Identify the correct statements in regards to the Vijayanagara empire:
(A) Vijayanagara kings claimed to rule on behalf of the god “Virupaksha”, who was lord Vishnu.
(B) Rulers also indicated their close links with the gods by using the title “Hindu Suratrana”.
(C) The amara-nayakas sent tribute to the king annually and personally appeared in the royal court.
(D) The post of amara-nayakas was non-transferrable, even by the kings.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (B) and (C) only
(A) Vijayanagara kings claimed to rule on behalf of the god “Virupaksha”, who was lord Vishnu. Incorrect. The kings did claim to rule on behalf of Virupaksha, and royal orders were signed “Shri Virupaksha”. But Virupaksha, the guardian deity of the kingdom, was recognised as a form of Shiva, not Vishnu.
(B) Rulers also indicated their close links with the gods by using the title “Hindu Suratrana”. Correct. The title was a Sanskritised form of the Arabic word Sultan, meaning king, so it literally meant “Hindu Sultan”.
(C) The amara-nayakas sent tribute to the king annually and personally appeared in the royal court. Correct. The amara-nayakas were military commanders who governed territories given to them by the raya. They came to court with gifts to express their loyalty.
(D) The post of amara-nayakas was non-transferrable, even by the kings. Incorrect. Kings asserted their control over the amara-nayakas by transferring them from one place to another. Even so, in the seventeenth century many nayakas set up independent kingdoms, which hastened the collapse of the empire.
NCERT (2025-26): “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. 5.1 Choosing a capital … It is likely that the very choice of the site of Vijayanagara was inspired by the existence of the shrines of Virupaksha and Pampadevi. In fact the Vijayanagara kings claimed to rule on behalf of the god Virupaksha. All royal orders were signed ‘Shri Virupaksha’, usually in the Kannada script. Rulers also indicated their close links with the gods by using the title ‘Hindu Suratrana’. This was a Sanskritisation of the Arabic term Sultan, meaning king, so it literally meant Hindu Sultan.… 5.1 Choosing a capital … Other traditions suggest that Pampadevi, the local mother goddess, did penance in these hills in order to marry Virupaksha, the guardian deity of the kingdom, also recognised as a form of Shiva. To this day this marriage is celebrated annually in the Virupaksha temple.…” |