Vijayanagara Empire
Vijayanagara Empire | Vijayanagar_territories.png |
Vijayanagar Empire during Deva Raya II (1446 CE.) and Krishnadevaraya (1520 CE.), |
| Official languages | Kannada
Telugu |
| Capitals | Early Capital: Anegondi, Regal Capital: Vijayanagara |
| Government | Monarchy |
| Preceding states | Hoysala, Kakatiya, Pandya |
| Succeeding states | Mysore Kingdom, Vijayanagar Empire in Penugonda,Keladi Nayakas of Shimoga, Nayaks of Madurai, Nayakas of Chitradurga, Nayaks of Tanjore, Nayaks of Gingee. |
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The
Vijayanagara empire(Kannada - ವಿಜಯನಗರ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯ),(Telugu - విజయనగర సామ్రాజ్యము) was based in the
Deccan, in peninsular and
southern India, from
1336 onwards. It was founded by
Harihara, also known as Hakka, and his brother
Bukka Raya. It is named after its capital city
Vijayanagara, whose impressive ruins surround
Hampi in modern
Karnataka,
India. It lasted from about 1336 to perhaps about 1660, though throughout its last century it was in a slow decline due to a massive and catastrophic defeat at the hands of an alliance of the sultanates, and the capital was taken and brutally razed and looted. Its foundation, and even great part of its history, is obscure; but its power and wealth are attested by more than one European traveller, such as the Portuguese travelers Domingo Paes and Nuniz, and the Venetian
Niccolò Da Conti.
The founding of the original kingdom was based on the principality of
Anegondi, based on a fortified town on the
Tungabhadra river in the Deccan. In the century preceding the founding of the empire, the old kingdoms of the Deccan had been overrun by
Muslim invaders from the north. From 1309,
Malik Kafur reached and captured
Warangal, later on reaching the
Malabar kingdoms. Mubarak of
Delhi reached Warangal again in 1323. Between 1334 and 1336,
Muhammad Tughlaq of Delhi again overran the region, capturing Anegondi.
Many theories have been propounded about the
origin of Vijayanagar empire. Well known historians from
Archeological Survey of India hold their own opinions about the origin of the empire. Prof. K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, Dr. N. Ventakaramanayya and B. Surya Narayana Rao claim a Telugu origin of Harihara and Bukka Raya. The Telugu origin theory is based on works by
Robert Sewell (1901) and records written by Muslim writers of those times. Historians such as
Dr. P.B. Desai,
Fr. Henry Heras, Prof.
Dr. B.A. Saletore, G.S. Gai, Prof. William Coelho, Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat attest to the empire's
Kannada origin. The Kannada origin theory is based on
epigraphy (study of inscriptions, numismatics etc.) and Kannada literary works of Vijayanagar times like
Kumara Rama charita,
Chikkadevaraya Vamshavali and
Keladinripa Vijayam.
To sum up, unless new evidence is discovered the exact origin and ancestry of Vijayanagar founders will remain a controversial matter.
In the following two centuries, the Vijayanagar empire dominated all of southern India, and was probably stronger than any other power in the
subcontinent. The empire during that period served as a bulwark against invasion from the Turkic
Sultanates of the
Indo-Gangetic Plain; and remained in constant competition and conflict with the five
Deccan Sultanates that established themselves in the Deccan to the north of it. It remained a land power.
In about 1510,
Goa, which had been under the rule of the Sultan of Bijapur, was captured by the Portuguese, possibly with the approval or connivance of Vijayanagara. Commerce between the Portuguese and Vijayanagara became very important to both sides.
The empire is generally considered to have reached its peak during the rule of
Krishna Deva Raya. He conquered or subjugated territories on the east of the Deccan that belonged previously to
Orissa. Many of the great monuments of the empire date from his time. Among these are the Hazara Rama temple, the Krishna temple and the Ugra Narasimha idol, all at Vijayanagara.
