Harihara II (1342–1404 CE) was a emperor of the

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 ...

from the

Sangama Dynasty The Sangama dynasty was a dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire founded in the 14th century by two brothers: Harihara I (also called ''Vira Harihara'' or ''Hakka Raya'') and Bukka Raya I. They were the sons of Bhavana Sangama, members of a pastora ...

. He patronised

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

poet Madhura, a

Jaina JAINA is an acronym for the Federation of Jain Associations in North America, an umbrella organizations to preserve, practice, and promote Jainism in USA and Canada. It was founded in 1981 and formalized in 1983. Among Jain organization it is ...

. An important work on

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

was completed during his time. He earned the titles ''Vaidikamarga Sthapanacharya'' and ''Vedamarga Pravartaka''.

Biography

He became ruler when

Bukka Raya I Bukka Raya I (reigned 1356–1377 CE) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from the Sangama Dynasty.Phrof A V Narasimha MurthyRare Royal Brothers: Hakka and Bukka He was a son of Bhavana Sangama(Unofficial). Background The early life of Bu ...

died in 1377 and ruled till his death in 1404. He was succeeded by

Virupaksha Raya Virupaksha Raya (born 1365, reign 1404–1405 CE) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire. With the death of Harihara II in 1404, the throne for the Vijayanagara Empire was disputed amongst his sons: Deva Raya I, Bukka Raya II, and Virupak ...

. During his reign, he continued to extend the kingdom's territory through fighting against the Reddis of

Kondavidu Kondaveedu Fort is a historically significant ancient hill fortress located in Kondaveedu, a village in the Chilakaluripet constituency of Palnadu district, Andhra Pradesh, India. The site is located 16 miles west of the city of Guntur. Apart f ...

for control of the

Andhra Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

between

Nellore Nellore is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of the district, as well as Nellore mandal and Nellore revenue division. It is the List of cities in ...

and

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writ ...

. From the Reddis of Kondavidu, Harihara II conquered the

Addanki Addanki is a Municipal city in Bapatla district of the Indian State, Andhra Pradesh. Addanki North is the mandal headquarters of Addanki mandal in chirala revenue division. Geography Addanki located at . It has an average elevation of 24&nbs ...

and

Srisailam Srisailam is a census town in Nandyal district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the mandal headquarters of Srisailam mandal in Atmakur revenue division. It is located about from the district headquarters Nandyal, from Kurnool, an ...

areas as well as most of the territory between the peninsula to the south of the river

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

, which would eventually lead to fights in

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

with the Velamas of

Rachakonda Rachakonda Fort is a historic fort located in Rachakonda, Yadadri Bhongir district of Telangana, India. It was built by the Recherla Nayaka king Anapotanayaka in the 14th century AD. Till that time the Recherla Nayakas had their capital at Anu ...

. Harihara II took advantage of the death of Mujahid Bahmani in 1378 and extended his control into the northwest, controlling such ports as

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

Chaul Chaul is a historic town located in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. The Korlai Fort is located nearby. History The town was famous for cotton manufactured goods in the 15th and 16th century, According to Varthema, Chaul was prod ...

, and

Dabhol Dabhol (Marathi pronunciation: ̪aːbʱoɭ, also known as Dabul, is a small seaport town in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra in India. It is located on the northern and southern sides of the Vashishthi river that later flows by Chiplun ...

. Harihara II ruled from the capital

Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () was the capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire. Located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, it spread over a large area and included the modern era Group of Monuments at Hampi site in Vijayanagara district, Bellary ...

now more popularly known as

Hampi Hampi or Hampe, also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Hampi (town), Hampi town, Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka, India. Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire i ...

. What is believed to be the ruins of Harihara's palace is located among the Hampi ruins. His general Iruguppa was a disciple of Simhanandi, a Jain teacher. He built a tank for Gomatteshvara (

Bahubali Bahubali (), a much revered figure among Jains, was the son of Rishabadeva (the first ''tirthankara'' of Jainism) and the brother of Bharata Chakravartin. He is said to have meditated motionless for a year in a standing posture (''kayotsarg ...

) and the stone temple of Kumthu-Jinanatha at Vijayanagara. During his fight against the Reddis of Kondavidu, he delegated the rule of Mysore and the task of fighting the Dalvoys in Mysore to Yaduraya, thereby appointing the first ruler of another mighty future-kingdom.

References

Sources

* * Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat, Concise history of Karnataka, MCC, Bangalore, 2001 (Reprinted 2002)

External links

Andhra Pradesh Online
1404 deaths 15th-century Indian monarchs Sangama dynasty 1377 births Indian Hindus Hindu monarchs 14th-century Indian monarchs {{India-royal-stub