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Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c10.s1: Section 1. Preliminary Remarks

Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c10.s1

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English

Section 1. Preliminary Remarks

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THE success which crowned the efforts of the Hindus in mediaeval times may be attributed, among other factors, partly to the unflinching support which the people gave them, and partly to the immense revenue which they could command. Behind the story of Vidyaranya and the shower of gold which he is said to have brought down for 3 1/2 ghalis (i.e. 1 1/2 hours), there lies the fact from the earliest stages of their political supremacy, the sons of Sangama had at their disposal resources as regards money which brought upon them the envy of the contemporaries. In this chapter we shall be concerned with the general mode of the fiscal administration of the Vijayanagara monarchs, which to a large extent enables us to appreciate their attempts to preserve what they thought to be the best in Hindu thought and culture. We shall, therefore, restrict ourselves to those facts that give us a comprehensive view of the method of their revenue administration, as recorded in inscriptions and in the writings of foreign travellers, leaving out of account the minuter details of land tenure and other allied subjects, which, because of a paucity of materials, may be treated in a later dissertation. And in this important matter of revenue, too, we may acquaint ourselves with the classical and mediaeval Hindu ideas which, while they governed the actions of the earlier monarchs of Vijayanagara in many matters, failed to leave a lasting impression, at least as regards one or two vital questions, on the minds of the later rulers whose influence showed signs of steady decline towards the first quarter of the seventeenth century. Since ancient constitutional usage played an important part in moulding the action and thought of the Vijayanagara kings and people, we shall not omit to mention, wherever possible, some facts connected with the revenue administration in the ages preceding the advent of the rulers of Vijayanagara.

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The fundamental principles of the Hindu lawgivers as regards the question of revenue may be summed up in the statement of the Mahābhārata that the State is maintained by finance.¹ This explains why Hindu canonists from Kauṭilya down to Śukrāchārya have laid emphasis on the fact of finance being the basis of all the activities of the State.² The importance of revenue is further seen in the relationship between the King and his people. But since we shall revert to this particular topic in the course of this chapter, we may say for the present that the lawgivers have been as careful in advocating the right of the King to levy taxes from his people as they have been discreet in vindicating the right of the people to receive protection from the hands of their rulers. We may note incidentally in this connection that the State, according to the Hindu concepton, when threatened with a great danger, may have recourse to the strictest measures of raising revenue. This is perhaps what is meant by Bhīshma when he says that a King whose friends have diminished, and foes have increased, should seize the wealth of all persons other than the ascetics and Brahmans. Such oppression of the subjects for the purpose of safe-guarding the interests of the State is no sin.¹

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¹ "From the treasury springs his (i.e., king's) religious merit, O son of Kunti, and it is in consequence of the treasury that the roots of his kingdom extended". Śānti Parva, CXXXIII, p. 425. (Roy's ed. 1890). Cf. I.H.Q., I, p. 696; Ghosal, Hindu Political Theories, p. 204 (1st. ed.); Dikshitar, Hindu Administrative Institutons, p. 213.

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² Arthāśāstra, Bk. II, Ch. VIII, 66, p. 71; Sukraniti, Ch. IV, ii, ll. 3-6, p. 138.

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¹ Śānti Parva, CXXX, p. 417; CXXXII, p. 423; Ghosal, Hind. Pol. Theor., p. 200.

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The inviolability of the Brahmans which is expressed here and elsewhere,² was, however, not so strictly adhered to by the Vijayanagara monarchs, who, as we shall see presently, while they allowed the Brahmans many privileges and granted them great gifts of land and money, subjected them to the ordinary financial rules of the State. For to these Hindu rulers the fundamental items of State consumption were the Army, the Rāshtra or the Land, and the preservation of the Hindu Dharma—the threefold items almost identical with those enumerated in the treatise of Sukra.³ Vijayanagara came into being, as we have already remarked, in the throes of the Muhammadan invasions, and it could only be maintained against foreign aggression by the strength of its arms. The Vijayanagara army, among other things, rested on the economic and social prosperity of the country. The preservation of Hindu Dharma, in its theoretical aspect of stimulating Hindu thought and literature, and in its practical shape of protecting the interests of the different classes of people, was impossible without the security which seemed naturally to follow in the wake of the Hindu soldiers, and without the immense wealth which the rulers could in most instances command in a country that was economically prosperous.

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² Gautama, VIII, 12-13, p. 216, Mādhava, Dāyabhāga, p. 33.

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³ Śukranīti, IV, ii, ll. 3-6, p. 138, op. cit.; Sarkar, Pol. Back., II, P. 1, p. 113.

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That the Vijayanagara monarchs had indeed before them the precepts of the ancient and mediaeval Hindu writers in the matter of State expenditure, is evident from the writings and actions of the greatest emperor of the land, Kṛiṣhṇa Dēva Rāya, who in his Amuktamālyada has defined expenditure in the following terms: "The expenditure of money which is utilised in buying elephants and horses, in feeding them, in maintaining soldiers, in the worship of gods and Brahmans and in one's own enjoyment can never be called an expenditure".⁴ We may compare this Vijayanagara conception of expenditure with that given by Kauṭilya. "The chanting of auspicious hymns during the worship of the gods and ancestors, and on the occasion of giving gifts, the harem, the kitchen, the establishment of messengers, the store-house, the armoury, the ware-house, the store-house of raw materials, manufactories. . . . free labourers, . . . , maintenance of infantry, cavalry, chariots, and elephants, herds of cows, the museum of beasts, deer, birds, and snakes, and storage of fire-wood and fodder constitute the body of expenditure. . .".¹ Krishna Dēva Rāya also seemed to have had in his mind the principles of Sukra, who mentions the army as the root of the prosperity of the *kōśa* and *rāṣṭra*,² and who maintains that the expenditure on the army is productive in every sense.³

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⁴ Amuktamālyada, Canto IV, v. 262; J.I.H., IV, P. iii. p. 73.

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¹ *Arthaśāstra*, Book. II, Ch. iv. 60, p. 64.

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² *Sukranīti*, IV, ii, ll. 28-9, p. 139.

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³ Ibid., IV, vii, ll. 7-16. pp. 216-7: Sarkar, *Pos. Back.*, II, P. i, p. 115.

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The same ruler has given us some more ideas of the division of State expenditure. "A king should divide his income into four parts, use one part for extensive benefactions and for enjoyment, two parts for the maintenance of a strong army, and one part to be added to the treasury".⁴ The idea of improving the economic resources of the country, which is implied in the statement that the king should spend one part for enjoyment and benefaction, leads us to the history of the economic activities of the monarchs, which, for reasons already stated, is outside our province. We may, however, note that the Hindu writers have not only recognized the importance of finance for the material prosperity of the State,⁵ but have allowed the rulers a certain amount of latitude as regards raising revenue from their subjects. Having observed the conformity of Vijayanagara theory as regards State expenditure to that enunciated by the ancient and mediaeval writers, we may now turn our attention to the interesting question of the sources of revenue as given by them and as found in the country in the ages immediately preceding the Vijayanagara times. Finally we shall enumerate in some detail the system of Vijayanagara finance.

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⁴ *Amuktamālyada*, Canto IV, v. 238, *J.I.H.*, IV, P. iii, p. 60.

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⁵ "Without wealth a king may (by penances and the like) acquire religious merit. Life, however, is much more important than religious merit". *Sānti Parva*, CXXX, pp. 146-7.

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