From the following options, choose which is NOT a feature of 'Amara-Nayaka System'.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Amara-Nayakas were the independent military commanders.
Option (1) Amara-Nayakas were the independent military commanders. — Incorrect statement. The amara-nayakas were military commanders who were given territories to govern by the raya; they were not independent. They sent tribute, appeared at court to express their loyalty and could be transferred. Only in the seventeenth century did many nayakas establish independent kingdoms, which hastened the collapse of the empire.
Option (2) Amara-Nayakas collected taxes and other dues from peasants. — Correct statement. They collected taxes and other dues from peasants, craftspersons and traders in their area.
Option (3) Amara-Nayakas sent tributes to the king annually. — Correct statement. They sent tribute to the king annually and personally appeared in the royal court with gifts.
Option (4) Amara-Nayakas were transferred from one place to another. — Correct statement. Kings occasionally asserted their control over them by transferring them from one place to another.
NCERT (2026-27): “2.3 The rayas and the nayakas … The amara-nayaka system was a major political innovation of the Vijayanagara Empire. It is likely that many features of this system were derived from the iqta system of the Delhi Sultanate. The amara-nayakas were military commanders who were given territories to govern by the raya. They collected taxes and other dues from peasants, craftspersons and traders in the area. They retained part of the revenue for personal use and for maintaining a stipulated contingent of horses and elephants. These contingents provided the Vijayanagara kings with an effective fighting force with which they brought the entire southern peninsula under their control. Some of the revenue was also used for the maintenance of temples and irrigation works. The amara-nayakas sent tribute to the king annually and personally appeared in the royal court with gifts to express their loyalty. Kings occasionally asserted their control over them by transferring them from one place to another. However, during the course of the seventeenth century, many of these nayakas established independent kingdoms. This hastened the collapse of the central imperial structure.” |