Vijayanagar Research Articles

Trading Crossroads: The Historical Journey of Vijayanagara, Portuguese and Nayakdoms

The Portuguese arrival led to the formation of alliances with the Vijayanagara Empire, initially characterised by cooperation but later marred by conflicts. The trade dynamics experienced a notable transformation following the disintegration of the Vijayanagara Empire. The fall of the Vijayanagara Empire paved the way for the rise of the Nayaks of Madurai, Thanjavur, Gingee and the ruler of Ikkeri, who emerged as successor states, ushering in a new era in the history of trade. After 1565, there evolved a shift from Hampi-oriented trade of the Portuguese to a polycentric commerce, whereby Thanjavur with the seaport of Nagapattinam, Madurai, with the port of Tuticorin in Pearl Fishery Coast, Ikkeri, with the ports of Mangalore, Basrur and Honavar on the South Canara /Kanara coast became the hubs of Portuguese commercial activities in the new turn of events in the Nayakdoms. This article aims to delve into the interconnected and multifaceted historical journey of the Vijayanagara Empire, Portuguese and the Nayaks, which contributed to the enduring continuity in South India. It will examine how trade played a pivotal role in unifying the fragmented economy and fostering economic vibrancy in the region, while also exploring the evolving significance of trade over time.

Theory of Origin, Administration and Decline of the Great Vijayanagar Kingdom in South Asia

The Vijayanagar Empire is one of the most prominent and well-known empires of South Asia. The empire had arisen in the times of the Delhi Sultanate and sustained for more than a period of three Centuries. It saw four dynasties and its share wars and conflicts with neighboring Muslim forces. Vijayanagar Empire also had an admirable administration system, in the sense that it is counted as highly centralized, just and elaborate. This research paper seeks to examine the administrative and political structure of the Vijayanagar Empire and various nuances related to the same. In this research explores various facets of Vijayanagar’s grand history by critically examining various historical interpretations, including nationalist, colonial, and postcolonial perspectives. The approach seeks to provide a comprehensive analysis of the complex factors that influenced its ascent and subsequent decline. It seeks to examine the view foreign travelers like Ibn Batuta, Fernao Nuniz and Dominigos Paes and accounts of prominent historians Ferishta that lived during the time of Vijayanagar like to the modern Scholars like Robert Sewell and Nilakanta Sastri in order to present comprehensive historiographical understanding on the Vijaynagar empire. The Vijayanagara Empire’s profound and enduring impact on the historical and cultural milieu of South India has left an indelible imprint across various domains, including art, architecture, literature, and societal practices. Through a meticulous examination of the ascendance and decline of this ancient civilization, one can glean invaluable insights into the intricate processes underpinning the formation and disintegration of polities in premodern South Asian contexts This research paper uses a variety of sources to shed light on the administrative and political conditions of the Vijayanagar Empire. It also sheds light on the changes in State Structure across the four dynasties, the impact of the administrative system on Justice, the impact of religion on State Politics and finally, the political factors that ultimately led to the end of the Greatest South Indian Empire in the Country.

Vīrabhadra, the Dreadful Destroyer of Sacrifice

When Śiva is not invited to the great sacrifice organised by Dakṣa, his bride Satī’s father, he emanates from himself the terrible Vīrabhadra, who completely destroys the sacrificial arena. The remote origins of this mythical story, which is extensively narrated especially in the Purāṇas, lie in some myths concerning Rudra, Śiva’s Vedic-Brahmanic precursor. The cult of Vīrabhadra spread throughout South India during the Vijayanagara empire, mainly thanks to the Śivaite sect of the Vīraśaivas. The long-lasting diffusion of his cult is also demonstrated by the wide production of metal plaques depicting this god. A few years ago the art collectors Paola and Giuseppe Berger donated a conspicuous collection of these plaques to the Veneranda Accademia Ambrosiana of Milan; they are currently on display in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana. Many of these plaques are possibly attributable to the 18th and 19th centuries and their exact provenance cannot be defined at the present stage of studies, but most of them presumably come from Karnataka. They show an almost constant basic iconography, but also a wide range of different artistic languages. Here we propose a general analysis of this repertoire, and a more detailed description of some of the specimens.

