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Administration and Social Life under Vijayanagar c16: Chapter XI

Administration and Social Life under Vijayanagar c16

Language
English

Contents

Chapter XI

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Introductory

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A description of the social life of a people in a particular age will be incomplete without an account of their architecture, sculpture and painting. The artistic tastes of the people of one century are not the same as those of the people of another; hence the style of the buildings of a particular period and the carvings, sculptures and paintings in them differ from those of another period. There have been different schools of architecture in India flourishing in the same period, and these wide differences are due to local peculiarities and local differences. At certain periods and in certain buildings, foreign influences are discernible. Broadly speaking, in the Vijayanagar period, two different schools of architecture were flourishing side by side—the Dravidian and the Indo-Saracenic—and the style of some of the Hindu monuments was influenced by the Indo-Saracenic style.

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Many of the Vijayanagar monuments belonged to the Dravidian style of architecture. Speaking about this style Professor Jouveau-Dubreuil observes: "The Pallava period (600-850) is that of sculptured rocks, the early Cōḷa period (850-1100) that of grand vimānas, the later Cōḷa period (1100-1350) that of the most beautiful gōpuras, the Vijayanagar period (1350-1600) that of maṇṭapas (pillared halls) and the modern period after 1600 that of corridors."¹

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¹ Dravidian Architecture, p. 38.

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The buildings constructed in the Vijayanagar period have certain interesting features. The stone used for many of the buildings of Vijayanagar is granite. At times it was procured for the buildings constructed in places where it was not available. But some of the idols within the temples are usually executed in a dark green chlorite stone which is soft and takes a high polish. On account of this their workmanship is far superior to those carved out of granite. Such idols therefore resemble bronze rather than stone.

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In the construction some of the Vijayanagar buildings, at least in those of the early period, mortar was not used though its use was well known. The absence of the use of mortar in the buildings of the Vijayanagar days can be accounted for by the fact that the blocks of granite stone used in constructing the temples were so large and heavy and so beautifully dressed and so accurately fitted together "that no cementing material was considered necessary." But the non-use of mortar in the construction of buildings was a source of weakness to the buildings themselves, for very often plants grew in the little space between blocks of granite stone, as a result of which the stones gave way and the building itself was ruined.

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The Hindus appear to have preferred the lintel and the corbel principle in the construction of the maṇṭapas. When the Muhammadan styles of architecture had begun to affect the South Indian style appreciably, the Hindus adopted on a larger scale the method of constructing halls with barrel-shaped domes and arched gateways. As Havell says, "in the ruins of Hindu Vijayanagar will be found not only the proto-types of Muhammadan Bijapur, but illustrations of the process by which the Arab architecture of the seventh, eighth and following centuries gradually became the style of the pointed arch."²

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² Indian Architecture, p. 183.

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Apart from these general considerations some features of the Vijayanagar edifices strike us as peculiar to that age. "Of all the parts of the edifice, that part, the form of which has varied in the most characteristic fashion is perhaps 'the corbel' which is placed below the capital of the pillars." It differs from age to age. This part of the edifice "which is no other than the extremity of the beams cut with the blows of the hatchet" received some ornamentation in the later Cōḷa and the Vijayanagar periods. While in the Pallava period its design was plain, in the Cōḷa period it was fashioned in the form of doucines, and in the Vijayanagar period it became changed into the form of flowers falling down. But later the corbel underwent a further change and the drooping flower came to be separated from the rest of the stone, and it has now at its end a sort of finial (pūmunai).

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In course of time, the idal which supports the capital of a pillar similarly underwent changes in design. While in the Pallava and Cōḷa periods it was plain, in the Vijayanagar period it was represented with opened petals, and these petals look like a series of indentations. In the same way the nāgabandham, so called because of its resemblance to the "hood of a cobra", was a feature of the later Cōḷa and the Vijayanagar architecture. The floral designs and the foliage which surround the kūḍu differ from period to period. While in a kūḍu of the Pallava period there is less of ornamentation, but generally is sculptured in it a gandharva who resembles a man looking through a window, a kūḍu of the Vijayanagar period has greater ornamentation and the gandharva has no place in it. Even this ornamentation has disappeared in the modern period, and we have only plain Kūḍus now.

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In the same way the niches which are generally sculptured in high relief on the walls of temples, present varied appearance in the different periods of the history of the architecture of South India. While in the Pallava and Cōḷa periods there was great ornamentation made over the niche, in the Vijayanagar period, greater prominence was given to the śālai which contains an elongated roof surmounted by stūpis. The upper part of the niche is plain and simple except perhaps for the kūḍu which is sculptured in a few of the śālais.

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HINDU MONUMENTS

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Among the sites containing the Vijayanagar monuments the most important one is the present tiny and fever-stricken village of Hampi, once the glorious capital of the Vijayanagar emperors. It now looks too wild to have been the birth-place and capital of an empire. Hampi is at present seen dotted with little hills of granite and not a blade of grass can be seen there now. Huge boulders are found there in the "most fantastic confusion." But on this unpromising site rose the city "of widespread fame, marvellous for its size and prosperity with which for richness and magnificence no Western capital could compare," a city which even to-day is "virtually a vast (and impressive) open air museum of Hindu monuments."

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For purposes of convenient handling the Vijayanagar Hindu monuments may be classified under three groups: (1) Temples, (2) Civil architecture like palaces and irrigation projects and (3) Military architecture.

