An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara (c. Fourteenth to Sixteenth Century), Class 12 History

What An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara (c. fourteenth to sixteenth century) is about

Weightage: Themes in Indian History Part II carries 25 of the 80 theory marks; this chapter shares them with Through the Eyes of Travellers: Perceptions of Society (c. tenth to seventeenth century), Bhakti-Sufi Traditions: Changes in Religious Beliefs and Devotional Texts (c. eighth to eighteenth century), Peasants and Zamindars and the State: Agrarian Society and the Mughal Empire (c. sixteenth-seventeenth centuries). A separate 5-mark map question covers the map items of all three books.Source: CBSE History (027) syllabus 2026-27, course structure

Key concepts

The discovery of Hampi and Colin Mackenzie

NCERT section 1. The Discovery of Hampi

Stages of discovery:

• 1800: Colonel Colin Mackenzie, an engineer and antiquarian employed by the English East India Company, brought the ruins to light and prepared the first survey map. Much of his early information came from the memories of priests of the Virupaksha temple and the shrine of Pampadevi.
• From 1836: epigraphists collected several dozen inscriptions at Hampi's temples.
• From 1856: photographers recorded the monuments (Alexander Greenlaw took the first detailed photographs), so scholars could study them.
• Historians combined these with foreign travellers' accounts and literature in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Sanskrit.

Mackenzie (1754-1821): famous as an engineer, surveyor and cartographer; appointed the first Surveyor General of India in 1815, a post he held until his death in 1821. He collected local histories and surveyed historic sites to understand India's past and make governance of the colony easier. He claimed the South had suffered 'bad management' before British rule and believed studying Vijayanagara would give the Company useful information about institutions, laws and customs still influencing the people. A painting by Thomas Hickey shows him with his peon Kistnaji and Brahmana assistants, including a Jaina pandit.

Later landmarks: 1876 J.F. Fleet documents temple inscriptions; 1902 conservation under John Marshall; 1976 Hampi recognised as a site of national importance; early 1980s documentation project; 1986 UNESCO World Heritage site.

Worked example

What methods were used to study the ruins of Hampi, and how did they complement the information from the Virupaksha priests? (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Mackenzie's survey map (1800) based partly on the memories of priests of the Virupaksha temple and Pampadevi shrine.
2. Collection of inscriptions (from 1836) and photographs of monuments (from 1856), which gave dated records and visual evidence.
3. Historians collated these with travellers' accounts and literature in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Sanskrit; written and visual evidence checked and extended the priests' oral memories.

Answer: Survey maps, inscriptions, photographs, travellers' accounts and literature, which tested and filled out the priests' oral traditions.

Rayas, kings and traders

NCERT section 2. Rayas, Nayakas and Sultans; 2.1 Kings and traders; Source 2

Foundation: by tradition and epigraphic evidence, two brothers, Harihara and Bukka, founded the empire in 1336. It included peoples of different languages and religious traditions. Contemporaries called it karnataka samrajyamu.

Rivals: on the northern frontier, Vijayanagara kings competed with the Sultans of the Deccan and the Gajapati rulers of Orissa for fertile river valleys and the resources of lucrative overseas trade. Interaction also led to sharing of ideas, especially in architecture: Vijayanagara rulers borrowed concepts and building techniques and developed them further.

Popular titles: Gajapati ('lord of elephants', Orissa), ashvapati ('lord of horses', the Deccan Sultans) and narapati ('lord of men', the rayas).

Earlier traditions: areas in the empire had seen the Cholas (Tamil Nadu) and Hoysalas (Karnataka), who patronised temples such as the Brihadishvara at Thanjavur and the Chennakeshava at Belur. The rulers, who called themselves rayas, built on these traditions.

Horses and trade:

• Warfare depended on cavalry, so importing horses from Arabia and Central Asia was vital. The trade was first controlled by Arab traders; local merchants called kudirai chettis (horse merchants) also took part.
• From 1498 the Portuguese arrived on the west coast; their superior military technology, especially muskets, made them important players.
• Vijayanagara was noted for markets in spices, textiles and precious stones; trade was a status symbol and its revenue added greatly to the state's prosperity.

Krishnadeva Raya's Amuktamalyada (Telugu work on statecraft): a king should improve harbours, encourage imports of horses, elephants, gems, sandalwood and pearls, look after foreign sailors, and attach foreign merchants who bring elephants and good horses to himself with daily audience, presents and decent profits, so that these goods never go to his enemies.

Worked example

Why was Krishnadeva Raya interested in encouraging trade, according to the Amuktamalyada? (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Warfare depended on cavalry and elephants, so a steady supply of horses and elephants from abroad was essential.
2. He advised attaching foreign merchants with audiences, presents and decent profits so these goods would never go to his enemies.
3. Trade in horses, gems, sandalwood and pearls brought revenue that added to the state's prosperity and the city's status.