Recollecting the History of Mysore Ganjifa: An Art Historical Perspective

Vijayanagara Empire becomes one of the best examples for understanding the development of different art forms in southern region of India. Vijayanagara Empire is not just known for its supremacy in administration and political and economic power but also the empire shares its contribution in the field of art and culture. This research paper is an attempt to know how Vijayanagara becomes the root cause for different art forms or style of paintings such as Surpur style paintings, Tanjavur paintings, traditional Mysore painting, Ganjifa art etc. during the period of its reign. It is necessary to trace out the legacy of these paintings till present day and condition of these forms of paintings till date. This paper specially tries to emphasis on Ganjifa art form. Since Ganjifa art form is losing its historical values as generations are passing, not much artists are trained or specialized in this art form today. The Mysore Ganjifa takes an interesting visual forms and visual language. It is necessary to archive the traditions style of Ganjifa art form and its history since it is in its fading stage. Though Mysore Ganjifa emerged under the shelter of Vijayanagara empire, this art form was further patronized by the Mysore Wodeyars. Different themes were narrated through paintings in miniature forms, having influence of other art forms on Mysore Ganjifa in terms of visual language, this paper attempts to trace out the influence that Mysore Ganjifa encountered and how it is different from other art form which took shape during the Vijayanagara period. Therefore, this paper focus to archive the traditional and stylistically characteristics of Mysore Ganjifa and know its present-day position as an art form in Mysore.

Absence of Nose Ornaments in the Paintings of Lepakshi Temple

In Andhra Pradesh, in the village of Lepakshi, there is a temple dedicated to Veerabhadra. This temple, from the Vijayanagara Empire, is located in the Hindupur taluk of the Anantapur district. The murals from the Vijayanagara Empire are a specialty of this place. If one wants to witness the amalgamation of Vijayanagara's art, architecture, and temple craftsmanship in one place, then this temple is the most suitable. Here, there are many paintings and sculptures depicting various subjects. In the glorious Vijayanagara Empire, the allure of adornments is evident on all men and women, but the nose rings are nowhere to be seen. This is the subject of research undertaken in this essay.

Vijayanagara Empire: Food of Its Time

Vijayanagara Empire which was known for its grandeur, richness, and culture, was also known for its diverse cuisine.

The Gift of Writers in Animating the Past to the Present as Tales of Remembrance: A Comparative Study of Salman Rushdie’s Victory City and Amitav Ghosh’s Jungle Nama

The research focuses on how fantasy is manifested as part of storytelling. Salman Rushdie’s Victory City (2023) and Amitav Ghosh’s Jungle Nama (2021) adopt ancient myths and histories that serve as remembrance tales. Both Rushdie and Ghosh evince a common interest in exploring social issues in their writings through an allegorical form. Rushdie’s Victory City is about the history of the Vijayanagar Empire, one of the most distinguished empires of medieval India (14th century to 16th century). Rushdie submitted his final edits of Victory City before the attack in New York City (Chautauqua) for his controversial novel The Satanic Verses. In the month of August 2022, he was stabbed in public by a youngster. He tweets that there is no freedom for authors to express themselves through writing. So, the research focuses on how fantasy serves as a tool for authors to express their views. His Victory City made him overcome all the negative criticism that he had encountered during the attack. Ghosh’s Jungle Nama also adopts the history of Sundarbans’ Forest goddess, Bon Bibi. Ghosh through his narration blends the myth and history of Bon Bibi who have been worshipped for centuries by the people of Sundarbans. Blending the real and imaginary in both fictions greatly challenges the differentiation between authenticity and fantasy. The supernatural phenomena in these narratives transport the reader from reality as a kind of escapism. During this, the characters in the fiction recall the past events and visions of the future in their present, and these aspects are also explored in the analysis. Victory City and Jungle Nama encounter the experience of mysticism in their narration which embarks on a voyage of difficulties and hindrances in the unreal world. Both these speculative fiction explore the concepts of fantasy and mystery so the theory of Magical Realism is applied to the strange creatures, other worlds, evils, demons, and demi-gods that exist in the fanciful setting which is also discussed.

