VIJAYANAGARA Splendour in Ruins
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VIJAYANAGARA Splendour in Ruins
Editor George Michell Preface John Gollings Contributors Anila Verghese, George Michell, Sophie Gordon, Mike Ware
in association with
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The Alkazi Collection of Photography
Mapin Publishing
New Delhi • London • New York
Ahmedabad
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First published in India in 2008 by Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd. and The Alkazi Collection of Photography in association with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Simultaneously published in the United States of America in 2008 by Grantha Corporation 77 Daniele Drive, Hidden Meadows Ocean Township, NJ 07712 E: mapinpub@aol.com Sepia International Inc. & The Alkazi Collection of Photography United States of America: New York • ealkazi@interport.net • ealkazi@acparchives.com United Kingdom: London • stephanie.roy@btinternet.com India: New Delhi • rahaab@acparchives.com Distributed in North America by Antique Collectors’ Club East Works, 116 Pleasant Street, Suite 18 Easthampton, MA 01027 T: 1 800 252 5231 • F: 413 529 0862 E: info@antiquecc.com • www.antiquecollectorsclub.com Distributed in the United Kingdom and Europe by Marston Book Services Ltd. PO Box 269, Abingdon Oxfordshire, OX14 4YN T: 44 1235 465521 • F: 1235 465555 E: direct.order@marston.co.uk • www.marston.co.uk Distributed in Southeast Asia by Paragon Asia Co. Ltd. 687 Taksin Road, Bukkalo, Thonburi Bangkok 10600 Thailand T: 66 2877 7755 • F: 2468 9636 E: info@paragonasia.com Distributed in the rest of the world by Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd. 10B Vidyanagar Society Part I Usmanpura, Ahmedabad 380 014 India T: 91 79 2754 5390/2754 5391 • F: 91 79 2754 5392 E: mapin@mapinpub.com • www.mapinpub.com
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Text © The Alkazi Collection of Photography Illustrations © The Alkazi Collection of Photography except: By permission of the British Library (figs. 16, 32, 39, 48, 102 and 111) V&A Picture Library (figs. 26 and 59) Vijayanagara Research Project (figs. 20, 68, 75 and 85) Pierre-Sylvain and Vasundhara Filliozat (fig. 45) All rights reserved under international copyright conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The rights of John Gollings, George Michell, Anila Verghese, Sophie Gordon and Mike Ware to be identified as authors of this work have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988. ISBN: 978-81-89995-03-4 (Mapin) ISBN: 978-0-944142-76-9 (Grantha) LCCN: 2008923792 Chief Editor: Ebrahim Alkazi Design: Rahaab Allana Editor: George Michell Copyeditor: Smriti Vohra Processed and printed in Singapore The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standards for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. Jacket: Front: Alexander Greenlaw, Talarighat Gateway, Modern Positive (2007) from Waxed-paper Negative, 1856. Back: Edmund David Lyon, Vitthala Temple, Mandapas and Chariotshrine, Albumen Print, 1867–68. Pages 4–5: Alexander Greenlaw, Vitthala Temple, Chariot-shrine and East Gopura, Modern Positive (2007) from Waxed-paper Negative, 1856. Front endpapers: Alexander Greenlaw, Hemakuta Hill, Gateway and Temple, Modern Positive (2007) from Waxed-paper Negative, 1855–56. Back endpapers: Edmund David Lyon, Hampi Bazaar Street, Albumen Print, 1867–68.
