Shadows of an Empire @ Jehangir Art Gallery

Some very exciting work is currently being done in Hampi. New
structures are being excavated; while some are being restored.
Structures that are standing reminders of a glorious past.
Also gives us an idea on how some of the present day problems
like water conservation, were managed by the Kings in a non-tech
era that’s long gone by.
The story of a glorious city from a glorious era.
sanjayshankar

Whenever the history of medieval India is discussed, mostly the
discussion veers around the geographical area of North India, in
particular Rajputana and Delhi.
The highly successful kingdoms from South India, like the Cholas,
Chalukyas which had the geographical spread and were
administratively well managed, mostly get mentioned within the
ubiquitous “etc”.
One such Empire that had come up in medieval India was the
glorious Vijayanagar Empire.

The period in which our story opens, about 1330 AD, the whole of
Northern India up to Vindhyas is now under Muslim rule.
Muhammad Tughlaq the Delhi ruler marched down south and
seized the fortress of Anegundi. It’s chief & his family was slain.
He appointed his deputy, Malik Naib to govern the Anegundi
fortress.
However resistance from the local population forced Tughlaq to
appoint Harihara to manage this territory.

There are many versions of who Harihara was. One of the most
popular version states that the two brothers, Bukka and Harihara
were in the service of the King of Warangal.
When the Warangal kingdom was destroyed by the Muslim
armies, Bukka & Harihara had escaped with a small body of loyal
soldiers into the hills of Anegundi.
All versions acknowledge that both Hari and Bukka were warrior
class.

Once while hunting in the mountains south of Tungabhadra,
Harihara saw a hare that attacked his hunting dogs instead of
fleeing. That’s how the folklore goes!
The King astonished at this marvel, on the advice of the sage
Madhavacharya —founded a city on the spot.
Thus in 1336 came into being what would soon become the
magnificent Vijayanagar. It grew rapidly and became the home for
the refugees retreating from their old strongholds in the North.

Soon after Tughlaq had left Daulatabad back for Delhi, the city
was captured and independence declared by Zafar Khan, a Turkish
officer, in 1345.
Zafar Khan, once upon a time, apparently was a slave owned by a
Brahmin called Gangu, who had educated him to the extent of
making him a military officer. In deference, the newly formed
kingdom was called Bahmani Sultanate. Some historians also
credit him to be a descendant of the Persian King Bahman.
The Bahmani Sultanate was surrounded by the kingdoms of
Gujarat and Malwa in the north and Vijayanagar in the South.

Harihara reigned for seven years until his death in 1343 upon
which he was succeeded by his brother, Bukka.
The succession was neither smooth nor linear. Harihara the dead
King was the eldest of five brothers and Bukka was third in
seniority. Inscriptions indicate that Harihara was succeeded by
Kampa, the second brother, who was in turn succeeded by
Kampa’s son, Sangama II.
Bukka came to power after a gap of couple of years from
Harihara’s death but then went on to rule for a long time until his
death in 1379.

Hari & Bukka, jointly are the rightful claimants as founder of the
Vijayanagar Empire.
Bukka was succeeded by Harihara II, his son by his wife Gauri and
named after the first ruler. Harihara II reigned for twenty years
right up to 1406 laying the foundations of a strong empire and
consolidated the supremacy of his dynasty across Southern India.

The newly established Vijayanagar kingdom in population and
revenue far exceeded that of the Bahmani neighbor. Army was
bigger yet in the initial days the Raya was forced to pay tribute to
the Bahmani House.
The superiority of Bahmani lay in their swift horses and archers.
The tough terrain demanded a strong cavalry. Strategic changes
were identified to fix the missing gaps.
Results came but not before a few more setbacks.

In a span of 250 years, Vijayanagar was ruled by 4 dynasties and
more than dozen Kings, both the nominal and the de-facto Kings.
Transition was never smooth, particularly when weaker Kings had
occupied the throne and ambitious relatives let their ambitions let
loose, causing chaos.
Succession planning was not fashionable. And eventually when it
was done successfully, it proved to be disastrous.

In early 1443, an attempt was made on the life of King Deva Raya
by his brother. The brother killed the nobility loyal to the King
under the pretext of a feast invitation at his new house.
When he went to invite the King, he hit the King with a dagger
leaving him presumably dead, then went on to the durbar hall to
declare himself as the King.
However Deva Raya survived and got the traitor arrested, leading
to another round of slaughter.