The Book in the Vaiṣṇava Ācāryas’ Hands

Abstract This paper focuses on images of human Vaiṣṇava figures holding ‎a book in their hands, and the history and ‎significance of this iconographic detail. The paper argues that in Vaiṣṇava South India, the book as an iconographic marker of human figures is a fairly recent development, though its roots can be situated in the period of the Vijayanagara Empire. The paper also demonstrates that while the book itself may appear as a stable iconographic marker, the meanings attached to it for different figures is not, thereby problematising the notion of iconographic code.

EVOLUTION OF DYNASTIES IN KARNATAKA: A HISTORICAL REVIEW OF POLITICAL AND CULTURAL TRANSITIONS

This review paper explores the historical evolution of Karnataka, focusing on the impact of various dynasties on its political, social, and cultural landscape. It highlights the responsibilities of notable kings including the “Kadambas, Chalukyas, Hoysala, and Vijayanagara Empire” in influencing government, developing Kannada literature, and cultivating regional pride by examining their contributions. Additionally, the study investigates into the architectural marvels erected by these kingdoms, including palaces and temples, which stand as everlasting representations of Karnataka's tradition. In addition, the impact of social reforms and religious movements is examined to show how these past events still have repercussions in modern days Karnataka. The complexity of Karnataka's identity and the enduring traces of its past may be better understood by comprehending the interaction between history and modernity, which is the goal of this article. At the end of the day, it stresses how vital it is to acknowledge Karnataka's vibrant history as a basis for the state's progress and advancement.

Forts in Kurnool Regional of Andhradesa: With Particular Reference to Vijayanagar Empire History in Southern Asia

Forts in Kurnool Regional of Andhradesa: With Particular Reference to Vijayanagar Empire History in Southern Asia

Architectural Style of the Vijayanagar Empire

Architectural Style of the Vijayanagar Empire

A Victory Tower Built by a Slave: The Chand Minar at Daulatabad in Deccan India

Abstract The Chand Minar (1446) at Daulatabad Fort is one of the tallest pre-modern stone minarets in the world and has long been recognized as a major work of Indo-Islamic architecture. Yet surprisingly little is known about the building: its iconography and the reason for its construction have not been established; even its height is frequently misreported by half. The present article analyzes the building’s architecture and urban context and critically reads its inscriptions against the Tārīkh-i Firishta (ca. 1610), the main primary text for the history of the medieval Deccan. In so doing, the article demonstrates that issues of race shaped the courtly politics in the Deccan at the time of the minaret’s construction. The Chand Minar was commissioned by Parvez bin Qaranful, an African military slave, who dedicated the building to the Bahmani sultan ʿAla⁠ʾ al-Din Ahmad II (r. 1436–58). The article shows that the building commemorated the role of African and Indian officers in a 1443 military victory of the Bahmani sultanate (1347–1527) against the Vijayanagara empire (1336–1664). The construction of the Chand Minar impressed upon Ahmad II the importance of retaining in his court dark-skinned officers from India and Africa (dakkaniyān) at a time when their standing was threatened by the lighter-skinned gharībān, who had immigrated from the western Islamic regions. The article thus presents a detailed study of an important but neglected monument while shedding new light on racial factionalism in the fifteenth-century Deccan.

