Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c9.s2.114

v1.c9.s2.114

Nevertheless this was the year A.D. 1368 which witnessed the glorious event of the foundation of the capital. It was the year when the very existence of the Hindu Empire seemed to have split on the rock of religious controversy; and when all the resources of the royal patron were put to the test by the appeals of two rival religious parties. It was the year when the Vijayanagara Emperor stood forth indeed as the champion of Hindu Dharma, and gave to the country the best example of religious toleration. The Śrīvaiṣṇavas were unjustly slaying the Jainas, and the adherents of these two religious sections placed the matter before Bukka I. He settled the question in such an admirable manner that his action seemed to stamp the deeds of his successors with the hall-mark of toleration. Partly as a sign of the success of the Hindus over their enemies in the south, and partly as an indication of the happy settlement of the great controversy between the Jainas and the Śrīvaiṣṇavas, Bukka I, we may assume, laid the foundation of the capital in the sacred region of the ancient Pampā-kṣētra.