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Contents
PREFACE Vijayanagara: Splendour in Ruins John Gollings
97
CHAPTER 4 Royal Centre
33
CHAPTER 5 Urban Core
145
CHAPTER 6 Suburban Centres
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS George Michell
10
LANDSCAPES IN VIJAYANAGARA
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PART THREE THE SITE AND ITS PHOTOGRAPHERS
PART ONE 15
CHAPTER 7 Greenlaw and His Successors Sophie Gordon
187
CHAPTER 8 Greenlaw’s Calotype Process Mike Ware
INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1 Vijayanagara in History and Memory Anila Verghese
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CHAPTER 2 Vijayanagara Revealed George Michell
39
PART FOUR DOCUMENTATION
PART TWO THE SITE AND ITS MONUMENTS George Michell 44
Maps
47
CHAPTER 3 Sacred Centre
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Catalogue of Photographs Supplementary Photographs Catalogue of Photographs, Drawings and Watercolours from Other Collections Glossary of Indian Names and Terms Select Bibliography Index of Photographers Index of Monuments Index
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Preface Vijayanagara: SPLENDOUR IN RUINS
A Photographer's Thoughts John Gollings
Vijayanagara: Splendour in Ruins presents a series of essays that extends from the history of Vijayanagara in South India, to its archaeology and architecture, illustrated by a number of amateur and commercial photographers. It offers readers an opportunity to analyse one of India’s most extensive medieval sites, and the means by which Vijayanagara was photographed through the nineteenth century. This volume looks in particular at the stylistic and visual similarities and differences the various photographers to the site established, the technologies available over time, and their influences on the compositions adopted by each practitioner. Starting with Alexander Greenlaw and his use of the calotype in 1855–56, through the work of Nicholas & Co. in the 1880s, Vijayanagara is systematically mapped in its various states. This publication sets a framework for the subsequent visual documentation at Hampi (the capital of the dynasty), but its power is much wider. While it is a valuable contribution to the scholarship of the Vijayanagara site, the present volume is also important for demonstrating crucial issues in the history of photography. Technical and aesthetic concerns are raised and discussed through pictures and essays, but it is the subject matter that makes these potent and accessible. This recurrence facilitates a comparison of style and approach, while also enhancing the differences in agendas and equipment available to each photographer. My own preoccupation with photographing Vijayanagara has lasted twenty-seven years. Through both practice and reflection, the results have profoundly influenced my work as an architectural and archaeological photographer. When I first began work on the Hampi ruins, I was unaware of any antecedents and decided to bring the city back to life through selective and controlled flash exposures at night. I was less interested in the ruination, and more interested in the idea that an imperial city held important lessons for modern planners and architects, providing I could infer from the original living city.
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This was a narrative approach, which relied on late twentiethcentury photographic techniques and theory unavailable to the pioneering photographers of the nineteenth century. The ability to “read” a photograph is a consequence of its own proliferation and interpretation by scholars. The Alkazi Collection of Photography’s selection of Vijayanagara images draws its strength not only from the very nature of being specific and focused, but also from a visual chronology covering the invention of the medium in 1839 through its most rapid technical development. Photographing buildings, especially within their surrounding context, is not as straightforward as it seems. A studio photographer, like a theatre director, chooses the time, place, camera position, lighting and expression of his sitter. The subject can also interact with the composition. An architectural photographer, on the other hand, encounters significant constraints and is often at the mercy of his subject. The geography of the building to be photographed, its access, the weather and time of year are manifest restrictions, along with specific technical limitations the practitioner needs to work with. In the nineteenth century, these technical limitations were relatively profound. In the case of Alexander Greenlaw’s work, they played a significant part in what was possible. The sheer difficulty of recording an image tended to force his composition into conventional nineteenth-century aesthetics. He could not afford the luxury of multiple exposures or experimental composition. The mindset would have been more that of a painter, looking for balance and harmony rather than intellect and critical vision. A good example of this is fig. 42, with a strong foreground object leading the eye diagonally into the distant landscape. A lot of the pleasure taken by early photographers was the thrill of optical clarity and the fixing of a moment in history, rather than interpretation. It was other visual artists who felt liberated by the invention of photography and its ability to document reality. Another example of classic nineteenth-century composition is fig. 43, dividing the picture
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plane into thirds and leading the eye through a foreground object. A much more pragmatic document is fig. 114, with obvious camera movement during the long exposure; to me it is redolent of the heat and exhaustion that Greenlaw must have felt as he worked his way through the site. One of my projects at Vijayanagara was to re-photograph all of Greenlaw’s images. This exercise highlighted one of the medium’s greatest abilities: observing and comparing changes over a period of time. When executed methodically, one can note an implicit trust in the imagery and a fascination with the differences, especially when entire buildings have disappeared. The work also taught me a great deal about Greenlaw’s instincts, equipment and limitations. His negatives are impressive (16 x 20 inches), his camera would have been heavy and awkward to handle, and the tripod needed a large and stable platform. Being a photographer myself, I could often guess the positions of Greenlaw’s cameras: they were logical and evident to another practitioner. I also knew that he had a “normal” lens, one whose focal length equalled the diagonal of his negatives and gave a natural perspective of 45°; this field of view, standard on early cameras, implied a focal length of 600 mm with an attendant narrow depth of field. A small aperture with consequent long exposures was necessary to seize focus. The inclusion of figures within his compositions obliged Greenlaw to work in full sun. The human figure placed within landscape to indicate scale became a hallmark of nineteenth-century photography, and was employed by many later photographers, such as Ezra Stoller (1915–2004), who carried architectural photography to new heights one hundred years later. One could also date the pictures from the sun angles. Greenlaw worked in summer, while I worked on the site in winter and therefore could never match the shadows. In 1856, paper negatives were only sensitive to blue and ultraviolet light. This had profound implications for the photographer, while rarely considered by historians. The unique, long tonal range of early architectural photography is due not only to the self-masking properties of the positive material, but also due to the fact that blue sky always exposes as white, and that shadows contain delicate details. The shadows are in fact overexposed, being lit with blue and ultraviolet light from the sky (remember the blue shadows