Reading the Entanglements of Nature-culture Conservation and Development in Contemporary India

In this article we argue for greater attention to the practice of (nature-culture) conservation as a specific form of intervention with implications for development. Outlining the dominant frameworks through which the often vexed relationship between conservation and development has been understood, the article offers an alternative analytical framework that is grounded in ethnographic attention to everyday practice. Applying this framework, the three papers in this special section examine conservation-development dilemmas at diverse conservation sites in India—Rushikulya, Orissa, a globally significant site for the conservation of marine turtles; Nagarahole, in southern Karnataka, one of India’s most successful tiger reserves; and the Hampi region, northern Karnataka, where the archaeological remains of the medieval Vijayanagara Empire have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS). The papers reveal a relationship between conservation and development that is paradoxically both more structurally imbricated and more contingent and variable than a focus on official frameworks, discourses and plans would suggest. They lead us to argue that, rather than focusing on the stated objectives of the formal conservation plan alone, attention to its ambivalent adoptions and unintended outcomes, as well as to negotiations between diverse actors and forms of knowledge, can contribute to both a more balanced theorization of conservation’s relation to development as well as to more effective conservation practices.

Bridging Development and Heritage: Expert Gaze, Local Discourses, and Visual Aesthetic Crisis at Hampi World Heritage Site

In this article, I explore the complex trajectory of two bridges that were proposed for construction across the River Tungabhadra in the early 1990s at locations that now fall within the boundary of Hampi, a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site (WHS) in India. The proposed bridges were considered improper forms of infrastructure development in the visual context of a WHS, and the site was placed on the World Heritage in Danger List in the late 1990s. Popular media framed the controversy as a ‘classic clash’ between heritage and development where conservation goals and developmental needs opposed one another. Heritage experts, agencies, and activists read the crisis as one of ‘heritage or development’, normatively typecasting residents north of the river as ‘uneducated, ignorant locals’ wanting development at the cost of heritage. However, drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and archival material covering nearly three decades, I demonstrate that residents wanted the bridges not as physical infrastructure towards some obscure development goals, but as the means to link their overlooked contributions to the founding of the Vijayanagara Empire, the capital region and its contemporary remaking as a WHS. In this instance, the binary opposition lay in the ‘expert gaze’, not in local discourses. It was experts, rather than ‘local people’, who saw conservation and development as inherently opposed to each other. I explicate how various views on what constitutes heritage and development intersect with each other, and suggest that dissonance need not be the inevitable result but may be built into the gaze of expertise.

Classification of architectural designs using Deep Learning

Architecture style of buildings play’s an important role in various aspects. Architectural style or the construction method affects the human health in multiple ways. Many dynasties are ruled India and constructed various types of monuments. So, In this proposed work popular dynasties like Hoysala dynasty, Vijayanagar empire, Mughal empire, Nizam’s of Hyderabad, Chalukya dynasty etc. are considered for creating dataset for the work. The architects of those times had really good knowledge about the different scientific methods to be used for construction. This project aims at classification of different architectural styles. Automatic identification of different architectural styles would facilitate different applications. The dataset is manually created by downloading images from various websites. Deep learning, inception v3 master algorithm are used. Experiments are performed using tenser flow and bottle neck files are created for validation. Good recognition rate is achieved with a fewer data set.

Unique Features of Dravidian Architecture in India: A Retrospect

Indian architecture progressed time to time with the assimilation of many influences that occurs as a result of India's global discourse with other regions of the world throughout its millennia-old past. The architecture of India is rooted back in its ancient civilization, culture and religion. Architectural methods practiced in India are a result of examination and implementation of its established building traditions and outside cultural interactions. The traditional Vastu Shastra remains influential in throughout India's architectural styles during the contemporary era. Dravidian architecture is an architectural idiom in Hindu temple architecture that emerged in the southern part of the Indian subcontinent or South India, reaching its final form by the sixteenth century. It consists predominantly of Hindu temples where the feature is the high gopura or gatehouse and large temples. All the majority of structures are located in the Southern Indian states of Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Various kingdoms and empires which ruled south India such as the Cholas, the Chera, the Kakatiyas, the Pandyas, the Pallavas, the Gangas, the Rashtrakutas, the Chalukyas, the Hoysalas, and Vijayanagara Empire among others have made substantial contribution to the evolution of Dravidian architecture. This style of architecture can also be found in parts of North India of Teli ka Mandir Gwalior, Bhitargaon Baitala Deula, Bhubaneshwar, Northeastern and central Sri Lanka also, having unique features of architectural styles in India.