Answer: To secure war horses and elephants for himself rather than his rivals, and to gain revenue and prestige from trade.

Dynasties, apogee and decline

NCERT section 2.2 The apogee and decline of the empire

Dynasties:
1. Sangama dynasty: until 1485.
2. Saluvas (military commanders): until 1503.
3. Tuluvas: Krishnadeva Raya belonged to this dynasty.
4. Aravidu: controlled the centre by 1542 and remained in power till the end of the seventeenth century.

Krishnadeva Raya (ruled 1509-29): expansion and consolidation.

• Acquired the Raichur doab (between the Tungabhadra and Krishna) in 1512.
• Subdued the rulers of Orissa in 1514.
• Inflicted severe defeats on the Sultan of Bijapur in 1520.
• The kingdom flourished in unparalleled peace and prosperity while staying ready for war.
• Built fine temples and added impressive gopurams to many south Indian temples; founded the suburb Nagalapuram after his mother. Many detailed descriptions of the city come from his time or just after.

Decline:

• After his death in 1529, successors faced rebellious nayakas.
• Shifting alignments among Vijayanagara and the Deccan Sultanates led to an alliance of the Sultanates.
• In 1565 the chief minister Rama Raya led the army at Rakshasi-Tangadi (Talikota) and was routed by the combined armies of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar and Golconda. The victors sacked the city, which was abandoned within a few years.
• The empire's focus shifted east: the Aravidu ruled from Penukonda and later Chandragiri (near Tirupati).

Relations with the Sultans were not always hostile, despite religious differences: Krishnadeva Raya supported some claimants in the Sultanates and took the title 'establisher of the Yavana kingdom' (Yavana: Sanskrit for Greeks and others from the north-west); the Sultan of Bijapur helped resolve Vijayanagara succession disputes after his death. Each side wanted the other's stability. It was Rama Raya's adventurous policy of playing one Sultan against another that made the Sultans combine against him.

Worked example

Why did the Deccan Sultans combine against Vijayanagara in 1565? (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Relations between the rayas and Sultans were not always hostile; each side generally wanted the other to be stable.
2. Rama Raya, the chief minister, followed an adventurous policy of playing one Sultan off against another.
3. This led Bijapur, Ahmadnagar and Golconda to ally and rout his army at Rakshasi-Tangadi (Talikota), after which the city was sacked.

Answer: Rama Raya's policy of playing off the Sultans against each other drove them into an alliance that defeated him in 1565.

The amara-nayaka system

NCERT section 2.3 The rayas and the nayakas

Nayakas: military chiefs who controlled forts and had armed supporters; they often moved from one area to another, accompanied by peasants seeking fertile land; they usually spoke Telugu or Kannada. Many submitted to the Vijayanagara kings but often rebelled and had to be subdued.

The amara-nayaka system was a major political innovation of the empire. Many features were probably derived from the iqta system of the Delhi Sultanate. ('Amara' is believed to come from Sanskrit *samara*, battle, and resembles the Persian *amir*, a high noble.)

How it worked:

• Amara-nayakas were military commanders given territories to govern by the raya.
• They collected taxes and dues from peasants, craftspersons and traders.
• They retained a share of the revenue for themselves and to keep a fixed contingent of horses and elephants ready, which gave the kings an effective fighting force to bring the whole southern peninsula under control.
• Some revenue maintained temples and irrigation works.
• They sent annual tribute and appeared in the royal court with gifts to show loyalty.
• Kings asserted control by occasionally transferring them.

Weakness: in the seventeenth century many nayakas set up independent kingdoms, hastening the collapse of the central imperial structure. Centres of nayaka power included Chandragiri, Madurai, Ikkeri, Thanjavur and Mysore. The nayakas also continued Vijayanagara traditions of fortification, palaces and temple building, including some of the most spectacular gopurams.

Worked example

Explain the main features of the amara-nayaka system. (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Amara-nayakas were military commanders given territories to govern by the raya; they collected taxes and dues from peasants, craftspersons and traders.
2. They kept part of the revenue to maintain a stipulated contingent of horses and elephants for the king, and used some for temples and irrigation.
3. They paid annual tribute, appeared at court with gifts, and could be transferred by the king.

Answer: Territories granted to commanders who collected revenue, maintained troops for the king, paid tribute and could be transferred; possibly modelled on the iqta.

Water resources

NCERT section 3.1 Water resources; Source 4

Natural setting: the most striking feature of the site is the natural basin formed by the Tungabhadra, which flows north-east. Granite hills form a girdle around the city, and streams flow down from them to the river.

