Sriranga III

Sriranga III (1642–1678/1681 CE) was the last ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire, who came to power in 1642 following the death of his uncle Venkata III. He was a great grandson of Aliya Rama Raya.

Early rebellions
Before his accession to the throne, Sriranga III was in rebellion against his uncle Venkata III. He sought help from the Bijapur Sultan and attacked Venkata III in Chandragiri – Vellore in 1638. Another invasion of these two in 1642 was defeated by Venkata III’s army, who were also facing Golkonda armies near Madras. Under these troublesome circumstances Venkata III died, and Sriranga III who was with the Bijapur army deserted them and returned to Vellore and made himself the King of Vijayanagara. Sriranga III brought the English East India Company into South India.

Downfall
Many of his nobles like the Nayaka of Gingee and Damarla Venkatadri Nayaka, the chieftain of Madras, had a dislike for him for his mischief in rebelling against the former King.

Second Siege of Pulicat
Following Sriranga III's seizure of power from Venkatappa, he removed Dhamarla Venkata from power and bestowed the authority upon Mallai Chetty, also known as Chenna Chetty, a prominent Indian merchant who had previously served as a broker for the Dutch at Pulicat. Initially distrusted by the English due to his affiliation with the Dutch, Mallai's falling out with the Dutch led to enthusiastic support from the English. Sriranga's decree to seize Dutch goods in the possession of Hindu merchants within his realm consolidated Mallai's position as a local feudatory. Mallai then orchestrated the sale of these goods on behalf of the Emperor, with the English demonstrating their friendship by purchasing them. Amidst the siege of Pulicat against the Dutch, the English seized the opportunity to strengthen their ties with Sriranga III by sending Henry Greenhill's mission to Vellore. In return, Sriranga granted the English a 'cowle' in October 1645, confirming and expanding their privileges. However, the siege of Pulicat was interrupted by the invasion of Muslim forces from Golconda and Bijapur, compelling Sriranga's troops to withdraw to confront the invaders.

Siege of Udayagiri
When the government of Bijapur was preoccupied with the affairs of Ikkeri, Sriranga faced a dire situation in Karnataka, finding himself without allies and beset by enemies. Consequently, he was vanquished and lost considerable territory. Recognizing the strategic importance of Karnataka, Bijapur could not permit Golconda to gain control over the region. Seizing this opportunity, Sriranga negotiated with the Sultan of Bijapur, sending a gift of 15 elephants and promising a sum of 15 lakhs of pagodas. In return, he secured a military contingent of 6,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry in June 1643. Utilizing this newfound support, Sriranga launched an offensive against Udayagiri, successfully expelling the Golconda forces from the fort by January 1644 and halting their advance.

He granted site of Fort St. George (Madras) to British agents of East India Company in 1640s at Raja Mahal of Chandragiri fort, present-day Tirupathi. Squabbles among the Sultans of Bijapur and Golkonda helped Sriranga III for a while. Sriranga III required the consent of his nayakas to be crowned, but struggled to obtain it. In 1645, after attempting to kill Sriranga III with witchcraft, the nayaka of Madurai, Tirumala, together with the nayakas of Tanjavur and Gingee formed a league against Sriranga III. In response, Sriranga III sent his army against Ginjee. Tirumala urged Golkonda to invade while Sriranga III was focused on Ginjee. When the nayaka of Tanjavur allied himself with Golkonda, Tirumala, worried that the alliance would turn against him, asked Bijapur to send help, but the strategy backfired.

Battle of Vemgallu
Sriranga capitalized on the brief respite to confront the Golconda army, marching alongside Velugōți Singa. They engaged the Muhammadans near the tank of Vemgallu on August 21, 1644, where Singa showcased remarkable valor. The battle saw the fall of Qasim Ali, the Golconda general, his son, and two other key commanders, causing the Golconda forces to flee in panic. The victorious Vijayanagar army pursued them relentlessly beyond Kandukur in the northern Nellore district. However, Sriranga's triumph was short-lived. The Sultan of Golconda secured reinforcements from Bijapur, and the combined armies soon threatened the frontier of Vijayanagara.

Bijapur and Golkonda came to an agreement to divide the conquests between them, and by 1648, Bijapur had conquered Ginjee, Tanjavur, and Madurai. Sriranga III was left without a kingdom. He lived as a guest of Tirumala in Madurai until 1647, when he moved to Tanjavur. In 1648, after the nayaka of Tanjavur gradually decreased the king's allowance, he moved to Kannada territory.

Battle of Gudiyattam Pass
Bahlol Khan, commander of Bijapur, sent an army under Shahaji that invaded Vijaynagar Empire from Sira. Sriranga III defeated the Bijapur army in the battle of Gudiyattam Pass.

