Remembering the emperor

A look at the Vijayanagar ruler’s pursuit of his love interest and the influence of those around him

about the famous and towering historical personality, the Emperor Krishnadevaraya (KDR) and called it Naan, Krishnadevaraya. The English version, translated by Shantha Krishnamachari, I Krishnadevaraya has been recently published, and is not a bad rendering of the original, although its language lacks the flourish and the finesse of the original.

For those history buffs - particularly Vijayanagar-spotters like myself - it is not a book one could resist, especially when the elegant cover of KDR stares at you from the window display of a bookshop.

The Vijayanagar empire has fascinated me from as far back as I can remember, and I have devoured every book or article on it that I could lay my hands on over the years. It culminated in a visit to Hampi - the magnificent but ethereal ruins of this once-great empire, reduced to rubble by the Deccan Sultanates after they defeated the Vijayanagar army in the battle of Talikota. During their six-month occupation, they sacked and systematically destroyed this once-proud and thriving cosmopolitan city, extolled by Italian and French travellers, and prominently identified in the European maps of the Middle Ages.

I digress. If you, however, expect to read an account of the glorious reign of KDR, his conquests, his temple-building, its scientific achievements, its marvellous architecture and sculptures - you will be disappointed. The book does not cater to those looking for a catalogue of Vijayanagar achievements from the great emperor’s mouth. Instead, its focus is almost exclusively on KDR’s pursuit of a beautiful dancer named Chinna Devi, with