Kaveri river, causing much destruction on the way and plundering the wealth of many temples. Taking advantage of the situation, the feudatories assumed independence. Thus, Tirumalaideva and then Konerideva began to rule independently in the Thanjavur–Tiruchirappalli area for some decades, during the interregnum before the rise of the Saluva rule. Power passed on to the trusted commander Saluva Narasimha who defended the kingdom from the Gajapatis and recovered parts of coastal Andhra.
Around Saluva Narasimha usurped the throne and declared himself as king, starting the short-lived Saluva dynasty. He was assisted by his general and great warrior Narasa Nayak, who tried to quell the rebellious local chiefs in the south. Saluva Narasimha died in leaving his young sons under the care of Narasa Nayak. Narasa Nayak became the de facto ruler and took several steps to safeguard the country until his death.
In about , his elder son Viranarasimha started the third dynasty, known as the Tuluva dynasty. He had a short but eventful reign and was succeeded by his younger brother Krishnadevaraya. Krishnadevaraya ( – ) Krishnadevaraya is considered the greatest of the Vijayanagar kings. He built upon the strong military base laid by his father and elder brother.
He tried to keep the greatness of the kingdom intact, by undertaking many military expeditions during much of his reign. Early in his reign he fought with the rebellious Ummattur chief (near about Mysore) and brought him to submission. He then had to fight almost continuously on two fronts, one against the traditional enemy, the Bahmani Sultans and the other against the Orissa king Gajapati. There are several inscriptions graphically describing that time.
It became a part of the kingdom only around , more than a hundred years later. Until then only the northern and central parts of the Tamil country up to the Kaveri delta were under the direct administration of the Sangama and Saluva dynasties. Vijayanagar – Bahmani conflict From the beginning, both the Bahmani and Vijayangar kingdoms were in constant conflict. Capturing the territories, collecting tribute and the control of horse trade were the major issues of