Sultan Ala-ud-din of Gulbarga heard of the middle leadership loss.
Sensing an opportunity he demanded "seven lakhs of varahas.”
Fierce battle ensued. The eldest son of Deva Raya was killed and
the army fled into the fortress of Mudkul.
Deva Raya then sent a message to the Sultan that if he would
promise never again to attack his territories he would pay the
stipulated tribute annually. Deal.
It was probably the last setback for Vijayanagar.

"Roses are sold everywhere. These people could not live without
roses and they look upon them as quite as necessary as food….
Each class of men belonging to each profession has shops
contiguous one to the other; the jewelers sell publicly in the
bazaars pearls, rubies, emeralds, and diamonds”…
Abdur Razzak, Persian envoy during visit to Vijayanagar in 1443.

"Each elephant has a separate compartment, the walls of which are
extremely solid, and the roof composed of strong pieces of
wood…”
Abdur Razzak, Persian envoy during visit to Vijayanagar in 1443.
The Elephant Stable referred by the traveler has place for eleven of
the King’s favorite elephants and even today stands tall among the
shadows just behind the Queen’s Palace.

Vasco da Gama reached Calicut in 1498 for pure mercantile
reasons. Setting up a permanent entity was done by Cabral when
he established the first Portuguese factory at Calicut in 1500.
The first Portuguese fort, the Pulicat Fort, was built about 40 miles
north of Chennai on the east coast, incidentally with the help of the
Raya, in 1502. And in 1510, Alfonso de Albuquerque the second
Portuguese Viceroy, defeated Bijapur with the help of the Raya,
resulting in setting up of their India HQ in Velha Goa.
The previous wave of invaders had come overland from the North
West front with explicit military intentions.

With the accession of Krishna Deva Raya to the throne in 1509
begins the period of Vijayanagar's greatest successes when its
armies were victorious everywhere. During his reign the city was
at its prosperous best.
When listing the native powers, or his peers in corporate parlance,
Babar placed Krishna Deva Raya as someone who controlled the
most extensive empire in the subcontinent.

By the time Krishna Deva Raya came to the throne, Vijayanagar’s
biggest rival had splintered.
The governors of the four most important provinces declared
independence from the Bahmani sultanate now based in Bidar.
Although the last of the Bahmani sultans lived on in Bidar until
1527, they were mere puppets in the hands of Barid Shah the real
ruler of Bidar.
Now Vijayanagar had to deal with five instead of one. The largest
being Bijapur or as it was also called, Vijayapura.

After the Battle of Udaygiri, Krishna Deva Raya, had brought from
a temple on the hill a statue of Lord Krishna. It was setup in
Vijayanagar. The event was commemorated with an inscription
still in existence near the Royal Enclosure.
Besides Krishnaswami Temple, the Raya also worked on the
Hazara Rama Temple around this time, so named on account of the
thousand carvings depicting the entire Ramayana.
In 1517, on a visit to the Tirupati temple, his donations enabled
gilding of the inner shrine roofing. His statue stands even today in
the premises of the temple.

The Battle of Raichur fought in 1520 on the banks of the Krishna
against Adil Shah marked the peak of Krishna Deva Raya reign.
The battle reaffirmed his military might, including his personal
bravery, putting the fear of God in Adil Shah and Bijapur to the
extent that he never thought of attacking Vijayanagar again.
A strong message was delivered to the other neighbors also.

Krishna Deva Raya was a great patron of literature, himself being
a scholar, also called Andhra Bhoja. He wrote the Telugu work,
Amuktmalayada and a Sanskrit play Jamahavati Kalyana.
He had eight scholars, called Ashta-Diggaja, in his Court
including the famous Tenali Ram. Krishna Deva Raya’s reign is
the golden reign for Telugu literature which was the state language
along with Kannada.

Later in his reign Krishna Deva Raya focused on improving
infrastructure, particularly the irrigation of the dry lands.
The water supply network in the palace that was built five hundred
years back is a marvel with proper planning for inflow and
outflow.
Most importantly it ensured water supply to the Olympic sized
pool of the King and also to the Queen’s pool.

The Empire was divided into governorships, with each chief
allowed a free hand in the territory allotted to him so long as he
maintained the quota of foot, horse, and elephants as a price of his
governorship.
These forces were to be maintained in perfect readiness for
immediate action whenever called for. The chiefs were also
required to pay annual tribute to the sovereign, failing which he
was liable to instant termination.
The structure was robust during peace time, until there was a
strong centre.

