#krishnadevaraya

Birbal of the south...

Tenali Rama/Raman/Ramakrishna/Ramalinga was a Telugu poet, scholar, court jester, special advisor and a close friend of Emperor Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara Empire.

He was one of the Astadiggajas (one of the eight great poets) of the Empire, a concept somewhat similar to the Navaratnas of Akbar. He is also called the Birbal of the South. His work Panduranga Mahatmyam is counted as one of the Panchha Maha Kavyas (the five great poetries) of Telugu literature.

But the legend about how he became a scholar is very fascinating.

Ramakrishna was born in Garlapadu in Andhra Pradesh. As a kid, he lost his father. So his mother moved back to her brother's place in Tenali, in Guntur district. That's where Ramakrishna grew up. Hence he is called Tenali Ramakrishna.

Ramakrishna's mother wanted him to be literate. And Ramakrishna also had a burning desire for education. But there was a problem. His family was Shaivite (devotee of Shiva). There were no Shaivite teachers in Tenali. And no Vaishnavite teacher (devotee of Vishnu) would take him as a student. He begged and pleaded. But the Vaishnavite-Shaivite divide was deeper than a student's yearning for education. Imagine that!

A determined Raman stood by the wall of the local "Vaisnavite" school and "stole" learning. Every evening he would go to his mother and recite what he learnt that day.

One day, he was caught. Upon learning what he was doing, the Vaishnavite teacher was moved, but confessed that if he taught Ramakrishna, he would have to face the society's ire.

Legend goes like this.

A devastated Ramakrishna wanders aimlessly. That's when a Sadhu gives him a mantra to recite 11 crore and 11 times in the Kali temple nearby. Kalika devi is pleased and appears before him.

She offers him two cups - one containing Payasam (which will impart knowledge) and the other containing Curd (which will impart wealth) - and asks him to choose one. He tricks Kali mata into giving him both, saying one without the other is useless. Kali Mata is angry, but impressed with his courage. She blesses him with wisdom and wealth, and warns him to be careful, because the combination can bring powerful enemies. She names him Vi-ka-ta-ka-vi, which in vernacular languages is a palindrome (sounds same backwards too), meaning clown-jester-poet.

Armed with these boons, he goes to Vijayanagara, the capital of Emperor Krishnadevaraya, near modern day Hampi, and becomes a courtier, jester, confidante and trusted friend of the Emperor.

He also becomes a Telugu folk hero and remains embedded in the nation's consciousness for ever.

Royal Birthday for today, February 16th:

Yingzong, Emperor of China, 1032

Jayaatu Khan, Emperor of China, 1304

Eric I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, 1470

Krishnadevaraya, Emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, 1471

Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, 1620

Maria Pavlovna, Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, 1786

Hampi : A riches-to-ruins story...

Hampi is a small village/town, on the banks of River Tungabhadra, in Bellary district of Karnataka. It doesn't even boast of a railway station - the nearest train halts in Hospet, about 13 km away. However, it is a UNESCO World heritage site, known for its ruined remains of more than 1600 temples, shrines, royal and sacred complexes, forts, pillared halls, mandapas, memorial structures and other architectural marvels.

Hampi was, from the 14th to the 17th centuries AD, also called Vijayanagara, and was the capital of "the last great Hindu empire in South India" - The Vijayanagara empire. Infact, Persian and Portuguese chroniclers say that in 1500 AD, Vijayanagara (Hampi) was the second largest city in the world, extremely prosperous, beautiful and grand. It is rhetorically said that pearls and other precious stones used to be sold on roadsides like coconuts and bananas are today. Curious to know which was the largest city in the world? From the 15th to 18th centuries, the largest city in the world was Beijing.

This is how large the Vijayanagara empire was in its zenith. And Hampi, also known as Vijayanagara, was its capital.

How then did the second largest city in the world get reduced to a rumbling ruin? Therein lies a tale.

