CULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS

ART AND ARCHITECTURE Of all the provincial styles that developed in architecture in the mid-14th century, the Gujarat style is the most elegant. The Gujarat rulers evolved a synthesis of Islamic and Jain styles. The characteristic features of this style include extensive use of pillar-and­lintel system, device (a clerestory or wall with series of windows) to admit light into the central pan of the hall­type mosque, semi-circular engrailed arch on two pillars, systematic use of graceful minarets and heavily sculpted buttresses, rich and delicate jali in arches, windows, etc. and frequent use of balconied windows. Some fine examples of this style are the Rani Rupmati (c. 1460) mosque and the tomb and mosque of Rani Sabrai or Rani Sarai (1514).

In architecture, the Malwa style is essentially accuratj Some of its featun:s are the skilful and elegant use of arc1 with pillar and beam, lofty terraces approached by Well proportioned stairways, impressive and dignified size of buildings and their fine masonry, frequent use of dom cupolas round a central dome and restrained ornamentation with pleasing colQur decoration. The minaret is absent' this style. Some famous monuments of this style are Ashr Mahal, Hindola Mahal, Jahaz Mahal, Baz Bahadur's Palac the Nilkanth Palace and Kaliadeh Mahal.

The Sharqi Sultans of Jaunpur created a fine style' architecture which was marked by lofty gates and hug arches. It was deeply influenced by the buildings of th
Tughlaq period. I The Kashmir style of Indo-Islamic architecture is dif~ ferent from other provincial styles in the use of timber a~ the main building material and in its Buddhist influence! The Deccan developed a distinct architectural style nt the 14th to 17th century. The first phase of the Deccan style] shows Tughlaq influence. Later it was influenced by the] building art of Persia. Mahmud Gawan's madrasa in Persian, style at Bidar is noteworthy. But of the five successors tOI the Bahmanis in the Deccan, the most noteworthy architectural terms were the Adil Shahi and Qutb Shahi.

Features special to the Adil Shahi architectural style are the three-arched facade, the bulbous dome almost spherical in shape, the graceful, tall and slender minaret, frequent use I of a masonry pier of considerable size instead of a pillar, substantial bold, projecting chhajjas or cornices, and ceilings that seem to be built without any apparent support as the slabs of stones are bound together by iron clamps and strong mortar. Also typical is the richly artistic stucco or stone carving. Outstanding monuments of the Bijapur style are the mausoleum of Ibrahim Adil Shah and that of Muhammad Adil Shah or the Gol Gumbaz which is said to possess the largest single dome. Bijapur court paintings rose to great heights under Ibrahim Adil Shah. Ibrahim Adil Shah II was deeply interested in music. He invoked Saraswati in his songs. He compiled the Kitab-i-Nauras and built a new capital, Nauraspur.

The Golconda or Qutb Shahi style is noted for the design and luxuriant ornament in stucco of the facade of buildings including minars and parapets. The Hindu influ­ence in this style is evident in its motifs of decoration; the architectural forms and artistic devices are, however, Per­sian. Notable Qutb Shahi monuments include the tomb of Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah and the stately gateway built by him, the Char Minar, in about 1591-92 in Hyderabad. In painting, the Golconda portraits show the royal taste in fruits and scented flowers.

The Vijayanagar rulers built numerous magnificent well-decorated palaces and temples. The Vitthalaswami I temple probably begun in 1513 and never completed is I considered the finest specimen of Vijayanagar architecture. It has the typical features such as the main temple's pillared halls, subsidiary shrines and elaborately decorated pillars. Other notable structures are the Hall of Dance at Lepakshi and the festival hall at Vellore.

While the grandeur of architecture dominates sculp­tural decoration in these Vijayanagar monuments, sculpture had an important part in the scheme of things. Sculptures of. this period are exemplified by large monolithic carvings. The reclining Nandi near the Lepakshi temple is believed to be the largest monolithic Nandi in the country. Even more impressive is a gigantic representation of seated 'Ugra Narsimha' at Vijayanagar.
The best preserved and famous paintings are those at the Virabhadra temple and the Lepakshi paintings, which are characterised by earth tones and the absence of primary colours in general. Realism does not seem to be the main concern in this painting style.

The Nayakas who rose on the fall of the Vijayanagar empire continued the artistic traditions of the Vijayanagar rulers. The most famous architectural landmark of the age is the Meenakshi-Sundareswara temple at Madurai, built largely in the time of Thirumala Nayak in mid-17th century. A major contribution of the Nayaka artists was the building of 'prakaramas', roofed ambulatory passageways, at many temples. Typically, a Nayaka 'prakarama' has massive col­umns with elaborate corbelled brackets and extensively carved (and sometimes painted) surfaces. One of the most famous of these passageways from the Nayaka period is at Rameswaram.


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KHANDESH

KHANDESH

The small kingdom of Khandesh in the valley of the Tapti became independent under Malik Raja in 1388. Its capital was Burhanpur. Its rulers are known as the Farukki dynasty. The ninth prince of this line Miran Muhammad Shah became, by succession, king of Gujarat in 1536. He died the next year and the two kingdoms again became separate entities. The kingdom was annexed by Akbar in 16Ol.

