04-22-2006, 05:50 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Harihara, the hero from Vijayanagara
Madhu Neglur tells us that Harihara was the one who saved and shaped the culture of Karnataka, when it was under tremendous pressure.
Idea behind the empire
In the history of Karnataka, Vijayanagara empire occupies a unique place. When the circumstances were adverse owing to the onslaught of Muslims from the north, when the social structure was very weak, when the Hindu culture was under constant attack, there came a hero who saved the culture of Karnataka. Harihara (Hakka), inspired by his teacher, Sri Vidyaranya founded the empire of Vijayanagara. It is this empire which later proved to be the main instrument of defence and preservation of Hindu religion, Hindu customs and traditions that is the bed rock of the rich heritage of Karnataka. The empire was established with a selfless objective and high deals.
Vijayanagara - the ideal
The analysis of circumstances that led to the foundation of Vijayanagara have been summarised by later historians as the following: to protect, preserve and promote the rich traditions of Indian cultural life; to nurture the institutions that stood for the propagation of Hindu religion; to promote the educational values inherited from our glorious past as well as to promote literature and fine arts. An assessment of the accomplishments of Vijayanagara empire vis-Ã -vis the objectives reveals that the founders of the empire, indeed did justice to the objectives and the empire did serve the above causes to a large extent.
The ideals which the Vijayanagara emperors pursued were symbolised in the Varaha the symbol which they adopted as their Rajamudra. The Varaha according to Hindu mythology stands for the destruction of Hiranyaksha â the demon king. According to the puranas Lord Vishnu in the incarnation of Varaha rescues Bhudevi who was being chased by the demon king and restores peace in the universe.
Similarly, the Vijayanagara emperors established a unified rule after integrating scattered pieces of kingdom. Befittingly the emperors of Vijaynagara were entitled âHinduraya Suratranaâ which speaks of the great contribution of the emperors in protecting and promoting Hindu religion and culture. The founding of Vijayanagara thus in the 14th century is not only an important milestone in the history of Karnataka but also has a great significance in the history of India in terms of its contribution in preserving Indian traditions and rich cultural heritage.
Religion and philosophy
Vijayanagara Empire remained gloriously golden for more than two centuries. During this golden period all religions were given the respect they were entitled. The empire, besides giving political stability and strength, provided a lot of opportunities for the growth of Hindu religion, fine arts and architecture. Mere military strength or peaceful life could not have helped the development of these finer values of life.
It was the conscious effort on the part of the kings that was mainly responsible for renaissance of Hindu culture. This could be justifiably considered as the main contribution of Vijayanagara empire to the Indian cultural, political and religious thoughts.
Greatest gift
The greatest gift of this time to the Indian religious thought and Hindu philosophy was the revival of Advaita philosophy which was originally propounded by Sri Sankaracharya. Sri Vidyaranya occupies a very significant position among all the Advaita philosophers of 14th and 15th centuries.
He popularised Vivarana Sampradaya, which is a special form of Advaita philosophy. On account of this contribution he is considered next only to Sri Sankaracharya.
Authoritative commentaries like Bhamati and Vedanta Kalpatharu were the creations of this time. The Advaita philosophy stands for the unison of Atma and Paramatma and states that nothing really exists but the supreme spirit (Brahma). The Advaita emphasised the path of knowledge i.e. jnanamarga and asceticism for attaining salvation. Advaita philosophy prescribes a way of life for achieving salvation which was upheld during the times of Vijayanagara.
Around the same time another school of thought Visistadvaita was propagated by Sri Ramanuja. It is called so because it inculcates the adwaita or oneness of God, with visesha or attributes. The philosophy of Visishtadwaita gives importance to Vaishnavism and proclaims Vishnu as the highest God.
During the Vijayanagara period another important religion took birth and that was âVeerasaivaâ religion. The founder of this religion was Sri Basaveswara. Through this school of thought the Kannada literature developed for the common man. The Dwaita and Adwaita philosophies were propagated through Sanskrit whereas the Veerasaiva adopted Kannada as its own.
