ಕೃಷ್ಣದೇವ ರಾಯ (Krishnadeva Raya): Pride and Preference
A pondering on the historical figure and his place in the hearts of the people of Karnataka.
The 1st of November is Karnataka Rajyotsava[1], a day for celebrating the social, cultural, historical and multi-lingual splendor of my home state Karnataka.
A childhood memory of mine is watching a historical Kannada movie, ಕೃಷ್ಣದೇವ ರಾಯ[2](Krishnadeva Raya, KDR from now on) on a rajyotsava morning (Unfortunately, I haven’t been to able to confirm the memory.) It has Dr. Raj Kumar playing an adult KDR. The story is of the rise of Krishna Devaraya, the greatest ruler of the Vijayanagara empire[3]. I also remember a scene (unconfirmed as of now. Remember it is being either at the end or beginning of the movie) pictorially indicating how, over time Vijayanagara empire led to Kingdom of Mysore[4], Mysore State[5] and which after Indian independence became the state of Karnataka.
KDR is figure who is held in pride by the people of Karnataka, characterized as a poet king, whose rule is said to be a golden period of prosperity and great cultural patronage.
In 2019 at a literature festival, I bought The Book of Indian Kings [6], a collection of short biographical chapters of some of the significant rulers in the subcontinent through the ages.
KDR is one of these significant rulers, placed at position 4 (Chapters are chronologically ordered) written for the book by Manu S Pillai.
I had read the chapter some time in the last year, but recently when my father was watching the aforementioned movie, it brought back the childhood memory and combined with the recent read precipitated into me wondering about the pride Karnataka and it’s residents have regarding KDR and an element of KDR’s historical identity which has resulted into this article.
KDR is also called with the title ಕನ್ನಡ ರಾಜ್ಯ ರಮಾರಮಣ ( Kannada Rajya Rama Ramana i.e. “Lord of the Kannada empire”).
Let’s dive into the cultural significance of the movie.
Below is a screengrab from youtube a part of the text preface of the movie (at 3 min 25 secs)[7].
Paraphrasing,
In the history of South India, the era of Vijayanagara empire is a chapter that should be written in gold. We bring the biography of the most talented ruler of this kingdom, Kannada Rajya Rama Ramana, Shri Krishnadeva Raya with pride.
It then continues setting up some of the historical context for the movie.
The movie and it’s possible positioning on Karnataka Rajyotsava, the title awarded to the figure and the words that the makers of the movie I hope sufficiently enumerate the Pride in the title, the pride that people of Karnataka hold towards this figure.
From the chapter (mentioned previously), these lines portray the element of his identity and his capital that sent me into this pondering.
The city was, to repeat a cliche, a melting point of cultures. Krishna Raya himself was Tuluva, from coastal Karnataka, who authored at least five works in Sanskrit, while celebrating Telugu as his court language. In one of his poems, in fact, Telugu is flattered as ‘one of a kind’ and the best ‘the best’ among all regional languages. It may have been that Krishna genuinely loved Telugu. But it could also be that exalting the language was another means for a king of mixed origins to win legitimacy in a primarily Telugu imperial order. — An excerpt from Essay 4 : Krishnadeva Raya by Manu S Pillai in The Book of Indian Kings
This brings forth my thoughts about preference, specifically KDR’s preference for Telugu as his court language, his writing in the same and the exaltation (even keeping in mind the political cause for the same).
I believe you have recognized that a point of slight conflict arises from these two things. KDR is a proud historical figure in Karnataka whose chief endemic language is Kannada, a figure who apparently loved Telugu[8] the most and has extolled his love for it in his writings (in the same language).
To me this relationship is a thing of beauty, we from Karnataka, love KDR for his apparent historical identity , despite his preference for a non-native language, even when languages have been foundational to the southern states[9] and their undeniably influence in the relationship between these states and the country as a whole[10].
Relevant or related links, most already hyperlinked in the article:
1. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Karnataka_Rajyotsava
2. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Krishnadevaraya
3. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Vijayanagara_Empire
4. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Kingdom_of_Mysore#/Early_history
5. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mysore_State
6. http://www.alephbookcompany.com/book/the-book-of-indian-kings/
7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOGnX1u1ZGU&t=222s
8. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Telugu_language
9. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/States_Reorganisation_Act,_1956
10. https://www.vice.com/en/article/4aymeb/why-does-india-keep-dealing-with-language-wars