Krishna Deva Raya was followed by
Achyuta Raya in 1530. In 1542, Achyuta was succeeded by Sada Siva Raya. But the real power lay with Rama (of the third dynasty, who followed him), who seems to have made a point of unnecessarily provoking the Deccan sultanates, so that eventually they allied against him. In 1565, at the
Battle of Talikota, the army of Vijayanagara was routed by an alliance of the Deccan sultanates who attacked and plundered Hampi reducing it to ruins as it stands today. Rama Raya was brutally killed and his head annually covered with oil and red pigment was exhibited in
Ahmednagar till 1829. With this, the last significant Hindu state in the Deccan came to an end. Tirumala Raya, the sole survivor left Vijayanagar with treasure on back of 550 elephants to Penukonda.Please refer to Robert Sewell's excellent research on Vijayanagar[
1]
Vijayanagara is considered by many today, especially in the states of
Karnataka and
Andhra Pradesh, to have been a golden age of culture and learning.
The
Haridasa movement presented, like the
Virashaiva movement, another strong current of
Bhakthi, pervading the lives of millions.Thus the Haridasas presented two groups "
Vyasakuta and
Dasakuta. The former were required to be proficient in the
Vedas,
Upanishads and other
Darshanas, while the
Dasakuta merely conveyed the message of Madhwacharya through
Kannada language to the people.The philosophy of
Madhwacharya of
Udupi was preserved and perpetuated by his eminent disciples like
Vyasatirtha,
Naraharitirtha, Padmanabha Tirtha, Akshobhya Tirtha,
Jayatirtha,
Sripadaraya,
Vadirajatirtha and others. In the fifteenth century, the haridasa movement took shape under Sripadaraya of Mulbagal; but his disciple Vyasatirtha provided it a strong organizational base. He was intimately associated with the Vijayanagar Empire, where he became a great moral and spiritual force. His eminent disciples were Sri
Vadirajatirtha,
Purandaradasa and
Kanakadasa.
Vyasathirtha was the guru of
Krishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara empire. Even after the fall of the empire and the migration of affaris to Penugonda in present day Andhra Pradesh, the saints of the Udupi continued to be revearedas Rajgurus to a new dynasty of kings.Together,
Vyasatirtha,
Sripadaraya and
Vadirajatirtha are called the
yathi trayaru or the holy Trinity.
KannadaKannada literature took a strong Hindu bend with the orthodox Vijayanagara kings. Some eminent names were
Kumara Vyasa, Narahari, BhimaKavi, Padmanaka, Mallanarya, Singiraja and Chamarasa.Kumar Vyasa wrote
Gadugina Bharata. This was later completed by Timmanna Kavi who was patronised by king
Krishnadevaraya, Narahari wrote
Torave Ramayana. Other important works were
Bhagavatha by Vittalanatha,
Nala Charite,
Haribhakthisara,
Mohana Tarangini and
Ramadhanya Charitre by the saint
Kanakadasa,
Dasa Sahithya and
Keerthanas by
Purandaradasa and
Kanakadasa,
Bharatesha Vaibhava and
Triloka Sataka,
Maggeya Mayideva, and
Someswara Sataka of Ratnakarvarni,
Prabhulinga Leele of Chamarasa and
Kumara Rama Charita of Nanjunda, Kereya Padmarasa's
Padmaraja Purana, Lakkana Dandesa patronised by Devaraya II wote
Shivatatwa Chintamani, BhimaKavi's
Basavapurana, Mallanarya's
Veerasaivamrita, Mangaraja wrote
Khagendra-Mani-Darpana, a work on poisons and antidotes. Kanakadasa's
Ramadhanya Charitre is considered a unique work on class struggle.
Keladinripavijayam was by Linganna.
Krishnadevarayana Dinachari is a recent discovery. Other well known poets of that time were Chatu Vithalanatha, Madhura and Salva. The Vijayanagar period continued the ancient tradition of Kannada literature.
SanskritSanskrit literature was given patronage by the Vijayanagar kings. Some important works from this period were Sayana's
Vedartha Prakasha,
Yajnatantra Sudhanidhi,
Prayaschitra Sudhanidhi,
Alankara Sudhanidhi,
Yajnatantra Sudhanidhi and
Purushartha Sudhanidhi, Madhva
Vidyaranya, the spiritual force behind the founding empire wrote
Parasara " Madhaviya, Devanna Bhatta wrote
Smriti Chandrika, Gangadevi, a poetess wrote ,
Madhura Vijayam, Tirumalamba Devi also a poetess wrote
Varadambika Parinayam,
Mahanataka Sudhanidhi by king Devaraya I,
Ramabhyudayam was written by king Saluva Narasimha, Rajanatha Dindima wrote
Saluvabhyudayam, Rajanatha Dindima II wrote
Achyutabhyudayam, Vedanta Desika wrote
Shankara Vijayam, Gunda Dindima and Gangambika were poets during this time.
