Tulu was Sri Krishnadevaraya’s mother tongue and belongs to strong bunt community of Coastal Karnataka (Tulu Nadu). He was well versed in Kannada, Telugu and Sanskrit.
Bunts are also referred to as 'Nayaka', 'Shetray' and 'Nādava' which means leader, nobility and landlord respectively in Tulu.
Tuluva is the name of the third ruling dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire to which Sri Krishnadevaraya belongs.
The dynasty traces its patrilineal ancestry to Tuluva Narasa Nayaka, a powerful warlord from the westerly Tulu speaking people ( Dakshina Kannada of Karnataka)
Narasimha Nayaka later assumed the Vijayangara throne as Viranarasimha Raya bringing the Tuluva dynasty to prominence.
The dynasty was at its zenith during the rule of Krishnadevaraya, the second son of Tuluva Narasa Nayaka.