Renaissance · South Asia · War

1504

Krishnadevaraya Crushes the Gajapatis

1504

The Vijayanagara ruler Krishnadevaraya led an elephant-mounted army into Orissa and broke the Gajapati kingdom of the eastern Deccan. He carved inscriptions of victory in temples from Godavari to Krishna. His court poets celebrated him as the Andhra Bhoja, a scholar-king in the old Sanskrit tradition. His campaigns expanded Vijayanagara to its greatest extent, controlling the Deccan plateau from the Krishna River to the peninsula's tip.