Spark
A civil war was becoming imminent as the Emperor lay down in a coma. The emperor was the glue that held the factions together, vying for control of the throne. Krishnadeva Raya's influence was a major factor in the empire's prosperity and influence on the subcontinent.
When the young emperor had taken the throne. Vijayanagara Empire was simply a declining empire being eaten by its neighbors, Hoysala and Bahmani sultanates. Krishnadeva Raya, to protect his empire, fought several wars against them.
He eventually made the Empire from a declining empire to a rising empire and annexed all of Bahmani and Hoysala, also getting the kingdom of Cochin, effectively tripling his empire's land in a mere span of well over two decades of his reign.
Although the Krishnadeva Raya reign had a major flaw, which was the number of concubines he took,. He had three concubines apart from the Empress, resulting in the inevitable split of power in the throne's race.