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on early Kodachrome film) which smoothes out the tonal range. Clouds are never visible; warm and coloured stone comes out much darker than is apparent. These different tones affected the balance of the composition, as the photographer previsualised the final print while adjusting the camera. Figs. 92 and 122, both taken by Greenlaw, would not work on modern film: the sky would be an overpowering grey and the building tones would merge into the sky, producing an incoherent mess. Ironically, the later documentation of the site by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in the twentieth century is woeful because of this very effect of film having improved spectral sensitivity. It is interesting to compare the later work of Edmund David Lyon to that of Greenlaw. Whereas Greenlaw was constrained by his lens and needed to tilt up (fig. 46), Lyon used a smaller camera with glass plates and wider angle lenses with sufficient covering power, allowing him to correct rising front perspective. By comparing figs. 74 and 76, one can observe the difference. In figs. 64 and 66, the growing sophistication in Lyon’s work is apparent in his strong use of wider lenses, producing a complete coverage of the temples, whereas Greenlaw was forced to crop some elements. In fig. 81, Lyon looks in elevation at the octagonal tower but very dispassionately, not afraid to show the less glamorous view. In fig. 17, Greenlaw goes out of his way to romanticise the very same building. Figs. 51 and 52 show a very confident Lyon making convincing and elegant shots of the Vitthala temple, the first to focus on the stone chariot, subordinating the much larger mandapa on either side, and again showing a detail of the chariot precisely placed to rise above the background. While Greenlaw was the consummate pictorialist under arduous conditions, Lyon, the other hero of this collection of photographs, developed a strong geometry within the composition, beyond that of Greenlaw. His photographs demonstrate the importance he gave to the point of view; his choice is still of great satisfaction to the modern viewer. There are few publications of nineteenth-century architectural photography that so subtly and powerfully inform the reader. Ebrahim Alkazi has collected a remarkable set of images, published here in accessible form. That they happen to be of Vijayanagara helps justify its place as a World Heritage site.
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Acknowledgements George Michell
Focusing on early photography at the great South Indian site of Vijayanagara, better known today as Hampi, a volume such as this is underpinned by more than twenty years of documentation and interpretation. A number of people need to be thanked for their encouragement and assistance during this period, beginning with Robert Skelton, then Head of the Indian Section at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, who first alerted me to the work of Alexander Greenlaw. I had just returned to London in March 1980 after my first field season of documentation at Vijayanagara earlier that January, when Robert summoned me to examine a set of about sixty waxedpaper negatives, dated 1855–56, that had temporarily been deposited at the museum. Imagine my excitement at the chance to view Vijayanagara as it was prior to any restoration work. John Gollings, the Australian photographer who had been with me at Vijayanagara on this first season, became fascinated with these remarkable early negatives, and soon embarked upon a re-photography project that pinpointed the exact spots where Greenlaw had pitched his tripod almost 150 years earlier. Much was to be learned of the fate of the site by comparing the work of these two photographers. I cannot thank John adequately enough for his commitment over the years. Soon after I came upon the Greenlaw “hoard”, I met the American archaeologist Dr. John M. Fritz, whom I persuaded to join me at Vijayanagara in January 1981. John enthusiastically embraced the site, and together we formed the Vijayanagara Research Project to map the site and measure the monuments. This project was active over a period of more than twenty years, producing a number of monographs illustrated with maps and drawings, a few of which are reproduced in this volume. Early in the period, Dr. M.S. Nagaraja Rao, Director of the Karnataka Department of Archaeology and Museums, took an interest in the Greenlaw photographs and the re-photography project of John Gollings, and eventually published a book with the old and new photographs juxtaposed on facing pages. He also had these images enlarged for exhibition to be shown at a museum at the Vijayanagara site, where they can be seen to
this day. Dr. Nagaraja Rao must be thanked for creating the well-equipped field camp site in the middle of the ruins, that housed the Vijayanagara Research Project team over many years. Both he and John Fritz were exemplary colleagues and a constant source of personal encouragement. To Ebrahim Alkazi I owe a personal debt, for it was at his invitation that I came to edit the present volume. Having purchased the Greenlaw negatives in 1998 from the collector who had first brought them to the Victoria & Albert Museum, Mr. Alkazi had been stimulated to seek out the work of other photographers who had visited Vijayanagara in the years immediately after Greenlaw. His unique assemblage of more than 150 images – all of which are reproduced here, though with the Greenlaw negatives mostly converted into positives (there being no original prints) – provides us with an unrivalled opportunity to examine the site as it was almost exactly 150 years ago. At the Alkazi Collection of Photography, London, I was ably assisted by Sophie Gordon, former Curator, who has contributed to this volume an insightful chapter on the careers of the various photographers, as well as by Stéphanie Roy Bharath. At Sepia International and The Alkazi Collection of Photography, New York, Esa Epstein, Executive Director, and her staff offered every support. I also thank Dr. Anila Verghese and Dr. Mike Ware, who willingly made available their specialist knowledge in history and chemistry respectively, for the chapters they contributed to this book. Surendra Kumar and Virupaksha ably assisted at the site itself in precisely identifying the locations of several of the photographs. The volume would have not reached final form without the imaginative input and technical skills of Rahaab Allana, Curator of the Alkazi Foundation for the Arts in New Delhi.