He also started the construction of the Vitthal temple on the
Tungabhadra river-bank, the most ornate of the religious edifices
of the Vijayanagar Empire.
Work continued during the reign of Krishna Deva's successors,
Achyuta and Sadasiva.
The Vitthal temple is the best example of Vijayanagar style of
architecture. The musical pillars are an innovation, that have been
tested by some rationalists in the most brutal way; by breaking it.

“In this city you will find men belonging to every nation, because
of the great trade which it has, and the many precious stones there,
principally diamonds … 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. What I saw from thence seemed to me as large as
Rome, and very beautiful to the sight…”
Domingo Paes, the Portuguese traveler, on a visit to Vijayanagar in
1520-22.

The city itself was a fortress. Massive fortifications stood at every
possible entry point. Built of massive stone and earthen walls, with
hilltop fortresses and watch towers strategically placed across its
length and breadth.
Visitors to the city, irrespective of their guild and intention, had to
travel through a heavily fortified and protected area before
reaching the city center.

Krishna Deva Raya as a person was a fitness fanatic. Drank three-
quarter pint of sesame seed oil, also massaged all over with the oil;
covered in his loins with a kacchha, did weights followed by
fencing. Exercised till he sweated out the oil.
The physical regime did not end here. He then wrestled with one
of his wrestlers. After this labor, horse riding along the river bank
was also relished by the King.
All this before daybreak!

There was a tradition of Giving Away. The King would be
weighed and gold equal to his weight would be distributed among
the poor.
The King’s Balance, near the Vitthal Temple is still a standing
testimony of this ancient tradition of Giving Away to the needy.
The economic prosperity which facilitated this tradition, came
from an abundance of precious stones and a booming trade with
the western world through the west coast.

More or less both Babar and Krishna Deva Raya attained zenith
simultaneously. There was mutual respect between the two
monarchs. There are stories of how Babar had invited Tenali, the
court jester of Vijayanagar, to the Delhi Durbar and how much he
and his Durbar enjoyed the visit.
Both Babar and Krishna Deva Raya died within a gap of one year
about 1530, each leaving behind a legacy to be taken forward.

At the time of Krishna Deva Raya’s death, the political map of
India was very hazy. Humayun had his task cut out in Delhi. A
strong centre was found missing.
In the neighborhood, Adil Shah of Bijapur, Barid Shah of Bidar,
Imad Shah of Berar, Nizam Shah of Ahmednagar, and Qutb Shah
of Golkonda formed the Deccan Sultanate, who had their on-off
relations. Portuguese had consolidated on the west coast, grabbing
Mumbai in 1534 from the Gujarat sultanate.
Everything was fluid. The nation was waiting for the emergence of
a strong leader who would hold the periphery.

The biggest, and probably the only mistake, made by Krishna
Deva Raya, was on his succession planning. Achyutan, his step
brother, was handpicked by the King to succeed him.
All the neighbors were apparently waiting for the exit of the
mighty Krishna Deva Raya. Soon enough, Mudkal and the same
Raichur was recaptured by Adil Shah.
Achyutan who inherited the glorious empire which was at its peak,
did not prove worthy of the task of taking forward the legacy or
even holding on to it.

To suppress internal dissension, he sought out the help of the arch
enemy of Vijayanagar. It was Achyutan’s biggest mistake.
Ibrahim Adil, gleefully arrived in the capital where he was
welcomed and entertained.
After the visiting enemy had departed the nobility revolted. Rama
Raya, the son-in-law of Krishna Deva Raya, seized power,
although Sadasiva, the son of Achuyatan, remained the nominal
King.

Real power continued to be vested in Rama Raya even after the
death of Achyutan and the subsequent coronation of Sadasiva.
The death of Sultan Ibrahim in 1557, saw the accession of Ali Adil
Shah, who immediately sought to forge alliances.
It was a time when the Portuguese were getting stronger with the
support of Vijayanagar. Adil Shah felt the need for Bijapur to have
a deeper relationship with Vijayanagar to balance the equation
with the Portuguese.

Major events do not happen without minor events aggregating. Ali
Adil Shah, keen to forge an alliance with Rama Raya, on the death
of the monarch’s son arrived to offer his condolences.
At the end of three days, which were spent in a friendly
environment, he took his leave; but Rama Raya did not attend him
out of the city. Adil Shah was affronted.
In a way the first shot of Talikota had been fired but Vijayanagar
did not hear! For a long time.

