Bukka Raya I

Bukka (1356–1377 CE) (also known as Bukka Raya I) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from the Sangama 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 various theories (see the Vijayanagara Empire article for more extended descriptions of these). The Father heras theory states that Sangama brothers had a great devotion for the karnataka deities like virupaksha and keshava. They signed only in Kannada letters like "shrivirupaksha" in Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu records. Dr. Desai quotes that ferishta called the emperors as "Roise of Carnatic". Carnatic means "Karnataka" hence shows their origin from karnataka.

The second theory states that Bukka and Hakka were commanders in the army of the Kakatiya King of Warangal. After the King of Warangal was defeated by Muhammad bin Tughlaq, Bukka and his brother were taken prisoners and sent to Delhi. Both were forced to convert to Islam. Bukka and his brother eventually escaped and retained their Hindu traditions and founded the Vijayanagara Empire under the influence of the Brahmin sage Vidyaranya. Harihara and Bukka are believed to be the ancestors of the Badagas of the Nilgiris and A fifth, mentioned by Couto,[30] who fixes the date as 1220, states that while Madhava was living his ascetic life amongst the mountains he was supported by meals brought to him by a poor shepherd called Bukka, “and one day the Brahman said to him, ‘Thou shalt be king and emperor of all Hindustan.’ The other shepherds learned this, and began to treat this shepherd with veneration and made him their head; and he acquired the name of ‘king,’ and began to conquer his neighbours, who were five in number, viz., Canara, Taligas, Canguivarao, Negapatao, and he of the Badagas, and he at last became lord of all and called himself Boca Rao.” Badagas of Nilgiris have Hakka and Bukka structures in many of villages in Nilgiris even to date. He was attacked by the king of Delhi, but the latter was defeated and retired, whereupon Bukka established a city “and called it Visaja Nagar, which we corruptly call Bisnaga; and we call all the kingdom by that name, but the natives amongst themselves always call it the ‘kingdom of Canara.’ ” Couto’s narrative seems to be a mixture of several stories. His wrong date points to his having partly depended upon the original chronicle of Nuniz, or the summary of it published by Barros; while the rest of the tale savours more of Hindu romance than of historical accuracy. He retains, however, the tradition of an attack by the king of Delhi and the latter’s subsequent retirement.

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