1-a. Temples

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*Śrī Virūpākṣa Temple:*

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Among the temples at Hampi one of the earliest is the Pampāpati temple dedicated to Śrī Virūpākṣa. Parts of the temple appear to date their existence from a period prior to the foundation of Vijayanagar, but additions were made to it by the Vijayanagar kings. Harihara I is said to have built a temple here in honour of Vidyāraṇya who is believed to have helped him in the foundation of the empire.³ Kṛṣṇadēva Rāya built the raṅgamaṇṭapa in front of the main shrine in honour of his coronation.⁴ Equally old is the shrine or Bhuvanēśvarī, within the temple. The style of the building belongs to the twelfth century. The shrine has a beautifully executed Cālukyan doorway "flanked by the pierced stone windows characteristic of the style, and several Cālukyan pillars carved in black stone." The plan of the Pampāpati temple consists of two large courts, one to the east and the other to the west, and they are divided by a wall. A large gōpura on its eastern wall is the main entrance to the east court, while the west court is entered by a smaller gōpura on its northern side. It is in the west court that the principal shrine and many of the smaller ones are located.

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³ Sewell, op. cit., p. 300; A.S.R., 1907-08, p. 236, fn. 2.

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⁴ 29 of 1889; E.I., I, pp. 363 and 370.

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*Kṛṣṇasvāmi Temple:*

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The Kṛṣṇasvāmi temple was constructed by Kṛṣṇadēva Rāya soon after his return from Udayagiri. He had brought an image of Kṛṣṇa from a temple in the hill fortress of Udayagiri, and in order to house that idol he built this temple.⁵ There is an evenness of style employed in its architecture which shows that the temple was built within a short time. The whole structure consists of a principal shrine enclosed by a pradakṣiṇa. In front of the shrine are the ardhamāṇṭapa and mahāmaṇṭapa. There is one small temple to the north of the vimāna while another is to the north side of the front of the mahāmaṇṭapa; and there is yet another on the south side of the same maṇṭapa.

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⁵ 25 and 26 of 1889; S.I.I., IV, Nos. 244 and 245.

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The workmanship in the execution of the temple does not appear to be of a high order. It is plain and coarse except the mahāmaṇṭapa which is ornamented. "It has a carved moulded basement with piers over each bearing several minor detached shafts, and an overhanging cornice above.” To the south of this building in the outer court is a building with a few small slits for windows and a low arched door on the east side. Piers with pointed arches divide the interior into squares. The roof is made up of many flat domes with small openings. There are a few ruined gate-ways in the temple which were originally towers constructed with brick and decorated with stucco figures.

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*Hazāra Rāmasvāmi Temple:*

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The Hazāra Rāmasvāmi Temple has been considered to be the private chapel of the kings on account of its close proximity to the palace and its ornate character. The construction of this temple has generally been attributed to Kṛṣṇadēva Rāya. But an epigraph found on the basement of the temple mentions a Dēva Rāya. Hence it appears to be an old temple. But parts of it might have been re-built by Kṛṣṇadēva Rāya. Such parts must have been finished late after the Kṛṣṇasvāmi temple was completed, for we find that the execution of the work in the Hazāra Rāmasvāmi temple exhibits in many respects a decided advance over that of the other. The temple is a small one measuring 200 feet from east to west and 110 feet from north to south, but “is one of the perfect specimens of Hindu temple architecture of the Vijayanagar period in existence.” The *ardhamaṇṭapa* of the temple is a handsome construction of four piers. The roof is supported by four beautiful polished black-stone piers “crowned with bracket capitals of Indo-Corinthian appearance. The whole *maṇṭapa* including the projecting drip-stones is built of granite, while the *vimāna* over the sanctum is constructed with brick and plaster decorated with stucco figures. There are bas-reliefs decorating the exterior walls of the shrine of the chamber and the pillared porticoes.” “Besides these interesting bas-reliefs, the beautiful pilasters and engaged columns, the ornamental niches for detached sculpture, and the handsome mouldings and massive cornices adorning the exterior walls of these two temples are worthy of notice.” The exterior walls of the shrine and those of the court are covered with well executed panel groups. These depict interesting scenes from the *Rāmāyaṇa* and the legend of Kṛṣṇa. Some of the scenes represented are those of Rāma slaying Tāṭakā, Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and Sītā crossing the Ganges, Jaṭāyu falling down half dead after the fight with Rāvaṇa to rescue Sītā, Rāma shooting his arrow through the seven trees at once to prove his strength to Sugrīva, Hanumān interviewing Rāvaṇa in Laṅka and sitting on the top of his coiled up tail and Rāvaṇa in his death agony. Kṛṣṇa is represented with a host of gōpīs. The exterior of this wall contains fine rows of bas-relief-sculpture depicting scenes from the Mahānavami festival. The bottom row represents a procession of the state elephants; the next a procession of the king's horses; the third row depicts a procession of soldiers; the row above this one represents a procession of dancing girls and musicians. Another interesting feature of the temple is the fact that though it is a Vaiṣṇava temple, Śaiva figures are found in it. Thus we see the figures of Subrahmaṇya and Gaṇeśa in the temple. Viṣṇu is represented in a sculpture on a pillar as riding a horse, which perhaps represents Kalki. Even the Buddha is represented in two basreliefs on the outer side of the walls of the sanctum of the temple.

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Vitthala Temple:

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But it is the Viṭṭhala temple that represents the most perfect specimen of Vijayanagar architecture. The temple is dedicated to Viṣṇu in the form of Viṭṭhala or Viṭhoba, a form of Kṛṣṇa worshipped in the Mahratta country. The temple can be dated back to the days of Dēva Rāya II. The poet Haribhaṭṭa, a contemporary of Kṛṣṇadēva Rāya, mentions in his *Narasimhapurāṇa* that Prolugaṇṭi Tippaṇa, an officer of Dēva Rāya II, built the *bhoga-maṇṭapa* of the temple. Substantial additions to it appear to have been made during the days of Kṛṣṇadēva Rāya; but unfortunately the temple never saw completion. There are within the temple many inscriptions of dates ranging from 1513 to 1564, and the work of construction seems to have been stopped after the partial destruction of the city in 1565.

