Deva Raya I

For the 2012 film, see Devaraya (film).

Deva Raya I
Gold Pagoda of Deva Raya I
Vijayanagara Emperor
Reign5 November 1406[1] – 25 February 1423
PredecessorBukka Raya II
SuccessorRamachandra Raya
Bornc. 1370 CE
Vijayanagara, Vijayanagara Empire
(modern day Hampi, Karnataka, India)
Died25 February 1423
Vijayanagara, Vijayanagara Empire
(modern day Hampi, Karnataka, India)
IssueRamachandra Raya
Bukka Raya III
HouseSangama
DynastyVijayanagara
FatherHarihara II
MotherBhima Devi
ReligionHinduism
Vijayanagara Empire
Ruling dynasties
Sangama dynasty
Harihara I1336–1356
Bukka Raya I1356–1377
Harihara Raya II1377–1404
Virupaksha Raya1404–1405
Bukka Raya II1405–1406
Deva Raya I1406–1422
Ramachandra Raya1422
Vira Vijaya Bukka Raya1422–1424
Deva Raya II1424–1446
Mallikarjuna Raya1446–1465
Virupaksha Raya II1465–1485
Praudha Raya1485
Saluva dynasty
Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya1485–1491
Thimma Bhupala1491
Narasimha Raya II1491–1505
Tuluva dynasty
Tuluva Narasa Nayaka1491–1503
Vira Narasimha Raya1503–1509
Krishna Deva Raya1509–1529
Achyuta Deva Raya1529–1542
Venkata I1542
Sadasiva Raya1542–1570
Aravidu dynasty
Rama Raya1542–1565
Tirumala Deva Raya1565–1572
Sriranga I1572–1586
Venkata II1586–1614
Sriranga II1614
Rama Deva Raya1617–1632
Venkata III1632–1642
Sriranga III1642–1646

Deva Raya I (reigned 5 November 1406 – 25 February 1423) was an Emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire (of the Sangama Dynasty).[2] After Harihara II died, there was a dispute among his sons over succession, in which Deva Raya I eventually emerged victor. He was a very capable ruler noted for his military exploits and his support to irrigation works in his Empire.[3] He modernized the Vijayanagara army by improving the cavalry, employed skilled archers of the Turkic clans and raised the fighting capacity of his bowmen and imported horses from Arabia and Persia.[4]

The Italian traveler Niccolo Conti, who visited Vijayanagara c. 1420, described Deva Raya I thus: "In this city, there are 90,000 men fit to bear arms... their king is more powerful than all the kings of India".[4][5] Conti also noted that the royal city had grown to a circumference of 60 mi.[6]

Deva Raya I was a patron of Kannada literature and architecture. Madhura, a noted Jain poet was in his court and wrote in Kannada the Dharmanathapurana on the life of the fifteenth Jain Tirthankara (Dharmanatha), and a poem in eulogy of Gommateshvara of Shravanabelagola.[7] The noted Hazara Rama temple, an excellent example of Deccan architecture was constructed during his rule.[8]

  1. ^ Lakshmi, Kumari Jhansi (1958). THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE SANGAMA DYNASTY.
  2. ^ Sen, Sailendra (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books. pp. 103–108. ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4.
  3. ^ Kulakarṇī, Nayeem, De Souza (1996), p.106
  4. ^ a b Bowman,(2013) p.271
  5. ^ Chopra, Ravindran and Subrahmanian (2003), p.31
  6. ^ Kamath (1980), p.163
  7. ^ Sastri (1955), p.360
  8. ^ Fritz & Michell (2001), p.9