KAMARUPA AND ASSAM

KAMARUPA AND ASSAM

The history of the kingdom of Kamarupa till the thirteenth century is obscure. The Ahoms entered the Brahmaputra valley from north Burma and founded a kingdom in its eastern region in the first part of the thirteenth century. Sukapha was the founder of the dynasty. He extended the territory in the west at the cost of Kamarupa. The influence of Brahmanical Hinduism began to gain ground in Ahom in the early fifteenth century AD. Suhungmung (1497-1539) reigned as Svarga Narayan. The Ahom kingdom became the target of Mughal invasions in the seventeenth century.

ORISSA

ORISSA

The kingdom of Orissa was brought into prominence by Anantavarman Choda Ganga (1076-1148). He was a great conqueror and patron of art and literature. He built the famous Jagannath temple at Puri. He was succeeded by some able rulers who repulsed successive Turkish invasions until Firuz Shah Tughlaq invaded the state and desecrated the Jagannath temple at Puri. After a short time the Ganga dynasty was supplanted (1434) by a new dynasty (Suryavamsha) founded by Kapilendra (1434­1470). Kapilendra's dynasty was supplanted by the Bhoi dynasty (1542) which was founded by Govind. This dynasty ruled up to 1559 when it was overthrown by Mukunda Harichandra. After the death of Harichandra, Orissa was annexed to Bengal by Sulaiman (1568).

SMALLER KINGDOMS

SMALLER KINGDOMS

Among the smaller kingdoms that came up on the Sultanate's decline, Jaunpur and Bengal in the east and Malwa and Gujarat in the west are important. Besides, Kashmir was an independent kingdom in the north.

JAUNPUR Malik Sarw~r, with the title Malik-ush-Sharq, who was governor of Jaunpur from 1394, threw off the allegiance to the Delhi Sultanate in the confusion following Timur's invasion, and asserted independence.

Malwa

Gujrat

Rajasthan

Mewar

Marwar

Amber

Kashmir

Bengal

LAND TENURES IN THE VIJAYANAGAR ADMINIS­TRATION

LAND TENURES IN THE VIJAYANAGAR ADMINIS­TRATION There were three broad categories of land tenures during the Vijayanagar rule: amara, bhandaravada and manya.

Amara villages granted to the amaranayaks by the Vijayanagar rulers were the largest category of land tenure. The amaranayak lacked proprietary rights in land and enjoyed privileges over its income only. 75 per cent of all the villages came under this category.

The bhandaravada was a crown village. It was the smallest category of land tenure. A part of its income was used to maintain the forts of the empire.
The manya villages were tax-free villages whose income was used to maintain brahmans, temples and mathas. The period witnessed a great increase in devadana grants, con­ferred on temples, made by the state as compared to other grants.

ADMINISTRATION, SOCIETY AND ECONOMY

ADMINISTRATION, SOCIETY AND ECONOMY The Vijayanagar empire had an autocratic system of adminis­tration. There was an elaborate arrangement of administra­tion at central, provincial and village levels. The chief source of administration was the king who adopted the title of 'Raya'. It is emphasised that the principle of strict adherence to dharma was the distinguishing feature of the Vijayanagar empire. However, it is disputed by many historians.

Many administrative organs of the central administra­tion were constituted. There is a mention of raj parishad and its chief officer mahapradhtini. There was also a council of ministers (mantriparishad) consisting of great scholars of the state. Sabhanayak was the head of the mantriparishad. Other important officials included koshadhyaksha, mudrakarta, vyaparnirikshaka, senapati and nyayadhisha.

The entire kingdom was divided into pranta, mandaI, kottam or valnadu, nadu, melagram and gram. There were six prants (provinces). Each province had a governor appointed by the centre. The provincial governors were called mahamandaleshwar, nadaprabhusa, nayak or mandaleshwar. Their responsibilities included maintaining law and order, ap­pointing subordinate officials, making military arrangement and imposing new taxes.

In rural administration, the rulers of Vijayanagar ac­cepted the local-self government policy of the Chola rulers. However, the village autonomy witnessed a decline during this period due to imposition of a 12-member Ayangar system (involving appointment of 12 officials by the centre) to keep a vigil on the rural administration. Mahanayakacharya appointed by the centre also looked after the local self­government.

The assessment on the peasantry amounted to a little more than the traditional one-sixth of the produce payable in equivalent money and not in kind. Trade, too, was a source of revenue. Punishments for crime were cruel and severe, prostitution was regulated and heavily taxed. On the whole, the country was prosperous and ably adminis­tered.

People used animal food freely although the vegetarian brahmans were held in great honour. The practice of sati was largely prevalent. Women were fairly educated and their services were utilised as clerks in the royal household. The Vijayanagar rulers also had women bodyguards and wrestlers.

The empire of Vijayanagar was one of the richest states of the time. The country was self-sufficient in food and industries flourished, such as textiles, mining and metal­lurgy, and perfumery. Industries and trade were regulated
by guilds. The empire possessed numerous ports and had commercial relations with foreign countries. Gold, silver and copper coins were in use.