Architecture, fine arts
In the book Shukranthithisara, - how a capital city should be constructed has been very scientifically dealt with. The building of Hampi, the scriptures say, meets fully all the requirements of a good, well laid-out city. The temples constructed in the beginning of the empire during 13th and 14th century, depict a plain architecture devoid of decoration. Later an attempt was made to integrate various architectural traditions.
The Kadamba architecture covering Jain bastis and the Hindu temples are ample evidence for this theory. As Vijayanagara emperors became stronger, their ties with Hoysala kings were also strengthened. As a result, during the time of Sri Krishnadeva Raya, the Vijayanagara architecture had imbibed delicate carving styles of Hoysala and Chalukya traditions.
As writer Parsibrown puts it, âthe architecture of the times represents a highly imaginative and communicative feature in various carvings of the Vittalaswamy temple.â
The oldest temple here is the âPampapatiâ temple. Lathe carved pillars, beautifully cut doors, temple roof decorate the monumental work. A part of this temple was constructed by Harihara for his scholarly guru Sri Vidyaranya. Later additions like âPhalapooja and Kalyanmantapsâ were made by Krishnadeva Raya as a memorial for his own coronation. The compound pillars with carvings of creepers and animals are one-stone pillars.
Phalapooja and Kalyanamantaps stand out as an unique contribution of the Vijayanagara architecture. Most important among the innumerable temples built by the Vijayanagara emperors are the Hazaar Rama, Vittalswamy and Veerashwari temple of Lepakshi. The etching work and Jali-work are eye catching. In these temples block stone is extensively used for carving. The Hazaar Rama temple near the palace was a monument of victory. Though this is a small temple the outer walls have been delicately carved to show stories from Ramayana.
Soap stone too has been used on a large scale. At the same time the architecture of Vijayanagara empire depicts Hindu-Muslim style, particularly in the construction of Queenâs bath and 8-cornered mantaps. The influence is said to be by the Bahamani Kingdoms.
The major speciality of Vijayanagara architecture particularly temple architecture is that the idols are installed on well-lighted platforms with clear visibility unlike many temples in the interior south. Since reality was the main objective in this architecture most of the figures are very natural and simple.
Kannada and culture
Even before Kannada came to be influenced by Vijayanagara, it had already faced the impact of Jainism, since it used Kannada literature as an instrument for its propagation. The two styles Margi and Desi were popular at that time.
Basaveshwara, to spread Veerashaiva religion developed his own style in simple language. Tripadi, Sangatya and Ragale were also revived.
The historians have grouped the growth of Kannada literature into three major types Jain literature, Veerashaiva literature, Brahminical works.
In the early times of Vijaynagara, the Jain poets confined themselves to writing poetry about Teerthankaras life. Bharatesh Vaibhav of Ratnakarvarni was also written about the same time. This is a long epic containing ten thousand verses.
It is said that poet completed the book in 9 months. The epic states that After the nirvana of his father, Bharata desires to be a conqueror of the world and be a single monarch. He defeats everyone but his brother Bahubali and challenges him to a fight. When the war starts between the two brothers, Bahubali disgusted with himself for fighting his dear brother for material gains renounces the world to take Sanyasa. The work is full of poetic imagination, musical notes, simple and lucid in style. At around the same time Teerthankar Charita was also written and this book preaches about the tenets followed by the Jains: dharma, non-violence among others. The other stories popular during these times were Nagakumaran and Sanatkumaran Kathe (of Bommarasa).
Social and economic life
In order to analyse and understand the significance of social and economic life during the Vijayanagara time it is necessary to study the city of Vijayanagara with all its strength and hopes. The city itself was established in 1936. Many travellers from Russia, Persia, Italy, Portugal and other parts of the world visited the empire and described it in great detail. Peas, the Portuguese traveller commented that âthe city of Vijayanagara appears ever bigger than Rome. Any street of the city is thickly populated and the major reason for this is the diamond trade.â
It says, âthe suburbs were highly developed and superbly planned. The city was full of beautiful temples that revealed architectural excellence. Women were confined to family life after marriage. In the Vijayanagara empire women had a special status. What the men could do they could too but generally only inside the palace. On the other hand practices like the devadasi system, sathi and prostitution were also in vogue,â Peas adds. In Madura Vijaya Vijayanagara is compared to Amaravathi of Lord Indra.