Need for water management: this is one of the most arid zones of the peninsula, so rainwater had to be stored and conducted to the city.

Works:

• Embankments along streams created reservoirs of different sizes.
• Kamalapuram tank (early fifteenth century), the most important: it irrigated nearby fields and supplied the royal centre through a channel.
• Hiriya canal: took water from a dam built across the Tungabhadra to irrigate the farmed valley lying between the sacred centre and the urban core; apparently built by the Sangama kings.
• Krishnadeva Raya's tank (Paes, Source 4): built at the mouth of two hills to collect water from both sides, with water also piped from a lake more than three leagues (about 15 km) away; three carved pillars connected to pipes for irrigating gardens and rice-fields; a hill was broken down to make it, and Paes saw fifteen or twenty thousand men at work, 'looking like ants'.
• Ordinary town dwellers probably used wells, rainwater tanks and temple tanks.

Worked example

How were the water requirements of Vijayanagara met? (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. The city lay in the natural basin of the Tungabhadra; embankments along hill streams created reservoirs to store rainwater in this arid zone.
2. The Kamalapuram tank (early fifteenth century) irrigated fields and fed the royal centre by a channel; the Hiriya canal from a Tungabhadra dam irrigated the valley between the sacred centre and urban core.
3. Ordinary residents used wells, rainwater tanks and temple tanks; Krishnadeva Raya built a large tank fed by pipes from a distant lake.

Answer: Through the river basin, reservoirs, the Kamalapuram tank, the Hiriya canal and wells and tanks for townspeople.

Fortifications, roads and the urban core

NCERT section 3.2 Fortifications and roads; 3.3 The urban core; Source 3

Seven lines of forts: Abdur Razzaq, ambassador from Persia to Calicut in the fifteenth century, mentioned seven lines of forts, enclosing not only the city but its agricultural hinterland and forests.

• The outermost wall linked the surrounding hills.
• Massive, slightly tapered masonry; no mortar anywhere; wedge-shaped stone blocks held each other in place; the inner portion was earth packed with rubble; square or rectangular bastions projected outwards.
• Abdur Razzaq: between the first, second and third walls were cultivated fields, gardens and houses. Paes: from the first circuit to the city were rice fields, gardens and water from two lakes. Archaeologists confirm an agricultural tract between the sacred centre and urban core, watered by canals from the Tungabhadra.
• Why enclose farmland? Medieval sieges tried to starve defenders and could last months or years. Rulers usually built granaries inside forts; Vijayanagara chose a costlier, more elaborate plan: guarding the farming belt itself inside the walls.
• A second wall surrounded the inner urban core; a third the royal centre, where each set of major buildings had its own high walls.

Gates and roads: well-guarded gates linked the fort to major roads. The arch on the gateway and the dome over the gate are typical of architecture introduced by the Turkish Sultans; art historians call this style Indo-Islamic. Roads wound through valleys, avoiding rocky terrain; important roads ran from temple gateways and were lined by bazaars.

Paes on the city (Source 3): it could not be seen from one spot; from a hill it looked as large as Rome, with groves, gardens, water conduits and lakes, and a palm-grove near the king's palace.

The urban core: little evidence of ordinary houses survives. Fine Chinese porcelain in the north-eastern corner suggests rich traders lived there; this was also the Muslim residential quarter, whose tombs and mosques resemble the mandapas of Hampi temples. Barbosa described ordinary houses as thatched but well built, arranged by occupation in long streets with open places. Field surveys show many shrines and small temples, pointing to a variety of cults, perhaps supported by different communities.

Worked example

What were the advantages and disadvantages of enclosing agricultural land within the fortified area? (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Advantage: medieval sieges aimed to starve defenders and could last months or years; protected fields kept food supplies going during a siege.
2. Advantage: farmland watered by canals inside the walls added to the city's self-sufficiency, as Abdur Razzaq and Paes observed.
3. Disadvantage: it was a more expensive and elaborate strategy than building granaries, requiring very long walls that were costly to build and to man.

Answer: It secured food during long sieges but was far costlier and harder to defend than storing grain in granaries.

The royal centre and the mahanavami dibba

NCERT section 4. The Royal Centre; 4.1 The mahanavami dibba

Location and character: the royal centre lay in the south-western part of the settlement. Though called royal, it had over 60 temples, showing that rulers sought to legitimise their authority through association with deities. About thirty building complexes have been identified as palaces: large structures without ritual functions. Temples were built entirely of masonry, but the superstructures of secular buildings were of perishable materials.

