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A Ruler in Name Only- The Hubristic Life of Rama Raya
Rama Raya always lived in shadows. He was a member of the greatest family of south India yet he hungered for more, he hungered for the supreme position of a ruler, who was his father-in-law, Krishnadevaraya. When Krishnadeva died he saw an opportunity to uplift his ambitions again and grab the throne of Vijayanagara, yet he ended up losing the whole kingdom.
Rama Raya, the ambitious, Source: southindiahis.com
Rama Raya was the son-in-law of King Krishnadevaraya
. The faith of the southern kingdom of Vijaynagara, for many centuries, was safe and sound, as long as the rulers believed in maintaining internal prosperity along with the outsider defence. But then soon, the reign of the strong rulers was over, and more greedy, lesser men had their eyes on the throne of Vijayanagara.
Rama Raya had it all. He was the son-in-law of Maharaja Krishnadevaraya, the illustrious and the greatest of all rulers of Vijayanagara. He held the post of a minister at court and also as a military commander with a lifetime of security at hand. But still, he lusted for more. No human is perfect but Rama Raya’s depravity started from his low thinking of himself. He was intimated by the fact that he had the least concentration of royal blood in his veins. Always, he tried to put forward his association with the Chalukyas and the Cholas, to feel at level with the other royal brood.
Born in a simple family of weapon makers, he always had ambitions to make it big someday, at the court of Vijayanagara. He spent most of his young days trying to prove his skills at war and in administrative responsibilities. Soon, he came to the notice of Krishnadevaraya himself, who saw in the humble young man great potential for loyalty and undivided service. One must keep the fact in mind that, Krishnadevaraya for most of his career as the ruler of Vijayanagara, was always outside of his empire at war. So he needed trustworthy people at home to ensure proper administration and peace in his kingdom.
By marrying young Rama Raya to his daughter Tirunalamba, Krishnadevaraya felt great relief, and till the time, the greatest ruler of Vijaynagara was alive, Rama Raya retained his loyal colours. But in 1529, when Krishnadevaraya died unexpectedly due to natural health reasons, Rama Raya’s deep desire to climb the steps of royalty and power resurfaced, and his eyes shone with the malice of conspiracy and captive strength.
After Krishnadevaraya’s death, Achutya Raya was named the heir, just a few years later, Achutya died in war and then Sadasiva Raya, a nephew of Kirshnadeva was named the heir apparent. It was somewhere during this time that the final battle arose, the battle of Talikota that would mark the end of the divinely prosperous kingdom of Vijaynagara. Sadasiva was but a child hence Rama Raya was named the de-facto ruler of Vijaynagara. Finally, Rama Raya saw his ambition taking shape, he was finally the ruler of Vijayanagara. But now Vijaynagara was on the cusp of crumbling.
The battle of Talikota saw the emergence and alliance of almost all the enemies of Vijaynagara. There were the Bahmanis who were spared by Krishnadevaraya because he was a smart ruler who realized that sometimes not all enemies could be conquered. But Rama Raya was not such a mature character to pass such careful judgment. He was arrogant in war planning and also of the tongue. He didn’t take a long-term approach and used just his warrior instincts. That’s why ultimately, Vijaynagara was lost from his hands and his head was put on the spike by Nizam Hussien of Ahmadnagar. Rama Raya lost the battle of Talikota and died in the Warfield in 1565.
Hence, one can say that over-ambition mostly never served men in history right. To have all the reigns of command in his hand, Rama Raya kept the actual ruler, Sadasiva in captivity and perhaps tortured him as he was a mere teenager. Karma stuck Rama Raya quite hard and all was lost. Perhaps, if Rama Raya had been more vigilant about his real responsibilities to save Vijaynagara, the great kingdom would still be standing today, and the history of southern India would have been quite different.
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