The Vijayanagar and the Bahmani Kingdoms

Krishnadeva Raya was one of the most famous rulers of Vijayanagar Empire. He was born in 1471 at Hampi, Karnataka. He belonged to Tuluva Dynasty and ruled from 1509 A.D. to 1529 A.D. He was a brave general and skilled warrior.Under his reign, Vijayanagar emerged as the strongest military power in the south. Following are his contributions in establishing a strong empire:

1. As the third ruler of the Tuluva Dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire, he extended the empire to most of South India, which included present-day Karnataka, northern Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, stretching upwards in the northeast to Cuttack.
2. He played a major role in defeating the Bahmani Sultans and Portuguese, forcing them to retreat their plans of expanding their empire beyond their boundaries.
3. He conquered Bahmani’s fortresses of Bidar, Gulbarga, Raichur and Bijapur.
4. He led a major campaign against the Gajpatis of Odisha and captured the fortresses of Udayagiri, Kondavalli and Kondavidu.
5. By virtue of his victories, he ruled the three most powerful territories in the southern peninsula of India and established a strong empire.

The battle of Talikota was fought between the Vijayanagar forces and alliance of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar and Golconda. The main reasons behind the conflict were:

1. To take control of fertile Raichur Doab because of its wealth and economic resources.
2. To have access to Godavari basin which has numerous ports through which trade was carried out with foreign countries.
3. To control fertile konkan coast.

As a result of Battle of Talikota, city of Vijayanagar was completely destroyed and its king Rama Ray was captured and executed. Although the Vijayanagar Empire continued for almost 100 years after this battle, it no longer enjoyed its earlier power and position.

The Vijayanagar Empire was enriched by flourishing trade. Foreign goods like Arabian horses, Chinese silk and Sri Lankan elephants were sold in the markets. Spices, sugar, sandalwood, cotton cloth, etc. were the main exporting items. People had good trade relations with the portuguese in Goa and the Arabs. There were many industries like textile, mining and metallurgy. The markets of Vijayanagar were stocked with rice, wheat, grams, pulses, corn, etc. which were cheaply and abundantly available. There was abundance of rubies, diamonds, emeralds, pearls and clothes in the markets.

The Bahmani kingdom was founded by Alauddin Hasan, an Afghan officer of Muhammad bin Tughlaq. After his coronation, he took the title of Alauddin Hasan Bahman Shah and it is from this title the Bahmani kingdom got its name.

The Bahmani kingdom reached the height of its glory during the Prime Ministership of Mahmud Gawan. Since the Monarch Muhammad Shah III was too young to rule, the entire burden of administration fell on Muhammad Gawan. He tried to unite the Deccani and Pardesi nobles who consantly fought with each other. He introduced a number of reforms like reduction of power of the Tarafdars, fixation of their salaries, reorganisation of finances of the state and the army. As a result of all these reforms, the central government became strong. It helped him in establishing a strong Empire.

The three reasons for the conflict between Vijayanagar and Bahmani kingdoms were:

1. Both the kingdoms wanted to control the fertile Raichur doab (the region between Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers) because of its wealth and economic resources.
2. Both the kingdoms wanted access to the Godavari basin which had numerous ports through which trade was carried out with foreign countries.
3. Both the kingdoms wanted to control the diamond mines of Golconda.

The king was the supreme authority in the Vijayanagar Empire and was considered equal to God. For effective administration, Vijayanagar kingdom was divided into rajyas or mandalam (provinces) which were further subdivided into nadus (districts), sthala (sub-districts) and grama (villages).
The king was assisted by an Imperial Council and a Council of Ministers. The Imperial Council comprised nayakas (military chiefs) from the provinces, feudal vassals, scholars, poets, merchants and even ambassadors from foreign kingdoms. The council of ministers is presumed to be consisted of eight ministers which were called dandanayakas i.e. the lord of administration.
Each province had a governor who held their own courts, appointed their officers, maintained their armies and issued their own coins. Each governor paid a fixed contribution in men and money to the Central government.
There was a amara-nayaka system in which the King granted a territory called amaram, with a fixed revenue to military commanders. These military chiefs or nayaks had to maintain a fixed number of foot soldiers, elephants and horses for the service of the state. They had to send tribute to the king annually and personally appear in the royal court with gifts to express their loyalty. Kings occasionally asserted their control over them by transferring them from one place to another.

The rulers of Vijayanagar Empire were great builders and patrons of architecture. The city of Vijayanagar, the capital of the Empire was characterised by a distinctive layout and building style with seven lines of forts encircling the city, its agricultural hinterland and forests.
The ruins at Hampi display the architectural splendour of the Vijayanagar Empire at its best. The main features of architecture of Hampi are the following:

• Hampi was a well-fortified city. In the construction of the walls, no mortar or cementing agent was used. Instead the stones were put together by interlocking.
• Temples and palaces formed the hub of architectural development. The most famous of the temples are the Hazara Ram Temple, the Virupaksha Temple and Vitthala Temple.
• The Elephant Stable is one among the few least destroyed structures at Hampi. This was used to keep royal elephants.
• The buildings in the royal complex had beautiful arches, domes and pillared halls.
• There existed well-planned orchards and pleasure gardens with various sculptural motifs such as the lotus and Corbels.
• Stepped tank having a geometrical design is a unique structure that used to be fed by a water chute. Besides, there are tanks attached to the temples called the Pushakaranis.

(a) Nuniz

(b) Nicolo Conti

(a) Sangama

(b) Saluva

(a) Alauddin Hasan

(b) Firuz Shah Bahmani

(a) Lotus Mahal

(b) Virupaksha temple

(a) Jami Masjid at Gulbarga

(b) Chand Minar at Bidar

(a) The temple in the picture is Hazara Ram Temple. It is located at Hampi.

(b) Hazara Ram Temple was built by Krishnadeva Raya.

(c) Though the images in the central shrine of the Hazara Ram temple are missing, the sculpture panels on the walls, depicting scenes from the Ramayana can be seen which shows that people worshipped lord Rama.

(d) Buildings at Hampi had beautiful arches, domes and pillared halls. There existed well-planned orchards and pleasure gardens with various sculptural motifs such as the Lotus and Corbels. Stepped tank having a geometrical design is a unique structure that used to be fed by a water chute. Also, there are tanks attached to the temples called the Pushakaranis. Temples like Hazara Ram temple, Virupaksha temple and Vitthala temple had mandapas or pavilions and long, pillared corridors that often ran around the shrines within the temple complex.