04) To wll1t curet do the M•llel mlnllt■R PNI0111 nGca culcmpeoo:

~
ANS.

Q5} Wdlc 1I'""1 IAIC pp Mnll1I mlellllR •Alllnn? OR )''die I J1wt

IOIC on Orrdopw•I g[ MnMI Ml•l•l•a -■111117

ANS.
The Muat,11 School of palntlna rep,~ one of the most slanlliant ~ In the
hlsto,y of lndi.i lrt. The style of palntinc deve~ durintl the MusNI P<t<fod
manlfestt!d • NlllJ'I blend Ina of~.,. •rd lndi.i palntt,., Both of these uvtes of
palnttn1 had made rem.vk1ble pr0lfflt Independently ol exh other. lnllblly, ~
ldopted the lrt of palntln1 from ChlN 11\d ~ But. later on. Peniln palntina
~ Itself free from lo,elan lnnu.tl(e,.

Babur. the founder ol the Mu1hal rule In India was a ktt<I obsenler ol the beilU!les ol
nature. He was 1ttat kNff ol palntlns. He was a s,ell admirer ol the paintinp of
Bihzad. a renowned painter In the court ol Sultan Huswin of Helrt In the fffteenll>
ce,tury. Babur brO<llhl to India a number ol pal"""'5 found In the library ol his
.ancestors. I.he Tlnui cb In S.marqand. ~ to his preoccupation with the lnvniom Ind
I.he conquests and lxlo of sulflclent time. S;ibur could not deYole
attention to the dewlopment ol paintll,c In indil.
'"°""' time and

It wn Humayun. son and wcce.- of Babur. who actually introduced the new stvte of
""'1ian palnttn1 In I ~. Humayun came In close touc.h with the ""'1ian sdlocJj of
paintln1 durlna his exile to that count,y. In ~rsla. Humayun came in ccnt.1<t will> two
disciple, of the famous ~rslan painter Bllllad. They were Abdus Samad Ind 5ayyid Ali
TabrizL Humayun tool< boll> of them Into his servke as soon as he was able to capcure
Kabul lrom his broc.h er K.>mran. They accomp;inled Humayun to lndiil and laid the
lounclatlon of Mus/Ill School of palntlnc- Humayun .....,,.,.i them I.he tm of lllust.-.cins
I.he famous book Oaston•l•Amlr Homlo/1 in twelve YOlumes.

~~,became the emperor. he encouraged painters al his court and helped In

I.he s,owth ol this art. Under him the art rJ painting underwent radical ct,;inses. He
esublished • separate clePMtment (lurihana) o f ~ under~ Samad. Allbal-
commissioned the painters not only to illuslr.ite various boob. but also ID - e
frescoes on palace-walls In Fatehpur Si<rL He invited , - l e d painters from Chin, Ind
Persla Ind emplo~ the beot talents of tl-e country. both Muslim Ind Hino., at his

ART & ARCWTECTURE NOTES

court. He assip,ed them WOflt xcordlns to their individuill tarstr •nd il!lCilude and
provldt!d them all fxlllties ID make use ol their capabllides.
Acc0<dlng to Abul Faul more than a hundred painters t,ec..,,., larnous masters of the
lrt. The masterpieces of the painter's ilrt at the new Clllital. F.cehpur 5iloi were
product!d by the joint efforts of Muslim .ortkls trained b y ~ Samad. and of Hlno.i
artists who probably carried on their WOflt Independently. There were II le.ast one
hundred IOOd palntrrs at I.he court ol Akbar •rnonc whom _,,,een were prominently
recognized by I.he emperor.

Many ol them were ~rslan. but a large number of them were Hindus. ~ ol these
artists were experts In lllustratl"I books on hklory and ocher literary WOl1<s. Various
artists illustrated the most famous hlstorkal WOflt of Abut F.ual. Alrbar Homa. Durlntl the
reicri ol Akbar I.he art of palntina encompassed• wider scope. Varieties ol subjects
found expression in the art of painting.

