Disclaimer. This short film has been made with the objective of sharing aspects of our glorious history with the masses and covers historical facts and draws inspiration from various books, texts and articles written on this subject over the years . Veer Savarkar’s historical books have been a major inspiration. The objective of this short film hence is not to hurt the sentiments of any particular caste or community. Various imagery commonly available is obtained from the web and has been used to depict people, places and scenes and we do not claim for this imagery to be our own creation in any way. We have used simple tools like PCs and mobile phones to create this short film hence technology wise this may seem very basic but we do have our hearts in the right place as we attempt to revisit our glorious history and share it with you.. 

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This short film has been made with the objective of sharing aspects of our glorious history with the masses and covers historical facts and draws inspiration from various books, texts  and articles written on this subject over the years .   Veer  Savarkar’s  historical books have been a major inspiration. The objective of this short film hence is not to hurt the sentiments of any particular caste or community. Various imagery commonly available is obtained from the web and has been used to depict people, places and scenes  and we do not claim for this imagery to be our own creation in any way.   We have used simple tools like PCs and mobile phones to create this short film hence technology wise this may seem very basic but we do have our hearts in the right place as we attempt to revisit our glorious history and share it with you.

The Guardians of Bharat over the Ages. Part 2- The Vijaynagar Empire. 

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Attacked, Captured and Converted. Brothers Hariharraya and Bukkaraya belonged to the Yadava family of Anagondi.. 

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Brothers Hariharraya and Bukkaraya belonged to the Yadava family of Anagondi.

The Sultan of Delhi Mohd Tughlaq’s army attacked Anagondi and took both the brothers captive in the year 1327 and brought them to Delhi where they were forcibly converted to Islam.

Both the brothers were then given employment in the Sultan’s army and seeing their caliber for leadership Mohd Tughlaq sent them to invade the Deccan in 1331.

Return and the Foundation of the Vijaynagar Empire. 

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Return and the Foundation of the  Vijaynagar  Empire

On reaching the Deccan both brothers met Swami Vidyaaranya also an astute visionary politician at the Sankeshwar Monastery who reconverted them back to Hinduism.

They soon raised a Hindu Army which overpowered the Muslim soldiers of the Sultan and in 1336 Hariharraya, Bukkaraya and Swami Vidyaaranya founded the Vijaynagar Empire where Hariharraya was coronated as the Maharajadhiraj.

In 1346 the Bahamani Sultanate was formed in South India as Hassan Gangu the Governor of the Delhi Sultan rebelled against Tughlaq and formed his own kingdom.. 

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In 1346 the Bahamani Sultanate was formed in South India as Hassan Gangu the Governor of the Delhi Sultan rebelled against Tughlaq and formed his own kingdom.

The Tungabhadra river near Hampi Karnataka became a common border for the Vijaynagar Empire and the Bahamani Sultanate.

Bukkaraya and Hariharraya. Hariharraya and Bukkaraya expanded the kingdom of Vijaynagar very effectively and also made it an advanced kingdom of that time.. 

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Hariharraya and Bukkaraya expanded the kingdom of Vijaynagar very effectively and also made it an advanced kingdom of that time.

After Hariharraya died Bukkaraya took over the reigns of the kingdom.

Bukkaraya with a vision for developing a Hindu Empire and seeing the meddlesomeness of his neighbouring Sultanate took the offensive route.

In 1374 Bukkaraya defeated Mahajid Shah who was the Sultan of the Bahamani Sultanate.

A Prominent Empire. Vijaynagar soon became known for its lifestyle, marvellous architecture, centres of knowledge and learning beautiful gardens and statues.. 

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Vijaynagar soon became known for its lifestyle, marvellous architecture, centres of knowledge and learning beautiful gardens and statues.

Bukkaraya even established trade links with the King of China spreading the name of his kingdom far and wide.

After the death of Bukkaraya in 1379 his son Hariharraya-II ascended the throne and he expanded the Empire till Goa.

Vijaynagar Empire in its entire history of 3 centuries was blessed with all excellent rulers, well not all.

The Appeasement Politics of Devaraya. Devaraya, a later Vijaynagar King ruling from year 1406 proved weak. To appease Muslims in his state he employed many but did not command their respect.. 

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Devaraya, a later Vijaynagar King ruling from year 1406 proved weak. To appease Muslims in his state he employed many but did not command their respect.

As a result Muslims in his Court refused to bow down to him, so he hatched upon an idea.

He started keeping a copy of the Quran next to his throne and Muslim Courtiers started bowing down to the Quran, so the protocol of saluting the king was maintained atleast visually though not in reality.

His Muslim soldiers ditched him in battle as he lost to the Bahmani Sultan Phiroz Khan. Phiroz Khan demanded Devaraya’s daughter in marriage and he had no other choice but to comply.

The Break Up of the Bahamani Sultanate. After the death of Devaraya the next Vijaynagar kings again proved effective against the Bahmani Sultanate as in 1417 they defeated Phiroz Khan’s army.. 

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After the death of Devaraya the next Vijaynagar kings again proved effective against the Bahmani Sultanate as in 1417 they defeated Phiroz Khan’s army.

Between 1460 to 1507 there were ruling dynasty changes in the Vijaynagar Empire too, however despite this turmoil all Kings proved strong.

