The Battle of Toppur was one of the largest battles in the history of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. In this battle,

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

s were used at a large scale for the first time in

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

. It caused complete destruction of the already declining

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hinduism, Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana an ...

. It was a civil war fought by the claimants for the kingship of the

Jagga Raya Gobburi Jagga Raya (1614–1617 CE) was a de facto King of Vijayanagara Empire on behalf adopted nephew named Chenga Raya, a rival claimant to the Vijaynagara thorne. He was the brother of Venkata II’s favourite Queen Obayamma who was bequeat ...

challenged the Sriranga Authority on behalf of his nephew.

Background

Venkatapati Raya Venkatapati Raya (or Venkata II, r. 1585–1614 CE) was the younger brother of Sriranga Deva Raya (also the youngest son of Tirumala Deva Raya ) and the ruler of Vijayanagara Empire with bases in Penukonda, Chandragiri and Vellore. His reign ...

, the ruler of the

belonging to the Aravidu line died without direct heirs. So he declared his nephew Sriranga II as heir. But Venkatapati's queen Bayamma, who had adopted a

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

boy named Chenga Raya wanted him to succeed to the throne. Her ambition caused a civil war in the ranks of the empire. Bayamma's brother Gobburi Jagga Raya kidnapped and murdered the king and his whole family. Only his one son survived. This brutal murder caused angst in his court among other nayak commanders. The commander of Imperial army Velugoti Yachama Nayaka revolted and supported the son of Sriranga II named

Rama Deva Raya Rama Deva Raya (or Vira Rama Deva Raya) (1617–1632 CE) ascended the throne after a gruesome war in 1617 as the King of Vijayanagara Empire. In 1614 his father, Sriranga II the preceding King and his family were gruesomely murdered by rival fa ...

Battle

The location of the battle that took place is mentioned by most historians as Toppur, located on the banks of Cauvery river a mile of

Grand Anicut Kallanai (also known as the Grand Anicut) is an ancient dam. It is built (in running water) across the Kaveri river flowing from Tiruchirapalli District to Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India. The dam located in Thanjavur district. Locate ...

, which is present day

Thogur Thogur is a small, remote village in the Thanjavur district, situated near the ancient Kallanai Dam (often known as the Grand Anicut). Villages in Thanjavur district {{Thanjavur-geo-stub ...

Aftermath

The battle was won by the Raghunatha Nayak faction and

Yachama Naidu Sriranga II (a.k.a. Sriranga Chika Raya) (r. 1614 CE) was nominated in 1614 by King Venkata II to succeed him as king of the Vijayanagara Empire in Southern India. Sriranga was supported by a faction headed by Yachama Naidu of Recherla Velama ...

, son of Sriranga II, who was only 13 years old and was crowned as Emperor. It was the battle which cause the complete disintegration of the Vijayanagar Empire, which was reviving slowly. This civil war caused severe problems to the Vijayanagara Empire.

References

* * Rao, Velcheru Narayana, and David Shulman, Sanjay Subrahmanyam. ''Symbols of substance : court and state in Nayaka period Tamilnadu'' (Delhi ; Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1998) ; xix, 349 p., 6p. of plates : ill., maps ; 22 cm. ; Oxford India paperbacks ; Includes bibliographical references and index ; . * Sathianathaier, R. ''History of the Nayaks of Madura'' icroformby R. Sathyanatha Aiyar ; edited for the University, with introduction and notes by S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar (

adras Mike Adras (born June 25, 1961) is an American college basketball coach. He most recently was the head men's basketball coach at Northern Arizona University. He was promoted from assistant coach after the 1998–99 season, when Ben Howland left f ...

: Oxford University Press, 1924) ; see also ( ondon: H. Milford, Oxford university press, 1924) ; xvi, 403 p. ; 21 cm. ; SAMP early 20th-century Indian books project item 10819. *K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, History of South India, From Prehistoric times to fall of Vijayanagar, 1955, OUP, (Reprinted 2002) {{ISBN, 0-19-560686-8. History of Tamil Nadu History of Andhra Pradesh History of Karnataka 1616 in India Battles involving the Vijayanagara Empire Conflicts in 1616