Besides. miniature paintinp Ylustrali"I v•ious works ol &terllln. ocher subjects. such
as court scenes. hunting scenes Ind battle scenes were painted. With t.he ~ of
time individual portrait palntlnp were elven s,eater aaentlon. The fresco painlins on
I.he pattern of Ajanta. developed during tl-e rrilP' of Akbar was another imclotUnt
contribution of I.he artists. Akbar was lntroducrd to the Et.wopean stvlt ol palntl"I
tlvou&h the Jesuit priests., whom he had Invited to his court lrom Goa.

Dutlntl the reian ol Jahanglr the Muahal palntina rexhed its ttnith. Ouri"I his p,trlod
I.he ~rslan and Indian style ol painll"I were fuly s y n ! ~. .lahan1ir was not only
interested In palnll"I but wn also its ktt11 obse,,,e, and critic. He possessed knowlecfsr
ol the art.

Jahantlr attracted many artists •t his court. He also aot cOffll)ieted the wo'1ts taken up
by the artists durl"I the llletlme ol hi• fatller. He....,., 1enerous pat,_ to varioui
anlsts. Some of the prominent painters It Jahanclr's court were Aqa A.au of Heart Ind
hi, son Abul H....,.. Mamur. Muhammad Nadl<. lnayat. Govardhan. Padarllha. and
BlshanOas.

Jahll\p was a fflll\ of aesthetic tnte and lo-,cd varieties of palnclnp. Hewn• lover ol
nature and ordrred thll unur.ial llowe"• rare birds and anilNls should be painted.
Mansur was well known lo, his floral palnHnp. The l!rd 8lostoms Is the best known of
his palntlnss.

Pad.v11ha. lnayat and Manwr had dttp knowledse ol birds and animals. SolM of their
ffnest works are on diSl)lay In various museums lndudlna the Prince ol Wales Museum.
u I UC!l\ltut.' nurnuuu Ill .\IUl'l'II ltcftllfflMtt l[QM ANDI[ to :.hall J1ll1n''

Akl>M't relan <Ml be - n the lorm.lCM l)fflod ol ,,_,.,... atthltKllft. It repretenU

the Nnetl eumple ol the IUilon ol l~lslaml( wthllKll.ft. The ..,111,ea..e ol the
•~ol Aabl< rei,,.-.UtneOU f.-,,t ol tht ,.......,._~a nd• ~
- ol t h e ~ cloche< countries. The<Nof ...-o1 tho \l"tle ol ..-dlittcture
that ewhed under_., p,tt:ronac,e an be lkted t1u; •I the bui1c11r.- nu1n1v used
red ....i.tone n the buildlnc rNIIONI:

bl • wlcM>pre.O - ol the trabeated construction:

c) the a,<hn used molnly lndeco,-'-.e lorm ~ than In wuctural lorm:

d) the - - ol the 'l.odi' type. IOffldirne buill holow but,_, tedwully ol the
true double o«ler.

el the ""1/ts ol the p111.,. were Ntilaoeted ond the clC)lbls ol the1e pllbn lnvlriobly
10.- the lorm ol bracloet IUPPOflS:
I) the d«Of•tlon cornpmed ol boldly an,ed Of lnbid paUflnS COll 'Pffll"I ,to,d by
brlthtly coloured p,tt.,,,. on the lnlfflOf"S.

Akl>Ks bullcll,,a projects CMt b e ~ lnco two moln ll"JUP'. uch • ~ •

different l)lwe. The""" VOUP ,_lsed
bullclirc> ol lortt and a few palxcs nulnly ..
Ac,a. AII.Wlab.)d and laho<e. The second.,_ ,....eel ba1i(;allv to the construction ol
hhMWupiU IMf~~

