Administration and Social Life under Vijayanagar c16.6

c16.6

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.