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{{Short description|Emperor of Vijayanagara from 1423 to 1446}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2016}}{{Infobox royalty
| image = Devaraya II coin.png
| image_size = 250
| caption = bronze [[Pagoda (coin)|Pagoda]] of Deva Raya II
| succession = [[Emperor of Vijayanagara]]
| reign = 10 February 1423 – 24 May 1446<ref>{{Cite journal |url= https://www.jstor.org/stable/44145214|last=Lakshmi|first=Kumari Jhansi|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |date=1958|volume=21 |pages=290–297 |title=The Chronology of the Sangama Dynasty|jstor=44145214 }}</ref><ref name="p264">{{cite web | publisher=Kitabistam,Allahabad| title=Full text of "Historical Inscriptions Of Southern India" | website=Internet Archive | date=23 October 2016 | url=https://archive.org/stream/historicalinscri035270mbp/historicalinscri035270mbp_djvu.txt | access-date=27 February 2025}}</ref>
| predecessor = [[Veera Vijaya Bukka Raya|Bukka Raya III]]
| successor = [[Mallikarjuna Raya|Deva Raya III]]
| birth_date =
| birth_place = [[Vijayanagara]], [[Vijayanagara Empire]] <br/> (modern day [[Hampi]], [[Karnataka]], [[India]])
| death_date = 24 May 1446
| death_place = Vijayanagara, Vijayanagara Empire <br/> (modern-day [[Hampi]], [[Karnataka]], [[India]])
| issue = Deva Raya III
| house = [[Sangama dynasty|Sangama]]
| father = [[Veera Vijaya Bukka Raya| Bukka Raya III]]
| mother = unknown
| religion = [[Hinduism]]
| dynasty =
}}
{{Vijayanagara empire}}
'''Deva Raya II''' (reigned 10 February 1423 – 24 May 1446) was an emperor of the [[Vijayanagara Empire]]. He is considered by many as the greatest of the [[Sangama dynasty]] rulers,<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 was an able administrator, warrior, and scholar. He authored well-known works in [[Kannada language|Kannada]] (''Sobagina Sone'' and ''Amaruka'') and [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]] (''Mahanataka Sudhanidhi'').<ref name="sone" /><ref name="invade">Kamath (1980), p.164</ref> He was patron to some of the most noted Kannada poets of the medieval period, including [[Chamarasa]] and [[Kumara Vyasa]],<ref name="jakka">Sastri (1955), pp.363-364</ref><ref name="rice">Rice E.P. (1921), p.68, p.70</ref> the Sanskrit poet Gunda Dimdima, and the noted [[Telugu language]] poet [[Srinatha]], whom the king honored with the title ''Kavisarvabhauma'' ("Emperor of poets").<ref name="bidar">Kamath (1980), p.163</ref> He supported development in secular literature as well as the noted South Indian mathematician [[Parameshvara]], from the [[Kerala school of astronomy and mathematics]] in his empire.<ref name="Para">{{cite book|last=David Edwin Pingree|title=Census of the exact sciences in Sanskrit|publisher=American Philosophical Society|year=1981|volume=4|pages=187–192|isbn=978-0-87169-213-9}}</ref>

According to the historian Sastri, Deva Raya II had the title ''Gajabeteegara'', which literally means "Hunter of elephants", an honorific that explained his addiction to hunting elephants or a metaphor referring to his victories against enemies who were "as strong as elephants".<ref name="metaphor">Sastri (1955), p.244</ref> Despite some reversals, Deva Raya II extended and held territories up to the Krishna river. According to an account of the visiting Persian chronicler [[Abd-al-Razzāq Samarqandī|Abdur Razzak]], Deva Raya II's empire extended from [[Ceylon]] to [[Gulbarga]], and [[Orissa, India|Orissa]] to the [[Malabar Coast|Malabar]]. According to the historians Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmaniyan, the king maintained a fleet of ships which helped him in his overseas connections. From the account of the contemporary European explorer [[Niccolò Da Conti|Nicolo Conti]], the king levied tribute on Ceylon, [[Quilon]], [[Pegu]], [[Pulicat]] and [[Tenasserim Division|Tenasserim]].<ref name="ceylon">Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmanian (2003), p.32</ref><ref name="raz" />