TheFlnl"'-

°"" ol the ea~t buildinc projects of All>lr't ,.is,, was the comctue11on of a I0<1 at
Apa. cCl<IClewd act""'lv n a I0<1ress-pal.i,ce. tu mas!,11,e w.als and battlements conwy
an ef!Kt ol are• - . lmldt the lort. Aabl< Nici built ,_,., >tNCt..es In the st-,.,. ol
8ep and Guiar""- ucei,c the Jaharcjri MaNI. ""'--· .. the oche< wurntts were
diomolbhed by Shah~ as~ of• later phase of remocleirc- Tod,ty the Otl'ti Gale
of the lort and, Jahancirl Mahal ..e the o n l y ~ buidlnp of Akb.w's reip\.
The tf1lire t ~ of the iohanairi M.1hal k mainly In red wnci,tone w4th the

ART & ARCHITECTU RE NOTES

combination ol be..., and bradcet IOffflirc Its prlnci~ wuctural system. The ......, style
k tNnifsed In the other p;ilxe-fortresses at Lahore and Allahabad. Only the I0<1 •
A j m e r ~ adifferffltdass. Slruil ~ t h e ad¥andrcfronliero l the
Empire. the wah ol the tort were tltily ~

Secand"-
The second phase of Akbar's ..chitectural scheme coincides with the cone~ and
creation of • ceremonial c~t.11 lor the Empire at Sllcrl. nea,ty forty lllomctres - of
Ac,a. The,_ ac,il;al wn named f""'4)ut. It is o,w of the m o s t ~ monuments
in lnck In ib deial1 nl l,o/olll F ~ Sikri is a city ..tlfre !he putllic reas lb IN
courty_ _Oiwan-lAm and jorna ~form. caherfflt .,_aroun11 the pri,,o,ce
.,.&ace -'""'"ts. The dty was bull in• -v thort _ , ol time ( I S71· 1S8S1 and does
not lollow..., mnscious owr.all plan. The buildinp were sitrd to rmte to eaoh oche<
and to tlidr wrroundinp. An as,ymetry _,,, to haw been clelibenlldy lncorl)Cnled
into the tetlinc-uP and de>ip, ol the mmc,lo,L M the buidlnp are In CNrXlemdc rich
red - - - using u.dilloNI ~ CllffltrUction. The pilbn, heh. brlldoffl.. tiles
and posu were cut lrom loaf rodls and assembled wimout rnorur. The buildlrc> In
Fathput S.UI may be resc>Md Into two catepies: rellp,u> and oe<ul.v chanot1er. The
•ellak><n buildlnp COffll)rise (al the ~ml Masjid: (bl the Buland~ and the Id the
to,nb ol Shaikh Salim Chhhll. The bulldirc> ol wou nature -~ more varied and thus
numtrOU\. These an be a,oupect under (al ~ ( b l ~ buidlnp: and (<I

slJ\lcl ..es o f ~ o,dtt. It is• curious fact tNt t h e ~ bulldnp are

Invariably built In the x:nnte >tvte while In secular bulldnp domln.lln the tnbute
order.

Akbar', de•h In 160S did In no w,y l\ompe, t h e ~ • ol a dllrinctiwe ,,_,.,...

architecture under hh IUCCtsson. A secure tmplre and - wealth In lepcy In
lxt l)ffmltled boc.h ~ and Shah laN,1 10 puttue inceresl In the ¥kuai .wt>.
In the sphere of the buildins art. ~ and Shih Johan's r-.,s - e .,. ace of
marble. The pla<eol redwnchlone1 WH.-> Ubn<Nff by ma,t,le in lb most ,dined
form, Thb dlc'Utod sisniflunC IIVll>lic CNfllt'l wt.di M1e been lillod below:

1) The arch aclop(od • disllnclM form with Ioli.Mod Cu<Yei. .....ally with nine,_
b) Marble arcadei o f ~ arc.he1 beca~ a COIMIO<I feaiwe:

c) The dome dewtoc,od • bulbous form with slllled M<k. Oo.AM donWl t,ec...,. _.,
common:
d) Inlaid panerm In colou<od stones becMM the dornl"""t decorative fonn: and

e) In the bulldln1s. from the laner half ol the J.1Nn&lr's reltn. • new device of inlay
decoration called pletra dur• wn aclop(od. In this method. temi•predou• ,tones lUCh n
lapb lal\lll. or,y,i. ~ - topu and urne1;.n-. emt.ddod in the marble I n ~
follatlons.

