Who of the following rulers of medieval India gave permission to the Portuguese to build a fort at Bhatkal?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) Krishnadevaraya
Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara allowed the Portuguese to build a fort at Bhatkal, a west-coast port of his empire, when the Portuguese governor Albuquerque asked for it. He kept friendly relations with the Portuguese, and Goa had been the entrepot (trade hub) of the Deccan states for horse trade.
- ✓ (a) Krishnadevaraya kept friendly relations with the Portuguese. On Albuquerque's request he permitted the construction of a fort at Bhatkal, and Portuguese soldiers helped him against Ismail Adil Khan of Bijapur.
- ✗ (b) Narasimha Saluva belonged to the Saluva line that came before Krishnadevaraya's Tuluva dynasty, so he ruled before the Portuguese emerged as a power around 1510.
- ✗ (c) Muhammad Shah III was a Bahmani sultan of the fifteenth century. The Bahmani kingdom had started breaking up around 1490, well before the Portuguese took Goa in 1510.
- ✗ (d) Yusuf Adil Khan founded the Bijapur sultanate around 1490. It was Vijayanagara, not Bijapur, that gave the Portuguese permission at Bhatkal, and the Portuguese later fought on Krishnadevaraya's side against Bijapur.
Remember · Krishnadevaraya (Vijayanagara) permitted the Portuguese to build a fort at Bhatkal at Albuquerque's request.
Sources
- IGNOU eGyanKosh (EHI-03): Vijayanagara: Expansion and Consolidation, Unit 6 ↗ · reference work “Krishnadeva Raya maintained friendly relations with the Portuguese. On Albuquerque’s request, Krishnadeva Raya permitted the construction of a fort at Bhatkal.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·