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"The building is the finest of its kind in Southern India", and as Fergusson says "shows the extreme limit in florid magnificence to which the style advanced." The temple stands on a rectangular enclosure 538 by 310 feet with three gōpurams on the north, south and east sides respectively. The main building stands on a high and richly carved basement. The whole court is built of granite and carved with a boldness and expression of power nowhere surpassed in the buildings of its days. "It has all the characteristics of the Dravidian style: the bold cornice of double flexture, the detached shafts, the Vyālis, the richly carved stylobate etc."⁶ The most wonderful part of it is the style and workmanship of the composite pillars each of which is carved out of a single block of granite. "The beauty of the Kalyāṇa maṇṭapa alone would be sufficient to excite wonder and admiration in its beholder.”⁷ It is a magnificent building with a raised dais used during festivals. The people at Hampi say that there were chains of stone rings hanging from the eves at several of the corners of the temple till about thirty or forty years ago. Just opposite to the mahāmaṇṭapa is the stone car, part of which is built of granite. Originally it had a dome-shaped stūpi made of brick and plaster. Fergusson thinks that it is formed of a single block of granite and hence monolithic8 but both Rea and Longhurst feel that it is not so, but consists of nine separate blocks of stone.

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⁶ Fergusson, *Ind. and East Arch.*, I, p. 401.

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⁷ Hampi Ruins, p. 132.

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Acyuta Rāya Temple :

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The Acyuta Rāya temple, though designed on the plan of the Viṭṭhala temple, is not so grand from the point of view of its workmanship. In front of the main shrine of the temple there is a pillared hall now in a decayed condition. The pillars in the hall contain some good sculptures. The inner courtyard is surrounded by a verandah with carved pillars and decorated panels representing an elephant procession. There are also beautiful sculptures in the panels between the plinth and the cornice mouldings of the basement on the west and north-western sides of the verandah. The stone carving on the ruined northern gateway of the temple is also noteworthy. The different incarnations of Viṣṇu are represented on them. On both sides of the inner and outer door jams are represented two beautiful female figures, “representing in duplicate the river goddess Gaṅgā or the Ganges, standing on the back of a makara or conventional crocodile from the mouth of which issues a floriated scroll ornament of semi-classical character which is continued all round the door frame and forms a very pleasing ornament.”

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The Mālyavanta Temple :

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The Mālyavanta Raghunātha temple is built very near the precipice of the Mālyavanta hill. The image of Rāma, the object of worship in the temple, is carved upon a huge boulder. The temple like many others has a mahāmaṇṭapa and a kalyāṇamaṇṭapa, and these contain some fine sculptures. One of the most interesting among them is the figure of two serpents approaching the sun or moon, representing a solar or lunar eclipse.

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*Statue of Narasimha :*

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A huge monolithic statue of Narasimha, an incarnation of Viṣṇu, is enshrined within a walled enclosure. According to an epigraph written on a slab within the enclosure it was hewn out of a single boulder by a Brahman in 1528.⁹ It is twenty-two feet high, and in spite of its large size, the details and the finish of the statue are very well executed. This can be seen even now though it has been mutilated. V. A. Smith speaking about this statue of Narasimha observes : "The semi-barbarism of the court is reflected in the forms of art. The giant monolithic Man-lion (Narasimha) statue, 22 feet high, and the huge monkey god Hanumān, although wrought with exquisite finish, are hideous inartistic monsters ; and the sculpture generally, however perfect in mechanical execution, is lacking in beauty and refinement."¹⁰ This only shows that Smith found great difficulty in understanding Indian art or its ideals.

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⁹ E.I., I., p. 399.

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¹⁰ Fine Art in India and Ceylon, p. 228.

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*Temples in the Mysore Country :*

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With the advent of the Vijayanagar empire the Dravidian style was revived in the buildings in the Mysore country where during the time of the Hoyśālas the Hoyśāla style had flourished. But the Dravidian style that was reintroduced in the Kanarese districts in the Vijayanagar period was influenced largely by the Hoyśāla style of architecture.

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*Vidyāśaṅkara Temple :*

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One of the early temples built in the Mysore territory soon after the foundation of the Vijayanagar empire was the Vidyāśaṅkara temple at Śṛṅgēri. This temple though built in the Dravidian style has largely been influenced by the Hoyśāla art. It has the following features of the Hoyśāla style : It is built on a raised terrace about three feet high ; rows of animals and purānic scenes adorn the outside walls of the temple.¹¹ This has led some scholars to think that it was a Hoyśāla temple. But its plan is distinctly Dravidian. The temple has a garbhagṛha, a śukhanāsi, a pradakṣiṇa and a navaraṅga. Figures large and small adorn the walls of the temple. It has been said that it is "a veritable museum of sculptures for the study of Hindu iconography". Among the larger ones there are altogether 104. But the smaller ones are more interesting. The purānic friezes depict some interesting scenes from the Śaiva purāṇas. In one panel Śaṅkarācārya is seen teaching four of his disciples who are seated two on either side with their books placed on *vyāsapīṭhas* (book rests),¹² while there are a few others standing. There are also several figures which represent different kinds of *yōga* posture. Many sages are depicted as seated on various animals. Special mention may be made of the chains of stone rings hanging from the eves at several of the corners of the temple.

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¹¹ Q. J. M. S., VI, p. 252.

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¹² See *M.A.R.*, 1916, Pl. VII, No. 4 facing p. 14.