Opposite 1. NіѐѕќљюѠ ӕ Cќ., Kings’ Balance with Anjanadri Hill in the Distance, Albumen Print, 1880s.
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2. NіѐѕќљюѠ ӕ Cќ., Sister Rocks in the Urban Core, Albumen Print, 1880s.
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3. NіѐѕќљюѠ ӕ Cќ., Bend in the Tungabhadra River, Albumen Print, 1880s.
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4, 5. NіѐѕќљюѠ ӕ Cќ., Parts One and Two of Three-part Panorama from the Top of Mahanavami Platform, Albumen Prints, 1880s.
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6. NіѐѕќљюѠ ӕ Cќ., Monolithic Water Trough, Albumen Print, 1880s.
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7. EёњѢћё Dюѣіё LѦќћ, Elephant Stables from the Zenana Enclosures, Albumen Print, 1867–68.
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Vijayanagara: Splendour in Ruins
8. NіѐѕќљюѠ ӕ Cќ., Malyavanta Hill, Steps to Raghunatha Temple, Albumen Print, 1880s.
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Above 9. NіѐѕќљюѠ ӕ Cќ., Kamalapura, Street Scene, Albumen Print, 1880s.
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Following page 10. NіѐѕќљюѠ ӕ Cќ., Queen’s Bath, Interior, Albumen Print, 1880s.
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PART ONE
INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1
VIJAYANAGARA IN HISTORY AND MEMORY Anila Verghese CHAPTER 2
VIJAYANAGARA REVEALED George Michell
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Chapter 1
vijayanagara in history and memory Anila Verghese
A
s the most extensive of all ruined sites in South India, Vijayanagara has always had an irresistible appeal to visitors and scholars. From the midfourteenth century to 1565, this site served as the capital of the Vijayanagara state that was founded in the wake of the Muslim invasions of peninsular India. As the seat of a military empire that incorporated all of South India except for the Kerala coast, Vijayanagara was built up by its rulers as a showpiece of imperial magnificence. It came to be celebrated throughout Asia and even Europe for its might and wealth.
“The City of Bidjanagar [Vijayanagara] is such that the pupil of the eye has never seen a place like it, and the ear of intelligence has never been informed that there existed anything to equal it in the world,” wrote Abdur Razzaq, the envoy from the Persian capital of Herat to the court of the Vijayanagara king Devaraya II in 1443.1 Besides Abdur Razzaq, other foreign travellers have left glowing accounts of the splendours of Vijayanagara. These include the Italian Nicolo Conti in the early fifteenth century as well as Portuguese visitors in the first half of the sixteenth century. 11. EёњѢћё Dюѣіё LѦќћ, Hemakuta Hill Temples, Albumen Print, 1867–68.