The 'king's palace': the largest enclosure, but with no definitive evidence of being a royal residence. It has two impressive platforms within high double walls with a street between:

• The audience hall: a high platform with slots for closely spaced wooden pillars and a staircase to a second floor; with so little free space, its use is unclear.
• The mahanavami dibba: on one of the highest points in the city, a huge platform about 40 ft high on a base of roughly 11,000 sq. ft, which once carried a wooden structure; its base is covered with relief carvings. Paes called the two platforms together the 'House of Victory', with a cloth room for the idol and a throne of state.

Mahanavami rituals ('great ninth day' of the ten-day autumn festival known as Dusehra, Durga Puja or Navaratri): worship of the image and of the state horse; sacrifice of buffaloes and other animals; dances, wrestling, processions of caparisoned horses, elephants, chariots and soldiers; presentations by chief nayakas and subordinate kings. On the last day the king inspected his army and the nayakas' armies in an open field, and nayakas brought rich gifts and the stipulated tribute. Kings displayed their prestige, power and suzerainty.

An enigma: scholars note the space around the dibba seems too small for large processions of armed men and animals, so whether it was the centre of the ritual is uncertain.

Worked example

What was the significance of the rituals associated with the mahanavami dibba? (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. The Mahanavami festival let the Vijayanagara kings display their prestige, power and suzerainty.
2. Rituals included worship of the image and the state horse, animal sacrifices, dances, wrestling and grand processions, with presentations by chief nayakas and subordinate kings.
3. On the last day the king inspected his army and those of the nayakas, who brought rich gifts and the stipulated tribute, reaffirming their loyalty.

Answer: They displayed royal power and suzerainty and reaffirmed the nayakas' loyalty through tribute and military review.

Other buildings in the royal centre

NCERT section 4.2 Other buildings in the royal centre

Lotus Mahal: one of the most beautiful buildings, named by British travellers in the nineteenth century. Historians are not sure what it was used for. A map by Mackenzie suggests it may have been a council chamber where the king met his advisers. It had nine towers (a high central one and eight around) and arches probably inspired by Indo-Islamic techniques.

'Elephant stables': a building close to the Lotus Mahal, also showing arches; whether it was really used for elephants is uncertain.

Hazara Rama temple: one of the most spectacular temples in the royal centre, probably meant only for the king and his family. Its central images are missing, but sculpted panels survive, including scenes from the Ramayana on the inner walls of the shrine, and panels with dancing, elephants and horses.

Queen's bath: another structure in the royal centre.

Continuity: many structures were destroyed when the city was sacked, but the nayakas continued the tradition of palatial buildings, many of which survive (for example, the audience hall at Madurai, with arches).

What the buildings tell us about the rulers: they borrowed Indo-Islamic features such as arches and domes, showing openness to other traditions and a wish to project power through impressive architecture.

Worked example

What does the architecture of buildings like the Lotus Mahal and the 'elephant stables' tell us about the rulers who commissioned them? (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Both use arches probably inspired by Indo-Islamic techniques, showing that Vijayanagara rulers borrowed ideas from the Sultanates and developed them.
2. Their elegance and scale (the Lotus Mahal's nine towers) suggest the rulers wanted to project wealth and power.
3. Their uncertain uses (council chamber? stables?) remind us that names given later by the British may not reflect the rulers' purposes.

Answer: The rulers were open to Indo-Islamic styles and used grand buildings to project power, though the exact uses remain uncertain.

The sacred centre and the choice of capital

NCERT section 5.1 Choosing a capital

The sacred centre lay at the rocky northern end of the city on the banks of the Tungabhadra.

Sacred traditions of the area:

• Local tradition says these hills sheltered the monkey kingdom of Vali and Sugriva from the Ramayana.
• Another tradition says Pampadevi did penance here to marry Virupaksha, guardian deity of the kingdom, recognised as a form of Shiva; this marriage is still celebrated annually in the Virupaksha temple.
• Jaina temples of the pre-Vijayanagara period are also found here.

Why rulers built temples: temple building had a long history (Pallavas, Chalukyas, Hoysalas, Cholas). Rulers associated themselves with the divine (the deity often identified with the king); temples were centres of learning; land and resources were granted for their maintenance; so temples became religious, social, cultural and economic centres. Building, repairing and maintaining them won rulers support and recognition for their power, wealth and piety.

Vijayanagara's claims:

• The very choice of site was probably inspired by the shrines of Virupaksha and Pampadevi.
• Kings claimed to rule on behalf of Virupaksha; all royal orders were signed 'Shri Virupaksha', usually in Kannada script.
• They used the title 'Hindu Suratrana', a Sanskritisation of the Arabic 'Sultan', literally 'Hindu Sultan'.
• Innovations: royal portrait sculpture displayed in temples (for example, Krishnadeva Raya's statue on the gopuram at Chidambaram); the king's temple visits were state occasions attended by important nayakas.

