Saluva Timmarusu or Saluva Nayaka or simply Timmarasu was the Prime Minister (Mahapradhana) and military commander of
Krishna Deva Raya
Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Empire, reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the g ...
. He is also known as "Appaji". He had also served as Prime Minister under
Viranarasimha Raya
Vira Narasimha Raya (or Vira Narasimha Vira Narasimha III) (reigned 1505–1509) became the king of Vijayanagar empire after the death of Tuluva Narasa Nayaka. Krishna Deva Raya was his younger half-brother.
The death of their capable father ...
and
Tuluva Narasa Nayaka
Tuluva Narasa Nayaka was the founder of the Tuluva dynsaty of the Vijayanagara Empire. He was the father of Emperor Krishnadevaraya.
Biography
Tuluva Narasa Nayaka, like his father Tuluva Ishvara Nayaka, was a commander in the Vijayanagara Empi ...
.
Early life
He belonged to a
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
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 ...
family. Timmarusu was born on 1461 in
Machilipatnam
Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar, is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the Tehsil, mandal he ...
. Timmarasu was responsible for the coronation of Krishnadevaraya. Records of Portuguese traveller
Fernao Nuniz suggest that Vira Narasimha, while on his death bed, ordered Timmarasu to blind his half brother Krishnadevaraya to ensure that his own minor son of eight years would become king of the empire. Timmarasu instead presented the king with a pair of she-goat eyes in order to satisfy the wish of the dying king. This way Timmarasu ensured that Krishnadevaraya became the successor. However,
K. A. N. Sastri believes that there is nothing to suggest anything but a friendly relationship between the two half-brothers. Timmarusu had very close relations with
Tenali Ramakrishna
Tenali Ramakrishna (born Garlapati Ramakrishna; also known as Tenali Rama) was an Indian poet, scholar, thinker and a special advisor in the court of the Vijayanagar king Krishnadevaraya, who ruled from C.E. 1509 to 1529. He was a Telugu poet ...
and was a supporter of him.
Military career
Campaign against Gajpati
Saluva Timmarasa captured the forts of Addanki , Vinukonda , Bellamkonda , Nagarjunakonda , Tangeda and Ketavaram on his way to Kondavidu , for
krishnadevaraya
Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Empire, reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the g ...
.
Battle of Raichur
When krishnadevaraya engaged in his campaign against Orissa, Ismail Adil Khan, sultan of Bijapur capture Raichur. Krishnadevaraya led the expedition against him with a huge army, where Saluva
Timmarusu
Saluva Timmarusu or Saluva Nayaka or simply Timmarasu was the Prime Minister (Mahapradhana) and military commander of Krishna Deva Raya. He is also known as "Appaji". He had also served as Prime Minister under Viranarasimha Raya and Tuluva Nar ...
assisted him as commander-in-Chiefin this campaign . The Muslim camp was sacked and a large booty fell into the hands of Krishnadevaraya. Raichur was recaptured.
War With Golkonda
Saluva
Timmarusu
Saluva Timmarusu or Saluva Nayaka or simply Timmarasu was the Prime Minister (Mahapradhana) and military commander of Krishna Deva Raya. He is also known as "Appaji". He had also served as Prime Minister under Viranarasimha Raya and Tuluva Nar ...
appointed as the Governor of kondavidu by Krishnadevaraya, Qutb shahi forces enter the region but
Timmarusu
Saluva Timmarusu or Saluva Nayaka or simply Timmarasu was the Prime Minister (Mahapradhana) and military commander of Krishna Deva Raya. He is also known as "Appaji". He had also served as Prime Minister under Viranarasimha Raya and Tuluva Nar ...
took the command of the army and defeated Quli Qutb, captured Madar - ul - Mulk , the commander of the Qutb Shahi army with many of his officers and sent them all as prisoners to Vijayanagara . Saluva also made necessary arrangements to deal with future threats.
[, Book Title=Krishnadeva Raya: The Great Poet-emperor of Vijayanagara , 2nd Book Title=The History and Culture of the Indian People - Volume 6.]
Later years
In 1524, Krishnadevaraya crowned his minor son ''Yuvaraja''. A few months later the prince took ill and died of poisoning. Accusing Timmarusu for this crime, Krishnadevaraya had minister and his son Prisoned and Blinded. It is said the King later released Timmarusu, on knowing that the conspiracy to kill his own son was hatched by Gajapatis of Odisha. The Gajapatis did not want their princess Jaganmohini to wed Krishadevaraya, as they believed he was not pure. The Gajapatis belonged to
Suryavansha
The Solar dynasty (IAST: Suryavaṃśa or Ravivaṃśa in Sanskrit) or the Ikshvaku dynasty was founded by the legendary king Ikshvaku.Geography of Rigvedic India, M.L. Bhargava, Lucknow 1964, pp. 15-18, 46-49, 92-98, 100-/1, 136 The dynasty is ...
(Solar Dynasty) clan of Odisha. But had to agree to this marriage, owing to Krishnadevaraya's victory over Gajapatis. Krishanadevaraya's parents, Narasa Nayaka a chieftain from Dakshina Kannada and Nagaladevi a chieftain's daughter from Andhra, were not from the royal family of Vijayanagara (
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 ...
). The king deplored and repented with Timmarusu, later on. On being released, Timmarusu spent the rest of his life in
Tirupati
Tirupati () is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirupati district. The city is home to the important Hindu shrine of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple and other historic temples and is refe ...
. He refused to take any support from his former King. He died a death in poverty. His Samadhi is in Penukonda, Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.
Legacy
Mahamantri Timmarusu is a 1962 Indian Telugu-language historical drama directed by
Kamalakara Kameswara Rao
Kamalakara Kameswara Rao (14 October 1911 – 29 June 1998) was an Indian film director known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema, and a few Tamil and Hindi films. Widely known as ''Pauranika Chitra Brahma'' (), Kameswara Rao directed f ...
.
Gummadi played the key role of Prime Minister Timmarusu. The film won a silver medal at the
National Film Awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...
in 1962. In 1970
B. R. Panthulu
Budaguru Ramakrishnaiah Panthulu (26 July 1910 – 8 October 1974) was an Indian film director, producer and actor. He is best known for directing films in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. His most popular films are '' Karnan'', ''Veerapandiya ...
Directed and produced Kannada movie
Sri Krishnadevaraya
Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Empire, reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the g ...
also acted as
Mahamantri Timmarusu and won 1969-70
Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor
Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor is a state film award of the Indian state of Karnataka given during the annual Karnataka State Film Awards. The award honours Kannada Language films.
Superlatives
Recipients
The first recipient was ...
.
References
Bibliography
* K. A. Nilakanta Sastry, History of South India, From Prehistoric times to fall of Vijayanagar, 1955, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002)
* Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat, Concise history of Karnataka, 2001, MCC, Bangalore (Reprinted 2002)
{{Authority control
Karnataka politicians
People of the Vijayanagara Empire
16th-century Indian politicians
People from Machilipatnam