Vijayanagara Empire – GK Notes

Vijayanagara Empire is known as the “City of Victory”. Two brothers Harihara and Bukka founded the Vijayanagara Empire in South India (Deccan Plateau) in 1336. Vijayanagara appeared as an independent Hindu state during the latter half of Muhammad bin Tughluq’s reign. The most important king of this empire was Krishnadeva Raya. The empire rose to its peak during the reign of Krishnadeva Raya in the 16th century.

Info: The Vijayanagara Empire was known as the Kingdom of Bisnegar by the Portuguese. It was also known as the Karnata Empire.

This article, the “Vijayanagara Empire” discussed its origin, different dynasties with their kings, Administration, Social and Economic life etc. The details are given as key points consistent with GK and NCERT notes, helpful for UPSC prelims and other competitive government job examinations.

Origin: Different Opinions

One of the prevailing opinions holds that the five sons of Sangam founded the Vijayanagara Empire on the southern bank of the Tungabhadra River. Among them, the prominent were Harihar and Bukka.

According to another theory, during the conquest of the Hoysal kingdom by Muhammad bin Tughlaq, the two brothers working there, Harihar and Bukka, were imprisoned. Harihar and Bukka were converted to Islam and appointed rulers of Anegundi. Later, on the advice of Vidyaranya and Sayanacharya, Harihara and Bukk founded the Vijayanagara Empire at Anegundi on the south bank of the Tungabhadra River in 1336 AD.

Info: Vijayanagara’s capital Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Dynasties of Vijayanagara

Four dynasties are said to have ruled successively in the Vijayanagara Empire. These are-

1. Sangam dynasty (1336-1486 AD)
2. Saluva dynasty (1486-1505 AD)
3. Tuluva dynasty (1505- 1570 AD)
4. Aravidu dynasty (1570-1672 AD).

Sangam Dynasty [1336-1486 AD]

Founder: Harihara and Bukk founded the Sangam Dynasty in Vijayanagara in 1336 AD.

Capital: The Sangam dynasty had its capital at Hastinavati (Hampi).

Harihara I [1336-1356 AD]

• First Emperor of the Sangam Dynasty.
• He defeated the Sultan of Madurai and the Hoysala king Birballal III.
• He repelled the invasion of the Madurai kingdom.
• He also captured the Hoysala kingdom in 1346 AD.
• The two ministers of his congregation were Madhava Vidyaranya and Sayanacharya.

Bukka [1356-1377 AD]

• After the death of Harihara I, his brother Bukka ascended the throne of Vijayanagara.
• He built the Barkur Fort (Karnataka) as a token of his achievement.
• He holds the title of ‘Founder of Vedamarga‘ as the protector of Hinduism.
• During his reign, Vijayanagara’s long conflict with the Bahmani kingdom began.
• He conquered the kingdom of Madurai.
• During this period the Vijayanagara Empire expanded up to Rameshwar bridge.
• He sent envoys to the Chinese emperor.
• Bukka in one of his writings referred to himself as ‘Lord of the east-west seas’.

Harihara II [1377-1406 AD]

• Harihara II was the first of the Vijayanagara rulers to hold various royal titles. The epithets like ‘Maharajadhiraj’, ‘Rajaparameshwar’ etc. are mentioned in his writings.
• He conquered territories like Mysore, Kannada, Trichinapally and Kanchi.
• In 1398 AD Harihar II was defeated in a clash by Feroze Shah, the ruler of the Bahmani kingdom over the dispute of the Doab region of Raichur.
• He was a worshiper of Shiva.
• After he died in 1406 AD, his sons disputed the succession to the throne.

Deva Raya I [1406 – 1422]

• After the death of Harihara II, his son Virupaksha I and later Bukka II ruled for some time.
• Later, after winning the succession dispute, the first Devara ascended the throne.
• Famous Telugu poet Srinath decorated his palace. Notable among his works is Haribilasam.
• According to Ferista, when Deva Rai Istham was defeated by the Bahmani king Feroze Shah, he had to pay Feroze Shah ten lakhs of hun (currency), a lot of pearls and jewelry as compensation and gave his daughter in marriage to Feroze Shah by the treaty of Bukhar.
• He built a dam on the Tungabhadra River.
• He also encouraged the construction of another dam on the river Haridra.
• He managed to defeat the Bahmani ruler Firoz Shah towards the end of his reign and took control of the territory extending to the banks of the river Kriya.
• He died in 1410 AD.

Vijay Ray [1422 AD]

• After the death of Deva Raya I, Vijay Raya ascended the throne.
• Not much is known about his reign.

