Hamvira Deva

He played a vital role in the military expansion of the Gajapati Empire but was bypassed in the succession order in favour of his younger half-brother Purushottama Deva.

[1][4][3] He also had a son named Narhari Patra who survived him and was captured by the Vijayanagara army of Krishnadevaraya when they conquered the Kodavidu fort in 1516 from the Gajapati emperor Prataprudra Deva.

Sources differ on the outcome of this conflict, with the Anantavaram copper plates of the Gajapatis stating that Hamvira conquered Hampi and forced Mallikarjuna Raya to pay tribute.

However, the Gangadasa-Vilasa Charitam authored by the Vijaynagara poet Gangadhar states that his patron Mallikarjuna Raya sallied from the capital during the siege and routed the combined forces of the Gajapatis and Bahmanis.

[5] Historian R. Subramanyam hence concludes that Hamvira defeated the Vijayanagara forces in a pitched battle but failed to break the stout defences of Hampi and retreated.

With Udaigiri as a base, Hamvira helped his father to conquer the coastal districts of the Vijayanagara Empire up to Tanjore and South Arcot.

[5] The Velama chief of Devarakonda (in the present-day Telangana region), Gajaravo Tippa, requested Kapilendra Deva for help against the Bahmani Sultanate.

[4] In 1458, a battle ensued at Devarakonda in which Hamvira Deva defeated the Bahmani forces under Sanjar Khan, the general of Sultan Humayun Shah.

He attacked Warangal Fort under the command of Mahmud Gawan, the Bahmani prime minister and conquered it after a siege lasting until February 1460.

[1][2][11] R. Subramanyam theorizes that during the last years of Kapilendra's reign a revolt led by his son Hamvira occurred in the Krishna River region.

Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya, emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, took advantage of the Gajapati civil war and invaded Udaigiri around 1469.

[4] Due to his weak position after his defeat by Saluva Narasimha Deva Raya, he sought and acquired the support of the Bahmani Sultanate in 1470.