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The importance of the *navaraṅga* in the temple from the architectural point of view is very great. It “is a grand hall supported by 12 sculptured pillars with lions and riders, the corner pillars having lions and riders on two faces, the whole pillar being carved out of a single block of stone. Many of the lions have balls of stone put into their mouths which must have been prepared when making the lions, seeing that they can be moved about, but cannot be taken out. Each pillar has sculptured on its back a sign of the zodiac such as the ram, bull and so forth; and it is stated that the pillars are so arranged that the rays of the sun fall on them in the order of the solar months; that is to say, the rays of the sun fall on the pillar marked with ram in the first solar month and so on with others. Each pillar has likewise carved on it the particular planet or planets ruling over the particular *rāśi* or zodiacal sign represented by it, while the sun being the lord of all the *rāśis* is sculptured on the top panel of all the pillars……..The central ceiling about eight feet square, is an exquisite piece of workmanship with a panel, about four feet square and two feet deep, in the middle containing a beautiful lotus bud of five tiers of concentric petals at which parrots are shown as pecking on the four sides head downwards.”¹³ Thus the style of the whole architecture and sculpture in the building is really superb.

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¹³ Ibid., para 14.

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*Lakṣmīdēva* and *Mallikārjuna* Temples:

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In front of the *Lakṣmīdēva* temple at *Mēlkōṭe* is a *maṇṭapa* which contains some interesting sculptures. It appears to have been built, as the inscriptions in it show, about A.D. 1458, by Raṅganāyakī, the wife of Timma Daṇḍanāyaka, a minister of Dēva Rāya II and Mallikārjuna, and “lord of Nelamaṅgala.” The sculptures depict scenes from the *Rāmāyaṇa* and the *Bhāgavata*. In one of them is seen Vibhīṣaṇa visiting Rāma while in another Kṛṣṇa is depicted as killing Kaṃsa.¹⁴ The pillars in the Tiruk- This image is blank. There is no text to transcribe.

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¹⁴ *M.A.R.*, 1906-07, para 31 referred to in Mys. Gaz., New edn., II, Pt. i, p. 290.

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Gopuram, Rāma Temple, Tāḍpatri

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kacci nambi temple at the same place contain thirteen interesting sculptures, which are described by inscriptions under each. These depict certain interesting incidents in the life of Arjuna such as the performance of penance on the Indrakīla mountain.¹⁵ Similarly the Mallikārjuna temple at Paṅkajanahaḷḷi contains some interesting sculptures. In one of them Kaṇṇappa is seen armed with a bow, piercing his eye with an arrow, his foot on a Liṅga canopied by a three-hooded snake; Śakti Gaṇapati is represented with his consort on his left thigh; while Śiva is represented as Liṅgōdbhavamūrti with a boar (Viṣṇu) at the bottom and a swan (Brahmā) at the top.¹⁶

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¹⁵ M.A.R., 1907-08, para 61 referred to in ibid., p. 290.

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¹⁶ Ibid., p. 291.

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Temples in South India :

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South India is a land of temples, and there are many big ones among them. Though the Vijayanagar kings did not build all of them they at least built parts of many of them. It was in the Vijayanagar days that many of the great temples of South India were provided with huge towers. Kṛṣṇadēva Rāya for instance built a good part of the northern tower at Cidambaram, one on the south side of the outer enclosure of the Ēkāmbaranātha shrine at Conjeevaram and another at Kāḷahasti. “The like model of these lofty towers elsewhere introduced, procured for them the designation of Rāyar Gōpuram or a tower after the Rāyar’s fashion—that is a large and lofty tower.”¹⁷ It was only later that the huge towers in the temple at Tiruvaṇṇāmalai and Madura were built. Further many of the huge maṇṭapas in the temples of South India were built in the Vijayanagar days.

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¹⁷ W. Taylor, Or. Hist. Mss., II, p. 125.

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Tāḍpatri :

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Tāḍpatri is a place of great architectural interest. There is a deserted temple at the place with two large gōpurams one finished and the other completed only to the height of the prākāra wall, the tower proper not having been begun.¹⁸ The unique feature about these two towers is the fact that generally the perpendicular part is comparatively plain and simple without many sculptural decorations; while the upper part is studded with such sculptures, the lower portion of these towers is very closely “covered with the most elaborate sculptures cut with exquisite sharpness and precision, in a fine close-grained hornblende (?) stone, and produces an effect richer, and on the whole perhaps in better taste, than anything else in this style. . . . . . . . . . . If compared with Halebid or Belur, these Tadpatri gopurams stand that test (of comparison) better than any other works of the Vijayanagar Rajas.”¹⁹

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¹⁸ Tradition says that it had been destroyed by the Mahrattas.

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¹⁹ Fergusson, Hist. of Ind. and East. Arch., I, p. 404.

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Vellore :

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The temple within the fort is important for the kalyāṇamaṇṭapa it contains. It is one of the best specimens of Dravidian architecture. The vyāḷis and rearing horsemen are exquisitely carved, but there is no exaggeration of the parts. “The great cornice, too, with its double flextures and its little trelliswork of supports, is not only very elegant in form but one of those marvels of patient industry such as are to be found hardly anywhere else.”20

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Conjeevaram :

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The Ēkāmbaranātha temple at Conjeevaram possesses one of the largest gōpurams in South India measuring 188 feet and it has ten stories. It was built by Kṛṣṇadēva Rāya of Vijayanagar. There are many maṇṭapas in the temple one of which has about 540 columns. The Varadarājasvāmi temple, parts of which were built by the Vijayanagar kings, contains a kalyāṇamaṇṭapa in the style of the one at Vellore with granite pillars in which are represented figures riding on horses or hippogriffs.

