- Bukka
Bukka ಬುಕ್ಕ್ (1356-1377 CE)(also known as Bukka Raya I was an
emperor of theVijayanagara Empire from theSangama Dynasty . Bukka patronised Telugu poet Nachana Soma.The early life of Bukka as well as his brother Hakka (also known as Harihara I) are relatively unknown and most accounts of their early life are based on theories (see the
Vijayanagara Empire article to get a more extended description of these theories). One such theory states that Bukka andHakka were born in theKuruba clan and were commanders in the army of the King ofWarangal . After the King ofWarangal was defeated byMuhammad bin Tughlaq , Bukka and his brother were taken prisoners and send to Delhi. Both were forced to convert to Islam. Bukka and his brother eventually escaped and retained their Hindu traditions and founded theVijayanagara Empire under the influence of theBrahmin sageVidyaranya . Another account says that the brothers were instead in connection with theHoysala Empire and were born from present dayKarnataka near theHampi territory, and they were the successors to theHoysala tterritory by natural process. Though the exactness of both theories are still debated upon, either way Bukka and his brother were praised for their success in battle as well as the first rulers of the Empire.Under Bukka Raya's twenty one year reign (thirty seven according to Nuniz) the kingdom prospered and continued to expand as Bukka Raya conquered most of the kingdoms of southern
India , continually expanding the territory of the empire. He defeated the Shambuvaraya Kingdom ofArcot and the Reddis of Kondavidu by 1360 and the region around Penukonda was annexed. Bukka defeated the Sultanate ofMadurai in 1371 and extended his territory into the south all the way toRameswaram . His son, Kumara Kamapna campaigned with him and their efforts were recorded in the Sanskrit work "Madhuravijayam" written by his wife Gangambika. By 1374 he had gained an upper hand over the Bahmanis for control of the Tungabhadra-Krishna doab and also took control ofGoa , the kingdom ofOrissa (Orya) were also captured and Bukka forced theJaffna kingdom ofCeylon andMalabar to pay tributes to him.During his reign Bukka would also have clashes with the
Bahmani Sultans . The first was during the time ofMuhammad I and the other during the time ofMujahid . It is said that Bukka also sent a mission toChina during his reign. Bukka died in about 1380 and was succeeded byHarihara II . It is also notable that under Bukka Raya's reign the capital of theVijayanagara Empire established itself at Vijayanagara, on the south side of the river, which was more secure and defensive than their previous capitol atAnegondi . Even with the wars and internal conflicts, Bukka still managed to help support internal improvements for the city. Important works of literature were also written during his rule. Dozens of scholars lived under the guidance ofVidyaranya and Sayana. Sayana's commentary on the Vedas, Brahmanas and Aranyakas was written under the petronage of Bukka.###@@@KEYEND@@@###
References
* Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat, Concise history of Karnataka, MCC, Bangalore, 2001 (Reprinted 2002)
* Chopra, P.N. T.K. Ravindran and N. Subrahmaniam.History of South India. S. Chand, 2003. ISBN 8121901537External links
* [http://www.aponline.gov.in/quick%20links/hist-cult/history_medieval.html AP Online: Medieval history]
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