Nayaka dynasties emerged during the Kakatiya dynasty and the Vijayanagara Empire period. The Nayakas were originally military governors under the Vijayanagara Empire. After the battle of Talikota, several of them declared themselves independent.[1][2][3]
^Kamath, Suryanath U. (2001). A concise history of Karnataka: from pre-historic times to the present. Bangalore: Jupiter Books. pp. 220, 226, 234.
^Irschick, Eugene F. Politics and Social Conflict in South India, p. 8: "The successors of the Vijayanagar empire, the Nayaks of Madura and Tanjore, were Balija Naidus."