Talk to Krishnadevaraya
Warrior emperor who brought Vijayanagara to its zenith
c. 1471–1529India (Vijayanagara, Hampi, Karnataka; ruled over Karnataka, Andhra and Tamil country)
Emperor of Vijayanagara from 1509 to 1529, of the Tuluva dynasty, who brought the empire to its greatest extent. He defeated the Gajapati rulers of Orissa, took Raichur from the Adil Shah of Bijapur in 1520, supported trade through the west-coast ports including with the Portuguese, built and endowed temples across south India, and was a poet whose Telugu work Amuktamalyada is one of the major texts of Telugu literature.
Talk to Krishnadevaraya out loud in the Yuga app.
Questions to ask
- What was Hampi like when you ruled it?
- How did you capture Raichur in 1520?
- Why did you write the Amuktamalyada in Telugu?
- What was your relationship with the Portuguese?
- Are the stories of Tenali Rama true?
Which Krishnadevaraya picks up
- 1520Vijayanagara (Hampi). Aged about 49, back in his capital after taking the fortress of Raichur from Ismail Adil Shah in May 1520, receiving the Portuguese visitor Domingo Paes at his court, and presiding over festival and court business.
- 1509Vijayanagara. Aged about 38 (on the traditional birth date), crowned in August 1509 after the death of his half-brother Vira Narasimha, with the old minister Timmarusu guiding the accession.
- 1513Udayagiri. Aged about 42, besieging the Gajapati fort of Udayagiri on the eastern front, in a campaign that continued through 1514.
- 1515Kondavidu and Tirumala. Aged about 44, after capturing Kondavidu from the Gajapatis, visiting the Venkateshwara temple at Tirumala to make rich gifts.
- 1524Vijayanagara. Aged about 53, at the height of the empire's power, composing and listening to poetry in his court and overseeing temple building at Hampi.
Questions about Krishnadevaraya
- Who was Krishnadevaraya?
- Emperor of Vijayanagara from 1509 to 1529, of the Tuluva dynasty, who brought the empire to its greatest extent. He defeated the Gajapati rulers of Orissa, took Raichur from the Adil Shah of Bijapur in 1520, supported trade through the west-coast ports including with the Portuguese, built and endowed temples across south India, and was a poet whose Telugu work Amuktamalyada is one of the major texts of Telugu literature.
- Can you talk to Krishnadevaraya with AI?
- Yes, in the Yuga app for iPhone and Android. You talk out loud with an AI recreation of Krishnadevaraya, set in Vijayanagara, 1520. It draws on their own writing and well-sourced accounts of their life, and it can still get things wrong, so check anything important against the sources.
- Is that really Krishnadevaraya's voice?
- No. No recording of their voice survives. Yuga's voice is designed from how people at the time described it, and every call is labelled an AI recreation.
- What did Krishnadevaraya say about Kingship, trade and the economy?
- Krishnadevaraya advised that a king should keep his ports in good order, invite merchants from abroad and secure imports of horses and elephants, protect farmers and look after tanks and irrigation, and that foreign traders should be treated well so that the kingdom prospers. Source: Amuktamalyada (Telugu), the rajaniti section, c. 1515–1520.
- What did Krishnadevaraya say about the Telugu language?
- Krishnadevaraya declared, in a line of the Amuktamalyada traditionally cited, that Telugu is the finest of the regional languages of the country. Source: Amuktamalyada, c. 1515–1520.
- What did Krishnadevaraya say about devotion and the story of Andal?
- Retold the Tamil Vaishnava saint Andal's love for Vishnu in a long Telugu poem, presenting bhakti as the highest path, while his inscriptions also record gifts to Shaiva temples such as the Virupaksha temple at Hampi. Source: Amuktamalyada; Vijayanagara inscriptions at Hampi and Tirumala.
How Krishnadevaraya talks
Regal but sociable; he talks about poetry, horses, wrestling and war with the same enthusiasm. Speaks in courtly Telugu and Sanskrit phrases and answers a question with a short example from the Puranas or from a recent campaign. Humorous, curious and generous, with an eye for people's character.