Test: The Vijayanagar Empire - 1 - UPSC MCQ

The Bitragunta grant of Sangama II (son of Kampana) gives us the genealogy of the five Sangama brothers responsible for the foundation of the Vijayanagar empire.

The Bahmani kingdom was divided into four divisions or provinces during the time of the founder of the dynasty-Ala-ud-din Bahman Shah. His son Muhammad called these provinces as tarafs each under a tarafdar.

The standard unit of coin issued by the Vijayanagara Empire was the gold Pagoda in English or Varaha of 3.4 gr. The Varaha was also called the Hon, Gadyana or a Pon and came in the Ghattivaraha, Doddavaraha and Suddhavaraha coin.

Harihara I, (Kannada: ಹರಿಹರ) also called Hakka and Vira Harihara I, was the founder of the Vijayanagara empire, which he ruled from 1336 to 1356 CE. He and his successors formed the Sangama dynasty, the first of four dynasties to rule the empire. He was Bhavana Sangama's eldest son.[citation needed] Harihara I and Bukka Raya I, the founders of great Vijayanagara Empire were the nephews of prince Kumara Rama. The mother of these two brothers was Maravve Nayakiti the elder sister of prince Kumara Rama.

Firuz Shah fought against the Vijayanagara Empire on many occasions and the rivalry between the two dynasties continued unabated throughout his reign, with victories in 1398 and 1406, but a defeat in 1419. One of his victories resulted in his marriage to Deva Raya's daughter.
 
At the beginning of his reign, Harihara II of the Vijayanagar Empire had advanced as far as the Raichur Doab and posed a threat to the Bahmanis. This threat was thwarted by a calculated and incisive attack by Firuz.
 
Firuz led a successful expedition against Narsingh Rai of Kherla who had to surrender forty elephants and his daughter to Firuz. In 1420, an attack on Pangal, which had been taken by Vijayanagar, proved disastrous. Firuz was trounced by Vijayanagar and Firuz retreated, surrendering the southern and eastern districts of his kingdom. This defeat had a deep impact on his morale and he was henceforth a broken man. He spends his final two years in asceticism and piety.
 

Harihara-II was the first ruler of Vijaynagar to seize important fort of Goa from the Bahamanis.

In 1500, a new Portuguese company, Estado Da India was found by few merchants to trade iin India and other Asian countries. This was a private company.
They had set up the trading stations in India for carrying on business. A governor was appointed in the various stations.
Albuquerque (1509-1515) conquered Goa from Bijapur and in 1511 he concluded a friendly treaty with Krishnadeva Raya.

B is the correct option.A large number of Inscriptions of the Kingd of Vijayanagara and their Nayakas recording donations to temples as well as describing important events have been recovered.

• Bagapellisi Copper Plate Inscription - This inscription tells about the Achievements of Harihara - 1
• Bitragunta grant of Sangama 2 - gives the genealogy of the five Sangama brothers who were responsible for the foundation of the Vijayanagara Empire, Harihara and Bukka being the prominent Ones.
• ChannaRaya pateena Inscription of Hari Hara 2 - this inscription states about Bukka 1 and his successful Invasions.
• Srirangam Copper Plates of Deva Raya II - states about the various achievements of the ruler.
• Devulapalli Copper Plates of Immadi Narasimha - a genealogy of Saluva Dynasty.
   

The correct answer is E as all the given  following points regarding Vijayanagar empire are correct

The Vijayanagara Empire (also called Karnata Empire, and the Kingdom of Bisnegar by the Portuguese) was based in the Deccan Plateau region in South India. It was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of the Sangama Dynasty. The other names of Vijaynagar are Hastinavati-Vidyanagar, Vidyanagara and Hampe Hastinavati. Hence the correct answer is option (C).
 

The correct answer is option (A). Domingo Paes(1520-22) was a great Portugese traveler who visited Vijaynagar during the reign of Krishnadeva Raya. Paes saw the glory of Vijaynagar and has written what he saw, without relating legends, fables, stories etc. The Narrative of Domingo Paes provides an eyewitness account to the rign of the greatest Vijaynagr king, Krishnadeva Raya, Paes found the city of Vijaynagar “as large as Rome, and very beautiful to sight.” “This is the best provided city  in the world.”

The correct option is A.
The matches are correct.
 

The correct option is B.
When we talk about the Vijayanagara Empire, we all remember the popular and great king, Sri Krishnadevaraya and the capital city of his kingdom, Hampi. Many people do not know about the second capital and summer capital of Vijayanagara Empire, Penukonda. Penukonda means “Big Hill”.

Krishna Deva Raya, though a follower of Vaishnavism, treated Shaivites, Jains, Christians and Jews with kindness and compassion. The slaughter of cows, considered sacred by the Hinduus , was permitted too. This rare spirit of tolerance attracted the attention of many foreign travelers like Barbosa. He remarked in admiration, “the king allows such freedom that every man may come and go and live according to his own creed without suffering any annoyance and without enquiring whether he is Christian, a Jew, a Moor or a Hindu. Great equity and justice is observed by all.”

Krishnadevaraya was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire who reigned from 1509–1529. He was the third ruler of the Tuluva Dynasty, and is widely considered to be the greatest ruler of the empire.
In 1520, Ismail Adil Shah recaptured the Raichur Doab from Vijayanagara. In May 1520, Krishnadevaraya sent his forces to Raichur and in the battle that ensued, Adil Shah was defeated and his forces were routed.
He wrote famous book Amuktamalayada in Telugu language.