Deva Raya II [1422-1446 AD]

• He recruited Muslim archers into his army to strengthen the military and ordered his soldiers to take training from them.
• He clashed with the Bahmani kingdom and failed.
• In 1442 AD his navy raided and conquered Sinhala (present-day Sri Lanka).
• The book written by him in Sanskrit is ‘Mahanatak Sudhanidhi’.
• Among the foreign tourists during his reign were the Italian traveler Niccolò Conti and Persia.
• Ambassador Abdur Razzak came to Vijayanagar.
• He fought three wars with the Gajapati dynasty of Orissa in 1427, 1436 and 1441, and owns all of these.

Mallikarjuna [1446-1465 AD]

• Mallikarjuna repelled the combined attacks of the Orissa and Bahmani kingdoms during his reign.
• From this period the decline of the Sangam dynasty began.

Virupaksha II [1465-1486 AD]

• From his time the entire empire was in chaos or anarchy.
• Mahmud Gawan, the prime minister of the Bahmani kingdom, captured Goa (then Konkan) and annexed it.
• Then feudal lords refused to accept his proposal.
• He is the last king of the Sangam Dynasty.

Saluva Dynasty [1486-1505 AD]

Founder: Narasimha Saluva

Capital: Vijayanagara

Narasimha Saluva [1486-1490 AD]

• Narasimha Saluva was a feudal king of Chandragiri province.
• He was also a commander of Vijayanagara.
• He dethroned Virupaksha II and founded the Saluva dynasty in Vijayanagara.
• He failed to recover Raichur Doab and Udaygiri.

Thimmaraya [1490-1491 AD]

• At this time minister Naras Nayak took over all the powers as guardian.

Immadi Narasimha [1491-1505 AD]

• Immadi was the last Saluva ruler of Vijayanagara.
• Vir Narasimha, son of Naras Nayak, killed Immadi and founded the Tuluva dynasty in 1505 AD.

Tuluva Dynasty [1505-1570 AD]

Founder: Vira Narasimha

Vira Narasimha [1505-1509 AD]

• The dynasty was founded by Vir Narasimha in Vijayanagara.
• He ably suppressed feudal revolts and resisted the invasion of the Bahmani kingdom.
• He made an agreement with the Portuguese commander Almida to supply horses imported from Arab countries.
• A notable feature of his reign was the strengthening of the Vijayanagara cavalry.

Krishnadeva Raya [1509-1530 AD]

• After Vir Narasimha died, Krishnadeva Ray ascended the throne of Vijayanagara.
• He belonged to the Tuluva dynasty.
• He was considered the most prominent ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire.
• He was a contemporary of Ibrahim Lodi and Babur.
• Kingdom Conquest: Defeats Bijapur Sultan and captures Raichur Doab. King of Orissa defeated Prataparudra, regained Udayagiri and occupied Kondabidu. After conquering Orissa, he launched an expedition against the Poligar feudal rulers of southern Mysore and subdued them.
• During his time five separate kingdoms arose on the ruins of the Bahmani kingdom. These were – Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Berar, Golconda and Bidar.
• He followed Jainism.
• During Krishnadeva Ray’s reign Portuguese tourists and merchants such as – Domingo Paez, Fernando Nunez, Albuquerque, and Barbosa came to his royal court.
• Architectural Achievements: Many temples, gopurams and mandapas were built during this period. Notable among them are Krishnaswamy Temple, Vitthalswamy Temple, Hazara Rama (Hazara) Temple etc.

Extra Info: A gopuram is a large entrance tower at a Hindu temple in South India.

Later rulers of the Tuluva dynasty

Achyuta Ray [1530-1542 AD]

• After Kurudeva Ray’s death, his elder brother Achyuta Ray ascended the throne.
• He was a relatively weak ruler. During his reign, there was severe chaos in the Vijayanagara Empire.
• At this time, Bijapur Sultan recaptured Raichur Doab and occupied Mudgal.
• Madurai and Tanjore almost became independent with the support of the revolts.
• During this period the Portuguese established several independent colonies in Tuticorin.

Sadashiva Roy [1542-1570 AD]

• Taking advantage of Achyuta Ray’s weakness, his ministers Ram Ray and Tirumal became powerful.
• Later, Sadasiva Ray, the younger son of Kriyadeva Ray, was dethroned. And Rama Ray’s brother Tirumal established the Arbidu dynasty in Vijayanagara.

Battle of Talikota (1565 AD): A joint attack by Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Golconda and Bidar against Vijayanagar in 1565 is known as the Battle of Talikota. When Rama Raya was defeated and killed in this battle, his brother Tirumal took over the administration of Vijayanagara. This battle slowly ended the Tuluva dynasty in Vijayanagara in 1570.

Aravidu Dynasty [1570-1672 AD]

Tirumala [1570-1572 AD]

Founder: Tirumala

• Tirumala dethroned the last king of the Tuluva dynasty Sadashiva Raya and founded the Arbidu dynasty.
• He shifted his capital to Penugonda.
• Ranga II (1572-1585 AD) ascended the throne after the death of Tirumala.

