Krishnadevaraya biography books
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But that is what Srinivas Reddy delivers in Raya: Krishnadevaraya Of Vijayanagara. Religion was not the motivating factor in the empire’s dealings with Muslim states but it was one of many important elements that helped shape kingly policy. It speaks not only of the political dynamics of the time but also about Hindu kingship, caste and methods of legitimization.
The Raya collected poets and thinkers, presiding over “not only a vast earthly empire but a vibrant literary one as well”. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable, intelligent, altogether edifying biography that combines academic sophistication with good writing.
For a text of 232 pages, inclusive of notes, there are many threads the author draws in.
He won every single battle he fought and unified the whole of south India under his banner. If this is not entirely surprising, since defeated parties have little incentive to memorialize humiliation, what is puzzling is how one of the Raya’s most sensational victories appears in a Persian chronicle but not in any Vijayanagara source.
Similarly, there is a fascinating tension that features repeatedly in the book.
But Krishnadevaraya quickly rose to the challenge, and in the course of his remarkable twenty-year reign, he changed history forever. In conquest, he was formidable, even as he engaged with men of spiritual leanings and diverse philosophical persuasions. ಉದಾಹರಣೆಗೆ ಅಲ್ಲಸಾನಿ ಪೆದ್ದಣ್ಣ, ಈತನಂತೂ ಕೃಷ್ಣರಾಯರನ್ನು ನಾರಾಯಣನ ಅವತಾರ ಅಥವಾ ಬದುಕಿರುವ ಕೃಷ್ಣ, ದುರ್ಗೆ ಮತ್ತು ನಟರಾಜರ ಸಮ್ಮಿಲನ ಎಂದೆಲ್ಲ ಕರೆದು ಇತಿಹಾಸವನ್ನು ಕಾವ್ಯಮಯಿಸಿದ್ದಾನೆ, ಇದು ಕವಿಯಾಗಿ ರಾಜನನ್ನು ವೈಭವಿಕರಿಸುವುದು ತಪ್ಪಿಲ್ಲದ್ದಿರಬಹುದು.
He had to confront very modern problems, such as building international alliances and negotiating overseas trade deals, while grappling with the challenges of globalism and multiculturalism. Based on Portuguese and Persian chronicles, as well as many overlooked Telugu literary sources, Raya is the definitive biography of one of the world's greatest leaders"--Front dust jacket flap.
RAYA : Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara
ಕೃಷ್ಣರಾಯನಂತ ಅಪ್ರತಿಮ ವೀರನ ಕಥನವನ್ನು ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಓದಲೇಬೇಕು, 310 ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಬೃಹತ್ ವಿಜಯನಗರ ಇತಿಹಾಸದಲ್ಲಿ ಸುವರ್ಣ ಯುಗವೆಂದರೆ, ಈತನ ಆಡಳಿತವೇ.
ಆದರೆ ಇತಿಹಾಸವನ್ನು ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟವಾಗಿ ದಾಖಲು ಮಾಡುವ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಕಾರ್ಯವನ್ನು ಬದಿಗಿರಿಸಿ ಇಂತವಕ್ಕೆ ಬೆಲೆ ಕೊಡುವುದು ಮೂರ್ಖತನವೂ ಹೌದು. Still, Reddy’s is without doubt a book that deserves to be widely read, not least to know better a king who, like peninsular Indian history in general, is often overshadowed by northern peers and subjects. In this biography of Krishnadevaraya now, Reddy draws on his previous expertise with literary sources, marrying it to folk memory, Persian chronicles, the physical evidence left in architecture, art and inscriptions, and existing scholarship.
Equally, Reddy suggests, signs of arrogance began to afflict the man: An episode where he agreed to make peace with a sultan if the latter came and kissed his feet, is a case in point.
Meanwhile, one eye was also turned to the wider world overseas, as is clear in the Raya’s dealings with the Portuguese.
ಈ ಆಡಳಿತದ ಸರಳ ನೋಟ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಮಗೆ ದಕ್ಕುತ್ತದೆ.
ಕೃಷ್ಣರಾಯರ ಇತಿಹಾಸವನ್ನು ಅನೇಕ ಕವಿಗಳು ವೈಭವಿಕರಿಸಿ ನೈಜ ಇತಿಹಾಸವನ್ನು ಸಡಿಲಗೊಳಿಸುವ ದಡ್ಡ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಗಳು ನಡೆದಿವೆ. There are a few minor errors (where Devaraya I and II are conflated, for example, and where the name of a Qutb Shah of Golconda, Sultan-Quli, appears as Quli, with sultan printed as a title) and I was surprised not to see Valerie Stoker’s fine volume on 16th century Vijayanagara in the bibliography.
It might feel like a tedious sequence but happily, there are discussions on attendant subjects punctuating the process. The first half, as far as telling Krishnadevaraya’s story goes, is almost entirely a succession of battles and conquests, which correspond with the early phase of the emperor’s career. This fascinating and riveting book is meticulously researched and beautifully written.
Reddy does not sermonize or try to “settle” today’s feuds on these themes but he does touch on them enough to remind us not to get lost in present-day concerns at the cost of the big picture and what it reveals to unclouded minds.
In the second half of the book, we read more about Krishnadevaraya’s cultural contributions.
Reddy brings to the fore a highly interesting (and perhaps to some, provocative) line when he puts forth the argument that far from viewing the Deccan’s Muslim sultans with a visceral hatred, what seems to have affected Krishnadevaraya more personally was his enmity with the Gajapati king of Odisha. Krishnadevaraya is remembered today as one of India's greatest kings, not only because of his successes on the battlefield or the dazzling splendour of his empire, but because he was India's first truly global leader.