==The empire==

===Wars with the Gajapati Kingdom===
[[File:Vijayanagara_1450s.png|thumb|right|250px|Extent of Vijayanagara empire at the end of Deva Raya II's reign{{Citation needed|reason=Contradicts mentioned, historical documentation of rule over ceylon and coastal states in Myanmar|date=April 2024}}]]
Deva Raya II's rule is the golden age in the history of South India and in particular, that of Karnataka. He succeeded his father [[Veera Vijaya Bukka Raya]] after his short uneventful two-year reign. Even as a crown prince in c. 1423, he had tasted success in battle against the [[Bahamani Sultanate]], forcing them to switch capitals to Bidar in c. 1426.<ref name="bidar">Kamath (1980), p.163</ref> Deva Raya II fought three important battles against the [[Gajapati Kingdom|Gajapati]] of [[Odisha]]: in c. 1427 against [[Eastern ganga dynasty#List of rulers|King Bhanudeva IV]] in the [[Battle of Kondavidu]], in c. 1436 against King [[Kapilendradeva|Kapilendra]] when the latter tried to conquer Rajamahendri, and again in c. 1441. An invasion by the Reddis of Kondavidu was also repulsed and by c. 1432, all the petty chiefs of the region were brought under the Vijayanagara control.<ref name="invade">Kamath (1980), p.164</ref><ref name="reddi">Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmanian (2003), p.31</ref><ref name="gaja">Sastri (1955), pp.244-245</ref>

===Sultanate affairs===
After a short period of peace, Vijayanagara was pulled into war with their traditional foes, the [[Bahamani Sultanate]]. These wars however brought mixed results. In c. 1436, Ala-ud-din II ascended the Bahamani throne and promptly sent his brother Muhammad to collect tribute. According to the Sastri, Deva Raya II had to pay a large tribute to buy peace. During this time, the Vijayanagara armies were consistently defeated by the Bahamani armies and Deva Raya II was hard pressed to find a solution, which eventually led to the inclusion of many skilled Muslim soldiers in the Vijayanagara army. In c. 1436, in a military altercation, some accounts suggest Deva Raya II lost the fort at Mudgal but according to the historian Kamath, a c. 1436 inscription at Mudgal shows the fort remained under Vijayanagara control. During an uncertain period that followed in c. 1443, when the king appears to have been a victim of an attempted assassination, some regions in the [[Tungabhadra River]]-[[Krishna River]] [[doab]] were lost to the Bahamani Sultanate.<ref name="invade"/>

There are conflicting accounts provided by contemporary Persian writers [[Ferishtah]] and Abdur Razzak regarding the events that led to the war. According to Ferishtah, Deva Raya II had bought peace earlier by paying a handsome tribute to the Bahamanis. He however refused to honor the agreement and this led to war. According to this account, with an intent of strengthening his army, Deva Raya II employed many expert Muslim archers and cavalry and this incited the war. But according to Razzak's account written in Calicut in c. 1443, the Sultans attempt to seize more Vijayanagara territory by taking advantage of the prevailing confusion (caused by the assassination attempt that he appeared to be aware of) was the cause of the war. According to Razzak who was eye witness to the episode, a brother of Deva Raya II invited the king and many important nobility to a feast and had most of the invitees beheaded. But finding that the king had not attended the dinner, he went to the royal palace and stabbed and wounded an unaided Deva Raya II. Seizing the opportunity, the Bahamani Sultan demanded seven [[lakh]] ''Varaha'' (700,000) ''[[Pagoda (coin)|Pagodas]]'' as tribute. Deva Raya II refused to pay and this led to war.<ref name="refuse">Sastri (1955), p.246</ref> According to Chopra et al., and Sastri the first battles was a success for Vijayanagara armies who captured [[Raichur]], [[Bankapura]] and marched up to [[Bijapur]]. But in the last three battles, Deva Raya II's son may have been killed in battle, and the Vijayanagara armies were pushed back to their original stronghold at [[Mudgal]]. Two Sultanate generals were taken prisoner but later released to end hostilities.<ref name="refuse">Sastri (1955), p.246</ref><ref name="mudgal">Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmanian (2003), p.32</ref>

===Success in the south and Ceylon===
Deva Raya II's empire included [[Kerala]] where he defeated the ruler of [[Kollam|Quilon]] as well as other chieftains in the region.<ref name="far">Farooqui (2011), p.118</ref> His able commander Lakkanna invaded Ceylon and collected rich tributes there.<ref name="far"/><ref name="invade">Kamath (1980), p.164</ref> The [[Zamorin of Calicut]] and even the kings of [[Burma]] ruling at Pegu and Tanasserim paid tribute. This information was obtained from the writings of Nuniz.<ref name="far"/> Though the Zamorin maintained his independence, from Razzak's account, he feared and respected Deva Raya II.<ref name="raz">Sastri (1955), p.245</ref>