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Foundation and Growth of the Capital The Vijayanagara empire takes its name from its capital on the Tungabhadra River. The founders of the Vijayanagara state did not build their capital in uninhabited desert land. The discovery of neoliths and hand-made pottery at the site proves that the history of the Vijayanagara region dates back to the Neolithic times. Epigraphical evidence shows that this area was under the control of various successive dynasties that ruled this region prior to the establishment of the Vijayanagara empire. Two local princes, Hukka and Bukka, sons of a chieftain named Sangama, founded the Vijayanagara state in the mid-fourteenth century. The earlier Hindu kingdoms of South India and the Deccan had been swept away by the irresistible might of the forces of the Delhi sultans in the early fourteenth century. However, their control over the peninsula lasted very briefly. Successful revolts resulted in the emergence of the Vijayanagara empire around 1336 and of the Bahmani sultanate in the upper Deccan in 1347, with its capital first at Gulbarga and later at Bidar. The Vijayanagara state established a new political and moral order based on traditional Hindu cultural values. There are two conflicting viewpoints about the origins of the Vijayanagara empire: the Telugu origin theory and the Kannada origin theory. According to the former, Hukka and Bukka, who had served as treasury officers at the court of the Kakatiya ruler Prataparudra, fled to Kampili in 1323 after the fall of Warangal, the Kakatiya capital. They were taken as prisoners to Delhi and converted to Islam in 1327 when Muhammad Tughluq, the Delhi sultan, conquered Kampili. They were later sent back by the sultan to the lower Deccan to put down the rebellion of the Hoysala chief Ballala III, and appointed as governors of Karnataka. Soon they raised the standard of revolt. One day while the two brothers were out hunting in the area around Hampi, a tirtha or holy spot on the Tungabhadra, their hunting dogs, while in pursuit of a hare, were suddenly attacked and chased away by the hare. Hukka and Bukka were intrigued by the role reversal of the
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hare and the hounds; they asked for an interpretation of this strange phenomenon from the great sage Vidyaranya (Forest of Learning) who was seated in meditation at the spot. The saint informed them that this was a sign that the place was very auspicious, for here the weak would become strong; hence it was the ideal spot for a capital city. Vidyaranya then reconverted the two brothers to Hinduism, and with his help and blessing they established the Vijayanagara state, with the elder brother, Hukka, becoming its first king under the new name of Harihara. On the south bank of the river Tungabhadra, he founded a new capital city, which were given the significant names of Vijayanagara (City of Victory) and Vidyanagara (City of Learning), the second name commemorating the role of Vidyaranya in these momentous events. According to the Kannada origin theory, Harihara and Bukka were feudatory chiefs of the Hoysala kings Ballala III and Ballala IV. Vidyaranya played no part in the foundation of the empire, and the story of the conversion to Islam has no basis. The leading historians of South Indian history of the earlyand mid-twentieth century were divided in support of the two theories about the origins of the Vijayanagara state. However, some inscriptions recently discovered in Anegondi conclusively set to rest the controversy and prove the local origins of the founders of Vijayanagara. These epigraphs describe Harihara and Bukka as treasury officials of Kampiladeva, whose family ruled in the Anegondi-Hampi area in the early fourteenth century and whose territory, including his stronghold of Kummata-durga, was conquered in 1327 by the Delhi sultan. Gradually asserting their independence from the tenuous control of Delhi over the Deccan, Harihara, with the help of his brothers, asserted sovereignty over this area in the Deccan in the second quarter of the fourteenth century. The choice of Hampi as the capital by the early Sangamas is quite understandable if this theory is accepted. No doubt the choice of Hampi as the seat of their power by the founders of this empire was not accidental. Military considerations and the strategic location of the site influenced their decision. The Tungabhadra afforded a
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natural protection on the north and west, while the dramatic landscape of hillocks and rocky outcrops created a vast natural fortress. The rugged topography was brilliantly exploited by the rulers to defend the city and was soon woven into the system of fortifications that surrounded it. That it survived for more than two hundred years on the edge of territory heatedly disputed with the Bahmani sultanate and its successor states, is a measure of the city’s strength. Despite the fact that Vijayanagara was besieged a number of times, it was never captured. Indeed, the city was stormed and sacked only when it was left undefended by the ruling elite following the disastrous battle of 1565. Under the enlightened leadership of its rulers, Vijayanagara was a rich, cosmopolitan blend of different peoples with a wide variety of linguistic, ethnic and religious backgrounds. The growth of Hampi from a small pilgrimage centre to the mighty metropolis of Vijayanagara, which according to European visitors was larger than Rome, Paris or Lisbon, was gradual. Although popular tradition and some spurious inscriptions ascribe the foundation of the city to Harihara I and his preceptor Vidyaranya, in fact Vijayanagara became the capital only during the reign of Bukka I. Harihara I ruled from Anegondi on the north bank of the Tungabhadra, which Domingo Paes, the Portuguese visitor, refers to as the “old capital”. With the establishment of the Bahmani sultanate and the commencement of warfare between the two Deccan states, Bukka I thought it prudent to shift his seat south of the river. Records assert that Bukka was “on the throne of the new Vijayanagara,”2 and that he “built a splendid city, called the city of victory.”3 But Bukka’s city was rather small, comprising only the Royal Centre, around which fortifications were built at this time. Two inscriptions referring to gateways at the eastern end of the Royal Centre cite them as being “east of the city of Vijayanagara of Shri Vira Bukkaraya.”4 The attention of Bukka and his successor was primarily directed towards the military threat of the Bahmanis, and
