   The Maharashtri Prakrit work " Lilavati Parinayam " narrates his romance and marriage with Lilavati, a princess of Simhaladvipa (identified with modern Sri Lanka). Lilavati Parinayam was written by  Kuthuhala Koūhala.
Read more