Venkatapati Raya

Venkata II,(a.k.a. Venkatapathi Raya)(1586-1614 CE) the younger brother of Sriranga I became the King of Vijayanagara Empire from 1586-1614.His reign of three decades saw a revival of strength and prosperity of the empire. He dealt successfully with the Deccan sultans of Bijapur and Golkonda, the internal disorders, promoting economic revival in the country. He brought rebelling Nayaks of Tamil Nadu and parts of present day Andhra Pradesh under control.

Wars

Battles of Sultans

He instigated a war with the Golkonda sultan and captured some of the territories lost earlier by his predecessor. In one of the Battles of Pennar over 50,000 Golkonda troops were exterminated including the Sultans able general Rustam Khan. But quarrel among his nobles prevented further attempts on Golkonda.Several of his chieftains in his North now revolted against him, including some of Aliya Rama Rayas descendents, but successfully subdued them.

Nayak rebellions

Nayak of Gingee

In 1586 the Nayak of Gingee,rebelled against Venkata II, who captured him and had him put in prison and was only freed when Raghunatha Nayak of Tanjore secured his release after helping Venkata II in his Penukonda campaign secured his release.

During his imprisonment, Gingee was ruled by another one Venkata, who was sent against him by Venkatapathi Raya (Venkata II).

Nayak of Vellore

In 1601 another campaign led by his viceroy of Arcot and Chengulpet, Yachama Nayudu subdued a revolt headed by the Lingama Nayak.,the Nayak of Vellore. Later Lingama Nayak of Vellore, was defeated and the Vellore Fort came under direct control of Venkata II. Another expedition headed by Yachama Nayudu went right into the Madurai Nayak kingdom, putting those revolting Nayaks in order.

Shifting the Capital

Around 1592 Venkata II shifted his capital from Penukonda to Chandragiri, which was further South near the Tirupathi hills.The indestructible Vellore Fort was used as a major base and second Capital.

Revival

The Northern territories of his empire was brought into order by offering easy terms on taxes and reviving agricultural, which was frequently run over by the invading Sultans. Village administration was streamlined and judiciary was stringently enforced.

Arrival of Dutch

In 1608 the Dutch who were already trading in the Golkonda and Gingee regions sought permission to set up a factory in Pulicat.The [English]] too started trading through the Dutch from Pulicat.

Successor

Venkata II, inspite of having several queens did not have a son, hence appointed Sriranga II, the son of his brother Rama as his successor. This was done to prevent one of his favorite queen Bayamma who practiced a fraud on the King by borrowing a baby of her Brahmin maid and calling it as her own. While Robert Swell’s book mentions that the infant was surreptitiously introduced into the palace by Bayamma born out from the marriage of a niece of Venkata I and a Brahman boy, who had been and educated in the pretence that he was son of King Venkata.

Venkata II , knowing the controversial status of the so called heir apparent, appointed Sriranga II, the son of his vice royal brother Rama as his successor.

Reference

• Rao, Velcheru Narayana, and David Shulman, Sanjay Subrahmanyam. Symbols of substance : court and state in Nayaka period Tamilnadu (Delhi ; Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1998) ; xix, 349 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., maps ; 22 cm. ; Oxford India paperbacks ; Includes bibliographical references and index ; ISBN 0-19-564399-2.
• Sathianathaier, R. History of the Nayaks of Madura [microform] by R. Sathyanatha Aiyar ; edited for the University, with introduction and notes by S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar ([Madras] : Oxford University Press, 1924) ; see also ([London] : H. Milford, Oxford university press, 1924) ; xvi, 403 p. ; 21 cm. ; SAMP early 20th-century Indian books project item 10819.
• K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, History of South India, From Prehistoric times to fall of Vijayanagar, 1955, OUP, (Reprinted 2002).