Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya (or Saluva Narasimha, Saluva Narasimha I; 1431–1491 CE) was an

emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

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 Saluva Dynasty. A patron of the

Madhwa Madhvacharya (; ; CE 1199-1278 or CE 1238–1317), sometimes anglicised as Madhva Acharya, and also known as Purna Prajna () and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the ''Dvaita'' (dualism) schoo ...

saint

Sripadaraya Sripadaraja ( sa, श्रीपादराज; ) or Sripadaraya, also known by his pontifical name Lakshminarayana Tirtha (1422 - 1480), was a Hindu Dvaita philosopher, scholar and composer and the pontiff of the Madhvacharya mutt at Mulb ...

, he authored the Sanskrit work ''Rama Bhyudayam''. He also patronised Kannada poet Kavi Linga.Narasimhacharya (1988), p 69 In 1452, he was given the title Maha Mandaleshwara of

Chandragiri Chandragiri is a suburb and neighbourhood of Tirupati and located in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a part of Tirupati urban agglomeration and a major growing residential area in Tirupati It is the mandal headqua ...

during the reign of

Mallikarjuna Raya Mallikarjuna Raya (or Deva Raya III) (born 1420, r. 1446–1465 CE) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from the Sangama Dynasty. Mallikarjuna Raya succeeded his father Deva Raya II, who had brought prosperity throughout the Vijayanagara e ...

. His father Saluva Gunda was the governor of Chandragiri. After the death of Virupaksha Raya II and arrival of Prauda Deva Raya as the new monarch of Vijayanagar, the empire plunged into neglect and anarchy. Seeing that a military coup was the only hope to save the kingdom, he despatched the son of

Tuluva The Tulu people or Tuluvas are an ethno-linguistic group from Southern India. They are native speakers of the Tulu language and the region they traditionally inhabit is known as Tulu Nadu. This region comprises the districts of Dakshina Kannada ...

Isvara, Tuluva Narasa Nayaka to the imperial capital of Vijayanagara. The incumbent king Prauda Raya fell, thus starting the rule of Saluva Narasimha. The writings of Nuniz gives a graphic account of how Narasa Nayaka went to Vijayanagara and found it completely unguarded, even all the way to the harem. As king, Saluva Narasimha tried to expand the empire, though he continually faced difficulties caused from rebelling chieftains. By 1491, he lost Udayagiri to Gajapati

Kapilendra Deva Kapilendra Deva ( Odia: କପିଳେନ୍ଦ୍ର ଦେବ; r. 1434–1467 CE), was the founder of the Suryavamsa Gajapati Empire that ruled parts of eastern and southern India, including present-day Odisha as the center of the empire. He ca ...

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...

while the Chiefs of Ummattur in the Mysore region, Saluvas of

Hadavalli Hadavalli is a small village, situated about 17 km from Bhatkala in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India. History Hadavalli, which finds its name in history as Sangeetapura, was once believed to be an abode for musicians and als ...

and Santharas of

Karkala ''Karkala'' also known as Karla in Tulu language, is a town and the headquarters of Karkala taluk in the Udupi district of Karnataka, India. Located about 60 km from Mangalore in the Tulu Nadu region of the state,it lies near the foothill ...

from coastal Karnataka region,

Srirangapatna Srirangapatna is a town and headquarters of one of the seven Tehsil, Taluks of Mandya district, in the Indian States and territories of India, State of Karnataka. It gets its name from the Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangapatna, Ranganthaswamy ...

and Sambetas of Peranipadu in

Cuddapah Kadapa (colonial spelled Cuddapah) is a city in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located in the Rayalaseema region, and is the district headquarters of YSR Kadapa district. As of the 2022 Census of India, the city had a popula ...

still remained threats to the empire. Saluva Narasimha's war with the Gajapatis over Udayagiri in 1489 proved disastrous when he was taken prisoner and released later after giving up the fort and surrounding areas to the Gajapatis of Orissa. However he was successful at conquering the western ports of Kannada country of Mangalore, Bhatkal, Honnavar and Bakanur. This success enabled him to trade for swift horses with the Arabs. He took more efforts in the upkeep of his cavalry and army in general. Saluva Narasimha would die in 1491 with sons that were too young to ascend to the throne. Their guardianship was entrusted to Narasa Nayaka, a loyal general and minister from the Tuluva family.

Notes

References

* Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat, ''Concise History of Karnataka'', 2001, MCC, Bangalore (Reprinted 2002) * Prof K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, ''History of South India, From Prehistoric times to fall of Vijayanagar'', 1955, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002) *

External links

APonline article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raya, Saluva Narasimha Deva 1491 deaths People of the Vijayanagara Empire Hindu monarchs 1485 births Indian Hindus 15th-century Indian monarchs