Education and Science
The Vijayanagara emperors themselves were very highly educated and learned. The founders of the empire Harihara (Hakka) and Bukka were ardent devotees of Sri Vidyaranya, a profound scholar and learned man. He was also the âRajguruâ â the royal teacher.
King Harihara in the scriptures is described as âKarnataka Vidya Vilasâ as he had mastered great knowledge and skills. Similarly, the other emperors too were highly proficient in music and literature.
The educational values which had royal blessings were extended to other communities as well. The education system was highly specialised and there were special teachers for scripts (lipigrahana), for pronunciation, commerce, history, geography, etc.
The members of royal family were well educated. Besides these areas, physical training also occupied an important place in the education system.
The primary education was known as âBalabodhi.â In âMohana Taranginiâ of Kalidas, the description of primary teacher has been vividly done. In the beginning children were taught writing on the sand or mud. Simple multiplication and measurements were also taught as part of the syllabus.
This system was known as Dhulakshara. In those days learning was passed by recitation and not through writing. Education covered the study of Amarakosa, Panchatantra and Someswarasathaka.
Moral and ethical values were also taught. Knowledge of astronomy too was highly developed and its rules were followed upon various occasions. In those times mutts, agraharas and temples were considered as centres for higher education.
They were also resting places for the travellers. Later on mutts were used for religious activities rather than seeking principal educational values. After the fall of empire, all these centres degenerated and converted into choultries (travellers bunglows). In the court of Vijayanagara emperors - poets, singers, comedians, historians, astrologers, debators, warriors and all those with talent were appreciated.
The subjects that were studied covered vedas, vedic criticisms, jurisprudence, grammar, mythology, religion, music and medicine among others.
Unlike today, there were no examinations nor were any degrees were awarded. The recognition was granted by the emperor in the form of land or gold.The relation between the âteacherâ and the âstudentâ was a sanctified one.
The âSomeswarasathakaâ highlights this selfless relation of teacher and the student. An adage during those times was âthere is no friend other than Vidya and there is no respectable person other than Guru.â
Persons who spread education were termed as scholars (Vidwans) and people who did not teach in spite of their own learning were termed as untouchables (Asprishyas).
Science and medicine
The earliest book on medicine available from Vijayanagara times was Ayurvedsudhanidhi which was written by Ekambaranath. After that Prashnotthara Ratnamaala is worthy of mention.
This early evidence of literature on medicine proves that medicine as a science was highly developed and various diseases/remedies were codified. During 1570 another volume âVaidyasara Sangrahaâ was compiled, which proves that they were aware of human body and anatomy.
With regard to veterinary science, books were written on diseases for elephants and horses, since in those days these two animals were highly useful for war and transportation. Books like Aswashastra and Hayasar Samuschyaya were written during this period. These books extensively deal with various features of the horses, methods of training and taming them etc.
It is true that Karnataka during the time of Vijayanagara empire was truly golden and the contributions of the empire to the growth of religious thoughts, art and architecture, music and language are highly commendable. Even today, some of them provide the basic structure for different descriptions.
Karnataka is indeed proud of its rich cultural heritage that has been preserved, enriched and handed onto the subsequent generation thanks to Vijayanagara. The kings of the empire succeeded in proving worthy of the title âHinduraya Suratranaâ conferred on them by the people of Karnataka with a deep sense of love, respect and affection.
References
Karnatakaâs tradition â A publication of Kannada Sahitya Parishat; Birth of Vijayanagara â P B Desai, Society, Religion and Culture â (i) Adwaita- P N Rao, (ii) Visistadwaita â M Yamunacharya, (iii) Dwaita - Dr R S
Panchamukhi, Social and Economic Life â Dr G S Deekshit, Education and Science âDr G S Deekshit, Kannada - Dr D L Narasimhachar, Architecture & other arts â P Shama Rao, Karnataka Music- L Raja Rao.
