Created by Nelle8556383481
Last edited April 5, 2026


Tuluva Narasa Nayaka
Mahapradhana
Rashtrakarta
Senadhipati
Swami
Karyakarta
Regent of Vijayanagara Empire
Reign1491–1503
SuccessorViranarasimha Raya
Died1503
Bijapur, Adil Shahi Sultanate (present-day Vijayapura, Karnataka, India)
SpouseTippambika
Nagala Devi
Obamamba
IssueViranarasimha Raya (from Tippambika)
Krishnadevaraya (from Nagala Devi)
Achyuta Deva Raya (from Obamamba)
FatherTuluva Isvara Nayaka
MotherBukkamma
MonarchNarasimha Raya II
Personal details
Cause of deathAssassination
ProfessionImperial Regent, Prime Minister, Commander-in-chief, Protector of the Realm to Narasimha Raya II
Military career
AllegianceVijayanagara Empire
Vijayanagara Empire
Sangama dynasty
Harihara I 1336–1356
Bukka Raya I 1356–1377
Harihara Raya II 1377–1404
Virupaksha Raya 1404–1405
Bukka Raya II 1405–1406
Deva Raya I 1406–1422
Ramachandra Raya 1422
Vira Vijaya Bukka Raya 1422–1424
Deva Raya II 1424–1446
Mallikarjuna Raya 1446–1465
Virupaksha Raya II 1465–1485
Praudha Raya 1485
Saluva dynasty
Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya 1485–1491
Thimma Bhupala 1491
Narasimha Raya II 1491–1505
Tuluva dynasty
Tuluva Narasa Nayaka 1491–1503
Vira Narasimha Raya 1503–1509
Krishna Deva Raya 1509–1529
Achyuta Deva Raya 1529–1542
Venkata I 1542
Sadasiva Raya 1542–1570
Aravidu dynasty
Aliya Rama Raya 1542–1565
Tirumala Deva Raya 1565–1572
Sriranga I 1572–1586
Venkata II 1586–1614
Sriranga II 1614
Rama Deva Raya 1617–1632
Venkata III 1632–1642
Sriranga III 1642–1646

Tuluva Narasa Nayaka was an Indian general and later an imperial regent who founded the Tuluva dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire. He was the father of the emperors Viranarasimha Raya, Krishnadevaraya and Achyuta Deva Raya.

Biography[edit | edit source]

Tuluva Narasa Nayaka, like his father Tuluva Ishvara Nayaka, was a general of the Vijayanagara Empire. After the death of the Emperor Saluva Narasimha I in 1491 CE, the crown prince Thimma Bhupala was assassinated by an army commander. The faithful Narasa Nayaka then crowned the other prince, Narasimha Raya II, but retained all administrative powers in order to bring stability to the Empire. He was called the Rakshakarta (lit. 'Protector of the realm') and Svami (lit. 'Lord'). He held the offices of the Senadhipati (lit. 'Commander-in-chief'), Mahapradhana (lit. 'Prime Minister') and Karyakarta (lit. 'Agent of the Emperor').[1] He successfully kept the Turco-Persian Bahamani Sultanate and the Gajapatis away from the Empire and quelled many rebellions by unfaithful chieftains trying to exert their independence.[citation needed]

Capture of Narasimha Raya II[edit | edit source]

After the death of Emperor Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya in 1491, Crown Prince Thimma Bhupala was assassinated by an army commander. The faithful Narasa Nayaka then crowned the other prince, Narasimha Raya II but retained all administrative powers in order to bring stability to the empire. Narasimha Raya II was a teenager when he became Emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, and real power lay in the hands of his guardian, Tuluva Narasa Nayaka. In 1494, Narasa Captured Narasimha II in the fortress of Penukonda. Narasa Nayaka reigned over the Vijayanagara Empire in disguise of Narasimha Raya II.[clarification needed]

Victory over the south[edit | edit source]

Hoysala campaign[edit | edit source]

