who is considered as the greatest of all the vijayanagar rulers
Vijayanagara Empire With the Vijayanagara Kingdom now imperial in stature, Harihara II, the second son of Bukka Raya I, further consolidated the kingdom beyond the Krishna River and brought the whole of South India under the Vijayanagara umbrella.[29] The next ruler, Deva Raya I, emerged successful against the Gajapatis of Odisha and undertook important works of fortification and irrigation.[30] Italian traveler Niccolo de Conti wrote of him as the most powerful ruler of India.[31] Deva Raya II (called Gajabetekara)[32] succeeded to the throne in 1424 and was possibly the most capable of the Sangama dynasty rulers.[33] He quelled rebelling feudal lords as well as the Zamorin of Calicut and Quilon in the south. He invaded the island of Sri Lanka and became overlord of the kings of Burma at Pegu and Tanasserim.[34][35][36]
History of Tamil Nadu Rapid changes in the political situation of the rest of India occurred due to incursions of Muslim armies from the northwest and the decline of the three ancient dynasties during the 14th century, the Tamil country became part of the Vijayanagara Empire. Under this empire, the Kannada speaking Nayak governors ruled before the European trading companies appeared during the 17th century eventually assuming greater sway over the indigenous rulers of the land. The Madras Presidency, comprising most of southern India, was created in the 18th century and was ruled directly by the British. After the independence of India, after the Telugu and Malayalam parts of Madras state were separated from Madras state in 1956, it was renamed as Tamil Nadu in 1969 by the state government.