The Marathas Part 2: Framing the Maratha Identity

Canberra, 21 May 2021 By late 13th century, the Hindu revolt in Peninsular India against the invading Muslim forces was bitter and widespread. Even the learned heads of various Hindu ‘Maths’, monasteries, were involved in attempting to repel the Muslim invaders. Shankaracharya Madhav Vidyaranya, the head of the famous and powerful Sringeri Math, was one […]

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Indian History The Marathas Part 1 Origins – The Fundamentals

Canberra, 16 May 2021 The Southern Peninsula of the Indian sub-continent, lying to the south of the Rivers Narmada and Mahanadi can be divided into five principal parts—Dravid, Carnatic, Telangana, Gondwana and Maharashtra. The territorial extent of each of these parts is normally defined based on the spread of the language that is spoken in […]

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Indian History Part 76 Collapse of an Empire Section III Rama Raya – A Retrospective Analysis

Canberra, 30 November 2019 In a purely factual analysis of the decline of the Vijayanagara Empire, Rama Raya’s name stands out either as a hero or a villain depending on the bias of the author or researcher. It is an indisputable fact that Rama Raya was the de facto king of the Empire at the […]

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Indian History Part 75 The Tuluva Dynasty Section III: Krishna Deva Raya – On the War Path

Amsterdam, 18 August 2019 Krishna Deva Raya ensured that the chances of external interference in Vijayanagara affairs were minimised through initially undertaking minor military actions and forming alliances. Then he prepared for war that would result in an extensive military campaign. He left Timmaraya, his trusted Prime Minister at the capital, in charge of the […]

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Indian History Part 75 The Tuluva Dynasty Section II: Krishna Deva Raya – Coming to Power

Canberra, 4 August 2019 Krishna, the stepbrother of Vira Narasimha II and son of Narasa Nayaka and Queen Nagala Devi, assumed the throne with the assistance of the sagacious minister Saluva Timmaraya on 15 July 1509. He would have been between 20 and 25 years of age at this time. Krishna immediately moved to secure […]

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Indian History Part 75 The Tuluva Dynasty Section I: The Third Dynasty Takes Over

Canberra, 13 July 2019 With the usurpation of the throne by the general of the Saluvas and designated regent, Narasa Nayaka—for irrespective of the good intentions that prompted the takeover, at the primary level the general’s actions remained usurpation—the third dynasty to rule Vijayanagara took over the reins of the administration. Origins of the Tuluvas […]

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Indian History Part 74 The Saluva Dynasty Section II: An Inglorious Demise

Canberra, 6 July 2019 Saluva Narasimha left behind two young sons—Timmabhupa and Immadi Narasimha—and on his deathbed commended them to the care of his loyal general Narasa Nayaka. Narasa, who belonged to the Tuluva family and was the son of the famed Iswara Nayaka, was immediately declared the ‘protector’ of the young princes. He placed […]

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Indian History Part 74 The Saluva Dynasty Section I: Antecedents

Canberra, 3 July 2019 Saluva is not the name of a family, clan or tribe. It is a title meaning ‘Hawk’, very similar to the Persian title ‘Bahri’. There is a vague trace that is discernible in bits and pieces which could be considered to link the Saluvas as having descended from the Yadavas and […]

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Indian History Part 73 The Sangama Dynasty Section VI: A Whimpering End

Canberra, 23 June 2019 The period immediately following Deva Raya II’s demise is shrouded in conflicting narratives and there is only limited verifiable information available that could help in producing an accurate sequence of events. This period, leading to the end of the Sangama dynasty, has to be classified as one of confusion, an assertion […]

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Indian History Part 73 The Sangama Dynasty Section V: Dynastic Greatness

Canberra, 19 May 2019 The order of succession on the demise of Deva Raya I is a bit confused. Different inscriptions provide perplexing evidence of two sons of Deva Raya I—Ramachandra and Vijaya—as well as a grandson Deva Raya II as ruling at the same time. Although this conflicting information has been gathered from inscriptions […]

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