Two centuries before the clash between the Afghans and the Marathas in Third Battle of Panipat, (See )another cataclysmic clash took place Hindu and Muslim armies with distressingly similar results. This battle, – named The Battle of Talikota, by some and the Battle of Rakshasi – Tangadgi by others – has been largely ignored by historians, but it caused more casualties than all three battles of Panipat put together, destroyed the powerful Vijayanagara Empire, and brought the curtain down on Hindu rule in South India.
The Vijayanagara Empire had been established in 1336 AD and over two centuries was the most flourishing empire state of South India. It was a hub of commerce, culture and arts, and had a thriving trade with Persia, Arabia and the Far East. It was a bastion of Hindu culture and philosophy which held its own in a sub-continent fast coming under Islamic rule. Its capital city of Vijayanagar (meaning the City of Victory) was acclaimed as the most beautiful city of South India and perhaps all of India. It had reached the pinnacle of its power from 1520 – 1560, first under Krishna Deva Raya (1509 -1529) and then under his son-in-law Rama Rajaraya and at its peak encompassed all of South India. .
The Vijayanagara Empire
Ramaraya was himself a very capable military leader and an able administrator.Though capable himself, he removed most of the earlier faithful officials from the administration and military and replaced them with members of his own family. He also hired Muslim mercenaries, many of them from the armies of the Sultan of Bijapur and appointed two of them, the Gilani brothers, Noor Khan and Bijli Khan as generals leading their independent divisions in spite of warnings from his own advisors. He expanded his empire and even reached the banks of the Godavari. Flush with power, he began interfering with the affairs of his neighboring states – the Deccan Sultanates states of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Golconda, Berar and Bidar – and came into conflict with each of them. Although the five states were themselves at loggerheads with each other, they came under Ali Adil Shah of Bijapur to form a Muslim confederacy against the Vijaynagar Empire.
The joint armies of the Sultanates comprising of Bijapur under Ali Adil Shah; Ahmadnagar under Hussein Nizam Shah; Golconda under Adil Qutb-ul-Mulk, Bidar under Ibrahim Qutb Shah put aside their past rivalries and began preparations for a joint assault on Vijaynagar. News of their activities had reached Ramaraya and on Dussehra Day in 1564 he began mobilizing his own forces. He had over 100000 infantry and around 40,000 cavalry against a combined force of around 1,10,000 which the Sultanates had assembled. But the numbers don’t tell it all. He depended heavily on his antiquated elephants. His vast infantry had no body armour and fought dressed only in turbans and loin cloth, with short spears and swords. Their cavalry were mounted on small country bred ponies which did not have the strength or the mobility of the Arab steeds of the Deccani Sultans armies. The clincher lay in the artillery. Although Ramaraya had around 200 cannon and rockets they were a generation behind the 600 pieces of the latest cannons held by his opponents, which were manned by expert Turkish and Persian gunners. And there was the leader himself. Ramaraya was in his 70s, and his brothers and other generals equally aged. Though they led from the front they just did not have the energy and vigour required for battle.
‘Malik-e-Maidan’ – one of the cannons used in the battle
The Krishna River formed the dividing line between the Vijaynagar Empire and the Sultanate states, and Ramaraya had deployed large forces to guard its crossing. On 27 Dec 1564, the combined armies of the five Sultanate states reached the main crossing place at Tangadgi. The crossing was held in strength by Ramaraya’s brother, Tirumalla but was crossed easily using an age-old stratagem. The Sultanate’s forces moved eastwards ostensibly trying to find another crossing place and their move was shadowed by the defending forces on the opposite bank. Then one night a strong covering force of cavalry wheeled back to Tangadgi, crossed the River and secured the far bank. Over the next three nights the rest of the army crossed the Krishna and were in Vijaynagar territory.
Ramaraya had been waiting behind with his main force and the two armies made contact. Over the next three weeks or so, frequent clashes erupted between the two armies, in which the Sultanates armies suffered crippling losses, which almost broke the alliance. Ali Adil Shah, the architect of the alliance also sent message to Rama Raya professing neutrality, a ploy which prevented his forces from being attacked by the Vijaynagar army. Yet in the period of wait, the Sultanate’s emissaries made contact with the two Muslim mercenary generals of the Vijaynagar Army – the Gilani brothers, Noor Khan and Bijli Khan – who professes loyalty to their faith and agreed to switch sides at an opportune time in the battle.
The main battle took place on 23 Jan 1565 in a wide area South of the Krishna River between the villages of Tangadgi and Rakshasi. Ramaraya had deployed his forces with himself in the center, his brothers Tirumalla and Venkatadri on the right and left flank. The opposing Muslim formation were deployed in a classic Turkish formation with a screen of light cavalry ahead (Qurawal), the main force in a defensive layout, light cavalry on the flanks and heavy cavalry in the rear as a central reserve. Their artillery park of 600 modern cannon was kept centrally to bring down maximum volumes of fire.
The forces lined up in the morning with the firing of guns and rockets, none of which did any major damage. Around midday, Ramaraya’s brothers Tirumalla and Venkatadri launched spirited attacks on both flanks which pushed back the left wing of the Sultanate armies. This initial success was not exploited and the attacking force was pushed back by showers of arrows from the nimble cavalry who charged, fired and wheeled away. Venkatadri and his son were wounded and carried away and the attack petered out.
With the battle not going well, Ramaraya decided to launch an assault with the bulk of his forces from the center. The desperate attack, which was met with the combined fire of all 600 of the Sultanate guns. The guns were primed and ready and filled with bags of copper coins which acted a vicious shrapnel, scything through the attacking ranks. In spite of heavy casualties the attack was making headway, when the two Gilani brothers – acting on a predetermined signal- changed ranks and began attacking their own forces from the rear with their two divisions of around 30-40000 troops. This attack from their own troops took the Vijayanagar forces completely by surprise. Faced with attack from the Muslim divisions of their own army from the rear and the Sultanates forces from the front and flanks, they gave way and broke ranks. .
Ramaraya’s elephant was hit by a cannon shot and fell. As he was being carried away on a palkhi, he was overtaken by the Sultanate’s officers who beheaded him and mounted his head on a lance for display. This shattered morale completely and led to a rout and then a general massacre of the once magnificent Vijayanagara army.
Worse was to follow. Ramaraya’s brother Tirumalla Deva Raya fled back to Vijayanagar and instead of organizing a defense of the capital, fled with the royal treasury on 1550 elephants. Three days later the Sultanate’s armies descended on Vijayanagar. Over a period of six months they destroyed the city, killing over 500000 civilians.
The Ruins of Hampi – where the ‘City of Victory’ once stood
Vijayanagar ‘The city of Victory’ virtually vanished. What remained of that magnificent empire are just the ruins of Hampi – on the site of the old city of Vijayanagar – which are a stark reminder of what once was and what could be.