The KCount of the major buildinp of this period bqlns w i t h • ~ <lluctln.

INl wn. the tomb of Aklw. loalod 11 s.bndra. el&hl kilometer, from I.he,..,_ on
Oelhi ro.Jd. II was ~ by Alcbor hlmoett and be&un In his own lffedme hut remained
Incomplete al the I i - ol hl1 death.

Subsequffltly. it was completod by Jahanalt with modifications in the orl&INI do5ip1. As

it sbnds today. the entire complex is a curious mix of the ¥thiteclur,>I schemes of boCh
Akbar Mid Mlunp. The scheme ol thii complex ertYisaces the loulion of tomb in the
midst of an enclosed Architecture garden with pteway in the u,ntre of each tide ol the
enclosing wall. The tomb bulldln1 In the centre Is a square structure built up In thtff
,tones. The firtt storey is In fact an a r ~ platform making the baHmet>L Within the
s,blform. .,... ltod cells surrouncled the mortu.ltY chambe< and a n.wrow Inclined
corridor in the south leads to the vave. The middle P0'tion is in 3 ~ of red sandstone
pr,ilions tnbeMod throughout. The to storey. of while malble in contrast to the rod
sandstone elsewhere. has an open court surrounded by coloMades wilh K'ffm. The
tomb is linked by causeways and canals to the gateways in the enclosure wall. 8ut it is
the one In the south whkh prO\lides the only entrance. the other Uwee bein1 tat,.e

ART & ARCHITECTUR E NOTES

pteways addled for symmetry. The atthiternnl lmporunce of Al<bat's t omb at

Sil<.lndra can be puged from the fact lha! ~ ~ built subwquently
relled the lntluence of this wunure to v.wyinc des,ft.

The tomb of I llmadud Daula. built in 1.622-8 by NW ~ on the a,ao,,, of her fllher
Mirta Ghlvas Be& marks a chanae in archilectural •tvle from Akbar t o Jahan1lr and Shih
Jahan, The transition from the robustness of Al<bar' s buildinp to a more ~nsuous
archlteclurt of the late< period Is r,icler"I( in the concepeion of this structure. The tomb
Is • square structure r..i.ed on • low plllfonn. The<e are tow oc._,a, minarets. al
eii,h tomff, with domed roof'- The~ CNmber Is UTOUndcd by I ~
enclosed with buulfful rn.wble 1r acerv. The main tomb Is built In white rn.wble Ind Ii
embelllshed whh mosaics and pletr1 dura. The central chamber cont.olM the yelow
marble tomb ol ~ Daul.I and his wife.

Jahan&lr wH a much vuter potn,n d the art of palnd,-c. His loff o f ~ and
animals .. reflectod In the mini.Mure poionp ol his period. made him • a,eM loffr al
the art ol laytna out pdens ralher than buac.. huae-.ments. Some of the famous
Mu1h•I pdens of IC.wvnlr lUCh n the 5Nllmar 6act, and the Nkhal Ba&h stand IS
testimony 10 J.iNnlif's PH>ion.

In contrast to Jahar-ci,. his'°" and tu«....,, $NI\ " ' - . - a prolif\c builder. His •elln
wu INAed by ~ architeclural WOtb In his 1-,rite bulldina material, the
marble,

a) Lal Q,b II OelN:

b) t h e -· I.I- the Mod MMjid In the Acr• fort and the Jami Mnjid M ~hi:

c) the pdenrtombs. e.1,. the hi MM>af.