Worked example

Why was the site of Vijayanagara probably chosen, and how did the rulers link themselves with its deities? (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. The area was sacred: linked with Vali and Sugriva of the Ramayana, with Pampadevi's penance to marry Virupaksha, and with old Jaina temples; the choice was probably inspired by the shrines of Virupaksha and Pampadevi.
2. Kings claimed to rule on behalf of Virupaksha and signed royal orders 'Shri Virupaksha'.
3. They also took the title 'Hindu Suratrana' and displayed royal portrait sculpture in temples.

Answer: Its sacred associations, especially Virupaksha and Pampadevi; rulers claimed to rule for Virupaksha, signed orders in his name and placed their portraits in temples.

Gopurams, mandapas and the great temples

NCERT section 5.2 Gopurams and mandapas

New features of temple architecture:

• Raya gopurams (royal gateways) of immense scale, often dwarfing the towers over the central shrines and signalling the temple from far away; reminders of the king's power to command resources, techniques and skills.
• Mandapas (pavilions) and long pillared corridors around the shrines.

Virupaksha temple:

• Built over centuries: the earliest shrine dates to the ninth-tenth centuries; it was greatly enlarged under Vijayanagara.
• Krishnadeva Raya built the hall in front of the main shrine to mark his accession, with delicately carved pillars, and is credited with the eastern gopuram. The central shrine came to occupy a relatively small part of the complex.
• Halls had many uses: images of gods watched music, dance and drama; deities' marriages were celebrated (kalyana mandapa); deities swung in swing pavilions. Special images, distinct from those in the central shrine, were used.

Vitthala temple:

• Principal deity Vitthala, a form of Vishnu generally worshipped in Maharashtra; introducing his worship in Karnataka shows how the rulers drew on different traditions to create an imperial culture.
• Several halls and a unique shrine designed as a chariot.

Chariot streets: a characteristic feature: straight streets from the gopuram, paved with stone slabs and lined with pillared pavilions where merchants set up shops. Paes described a broad street of merchants selling rubies, diamonds, emeralds, pearls and cloth, with an evening fair of horses, fruit and vegetables; Paes and Nuniz said the markets were abundant and cheap.

The nayakas continued and elaborated these traditions; some of the most spectacular gopurams were built by local nayakas (for example, at Madurai).

Worked example

How did the rulers of Vijayanagara adopt and adapt earlier traditions of temple architecture? (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. They built on Chola and Hoysala traditions (Brihadishvara at Thanjavur, Chennakeshava at Belur) and enlarged older temples such as Virupaksha (earliest shrine ninth-tenth centuries).
2. They added new features of immense scale: raya gopurams that dwarfed the central towers, mandapas and pillared corridors, as Krishnadeva Raya did at Virupaksha.
3. They drew in other traditions, such as worship of Vitthala from Maharashtra in a temple with a chariot-shaped shrine, and added chariot streets lined with shops.

Answer: They enlarged earlier temples and added giant gopurams, mandapas, corridors and chariot streets, while absorbing deities like Vitthala to build an imperial culture.

Plotting the city and questions in search of answers

NCERT section 6. Plotting Palaces, Temples and Bazaars; 7. Questions in Search of Answers

Documentation: after Mackenzie, information came from travellers and inscriptions. In the twentieth century the site was preserved by the ASI and the Karnataka Department of Archaeology and Museums. Hampi was declared a site of national importance in 1976. In the early 1980s a major project documented the remains through extensive and intensive surveys using many recording techniques; over nearly twenty years, dozens of scholars worldwide took part.

Mapping method: the area was divided into 25 squares, each designated by a letter; each was subdivided into smaller squares and these into still smaller units. The surveys recovered traces of thousands of structures, from tiny shrines and houses to elaborate temples, and traces of roads, paths and bazaars (located through pillar bases and platforms).

Lost wooden elements: John M. Fritz, George Michell and M.S. Nagaraja Rao reminded readers that one must imagine vanished wooden columns, brackets, beams, ceilings, eaves and towers, plastered and perhaps brightly painted. Travellers' descriptions help rebuild the city's vibrant life.

What buildings can tell us: how space was organised and used, materials and techniques, defence needs, the spread of ideas, and the ideas patrons wished to project, especially when combined with literature, inscriptions and traditions.

What they cannot tell us: what ordinary men, women and children thought of these buildings; whether they could enter the royal or sacred centres; what the builders felt; who planned the buildings; where masons, stonecutters and sculptors came from (were they war captives?), what wages they got, who supervised, and how material was transported. For example, Krishnadeva Raya's idealised statue at Chidambaram differs from Paes's description of him as of medium height, fair, rather fat, with smallpox marks.

