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Top 10 Facts about Emperor Krishnadevaraya

Considered to be one of the greatest rulers in Indian history, Krishnadevaraya was the third ruler of the Tuluva dynasty who ruled between1509 and 1529. He was Born on 17 January 1471 and was the son of the Tuluva dynasty founder, Tuluva Narasa Nayaka, and his queen Nagamamba.

Krishnadevaraya ascended to the throne after the death of his half-brother in 1509, and he quickly proved to be a gifted leader, a talented general, and an astute diplomat. He was also ruthless to his enemies and lawbreakers as well as an architect and a good city planner.

Although he ruled for only 20 years, his rule was characterized by expansion and consolidation, and is remembered as one of the most successful Hindu rulers in India.

Let’s look at the top 10 facts about him

1. Krishnadevaraya was an Efficient Leader

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Krishnadevaraya was an efficient administrator who kept his government under his control. He also kept strict control over his ministers and dealt severely with any minister who committed misdeeds.

Economically, he brought new lands under cultivation, ordered the deforestation of some areas, and undertook large-scale work to obtain water for irrigation around Vijayanagar.

His concern for the welfare of his people was evident by his extensive annual tours all over the empire, during which he studied everything personally and tried to redress the grievances of the people and punish evildoers.

 2. He was Bestowed with Various Titles

As the third ruler of the Tuluva Dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire, Krishnadevaraya extended the empire to most of South India, which included present-day Karnataka, Northern Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh, stretching upwards in the northeast to Cuttack.

He became the dominant ruler of the three most powerful territories in the southern peninsula of India; and was bestowed with various titles as a mark of respect and recognition for his achievements.

The titles were: The Lord of Three Kings, the Lord of the Kannada Empire, the King to Bahmani Throne, Scholar of Andhra, and Protector of Brahmins and Cows. He achieved all this by defeating the sultans of Bijapur, Golconda, the Bahmani Sultanate, and the Gajapatis of Odisha.

3. He was an Astute Diplomat

Apart from being a skilled warrior, Krishnadevaraya was also an astute diplomat. During his reign, the Portuguese arrived on the west coast of India, and he established good relations with the foreigners and encouraged trade between them and his subjects.

Since the Portuguese dominated the sea trade along the Indian coastline, he traded with their merchants and acquired Arabian horses and guns to improve his military power. He also engaged Portuguese engineers in improving the supply of water in Vijayanagara City.

4. He had a great interest in Arts and Literature

Statue of Krishnadevaraya at R K Beach – Photo by Pratishkhedekar from

Krishnadevaraya was a man of many talents and took a keen interest in art and literature. Being an accomplished writer himself, he particularly had a special interest in Telugu and Sanskrit literature and wrote several works in these languages.

Some of his most famous work includes – Madalasa Charita, Rasamanjari, Jamabavati Kalyana written in Sanskrit, and Amukta Malyada, which is written in Telugu and describes the wedding of Vishnu and Andal. He also maintained a personal diary written in the Kannada language.

During his reign, Indian culture and literature flourished and reached their pick, as he patronized literature in different languages. 

5. He was a Multi-linguistic

Although a Tulu speaker himself, Krishnadevaraya was noted to be linguistically neutral as he ruled a multilingual empire. He was known to be fluent in many languages which included – Sanskrit, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu.

He also patronized poets and issued inscriptions in different languages despite the official languages of the Vijayanagara court being Kannada and Telugu. Many Telugu, Kannada, Sanskrit, and Tamil poets enjoyed the patronage of the emperor, who was fluent in many languages.

6. He was an Excellent Army General

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Krishnadevaraya was not only an able administrator but also an excellent general, who led from the front on the battlefields and also attended to the wounded. On many occasions, the king changed battle plans abruptly, turning a losing battle into a victory.

Benefiting from the wise counsel of his long-time prime minister and a military expert, Timmarusu, Krishnadevaraya was able to outmaneuver and subdue his enemies with ease. One poet praised him as the ‘Destroyer of the Turks, because of his exploits on the battlefields.

In one of his campaigns, he laid siege to rival army positions for a full year, after which the army disintegrated due to starvation. The way he was able to win that battle without the actual fighting, is an example of his military genius.

7. He was succeeded by his Brother

Although Krishnadevaraya was an extremely successful ruler, his succession plans went terribly wrong after his six years old son who he nominated as the crown prince in 1524, died a few months later of poisoning.

Suspecting the involvement of his trusted commander and an adviser, he ordered him to be blinded as a punishment.   He later became seriously ill and he appointed his younger brother as his successor before he died soon after in 1529.

The rule of Krishnadevaraya was a glorious chapter in the history of the Vijayanagara Empire, and he is regarded as one the best emperor ever in the history of India.

8. He was married to Three Wives

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According to official records, Krishnadevaraya had three wives. Tirumala Devi was the senior wife and chief queen of Emperor Krishnadevaraya, She was also the most honored wife and the mother of his heir-apparent, Prince Tirumala, who died in his childhood.

His second wife was Chinnama Devi, who was his favorite queen and the mother of one of his daughters. He also married Princess Jaganmohini, the daughter of Emperor Prataparudra, as part of the peace treaty signed by the two rulers to establish peace and harmony between them.

9. He was a very religious

Although Krishna Deva Raya belonged to the Sri Vaishnavism sect, he respected all sects of Hinduism, and he is known to have encouraged and supported various sects and their places of worship.

Krishnadevaraya rebuilt the Virupaksha Temple and other Shiva shrines and also gave land grants to the temple of Tirumala, Srisailam, Amaravati, Chindabaram, Ahobilam, and Tiruvannamalai.

He visited the temple seven times daily and out of the around 1,250 temple epigraphs published by the Tirumala Devasthanam, 229 are attributed to him. A statue of Krishna Deva Raya with two of his wives is found at the temple complex of Tirumala.

10. He was Ruthless to his Enemies and law Breakers

Krishnadevaraya was ruthless to his enemies and he destroyed the leaders and their cronies in the new territories that he conquered. He also meted out severe punishments to lawbreakers and criminals in the territories that he ruled.

It was said that his enemies thought that news of his death was unreal and was a trick for them to drop their guide.  They stayed miles away from Vijayanagara for several months even after his death was confirmed, fearing his spirit would crush them if they dared to come near his territories.