Vijayanagara Empire

Also called: Karnataka samrajyamu · Topic: Vijayanagara and the Deccan · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 2 "Reshaping India's Political Map"; Class 12, Ch 3 "An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara"

Meaning

The Vijayanagara Empire was a South Indian kingdom set up by the brothers Harihara and Bukka in 1336. People of the time called it karnataka samrajyamu (the Karnataka empire). Its capital was the city of Vijayanagara ("city of victory"), now Hampi, on the south bank of the river Tungabhadra [2][3]. At its largest, it stretched from the river Krishna in the north to the far south of the peninsula.

It matters because it was the main power in the south for over two centuries. It fought the Bahmani Sultanate, the Deccan Sultanates and the Gajapatis for land and trade. It also left behind Hampi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986 [2].

Explanation

Background: how the empire began

• The Delhi Sultanate weakened its way into the Deccan.
• Delhi's armies conquered the Kakatiya and Kampili kingdoms. Harihara and Bukka had worked in the government of both [4].

• NCERT Class 8 says the brothers became governors under Muhammad bin Tughlaq. They then threw off Delhi's authority and set up their own state.

• The founding date is 1336. This date comes from tradition and from epigraphic evidence (writing carved on stone or copper plates). NCERT itself marks the date as uncertain. Treat it as the accepted date, not a proven one.

• The family name was Sangama. Britannica says "five sons of Sangama" founded the city and the dynasty. Harihara and Bukka became its first kings [4][5]. This adds to the NCERT account and does not contradict it.
• The early state already covered a large area. By 1336 Harihara loosely controlled land from Nellore on the south-east coast to Badami in the west [4].
• A legend gave the new kings religious support (folklore, not fact). The story goes that the brothers saw a hare chasing hounds at the Hampi site. Their guru Vidyaranya took this as a sign. If even a hare there would turn on dogs, it was the right place for a capital.
• The Hoysala lands were taken over. The Hoysalas had been weakened by Delhi Sultanate attacks and fighting inside their own kingdom. Their lands were absorbed into Vijayanagara in the mid-14th century. This gave Vijayanagara a ready base of land, temples and craftsmen.

Dynasties and rulers: how the empire changed over time

Dynasty	Key points
Sangama	Founded by Harihara and Bukka in 1336. Ruled till about 1485 [4].
Saluva	Narasimha of the Saluva family seized power in about 1485 [4].
Tuluva	The family of Krishnadeva Raya (AD 1509–30). The ASI calls him the greatest ruler of the dynasty [2]. Under him the empire reached its peak.
Aravidu	The last dynasty. It ruled when the capital was sacked in 1565, and the empire carried on in a smaller form till about 1646 [4].

• The kings called themselves rayas (kings).
• Popular tradition gave them the title narapati (lord of men), meaning their strength lay in infantry (foot soldiers).

Rivals and wars

• The Bahmani Sultanate (1347) was the rival to the north.
• It was founded by Alauddin Bahman Shah, with the support of army commanders who had rebelled against the Sultan of Delhi [6].
• Its capitals were Ahsanabad (Gulbarga), 1347–1425, and then Muhammadabad (Bidar) [6].

• It broke up between 1490 and 1518 [6] into five Deccan Sultanates: Bijapur, Golconda, Berar, Ahmednagar and Bidar. The governors who broke away were called tarafdars (provincial governors who turned their provinces into their own kingdoms).

• The Gajapatis of Orissa (1435) were the rival in the north-east.

• The wars were fought over two prizes:
• Fertile river valleys, above all the land between the Krishna and the Tungabhadra (the Raichur doab). It gave grain, taxes and soldiers.

• Revenue from overseas trade, especially the horse trade. It brought money and war-horses.

• The three popular titles (as NCERT gives them):

• Gajapati (lord of elephants) for the rulers of Orissa.
• Ashvapati (lord of horses) for the Deccan Sultans.
• Narapati (lord of men) for the rayas.

Results: culture and the end

• Hindu religion, art and architecture revived on a large scale at the capital [2].
• The rayas built on two older temple traditions and "carried them to new heights":
• Chola: the Brihadishvara temple, Thanjavur.

• Hoysala: the Chennakeshava temple, Belur.

• Rival states borrowed building ideas from each other, even while they were at war.

