Krishna Deva Raya who ruled the kingdom of Vijayanagara in between 1509-1530 was one of the greatest statesmen which medieval South India had produced. Called variously as ‘Kannadaraya’, ‘Sri Karnata Mahisa’, and ‘Kannada Rajya Ramaramana’, his rule saw all-round prosperity of South India, culturally and materialistically.
Krishna Deva Raya was a great patron of literature and was known as Abhinava Bhoja. Himself being a scholar, he wrote the Telugu work Amuktamalyada and a Sanskrit play, Jambavati Kalyana.
He had eight great scholars called Ashtadiggajas in his court. They included Allasani Peddana often described as the Andhrakavitapitamaha. His famous work was Manucharitamu, Another famous poet was Nandi Thimmanna, the author of Parijathapaharanamu.
Krishnadevaraya patronized all religious sects and was a devotee of Lord Venkateshwara of Tirupati and even now we can see the images of Krishna Deva Raya along with his two queens standing with folded hands in the Tirupati temple. The images have their names written in Kannada.
Portuguese travelers Domingo Paes and Durate Barbosa visted his court