Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c7.s2.1

v1.c7.s2.1

THE question of the race and nationality of those who led the Hindu confederacy was secondary to the question of the vital needs of the times. The first and foremost need was an organization that "would keep the aggressive Muhammadan efforts confined to the northern side of the Kṛiṣṇā".¹ The necessity of stemming the tide of foreign domination was linked with the equally difficult problem of creating a strong government. But since neither men nor money could be brought together for the maintenance of any kind of stable political machinery, there arose the third great need of preserving the Hindu society, its traditions, and its ancient Dharma from the ravaging influence of the new civilization. Hence we find this age to be an era made memorable because of the conquests of more than one mighty king; a period of intense literary life as represented by the famous Sāyaṇāchārya and his school; and by Vēdānta Dēsikāchārya, the renowned Vaiṣṇava scholar and poet;² and an epoch of religious excitement and moral awakening when the "teachings of Sankara, Rāmānuja, and Madhwāchārya; the doctrines of Vēdānta, Adwaita, Dwaita schools; the creed of the Jaṅgamas or Liṅgāyats, etc., led to interminable discussions, all urging their respective tenets with a zeal"³ which, though it showed itself at first in unwarranted "persecution of the Jainas and other sects, especially their extirpation of the Buddhists",³ still lived to create for centuries to come, chiefly through the timely intervention of the royal mediator, Bukka I and the unrecorded influence of the learned minister, Vidyāraṇya, an atmosphere of good-will and harmony which, when all other things are considered, was perhaps the greatest heritage which the Vijayanagara monarchs have given to the country.