Worked example

What impression of the lives of ordinary people of Vijayanagara can you form from the chapter, and what remains unknown? (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Barbosa described thatched but well-built houses arranged by occupation in long streets; many small shrines suggest varied cults; wells and tanks supplied water.
2. Paes and Nuniz describe abundant, cheap markets selling grain, fruit, meat and goods; thousands of labourers built tanks.
3. Unknown: what ordinary people thought of the great buildings, whether they could enter the royal or sacred centres, and the wages and origins of builders, since their houses and voices barely survive.

Answer: They lived in thatched houses by occupation, used tanks and markets and worked on great projects, but their views and conditions remain largely unknown.

An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara (c. fourteenth to sixteenth century) in real life

Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Topics in this chapter

• Vijayanagara Water Resources and Fortifications
• The Royal Centre and the Mahanavami Dibba
• The Sacred Centre and Temple Architecture

An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara (c. fourteenth to sixteenth century): key facts

Empire extent and dates

Founded 1336 by Harihara and Bukka; from the Krishna to the far south; city sacked 1565; ruins called Hampi (Pampadevi)

Contemporaries: karnataka samrajyamu.

Four dynasties

Sangama (to 1485) -> Saluva (to 1503) -> Tuluva (Krishnadeva Raya) -> Aravidu (from 1542 to end of 17th c.)

Aravidu later ruled from Penukonda and Chandragiri.

Krishnadeva Raya (1509-29)

1512 Raichur doab; 1514 Orissa subdued; 1520 Bijapur defeated; Amuktamalyada (Telugu); Nagalapuram after his mother

Added gopurams; hall at Virupaksha for accession.

Battle of 1565

Rakshasi-Tangadi (Talikota): Rama Raya vs Bijapur + Ahmadnagar + Golconda

City sacked and abandoned within a few years.

Titles

Gajapati = lord of elephants (Orissa); ashvapati = lord of horses (Deccan Sultans); narapati = lord of men (rayas); Hindu Suratrana = Hindu Sultan

Krishnadeva Raya: 'establisher of the Yavana kingdom'.

Amara-nayaka system

Territory from raya -> collect taxes -> maintain horses and elephants -> temples and irrigation -> annual tribute; transferable

Possibly derived from the iqta system.

Water works

Tungabhadra basin; Kamalapuram tank (early 15th c., feeds royal centre); Hiriya canal (Sangama, dam on Tungabhadra)

Arid zone: rainwater storage essential.

Fortifications

• •Seven lines (Abdur Razzaq)
• •no mortar
• •wedge-shaped blocks
• •earth and rubble inside
• •enclosed farmland
• •three main walls (outer, urban core, royal centre)

Arch and dome on gates = Indo-Islamic.

Mahanavami dibba

Base about 11,000 sq. ft, height 40 ft; carved base; wooden superstructure

Paes's 'House of Victory'.

Travellers to Vijayanagara

Nicolo de Conti	Italy, 15th c.
Abdur Razzaq	Persia, 15th c.
Afanasii Nikitin	Russia, 15th c.
Duarte Barbosa	Portugal, 16th c.
Domingo Paes	Portugal, 16th c.
Fernao Nuniz	Portugal, 16th c.

Paes compared the city with Rome.

Discovery timeline

1800	Mackenzie
1836	inscriptions collected
1856	Greenlaw photographs
1876	J.F. Fleet inscriptions
1902	Marshall conservation
1976	national importance
1986	UNESCO World Heritage

Mackenzie first Surveyor General, 1815.

Temples

Virupaksha	from 9th-10th c., Krishnadeva Raya's hall and eastern gopuram
Vitthala	Maharashtra deity, chariot shrine
Hazara Rama	royal family, Ramayana panels

Raya gopurams dwarfed central towers.

An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara (c. fourteenth to sixteenth century): map work

The places on the official CBSE map list for this chapter. Find each one on an outline map of India and practise marking it.

How the board asks An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara (c. fourteenth to sixteenth century)

The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.

Tricks to remember An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara (c. fourteenth to sixteenth century)

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

• Dynasties

  "Some Soldiers Take Arms": Sangama, Saluva, Tuluva, Aravidu.

  Use it when: Chronology MCQs.

• Krishnadeva Raya's campaigns

  12-14-20: Raichur doab 1512, Orissa 1514, Bijapur 1520.

  Use it when: Dates in short answers.

• Three lords

  Gaja = elephant (Gajapati, Orissa); Ashva = horse (Sultans); Nara = man (rayas).

  Use it when: Title MCQs.

• 1565 alliance

  "BAG": Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Golconda bagged Vijayanagara at Talikota.

  Use it when: Battle questions.

• Three zones

  Sacred north (river), royal south-west, urban core between, with farmland in the valley.

  Use it when: Plan-based questions.

An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara (c. fourteenth to sixteenth century): board-level solved questions

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.

