Value Based Questions: An Imperial Capital - Vijayanagara | History Class 12 - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

Q.1. Hampi town is located in the bank of which river? 

Ans:
It is located on the bank of Tunghbhadra River. 

Q.2. Which goddess is called Pampa?

Ans:
Goddess Pampa is the name of goddess Parvati. 

Q.3. Who was Colin Mackenzie? Mention his importance in Indian history?

Ans:
Colin Mackenzie used to work in British East India Company. He took birth in1754. He is a famous engineer, surveyor and humanist. He became the first Surveyer General of British India in 1815. He died in the year 1821. He began to survey in the traditional culture and historical places of India in order to run administration of Colonial India more smoothly and effectively. 

Q.4. Mention the silent features of the temple of Hampi. 

Ans:
The temple of Hampi is well articulated with artistic pillars like structure. Magnificent structure with gallery surrounded with pillars around divinity and the place of god is one of the features of the temples. The main temple of Hampi is Vitthal and Hazareram. 

Q.5. How did the water requirements problems solved in Vijayanagar empire? 

Ans: 
The natural reservoir is providing water for Vijayanagar is Tunghabhadra river. This river was situated in the north-east direction of the kingdom. Many rivers from nearby mountain range get merged into this river. Dams were built in almost all tributaries of rivers. Hauz were built in order to cope with the drastic climate in draught situation. This was stored in the beginning of the 15^th century. This place was called Kamalapuram water reservoir. 

Q.6. What do you think were the advantages and disadvantages of enclosing agricultural land within the fortified area of the city?

Ans: 
There are many advantages and disadvantages of enclosing agricultural land within the fortified area of the Vijayanagara empire.
Abdur Razzaq noted that "between the first, second and third walls there are cultivated fields, gardens and houses. The detailed statements have been corroborated by present day archaeologists, who have also found evidence of an agricultural tract between the sacred centre and the urban core. We knew different sources that in Vijayanagara empire and other southern kingdom agricultural tracts were incorporated within the fortified areas. Often, the objective of medieval sieges was to strave the defenders into submission. These sieges could last four several months and sometimes even years. Normally rulers tried to be prepared for adverse situations or natural calamities by building large granaries within fortified areas. The rulers of Vijayanagara adopted a more expensive and elaborate strategy of protecting the agricultural belt itself. Whenever, Kingdom was attacked by the enemies at the time of reaping harvest they could easily brunt the dry crops of the farmers. But these fields were safe in ordinary situation from wild animals.

Q.7. What do you think was the significance of the ritual's associated with the Mahanavami dibba?

Ans:
The importance of the rituals associated with the Mahanawami dibba. Located on one of the highest points in the city, the "Mahanawami dibba" is a massive platform rising from a base of about 11000 sq.ft. to a height of 40 feet. Rituals associated with the structure probably coincided with Mahanawami (Literally the great ninth day) of the ten-day Hindu festival during the autumn months of September and October, known variously as Dushehra (northern India), Durga Puja (in Bengal) and Navaratri or Mahanawami (in Peninsular India). The Vijayanagara kings displayed their prestige, power and suzerainty on this occasion.
(i) The ceremonies performed on the occasion included worship of the image, worship of the state horse, and the sacrifice of buffaloes and other animals.
(ii) Dancer, wrestling matches, and processions of caparisoned horses, elephants and chariots and soldiers, as well as ritual presentations before the king and his guests by the chief nayakas and subordinate kings marked the occasion.
(iii) These ceremonies were imbued with deep symbolic meanings on the last day of the festival the king inspected his army and the armies of the nayakas in a grand ceremony in an open field. On this occasion the nayakas brought rich gifts for the king as well as the stipulated tribute.

Q.8. What impression of the lives of the ordinary people of Vijayanagara can you cull from the various descriptions in Vijayanagara Empire.

Ans:
Ordinary people of this empire scope different languages and followed different religious tradition. There were small traders and local merchant use to live in cities, trade centre, port town and villages. Peasants, workers, slaves etc. were including in ordinary people. These were ordinary Brahmans, trader and women also.
(i) In the society there were a few low class people, who were non-influential. They were Dombar, Mana, Jogi, Paraiyan, Boi, Kallar etc. Some low caste people were coverted to Christianity due to the influence of the Portugeuses. The evils of caste system and untouchability were practiced in the society.
(ii) The ordinary people of the Vijayanagar empire lived in ordinary houses. This is how the sixteenth century Portuguese traveller Barbosa described the houses of ordinary people existed in the society. The men were sold and purchased. There were some special rules for the slaves.

Q.9. Read the given passage carefully and answer the questions as follow.

Born in 1754, Colin Meckenzie became a famous engineer, surveyer and cartographer. In 1815 he was appointed the first surveyor General of India. A post he held till his death in 1821. he embarked on collecting local histories and surveying historic sites in order to better understand India’s past and make governance of the of the colony easier. He says that “It struggled long under the miseries of dead management…. Before the south came under the benign in influence of the British government”. By standing V ijayanagar, Meckenzie believed that the east India company would gain “much useful information on many of these institutions, laws and customs whose influence still prevails. Among the various tribes of natives forming the general mass of the population to this date.
(i) Who was Colin Mackenzie? 

Ans: 
Colin Mackenzie used to work in British East India Company. He took birth in 1754. He is a famous engineer, surveyor and humanist. 

(ii) Which ancient city was founded by Colin Meckenzie? 

Ans: 
Hampi. 

(iii) Why did he start the surveys? 

Ans: 
He started the surveys in order to better understand India’s past and make governance of the colony easier. 

(iv) In which stages Colin Meckenzie completed his work? 