===Accounts of foreign visitors===
It was during this time that the explorer Nicolo Conti and Persian chronicler Abdur Razzak arrived in South India. Conti wrote :"the king of Vijayanagar is more powerful than all the other kings in India."<ref name="satish"/> Razzak wrote :"the ear of intelligence had never been informed that there existed anything equal to Vijayanagara in the world and the pupil of eye has never seen a place like it" (on an interesting side note the two explorers also commented on Deva Raya II's large harem in which 4000 queens followed him everywhere he went). Razzaq who was also an ambassador at the court of Deva Raya II wrote:"This prince has in his dominions three hundred ports, each of which is equal to [[Calicut]] and his territories compromise a space of three months journey.<ref name="satish"/><ref name="invade"/> Both travelers concur that the country was thickly populated with numerous towns and villages. Razzaq wrote:"The country is for the most part well cultivated and very fertile. The troops amount in number to eleven [[Lakh]]s (1,100,000)." Razzaq considered Vijayanagara to be one of the most splendid of the cities in the world he had seen.<ref name="satish"/> Describing the city, he wrote: "It is built in such a manner that seven citadels and the same number of walls enclose each other. The seventh fortress, which is placed in the center of the others, occupy an area ten times larger than the market place of the city of Herat".<ref name="satish">Chandra (1997), pp.180-181</ref><ref name="invade">Kamath (1980), p.164</ref> With regards to the market places he wrote:"the jewelers sell publicly in the bazaar pearls, rubies, emeralds and diamonds in this agreeable locality and in the king's palace one sees numerous running streams and canals formed of chiseled stone, polished and smooth..."<ref name="ruby">Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmanian (2003), p.33</ref>

==Culture and the arts==
Deva Raya II's rule was a high point in the development of [[Kannada literature]],<ref name="develop">Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmanian, (2003), p.173</ref> when competition between Vaishnava and Veerashaiva writers was fierce and literary disputations between the two sects were common.<ref name="ganapathi">Sastri (1955), p.363</ref> Some of most noted Kannada writers of the 15th century, [[Chamarasa]] and [[Kumara Vyasa]]; Chandrashekara (Chrakavi) who wrote on secular topics; and the king's zealous Veerashaiva ministers and writers, Lakkana Dandesa and Jakkanarya (who himself patronized the Kannada poets Kumarabankanatha and Mahalingadeva) were in his court.<ref name="jakka"/><ref name="rice"/><ref name="pampa">Kotraiah in Sinopoli (2003), p. 131</ref> The king himself was no less a writer, the romantic stories ''Sobagina Sone'' (''lit'' "The Drizzle of Beauty") and ''Amaruka'' are assigned to him.<ref name="sone">Kotraiah in Sinopoli (2003) pp. 130-131, 134</ref>

In the Telugu realm, this was the age of Srinatha. With an unrivaled command on Telugu and Sanskrit languages, he is known to have defeated in a debate, the reputed Sanskrit scholar Dindima. Srinatha was honored with the title ''Kavisarvabhauma''. The king showed his appreciation with a ''kanakabhisheka'' ceremony (the "showering of gold coins on the head"). Srinatha is known to have lived a life of pleasure and moved on equal terms with the ministers in the king's court, though he died a poor man.<ref name="ceylon"/><ref name="invade">Kamath (1980), p.164</ref><ref name="king">Sastri (1955), p.370</ref>

== Notes and references ==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |last1= Chopra|first1= P.N.|last2= Ravindran|first2= T.K.|last3=Subrahmanian|first3= N|title= History of South India (Ancient, Medieval and Modern) Part 2|orig-year=2003|year=2003|publisher= Chand Publications|location=New Delhi|isbn= 81-219-0153-7}}
*{{cite book |last= Kamath|first= Suryanath U.|title= A concise history of Karnataka: from pre-historic times to the present|orig-year=1980|year= 2001|publisher= Jupiter books|location= Bangalore|oclc= 7796041 |lccn= 80905179}}
*{{cite book |last= Sastri|first= K.A. Nilakanta|title= A history of South India from prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagar|orig-year=1955|year=2002|publisher= Indian Branch, Oxford University Press|location= New Delhi|isbn= 0-19-560686-8}}
*{{cite book |last= Sinopoli|first= Carla M.|title= The Political Economy of Craft Production: Crafting Empire in South India c. 1350-1650|orig-year=2003|year=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press |location= New Delhi|isbn= 0-521-82613-6 }}
*{{cite book |last=Farooqui|first= Salma Ahmed|title=A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century|orig-year=2011|year=2011|publisher=Pearson Education |location=New Delhi|isbn=978-81-317-3202-1 }}
*{{cite book |last=Chandra|first= Satish|title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206-1526)|orig-year=1997|year=1997|publisher=Har-Anand |location=New Delhi|isbn=8124110646 }}
*{{cite book |last= Rice|first= E.P.|title= A History of Kanarese Literature|orig-year=1921|year=1982|publisher= Asian Educational Services|location= New Delhi|isbn= 81-206-0063-0}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060425045737/http://prabhu.50g.com/vijayngr/vij_sangama.html Prabhu:Sangama]

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box|title=[[Vijayanagar empire]]|before=[[Vira Vijaya Bukka Raya]]|after=[[Mallikarjuna Raya]] |years=1424–1446}}
{{s-end}}

{{Karnataka topics}}

[[Category:15th-century Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:Vijayanagara emperors]]
[[Category:Indian Hindus]]
[[Category:Hindu monarchs]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]

Deva Raya II - Revision history

EmilBarraza at 07:18, 28 February 2026