However the Raya was too wealthy and powerful. Economy was
strong. Large revenues were collected from more than sixty
seaports in addition to very large territories and dependencies.
Army was very large, for any single neighboring King to challenge
Vijayanagar.
Ali Adil Shah realized this. He decided to form a confederation of
the five some Deccan Sultanate to wage a joint war against
Vijayanagar.
Not an easy job, given the mutual mistrust and historical rivalries
amongst the components of the erstwhile Bahmani Sultanate.

Adil Shah started strategizing for the big confrontation. Military
alliances were made. They were further cemented by matrimonial
alliances.
It was arranged that Hussain Nizam Shah would give his daughter
Chand Bibi in marriage to Ali Adil Shah along with the fortress of
Sholapur as her dowry. And that his eldest son, Murtiza, should
espouse Ali Adil Shah’s sister.
The kingdoms of Bijapur and Ahmednagar got closer.

The five princes met on the plains of Bijapur on the Xmas day of
1564. The joint armies marched towards the invincible Empire.
They camped in the fortress town of Talikota, about 100 miles
away from Vijayanagar. Ali Adil Shah being the host, entertained
the other princes for days together while their intelligence teams
gathered military inputs.
The small town of Talikota in today’s map is about 200 miles
north of Bangalore in the state of Karnataka.

The streets of Vijayanagar hardly betrayed any signs of an
impending crisis.
Sadasiva, the king, lived his sedentary life in seclusion, and Rama
Raya, king de facto, never for a moment relaxed his attitude of
haughty indifference to the plans of his enemies. The residents also
were confident of its vast army.
There was little fear, therefore, for the city itself. It was for sure,
Business As Usual.

On 23 Jan 1565, the enormous armies clashed on the plains in
Talikota. Several reports claim that over a million men were
involved in this historic clash.
The assault was so vigorous that a Vijayanagar victory was
imminent. Qutb Shah was in retreat when Nizam Shah sent his
forces to shore up the ranks. Nizam Shah himself was then pressed
hard by the heavy cannonade from Rama Raya’s division and
faced an infantry thrust.

At the right point the Sultan signaled to the Muslim officers, the
Gilani brothers, in the Vijayanagar army to launch a subversive
attack. Suddenly Rama Raya found his rear attacked by two
divisions within his ranks as the Gilanis turned against him.
About a lac Muslim troops had opened a vigorous rear attack.
Cannon shells landed near Rama Raya's elephant and he fell from
it as his mount was struck by a cannon shard. Rama Raya tried to
recover but Nizam Shah made a dash at him.
Interestingly, Rama Raya was in his 60s and led from atop an
elephant while the younger Nizam moved swiftly on horseback.

The two Muslim commanders, the Gilani brothers, had been
poached by the Vijayanagar army from Adil Shah’s camp, by
offering them higher status. A day before the war, the enemy spies
had met the two brothers.
The Vijayanagar leadership had no clue of this crossover of the
Gilani brothers who commanded more than hundred thousand
crucial artillery forces. There was total intelligence failure which
cast the longest shadow on the vast Vijayanagar.
The old maxim, “Battles are won before the first bullet is fired”
proved right, again.

The news of Rama Raya’s death reached the city. When the
defeated troops entered the city with their heads down, the citizens
could hardly believe what they saw.
The surviving royalty, Rama Raya’s brother, took whatever they
could before the hordes came. Five hundred and fifty elephants
laden with treasure in gold, diamonds and precious stones valued
at more than a hundred million sterling were escorted by the few
remaining alive soldiers.

Thereafter it was pure panic. Law & order disappeared. The
myriad dwellers in the city were left defenseless. No retreat, no
escape was possible, for all possible transport means like horses
and carts had been requisitioned for the war and had not returned.
Authority vanished. Robber tribes pounced on a city bereft of any
civil defense and looted shops at leisure.
The worst was but yet to come!

After three days the victorious army reached the capital. From that
time onwards for months Vijayanagar knew no rest.
The enemy had come with a sole intent. To destroy. They carried
out their objective ruthlessly. They slaughtered people without
mercy, broke down temples and palaces.
The victorious princes had planned to wipe out Vijayanagar from
the map. Winning the battle was not to be enough.
Such was the fury and angst against Vijayanagar.

