☰
An Imperial Capital : Vijayanagara
State any two reasons for the decline of the Vijayanagara Empire.
1. The ruler of Vijayanagara was an ambitious and kept in a constant military preparation. Naturally several development works were neglected and Vijayanagara could not develop friendly relations with the Orissa and Deccan Sultanates.
2. The battle of Talikota was another major reason for decline of empire in which Vijayanagara Emperor’s forces were routed by the combined armies of Bijapur, Alimadnagar and Golconda. The victorious armies sacked the city of Vijayanagara. The city was totally abandoned within a few years.
Sponsor Area
Discuss whether the term “royal centre” is an appropriate description for the part of the city for which it is used
What does the architecture of buildings like the Lotus Mahal and elephant stables tell us about the rulers who commissioned them?
What are the architectural traditions that inspired the architects of Vijayanagara? How did they transform these traditions?
What impression of the lives of the ordinary people of Vijayanagara can you cull from the various descriptions in the chapter?
On an outline map of the world, mark approximately Italy, Portugal, Iran and Russia.Trace the routes the travellers mentioned on p.176 would have taken to reach Vijayanagara.
Find out more about any one of the major cities which flourished in the subcontinent during c. fourteenth-seventeenth centuries. Describe the
architecture of the city. Are there any features to suggest that these were political centres? Are there buildings that were ritually significant? Is there
an area for commercial activities? What are the features that distinguish the urban layout from that of surrounding areas?
Give a brief description of Lotus Mahal, situated in the Royal Centre in the Vijayanagara empire.
Mention two characteristic features of the temple complexes in Vijayanagara.
Mention any two ceremonies performed on the occasion of Mahanavami dibba.
Sponsor Area
Sponsor Area