In August 1463, when the Vijayanagara Empire was ruled by Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya, the region south of the Kaveri river slipped out of Vijayanagara control while the Emperor was busy protecting interests closer to the capital. In 1496, General Narasa Nayaka marched south and brought under control rebellious chiefs like the governor of Trichi named Salas Rai and Tanjore named Vikram Shah. The whole area south of Kaveri to Cape Comorin was brought under control. The chiefs of Chola, Chera, Madurai area, Heuna or Hoysala chief of Srirangapatna and Gokarna on the west coast were brought under the Vijayanagara empire in one long successful campaign which ended in May 1497.[citation needed]

Resistance to Gajapati Prataparudra Deva[edit | edit source]

On 27 November 1496, the Gajapati monarch Prataparudra Deva attacked the Vijayanagara Empire and advanced up to Pennar but Narasa Nayaka held out and achieved a stalemate.[citation needed] He was succeeded by his eldest son Viranarasimha Raya in 1503 .[citation needed]

Conflict with the Bahmani Sultanate and death[edit | edit source]

Ongoing internal strife in the Vijayanagara Empire and tenuous central control gave independent sultans of the divided Bahmani Sultanate an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Mahmood Shah, citing unspecified reasons, marched against Vijayanagara, breaking the existing peace. The sultanate army advanced to Hutgi, joined forces with contingents from other Turco-Persian tradition sultanates. It split into two groups, and one moved towards Vijayanagara through Gulbarga, while Mahmood Shah led the other to besiege Raichur in the Krishna-Tungabhadra Doab region. No decisive battle took place, and a peace agreement was reached. Vijayanagara ceded Raichur and Mudgal to Yusuf Adil Shah of the Bijapur Sultanate.[2] Tuluva Narasa Nayaka understood the precarious situation and chose not to engage the combined armies of the Shahi kingdoms on two fronts simultaneously.[3][4][5]

Tuluva Narasa Nayaka was an astute ruler who wasted no time in strengthening the empire. As the Bahmani Sultanate began to splinter into smaller states, a Bahmani minister, Qasim Barid I, approached Narasa with a proposal. He offered Narasa the forts of Mudgal and Raichur in exchange for his assistance in a war against Yusuf Adil Shah of Bijapur. Narasa Nayaka accepted the offer and sent his army to the region surrounding Raichur Doab. His forces were able to defeat Yusuf Adil Shah. However, in a treacherous turn of events, Yusuf Adil Shah plotted against Tuluva Narasa Nayaka and had him and his seventy high-ranking officers murdered. Despite this, Yusuf Adil Shah managed to reclaim the Doab area and Mudgal from the Vijayanagar Empire in 1502.[6][7][8]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. Majumdar, R.C. (2006). The Delhi Sultanate, Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, p.306
  2. Hosamani, Dr Ratnakar D. (10 December 2022). Adil Shahis of Bijapur A Study on their contributions to Deccan Art and Heritage. Ashok Yakkaldevi. ISBN 978-1-387-44247-8.
  3. Sastri, Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta (1959). History of India: Medieval India. S. Viswanathan. p. 127.
  4. Nayeem, M. A. (1974). External Relations of the Bijapur Kingdom, 1489-1686 A.D.: A Study in Diplomatic History. Sayeedia Research Institute. p. 119.
  5. Kainikara, Dr Sanu (1 August 2020). From Indus to Independence - A Trek Through Indian History: Vol VII Named for Victory : The Vijayanagar Empire. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd. ISBN 978-93-89620-52-8.
  6. Hiliyana, Abhijeeth (22 July 2022). Krishna Deva Raya: The Boy Who Would Be King. Hachette India. ISBN 978-93-89253-96-2.
  7. Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra (1960). The Delhi Sultanate. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. p. 304.
  8. "India - Wars, Rivalries, Conflict | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 21 February 2024.

References[edit | edit source]

  • Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat, Concise History of Karnataka, 2001, MCC, Bangalore (Reprinted 2002)
  • Prof K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, History of South India, From Prehistoric times to fall of Vijayanagar, 1955, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002)
Preceded by
Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya
Vijayanagar empire
1491–1503
Succeeded by
Viranarasimha Raya