The MuSNI rulen we,e men of a<ute -hettc ..,.,..,...s and. n p,tron of . i and
culture, they built beautiful ddes and buikfinl' In lndi.l. The foundation of a new ,tvte ol
ard>ilectur• In India Nd already been laid In the t.hirteenth cencur, with the
inlroducdon of the arcuM• technique whett spxe-1 we<e cowend with domes and
02) CrjdqHy •o•lyu die eypiytjgg of the !qt■ l)'Jtem?
ANS. The lqb System was pivotal to the ~lhl Sultinate administrative system as It
provided a convenient wr, to approp<late a sizeable part of the peasant's surplus via
tax.1tion. IQtas existed since the earty days of Islam as a form of reward for the rulln1
classes for service to the state and had passed through multlple stages of development
under lhe Buwahldls. Selfuqs etc. In the Delhi Sultanate. it was primarily put Into plac"
by lltutmish who consolldated much of the empire. Mawardl refe~ to two types of
lqtas: the lqta-ltamllk and the iqta-llsteghal. lqt>itamllk rer.,rred to land (f.llow.
cultivated or having mines) and lqta-llsteghal related to stipends. We will primarily looks
at the nature of lqta·ltamllk and will be trace its evolution from the time ol lltutmlsh till
the arrival of the Lodlt. I.e .. from 1210 to around 14S1.

The word 'lqta · means a portion and indicated a portion of land or reve.-..e asslgned by
the sultan to an lndlvldual. It combined the functions of collection and distribution of
reveooe. The person who held the lqta was u lled the 'lqtadaar'. Small iqtos were
known as Wafh and w,ore given to military commanders for military service H salary and
compensation; the holder wn caled Wafhdar. These had no administrative duties or
any financial llabllltles to the central exchequer and were only permitted to realize
revtn11e of some portion of find. L«1er lqtai W1?re held by Muqt1s, These was akin to
provinc.e s and the status of the Muqtl was like a provincial governor who maintained
relations with the local groups. These carried admln,strative responsibilitie1 with them -
the asslane,, was ••peeled to maintain law and order in his territory and supply
contingents to the centre In t i - of emergency. The lqtada~ were also expected to
send the surplus revenue termed as 'Fawazil' and thus doubled as both army paymaster
and tax collector. Apart from the lqtas which were usually areas distant from the capital,
the areas nearer were under the control of the sultan and were called 'khallsa ·. These
were watched over by amlls.

DELHI SULl'ANATE NOTES

The iqta system was hugely depenclent on the persoNI and political attributes of the
ruler. If the ruler was strong and politically able. then everything would be properly and
promptly maintained towards a cl!fltrallzed structu"'- However. If the rul,or wos weak
then the system would tum la. (delays In transfers. collection of revenue etc) and would
inch towards a decentralized structure. Thus. It had both centralizing and decentralizing
tendencies. In the Initial years of the empire. when Ntutmlsh Introduced the system. It
showed centralizing tendencies due to the measures he Introduced within that system.

lltutrnlsh 11anted lqtas to Turks on a large scale with the objective of Intensive control of
the conquered areas to se,orninsJy liquidate the Indian feudal Institutions but It had
certain elements that could develop novel feudal Institutions. In turn. To pr-nt that.
lltutmish transferred lqtadars from one pl ace to another to emphasize the bureaucratic
aspect of the Institution and to discourage locallsm. rival roots and centres o f - •·
Thus the muqti's right to collect and appropriate taxes was contingent on the ru1er·s
approval. The muqtis could sub-assign small lqtas to anyone he chose from within his
larger lqta. lltutmlsh also fulfilled the economic potent\allMs of the doab by settJlna two
thousand Turkish soldiers here. It also made sure that law and order wa.s maintained In
all parts of the empire and a, such. tackled local problems~ the local level via local
apparatus.

ltltumlsh's system of paying the c.avalry soldl,or of his 'qalb' continued und,or Balban
who came to power In 1266 and sought to exc,rtise greater control over the
appointment and assl111ment of the lqtas to keep an eye on the nobility. Balban ailled
for a recall of those lqtas whose holders were not discharging military service to the
sultanate. He wanted to Incorporate more lqtas Into the khallsa via this move He also
appointed a khwafa • an accountant - to discover WNt was actually collected and spent
within the lqta so as to keep a closer eve on their operation. All of these were done In an
effort to consolidate the emp,re as alter the death of lltutmlsh, the lqta administration
be1an to unspool and became lax.