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald...4/spt1.asp<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Madhu Neglur tells us that Harihara was the one who saved and shaped the culture of Karnataka, when it was under tremendous pressure.
Idea behind the empire
In the history of Karnataka, Vijayanagara empire occupies a unique place. When the circumstances were adverse owing to the onslaught of Muslims from the north, when the social structure was very weak, when the Hindu culture was under constant attack, there came a hero who saved the culture of Karnataka. Harihara (Hakka), inspired by his teacher, Sri Vidyaranya founded the empire of Vijayanagara. It is this empire which later proved to be the main instrument of defence and preservation of Hindu religion, Hindu customs and traditions that is the bed rock of the rich heritage of Karnataka. The empire was established with a selfless objective and high deals.
Vijayanagara - the ideal
The analysis of circumstances that led to the foundation of Vijayanagara have been summarised by later historians as the following: to protect, preserve and promote the rich traditions of Indian cultural life; to nurture the institutions that stood for the propagation of Hindu religion; to promote the educational values inherited from our glorious past as well as to promote literature and fine arts. An assessment of the accomplishments of Vijayanagara empire vis-Ã -vis the objectives reveals that the founders of the empire, indeed did justice to the objectives and the empire did serve the above causes to a large extent.
The ideals which the Vijayanagara emperors pursued were symbolised in the Varaha the symbol which they adopted as their Rajamudra. The Varaha according to Hindu mythology stands for the destruction of Hiranyaksha â the demon king. According to the puranas Lord Vishnu in the incarnation of Varaha rescues Bhudevi who was being chased by the demon king and restores peace in the universe.
Similarly, the Vijayanagara emperors established a unified rule after integrating scattered pieces of kingdom. Befittingly the emperors of Vijaynagara were entitled âHinduraya Suratranaâ which speaks of the great contribution of the emperors in protecting and promoting Hindu religion and culture. The founding of Vijayanagara thus in the 14th century is not only an important milestone in the history of Karnataka but also has a great significance in the history of India in terms of its contribution in preserving Indian traditions and rich cultural heritage.
Religion and philosophy
Vijayanagara Empire remained gloriously golden for more than two centuries. During this golden period all religions were given the respect they were entitled. The empire, besides giving political stability and strength, provided a lot of opportunities for the growth of Hindu religion, fine arts and architecture. Mere military strength or peaceful life could not have helped the development of these finer values of life.
It was the conscious effort on the part of the kings that was mainly responsible for renaissance of Hindu culture. This could be justifiably considered as the main contribution of Vijayanagara empire to the Indian cultural, political and religious thoughts.
Greatest gift
The greatest gift of this time to the Indian religious thought and Hindu philosophy was the revival of Advaita philosophy which was originally propounded by Sri Sankaracharya. Sri Vidyaranya occupies a very significant position among all the Advaita philosophers of 14th and 15th centuries.
He popularised Vivarana Sampradaya, which is a special form of Advaita philosophy. On account of this contribution he is considered next only to Sri Sankaracharya.
Authoritative commentaries like Bhamati and Vedanta Kalpatharu were the creations of this time. The Advaita philosophy stands for the unison of Atma and Paramatma and states that nothing really exists but the supreme spirit (Brahma). The Advaita emphasised the path of knowledge i.e. jnanamarga and asceticism for attaining salvation. Advaita philosophy prescribes a way of life for achieving salvation which was upheld during the times of Vijayanagara.
Around the same time another school of thought Visistadvaita was propagated by Sri Ramanuja. It is called so because it inculcates the adwaita or oneness of God, with visesha or attributes. The philosophy of Visishtadwaita gives importance to Vaishnavism and proclaims Vishnu as the highest God.
During the Vijayanagara period another important religion took birth and that was âVeerasaivaâ religion. The founder of this religion was Sri Basaveswara. Through this school of thought the Kannada literature developed for the common man. The Dwaita and Adwaita philosophies were propagated through Sanskrit whereas the Veerasaiva adopted Kannada as its own.
