Ramal Raju was the third ruler of the Araviti or Aravidu dynasty of Vijayanagara Emperors. This dynasty, the fourth and last to hold sway over the Vijayanagara Empire, is often not counted as a ruling dynasty of that empire, for reasons delineated below.
Aravidu Dynasty
In the wake of this disaster, Rama Raya, the first ruler from the Aravidu dynasty, moved to the fortress of Anegundi, across the river Tungabhadra from the capital city (Vijayanagara). With the massacre of nearly all other prominent members of the royal family, and given the prestige that Rama Raya had long enjoyed at court and among the nobility, it soon came to pass that his family inherited by default the position held hitherto by the royal family. Thus was the "Aravidu" dynasty of Emperors born.
The position of Emperor however was an empty one, as the Vijayanagara Empire had de facto ceased to exist. The major feudatories of Vijayanagara, such as Mysore and Madurai, soon began to exert their independence in the period of anarchy that followed the rout of 1565, while various Muslim adventurers carved out their own fiefs under the nominal suzerainty of the Muslim overlords, being at first the Bahmani sultans and later the Mughals.
While the Aravidu dynasty never actually wielded power over the erstwhile empire, they nevertheless enjoyed immense prestige in the land, and often received homage from the great satraps of the empire. They were always treated with much honour and ceremony even by major rulers, such as the Kings of Mysore and Madurai. Even to this day, the "Raya of Anegundi" who belongs to the "Aravidu" dynasty enjoys honour among the princes of India.