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focused on building up the fortifications of Vijayanagara rather than on temple construction. The earliest dated temples at the site are of the reign of Harihara II, but none of them are royal foundations. They are widely scattered over the site. Under Harihara II the capital was already a welldeveloped and large city extending from present-day Hampi to Kamalapura. Epigraphical references to two gateways of the walls around the Urban Core indicate that this line of fortifications was in existence during this reign. Under the later Sangamas, new temples were built, of which the most important was the one in the Royal Centre dedicated to Ramachandra, now popularly known as Hazara Rama. New quarters were also developed in the city. That the Islamic quarter at the north-eastern end of the Urban Core was in existence during the reign of Devaraya II, who made it a conscious policy to welcome Muslims into his army, is revealed by a mosque built there by Ahmad Khan, one of his officers. The Tuluva rulers added great suburbs to Vijayanagara. The greatest expander of the city and architectural innovator was Krishnadevaraya. He had the suburb of Krishnapura laid out around the Krishna temple, which he commissioned in 1515. Three suburbs were built south of Vijayanagara city proper, extending up to modern Hospet. His successor Achyutaraya added two more Suburban Centres: Achyutarayapura, that grew up around the great temple to the god Tiruvengalanatha built in 1534 by the ruler’s brother-inlaw; and another near the modern village of Kamalapura, of which only the Pattabhirama temple complex has survived.
Three Dynasties of Rulers From Vijayanagara city three dynasties ruled over a vast empire: Sangama (1336–1485), Saluva (1485–1505) and Tuluva (1505–65), the rulers of which assumed the title of raya or king. Harihara I (1336–56), the first of the Sangama line, was succeeded by his brother Bukka I (1356–77), during whose reign the endemic Vijayanagara-Bahmani
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12. EёњѢћё Dюѣіё LѦќћ, Krishna Temple, Tank, Albumen Print, 1867–68.
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warfare began. Bukka and his son Kumara Kampana were involved with campaigns in the Tamil lands. The climax of these endeavours was the capture of Madurai, the last surviving centre of Muslim rule in the far south of the Tamil country. The reign of Bukka’s son and successor, Harihara II (1377–1404), marks a period of consolidation, during which this realm took on the dimensions of an empire. He imposed the authority of Vijayanagara over the commercially important Arabian Sea coast from Goa to Chaul, south of modern Mumbai. A struggle for the Vijayanagara throne ensued between the sons of Harihara II on his death. Ultimately Devaraya I succeeded to the throne in 1406. Despite wars with the Bahmanis and other neighbours, this emperor was able to turn his attention to public works and temple-building activities. Devaraya I’s death in 1422 was followed by another struggle for the throne, till finally Devaraya II (1424–46), the greatest of the Sangama rulers, assumed power. Meeting with reversals in wars against the Bahmanis, Devaraya II introduced reforms in his army and employed Muslims, especially in the archery and cavalry. He was also a patron of art and religion. After Devaraya II, the empire declined under the weak rule of Mallikarjuna (1446–65) and Virupaksha II (1465–85). The Bahmani sultans and the rulers of Orissa seized much territory from Vijayanagara, including valuable coastal lands and ports both on the west and east coast. The debility of these kings facilitated the rise to power of a provincial governor, Saluva Narasimha, who usurped the throne and established the second dynasty in 1485. Saluva Narasimha tried to revive the prestige of the Vijayanagara state and to re-conquer lost territories. Unfortunately he was succeeded after a fairly short reign by minor sons, Timma (1490–91) and Immadi Narasimha (1491–1505), who had as their regent the Tuluva minister Narasa Nayaka and later his own son Vira Narasimha. The latter seized the throne in 1505 and founded the third dynasty. Vira Narasimha was succeeded by his half-brother Krishnadevaraya (1509–29), who proved to be the most illustrious of the Vijayanagara sovereigns. At the time of his accession, the threat to the Vijayanagara empire was great. To the north-west of the heartland of the empire
