VIJAYANAGARA EMPIRE

VIJAYANAGARA EMPIRE

Vijayanagara Empire (vijayanagara empire) (ವಿಜಯನಗರ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯ) is often portrayed as a metaphor for the coming together of Hindu elements against the the Islamic invasion. This binary division and the consequent attitudinal issues have dimmed the prospects of a more objective assessment of the complex phenomenon. This empire which thrived for a little more than three centuries was not monolithic in the sense that it was not ruled by a single dynasty. In reality it was a continuum that consisted of four dynasties namely sangama dynasty, sALuva vamsha, tuLuva vamsha and aravIDu vamsha in that order. (Vamsha= dynasty) The contribution of this Empire to the religion, literature, fine arts, architecture and sculpture of Karnataka are immense. There is no dearth of information about this Empire because inscriptions, travel accounts penned by visitors from abroad, literary texts and material that can be gleaned from oral and non-verbal sources have gushed about the glory that was Vijayanagara.

The founding of the Empire is attributed to brothers Hakka and Bukka guided and inspired by the scholar-saint Vidyaranya. There are variant schools of thought about the origin of Sangama vamsha. Some scholars have argued that they belonged to the Orangal region of Andhrapradesh and that they were Telugu people. Another argument is that they had affinities with the Hoysala dynasty and that they belonged to Kannada speaking communities. They are of the opinion that Hakka and Bukka were in a way successors of Kumararama because they continued to oppose the invasive forces from the North. Some ancestors of Hakka might have worked under the Hoysala kings. Some of the important kings who ruled over the Vijayanagara kingdom are as follows:

a. sangama dynasty:

1. harihara-1(hakka) 1336-56 A.D.

2. bukka-1 1356-77 A.D.

3. harihara-2 1377-1404 A.D.

4. dEvarAya 1406-22 A.D.

5. dEvarAya-2 (prouDhadEvarAya) 1424-1446 A.D.

6. mallikArjuna (dEvarAya-3) 1446-1465 A.D.

7. virUpAksha-3 1465-1485 A.D.

b. sALuva dynasty:

1. sALuva narasimhadEvarAya 1485-1491 A.D.

2. narasimha rAya-2 1491-1505 A.D.

c. tuLuva dynasty:

1. vIra narasimha rAya 1505-1509 A.D.

2. krishNadEvarAya 1509-1529 A.D.

3. acyutadEva rAya 1529-1542 A.D.

4. sadAshiva rAya 1542-1570 A.D.

d. aravIDu dynasty:

1. (aLiya rAmarAya) (Royal Guardian, in virtual control) 1542-65 A.D.

2. tirumala ( Ruled from penugonda) 1570-1572 A.D.

3. shrIranga-1 1572-1586 A.D.

4. venkaTapati-2(ruled from candragiri) 1586-1614 A.D.

5. rAmadEvarAya 1617-1632 A.D.

6. venkaTapati-3 (ruled from Vellore) 1632-1642 A.D.

7. cinnavenkaTa shrIranga-3 1642-1646 A.D.

It is to be noted that these names do not indicate direct succession from father to son and that there are many gaps of very short durations.

It is not possible to document the political and martial endeavors of all these kings in detail. This brief survey is confined to some very important monarchs. They are harihara, bukka-1, prouDhadEvarAya, and krishNadEvarAya and aLiya rAmarAya. The aravIDu dynasty which came to power after the dissolution of the empire ruled from minor towns and did not really became a powerful entity.

Hariharadeva (hakka), the founder of the kingdom was under the aegis of the Hoysala kings till 1342 A.D. and after that he declared his independence and concentrated on expanding the kingdom and taking benevolent administrative measures. He ruled from dOrasamudra and his brothers were in charge of regions in and around muLabAgilu, udayagiri (Nellore) and Chandragiri in the malenADu region. Most of the minor kingdom accepted his sovereignty with the exception of the Bahmani Kingdom and the Sultans of Madurai.

