Tuluva Dynasty

The Tuluva Dynasty was the third dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire.

History

Nāga (snake) stone worship at Hampi

The Tuluva were the third Hindu dynasty which ruled Vijayanagara empire. The dynasty was founded by chieftain Bunts who originally ruled southern parts of coastal Karnataka, also called Tulu Nadu. The dynasty gained the name "Tuluva" because they belonged to the Tulu speaking region of Tulu Nadu and their mother tongue was the ancient Tulu language which still survives and is the lingua franca of coastal Karnataka and northern parts of Kerala. They came to power after the Saluva Dynasty.

The Tuluva dynasty were the most powerful dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire of Southern India. They belonged to the Nagavanshi kshatriya order of lineage. They are believed to be Nagavanshis who worshiped Nagaraja Vasuki (name for a naga, one of the serpents of mythology) as their family deity. The Vijayanagar empire attained it greatest glory during this period and their most famous emperor Krishna Deva Raya. Their reign consisted of five emperors from 1491 till 1570. They ruled almost the entire South India with Vijayanagara as their capital. The fall of the Tuluva dynasty led the beginning of the disintegration of the empire.

Rulers

The five Tuluva emperors were:

• Tuluva Narasa Nayaka
• Viranarasimha Raya
• Krishnadevaraya
• Achyuta Deva Raya
• Sadashiva Raya

See also

• Bunts
• Nagavanshi
• Tulu Nadu
• Tuluva
• Tulu

References

• WebPage by Dr. Jyothsna Kamat
• [2]
• [3]