Case-study practice (Section E style)

Read the situation, then answer every part. In the board paper this is a 4-mark question split into 1 + 1 + 2 marks.

Where the marks are

How a typical answer is split into step marks. Show every step: a right final answer alone rarely earns full marks.

Where students lose marks in An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara (c. fourteenth to sixteenth century)

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

• ✗Mistake: Getting the dynastic order wrong

  Four unfamiliar names.

  Wrong working

  Krishnadeva Raya belonged to the Sangama dynasty.

  Right working

  Krishnadeva Raya belonged to the Tuluva dynasty; the order was Sangama, Saluva, Tuluva, Aravidu.

  ✓Do this: Use 'Some Soldiers Take Arms' for Sangama, Saluva, Tuluva, Aravidu.

  Usually costs: 1 mark per MCQ.

• ✗Mistake: Blaming the 1565 defeat simply on religious hostility

  Students oversimplify.

  ✓Do this: Write that relations were not always hostile and that Rama Raya's policy of playing off the Sultans led to their alliance.

  Usually costs: 2 marks in a long answer.

• ✗Mistake: Treating names like 'Lotus Mahal' and 'elephant stables' as proof of use

  The names sound definite.

  ✓Do this: Note they were given later (often by British travellers) and their uses are uncertain.

  Usually costs: 1-2 marks.

• ✗Mistake: Confusing the Kamalapuram tank and the Hiriya canal

  Both are water works.

  ✓Do this: Kamalapuram = tank, early fifteenth century, feeds the royal centre; Hiriya = canal from a Tungabhadra dam, Sangama, irrigates the valley between sacred centre and urban core.

  Usually costs: 1 mark each.

• ✗Mistake: Marking Bidar and Bijapur in the wrong places

  Both start with B and are Deccan Sultanate cities.

  ✓Do this: Bidar is in the far north-east of Karnataka near Telangana; Bijapur is in north-western Karnataka.

  Usually costs: 1 mark per item.

NCERT exercise guide: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara (c. fourteenth to sixteenth century)

What each exercise in the NCERT chapter tests, how to approach it, and a question of the same kind solved step by step. Questions here are written in our own words.

Practice questions on An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara (c. fourteenth to sixteenth century)

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

1. Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

   Hampi derives its name from:
   (a) Virupaksha
   (b) Pampadevi
   (c) Vitthala
   (d) the Tungabhadra

   Hint

   The local mother goddess.

   Answer

   (b) Pampadevi.

2. Q2 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

   Match:
   A. Abdur Razzaq 1. Russia
   B. Afanasii Nikitin 2. Italy
   C. Nicolo de Conti 3. Persia
   D. Domingo Paes 4. Portugal
   (a) A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4
   (b) A-1, B-3, C-2, D-4
   (c) A-3, B-2, C-1, D-4
   (d) A-4, B-1, C-2, D-3

   Hint

   Ambassador of Persia; Russian merchant; Italian trader; Portuguese.

   Answer

   (a) A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4.

3. Q3 · 1 mark · MCQHarder board level

   Which statement about the Vitthala temple is correct?
   (a) Its principal deity was a form of Shiva.
   (b) Vitthala was generally worshipped in Maharashtra.
   (c) It was built only for the royal family.
   (d) Its earliest shrine dates to the ninth century.

   Hint

   An example of drawing on different traditions.

   Answer

   (b) Vitthala, a form of Vishnu, was generally worshipped in Maharashtra.

4. Q4 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level

   Assertion (A): The amara-nayaka system hastened the collapse of the central imperial structure in the seventeenth century.
   Reason (R): Many nayakas established independent kingdoms.
   Choose (a)-(d).

   Hint

   Strength that became weakness.

   Answer

   (a) Both are true and R explains A.

5. Q5 · 1 mark · Very short answerBoard level

   What were the kudirai chettis? (1 mark)

   Hint

   Horses.

   Answer

   Local communities of horse merchants who took part in the horse trade.

6. Q6 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

   Describe the construction of the fortification walls of Vijayanagara. (3 marks)

   Hint

   Mortar, blocks, core, bastions.

   Answer

   The massive masonry walls were slightly tapered and used no mortar or cementing agent; wedge-shaped stone blocks held each other in place; the inner portion was earth packed with rubble; square or rectangular bastions projected outwards. The outermost wall linked the hills, and Abdur Razzaq counted seven lines enclosing the city, farmland and forests.

7. Q7 · 2 marks · Very short answerHarder board level

   Why do scholars call the mahanavami dibba an enigma? (2 marks)

   Hint

   Space versus description.

   Answer

   Texts describe grand processions of armed men, women and many animals during Mahanavami, but the space surrounding the platform does not seem large enough for such processions, so it is unclear whether it was the centre of the ritual.

