The Garuda shrine is in the form of a stone chariot at Vitthala temple.
The Vijayanagara Empire was founded by Harihara and Bukka in 1336 AD.
Their lineage was called the Sangam dynasty after the name of their father Sangam.Harihara and Bukka were ministers in the state Kampili.When Muhammad Bin Tughlaq conquered Kampili, Harihar and Bukka were taken prisoner. They accepted Islam.Later he decided to send him south as Tughlaq commander. Harihara and Bukka came to Kampili with the Tughlaq army and suppressed the Kampili rebellion. In the end, they became Hindu again under the influence of a saint ‘Vidyaranya’.
To establish Vijayanagara, Harihara and Bukka took education from their guru Vidyaranya and Sayana, a famous commentator on the Vedas. Four dynasties of this empire – Sangam dynasty (1336-1485), Saluva dynasty (1485-1505), Tuluva dynasty (1505-1570) and Aravidu dynasty ruled for about 300 years) Capitals of Vijayanagara Empire respectively – Anegondi , Vijayanagara, Venugonda and Chandragiri. ,
In 1352-53 AD, Harihara-I sent two armies for the conquest of Madura – one under the leadership of Kumar Saval and the other under the leadership of Kumar Kamban. Kumar Kampana Adyar conquered Madura and included it in Vijayanagara. His wife Gangadevi has vividly described her husband’s victory in her book ‘Madura Vijayam’. Kumar Kambara was the son of Bukka Raya I.
After Bukka’s death in 1377, his son Harihara II (1377-1404 AD) ascended the throne. He assumed the title of ‘Maharajadhiraja’. He visited Kanara, Mysore, Trichanapally, Kanchi. Won the Adi territories and collected revenue from the king of Sri Lanka. The greatest success of Harihara II was the capture of Belgaum and Goa from the Bahmani kingdom in the west. He was a worshiper of the Virupaksha form of Shiva.
Narasimha Saluva, the feudal lord of Chandragiri, deposed the last ruler of the Sangam dynasty, Adult Devaraya, and took over the throne in 1485 AD and established a new dynasty – ‘Saluva dynasty‘.
Veer Narasimha deposed the son of Narasimha Saluva (Immadi Narasimha, the last ruler of the Saluva dynasty) and took over the throne and laid the foundation of the Tuluva dynasty. After his death in 1509 AD, his cousin Krishna Deva Raya (1509-29 AD) ascended the throne.
Krishna Deva Raya was succeeded by his brother Achyutadeva Raya, who ruled from 1529 to 1542 AD.King Krishna Deva Raya of Vijayanagar fought the battle of Golconda with Quli Qutub Shah, the Sultan of Golconda. In which the Qutb Shahi army was defeated.
The reign of Krishnadeva Raya was a major source of literature in Vijayanagara.His court is adorned by the ‘Eight scholars and poets’ of Telugu, (who are called Ashtadiggajas), so his reign can also be called the golden age of Telugu literature. Is. Krishna Deva Raya assumed the title of ‘Andhra Bhoja’. Krishnadeva himself was an excellent poet and writer. His main work was Amuktamalyada, one of the five epics in the Telugu language.
He founded a city named Nagla. He also got the temple built named ‘Hazara’ and ‘Vitthalaswamy’. During his time the Portuguese traveler ‘Domingo Pius’ visited the Vijayanagara Empire.
The Persian ambassador Abdul Razzaq came to Vijayanagar during the reign of Devaraya, the most illustrious ruler of the Sangam dynasty.
The work of Telugu translation of Mahabharata was started by Nannaya in the 11th century, which was completed by Tikkan in the 13th century and then by Yeren in the 14th century. These three are famous as poets of Telugu literature. Sayana, the commentator of Vedic texts, got the shelter of the Vijayanagara kings.
Bijapur, Ahmednagar, Golconda in the famous battle of Talikota in January, 1565 AD and the combined forces of Bidar defeated Vijayanagara. Only Berar was not included in this combined army. According to Farishta, this war was fought in Talikota, but the actual area of the battle was situated between two villages named Rakshasi and Tangri. At the time of the battle of Talikota, the ruler of Vijayanagara was Sadashiv Raya (1542-1570 AD), but the real power was in the hands of his minister Ramaraya.
The Aravida dynasty was founded in Penakonda around 1570 by Tirumal overthrowing Sadashiva.Its successor was Rang I. After Rang I, Venkata II became the ruler. He made Chandragiri his headquarters. This was the last dynasty in the series of great rulers of Vijayanagara. Venkata II was a contemporary of Raja Wodiyar, who founded the Kingdom of Mysore in 1612 AD.
The most important source of revenue in the Vijayanagara kingdom was the land tax. The land was thoroughly surveyed. Generally the rate of land revenue ranged from 1/3rd to 1/6th of the produce. It was determined on the basis of the grade of the land and the excellence of the crop.The tax called ‘Sishta’ (Rai-rekha) was the main source of income of the state. The Central Revenue Department was called ‘Athavane’ (Athavan or Athavan).)
The ruins of Hampi (located in present-day northern Karnataka) represent the ancient capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. The Virupaksha temple built in the Vijayanagara period is located here. Hampi is also included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Vithal Temple (Hampi) was built by the great king Krishna Raya (1509-29 AD) of the Tuluva dynasty of the Vijayanagara Empire. 56 Takshar pillars located in this temple make musical notes.)
