Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v2.c18.t1.7

v2.c18.t1.7

The four varṇāśramas and the duty of protecting them became more and more prominent in the later ages. The Hoysala Queen Śāntala Dēvī, in A.D. 1123, is said to have been the cause of the elevation of the four samayas (or creeds).³ We are told that in A. D. 1157 "the Brahmans and others of the four castes, the four religious orders, Brahma and the gods" were engaged in gifts of learning.⁴ Gāṅgeyana Māreya and his wife Bāchale, in A. D. 1232, requested the king Iruṅgōḷa Chōḷa to make a grant of land for the daily services of Pārśvanātha Jinēśa and for the distribution of food to the four castes.⁵ Jaganakere Kalle Gauḍa, the great nāḍ-prabhu under the Hoysala king Sōmēśvara Dēva, in A. D. 1242, is described to have been "the upholder of the four castes" (chatus-samaya-samuddharaṇa).⁶