Architecture, fine arts
In the book Shukranthithisara, - how a capital city should be constructed has been very scientifically dealt with. The building of Hampi, the scriptures say, meets fully all the requirements of a good, well laid-out city. The temples constructed in the beginning of the empire during 13th and 14th century, depict a plain architecture devoid of decoration. Later an attempt was made to integrate various architectural traditions.
The Kadamba architecture covering Jain bastis and the Hindu temples are ample evidence for this theory. As Vijayanagara emperors became stronger, their ties with Hoysala kings were also strengthened. As a result, during the time of Sri Krishnadeva Raya, the Vijayanagara architecture had imbibed delicate carving styles of Hoysala and Chalukya traditions.
As writer Parsibrown puts it, âthe architecture of the times represents a highly imaginative and communicative feature in various carvings of the Vittalaswamy temple.â
The oldest temple here is the âPampapatiâ temple. Lathe carved pillars, beautifully cut doors, temple roof decorate the monumental work. A part of this temple was constructed by Harihara for his scholarly guru Sri Vidyaranya. Later additions like âPhalapooja and Kalyanmantapsâ were made by Krishnadeva Raya as a memorial for his own coronation. The compound pillars with carvings of creepers and animals are one-stone pillars.
Phalapooja and Kalyanamantaps stand out as an unique contribution of the Vijayanagara architecture. Most important among the innumerable temples built by the Vijayanagara emperors are the Hazaar Rama, Vittalswamy and Veerashwari temple of Lepakshi. The etching work and Jali-work are eye catching. In these temples block stone is extensively used for carving. The Hazaar Rama temple near the palace was a monument of victory. Though this is a small temple the outer walls have been delicately carved to show stories from Ramayana.
Soap stone too has been used on a large scale. At the same time the architecture of Vijayanagara empire depicts Hindu-Muslim style, particularly in the construction of Queenâs bath and 8-cornered mantaps. The influence is said to be by the Bahamani Kingdoms.
The major speciality of Vijayanagara architecture particularly temple architecture is that the idols are installed on well-lighted platforms with clear visibility unlike many temples in the interior south. Since reality was the main objective in this architecture most of the figures are very natural and simple.
Kannada and culture
Even before Kannada came to be influenced by Vijayanagara, it had already faced the impact of Jainism, since it used Kannada literature as an instrument for its propagation. The two styles Margi and Desi were popular at that time.
Basaveshwara, to spread Veerashaiva religion developed his own style in simple language. Tripadi, Sangatya and Ragale were also revived.
The historians have grouped the growth of Kannada literature into three major types Jain literature, Veerashaiva literature, Brahminical works.
In the early times of Vijaynagara, the Jain poets confined themselves to writing poetry about Teerthankaras life. Bharatesh Vaibhav of Ratnakarvarni was also written about the same time. This is a long epic containing ten thousand verses.
It is said that poet completed the book in 9 months. The epic states that After the nirvana of his father, Bharata desires to be a conqueror of the world and be a single monarch. He defeats everyone but his brother Bahubali and challenges him to a fight. When the war starts between the two brothers, Bahubali disgusted with himself for fighting his dear brother for material gains renounces the world to take Sanyasa. The work is full of poetic imagination, musical notes, simple and lucid in style. At around the same time Teerthankar Charita was also written and this book preaches about the tenets followed by the Jains: dharma, non-violence among others. The other stories popular during these times were Nagakumaran and Sanatkumaran Kathe (of Bommarasa).
Social and economic life
In order to analyse and understand the significance of social and economic life during the Vijayanagara time it is necessary to study the city of Vijayanagara with all its strength and hopes. The city itself was established in 1936. Many travellers from Russia, Persia, Italy, Portugal and other parts of the world visited the empire and described it in great detail. Peas, the Portuguese traveller commented that âthe city of Vijayanagara appears ever bigger than Rome. Any street of the city is thickly populated and the major reason for this is the diamond trade.â
It says, âthe suburbs were highly developed and superbly planned. The city was full of beautiful temples that revealed architectural excellence. Women were confined to family life after marriage. In the Vijayanagara empire women had a special status. What the men could do they could too but generally only inside the palace. On the other hand practices like the devadasi system, sathi and prostitution were also in vogue,â Peas adds. In Madura Vijaya Vijayanagara is compared to Amaravathi of Lord Indra.
