Read the passage and answer the questions:
Vijayanagara Empire: The Sacred Centre
The first dynasty, known as the Sangama dynasty, exercised control till 1485. They were supplanted by the Saluvas, military commanders, who remained in power till 1503 when they were replaced by the Tuluvas. Krishnadeva Raya belonged to the Tuluva dynasty. 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 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 important south Indian temples. He also founded a suburban township near Vijayanagara called Nagalapuram after his mother. Some of the most detailed descriptions of Vijayanagara come from his time or just after. ... The Virupaksha temple was built over centuries. While inscriptions suggest that the earliest shrine dated to the ninth-tenth centuries, it was substantially enlarged with the establishment of the Vijayanagara Empire. The hall in front of the main shrine was built by Krishnadeva Raya to mark his accession. This was decorated with delicately carved pillars. ... Another shrine, the Vitthala temple, is also interesting. Here, the principal deity was Vitthala, a form of Vishnu generally worshipped in Maharashtra. The introduction of the worship of the deity in Karnataka is another indication of the ways in which the rulers of Vijayanagara drew on different traditions to create an imperial culture.
What are gopurams known as in temple architecture?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Gateways
Option (1) Gateways — Correct. Gopurams are the royal gateways of the temple complex. The raya gopurams often dwarfed the towers on the central shrines and signalled the presence of the temple from a great distance. They also reminded people of the power of the kings who could build such towering gateways.
Option (2) Pavilions — Incorrect. Pavilions are the mandapas, another feature of these temples, along with the long pillared corridors that ran around the shrines. A mandapa is a hall or pavilion inside the complex, not its gateway.
Option (3) Sculpted Panels — Incorrect. Sculpted panels are carved scenes on the walls of a building. In the Hazara Rama temple, for example, the images of the central shrine are missing, but sculpted panels on the walls survive, with scenes from the Ramayana. They decorate a structure; they are not an entrance to it.
Option (4) Audience Hall — Incorrect. The audience hall is a high platform in the royal centre of Vijayanagara, with slots for wooden pillars at close and regular intervals. It belongs to the king’s complex, not to temple architecture.
Note: This passage is taken from the NCERT chapter ‘An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara’, almost word for word, from the sections on Krishnadeva Raya and on the temples of the sacred centre. Read these sections line by line; one passage from them has given this paper five questions.
NCERT: Themes in Indian History Part II — Chapter 7: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara (2025-26)
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