History · Ch 7 — An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara
Vijayanagara — The Capital and its Environs
Vijayanagara — The Capital and its Environs
The most striking feature of Vijayanagara’s location is the natural basin formed by the river Tungabhadra, which flows in a north-easterly direction. The city is surrounded by stunning granite hills that form a girdle around it. A number of streams flow down to the river from these rocky outcrops. In almost all cases, embankments were built along these streams to create reservoirs of varying sizes. Because this is one of the most arid zones of the peninsula, elaborate arrangements had to be made to store rainwater and conduct it to the city.
The most important such tank was built in the early years of the fifteenth century and is now called the Kamalapuram tank. Water from this tank not only irrigated nearby fields but was also conducted through a channel to the “royal centre”. One of the most prominent waterworks among the ruins is the Hiriya canal. This canal drew water from a dam across the Tungabhadra and irrigated the cultivated valley that separated the “sacred centre” from the “urban core”. It was apparently built by kings of the Sangama dynasty.
About a tank constructed by Krishnadeva Raya, the Portuguese traveller Paes wrote that the king made a tank at the mouth of two hills so that all the water from either side collected there. Water also came to it from more than three leagues (approximately 15 kilometres) by pipes running along the lower parts of the range outside. This water was brought from a lake which itself overflowed into a little river. The tank had three large pillars handsomely carved with figures, which connected above with certain pipes to get water for irrigating gardens and rice-fields. To make this tank, the king broke down a hill. Paes saw so many people at work that there must have been fifteen or twenty thousand men, looking like ants.
Fortifications and roads
Before examining the different parts of the city in detail, it is important to look at what enclosed them all — the great fortress walls. Abdur Razzaq, an ambassador sent by the ruler of Persia to Calicut (present-day Kozhikode) in the fifteenth century, was greatly impressed by the fortifications and mentioned seven lines of forts. These encircled not only the city but also its agricultural hinterland and forests. The outermost wall linked the hills surrounding the city.
The massive masonry construction was slightly tapered. No mortar or cementing agent was employed anywhere in the construction. The stone blocks were wedge-shaped, which held them in place, and the inner portion of the walls was of earth packed with rubble. Square or rectangular bastions projected outwards.
What was most significant about this fortification is that it enclosed agricultural tracts. Abdur Razzaq noted that “between the first, second and the third walls there are cultivated fields, gardens and houses”. Paes observed: “From this first circuit until you enter the city there is a great distance, in which are fields in which they sow rice and have many gardens and much water, in which water comes from two lakes.” These statements have been corroborated by present-day archaeologists, who have also found evidence of an agricultural tract between the sacred centre and the urban core. This tract was serviced by an elaborate canal system drawing water from the Tungabhadra.
Why were agricultural tracts incorporated within the fortified area? Often, the objective of medieval sieges was to starve the defenders into submission. These sieges could last for several months and sometimes even years. Normally rulers tried to be prepared for such situations by building large granaries within fortified areas. The rulers of Vijayanagara adopted a more expensive and elaborate strategy of protecting the agricultural belt itself.
A second line of fortification went round the inner core of the urban complex, and a third line surrounded the royal centre, within which each set of major buildings was surrounded by its own high walls. The fort was entered through well-guarded gates, which linked the city to the major roads. Gateways were distinctive architectural features that often defined the structures to which they regulated access. The arch on the gateway leading into the fortified settlement as well as the dome over the gate are regarded as typical features of the architecture introduced by the Turkish Sultans. Art historians refer to this style as Indo-Islamic, as it grew continually through interaction with local building practices in different regions.
Archaeologists have studied roads within the city and those leading out from it. These have been identified by tracing paths through gateways, as well as by finds of pavements. Roads generally wound around through the valleys, avoiding rocky terrain. Some of the most important roads extended from temple gateways, and were lined by bazaars.
The urban core …
Source 2 — A sprawling city. 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 … What I saw from thence seemed to me as large as Rome, and very beautiful to the sight; there are many groves of trees within it, in the gardens of the houses, and many conduits of water which flow into the midst of it, and in places there are lakes; and the king has close to his palace a palm-grove and other rich fruit-bearing trees. …
Finding out about the city. A large number of inscriptions of the kings of Vijayanagara and their nayakas, recording donations to temples and describing important events, have been recovered. Several travellers also visited the city and wrote about it. Notable among their accounts are those of the Italian trader Nicolo de Conti, the Persian ambassador Abdur Razzaq, and the Russian merchant Afanasii Nikitin — all of whom visited in the fifteenth century — and those of Duarte Ba …
Figure 7.4 is a schematic plan of the city of Vijayanagara as it existed at its height. The plan is oriented with the Tungabhadra River flowing along the top (northern) edge. The entire city is enclosed by a series of fortification walls — the outermost wall links the surrounding granite hills, and within it lie three clearly demarcated zones.
The sacred centre is shown in the northern part of the plan, closest to the river. It contains the major temple complexes, most notably the Virupaksha temple. The plan makes it clear that this zone was itself fortified, with its own set of walls. Water channels are drawn running from the Tungabhadra into this area, feeding temple tanks and reservoirs.
South of the sacred centre, separated by a cultivated valley, lies the urban core — the main residential and market area of the city. The plan shows a dense network of streets, with the main roads radiating from temple gateways and lined with bazaars. A Muslim residential quarter is marked in the north-eastern corner of this zone. Wells, rainwater tanks, and temple tanks are indicated as the water sources for ordinary inhabitants.
Further south, and enclosed by its own third line of fortification, is the royal centre. This is the most heavily fortified part of the city, containing the king's palace complex, audience halls, and administrative buildings. The plan shows the Kamalapuram tank just outside this zone, with a channel leading water directly into the royal centre. The Hiriya canal is also depicted, drawing water from a dam across the Tungabhadra and irrigating the valley between the sacred centre and the urban core. …