Education and Science
The Vijayanagara emperors themselves were very highly educated and learned. The founders of the empire Harihara (Hakka) and Bukka were ardent devotees of Sri Vidyaranya, a profound scholar and learned man. He was also the âRajguruâ â the royal teacher.
King Harihara in the scriptures is described as âKarnataka Vidya Vilasâ as he had mastered great knowledge and skills. Similarly, the other emperors too were highly proficient in music and literature.
The educational values which had royal blessings were extended to other communities as well. The education system was highly specialised and there were special teachers for scripts (lipigrahana), for pronunciation, commerce, history, geography, etc.
The members of royal family were well educated. Besides these areas, physical training also occupied an important place in the education system.
The primary education was known as âBalabodhi.â In âMohana Taranginiâ of Kalidas, the description of primary teacher has been vividly done. In the beginning children were taught writing on the sand or mud. Simple multiplication and measurements were also taught as part of the syllabus.
This system was known as Dhulakshara. In those days learning was passed by recitation and not through writing. Education covered the study of Amarakosa, Panchatantra and Someswarasathaka.
Moral and ethical values were also taught. Knowledge of astronomy too was highly developed and its rules were followed upon various occasions. In those times mutts, agraharas and temples were considered as centres for higher education.
They were also resting places for the travellers. Later on mutts were used for religious activities rather than seeking principal educational values. After the fall of empire, all these centres degenerated and converted into choultries (travellers bunglows). In the court of Vijayanagara emperors - poets, singers, comedians, historians, astrologers, debators, warriors and all those with talent were appreciated.
The subjects that were studied covered vedas, vedic criticisms, jurisprudence, grammar, mythology, religion, music and medicine among others.
Unlike today, there were no examinations nor were any degrees were awarded. The recognition was granted by the emperor in the form of land or gold.The relation between the âteacherâ and the âstudentâ was a sanctified one.
The âSomeswarasathakaâ highlights this selfless relation of teacher and the student. An adage during those times was âthere is no friend other than Vidya and there is no respectable person other than Guru.â
Persons who spread education were termed as scholars (Vidwans) and people who did not teach in spite of their own learning were termed as untouchables (Asprishyas).
Science and medicine
The earliest book on medicine available from Vijayanagara times was Ayurvedsudhanidhi which was written by Ekambaranath. After that Prashnotthara Ratnamaala is worthy of mention.
This early evidence of literature on medicine proves that medicine as a science was highly developed and various diseases/remedies were codified. During 1570 another volume âVaidyasara Sangrahaâ was compiled, which proves that they were aware of human body and anatomy.
With regard to veterinary science, books were written on diseases for elephants and horses, since in those days these two animals were highly useful for war and transportation. Books like Aswashastra and Hayasar Samuschyaya were written during this period. These books extensively deal with various features of the horses, methods of training and taming them etc.
It is true that Karnataka during the time of Vijayanagara empire was truly golden and the contributions of the empire to the growth of religious thoughts, art and architecture, music and language are highly commendable. Even today, some of them provide the basic structure for different descriptions.
Karnataka is indeed proud of its rich cultural heritage that has been preserved, enriched and handed onto the subsequent generation thanks to Vijayanagara. The kings of the empire succeeded in proving worthy of the title âHinduraya Suratranaâ conferred on them by the people of Karnataka with a deep sense of love, respect and affection.
References
Karnatakaâs tradition â A publication of Kannada Sahitya Parishat; Birth of Vijayanagara â P B Desai, Society, Religion and Culture â (i) Adwaita- P N Rao, (ii) Visistadwaita â M Yamunacharya, (iii) Dwaita - Dr R S
Panchamukhi, Social and Economic Life â Dr G S Deekshit, Education and Science âDr G S Deekshit, Kannada - Dr D L Narasimhachar, Architecture & other arts â P Shama Rao, Karnataka Music- L Raja Rao.
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald...4/spt1.asp<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->