1 Founder age

harihara

harihara, aka Hakka, founder of vijayanagara empire, karNATaka-vidyA-vilAsa, bhAShegeTTappuva-rAya-gaNDa, brother of bukka. Was associated with hoysaLa court (General ballappa daNDanAyaka, nephew of vIrabaLLALa married his daughter) and possibly kampili kingdom as well. Disciple of the shaiva kriyAshakti.

bukka-rAya

brother of hakka, who overcame all other south indian kigdoms, including madurai sultAnate, under whom labored mAdhavAchArya’s committee.

vidyAraNya

  • mAdhavAchArya, son of Mayana, vidyAraNya shankarAchArya after sannyAsa, who supposedly inspired the founding of vijayanagara (being the kulaguru of one of them - bukka), reinvigorated the arts.
  • His two brothers were Sayana and Bhoganatha.

shRngeri

  • The copper plate inscription of Harihara, founder of Vijayanagara made to HH Bharati Tirta Swami of Sringeri. bhAratI tIrtha was the Guru of Sri Vidyaranya & 11th Peetathipathi of Sringeri. Please note that Harihara offers obeisance to Guru Vidyatirtha, the 10th Guru of Sringeri - The plate was from the year 1346. Documented in Epigraphia Carnatica Vol VI.
  • In 1380, Harihara II makes a grant in Sringeri where he eloquently describes the qualities of the Guru Vidyaranya, bhAratI tIrtha and vidyAtIrtha.
  • In 1386, when Sri Vidyaranya attained siddhi, Harihara II made another grant to Sringeri Mutt via copper plates

sAyaNAchArya

  • minister of harihara and bukka, brother of mAdhava. बौधायनसूत्रः, भारद्वाजः।
  • Sayana who wrote the famous commentaries on the four Vedas in conjunction with his illustrious brother Madhavacharya, was the minister of Bakka I, Kampana, Sangama II and Harihara II, and he appears also to have taken part in Sangama’s campaign against Champa.
  • “तुरुष्कं नैव मुञ्चते ब्रुवन्तं करुणाण्य् अपि। दुःखं तत्र न कुर्वीत हन्यात् पूर्वापकारिणम्॥” (manuscript R.797 G.O.M.L Chennai) “ताटक-कूप-वापीषु तथा लघुसरस्सु च । विषाविषे [???] योक्तव्यं तुरुष्कानां प्राणघातकम् ॥”

mAdhava the AngIrasa bhAradvAja

  • Madhava-Mantrin, the son of Chaunda-Bhatta of the Angirasa-gotra, was a minister of Bukka I and Harihara II, and He appears to have done much for the consolidation of the Vijayanagara Empire. Himself a great warrior, he waged war with the Turusukas in the province bordering on the western ocean and conquered theim and was made Governor of the province by Bukka I.
  • He was also the renowned scholar, wrote the commentary called Tatparyadipika on the Satasamhita, set in order the deranged Upanishadic lore, and was consequently known as the उपनिषन्-मार्ग-प्रतिष्ठा-गुरुः । also a scholar of the upaniShad-s and the shaivAgama-s, a kavi.
  • Mentioned as re-consecrating saptakoTeshvara: the ancient deity of the system of kubjikA associated with pratya~NgirA saptakoteshvarI, made a donation at chauDalApura to 21 v1s in shaka 1313 ~1391 CE

kumAra kampaNa

second son of bukka-rAya, subject of his wife gangAdevI’s poem “madhurA-vijayam”, recoverer of kanchI and madhurai. Supposedly harihara 2.

gOpaNArya

gOpaNArya, an amAtya of harihara-rAya, the brAhmaNa general (bhAradvAja-gotra, Apastamba-sUtra) who was inspired by viShNu to recover and reenshrine shrIrangam. Student of shrI vendAnta-deshika.