Battle of Virinchipuram
In 1646 Sriranga III collected a large army with help from Mysore, Gingee and Tanjore and met the Golkonda forces.

The Deccan forces were losing, but later advanced, when consolidated by additional Sultanate armies from the Deccan. The war went on till 1652. In 1649 Tirumala Nayaka sent his forces supporting the Bijapur ruler, but upon converging at the Gingee Fort, the Madurai forces created chaos and took sides with the Gingee army, when Bijapur and Golkonda entered into their agreements. This led to the banishment of Gingee Nayak's rule in 1649.

By 1652, Sriranga III was left with only Vellore Fort, which was finally seized by the Golkonda forces. By now he had only the support of Mysore, while Tanjore had submitted to the Muslim forces and the Madurai Nayak ended up paying huge sums to Deccan forces, and all three had to cede large stretches of their territories to the Muslim kingdoms. Sriranga III and his allies were defeated in the resulting Battle of Virinchipuram which took place at the village of Virinchipuram just west of Vellore on the southern banks of the Palar River. The allied Sultanate forces scored a huge victory and Sriranga's forces were forced to retreat. This battle and defeat significantly weakened the authority of Sriranga III.

Alliance With Ikkeri
During the siege of his kingdom by the Bijapur forces, Shivappa Nayaka retaliated by attacking the Muslims at Vellore. His victory earned him numerous titles and valuable gifts from Sriranga III. With Shivappa Nayaka's aid, Sriranga managed to retain control over most of his territories, except for Pulicat and Poonamalle provinces occupied by Mir Jumla, self-proclaimed Nawab of Carnatic. Providing refuge to Sriranga, Shivappa began expanding his kingdom under the guise of protecting the fugitive king. By 1656, he had reclaimed several forts and territories in the name of emperor Sriranga III from the Sultan of Bijapur, including Ikkeri, Soraba, Udaygiri, Mahadevapura, Ambalegolla, and others, forcing the Sultan to retreat to Bijapur.

In the Great Campaign of 1657, Shahaji was dispatched by the Sultan of Bijapur to assist Srirangaraya. The urgency arose due to Mir Jumla, the Qutb Shahi Minister, establishing a new kingdom in Karnataka and defying authority. To quell Mir Jumla's insubordination, Qutb Shah allied with Aurangzeb, the viceroy of the Deccan, near Hyderabad in March 1656. Furthermore, the Qutb Shah forged a friendship with Sriranga Raya, returning all territories previously conquered. With the combined support of Qutb Shah and other Hindu chieftains' armies, Srirangaraya, leading 8,000 soldiers, successfully captured Tirupati and other Places.

Wars With Mysore
In the year 1667 Sriranga III, the ruler of Vijayanagar, sought to consolidate power by forming alliances against Mysore, under Doddadevaraja Odayar. With the cooperation of viceroys like Chokkanatha Nayak of Madura, Vijaya Raghava Nayak of Tanjore, and subsequently even Maratha Ekoji I, Dhamarla Ayyappa and The Nayakas of Ikkeri Sriranga aimed to compel Mysore to adhere to his policies. Facing a formidable coalition, Dodda Kempadevaraja hesitated due to his age and lack of capable generals. In a surprising turn, Chikkadevaraja Odayar, still in his youth and undergoing education, offered to lead Mysore's forces. Through diplomacy and military prowess, the Mysore General, possibly Chikkadevaraja, defeated the combined armies at Erode, and took possession of Dharmapuram, Kamalur, Samballipura, Vamalur. Following Chikka Devaraja accession to the throne of Mysore in 1672, a significant event unfolded in the form of a Vijayanagar invasion, as chronicled in the Ramarajiyamu. Dated to 1674, this invasion, led by Prince Kodandarama, reached as far as Hassan and was attacked and Stop there. Noteworthy is the lineage of Kodandarama, being a great-grandson of the illustrious Ramaraya of Vijayanagar.

Last years
Sriranga III spent his last years under the support of one of his vassal chieftains, Shivappa Nayaka of Ikkeri, and was still hoping to retrieve Vellore from the Muslim forces. Thirumala Nayaka's treachery to Sriranga III made the Mysore ruler Kanthirava Narasaraja I wage a series of ravaging wars with Madurai, later capturing the territories of Coimbatore and Salem, regions which were retained by Mysore till 1800. The rule of Vellore was then passed over to the Bijapur Sultanate.

Death
The Mysore ruler Kanthirava Narasaraja I still recognised Sriranga as a namesake emperor. Sriranga died in 1678/1681 as an emperor without an empire, putting an end to over three centuries of Vijayanagara rule in India. Sriranga's only daughter was married to Srivallabha, a descendant of Narasimhacharya.