Although Balban's policy of recalling lqtas from older nslane,,s was lat,or r-rsed. the
Intervention al the Sultan·s bureaucracy In the administration ol the lqtas had
Increased. The Khalfls who came to power In 1290 sou1ht the expansion of the empjre.
Among them Alauddln Khalfl came up with new lqta measures so as to Impose lull land
tax on peasants of older territories. He repealed the 1ystem of payment to the sultan's
own cavalry troops through iqtas. They were to be paid In cash from the reYl!flue from
the khallsa. 1-ioweY'er, the practlc.e of anl1nln1 lqtas to commanders continued. In
03) Pncdhc the wcl•I agd economic sb101a ypckr the YIIIYIDIPCI cmplrr?
ANS. A number of forelan traveller• who vi1lted VIJ•y•Ng,1r have lt!lt lntt!rt!ltlng ilnd
v•lu•ble accounts of their lmprculon about tht! 10tiol and economk Ille of the ~pie,
The Vl/yilnlllr Empire w.. one of the richest st.tt!I then known In the world. The
economic prosperity was reflected In the thickly populated cities and towns. flourishing
trade and commerce, and the i.vish Ille at the royal court. The Hallan traveller. Nicolo
Conti, who visited Vijayanagar in 1420. writes that it• circumference was sll<ty mlles and
protected by massive walls. Further he says that In the city there are ninety t~ n d
men fit to bear arms.
Abdur Razaq. the Persian envoy who vislted the empire In 1442-43. •P"akl of chambers
In the king's treasury filled with m...es of molten gold. The Inhabitants of the country,
whether high or low wore jewels and slit omaments In tt,e;r ears and around their
necks. arms. wrl1t1 and finger,. About the splendour of the city. Abdur Razaq records his
lmprt!lsion thus.' The city of Vijayanagar Is such that the eye has not seen or heard ilnV
place resembling It upon the whole earth. It was so built that It has seven fortified walls.
one within the other.'

The Portuguese traveller DomlnJo P- wrltlna about the city of Vljayanagar says, "This
Is the best provided city In the world and Is stockt!d with provisions such as rice, wheat.
sralns. lndJ.n corn. • certain amount of b1rley and beans, moong. pluses. horses,aln
and many other seeds .... the 1trttts and martcets are full o f ~ oxen without count....
In thl1 city you will find men belonglna to tNery nation and people.• Eduardo Barboza
who vislted Vijayanasar In 1516 conlirms the Information ol earlier travellers. Pralslng
the city of Vljayanagar he says. "The city was of a great el<tent. highly populous and the
seat of"" active commerce In country · diamonds, rubies from Pegu. silk of China and
Alexandria and cinnabar, camphor. musk. pepper and sandal from Malabar."

These testimonies of different fo,e;cn travellers leave no doubt that the Vljayanaaar
Empire was rich and prosp<!rous. Agriculture was In a flourlsNng condition. The
empe<ors took keen Interest In promoting agriculture throu1h various lrrlptlon
proj«ts.Various Industries supplemented the agricultural weolth. The most Important
of these industries were textile. mlnlna and metallurav. Perfumery was another
lmpgrta,,t industry. Trade and industry was o,pnlzed and re..,lated by aullds.

V lJA Y ANAGARA NOTES

There was flourlshlna Inland, costal and ove<-seas trade. According to Abdur Razaq, the
empire possessed 300 seaports. The chief seaports were Honnavar. Bhatkal, Manplore,
Calicut. Cochin. Qullon. Kaval, Neaapallm. St.Thome and Pullcat. Forefan trade was In
the hands of the Portuguese. Ar~ and Indians. V1Jayanagar Empire had commercial
relation with the Islands In the Indian Ocean. the Malaya Archlpelaao. Burma. China.
Persia. Abyssinia. South Africa and Portup. The principal articles of export were cloth.
rice. Iron. saltpetre, sugar and spltt!I. The commodities Imported Into the empire were
coppe<. coral. mercury. China silk and vetveL Besldt!I. horses and elephants were also
Imported.

