Administration and Social Life under Vijayanagar c5.16

c5.16

The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries constituted a period of great religious unrest in South India owing to the Muhammadan invasions. The Vijayanagar empire which was founded to protect the Hindu civilization not only stood as a bulwark against Muhammadan aggressions but also encouraged the growth of certain religious cults by creating the peaceful atmosphere necessary for their development. One of such cults was the Viṭhoba cult which is based on *bhakti*. The renaissance in the field of religion and philosophy also led to the coming into prominence of great philosophical disputants and thinkers like Vidyāraṇya, Akṣobhya Muni, Vēdānta Dēśika, Vyāsarāya Tīrtha, Appayya Dīkṣita and Tātācārya. The period saw the rise of certain popular religious movements like Teṅgalai Vaiṣṇavism, which were more liberal in character. Though these religious movements split the Hindu society into many camps they did the signal service of rallying them against the onslaughts of Islam.