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Cidambaram :

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Large additions were made by the Vijayanagar kings to the temple at Cidambaram. Kṛṣṇadēva Rāya constructed a good portion of the northern gōpuram on his return from Simhādri. It is a massive structure, 140 feet high. The lower part of it is constructed of granite, while the pyramidal part is built of brick and plaster studded with stucco figures. There are carved on it both Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva figures. The figure of Kṛṣṇadēva Rāya is sculptured in high relief in a niche on the western side of the northern tower of the temple. A spacious maṇṭapa standing on a thousand columns appears to have been constructed during this period. It is about 197 feet wide and 338 feet long. The pillars are each made of a single block of granite. The style and ornamentation of these The *fraternities* of the Middle Ages, which were so numerous and so varied in their objects, were not all of the same origin. Some were religious, some social, some charitable, and some industrial. The religious guilds, or *gilds*, as they were often called, were associations of laymen for the purpose of performing religious duties, such as the maintenance of a chaplain, the celebration of masses, or the support of a hospital. The social guilds were formed for the purpose of mutual aid and good fellowship, and often included in their objects the relief of the poor, the sick, and the aged. The charitable guilds were established for the purpose of supporting hospitals, almshouses, and other institutions of mercy. The industrial guilds, or *craft guilds*, were associations of men engaged in the same trade or industry, and were formed for the purpose of regulating the trade, protecting the interests of the members, and maintaining the quality of their work.

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Kalyāṇamaṇṭapa, Śiva temple, Vellore

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The craft guilds, which became so powerful in the later Middle Ages, were the successors of the earlier *collegia* of the Roman Empire. The *collegia* were associations of artisans and tradesmen, which were recognized by the state and had a legal existence. When the Roman Empire fell, these associations were largely destroyed, but the idea of association for mutual protection and the regulation of trade survived. In the early Middle Ages, the *gilds* began to reappear, and by the twelfth century they were firmly established in many of the cities of Europe.

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The craft guilds were organized on a democratic basis, and every member had a voice in the management of the guild's affairs. The officers were elected by the members, and the rules and regulations were made by the guild as a whole. The guilds had the power to fix prices, to regulate the hours of labor, and to determine the conditions of apprenticeship. They also had the power to punish members who violated the rules, and to expel those who were guilty of serious offenses. The guilds were thus a powerful force in the economic life of the Middle Ages, and they played an important part in the development of the modern industrial system.

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The decline of the craft guilds began in the sixteenth century, when the rise of the factory system and the growth of international trade made it difficult for the small, local guilds to compete with the larger and more efficient industrial organizations. The guilds were also weakened by the growth of the power of the state, which began to regulate trade and industry directly, and by the rise of the capitalist class, which sought to break the power of the guilds and to establish a system of free competition. By the end of the eighteenth century, the craft guilds had largely disappeared, but their influence lived on in the trade unions and other labor organizations of the modern world.

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pillars look old but certain features in the building give it a modern appearance. The central pier is formed of radiating arches supported by brick vaults. Fergusson is of opinion that these vaults are certainly integral, and could not have been employed “till after the Muhammadans had settled in the south and taught the Hindus how to use them.” One of the finest structures at the place is the porch before the Pārvatī shrine. It contains five aisles. The outer ones are each six feet broad, the next ones eight feet each, while the central one is about twenty-one feet six inches. “In order to roof this without employing stones of such dimensions as would crush the supports, recourse was had to vaulting, or rather bracketing shafts and these brackets were again tied together by transverse purlins all in stone, and the system was continued till the width was reduced to a dimension that could easily be spanned. As the whole is enclosed in a court surrounded by galleries two storeys in height the effect of the whole is singularly pleasing.”²¹ There is an attractive portico standing on square pillars all of them elaborately ornamented, before the shrine of Ṣaṇmukha or Subrahmaṇya to the north of the shrine of Pārvatī. From the character of its ornamentation it appears to have been built about the end of the seventeenth century, and the beginning of the eighteenth century. Fergusson however thinks that from the nature of its style the building is assignable to an earlier date.

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²¹ Fergusson, op. cit., p. 377.

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Madura:

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The Vasanta or Pudu maṇṭapam at Madura is of very great architectural interest. It is 333 feet long and 105 feet broad, and consists of four ranges of columns, all very elaborately sculptured. The facade of this hall is adorned with vyālis, monsters of the lion type, trampling on an elephant, or a warrior is seen sitting on a rearing horse his feet supported by the shields of foot-soldiers sometimes killing men and sometimes tigers. On these sculptures Fergusson says: “These groups found literally in hundreds in South India, and as works exhibiting difficulties overcome by patient labour, they are unrivalled, so far as I know, by anything found elsewhere. As works of art they are the most barbarous, it may be said the most vulgar to be found in India, and do more to shake one’s faith in the civilization of the people who produced them than anything they did in any department of art.”²² But as Vincent Smith remarks, the opinions of Fergusson are too harsh.

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²² Ibid., pp. 389-90.

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“Fergusson’s criticism fails to give the southern sculptures due credit for their power of expressing vigorous movement. ........ Such figures appear to be unknown elsewhere, and it is not apparent how they became so much favoured in the Tamil country.”²³ Smith however remarks: “The southern sculpture, remarkable.... for its enormous quantity, fantastic character, often degenerating into the grotesque, and marvellous elaboration, rarely, if ever, exhibits the higher qualities of art. The sculptures being designed to be viewed by the mass, not as individual works, reproductions of a few separate figures cannot do full justice either to the sculptor’s intention or to the general effect.”²⁴

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²³ A Hist. of Fine Art in India and Ceylon, pp. 233-34.

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²⁴ Ibid., pp. 234-35.

