Read the passage and answer the questions:
Krishnadeva Raya's rule was characterised by expansion and consolidation. This was the time when the land between the Tungabhadra and Krishna rivers (the Raichur doab) was acquired (1512), the rulers of Orissa were subdued (1514) and severe defeats were inflicted on the Sultan of Bijapur (1520).
Although the Vijayanagara kingdom remained in a constant state of military preparedness, it flourished under conditions of unparalleled peace and prosperity. Krishnadeva Raya is credited with building some fine temples and adding impressive gopurams to many of the important South Indian temples. He also founded a suburban township called Nagalapuram.
The combined armies of which kingdoms defeated the Vijayanagara Empire at Talikota in 1565?
A. Gajapati
B. Golconda
C. Bahmani
D. Ahmadnagar
E. Bijapur
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → B, D, E only
A. Gajapati Incorrect. The Gajapatis were the rulers of Orissa. They had been subdued by Krishnadeva Raya in 1514 and were not among the armies at Talikota.
B. Golconda Correct. Golconda was one of the Deccan Sultanates whose combined armies routed the forces of Vijayanagara.
C. Bahmani Incorrect. The Bahmani kingdom had collapsed in 1518, nearly fifty years before the battle; the Sultanate of Golconda emerged from its break-up.
D. Ahmadnagar Correct. Ahmadnagar was the second of the three Sultanates in the alliance.
E. Bijapur Correct. Bijapur was the third. In 1565 Rama Raya, the chief minister of Vijayanagara, led the army into battle at Rakshasi-Tangadi (also known as Talikota), where his forces were routed by the combined armies of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar and Golconda, and the city of Vijayanagara was sacked.
NCERT (2026-27): “2.2 The apogee and decline of the empire … During this period, as indeed earlier, the military ambitions of the rulers of Vijayanagara as well as those of the Deccan Sultanates resulted in shifting alignments. Eventually this led to an alliance of the Sultanates against Vijayanagara. In 1565 Rama Raya, the chief minister of Vijayanagara, led the army into battle at Rakshasi-Tangadi (also known as Talikota), where his forces were routed by the combined armies of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar and Golconda. The victorious armies sacked the city of Vijayanagara. The city was totally abandoned within a few years.…” |