Harihara I

2021-09-05T06:16:57Z

223.225.58.167:

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2016}}
{{more footnotes|date=February 2014}}{{Infobox royalty
| succession = Founder of [[Vijayanagara Empire]]
| reign =
| predecessor = [[Hoysala]] emperor [[Veera Ballala III]]
| successor = [[Bukka Raya I]]
| birth_date = 1306
| death_date = 1356
| dynasty = [[Sangama dynasty|Sangama]]
| father = [[Bhavana Sangama]]
}}
{{Vijayanagara empire}}
'''Harihara I''', also called '''Hakka''' and '''Vira Harihara I''', was the founder of the [[Vijayanagara Empire]], which he ruled from 1336 to 1356 CE.<ref name="sen2">{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-9-38060-734-4 |pages=103–106}}</ref> He and his successors formed the [[Sangama Dynasty|Sangama dynasty]], the first of four dynasties to rule the empire. He was the eldest son of [[Bhavana Sangama]],<ref name="sen2">{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Sailendra |title=A Textbook of Medieval Indian History |publisher=Primus Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-9-38060-734-4 |pages=103–106}}</ref> the chieftain of a shepherd pastoralist community, which claimed descent from the [[Gadaria]] race.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.preservearticles.com/biography/short-biography-of-harihara-i-ad-1336ad-1355/14111|title=Short biography of Harihara-I (A.D. 1336—A.D. 1355)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Ramchandra |last=Dhere |title=Rise of a Folk God: Vitthal of Pandharpur South Asia Research |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jUeeAgAAQBAJ |year=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press, 2011 |isbn=9780199777648 |pages=243}}</ref>

The early life of Hakka and his brother [[Bukka Raya I|Bukka]] is relatively unknown and most accounts are based on various theories. Ballappa Dandanayaka, a nephew of the [[Hoysala Empire|Hoysala]] emperor [[Veera Ballala III]], had married a daughter of Harihara.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.karnataka.gov.in/gazetteer/GazetteerMandya2009/Chapter-2.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-10-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531200248/http://www.karnataka.gov.in/gazetteer/GazetteerMandya2009/Chapter-2.pdf |archive-date=31 May 2011}}</ref> This shows that Harihara was associated with the Hoysala Court. Immediately after coming to power, he built a fort at [[Barkur]]u, on the west coast of present-day [[Karnataka]]. It appears from inscriptions that he was administering the northern parts of present-day [[Karnataka]] from his seat at [[Gooty Fort|Gooty]] (Gutti), [[Anantapur district|Ananthpur district]] in 1339. He initially controlled the northern portions of the [[Hoysala Empire]] before taking full control over its entire range after the death of Hoysala [[Veera Ballala III]] in 1343. [[Kannada]] inscriptions of his time call him ''Karnataka Vidya Vilas'' ("master of great knowledge and skills"), ''Bhashege tappuva rayara ganda'' ("punisher of those feudatories who don't keep their promise"), ''and Arirayavibhada'' ("fire to enemy kings"). Among his brothers, Kampana governed the [[Nellore|Nellur]] region, Muddppa administered the [[Mulbagal|Mulabagalu]] region, Marappa oversaw [[Chandragutti]] and Bukka Raya was his second in command.

His initial military exploits established his control over the valley of [[Tungabhadra River]], and gradually he expanded his control to certain regions of [[Konkan]] and [[Malabar Coast]]. By that time, the [[Hoysala Empire|Hoysala]] ruler [[Veera Ballala III]] had died fighting the [[Madurai Sultanate|Sultan of Madurai]], and the vacuum thus created allowed Harihara to emerge as a [[Sovereignty|sovereign]] power with all the Hoysala territories under his rule.

An inscription dated 1346 regarding a grant to the [[Sringeri matha]] describes Harihara I as the ruler of "whole country between the [[Bay of Bengal|eastern]] and the [[Arabian Sea|western seas]]" and describes ''Vidya Nagara'' (that is, the city of learning) as his capital.

Harihara I was succeeded by his brother [[Bukka I]] who emerged as the most distinguished amongst the five rulers (Panchasangamas) of the Sangama dynasty.

==Administration==
Harihara was a very able administrator.
Vijayanagar was the first southern Indian state to have encompassed three major linguistic and cultural regions and to have established a high degree of political unity among them.
The administration of the kingdom sporadically achieved a relatively high degree of centralization, although centrifugal tendencies regularly appeared.
To the original five rajyas (provinces) held by the Sangama brothers, new ones were added as territories were acquired.
Within and among these regions, a complex mosaic of great chiefly houses exercised power to varying degrees, though not with the virtual autonomy that some historians have suggested.
The central administration had both a revenue and a military side, but the actual business of raising taxes and troops was mostly the responsibility of the provincial governors and their subordinates.
The central government maintained a relatively small body of troops, but it assigned a value to the lands held by the provincial governors and determined the number of troops that were to be supplied from the revenues of each province.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/India/Decline-of-Vijayanagar#ref46937|title=The Vijayanagara Empire - Administration of the Empire|publisher=Encyclopaedia Brittanica}}</ref>

Harihara was fully conscious of the dangers which the infant state faced both from its neighbours and the Delhi sultans. He strengthened the old fort of [[Badami]] as a protection against invasions from Delhi rulers. He fortified Gooty in Anantpur District as a safeguard against Hoysala kings.

He also converted [[Udayagiri Fort|Udayagiri]] into a strong fort and placed his younger brother Kampana in charge of it. With the help of his able minister Anantarasa Chikka Udaiya, he reorganized the civil administration that survived for more than two hundred years.
Under the nayankara system, military commanders were appointed 'nayaka' (local governor) and granted income from estates for the purpose of raising troops and maintain control over local chiefs.<ref>{{cite book|author=John S. Bowman|title=Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cYoHOqC7Yx4C|year=2000|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-50004-3}}</ref>

In order to increase the resources of the state, he encouraged the farmers to cut down forests and bring this land under cultivation. The kingdom was divided into sthalas, nadus and simas. A number of officers were appointed to run the administration and collect the revenues.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.preservearticles.com/biography/short-biography-of-harihara-i-ad-1336ad-1355/14111|title=Short biography of Harihara-I (A.D. 1336—A.D. 1355)}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
* Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat, Concise history of Karnataka, MCC, Bangalore, 2001 (Reprinted 2002)
* Chopra, P.N. T.K. Ravindran and N. Subrahmaniam.<u>History of South India</u>. S. Chand, 2003. {{ISBN|81-219-0153-7}}
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{{S-start}}
{{Succession box
| title = ruler of the [[Vijayanagar Empire]]
| before = [[Veera Ballala III]]
| after = [[Bukka Raya]]
| years = 1336–1356
}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harihara 01}}
[[Category:1336 births]]
[[Category:1356 deaths]]
[[Category:Sangama dynasty]]
[[Category:14th-century Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:Converts to Hinduism from Islam]]

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Harihara I