HistoryMedieval India: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara

On the last day of the Mahanavami festival at Vijayanagara, who broug…

On the last day of the Mahanavami festival at Vijayanagara, who brought rich gifts for the king as well as the stipulated tribute?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → The nayakas

Option (1) The king's advisers — Incorrect. The advisers met the king in council, perhaps in the Lotus Mahal. They had no part in bringing tribute.

Option (2) The nayakas — Correct. The nayakas were military chiefs under the king. On the last day, when the king inspected their armies, they brought rich gifts and the stipulated tribute.

Option (3) The temple priests — Incorrect. Priests served in the temples. They had no fixed tribute to pay to the king at this ceremony.

Option (4) The foreign horse traders — Incorrect. Horse traders were merchants who sold horses to the state, and they owed no fixed tribute.

NCERT (2026-27): “4.1 The mahanavami dibba …
The ceremonies performed on the occasion included worship of the image, worship of the state horse, and the sacrifice of buffaloes and other animals. Dances, wrestling matches, and processions of caparisoned horses, elephants and chariots and soldiers, as well as ritual presentations before the king and his guests by the chief nayakas and subordinate kings marked the occasion. These ceremonies were imbued with deep symbolic meanings. On the last day of the festival the king inspected his army and the armies of the nayakas in a grand ceremony in an open field. On this occasion the nayakas brought rich gifts for the king as well as the stipulated tribute.”