Venkata II

• The last notable ruler of the Arbidu dynasty was Venkata II.
• Towards the end of his reign in 1612 AD the feudal king Udaya broke Vijayanagara.
• Udaya founded the independent kingdom of Mysore.
• Venkata II was preceded by three rulers – Ranga II (1614 AD), Ramdev (1614-1630 AD) and Venkata III (1630-1642 AD).

Ranga III

• After his death, the Vijayanagara Empire fell.
• During his time the Vijayanagara Empire was disintegrated due to internal disturbances and external invasions.
• Golconda and Bijapur continued to attack.
• During the rule of the third Ranga, regions like Mysore, Bednur, Madura, Tanjore declared independence as separate states.

Administrative system

The rulers of Vijayanagara adopted secular principles in the feudal system.

Central Administration:

1. At the apex of the system of governance was the king.
2. The Prime Minister was called Mahapradhan.
3. The commander in chief was Dandanayaka.
4. The Council of Ministers was headed by the Prime Minister, the Treasurer, the Chief of Police and the Military, etc.
5. They handled various administrative functions.

Provincial Administration:

1. The entire empire was divided into several mandalas or provinces.
2. Provinces were divided into districts and districts into subdivisions or Panchayats and subdivisions into villages.
3. Provincial rulers were called Nayak.
4. The administration of the villages was vested in the Panchayats.
5. Mahanayakacharya supervised the administration of the village.

Military Department: The Vijayanagara Empire had a large army. It had large infantry, cavalry, artillery, camels and elephants.

Judiciary: The supreme judge and legislator of the state was the king. Panchayats were responsible for the administration of judicial affairs in rural areas.

Economic life

A famous port at that time was Calicut on the west (Malabar) coast. There are mentions of trade relations with China, Malaya, Brahmadesh, Persia, Portugal and Africa. Gold (barah), silver and copper coins were in circulation during this time.

Land Revenue:

• One-sixth of the produce was to be paid in cash or some other fixed amount as revenue according to the productivity of the land.
• Apart from this, there was a practice of collecting cattle tax, road tax, sales tax, marriage tax, industry and trade tax etc.
• One of the foundations of the Vijayanagara administration was the ‘Nayankara’ system.
• According to this system, the king entrusted the collection of land revenue to the Nayaks.
• The Nayaks used to deposit a certain portion of the collected revenue in the central treasury.

Agriculture:

1. From the accounts of foreign tourists, the Vijayanagara Empire had an effective advanced agricultural system and irrigation system.
2. During this period the ownership of land passed into the hands of zamindars, various monasteries and temples.

Industry and Commerce

1. During this period textile industry, machine industry, pottery, and metal industry expanded.
2. Mineral production also increased as compared to earlier.
3. Sanghas or guilds consisting of artists and merchants controlled the trade of the country at that time.
4. Imports and Exports: Among the important imports of Vijayanagar were Arabian horses, elephants, pearls, copper, coral, velvet, mercury, silk etc. Rice, iron, lotus, sugar, spices, cloth etc. were exported.

Social life

1. It is known from ‘Manucharitam‘ written by Krisnadeva Raya’s poet Allasani Peddana, that the Varnaashram system took shape in Vijayanagar during the period under discussion.
2. Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras are called ‘Vishnulu‘, Rajulu‘, ‘Moti Kiratl‘ and ‘Nalvajtivar‘ respectively.
3. Gangadevi and Tirumalamma were two famous women poets of that era.
4. Only Brahmin people were the highest class of society.
5. Child marriage, polygamy and Sati-practice were prevalent in the society.
6. The kings of Vijayanagara were Shaivites in the beginning but later adopted Jainism.
7. The music and dances like Karnataka music, Bharatanatyam, etc. emerged and flourished.
8. Also they progressed in the art of architecture and sculpture.

Place of Women:

1. Women had a special status in society.
2. Widow marriage was encouraged in society.
3. Krisnaadev Raya is said to have married a courtesan.
4. However, the existence of Devdasi practice can be observed in the society of that time.
5. According to Nunij’s writings, Vijayanagara kings employed women wrestlers, women gatekeepers, women astrologers and women accountants.
6. Women excelled in various martial arts such as fist fighting, weaponry, and wrestling, as well as music, dance, and literature.

Decline of Vijaynagar Empire

1. After Krishnadeva Raya’s death (from the Tuluva Dynasty), the empire started to decline shortly.
2. The Nayakas, the dissident military chiefs, troubled Krishnadeva’s weak successors.
3. Talikota’s Battle was the main reason for the decline of the Vijaynagar Empire. In this battle, Rama Raya, the chief minister of Vijayanagar was attacked by the combined Muslim forces of Deccan sultans, Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, and Golconda.
4. Rama Raya lost lost this battle. He and his soldiers suffered a violent death.

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