Mayurasharma - The founder of Kadambas

Mayurasharma - the founder of Kadambas (The first kingdom established by a Kannadiga) hailed from Banavasi in present-day North Karnataka. Some inscriptions claim that Mayurasharma was born to Lord Shiva and mother earth. As he belonged to a Vaidhika Brahmana family, he went to Kanchi of Tamilnadu for his Vedic studies. There he was humiliated by ruling Pallavas when he showed interest in learning martial arts being a Brahmana. To seek revenge, Mayurasharma moved to Srisailam and formed an army of tribes, and defeated mighty Pallavas. He changed his name to Mayura Verma from Mayura Sharma as he became a Kshatriya in the process. He ruled from 345-365 A.D. Kakusthaverma was the next big name in the dynasty and during his time, Kadamba dynasty reached new heights. After him, Kadambas got in conflict with Badami Chalukyas, Pallavas, Gangas in the 14th century and they were spread to Goa, Hangal, Bankapura, Belur and other parts of Karnataka

Kumara Rama - The Tughluq slayer

In the 13th Century, Kumara Rama was the ruler of a small kingdom ‘Kummata Durga who went on to be the foundation stone for the greatest Vijayanagara empire. At an early age, he defeated Kakateeyas of Warangal, Hoysalas, Bahamani Sultans, and Delhi sultanate. He chased and defeated Mohammad Bin Tughluq’s army twice. For the third time, with no other choices left, Tughluq cunningly sent a vast army of three lakhs soldiers under the command of a woman ‘Matangi’ knowing that Kumara Rama will not raise his hand against a woman according to Hindu tradition. On the battlefield, Matangi killed Kumara Rama who was reluctant to fight a woman. As per his dream of building a vast Hindu kingdom across India, his nephews ‘Harihara’ and “Bukkaraya” built the greatest and richest empire of that time - the Vijayanagara empire.

Kumara Kampana - Liberator of Tamilnadu

Kumara Kampana was the son of ‘Bukkaraya-1(co-founder of Vijayanagara empire)’ and the prince of Vijayanagara empire. In the 13th & 14th centuries, Tamilnadu was in the clutches of Turkic invaders like Malik Kafur followed by Mohammad Bin Tughluq, Ghiyasuddin. Hindu culture suffered a lot during that period especially in the temples of Tamilnadu. The goddess of Pandyan country appeared in the dream of Kumara Kampana and ordered him to free the region from the Turkic barbarian rule. Kumara Kampana came out as a champion of Hinduism, defeating the Turks he consolidated Tamilnadu. He chased Turks from Madurai and Mabar region. He is considered the reviver of Hindu culture in Tamilnadu. He gave liberal grants to the temples and extended good administration to the Tamil people. This enabled a foreign ruler from Karnataka establish Vijayanagara rule in an alien Tamil land.