Species diversity and distribution of seagrasses from the South Andaman, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India

AbstractA survey was conducted with the objective to study seagrass distribution, bed size and shoot density in different substrata of the South Andaman Islands. A total of 231 seagrass sites were observed during the study, in which a total of eight species were found. The South Andaman region exhibited the highest species diversity followed by Havelock, Little Andaman and Neil Islands. Eleven continuous seagrass bed were noted during the study which were confined to three different types of substrata: sand only; sand mixed with coral sand and coral rubble; sand mixed with mud.Thalassia hemprichiiandCymodocea rotundatawere found in dense canopies and covered large areas associated with sand and coral rubble.Halophila beccariishowed moderate abundance in muddy substrata andHalodulespp. grew in fine sand. The highest shoot density was recorded at Haddo, followed by Vijaya Nagar and Chidyatapu, contributed mostly byHalodulespp. In general, seagrass diversity and distribution were mainly influenced by the percentage composition of sand. The authors recommend that the seagrass meadow of Haddo should be considered for conservation priority because of multiple anthropogenic pressures, such as sewage input, dumping of solid wastes on the shoreline and anchoring of boats.

Vijayanagara Empire: Nayakatana System-Interpretations and Re-Analysis

The common notion is that Nayakas under Vijayanagara Empire were very influential in political and military units of the state. They were mediators between the king and the subjects. But there was no concrete idea regarding the term Nayaka. There were heterogeneous views. There were no unanimous opinion regarding to whom should be called as Nayaka? The present article sheds a light on different views expressed by the various scholars regarding the Nayakatana system under Vijayanagara Empire. This paper contains healthy academic discussion among Indian scholars and foreign scholars which opens the gate for new ideas.

DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS AND FEW DYNAMIC ASPECTS OF VIJAYANAGARA SUPREMACY

One of the earliest writers on and admires of the Vijayanagara empire the Englishman Robert Sewell once expressed his opinion on the tradition of history writing (or the lack of it) in pre-modern India. In a series of lectures delivered before the east India Association in London in 1897 entitled “India before the British’ he observed that they only way of knowing what happened a hundred years ago was. Medieval times saw many changes in the art and culture of India. The cosmopolitan and philosophic traditions that were integral to the indict vision of life evolved with the charging times. Practically the last bastion in which ancient heritage of ideas continued as a living expression, through changed, was the Vijayanagara Empire.

Sultan among Dutchmen? Royal dress at court audiences in South India, as portrayed in local works of art and Dutch embassy reports, seventeenth–eighteenth centuries

AbstractFrom the fourteenth century CE onwards, South Indian states ruled by Hindu kings were strongly influenced by politico-cultural conventions from Muslim-governed areas. This development was, for instance, manifest in the dress and titles of the rulers of the Vijayanagara empire. As has been argued, they bore the title of sultan and on public occasions they appeared in garments fashioned on Persian and Arab clothing. Both adaptations exemplified efforts to connect to the dominant Indo-Islamic world. From Vijayanagara's fragmentation in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, new Hindu-ruled kingdoms arose. We may wonder to what extent those succeeding polities continued practices adopted from Islamic courts. With that question in mind, this article discusses royal dress at court audiences in four Vijayanagara successor states, chiefly on the basis of embassy reports of the Dutch East India Company and South Indian works of art. It appears that kings could wear a variety of clothing styles at audiences and that influences on these styles now came from multiple backgrounds, comprising diverse Islamic and other elements. Further, not all successor states followed the same dress codes, as their dynasties modified earlier conventions in different ways, depending on varying political developments.