Krishnadevaraya himself an accomplished scholar wrote
Madalasa Charita,
Satyavadu Parinaya and
Rasamanjari and
Jambavati Kalyana.
TeluguThe Vijayanagar period was the golden age of Telugu literature. Srinatha who was patronised by the Kondavidu Reddy Kings and Sangama brothers wrote
Kashikhandam,
Shringara Naishadham,
Palanati Veeracharitra etc. Mallayya and Singayya wrote
Varahapuranamu while Vishvanatha Nayani wrote
Rayavachakamu. Nachanna Soma was patronised by Bukkaraya I.
During the reign of
Krishnadevaraya Telugu culture and literature flourished and reached their heyday. The great emperor was himself a celebrated poet having composed
Amuktamalyada. In his court, eight Telugu poets were regarded as the eight pillars of the literary assembly. These poets were: Allasani Peddana, Nandi Thimmana, Madayyagari Mallana, Dhurjati, Ayyalaraju Ramambhadrudu, Pingali Surana, Ramarajabhushanudu, and Tenali Ramakrishna. In the olden days, it was believed that eight elephants were holding the earth in eight different directions. The title
Ashtadiggajas celebrates this belief and hence the court was also called Bhuvana Vijayam (Conquest of the World). Some of the works of these poets include
Parijathapaharanamu by Timmanna,
Krishnaraja Vijayamu by Dhurjati,
Manucharitamu by Peddana etc.
TamilKrishnadevara also patronised Tamil poets such as Haridasa, Arunagirinatha, Svarupananda Deshika, Tattuvaraya, Pugalendi, Jnanprakashar, Andari, Kacchiyappa Shivacharya and Ilanjuriyar.
The architecture of Vijayanagar Empire is considered by many historians as a vibrantcombination of
Chalukya,
Hoysala and
Dravida styles. The hallmark of their architecture was the ornate pillared
Kalyana Mantapa. While their monuments are spread over the whole of Southern India, nothing surpasses the vast open air museum of monumnets at their regal capital at Hampi. Up to about 1450AD, the kings continued to build
Vesara or deccan style monuments but later also incorporated more dravidastyle gopurams to meet their ritualistic needs. At Hampi, though the
Vittala temple is the epitome of their pillared
Kalyanamantapa style, the
Hazara Ramaswamy temple is a more modest but perfectly finished example of this style.Vijayanagar temples of Bhatkal, and other towns of coastal Karnataka, Kanakagiri, Sringeri in interior Karnataka, Tadapatri and Lepakshi in AndhraPradesh, Velluru, Kumbhakonam, Kanchi and Srirangam in Tamil Nadu are also great examples of their style.Some structures in Hampi also exhibit secular architecture with mixing of Hindu and Islamic styles.
The Empire minted coins with Nagari, Kannada and Telugu legends, usuallygiving the name of the ruler.The empire had its mints in Hampi, Penugonda and Tirupathi. Gold, silver and copper wereused to make coins.
Gadyana,
Varaha,
Pon,
Pagoda,
Pratapa,
Pana,
Kasu and
Jital were the various coins issued in the Vijayanagar periodThe most beautiful Vijayanagar coins were those with the images of various gods and goddesses and animals and birds. The earliest coins feature Hanuman and the Garuda (divine eagle), the mount of Lord Vishnu. The Vijayanagar rulers also issued gold coins featuring divine couples. Venkatapatiraya III, one of the last Vijayanagar rulers, minted coins showing Vishnu with Sridevi and Bhudevi. Krishnadevaraya issued many coins featuring Balakrishna. He issued these coins after he built a Krishna Temple at Hampi and installed in it an image of Krishna that he had brought from Udayagiri after conquering it from the Gajapati ruler of Orissa. On these coins, the playful Krishna is seen seated. Lord Venkateshwara, the presiding deity of the temple at Tirumala (Tirupati), also figures on Vijayanagar coins. A rare copper coin of the Vijayanagar ruler Sriranga I shows a standing figure of the emperor with a sword in his hand. Another rare copper coin issued by Sadasivaraya shows a fully caparisoned galloping horse. The elephant and the bull too appear on many Vijayanagar coins. A link included below depicts coins issued by each Vijayanagar ruler.