• Talikota, 1565 (also called Rakshasi-Tangadi):
• The combined armies of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar and Golconda defeated the Vijayanagara forces, which were led by Rama Raya of the Aravidu family.
• The capital was looted and abandoned.
• The empire lived on further east in a weaker form.

Time, place and evidence

• Period: 1336 to about 1646 [4]. The Hampi monuments date from AD 1336–1570, from Harihara I to Sadasiva Raya [2].
• Place: The capital stood on the south bank of the Tungabhadra, at Hampi in present-day Karnataka [2][3].
• The ruins cover nearly 26 sq km.

• The city had seven lines of fortifications (seven rings of defence walls) [2].

• Key people:

• Harihara and Bukka, the founders.
• Vidyaranya, their guru in the legend.
• Narasimha (Saluva), who took power in about 1485.
• Krishnadeva Raya (1509–30), the greatest ruler.
• Rama Raya, who led the army at Talikota.

• Sadasiva Raya, the last ruler named in the ASI's dating of the monuments [2].

• How we know:

• Inscriptions (epigraphic evidence) give the founding story and the grants made by kings.
• Foreign visitors from Arabia, Italy, Portugal and Russia wrote about the city [2]. NCERT names, among others, Abdur Razzaq (a Persian envoy), Nicolo de Conti (Italy), Domingo Paes and Fernao Nuniz (Portugal) and Afanasii Nikitin (Russia).

• The ruins themselves. Modern study began with Colin Mackenzie's survey of the site in the early 19th century.

• Heritage status: The "Group of Monuments at Hampi" became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986 [2].

Don't confuse with

• Bahmani Sultanate: It was founded in 1347 by Alauddin Bahman Shah, eleven years after Vijayanagara. Its capitals were Gulbarga and Bidar, not Hampi [6].
• Hoysala temples (Belur): The Chennakeshava temple at Belur is a Hoysala building. It was a model for Vijayanagara builders, but it was not built by them.
• Gajapati vs Narapati: Gajapati (lord of elephants) means the rulers of Orissa. Narapati (lord of men) means the rayas of Vijayanagara. Ashvapati (lord of horses) means the Deccan Sultans.
• Sangama vs Tuluva dynasty: The founders Harihara and Bukka belonged to the Sangama dynasty. Krishnadeva Raya, the greatest ruler, belonged to the later Tuluva dynasty.

Prelims Hooks

• Vijayanagara means "city of victory". Its site is Hampi, on the south bank of the Tungabhadra. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986 [2].
• Order of the dynasties: Sangama → Saluva → Tuluva → Aravidu. The Sangamas ruled till about 1485 [4].
• Order of founding: Vijayanagara (1336) → Bahmani (1347) → Gajapatis of Orissa (1435).
• The five Deccan Sultanates were Bijapur, Golconda, Berar, Ahmednagar and Bidar. The breakaway governors were called tarafdars.
• People of the time called the empire karnataka samrajyamu. The guru in the hare-and-hounds legend is Vidyaranya, and the story is folklore.
• Krishnadeva Raya (1509–30) was the greatest ruler [2]. The capital was sacked after Talikota (Rakshasi-Tangadi), 1565.

Mains Points

• Vijayanagara and the Bahmani state came out of the same crisis.
• Both were set up by men who had served Delhi and then rebelled against it [6].

• When Tughlaq control over the Deccan collapsed, after the Kakatiya and Kampili conquests, both new states filled the gap within eleven years (1336 and 1347).

• The Deccan wars were about land and money, not only religion.

• All sides wanted the fertile river valleys and the revenue from overseas trade, especially horses.

• The rival states shared building ideas even while at war. This argues against reading the wars as simply Hindu against Muslim.

• A new dynasty borrowed old authority.

• The Vidyaranya legend gave it religious backing.
• The narapati title placed the rayas inside a shared Deccan way of naming kings.
• Its temples continued Chola and Hoysala styles.
• Taking over Hoysala lands gave it craftsmen and land from the start. This explains why large monuments appear at Hampi from 1336 onwards [2].

Related concepts

• Harihara and Bukka
• Vidyaranya
• Bahmani Sultanate
• Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah
• Afaqis and Dakhnis
• Mahmud Gawan
• Bahmani madrasa, Bidar
• Deccan sultanates
• Adil Shahi dynasty
• Ibrahim Adil Shah II

Read more

• Foundation and the Deccan political setting