Kamalapuram tank
Topic: Vijayanagara and the Deccan · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 3 "An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara"
Meaning
The Kamalapuram tank was a large reservoir at Vijayanagara, built in the early 15th century. The capital lay in a very dry zone, so rainwater had to be stored in tanks behind embankments (earth walls). This tank shows how the rulers planned water for both farming and the palace area.
Example
Water from the Kamalapuram tank watered nearby fields. A channel also carried it to the "royal centre", the palace area in the south-west of the city.
Don't confuse with
- Hiriya canal: it was a canal fed by a dam across the Tungabhadra river and seems to have been built by the Sangamas. It watered the valley between the sacred centre and the urban core. The Kamalapuram tank stored water.
- Krishnadeva Raya's tank seen by Paes: this was a different tank. Paes said water was brought to it from about 15 km away and that 15,000–20,000 men worked on it, "looking like ants".