UPSC CORE GEOGRAPHY · NCERT · SATISH CHANDRA VOL I CH 9-10: VIJAYANAGARA EMPIRE + BAHMANI + 5 DECCAN SULTANATES
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When + how was Vijayanagara founded?
1336 CE — by HARIHARA + BUKKA (Sangama brothers, sons of Bhavan, originally officers of the Hoysala/Kakatiya/Tughluq); per legend they had been captured by Muhammad bin Tughluq + converted to Islam, then RECONVERTED by sage VIDYARANYA (head of the Sringeri Math) + commissioned to found a Hindu kingdom. Founded "Vijayanagara" ("City of Victory") on the Tungabhadra river. Capital named after the goddess BHUVANESHVARI; spiritual centre of Vidyaranya.
Four Vijayanagara dynasties?
(i) SANGAMA (1336-1485) — Harihara I, Bukka I, Harihara II (the dynasty's peak under early kings); Devaraya II "Gajabetekara" ("hunter of elephants"). (ii) SALUVA (1485-1505) — Saluva Narasimha; brief usurper dynasty. (iii) TULUVA (1505-1570) — Krishnadevaraya peak (1509-29); GREATEST Vijayanagara age. (iv) ARAVIDU (1570-1646) — post-Talikota; retreated to Penukonda + Chandragiri; declining feudal power.
Bhavan, Vidyaranya, Madhvacharya — origin myth?
Per the JAIMINI BHARATA + Madhva Vijaya tradition: BHAVANA (Sangama, the founder of dynasty) was an officer at the court of the Hoysala or Kampili kingdoms; captured by Muhammad bin Tughluq during the Tughluq Deccan campaigns; converted to Islam; sent back to govern the area. Vidyaranya (later head of Sringeri Math; original name Madhava Vidyaranya) reconverted Harihara + Bukka to Hinduism; helped them found Vijayanagara as a Hindu BULWARK against Islamic expansion.
Vijayanagara at peak — extent?
Under KRISHNADEVARAYA (1509-29) — empire stretched from KRISHNA river (north) to KANYAKUMARI (south), Goa (west) to Vizag (east). Included most of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, parts of Maharashtra + Kerala. THE LARGEST + LONGEST-LASTING Hindu empire of medieval India — ruled for 310 years.
Krishnadevaraya — main wars?
(i) DEFEATED Bijapur Sultanate at the BATTLE OF RAICHUR (1520) — recovered the strategic RAICHUR DOAB (between Krishna + Tungabhadra); marked the PEAK of Vijayanagara military power; (ii) DEFEATED ODISHA's Gajapati king PRATAPARUDRA (1518) — peace sealed by marrying Prataparudra's daughter; (iii) COUNTERED the Bahmani-successor sultanates (Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Golconda) during the 1510s. Maintained alliance with PORTUGUESE (esp. Albuquerque) for ARABIAN HORSE imports — the Portuguese-controlled Goa was Vijayanagara's lifeline for cavalry.
Krishnadevaraya as scholar + author?
Wrote AMUKTAMALYADA in TELUGU (panegyric on the Tamil saint ANDAL); also Sanskrit poems + USHA-PARINAYAM. Patronised the EIGHT TELUGU POETS ("Ashtadiggajas") at his court including ALLASANI PEDDANA (the "Andhra Kavi-pitamaha" / grandfather of Telugu poetry); TENALI RAMA (jester poet, hero of folk tales); NANDI THIMMANA. His era is the GOLDEN AGE of Telugu literature.
Foreign visitors who described Krishnadevaraya's court?
PORTUGUESE travellers wrote spectacular accounts: (i) DOMINGO PAES (~1520-22) — described Vijayanagara as larger than Rome; mentioned 100,000+ houses; markets full of jewels (rubies, diamonds, pearls); royal stables with 1000s of horses + elephants. (ii) FERNAO NUNIZ (~1535-37) — wrote a HISTORY of Vijayanagara; described the great MAHANAVAMI festival (9-day Dasara + military reviews + wrestling). (iii) Earlier — ABDUR RAZZAQ (Persian envoy 1443) had said: "the city is such that the eye has not seen nor ear heard of any place resembling it on earth."
Krishnadevaraya's administration?
(i) Empire divided into PROVINCES (rajyas) under prince/general governors; further into NADU (districts) + STHAL (tahsils) + VILLAGES. (ii) Revenue 1/6 of produce; tax-free DEVADANA + BRAHMADEYA grants on a scale unmatched. (iii) Maintained huge ARMY (forwarded by Portuguese horse imports + Hindu fighters); used both Hindu + MUSLIM officers (Krishnadevaraya was famously TOLERANT). (iv) Spent enormously on TEMPLES (Hampi temple boom — Vitthala, Hazara Rama, Virupaksha) + IRRIGATION + roads.
Hampi's most famous monuments?
(i) VIRUPAKSHA TEMPLE — predates Vijayanagara, dates to 7-8 c. CE Pallava era; consecrated to Shiva-Pampapati; has the unique INVERTED IMAGE in the small dark inner sanctum. (ii) VITTHALA TEMPLE — most spectacular; STONE CHARIOT + 56 MUSICAL PILLARS (each emits a different musical note when struck); built ~1500 CE under Krishnadevaraya. (iii) HAZARA RAMA TEMPLE — for the royal family's private worship; Ramayana frieze reliefs around outer walls. (iv) KRISHNA TEMPLE (with Krishnadevaraya's namesake; built after his Odisha campaign). (v) LOTUS MAHAL + ELEPHANT STABLES — Indo-Islamic synthesis architecture.
Hampi's town planning?
Spread across ~26 sq km on the south bank of the TUNGABHADRA river; surrounded by 7 lines of defensive walls + the river + boulder hills (natural fortification). Three main areas: (i) ROYAL CENTRE (palaces + Lotus Mahal + Mahanavami Dibba); (ii) SACRED CENTRE (along the river — Virupaksha + Vitthala temples); (iii) SUBURBAN BAZAARS (Hampi Bazaar in front of Virupaksha; Pan Supari Bazaar; Sule Bazaar — courtesans' market). Population estimates ~500,000 at peak (matching contemporary Beijing, Cairo).
How was Hampi destroyed?
After the BATTLE OF TALIKOTA (23 January 1565), the victorious DECCAN SULTANATE confederacy (Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Golconda, Bidar) invaded the unprotected city. SACKED for SIX MONTHS — palaces burnt, temple sculptures defaced (still visible today), gold + jewels looted. The city was SO COMPREHENSIVELY DESTROYED that it never recovered as a settled town; only ruins remained. UNESCO World Heritage Site 1986.
HAMPI — UNESCO + scale?
HAMPI (Karnataka) — capital of VIJAYANAGARA Empire (1336-1565). UNESCO World Heritage Site 1986. Spans 26 sq km — among LARGEST archaeological sites in India. ~1,600 surviving monuments — temples, palaces, market-streets, royal enclosure, watchtowers, granaries. Built around boulder-strewn LANDSCAPE on banks of TUNGABHADRA river — both spiritual (Pampakshetra of Hindu mythology) + strategic.
This topic is part of the NCERT UPSC Core History syllabus, drawn from the chapter Satish Chandra Vol I Ch 9-10: Vijayanagara empire + Bahmani + 5 Deccan Sultanates. Content is cross-referenced against the latest NCERT textbook editions + standard reference works.
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