Saluva Timmarusu or simply Timmarasa, who had served as the prime minister of Krishna Deva Raya, had also served as prime minister under Viranarasimha Raya.
He belongs to a Niyogi Telugu Brahmin family.
The later writings of Portuguese traveler Fernão Nunez suggest that Vira Narasimha, while on his death bed in 1509, had ordered Timmarasa to blind his half brother Krishna Deva Rraya to ensure that his own minor son of eight years would become king of the empire.
Timmarasa had instead presented the king with a pair of she-goat eyes in order to satisfy the wish of the dying king.
This way Timmarasa ensured that Krishnadevaraya became the successor.
However, there is no record to suggest anything but a friendly relationship between the two half brothers and that the coronation of Krishna Deva Raya had been a smooth one.
In 1524, Krishnadevaraya crowns his minor son Yuvaraja.
A few months later the prince falls ill and dies of poisoning.
Accusing Timmarusu for this crime, Krishnadevaraya has the entire family of the minister blinded.
It is said the King later released Timmarusu, on knowing that the conspiracy to kill his own son was hatched by the Gajapathis of Orissa, who belong to the great Solar Dynasty or Surya Vamsi clan of Orissa and did not want their princess Jaganmohini to wed Krishadevaraya, as they believed he was not of pure blue blood.
The Gajapathis had had to agree to this marriage, however, owing to Krishnadevaraya's victory over them.
Krishanadevaraya's parents, Narasa Nayaka, a chieftain from Dakshina Kannada and Nagaladevi, a chieftain's daughter from Uttara Kannada, are not from the royal family of Vijayanagara, the Sangama Dynasty).
The king later deplores and relents of his own actions with Timmarusu, who, on being released, will spend the rest of his life begging in …