8. Q8 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

   Compare the gateway in the fortification wall with a temple gopuram. (3 marks)

   Hint

   Arch and dome versus tower.

   Answer

   The fort gateway has an arch and a dome over the gate, typical of Indo-Islamic architecture introduced by the Turkish Sultans; it regulated access to the fortified settlement. The temple gopuram is a towering royal gateway that dwarfed the shrine's tower and signalled the temple from afar. Both controlled entry and displayed power, but the gateway shows borrowing from the Sultanates while the gopuram develops south Indian temple traditions on an imperial scale.

9. Q9 · 8 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

   "Relations between the rayas and the Sultans were not always hostile." Discuss, and explain the events of 1565. (8 marks)

   Hint

   Competition, cooperation, Rama Raya.

   Answer

   Competition: on the northern frontier, Vijayanagara competed with the Deccan Sultans and Gajapatis for fertile valleys and trade; Krishnadeva Raya took the Raichur doab (1512) and defeated Bijapur (1520). Cooperation: architectural ideas were shared (Indo-Islamic arches and domes); Krishnadeva Raya supported claimants in the Sultanates and called himself 'establisher of the Yavana kingdom'; the Sultan of Bijapur helped settle Vijayanagara succession disputes after 1529; each side wanted the other to be stable; rulers used the title 'Hindu Suratrana'. 1565: shifting alignments and Rama Raya's adventurous policy of playing one Sultan against another led Bijapur, Ahmadnagar and Golconda to ally; his army was routed at Rakshasi-Tangadi (Talikota), the city was sacked and abandoned, and the Aravidu shifted to Penukonda and Chandragiri. Conclusion: political ambition, not religious difference alone, shaped relations.

10. Q10 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

    Suppose your city plans a new water reservoir by blocking a valley between two hills and piping water from a distant lake. Which Vijayanagara work does this resemble, and what does the comparison suggest? (3 marks)

    Hint

    Paes's account of Krishnadeva Raya's tank.

    Answer

    It resembles Krishnadeva Raya's tank, built at the mouth of two hills with water piped from a lake over 15 km away, which Paes saw being built by 15,000-20,000 men. The comparison suggests Vijayanagara's engineers understood catchment, storage and distribution, and that such projects in an arid zone needed large-scale organisation of labour and resources, as they do today.

11. Q11 · 3 marks · Map workHarder board level

    On an outline map of India, locate: (a) Golconda; (b) Kanchipuram; (c) Tirunelveli. (3 marks)

    Hint

    Near Hyderabad; near Chennai; far south of Tamil Nadu.

    Answer

    (a) Golconda, near Hyderabad in Telangana. (b) Kanchipuram, south-west of Chennai in northern Tamil Nadu. (c) Tirunelveli, in the far south of Tamil Nadu, near the tip of the peninsula.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1. 1.What does 'Vijayanagara' mean?Show answer

   City of victory.

2. 2.When was Colin Mackenzie appointed the first Surveyor General of India?Show answer

   In 1815; he held the post till his death in 1821.

3. 3.From when did the Portuguese appear on the west coast?Show answer

   From 1498.

4. 4.Where did the Aravidu dynasty rule from after 1565?Show answer

   From Penukonda and later Chandragiri (near Tirupati).

5. 5.What was the Hiriya canal?Show answer

   A canal drawing water from a dam across the Tungabhadra to irrigate the valley between the sacred centre and the urban core, apparently built by Sangama kings.

6. 6.What evidence suggests rich traders lived in the north-eastern urban core?Show answer

   Finds of fine Chinese porcelain.

7. 7.How were royal orders signed?Show answer

   'Shri Virupaksha', usually in the Kannada script.

8. 8.When was Hampi declared a UNESCO World Heritage site?Show answer

   In 1986.

9. 9.What is a chariot street?Show answer

   A straight, stone-paved street from a temple gopuram, lined with pillared pavilions where merchants set up shops.

Quick revision checklist

The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?

• ☐Can you list the stages of Hampi's discovery with dates?
• ☐Can you name the four dynasties in order with end dates?
• ☐Can you state three achievements of Krishnadeva Raya with years?
• ☐Can you explain why the Sultans combined in 1565?
• ☐Can you describe five features of the amara-nayaka system?
• ☐Can you explain the Kamalapuram tank and the Hiriya canal?
• ☐Can you describe the walls and why farmland was enclosed?
• ☐Can you describe the Mahanavami rituals and why the dibba is an enigma?
• ☐Can you explain why the site was chosen and how kings linked themselves to Virupaksha?
• ☐Can you describe the new features of temple architecture with the Virupaksha and Vitthala examples?

An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara (c. fourteenth to sixteenth century): frequently asked questions