During the last days of Krishnadevaraya and after his time, his brother Achyuta Deva Raya took over, continuing in his brother's footsteps. He was succeeded by his son Venkata Raya. However, Venkata Raya's maternal uncle, Salakaraju Chinna Tirumala, had all claimants to the throne assassinated and usurped to power. He even went on to place the Bijapur Sultan Ibrahim Adil Shah I in his place for seven days in defiance of Venkata Raya's supporters. This was too much for Vijayanagara's nobles to tolerate. This was also the apple of discord for all subordinate Hindu rulers, including Chamaraja Wodeyar III. After diplomatically convincing, Salakaraju Chinna Tirumala returned. But Venkata Raya's followers assassinated Salakaraju Chinna Tirumala and installed Achyuta Raya's nephew, Sadasiva Raya, with Krishnadevaraya's son-in-law
Rama Raya as royal adviser, who played
de facto emperor, and was strategically mediating among the
Deccan Sultanates with the long-term intention of breaking them apart. During this period, Chamaraja Wodeyar came to begin questioning the authenticity of the Vijayanagara ruling family and what had become of it from the Sangama dynasty to the Tuluva family. He was queasy about bowing before the centre in Vijayanagara and had unofficially begun to undermine the centre's authority. He thought that it was not necessary any more for Mysore Kingdom to act as feudal lords but as allied friends. But before he could take a political stand, Chamaraja Wodeyar III died. == The Palace Fort ==