The Vljayanagar emperors Issued brilliant coinage In gold and silver. The &old serit!I
were called the voroho. The full voroha weighed 52 a,alns and there were also half and
quarter >'Ol'ahas. On the obverse the Vljavanaaar coins contained the bull. elephant.
various Hindu clelties and the sandabetunda. a double eaale, either alone or holdlna an
elephant in each beak and claw. On the rtNerse these coins had the name of the
reignina king.

The socJ.l l~e uncler the Vijayana1ar Empire w.. well d<!veloped. The upper and the
middle classes of the people were wealthy and had a considerably higher standard of
life. The common people had to bear the burden of the taxation.

Royal Court,

The king and his courtiers led an el<travapnt and luxurious life. It was In striking
contra.st to the modest living standard of the rest of the population. The palace always
had a larae number of establishments attached to IL In the establishment there were
large number of women, especlaliy chosen lot their youth and beauty. Some were
brou1ht from abroad whlle others were captured in war and enslaved. Many wi,re
courtesan,. skilled In the art of music and dance whlle othen were the concubines of
prlnct!I. nobles and courtiers.

The Institution of caste with iii Its social and economic implkatlons was• universally
accepted social or1anlutlon. The areal poet Allasanl Peddana. in his f.amous work.
Ma<!ucharltramu mentions the four castes that exl1t.ed In the Vijayanaaar society.They
 l)'ltCPI IP the YIJIY■ PIPCI
QI) Qlacu11 the lm,ar tlott oCfhc N1y1ok1r1
mp.lr.t1

ANS.
VN stale,
e of the admin istrativ e system of the
The N.iyankara system was the cenlta l leatur rule«
Unt role In the politlcal history. All
fmpo<
Clearly the nayaka s seem to play a very role In the
Just ~ the IQtadars played an Impor tant
a11empted to establl sh conlto l over them. a similar
istrativ e structu re of the Delhf Sultan. ate In north Ind/a. so also nayallas played
admin
VN Empire , where they strl!nJ thened and weakened dynast ies.
role in the
a person
Nayal<a. • ancien t Sanskr it term denoti ng
The lenn Nayankara Is derive d from the word
leaders hip, especi ally milltar y leader ship. The nay.tb s we<e military
of promin ence and d rights
or predat ory warfar e and In retum enjoye
chieftains who Joined the king In delens lve presen ted ~ the key political
Great and small warrio rs. nayal<a s. an
OYe< land given to them. ara
by them is Amara m. The term amara nayank
flsures In the VN stale. The lenurl! held
of the nayaka for it signifie s an office (lr.>ra) possessed by• military chief
enaps ulates the ri&hts ntial
ol troops . Their power rested on• substa
(nayal<a) In comm and (arn.ira) of a body fortifications.
lity due to the use of firearm s and
enhan cemen t in milijar y capabi
the the
was from Kamatal<a, thre centur ies bl,fore
The first referen ce to the tenn 'Nayaka' ra. N.lyal< aj were subo<dfnate
State. Accord ing to 5aash Chand
establi shmen t of the Vljayanagara with some
wen, allowed to contin ue as rulers
rulen who were tlefeat ed by VJJaya n.ipra. but see the~ of - , fut
In the 12"' centur y. we
aut onomy. Wlt.h the declfne of Cholas these chiefs
countr y outsid e ol Chola manda lam. While
chlofb inship s OYe< portion s of the Tamil tuted Inc le~ the
l1ntv of the Chol~ . they consti
contin ued to recognize the rltual sovere among
as of Vijayanagara may have been from
basis cl compe titive power as well. The Nayak .
tar.i system ~ such had more compl ex oripns
indel)e ndent chll!ftalns lfke these. the Nayanl
Hoysa la roots.
Schola rs Nkl! Saleto re have traced Its orl&ln to
~vld
tram.onayya and Veluch eru N.1ray.1na. Rao.
This~ bl,en dl,put ed by schola rs like Venka Kablly a
an and Sanjay Subrah manv,l m . They befiew, that Vijaya naaara drew upon the
Shulm settlem ent
Richards was •a political e ,press jon of the
lcinph ip traditio n, which accord ing to J.F.
~ by T dugu warrio rs.• These fntefio r settter nents were nuclea ted and often
of the i n t s.
basis by a numbl ,r of mllftary chiefs ie. Nayab
fortified and admin istered on a mllltary

