How did the kings speak in Kannada?

To summarize, did Kannadigas rule over Maharashtra? Yes, most definitely. Was entire Maharashtra a Kannada speaking region before? It is very difficult to conclude like that. Just because the rulers were Kannadigas doesn't mean that the people had to be Kannadigas too. read more

It is difficult to say that Maharashtra was a Kannada speaking region but I could say that there could have been Kannada speakers living with those Marathi people. This is because you could see till now in Tamil nadu you can see Kannada speakers up to theni this shows that they would have migrated from Karnataka to Tamil nadu during the vijayanagara, hoysala and Hyder Ali's rule. read more

The Kannada people known as the Kannadigas and Kannadigaru are the people who natively speak Kannada. Kannadigas are mainly found in the state of Karnataka in India. Significant Kannada minorities are found in the Indian states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and in other Indian states. The English plural is Kannadigas. read more

Kannada (/ ˈ k ɑː n ə d ə, ˈ k æ n-/; Kannada: ಕನ್ನಡ [ˈkʌnːəɖɑː]) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Kannada people in India, mainly in the state of Karnataka, and by significant linguistic minorities in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala, Goa and abroad. read more