Scholar, translator, and musician Srinivas Reddy brings a rare intimacy to his portrait of Krishnadevaraya, the poet-king of Vijayanagara, in his biography “Raya: Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara”
Interviewed by Chinmayee Manjunath
Srinivas Reddy is a scholar, translator and musician who studied classical South Asian languages and literature at UC Berkeley and currently teaches at Brown University and IIT Gandhinagar.
A concert sitarist, he spends his time performing, teaching and conducting research around the world.
Apart from “Raya”, Srinivas has published two translations - “Kalidasa: The Dancer and the King” (“Malavikagnimitram”) and “The Cloud Messenger” (“Meghadutam”). His newest book is “Illuminating Worlds: An Anthology of Classical Indian Literature”.
I had a chance to speak with Srinivas about his personal connection to the material, and what we can learn from the life of Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara.
Below, the author talks about growing up with stories of Raya, how his work on the Telugu classic “Amuktamalyada” shaped his research, and why this 16th-century ruler's pluralistic, imaginative approach to leadership still resonates today.
Q: What initially drew you to Krishnadevaraya’s story? And why did you feel it was an important story to tell now?
Ans: I grew up hearing childhood stories about Raya and his greatness; being Telugu, that was part of my upbringing. But the deeper interest came during my PhD, when I worked on the text he wrote, Amuktamalyada. That was my thesis - a literary study of one of the pancha maha kavyas of classical Telugu. It’s a beautiful, rich text. After I finished a few translations, my editor suggested I go back to the Krishnadevaraya material and write a short biography. That idea stuck and that's how this book came about.
Q: What about his story, or the empire more broadly, do you think is especially relevant to people today?
Ans: He was a wise, benevolent king with a great sense of cultural patronage. And I think Krishnadevaraya’s story matters because he had a broader outlook. His reign saw the first major European contacts - with the Portuguese - and he seemed to think expansively about what empire, particularly an Indian empire, could be.
One of the things I try to address in the book is the false narrative of Vijayanagara as the “last great Hindu empire before the coming of Islam.” That’s a constructed idea, one used by political forces. When you actually read the literature and the history, the reality is far more complex. But people often don’t want to hear it. I got a lot of backlash from readers who were upset that I wasn’t demonising Muslims, for example. It's disappointing, but that’s the climate we live in.
Q: That kind of nuance seems essential to understanding leadership. And Krishnadevaraya was clearly more than a warrior king.
Ans: Exactly. I think his leadership was grounded in a broad, humanistic understanding of life. Political leadership, to be truly effective, needs to come from a deep awareness of society, culture, and philosophy. Raya’s inclusivity, his pluralism, wasn’t at odds with his deep personal devotion. He was a devout Hindu, a Sri Vaishnava. But that didn’t stop him from engaging meaningfully with people of other faiths and traditions. I think that’s something we really need to reflect on today.
Q: His cultural patronage from poetry to architecture was remarkable. Was there anything you discovered in your research that particularly surprised you?
Ans: Many things! One is how architecture in Vijayanagara incorporates Islamic elements. There’s a mosque in the city complex, Jain temples, all kinds of eclectic styles. But what excited me most, as someone interested in literature, was the existence of the Bhuvanavijayam - the great hall of poets. It wasn’t just a legend. I found verses in Amuktamalyada that describe it, and there’s good evidence it was a real place in the capital, where poets gathered, debated, composed. That kind of literary and philosophical ferment is fascinating to me.
Q: You mentioned “Amuktamalyada”. Was there a part of that text that resonated with you personally?
Ans: Absolutely. Two things stand out. First, Krishnadevaraya’s style is incredibly unique. His metaphors are unlike anything you see in other poets like Peddana or Tikkana. He had this lush, imagistic, almost dreamlike quality. That might be because he wasn’t a Brahmin so he didn’t come through the standard literary education, and that gave his work a different flavor.
The second thing is that he chose to tell the story of Andal, a Sri Vaishnava, Tamil woman, instead of relying on the Mahabharata or Ramayana. That’s a big deal. Amuktamalyada represents a reorientation of the tradition toward the south, which actually precedes some historical movements after his reign. It was very intentional, and very meaningful.
Q: If you had to describe him in just three words, what would they be?
Ans: That’s always a tough one but fun. I’d say: fearless, dreamer, and devout. He was fearless in his ambitions and ideas. A dreamer, because he imagined a better world and culture. And devout. Not just in religion, but in his dedication to people and ideals. Finally, I’d add visionary to the list, as a fourth but important word.
