An incident has taken place in which meat was cut and desecrated on the samadhi of Shree Krishnadevaraya, who ruled as the emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1509 to 1529. Shree Krishnadevaraya was known as the Mooru Rayara Ganda meaning “King of Three Kings” or “Lord of Three Kings”. He was also known as “Andhra Bhoja” meaning King of the Andhras, and “Kannada Rajya Rama Ramana” meaning “Lord of the Kannada Empire”. His samadhi is located on the banks of the Tungabhadra river in Anegondi in Gangavati taluk of Koppal district. He is considered the most powerful ruler of his dynasty and is known for his literary and artistic patronage, particularly of Telugu literature, though his native tongue was Kannada. 

The burial site of Samrat Shree Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara Empire, one of the greatest rulers in Bharatiya history, has been converted into a meat market. This is an insult to the extraordinary ruler and unparalleled military leader Sri Krishnadevaraya, the proud king of Kannada Nadu, said Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal.

In a video which has gone viral in social media, the miscreants tied a goat to one of the pillars of Krishnadevaraya’s 64-pillared tomb and cleaned the meat. The scene of the miscreants cleaning the meat was captured on a mobile camera. 

Posting on social media, the BJP MLA said, “This is the deplorable condition of the tomb of Sri Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara, one of the greatest rulers in Bharatiya history. The fact that some locals have literally turned this place into a meat market is an insult to the proud king of Kannada Nadu, the extraordinary ruler and unparalleled military leader Sri Krishnadevaraya.”

“The Archaeological Survey of India [ASI] is protecting the tomb of Aurangzeb, who demolished Hindu temples, looted the country’s wealth and inhumanly killed thousands of Hindus, with taxpayers’ money. But why is there such blatant neglect of the tomb of Sri Krishnadevaraya, the mighty warrior who expanded the Vijayanagara Empire and patron of art and literature?” he questioned.

He stressed that, “This is an insult not only to Kannadigas but also to the nation. The district administration should immediately instruct those who are destroying the sanctity of the place by selling meat to vacate the place and the government should urgently take steps to maintain sanitation and the sanctity of the grave”.

The criminal negligence of ancient Hindu monuments and temples is a stark display of the apathy of Bharatiya secular state towards Hindu religion and its protection. Hindu society needs to take control of the situation before it is too late.