Several travellers visited the city and wrote about it. This is an excerpt from Domingo Paes's description of Vijayanagara: The size of this city I do not write here, because it cannot all be seen from any one spot, but I climbed a hill whence I could see a great part of it; I could not see it all because it lies between several ranges of hills.
The passage also leaves out the next sentence of Paes's description. What does Paes say the king has close to his palace?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → A palm-grove and other rich fruit-bearing trees
Option (1) A large tank fed by pipes from the hills — Incorrect. A tank fed by pipes comes from another account by Paes, about the tank Krishnadeva Raya made at the mouth of two hills.
Option (2) A palm-grove and other rich fruit-bearing trees — Correct. Paes writes that the king has close to his palace a palm-grove and other rich fruit-bearing trees. Gardens and water stand out in his picture of the city.
Option (3) A temple with three carved stone pillars — Incorrect. Three large carved pillars belong to that same tank of Krishnadeva Raya.
Option (4) Stables for his horses and elephants — Incorrect. Horses and elephants were kept by the amara-nayakas for the king's army. This sentence of Paes is about gardens and trees.
NCERT (2026-27): “3. Vijayanagara … |