The Vijayanagara Empire — Part 7: FAQ

FAQ

Q1. Who founded the Vijayanagara Empire and in what year?

The Vijayanagara Empire was founded in 1336 by two brothers, Harihara and Bukka, according to both oral tradition and epigraphic evidence. They established their capital on the banks of the Tungabhadra river in present-day Karnataka. The site was chosen for its natural defensive advantages — the rocky hills of the Tungabhadra basin forming a natural girdle around the city.

Q2. What was the amara-nayaka system and how did it differ from the iqta system of the Delhi Sultanate?

The amara-nayaka system was the major political-administrative innovation of Vijayanagara. Amara-nayakas were military commanders assigned territories (amaras) by the raya to collect taxes, maintain troops and pay annual tribute. Historians note that many features of this system were derived from the iqta system of the Delhi Sultanate, in which revenue from territories was similarly assigned to military commanders. The key difference is that iqta assignments were explicitly non-hereditary and subject to transfer, keeping commanders dependent on the sultan. The amara-nayaka system, while theoretically similar, in practice tended toward greater local autonomy and hereditary control, which eventually produced centrifugal tendencies that contributed to the empire's collapse when many nayakas established independent kingdoms in the seventeenth century.

Q3. What were Krishnadeva Raya's major achievements?

Krishnadeva Raya (r. 1509–1529) was the greatest ruler of Vijayanagara. Militarily, he acquired the Raichur doab (1512), subdued the Gajapati rulers of Orissa (1514), and inflicted severe defeats on the Sultan of Bijapur (1520). Culturally, he patronised the Ashtadiggajas (eight great Telugu poets) and composed the Amuktamalyada, a Telugu treatise on statecraft. Architecturally, he built the hall in front of the Virupaksha temple's main shrine, constructed the eastern gopuram, and founded the township of Nagalapuram after his mother.

Q4. What caused the Battle of Talikota (1565) and what were its consequences?

The battle was caused by the aggressive and destabilising policy of Rama Raya, the powerful chief minister of Vijayanagara, who played the Deccan Sultanates against each other, provoking them into an unprecedented alliance. In 1565, the combined armies of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar and Golconda defeated Rama Raya's forces at Rakshasi-Tangadi (also called Talikota). The victorious armies sacked the city of Vijayanagara, which was abandoned within a few years. The empire continued in a diminished form under the Aravidu dynasty, ruling from Penukonda and later Chandragiri, until its final dissolution around 1646. Many nayaka subordinates established independent kingdoms, continuing Vijayanagara's cultural traditions at regional level.

Q5. Why is Hampi a UNESCO World Heritage Site and what are its most important monuments?

Hampi was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986. The ruins preserve one of the finest examples of medieval Indian urban planning and temple architecture. Key monuments include: the Virupaksha temple (earliest shrine from 9th–10th century, substantially enlarged under Vijayanagara rulers); the Vitthala temple with its famous stone chariot shrine; the Mahanavami Dibba (massive ceremonial platform, base 11,000 sq. ft, height 40 ft); the Lotus Mahal (an elegant synthesis of Dravidian and Indo-Islamic styles); the elephant stables; and the extensive seven-layered fortification walls that uniquely enclosed agricultural tracts within the city.

Cross-references

• Delhi Sultanate – Political History: The iqta system that informed the amara-nayaka model; Khilji campaigns into South India that preceded Vijayanagara's founding; the competing polities on the northern frontier.
• Bhakti and Sufi Movements in Medieval India: The devotional context of Vijayanagara temple patronage; Vaishnava and Shaiva traditions; role of temples as centres of music, dance and learning.
• Mughal Empire – Political History: Overlapping chronology from 1526; the Deccan policy of the Mughals eventually absorbed former Vijayanagara territories; comparison of mansabdari with amara-nayaka.