In this course the Vijaynagar Empire won the Gomantak province  from the Bahmani Sultanate and expanded its borders till Orissa.

A weakened Bahmani Sultanate broke up into 5 smaller Islamic Sultanates- the Adilshahi of Bijapur, the Baridshahi of Bidar, the Imadshahi of Vidarbha, the Qutubshahi of Golconda and the Nizamshahi of Nagar.

Krishnadevaraya - A Golden Era. Maharaja Krishnadevaraya who ascended the Vijaynagar Throne in 1509 is regarded arguably as the greatest of all Vijaynagar Kings to the extent that he is regarded as the main icon of the Vijaynagar Empire just as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is regarded as the main icon of the Maratha Empire.. 

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Maharaja Krishnadevaraya who ascended the Vijaynagar Throne in 1509 is regarded arguably as the greatest of all Vijaynagar Kings to the extent that he is regarded as the main icon of the Vijaynagar Empire just as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is regarded as the main icon of the Maratha Empire.

Travellers such as Duerte of Portugal and an envoy of the Shah of Persia visited Vijaynagar in his era and sang praises of the rich lifestyle there.

Krishnadevaraya is himself described as a handsome, learned personality, an excellent communicator and a very popular and generous king.

The Reign of Krishnadevaraya. Literature and knowledge reaches its zenith in his rule. Krishnadevaraya who was himself a great scholar well versed in Sanskrit, Telugu and Kannada wrote a number of books including the Amukta Malyada which is referred to even today.. 

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Literature and knowledge reaches its zenith in his rule. Krishnadevaraya who was himself a great scholar well versed in Sanskrit, Telugu and Kannada wrote a number of books including the Amukta Malyada which is referred to even today.

It is said that in his reign jewellery became so affordable to common people that gold, silver and diamonds were bought just like groceries in Vijaynagar.

Trade flourished in his era as Vijaynagar became a prominent center for trade.

The Reign of Krishnadevaraya. As Krishnadevaraya was very generous to his subjects he was also very stern and ruthless while dealing with the enemies of the Vijaynagar Empire.. 

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As Krishnadevaraya was very generous to his subjects he was also very stern and ruthless while dealing with the enemies of the Vijaynagar Empire.

Krishnadevaraya’s army was feared as it was gigantic with an ever battle ready infantry size of 70000 with a cavalry size of 30000.

In his reign no one dared to mess around with Vijaynagar. Adilshah attempted a misadventure once and was easily sent packing.

Krishnadevaraya’s premature death in 1530 created a huge gap in the administration of Vijaynagar which took many months to fill up as his successors Achyutdevaraya and Sadasivaraya changed hands of leadership very soon as they could not hold on to power.

The Reign of Ramraya. After many months of uncertainty the Vijaynagar Empire found a stable leadership in Ramraya who proved virtuous and capable. His era marked the return of Vijaynagar as a powerful force.. 

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After many months of uncertainty the Vijaynagar Empire found a stable leadership in Ramraya who proved virtuous and capable. His era marked the return of Vijaynagar as a powerful force.

The reign of Ramraya gave sleepless nights to the already fragmented Bahmani Sultan states as Ramraya became more and more powerful and these states even started asking for the support of Ramraya in resolving their internal disputes with each other.

In 1543 the Nizamshah took the help of Ramraya in defeating the Adilshah who again in turn in 1557 took revenge against the Nizamshah by requesting help from Ramraya.

Ramraya the Courageous. As Ramraya became stronger over nearly 3 decades at the helm, the fragmented Bahmani Sultans decided to unite in the name of Islam to subdue the ‘kafir’ state of Vijaynagar. As the Bahmani Sultans never trusted each other they held intermarriages within each others’ kingdoms to cement their allegiance to the Islamic cause.. 

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As Ramraya became stronger over nearly 3 decades at the helm, the fragmented Bahmani Sultans decided to unite in the name of Islam to subdue the ‘kafir’ state of Vijaynagar. As the Bahmani Sultans never trusted each other they held intermarriages within each others’ kingdoms to cement their allegiance to the Islamic cause.

Finally all 5 states of the Sultanate made a combined attack on Vijaynagar in 1565 at Rakshasbhuvan (The Talikota War). Although Ramraya was 70 years old at that time he himself went to war with his army and fought valiantly for hours. Finally he was surrounded by the Sultanate Soldiers who promptly beheaded him and paraded his severed head on a spear.

Seeing their king dead, the Vijaynagar Army retreated as the soldiers of the Sultanate wreaked havoc on Vijaynagar destroying buildings, temples and libraries.

The fall of the Vijaynagar Empire does not mean that the cause of the Hindu Empire reached a full stop as a few decades later a great personality was born in 1630 who would go on to found a 200 year long Empire and take the Hindavi Swarajya to the next level- Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of the Maratha Empire. 

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The fall of the Vijaynagar Empire does not mean that the cause of the Hindu Empire reached a full stop as a few decades later a great personality was born in 1630 who would go on to found a 200 year long Empire and take the Hindavi Swarajya to the next level- Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of the Maratha Empire

Created byNikhil Chaudhari. Narrators:. Tanish Venkatesh. 