Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c8.s3.75

v1.c8.s3.75

In the mediaeval political manual of Sukra, an important link in the chain between the city and the country districts is the rest-house or inn or serai.² There is no evidence to prove that the rest-houses in southern India in mediaeval times were built according to the principles of Sukra between every two grāmas. But there cannot be a doubt that rest-houses existed in those days. We shall have an occasion of describing these which were called chhatras some of which were founded by the nobles, others by the common people. Although some were meant for the use of the poorer class of Brahmans, yet all the people, and especially pilgrims, were fed in them. The rest-houses for the pilgrims were commonly known as choultries. A powerful chief under Veṅkaṭa II by name Dēvalu Pāpa Rāya, with three hundred Brahmans under him, "gave hospitality to the pilgrims who went on, or came from Tripeti (Tirupati)".¹ The ancient city of Madura could boast of the famous New Choultry of Tirumala Nāyaka.² Since most of the Vijayanagara chhatras were under the control of the temples of the villages and towns, and since the central government guided the management of the temples, we presume that the inns must also have been under the supervision of the officers of the king. In fact, these rest-houses owed their existence to the large public charities of the times; and these latter, as an inscription dated A.D. 1462 tells us, were "placed under the protection of the king".³ This was quite in keeping with the principle laid down in the Sukranīti that rest-houses near the grāmas were to be under the administration of the village authorities.⁴ But evidence is lacking about these Vijayanagara rest-houses as regards an interesting point mentioned in the Sukranīti—the subjection of travellers to strict rules and queries at the hands of the officials in charge of the inns.⁵