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was the new sultanate of Bijapur; on the north-eastern frontier were the expansionist Gajapati rulers of Orissa, and to the south were a set of chiefs who opposed the Tuluva usurpation and who, under the Ummattur family, were expanding across the peninsula, thus threatening to cut the rayas off from their Tamil territories. Krishnadevaraya’s solution to these threats was the old and reliable one of a brilliant series of military campaigns against all his enemies and the bold policy of reducing the powers of subordinate chiefs. He also maintained good relations with the newly established Portuguese authority on the Arabian Sea coast in order to secure much-needed horses for his army. Krishnadevaraya made extensive and repeated tours of his empire, especially of the southern Tamil lands, receiving homage from subordinates, forcing local chiefs into submission and making conspicuous donations to temples. Besides his proven capabilities as commander and statesman, Krishnadevaraya was cultured and literate. He was an author of works in Sanskrit and Telugu and was a great builder, as is obvious from the many temples both in the capital and elsewhere in the empire that bear his name. Krishnadevaraya was succeeded by his half-brother Achyutaraya (1529–42). In the power struggle following the latter’s death, Ramaraya, the son-in-law of Krishnadevaraya, triumphed and became the regent of Sadashiva, nephew of the previous monarch, and the de facto ruler. In order to establish his authority at the capital, Ramaraya expelled many of the old nobles and invited a new set of officers to the Vijayanagara court, particularly his own kinsmen of the Aravidu family. Much of Vijayanagara’s wealth derived from tribute paid by provincial governors of the empire as well as the booty seized from successful military campaigns. Throughout their history the Vijayanagara emperors were pitted against their northern neighbours, namely, the sultans of the Bahmani kingdom and, on its disintegration by the end of the fifteenth/early sixteenth century, of its successor states. The struggle between the rayas and the sultans was for control over the richly irrigated lands between the Krishna and Tungabhadra Rivers and for political hegemony in the region.
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Religious Traditions The tirtha of Hampi has an unbroken tradition of sanctity from pre-Vijayanagara times. It is a place of pilgrimage hallowed by the goddess Pampa and later her consort Virupaksha. The eponymous goddess Pampa is the local devi and the most ancient deity of the area. The worship of this goddess appears to be anterior to the seventh century. This local folk goddess came to be absorbed into the panIndian Hindu tradition in the pre-Vijayanagara period by marriage to Virupaksha, a form of Shiva. As a result the goddess lost her importance to the male deity. Literary and epigraphical evidence indicates that by the twelfth century Virupaksha had already emerged as the principal divinity of Hampi, and that the temple of this deity was an important cult centre. The Virupaksha cult gained greatly in importance with the founding of the Vijayanagara kingdom, with its capital built in the proximity of this temple. Besides being the seat of Pampa and Virupaksha, Hampi and its surroundings have also been closely associated with the Ramayana, for this is believed to be Kishkindha of the epic, the mythical kingdom of the monkey kings Vali and Sugriva. The events of the Ramayana related to this site focus on the meeting of Rama with Hanuman and Sugriva and the alliance entered into with them to search for Sita, Rama’s wife, who had been abducted by the demon king Ravana. Various spots in and around Vijayanagara are identified with incidents relating to the Ramayana tradition. Besides the natural advantages of the site, the founders were also influenced in their choice by its mythic associations. The sons of Sangama, staunch Shaivas, were evidently devotees of god Virupaksha and they decided to situate their political centre under his protection. Virupaksha was adopted as the patron deity of the kings, their capital and kingdom as long as Vijayanagara remained the capital, not only by the Shaiva Sangamas but also by the later dynasties, which were Vaishnava in
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affiliation. The name of the guardian deity was adopted by these rulers as their insignia, and royal epigraphs often end with “Shri Virupaksha”, which took the place of the signature of the king. While invoking the protection of the local god Virupaksha, the rulers were also aware of the Ramayana association of the site, which added to its auspiciousness. From the early fifteenth century onwards, when the Hazara Rama (Ramachandra) temple was built in the heart of the Royal Centre, the Ramayana tradition at the site began to be greatly developed. In Indian culture, Rama is considered to be the ideal king; and at Vijayanagara a deliberate homology came to be drawn between Rama, the ideal universal monarch, and his earthly counterpart, the king reigning from Vijayanagara. This was achieved by highlighting Rama’s movements through the sacred landscape in and around Hampi, and through architecture and sculpture. That this was believed to be a site of powerful divine or cosmic protection is hinted at in the foundation myths of the city. The Vijayanagara rulers were great patrons of religion. In the capital, the cult of Virupaksha received a great boost, as did the worship of other Shaiva deities, such as the fierce Bhairava and Virabhadra and the benign Ganesha. Besides the Vaishnava cult of Rama that was given great encouragement from the fifteenth century onwards, other Vaishnava deities, such as Krishna, Vitthala of Pandharpur, Tiruvengalanatha or Venkateshvara of Tirumalai-Tirupati and Ranganatha of Srirangam, were also incorporated into the city in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. The Saluvas and Tuluvas, who were staunch Vaishnavas, were particularly devoted to the deity of TirumalaiTirupati. In the first half of the sixteenth century the Vitthala temple at Vijayanagara gained greatly in wealth and popularity, finally eclipsing the Virupaksha temple in importance. Popular religious cults in the city included those of Hanuman, the monkey hero of Ramayana fame, the veneration of heroes, whose valorous deeds were immortalised in stone sculptures, as well as of satis, the wives who immolated themselves on the funeral pyres of
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13. NіѐѕќљюѠ ӕ Cќ., Virupaksha Temple, Albumen Print, 1880s.
