Answer: 

Introduction:

The kingdom of Vijayanagar was ruled by Sri Krishnadeva Raya from 1509 to 1529. He is considered as one of the greatest statesmen in Indian history. It is said that he is one of the greatest rulers that medieval South India had produced. He was called by various names, some of them being “Kannadaraya”, “Kannada Rajya Ramaramana” etc. All round development and prosperity was witnessed in Southern India during his reign.

Body:

The reign of Sri Krishnadeva Raya in the Kingdom of Vijayanagar is said to be a glorious chapter in the literary history of South India:

He was an eminent scholar:

• He wrote Madalasa Charita, Satyavedu Parinaya, Rasamanjari and Jambavati Kalyana.
• Much of his wealth was reserved for the promotion of scholarship.
• He was fluent in many languages and hence, his patronage was enjoyed by the poets of Sanskrit, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada.
• He wrote Amuktamalkyada in Telugu. It is a poetic narration of the story of Goda Devi and of her foster father Vishnuchitta. He was conferred with the title Andhrabhoja for this.
• He also wrote a Sanskrit play Jambavati Kalyana.

 Also, a great patron of learning and literature and was known as Abhinava Bhoja:

• Sri Krishnadeva Raya established himself as a royal poet, an emperor-poet, a poets’ poet and a people’s poet.
• Ashtadiggajas were eight great scholars in his court. They included Allasani Peddana often described as the Andhra-kavitapitamaha. His famous work was Manucharitamu. Another famous poet was Nandi Thimmanna, the author of Parijathapaharanamu.
• Kannada Mahabharatha, which was originally started by Kumara Vyasa was finally completed by Kannada poet Thimmanna at the behest of Sri Krishnadeva Raya.
• Poets and Authors who were patronized during his reign are as follows:
• Kannada poet Mallanarya who wrote Veerasaivamrita, Bhavachintaratna etc.
• Chatu Vittalanatha who wrote Bhagvatha.
• Timmanna Kavi who wrote his eulogy Krishnaraya Bharata.
• Tamil poet
• Peddanna, a Telugu poet was personally honored by Sri Krishnadeva Raya for the former’s proficiency in Telugu and Sanskrit.
• He was also responsible for developing and nurturing Carnatic musical tradition by providing shelter to musicians such as VyasaRaya, who was the propagator of Haridasa movement in Karnataka.
• Classical dance forms like Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi were also encouraged by him.

Conclusion:

Domingo Paes and Duarte Barbosa, the Portuguese travelers, visited the Vijayanagar empire during his reign and they have mentioned in their travelogs that the King was not only a good administrator but also an excellent scholar and a patron of art and literature.

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