rights
, which was a land uslgrv nent. These were
The nayal<a was a holdl!r of the amara m tenure
not simply revenu e collect ion. Theref ore the nayal<a wn also rl!SP()nSible for
OYe< the land and the
tenure s were given tor military servlcl! to
C1Jltivation. dearin a of forests etc. Amara m
s. They had lo provid e a mifrtar y contingent and send a fixed tribute to
nayal<as or amara n;rr,1b

V U A YANA GAR A NOTE S

d the
gift or• sllare In t h e , -, They assiste
the kins . which could bl, in the form of a u and failure
ol l!xternal threat . Particularly, the succe
Vijayanagar rulers with army at the time . utill1lng the
efficie ncy ol the army sent by the Nay.lb
of the Vijaya napr ruler depen dN on the Vi,ayanag.ar
the VIJava naaar rulers delHt ed the Muslims In severa l battles for examp le,
army, army.
rule< Krl~ irmde d Raichu t fort with the help o1 Nayalt
s
This system mainU lned cordial relalio m
betwe en the Rayas and Nayal<s. The Navak
naaa, rulen when they were In distres s. Thl!Y pre,sen ted gold ornam ents
helped the Vljaya ns
time of temple festivals and birth-d ay functio
and costly at1lde-J H gift to the ruler at the
ol my.ii family . They used to presen t gold coins worth fiftel!n lal<hs
of the memb efs a ll
ry Del!pavall functio n. They also provid ed
Varap ns to the V'ljaya napr ruler at an ordina
odities needed for the royal family .
requir ed comm
s mainta ined law and Otder in their
lefrito ries.
They Nayal<s w h o ~ enorm ous power
te force was utilised to deal with the
They punish ed the criminals seYerl!ly. Separa onal
for the development o( ICri(:ulture. lrripli
criminals. Ade(luatl! attenti on was paid the
es were Improv ed. Vario< n erll!s. kulams and well were constr ucted a ll ove,
faclllti -re
ly. With a view to mend irriaali on foresls
kingdom, They were mainu ined regular lation of
yed, Genera lly, the Nayaks render ed metlto rlous service s to get the apptee
destro
the ruler, On certain occasi ons, they_,.., honou red by the rulers.
e
there ulsted political and admin istrativ
Thoup , the Nayaks acted Indepe ndentl y. two
ce. The Nayaks enjoyed the rights to send
ri,lations bl,twt tn the centre and t he provin person admin istered
ruler. Among them. °""
repres entativ es to the court al VIJayan agar ies rel.>ted
The other pe,son involYecf In the activit
the Nayak army station ed at the uc,itat.
to Nayaks.
system
Vijayanagar ruler extend ed the Nayanlcara
As the system functio ned effectively. the
a result I.h e numbe r of Nay.1ks Increa sed consid erably, Nuniz, In
throug hout the empire. As
than two hundre d Nayaks In the Vi,ayanagar
his accoun t mentio ned that there were more
and literary evidl!n ces proved that the Nay.1ks system flourished
Empire. The inKrip tlons
rule. Unlllte the govern ors, lhl! Nayal<s functio ned l~ n tly.
under th<! Vijaya napr
uctive works for the welfar e of t h e ~.
They did various constr
the
vlzed cultiva tors and artisans to settle In
they create d comme rcial center s and fncenti on
tax conces sions. protec tions and by constr ucting and malntalnlng irripti
region by •nts
eased the burden on the artisa ns •nd merch
lacllltie.s. For in,tanc e, many navako s hacf h.M tn hi,,, ,ui(I hv fnf"'frt\Jnt"-
,,.-.,, ' "'" '61hort,