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their husbands. While fostering and promoting different Hindu sects and religious cults, the kings also permitted and even patronised the practice of other religions, such as Jainism and Islam, in the capital. This is evident from the presence of the remains of at least six Jain temples and two mosques in the city. Inscriptions reveal that the Vijayanagara monarchs and their subordinates gave lavish gifts to religious fi gures as well as to temples. Hundreds of new shrines were built in the capital and throughout the empire, and many old ones were repaired or had extensive additions made to them. Such religious establishments were richly endowed with lands, money, taxes due to the state, jewels for the daily worship, and even the institution of new festivals.
Life at Court Besides being great patrons of religion, the Vijayanagara rulers fostered the development of intellectual pursuits and the arts, such as music and dance, literature, architecture, sculpture and painting. They introduced new techniques in warfare, building, waterworks and agriculture. The celebration of public rituals was an important royal function, for it was believed that flourishing festivals would strengthen dharma, establish the presence of divine powers in the kingdom and stimulate the cosmic flow of gifts and fertility. During this period the most important of these rituals preserving cosmic order was, undoubtedly, the annual nine-day Mahanavami festival. Domingo Paes, who visited Vijayanagara in the early sixteenth century, has left a vivid account of this festival. A careful perusal of this makes it clear that the festival, although basically religious in character, had political, economic, social and military significance. The focus of the ceremonies was upon the reigning monarch and the revitalisation of his realm. The various rites of this festival reveal that the king and the deity being worshipped were at least homologous, if not equal.
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The patronage of religion, especially the royal celebration of public rituals such as Mahanavami, in the capital highlights the fact that in the Vijayanagara system the relationship between the kings and the gods was one of partnership. The transactions between kings, temple deities, priests and sectarian leaders point to a relationship of mutual interdependence. The priests made offerings to and performed services for the gods; the deities preserved the king, his kingdom and his subjects; and the monarch protected and awarded material benefits to the temples, priests and sectarian leaders. Thus, while the temples and sectarian leaders bestowed honours and blessings on the sovereign, the ruler in turn conferred on them protection and riches. Even though the kings were not considered to be gods, they manifested divinity and maintained divine order in the world. Prosperity, fertility, success in war and the right relationship between the castes all resulted, ultimately, from royal activity.
The Catastrophe of 1565 Ramaraya attempted to set the rulers of the Bahmani successor states, especially Bidar, Bijapur and Golconda, against one another in order to achieve hegemony for Vijayanagara. Ramaraya’s intervention in Deccan politics differed from that of his predecessors, in being more successful and in being carried out by diplomacy as well as military force. Although temporarily very successful, in the long run not only did this policy fail, but it also led inexorably to the fatal alliance of these kingdoms, together with that of Ahmadnagar, against Ramaraya, with disastrous consequences to the Vijayanagara empire. The great battle was fought at Talikota in January 1565. Ramaraya was killed in battle. His brother Tirumala, who survived the carnage, escaped from the battlefield and retreated to the capital, where he gathered up the puppet sovereign and the imperial treasury and fled to Penukonda, leaving Vijayanagara totally undefended. The destruction of this rich and splendid city was sudden and dramatic. Following the catastrophe at Talikota,
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14. NіѐѕќљюѠ ӕ Cќ., Hazara Rama Temple, Royal Processions, Albumen Print, 1880s.
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15. EёњѢћё Dюѣіё LѦќћ, Talarighat Gateway, Albumen Print, 1867–68.
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