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The gōpuram in front of the choultry was also begun by Tirumala Nāyaka. From north to south it is 174 feet and in depth it is 117 feet. The gōpuram remains incomplete, but even in its present size it is an imposing structure. The door posts are made of single granite stone carved with beautiful scroll patterns of elaborated foliage.

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The temple at Madura itself is a monument of very fine workmanship. There is a hall of thousand columns in the temple. It is a marvellous work from the architectural point of view. The whole building is elaborately sculptured in a manner which excites the wonder and admiration of the visitor.²⁵

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²⁵ A Tamil work called the Tiruppaṇimālai states that Kṛṣṇavirappa Nāyaka constructed (reconstructed?) the Veḷḷiambalam, the northern gopuram, the shrine called Śevviśvaram, the kitchen, as also the thousand-pillared maṇṭapa, the Mūrtiyamman maṇṭapa, the Śurrumaṇṭapa of the second prākāra and the Virappa maṇṭapa with sculptured pillars. He also covered the pillars of a maṇṭapa of the temple of Mīnākṣī with gold. (E.I., XII, p. 161).

1-b. Portrait Sculpture

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Castings in bronze and brass are largely made in South India. Idols in temples and statues of eminent rulers who made large benefactions for the upkeep of and worship in temples are made and placed in them. Though many of the bornze castings must have been made in the Vijayanagar days also we do not get much information about them. But there are three brass castings in the Tirumalai temple which are of some interest. One of them represents Kṛṣṇadēva Rāya, who was a staunch devotee of God Veṅkaṭēśa and made substantial improvements to the temple.²⁶ The other two represent his two queens Cinnādēvi and Tirumalādēvi. They were apparently contemporary statues. Speaking about them Vincent Smith remarks: "The images although formal in design and defective in expression seem to be executed with great delicacy."²⁷

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²⁶ With this can be compared the stone statue of the king placed in a niche of the northern gōpura of the Naṭarāja temple at Cidambaram. It is a fine piece of workmanship. See frontispiece.

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²⁷ Hist. of Fine Art in Ind. and Ceylon, p. 238. See also fig. 21 in Portrait Sculpture in South India by T. G. Aravamuthan.

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In the Tirumalai temple there is also a copper statue of Veṅkaṭa II (1585-1614). Its workmanship is delicate to an extreme degree and is a good specimen of portrait sculpture. Besides there is also in the temple a group of two statues (husband and wife) carved in stone. It is generally supposed to be a carving of Tirumala I and his wife Vēṅgalāmbā.²⁸ But an old Mahratta inventory of the articles and properties of the temple refers to the group as statues of Acyuta and his queen Varadāji Ammā.²⁹

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²⁸ A.S.R., 1912, p. 189 fn. 3; see also Heras, Aravidu Dynasty. I, plate facing p. 248.

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²⁹ Rep. on Tirumalai Tirupati Devasthanam Ins.. p. 315 and plate 53.

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The Pudu maṇṭapa at Madura gains greater importance and interest owing to the fact that it contains the statues of ten Nāyak kings of the place. The sculptor does not idealise his figures, but the statues appear to be true portraits of the first ten Nāyak rulers of Madura. Many of them wear helmets over their heads, and a cloth round their waists. These statues are perfect specimens of South Indian art.³⁰

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³⁰ See ‘The Statues of the Nayaks of Madura in the Pudu maṇṭapam’ in Q.J.M.S., XV, pp. 209 ff., by Heras where the figures are reproduced; also Gangoly, South Indian Bronzes, Pl. lxxxiv, p. 60.

2. Civil Architecture

(a) Palaces and public buildings in Vijayanagar

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The palaces and other civil buildings that were constructed by the kings at Vijayanagar are now in ruins. Many of them were razed to the ground by the Mussalmans who committed all manner of excesses after the battle of Rakṣas Taṅgḍi. As a result, instead of the buildings we see only platforms. But the following remains can be noted.

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Within the citadel there is a very large basement which appears to have been that of an important building—perhaps the audience hall of the Vijayanagar kings. The upper surface of the platform shows traces of the existence of six rows of pillars, each row containing ten pillars, for there are to be seen sixty bases on which the pillars probably rested. They were in all likelihood made of timber since no stone pillar is seen there now even in a broken condition. From the statement of Abdur Razāk that the king’s “Audience Hall was elevated above all the rest of the lofty buildings in the Citadel” we can fairly presume that it had one or two stories above it. But it appears they were all in timber. The basement of the platform is adorned with simple carvings.

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But the “Throne Platform” is the most attractive among the many to be seen there. Paes calls the building that stood upon this platform as the “House of Victory” on account of the fact that it was built by Kṛṣṇadēva Rāya soon after his return from his victorious campaign against the ruler of Orissa. It was the place where the king used to be sitting to witness the celebration of the Mahānavami festival. The platform “is a massive structure, originally faced with carved granite blocks and slabs which have subsequently been partly refaced with dark green chlorite stone on the front or west side of the platform. . . . . . . . . The spaces between the different rows of the plinth mouldings of the platform are mostly elaborately carved in a similar style to that employed in the ornamentation of the enclosure walls of the Hazāra Rāma temple, the different scenes representing processions of soldiers, horses, elephants, camels and dancing girls.”³⁰ᵃ A few bas-reliefs on the walls of the platform depict hunting scenes and conventional animals. The sculptures are, however, crude on account of the granite on which they are made. “The upper course of stone is decorated with a procession of elephants. Two foreign-looking men with pointed beards and Persian-like caps are shown bowing to a group of figures seated on a throne. Perhaps the scene is intended to represent a visit of two foreign ambassadors to the court.”³¹ Longhurst is of opinion that there is a pronounced Jaina style about these old bas-reliefs, and says that it is at times a little difficult “to know whether some of the figures represent men or women owing to the curious manner in which both sexes wear their hair.”³² Be-

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30a. Longhurst, Hampi Ruins, p. 58.
31. Ibid., p. 62.