Bukkaraja consolidated the kingdom established by his brother. He defeated the chieftains of Arcot, (shambhuvarAya) sultans of Madurai and the reddy dynasty of konDavIDu. However, he had a running feud with Mohammed the Bahmani sultan out of which neither emerged totally victorious. Certain parts of Goa and the Doab region near raicUr were also conquered by BukkarAja. The capital was shifted from dOrasamudra to Anegondi and then on to Vijayanagara (Hampi) during the regime of this king. His rule was deemed to be quite catholic as exemplified many inscriptions. (bukkarAjana shravaNabeLagoLada shAsana) He had diplomatic relationships with China and Srilanka. His son kampaNa played a decisive role in warfare and the affairs of the state till his death. It is to be noted that the expansionist activities of the empire had little to do with religious affinities. As Dr K.G. Vasanthamadhava puts it, “Those who bore the brunt of of Vijayanagara military power were mostly the Hindu rulers and not Muslims. The Muslim contingents in the Vijayanagara armies were responsible for at least part of the great early success of the Vijayanagara rulers against the Hindu houses which they toppled. This is historical irony.” (Avalokana, 1983)

prouDhadEvarAya also known as immaDi dEvarAya and pratApadEva rAya is next important monarch of the kingdom. He is known less for his military exploits and more renowned for his other achievements. He suffered few setbacks and expanded the kingdom up to the banks of the Krishna River in the North. The splendor of Vijayanagara during these days was recorded by many visitors from abroad such as Nicolo Conti and Abdul Rajak. These accounts describe the forts and bazaras of Vijayanagara. He is said to have supported the Veerashaiva religion. He was himself a writer of some repute. His royal court had the famous Telugu poet Srinatha as also the Kannada poets lakkaNa daNdanAtha and jakkaNa.

Both the kings belonging to the sALuva dynasty ruled for very short intervals and sALuva narasimha did try to bring about internal peace and stability.

Krishnadevaraya the tuLuva monarch who ruled for twenty years is one of the most renowned monarchs of Karnataka as well as India. He exhibited a combination of military ability and diplomatic tact and ushered in an era of great wealth and artistic achievement. The glory of the Empire during his regime is documented by Domingo Paes and Barbossa, travelers from Portugal who visited Karnataka during his rule. For further details about this king Krishnadevaraya please see the separate entry about him.

aLiya rAmarAya who presided over the dissolution of the Empire was not the Emperor at any point of time in a technical sense. However, he was the de facto Emperor for more than two decades either in his capacity as the royal guardian or by keeping the de-juro Emperor imprisoned. His period was totally occupied with never ending battles with one or the other Sultans of the Bahmani and Adilshahi kingdoms. He adopted the policy of dividing the five sultans and pitting them against one another. Of course, this policy boomeranged on him when all the five sultans came together and attacked him. A decisive battle ensued in 1565 A.D. in the region between the villages of rakkasagi and tangaDagi on the banks of the river Krishna. The Vijayanagara army was vanquished and the victorious armies marched on to the capital. Aliya Ramaraja and his trusted lieutenants perished during the battle. There are varying accounts about the nature and extent of the plunder and pillage that took place in Vijayanagara. However, the fact that most of the city including the temples and palaces was destroyed cannot be disputed. Some historians have attributed the destruction of some temples to the disgruntled local elements. The interpretation of the Vijayanagara Empire as a rallying point of Hinduism against the might of Muslim invaders is read as unduly bi-polar by many modern historians.

The attempts of the aravIDu dynasty to resurrect the glories of Vijayanagara met with little success even though they did rule for almost hundred years from small towns and commanded ineffectual armies.

Vijayanagara Empire was a monarchy and obviously the kings had absolute powers. However it was tempered to an extent by time honoured traditions and religious pressure. The kingdom was divided into divisions such as rAjya, manDala and nADu. tuLu rAjya, penugonDe rAjya, tuLu rAjya and muLuvAyi rAjya are some illustrations. These rAjyas had their own regional capitals. The commanders of these states were either related to the king or well trusted by them. They had revenue powers, judicial powers and the power to levy taxes. The small kingdoms acquired by the Empire usually continued to enjoy feudatory status and they were obliged to render military assistance and monetary support to the monarch.

Local administration was by and large left to the grAmasabhAs and professional guilds. There was hardly any interference by the powers above. They controlled the religious, caste-oriented and societal aspects of the life style.

