Hamvira Deva

Reddi Kingdom The Kondavidu fort, one of the strongest forts in South India, was under the control of the Reddis, who were vassals under the suzerainty of Deva Raya II of Vijayanagar.

Deva Raya II was a capable ruler who defeated the first Gajapati invasion. Kapilendra Deva appointed prince Hamvira Deva to annex the southern kingdoms to his empire. Deva Raya II's successor Mallikarjuna Raya was a weak monarch. Hamvira Deva took advantage of this and attacked Rajahmundry under Veerabhadra Reddi and conquered it in 1448. He appointed his cousin Raghudeva Narendra Mohapatra as its governor.

Vijayanagara Hamvira attacked Kondavidu fort in 1454 and successfully captured it, despite the Reddis being assisted in the battle by Vijayanagar. He then appointed Ganadeva Routray as the fort's governor.

According to the Anantavaram grant, the forts of Chandragiri, Padavidu, Valudularnpatti, Usavadi, Tiruvarur and Tiruchilapalli and the city of Kanchi fell to Hamvira. The conquered region was placed under the charge of Hamvira's son Kumara Kapileshwara Mahapatra.

When Mallikarjuna Raya succeeded to the Vijayanagara throne, Kapilendra Deva sought to take advantage of the weak ruler and sent Hamvira Deva along with support of the Bahmani Sultanate to the Vijayanagara capital of Hampi. 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.

Struggle for the throne Being the most able

However, he was bypassed in the succession order in favour of his younger half-brother Purushottama Deva. 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. Kapilendra came to the banks of the Krishna River to quell the rebellion but his failing health prevented him from doing so. Before dying, he appointed Purushotamma as his successor. Muhammad Shah III's general Malik Hussain Bheiry (also known as Nizam-ul-Mulk) helped Hamvira in capturing Kondapalli and Rajahmundry. Then their combined forces marched to the Gajapati capital, Cuttack, defeated Purushottama in 1472 and Hamvira was crowned as the new king. In return for his aid, Hamvira ceded Rajahmundry and Kondavidu to Muhammad Shah III.

Later life Not much is known about his later life. K.C. Panigrahi contemplates that he was likely to have been executed by the Bahmani Sultan when his secret correspondence with his brother Purushottama Deva was discovered. He states that Hamvira's able son, Kumara Kapileshwara Mahapatra, might have died during a battle.

R. Subrahmanyam is of the opinion that Purushottama Deva and Hamvira reached a compromise. When Hamvira was defeated in 1476, he was allowed to go to Khimidi where he ruled as a vassal of Purushottama Deva and established a line of vassal rulers.