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low the procession of elephants are seen a row of sacred geese and conventional crocodiles which was a favourite design of the early Jains and Buddhists. Under this there are three rows of dancing girls. The figures are full of spirit and action. In another place in the same building, there are a few other sculptures. In the top panel we see a parade of the king's horses. Below it is seen a hunting scene. "One man is shown spearing a tiger or panther, whilst two men, one armed with a bow, and the other with a curiously shaped weapon and leading brace of grey hounds, are depicted hunting antelope. In the centre is a tree in which are two armed men being attacked by some wild beast. Below the tree is a boar on one side and a cross on the other, the latter is certainly peculiar, but in this case it is merely a conventional method of representing an ornamental tank. Below are represented two boxers giving an exhibition of the "noble art" before the king in the manner related by Nuniz. To the left we have a very Assyrian looking bas-relief representing a warrior slaying a bear by calmly plunging a dagger into its open mouth as it charges.... Processions of horses and warriors, camels carrying drummers with kettledrums shaped like baskets, elephants, dancing girls and musicians make up the rest of the scenes depicted in these quaint old bas-reliefs."33 The gorgeous processions connected with the Mahānavami festival described by the foreign travellers are all represented on the sides of the platform. In one of them a young noble is seen taking part in the festival along with a group of dancing girls, "two of the latter being armed with squirts full of saffron water." Longhurst takes this to be a representation of the Holi festival described by Nicolo dei Conti. But the panel appears to represent a very common feature of the life of the Vijayanagar nobility—the water sports or *jalakrīḍā* which contemporary literature describes elaborately.

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There is another platform in the locality which appears to have been that of the palace since it is situated within the royal enclosure near the king's Audience Hall and the Throne Platform. The walls standing on this Platform are of brick and mortar instead of stone, while the superstructure and the pillars appear to have been of wood, which were burnt down by the Muhammadans. The basement stands on a platform of about five feet on the panels of which are engraved interesting Mahānavami processions.

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(b) Irrigation works :

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For the supply of water to the city of Vijayanagar great facilities were provided. Water seems to have been got from a tank situated at a comparatively high level. But Longhurst suggests that it must have been got from a well outside the city, "in the usual Indian fashion by means of large leather buckets worked by bullocks the water being poured into a main channel connected with branch pipes."³⁴ A stone channel which is near the Throne Platform leads to the enclosure walls of the citadel. Another branches from it to the Zenānā enclosure. It goes up to the Queen's Bath. This is a square building in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture and is surrounded by a moat. An arched corridor with small projecting balconies surrounds the building, and from it a view can be had of the Bath in the centre. To the north of the Candraśēkhara temple in the citadel is an octagonal tank with a dilapidated pavilion in the centre and a pillared corridor with a flat roof running all round the tank. It was perhaps used as a pleasure resort. The Turuttu channel runs alongside of the hill and "takes off from the Turuttu anicut across the river Tuṅgabhadrā about a mile west of Hampi. Apart from these, there are two objects of great interest. One is a stone trough opposite the platform of the king's "Audience Hall." It was used perhaps for storing water for the horses and elephants of the ambassadors and nobles who sought the audience of the king. It is made of a single block of granite measuring 41½ feet in length and 3 feet in width, and 2 feet 9 inches in thickness and contains a small drainage hole for flushing out purposes. The other building is the octagonal pavilion, rather a large structure. It is built in the Indo-Saracenic style. On all sides of the building there are arched openings and there is a small fountain basin in the centre of the building. The building also contains a massive stone trough carved out of a single block of granite in which, it is said, milk was kept for distribution to the poor during the big festivals at the capital.

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³⁴ Op. cit., p. 52.

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(c) Bazaars :

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Interesting examples of street architecture in the Vijayanagar days can be seen in the Hampi bazaar which continues to exist even to the present day in a fairly perfect condition. It is opposite to the temple at Hampi and is 35 yards wide and 800 yards long. Many of the buildings in the street are simple maṇṭapas standing on stone pillars supporting ornamented lintel. A few of them have two stories “and a row of moulded columns with carved capitals in front, supporting a moulded and ornamental cornice and parapet.”³⁵ At the east end of the street is a large Nandi (the Sacred Bull of Śiva) facing the Hampi temple. Just in front of the maṇṭapa in which it is housed is the two-storied building with many finely carved pillars of black stone in the Cāḷukyan style of which we have spoken.³⁶ Another street known as the Śūḷai Bazaar or the dancing girls’ street runs north of Acyuta Rāya’s temple. The dancing girls are said to have lived here. The houses are in ruins, but the dancing girls appear to have lived in houses separated by rubble walls which were plastered over. There is a tank or bath at the north-western end of the street which was probably used by the dancing girls.

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³⁵ Rea, Madras Chr. Coll. Mag., II, p. 506.

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³⁶ See p. 391.

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To the east of the Kṛṣṇasvāmi temple there is another bazaar; but this is on a lower ground than the temple itself. The buildings have all only one story and the lintels used for them stand on stone piers. At the north side of the street there is a large tank surrounded by a corridor and it is entered by an ornamented gateway. Both this and the Śūḷai Bazaar are now deserted, and the lands between the ruins are under cultivation.