While the empire still continued to have some power, and commanded respect, it went into a considerable decline. The rulers of this period are difficult to place clearly. It is known however that they continued to trade with the Portuguese, and that they gave the British the land grant that enabled the establishment of
Madras.The Telugu work
Vasucharitamu refers to Tirumala, the first of the Aravidu line of rulers as the
reviver of the Karnata Empire. He is said to have crowned himself as king in 1570 A.D. at Penugonda (
Telugu Inscriptions from Vijayanagar Empire, ASI)
This list is based on the book by Robert Sewell (A Forgotten Empire).
Sangama Dynasty*
Harihara I (Deva Raya) 1336-1343
*
Bukka I 1343-1379
*
Harihara II 1379-1399
*
Bukka II 1399-1406
*
Deva Raya I 1406-1412
*
Vira Vijaya 1412-1419
*
Deva Raya II 1419-1444
*(unknown) 1444-1449
*
Mallikarjuna 1452-1465 (Dates uncertain)
*Rajasekhara 1468-1469 (Dates uncertain)
*
Virupaksha I 1470-1471 (Dates uncertain)
*Praudha Deva Raya 1476-? (Dates uncertain)
*Rajasekhara 1479-1480 (Dates uncertain)
*Virupaksha II 1483-1484 (Dates uncertain)
*Rajasekhara 1486-1487 (Dates uncertain)
Saluva Dynasty*Narasimha 1487-1491
*Narasa Nayaka(for Narasimha II)-1491-1503
*Vira Narasimha 1503-1509
*
Krishna Deva 1509-1530
*
Achyuta Deva Raya 1530-1542
*Sadasiva (in name only) 1542-1567
Tuluva dynasty*Rama (ruled in practice) 1542-1565
*Tirumala (ruled in practice) 1565-1567
*Tirumala (crowned ruler) 1567-1575
*Ranga II 1575-1586
*Venkata I 1586-1614
Aravidu (dates uncertain, this information is based only on inscriptions), includes rulers by the names below. There is certainly more than one ruler under each name. The period extends from 1614 onward, till the last known reference in 1739.
*Ranga
*Venkata
*Rama
The last known inscription referring to a monarch of his line is from 1793.
Nayakas,the other offshoots of Vijaynagar empire was the Nayakas in
Karnataka and
TamilNadu,who made a major impact in the later political scenes, among them the
Madurai Nayaks ruled till 1734. The kingdom of Mysore lasted until Indian independence in 1947, although during the later part of their rule, from 1799 CE. onwards they came under the British Raj.
*
Keladi Nayakas of
Shimoga*
Nayakas of Chitradurga*
Mysore Kingdom*
Nayaks of Madurai*
Nayaks of Tanjore*
Nayakls of GingeeInscriptions
Kannada and Telugu inscriptions deciphered and recorded by historians of
Archeological Survey of India - South Indian Inscriptions (vol 9, 15,16, 17 & 18)* Dr. Suryanath U. Kamat, Concise history of Karnataka, MCC, Bangalore, 2001 (Reprinted 2002)
* Prof K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, History of South India, 1955, OUP, New Delhi (Reprinted 2002)
*
haridasas of Vijayanagar Empire
*
Origin of Vijayanagar empireThe heroics and achievements of the empire have been brought out in modern films on multiple ocassions.
*
Vijayanagarada Viraputra about the life of Harihara I (Kannada)
*
Sri KrishnaDeva Raya (Kannada and Telugu)
*
Kumara Rama, prince of Kummatadurga, Bellary district, also known as Kampili kingdom (Kannada)
*
Vijayanagar coins, Govt. museum, Chennai*
Coins of Vijayanagar Empire*
Vijayanagar Coinage*
History of Karnataka - Mr. Arthikaje*
Indian Inscriptions - Archeological Survery Of India* Cited and adapted from public domain source, [
2]
*
A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar: A Contribution to the History of India* http://freeindia.org/biographies/greatlkings/hakkabukka/index.htm (Biography of Hakka and Bukka.)
*
Vijayanagar Empire, Dr. Jyotsna Kamat*
Hampi - History and Tourism*
Haridasas of Karnataka A complete list
*
The Vijayanagar Empire - Vikram.G.Aarella