Ans: 
First of all he prepared the maps. He collected the information’s about the local traditions from the priest of Virupaksha and Pampadevi temple.

Q.10. Evaluate the importance of Amar Nayaka System in emergence of Vijayanagara Empire.

Ans: 
There is an important role of this sytem to emerging the Vijayanagara empire. That shows in the following points:
(i) The amara-nayaka system was a major political innovation of the Vijayanagara Empire.
(ii) It is likely that many features of this system were derived from the Iqta system of the Delhi Sultanate.
(iii) The amara-nayakas were military commanders who were given territories to govern by theraya.
(iv) The collected taxes and other dues from peasants.
(v) A share of revenue was spent for the maintenance of irrigation works and temples.
(vi) The amar nayak retained part of the revenue for personal use and for maintaining a stipulated contingent of horses and elephants.
(vii) These contingents provided the Vijayanagara Kings with an effective fighting force with which they brought the entire southern peninsula under their control.
(viii) The amara-nayakas sent tribute to the King annually and personally appeared in the royal court with gifts to express their loyalty.
(ix) Kings occasionally asserted their control over them by transferring them from one place to another.
(x) Many of these nayakas established independent kingdoms in the 17^th century.

Q.11. Discuss whether the term “royal centre” is an appropriate description of the part of the city for which it is used.

Ans:
I think the term royal centre is an appropriate description for the part of the city for which it is used.
(i) One of the most beautiful buildings in the royal centre is the Lotus Mahal, so named While the name is certainly romantic, historians are not quite sure what the building was used for one suggestion, found in a map drawn by Mackenzie is that it may have been a council chamber, a place where the king met his advisers.
(ii) While most temples were located in the sacred centre, there were several in the royal centre as well. One of the most spectacular of these is one known as the Hazara Rama Temple. This was probably meant to be used only by the king and his family.
(iii) The images in the central shrine are missing: however, scul pted panels on the walls survive. These include scenes from the Ramayana sculpted on the inner walls of the shrine.
(iv) While many of the structures at Vijayanagara were destroyed when the city was sacked, traditions of building palatial structures were continued by the nayakas. Many of these buildings have survived.
(v) The royal centre was located in the south – western part of the settlement. Although designated as a royal centre it included over 60 temples. Clearly the patronage of temples and cults was important for rulers who were trying to establish and legitimize their authority.
(vi) There were the Temple of Malyavanta Raghunathaswami, the Hampi Bazar, the Virupaksha Temple.
(vii) House of Victory and Elephant stable are also the main attraction built by the great Vijaynagra ruler Krishnadeva Raya.
(viii) During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries about 85 percent of the population of India lived in its villages. Both peasants and landed elites were involved in agricultural production claimed rights to a share of the produce. This created relationships of cooperation, competition and conflict among them.
(ix) The basic unit of agricultural society was the village, inhabited by peasants who performed the manifold seasonal tasks that made up agricultural production throughout the year tilling the soil, sowing seeds, harvesting the crop when it was ripe.
(x) The panchayat was headman known as muqaddam or mandal.
(xi) Documents from Western India – Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra Record petitions sent by women to the village panchayat, seeking redress and justice.
(xii) The Zamindars held extensive personal lands termed milkiyat, meaning property. Milkiyat lands were cultivated for the private use of zamindars, often with the help of hired or servile labour. Zamindars also derived their power form the fact that they could often collect revenue on behalf of the state, a service for which they were compensated financially.
(xiii) Both cultivated and cultivable lands were measured in each province. The Ain compiled the aggregates of such lands during Akbar’s rule. Efforts to measures lands continued under subsequent emperors. For instance, in 1665, Aurangzeb expressly instructed his revenue of officials to prepare annual records of the number of cultivators in each village.
(xiv) The testimony of an Italian traveler, Giovanni Careri, who passed through India c, 1690, provides a graphic account about the way silver traveled across the globe to reach India. The Ain is made up of five books (daftars) of which the first three books describe the administration.
(xv) The Ain completely department from this tradition as it recorded information about the empire and the people of India, and the people of India, and thus constitutes a benchmark for studying India at the turn of the seventeenth century.

Q.12. Examine the evidence that suggests that land revenue was important for the Mughal fiscal system. 

Ans:
Important of Land Revenue for the Mughal fiscal system:
(i) Administrative apparatus for land revenue: Revenue from the land was the economic mainstay of the Mughal Empire. It was therefore vital for the state to create an administrative apparatus to ensure control over agricultural production and to fix and collect revenue from across the length and breadth of the rapidly expanding empire.
(ii) To get specific information: The Mughal state tried to first acquire specific information about the extent of the agricultural domain and became a decisive agent in shaping agrarian relations.
(iii) To get specific information: The Mughal state tried to first acquire specific information about the extent of the agricultural lands in the empire and what these lands produced before fixing the burden of taxes on people.
(iv) Two stage of fixing land revenue: The land revenue arrangements and then actual collection. The jama was the amount assessed as opposed to hasil, the amount collected. In his list of duties of the amil – guzar or revenue collector.
(v) Cash or kind: Akbar decreed that while he should stive to make cultivators pay in cash, the option of payment in kind was also to be the state was to maximize itsclaims. The scope of actually realizing these claims was, however, sometimes thwarted by local conditions.
(vi) Measurement of land: Bot cultivated and cultivable lands were measured in the each province. The Ain compiled the aggregates of such lands during akbar/s rule. Efforts to measure lands contnued under subsequent emperors. For instance, in 1665 Aurangzeb expressly instructed his revenue officials to prepare annual records of the number of cultivators in each village. Yet not all areas were measured successfully. As we have seen, forests covered huge areas of the subcontinent and thus remained immeasurable.