3. Military Architecture

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The city of Vijayanagar was surrounded by seven lines of fortifications. Abdur Razāk observed that the city was so built that it had seven fortified walls one within the other. He says: “Beyond the circuit of the outer wall there is an esplanade extending for about fifty yards in which stones are fixed within one another to the height of a man; one half is buried firmly in the earth and the other half rises above it, so that neither foot nor horse, however bold can advance with facility near the outer wall.”³⁷ There were six fortresses within this outer one, and within the last fortress was the palace of the king. Paes also confirms the account of the Persian Ambassador and states that the city was fortified by strong walls “made of very strong masonry such as would be found in few other parts.”³⁸ The form of the city was a circle.

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³⁷ Elliot, Hist. of India, IV, p. 106.

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³⁸ Sewell, Op. cit., p. 244.

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Abdur Razāk speaks of the city as having been a circle and being situated on a hill.³⁹ Caesar Frederick confirms this statement.⁴⁰

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³⁹ Elliot, Op. cit., IV, p. 106. The Vidyāraṇya Kalājñāna states that the city was built like a Śrī Cakra.

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⁴⁰ Purchas, His Pilgrims, X, p. 97.

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The size of the city has been variously estimated. Nicolo dei Conti remarks that the walls of the city of Vijayanagar were carried up to the mountains and enclosed the valleys at their foot and that by that reason the extent of the city was increased, and its circumference was sixty miles.⁴¹ Abdur Razāk says that the distance between the northern and southern gates of the outer fortress was two statute parasangs and the same was also the distance between the eastern and western outer gates.⁴² Paes thinks that the circumference of the city was twenty-four leagues⁴³ and says that the first serra was two leagues away from the capital. According to Caesar Frederick it was twenty-four miles. From these widely contradictory statements of the different writers it is difficult to estimate the exact size of the capital. However it appears that the accounts of Nicolo dei Conti and Paes are highly exaggerated with regard to the size of the city. It is highly improbable that the size was so big, for, if it had really been so, the distance between the centre of the capital and the first line of fortifications must have been about eighteen to twenty miles. It is probable that both the chroniclers wrongly took into account the mountain fortresses and the fortifications outside the main fortifications of the capital and calculated the circumference to be more than sixty miles. Abdur Razāk’s statement that the diameter of the city was fourteen miles can be well compared with the modest estimate of the circumference of the city by Caesar Frederick. Sewell says: "From the last fortification in the south beyond the present town of Hospet, to the extreme point of the defences of Anegundi on the north the distance is about twelve miles. From the extreme western line of walls in the plain to the last of eastern works amongst the hills lying in the direction of Daroji and Kampili the interval measures about ten miles. Within this area we find the remains of the structures of which I have spoken."⁴⁴ Thus the area occupied by the present ruined site of the capital of Vijayanagar also shows that the estimates of Abdur Razāk and Caesar Frederick are nearer the truth than the estimates of Nicolo dei Conti and Paes.

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⁴¹ Major, India, p. 6.

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⁴² Elliot, op. cit., IV, p. 107 ; Parasang=3 miles.

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⁴³ Sewell, op. cit., pp. 242-43. League=3 miles.

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⁴⁴ Op. cit., p. 83.

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The massive walls of the fortifications at the capital were pierced by openings which served as gateways. They were generally constructed in the Hindu style but in a few of them the influence of Muhammadan architecture is visible. One of the most important of the gateways of Vijayanagar was what is known as Bhīma's gateway. It got this name because there is in it a large well carved bas-relief image of Bhīma. This gateway has a sallyport and is supported by massive walls on either side. Half a mile to the north-east of the Paṭṭābhirāma temple is another gate which seems to have served as a main entrance on the northern side of the city of Vijayanagar. In the inner side of the gateway there is a large image of Hanumān. Another gateway that deserves a passing mention is the one that is on the road that leads to the Paṭṭābhirāma temple from the south. While the lower portion of the gateway is built in the Hindu style, the upper portion is built in the Muhammadan style of architecture.

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Jain Monuments

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The prevalence of religious tolerance in the empire expressed itself in the construction of Jain temples also within the empire of Vijayanagar. At the capital itself there is a Jain temple called the Gāṇigitti temple. Gāṇigitti means "an oil woman"; but it is difficult to say how the temple came to be so named. The main tower above the shrine is built in the series of steps which is the most noticeable feature of this style. There is a beautiful monolithic stambha in front of the shrine and it contains an inscription of A.D. 1385⁴⁵ which states that it was built by Irugappa Daṇḍanātha, the Jain minister of Harihara II. The figure of a Jain Tīrthaṅkara with three superimposed umbrellas above his head and a flywhisk on either side is engraved upon the stone lintel over the main doorway. Further on the plaster parapet over the front porch there are three small niches each of which contains the remains of three seated Jaina images of the same saint carved on the door lintel.

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⁴⁵ S.I.I., I, p. 156.

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The Vardhamāna temple at Jina Kāñcī or Tirupparuttikkunram in the Chingleput district received special attention at the hands of Irugappa. He built the saṅgītamaṇṭapa before the Vardhamāna ardhamanṭapa in front of the shrine at the instance of his preceptor Puṣpasēna. It is so named because musical concerts were held in it. It measures 61 feet 9 inches by 26 feet 4 inches. The style of the pillars is early Vijayanagar. On the base of the pillars are carved lions, plants, creepers, twisting snakes, knots, dancing girls, dwarfish Yakṣas playing on musical instruments, etc. The capital looks like a lotus and a motif hangs from it representing the seed vessel. In one of the pillars in the maṇṭapa is carved the figure of Irugappa Daṇḍanātha in high relief. "A spirit of extreme devotion, humility, asceticism, self-sacrifice and eagerness to be at the service of humanity is visible in the figure." The hair of the head is tied up in a knot and thrown on the left side of the figure.

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