Bijapur, the leader of the Deccan Sultanate, was also called as
Vijayapur. And it goes beyond semantics.
Just as the Vijayanagar army had a large Muslim contingent, the
Bijapur army also had professional Maratha warriors as auxiliaries
termed as bargis fighting for their cause.
Hinduism was patronized in Bijapur, with Adil Shah regularly
holding religious discourses with Hindu, Muslim and Catholics.
Similar pattern was visible in the kingdom of Golkonda under the
leadership of the Qutb Shahs and in Ahmednagar.
The battle was never of the common people!

The coming together of the five princes of the Deccan sultanate
was a miracle given their history. But a strong common enemy, in
the form of Vijayanagar, had provided the glue.
With the fall of Vijayanagar, this glue also fell off. The princes
reverted back to their old bickering. Agreements were breached.
There was a fight to split the spoils.
And a new player came into the picture, with his firm belief in
India as a single nation, to be ruled by one ruler, from Delhi.
The Mughal Emperor. Akbar.

The next few years, after the Battle of Talikota, saw the
disintegration of the various dominions of the Vijayanagar Empire
as the provincial governors claimed independence or were attacked
by one of the princes of the Sultanate.
Eventually Hindu rule was wiped out from the terrain. In the next
hundred years or so, all the princes of the Sultanate owed
allegiance to Aurangzeb, who first as Deccan Viceroy and then as
the Mughal Emperor, had expanded the Mughal rule down south.
The green cover was complete, until another warrior raised the
saffron flag in Pune.

Portuguese trade and consequently Goa had prospered as
Vijayanagar made economic progress. Its fortunes were intricately
linked with Vijayanagar.
The success or failure of maritime trade on any given coast
depends on the conditions prevailing in the Empire for the supply
of which that trade was established.
When Vijayanagar was at the height of its power, the foreign
traders were eminently successful and when Vijayanagar fell,
foreign traders had no market for their goods. Trade decayed. Goa
stagnated.

The territory of the old family estate of Anegundi, where Harihara
had started the Vijayanagar story, was held by the descendants in
18th century as a tributary state of the Mughals.
In 1749, Marathas seized it only to cede it to Tipu Sultan in 1786.
Once again it changed hands after Tipu’s death in the Anglo-
Mysore war, won by the joint forces of East India Company and
the Nizam of Hyderabad. As per the agreement, the tiny territory
of Vijayanagar was annexed by the Nizam of Hyderabad.

Post Independence and post Operation Polo, the district of Bellary
was included in the state of Karnataka.
Bellary which is about 200 miles north of Bangalore includes the
dusty town of Hospet. From the centre of Hospet, in about 10
miles one is transported back by 500 years.
The place is practically governed by the ASI, as everywhere the
rules, and some very strict rules, are enforced in an attempt to
excavate, maintain and restore this piece of history. Ordinary life
continues against the backdrop of a glorious history.

Today Hampi is an open air museum. The ruins are scattered
across a geographical area of about 10 sq miles. The area is
broadly divided into five parts, viz. Royal Enclosure, Vitthal
Temple, Hemakuta complex, Achyutan Temple and Annegundi on
the other side of the river.
At the centre is the towering Virupaksha Temple, that predates the
Vijayanagar dynasties but was enhanced by the Vijayanagar rulers.

There is some basic, very elementary, accommodation available in
the village of Hampi, with some eateries serving continental fare
catering to the westerners. On the other side of the Tungabhadra, a
new chilled out holiday spot is evolving with quaint cottages
overlooking lush green paddy fields and frequented by young
Israelis.
The ASI guides do a fabulous job in taking the visitors back in
time by recounting various tales highlighting the ruins. Interesting
stories are made even more interesting.

Today that glorious Vijayanagar city does not exist. Instead there
is an open museum of ruined glory in the dusty village of Hampi.
It is the second most preferred monument destination of foreign
travelers after the Tajmahal. Not just that, the foreigners also seem
to be far more aware of the glory of the place, while for most of us,
the shadows evoke varying tones of ignorance.

Many thanks to ASI for the awesome job in maintaining Hampi. Especially Rambabu,
who showed me around, told tales, and waited patiently while I captured my shadows.
And since this is a hi-story, a lot of inputs have come from the writings of travelers like
Abdur Razzak and Paes. Wikipedia helped. And the Guttenberg Project, “A Forgotten
Empire” is virtually the last word on Vijayanagar.
Sanjayshankar is a management
grad by formal education & an
artist by informal. After almost
two decades in the corporate
world he wields the camera to
capture scenes, to recount
stories.

Shadows of an Empire @ Jehangir Art Gallery

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