Vijaynagar Empire

IAS Notes October 24, 2022
Vijaynagar Empire

vijaynagar kingdom

Vijaynagar Kingdom (1336) - 
  • It too emerged during the tenure of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq.
  • Harihar and Bukka, two brothers were captured from Vijaynagar area and presented before Muhammad Bin Tughlaq whereby they were forced to accept Islam and very soon they become experts of Islam (Quran verses).
  • In 1336, Some revolts started in Vijaynagar area, Muhammad Bin Tughlaq sent them to suppress the revolt as they belonged to that area and knew it very well. They went there and established a new kingdom for themselves. It is said that the revolt was organised by their own guru Madhav Dev Ranya to get back their disciples.

  • Vijaynagar empire was founded in 1336 by two brothers Harihar and Bukka (they were the feudatiories of Kakatiyas of Wrangle) with the help of their guru Madhav Dev Ranya (Vidyaranya).
  • In between 1336 to 1640, four dynasties ruled in Vijaynagar which are as follows -
  1. Sangama dynasty
  2. Suluva dynasty
  3. Tuluva dynasty
  4. Aravidu dynasty

  • The following travelers visited Vijaynagar kingdom -
  1. Abdur Razzak (Samarkand, Persia)
  2. Nicolo Conti (Italian)
  3. Ferna Nuniz (Portuguese)
  4. Domongo Paes (Portuguese)
  5. Nuerte Borbossa (Portuguese)
  6. Nikitin (Russia)

  • The most important ruler of the Vijaynagar kingdom was Krishna Deva Rai of Tuluva dynasty. 
  • He was contemporary of Babur.
  • Babur in his autobiography, Tuzuk-i-Babari wrote that Krishna Deva Rai was the most powerful and most respected ruler of India.
  • Perhaps, he was the most enlightened ruler in the entire medieval history.
  • He reinstated a rightful heir to the Bijapur's throne even when he had the opportunity of annexing it. After this incident he came to be known as "Yavana Samrat Sthapanacharya".
  • Krishna Dev Rai was deeply religious (in his personal life) but he was secular in his orientation and employed a large number of Muslims in his court and army.
  • He also patronised Vijaynagar style of temple architecture. He constructed Virbhadra temple and Hazar Ramaswamy temple.
  • He was also one of the finest patroniser of literature. He himself was a great scholar of Sanskrit and Telugu.
  • In Telegu, he wrote a very famous poetry 'Amukta Malyada'.
  • In fact, his period is considered as the golden age of Telugu literature.
  • He maintained 8 luminaries of Telugu known as Astadiggaj in his court which included the very famous Tenali Raman and Peddana.
  • Peddana is often referred as 'The father of Telugu literature'. The famous composition of Peddana is Manucharitam.
  • He also patronise Kannad, Tamil and Sanskrit.
  • He took his last breath in 1529, after which the decline of Vijaynagar started and finally its decline aggravated in 1565 when they were defeated in the Battle of Talikota (Battle of Bannihatti or Battle of Rakshasa Tangadi)) by the combined army of Bahmani kingdoms.
  • After the Battle of Talikota in 1565, with the combined army of Bahmanis (5 houses of Bahmanis), the decline of Vijaynagar started which was finalised by 1640.

Facts about Krishna Deva Rai 
  • He was contemporary of Babur
  • He was most powerful ruler of Vijaynagar kingdom
  • Babur mentioned about him in his autobiography
  • He was the most enlightened ruler of medieval India
  • He fell in love with a prostitute and inspite of so much opposition from the society he married her and gave her a respected position. This shows his open mindedness.
  • He never unfairly captured any area. He always plays by the rules and ethics even in his personal life.
  • On the question of Raichur doab, Bijapur (Raichur fort was constructed by Vijaynagar ruler but in one such war Bahmani captured it), Krishna Dev Rai decided to annex the fort. So, he marched towards it. When Bijapuri ruler saw it, he had no match with the strength of Vijaynagar army. So, he wrote a letter to Krishna Dev Rai that it is not fair to march towards Raichur fort when we did not have much army. So, Krishna Dev Rai replied to have a negotiation on the table but when the Krishna Dev Rai reached Bijapur, the coward Bijapuri ruler Adil Shah fled from Bijapur. Even though he had the opportunity to capture Bijapur, he did not captured even an inch of Bijapur and instated the rightful heir on the throne of Bijapur. After this act, he came to be known as 'Yavana Samrat Sthapanacharya'.
  • Division of Kingdom for administration -
  1. Mandalam or Rajyas (province)
  2. Nadu (District)
  3. Sthala (Sub-division)
  4. Grama (Village)

Note - Under Vijaynagar Empire, the land tax was also known as Sist (Shisth).

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Note - This is my Vision IAS Notes (Vision IAS Class Notes) and Ashutosh Pandey Sir's Public Administration Class notes. I've also added some of the information on my own. 

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