It was mandatory for the Empire to have access to huge funds because of constant warfare and consequent military expenditure. Naturally, agriculture, trade and commerce were encouraged and the profits were heavily taxed. Artisan classes flourished well and they had their own guilds. Even routine events such as having a haircut and rare events such as weddings were taxed. (nAvidavAri) and people were hard pressed to meet these demands. Brahmins held dominant positions in state affairs and religious institutions. Such powers were often used injudiciously.

Inscriptions installed during this period far outnumber the inscriptions of any other period. About 9000 inscriptions in Kannada, Sanskrit, Telugu, and Tamil are found in different regions of the Empire. Usually, they are carved on granite and are not particularly known for the aesthetic quality of the script. Many of them do not exhibit a literary flair either. They are matter of fact and record grants of lands and other bounty to religious institutions and ‘deserving’ individuals. Many inscriptions have retained the regional features of Kannada language and could help diachronic studies of Kannada dialects. Copper plate inscriptions are usually in Sanskrit and they make use of ‘nandinAgari’ script. Some inscriptions by bukkarAja, prouDhadEvarAya and krishnadEvarAya are known for their religious tolerance and tact.

Numismatics during this regime was crucial because of the importance given to trade and commerce. Payment by money became more common. Almost all the kings starting from Harihara-1 to ShrIranga have issued their own coins. They make use of Kannada, Telugu and Sanskrit languages and relevant scripts. The name of the king occasionally with titles, an icon of a God and specific designs form integral parts of these coins. Coins were usually made of gold. However, silver and copper coins were also minted. varaha (pon, pagODa, gadyANa), paNa and hAga were gold coins. tAra was made of silver. paNa, cital and kAsu were made of copper. Coins minted by Krishnadevaraya to commemorate the kanakABiSEka of Lord Venkateshvara of Tirupati and the coins printed by Achyutadevaraya with the mythical bird ganDaBErunDa deserve special mention.

The contribution of this Empire to the architecture and sculpture of India are immense. The ruins at Hampi have drawn universal attention and praise. The temples of viRUpAksha, vijaya vittala and hajAra rAma and non religious relics that are found and being excavated continuously are repositories of great works of art. These are dealt with in separate entries. (Hampi, Architecture and Sculpture of Vijayanagara) The murals on the walls of the VirUpAksha temple bear witness to the encouragement given to painting during this period. (Mural paintings of Karnataka). Many murals and paintings in Anegondi, lEpAkshi, tanjAvOru and candragiri were commissioned by the kings of Vijayanagara. Foreign travelers have described the paintings present in the palaces of Krishnadevaraya.

The domains that came under the Vijayanagara Empire were multilingual and it is but natural that the Empire encouraged writers in Kannada, Telugu, Sanskrit and other languages. Some of the kings such as krishnadevaraya and prouDhadEvarAya were writers on their own right and almost all of them had an inclination and resources to patronise literature. Madura, VrittavilAs, BAskara, bommarasa, pAlkurike sOmanAtha, virUpAksha paNdita, lakkaNa danDEsha, purandaradAsa, kanakadAsa, kumAravyAsa, cATu viTTalanAtha, gubbi mallaNArya, cAmarasa and ratnAkaravarNi were either patronized by the royal courts or wrote elsewhere but during the rule of the Empire. Some well known Kannada works such as ‘basavapurANa’ were translated in to Telugu and many vice versa because of the bilingual nature of the Empire.

sAyaNa, vidyAraNya, gangAdEvi (the author of ‘madurAvijaya’ a historical epic.) and vAdirAja are important among the writers who have contributed original works and commentaries in Sanskrit.

Fine arts like music and dance were practiced diligently and many texts on musicology were written by scholars such as Vidyaranya, Kallinaatha and Venkatamukhi. Purandaradasa is recognized as the founding father of ‘Karnataka Sangiita’. Compositions by him and Kanakadasa are set to music. Nijaguna Shivayogi writes extensively on music in ‘vivEkacintAmaNi’, an encyclopaediac work written by him. There are tangible evidence for the popularity of classical dance in temple sculpture and the travel accounts written by foreigners.

All in all, the Vijayanagara Empire constitutes an extremely important chapter in the political and cultural histories of Karnataka.