Actually, the story of Hampi begins not in history, not even in pre-history, but in mythology. It begins with a lady called Pampa, also called Parvati, doing immensely intense tapas, in order to woo an ascetic recluse called Shiva. She does her tapas on the Hemakuta hills nearby. Finally, Shiva comes to Hemakuta, sees Pampa's (Parvati's) resolve and agrees to marry her. The Sanskrit word Pampa becomes the Kannada Hampa and over time gets corrupted to Hampe or Hampi. The region is also called Pampakshetra. Aeons pass. Temples are built on Hemakuta hills to commemorate the lore. The ruins of the Hemakuta temple complex still stand.

Next, this region is believed to be the same as Kishkindha, the Vanara kingdom of Vali and Sugreeva, from the Valmiki Ramayana. It is also considered to be the birthplace of Hanuman. Hence it has gained a significant religious value over time.

Now, let's come to recorded history. Rock edicts suggest that this region seems to have been under Ashoka's Mauryan empire in the 2nd century BC.

From the 6th to 10th centuries, this place was called Pampapura and was ruled by the Chalukyas. Sometime during this period, the Virupaksha Shiva temple was built and patronized by the Chalukya kings.

In the 14th century, the armies of the Delhi Sultanate, particularly those of Alauddin Khalji and Muhammad bin Tughlaq, invaded and pillaged South India. Two brothers, Hakka and Bukka (Harihara I and Bukka I), resisted and founded the Vijayanagara Empire in 1336, with its capital in Hampi. A sage by the name Vidyaranya took them under his protection, mentored them and established them on the throne. So the city was called Vidyanagara for a while, morphing into Vijayanagara in due course - the City of Victory. The Amar Chitra Katha titled on them beautifully explains their trials and tribunals.

Vijayanagara reached its zenith under the rule of its most iconic emperor - Krishnadeva Raya, who ruled from 1509 to 1529. Under his rule, Hampi-Vijayanagara became the world's second-largest city, and one of India's richest. Its wealth attracted traders from across the Deccan area, Persia and Goa. He ushered developments in intellectual pursuits and the arts, maintained a strong military and fought many wars with sultanates to its north and east. He invested in roads, waterworks, agriculture, religious buildings and public infrastructure. According to historical memoirs left by Portuguese and Persian traders, Hampi was of metropolitan proportions - they called it "one of the most beautiful cities in the world". 

Now comes the tragic part.

In 1565, the five Sultanates north of Vijayanagara united and attacked the reigning king Aliya Rama Raya in what is called the Battle of Talikota, about 80 km southeast of Bijapur.

The Vijayanagara army was winning the battle, but the tide turned when two Muslim commanders of the Vijayanagara army switched sides and turned their loyalty to the Sultanates. They captured Aliya Rama Raya and beheaded him on the spot. The Sultanate army then reached Hampi, looted, destroyed and burnt it down to ruins over a period of several months. This is evidenced by the quantities of charcoal, the heat-cracked basements and burnt architectural pieces found by archaeologists in Vijayanagara region. 

Robert Sewell, a historian who worked for British India and a scholar on Vijayanagara Empire, wrote in his book,  A Forgotten Empire - Vijayanagar: A Contribution to the History of India, "With fire and sword, with crowbars and axes, they carried on day after day, their work of destruction. Never perhaps in the history of the world has such havoc been wrought, and wrought so suddenly, on so splendid a city; teeming with a wealthy and industrious population in the full plenitude of prosperity one day, and on the next seized, pillaged, and reduced to ruins, amid scenes of savage massacre and horrors beggaring description."

Such is the glorious story of Hampi - the historical and religious city-in-ruins, that was one day prosperity personified.

Raja Krishnadev Rai ke mahal mein utsav ke dauran achanak andhera chha jaata hai. Jab sab log pareshan ho jaate hain, tab Tenali Raman apni buddhimani aur paravartan (reflection) ke saral vigyan ka upyog karke poore mahal ko phir se roshan kar dete hain. Yeh bachchon ke liye ek mazedar, gyanvardhak aur prernadayak moral story hai jo buddhi, vigyan aur soojhboojh ka mahatva sikhati hai.