This Monograph Surveys Religion At Vijayanagara, Primarily From The Data Available From Its Monuments.The Fifteenth Century Saw The Royal Sponsorship Of The Cults Of Rama And Vithala; The Latter Grew From Strength To Strength, Until In The Last Quarter Century Before The City`S Destruction The Vithala Complex Became The Foremost Religious Centre In The City. The Sixteenth Century Witnessed The Promotion Of The Vaishnava Cults Of Tiruvengalanatha, Ranganatha And Krishna As Well As Intense Temple-Building Activity. Alongside The Different Sanskritic Cults, There Was Also The Worship Of Minor And Folk Deities. Apart From Hindu Sects, Jainism And Islam Were Also Extant At Vijayanagara. Pluralism Characterised The Religious Life And Activities At Vijayanagara, Yet An Undercurrent Of Sectarian Tension Is Also Evident.

The Vijayanagara Empire flourished in South India between 1336 and 1565. Conveying the depth and creativity of Hindu religious and literary expression during that time, Vijayanagara Voices explores some of the contributions made by poets, singer-saints, and philosophers. Through translations and discussions of their lives and times, Jackson presents the voices of these cultural figures and reflects on the concerns of their era, looking especially into the vivid images in their works and their legends. He examines how these images convey both spiritual insights and physical experiences with memorable candour. The studies also raise intriguing questions about the empire's origins and its response to Muslim invaders, its 'Hinduness', and reasons for its ultimate decline. Vijayanagara Voices is a book about patterns in history, literature and life in South India. By examining the culture's archetypal displays, by understanding the culture in its own terms, and by comparing associated images and ideas from other cultures, this book offers unique insights into a rich and influential period in Indian history.

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program for monographs. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more. How did the patronage activities of India’s Vijayanagara Empire (c. 1346–1565) influence Hindu sectarian identities? Although the empire has been commonly viewed as a Hindu bulwark against Islamic incursion from the north or as a religiously ecumenical state, Valerie Stoker argues that the Vijayanagara court was selective in its patronage of religious institutions. To understand the dynamic interaction between religious and royal institutions in this period, she focuses on the career of the Hindu intellectual and monastic leader Vyasatirtha. An agent of the state and a powerful religious authority, Vyasatirtha played an important role in expanding the empire’s economic and social networks. By examining his polemics against rival sects in the context of his work for the empire, Stoker provides a remarkably nuanced picture of the relationship between religious identity and sociopolitical reality under Vijayanagara rule.

This richly illustrated volume presents a number of previously unpublished papers on aspects of Vijayanagara: archaeology, architectural history, sculpture, religion, and social life.

Written About A.D. 1520 To 1522 And A.D. 1535 To 1537 Respectively.