The correct option is D.

Krishnadevaraya (IAST Kṛṣṇadevarāya) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire who reigned from 1509–1529.

Hazara Rama temple is one of the most elegant temples in Hampi. Its construction was started in the year 1513 A.D., under the orders of Krishnadevaraya and was completed before the end of his reign.

The statue lies in the Lakshmi Narasimha temple that was constructed in the year 1528, during the reign of Krishnadevaraya, one of the rulers of Vijayanagara Empire.

Hospet city was built in 1520 AD by Krishna Deva Raya, one of the prominent rulers of Vijayanagara. He built the city in honour of his mother Naagalaambika

Krishna Deva Raya earned the titles Kannada Rajya Rama Ramana (lit, "Lord of the Kannada empire"), Andhra Bhoja (lit, "Bhoja for Telugu Literature") and Mooru Rayara Ganda (lit, "King of Three Kings").

In 1465, Virupaksha Raya II succeeded his uncle, Mallikarjuna Raya, a corrupt and weak ruler who continually lost against the empire's enemies. Even so, Virupaksha Raya II was no more of a better ruler than his predecessor. Throughout his reign, Virupaksha was faced with rebellious nobles and officers as well as multiple enemies who began to invade the weakened kingdom. It was during this time that Virupaksha Raya II lost the Konkan coast (including Goa, Chaul, and Dabul) by 1470 to Prime Minister Mahamud Gawan from the Bahamani kingdom, who was sent to conquer the area by the Sultan Muhammad Shah III. The Bahmani Sultan would also invade Doab of Krishna and Tungabhadra, and the Raja Purushottama Gajapati of Odisha invaded Tiruvannamalai. Because of these losses, Virupaksha became increasingly unpopular and ignited many of the empire's provinces to rebel, eventually leading up to Virupaksha's death in the hands of his own son, Praudharaya in 1485. Praudharaya himself was not able to salvage the kingdom but an able general Saluva Narasimha took control of the empire in 1485 and helped to prevent its demise, though this change of power marked the end of the Sangama Dynasty and the beginning of the Saluva Dynasty.

The Raichur Doab was the bone of contention between the kingdoms of Vijaynagar and Bahmani. The Raichur Doab is a triangular region of land in the southern Indian states of Telangana and Karnataka lying between the Krishna River and its tributary, the Tungabhadra River.

Tenali Ramakrishna (born Garlapati Ramakrishnayya; also known as Tenali Rama or Tenali Raman) was an Indian poet, scholar, thinker and a special advisor in the court of Sri Krishnadevaraya. He was a Telugu poet who hailed from what is now the Andhra Pradesh region, generally known for the folk tales which focus on his wit. He was admired by everyone for his sense of humor and wit.

The kings who succeeded Devaraya II (Virupaksha II) were quite incompetent and allowed the empire to disintegrate. To add to this, there was pressure from Bahmani Sultans. The Portuguese were also rapidly trying to establish themselves on the west coast and in the ports along it.The conflict between Vijayanagar Empire and the Bahmani kingdom lasted for many years. The dispute over Raichur Doab, the region between the rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra and also over the fertile areas of Krishna-Godavari delta led to this long- drawn conflict. Hence, the Raichur doab region was lost to the Bahmani sultan during the days of Virupaksha II.

Vijayanagara was the capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire which is located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River. It spread over a large area and included the modern era Group of Monuments at Hampi site in Ballari district and others in and around that district in Karnataka, India.

Rulers of Vijayanagar
Deva Raya I reigned from 1406–1422 CE
Virupaksha Raya II reigned from 1465-1485
Vira Narasimha Raya reigned from 1505–1509
Krishnadevaraya reigned from 1509–1529
Tirumala Deva Raya reigned from 1565–1572 CE
Hence, the correct answer is option (A).

Madura Vijayam , meaning "The Conquest of Madurai", is a 14th-century C.E Sanskrit poem written by the poet Gangadevi. It is also named Vira Kamparaya Charitham by the poet.

Tenali Ramakrishna wrote Panduranga Mahatyam ( one of the Pancha maha kavyas of Telugu literature). The book contains a legendary account of a shrine of Vishnu as Panduranga, at Pandharpur established by the ministration of Saint Pandarika. He was one of the Ashtadiggajas ( or the group of eight poets) at the court of Krishnadevaraya the Vijayanagara emperor.

Policemen of Vijayanagar rule are known as Kavalgar. Battle of Banihatti is end of the Vijayanagar rule. In Vijayanagar, period trade is flourished in both "internal and external". Abdul Razzaq - the famous traveller tells about income from illegal goods (which is banned in the country) and prostitutes which was utilised to maintenance of policemen. They collect cash from them for approving all these illegal measures to be taken in their city.
 

Vijayanagara was established in 1336 by Harihara I and his brother Bukka Raya I of Sangama Dynasty. The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts by the southern powers to ward off Islamic invasions by the end of the 13th century.
He was thus the one who was primarily responsible for extending the Vijayanagar Empire over the whole southern India.

Krishnadevaraya (also Krishna Deva Raya) was the most important king of Vijayanagar Empire. He believed in the principle that a crowned king should always rule with an eye towards dharma.

Ashtadiggajas is the collective title given to the eight Telugu poets in the court of the emperor Sri Krishna Deva Raya.