Nature of Vijaynagara state with refrence to the Nayankara System.

Vijayanagara State & Nayankara System

Introduction-

The decline of the Delhi Sultanate was accompanied by the rise of Vijaynagara and Bahamanid kingdoms, which dominated India South of Vidhyas for more than 200 years.

There is no agreement among historians regarding the origin of the Vijayanagara Kingdom. Yet there is a consensus regarding the two founding brothers - Harihar and Bukka, but their origin is debated. The two most popular theories are-

• Harihara and Bukka were two brothers belonging to a family of five brothers. They were feudatories of Kakatiya of Warangal. During a conflict, they were defeated and captured by Muhammad Bin Tughluq and were converted. Muhammad Tughluq later sent them to Kampili to suppress a rebellion, but these two brothers instead joined them.
• Harihar and Bukka belonged to the group of 75 Nayaks of Karnataka who had rebelled against Turkish rule. They belonged to a strong Shavite family.

Economy of Vijayanagara Kingdom

The Vijaynagra Empire was one of the richest states in the world at the time. Several foreign visitors give account in 15th-16th century. 

Agriculture was in a prosperous state. The rulers encouraged agriculture through implementing irrigation policy. Nuniz, the Portuguese traveller, mentions dam construction and anal excavation.

Apart from agriculture, the empire had textile, mining, metallurgy industry well-developed and functioning. Perfumery was another important industry.

Guilds governed industries and craft basis works.

The Persian diplomat Abdur Razzak states – “The tradesmen of each separate guild or craft have their shops close to one another. It was common practise for people of the same trade to live in thee same neighbourhood”

Trade was thriving in the empire – inland, coastal and international. 

The kingdom had over 300 seaports. It maintained ties with the Indian Ocean islands, Burma, China, Arabia, Persia, Portugal, South Africa.

Cloth, spices, rice, iron, sugar – were exported and Horses, elephant, pearls, copper, China silk and velvet were common items to import. 

Muslim merchants were in control of overseas trade. When they returned from the Red Sea, the king assigned them a nayar bodyguard, chetti (accountant) & a broker. 

According to Nuñez, Vijayangara Empire’s diamond mines were the richest in the world, located on the bank of Krishna river. A large cutting and polishing industry of diamonds, sapphire, and rubies was established in Malabar and Vijaynagara.

Temple Economy- 

Temples emerged as significant landholders during the Vijaynagara Period. They were granted thousands of villages by the rulers. Temple officers oversaw the devdana villages to ensure the grant was utilized properly. 

Temple also ran banks and had a large workforce. They made loans to individuals and village assemblies for economic purposes. The loans were made in exchange for lands and the proceeds went to the temple.

Thus, the temples functioned almost as an independent economic system encompassing individuals and institutions linked together by economic ties.

Society under the Vijaynagara Empire-

• The empire had a very complex and sophisticated society under it. There were four dynasties of the Vijayanagara empire – the Sangama, Saluva, Taluva and Aravidu, they all managed the society in their own ways, but the base of the society remained the same.
• It is argued that rulers spent a lot of time indulging in Hinduism, they financed temple construction and acquired titles such as “protector of vedas”. However, it is evident that were not narrow-minded. The rulers gave patronage to Jainism and even allowed chirsitan missionaries to convert hindus.
• The Muslim soliders in the army were allowed to offer nazam. There was a friendly relation among all religions in the military as well as the society. Though there were few cases of disturbances, but the overall working of society was smooth and quarrel free. 

• There were four caste – Brahman, Rachaveru, Vaishyas and Shudras. Shudhras were generally the ones involved in agriculture. The society also consisted of untouchables and slaves. Mostly, people who could not pay the debt took up the work of slavery. 
• The position of women in the society was on avery broad spectrum. While there were women who were merchants, traders, artists and even worked in the royal palace as court astrologers and royal guards. But on the other hand, they were also working as servants, prostitutes and devadasis in the temples. 
• Child marriage and polygamy was a common practise. Upper class women were expected to perform Sati after the death of their husbands.

Nayankara System & the Administration - 

In building their system of administration, the Vijaynagara rulers not only used the Tamil traditions of Chola rulers, but also Telugu and Kannada traditions of the Kakatiyas and the Hoysalas. Thus, they were not mere provincial leader but represented the entire south.

Central Administration-

The King was at the apex of the entire system. His authority was unlimited. Krishnadeva raya talks about the prevailing concept of kingship in his Amuktamalayda.

“With great care and power, we should attend to the work of protecting the good and punishing the wicked without neglecting anything that you can see or hear.”

He also advises the kings to levy taxes on his people moderately.

The king was assited by a council of ministers to carry out other administrative works.

The Kingdom was divided into provinces called Rajyas or Mandalams.

There provinces were further divided into Nadus (Districts), Sthala (sub-district), and Grama (villages).

Nayankara System-

The Central government maintained a small troop while the major part of the contingent was made up by troops from provinces maintained by the nayakas. 

This administrative system was known as Nayankara system. It was a very important characteristic of the Vijanayaga political organisation. The military chiefs or the warriors held the title of nayaka or amarnayaka. 

Epigraphical records speak of different kinds of Nayakas- 

• Dandanayaka 
• Durga Dandanayaka
• Amarknayakas

Vijaynagara rulers give due importance to provincial administration. The nayankara system was similar to feudalism in Europe. 

According to this system all land was owned by the rulers. He distributed the lands (nayakattam) to his generals (Nayakas) and they functioned under his control.

The Nayakas who received the land from the ruler distributed them to tenants for cultivation. The amount of tax was considerable. 

Nuniz in his account mentions – “1/10th of the total revenue was land tax. It was collected very strictly. The Nayak gave half of it to the central government and the rest for administration and managing the troops. The rulers received 70 lakhs of varagans from the Nayaks.”

• Nayaks were entrusted with the maintenance of the army. They maintained a fleet of cavalry, infantry, and elephantry. The success and failure of the Vijaynagara rulers depended largely on the efficiency of the army sent by the Nayaks. Ex- In the invasion of Raichur fort, Krishnadeva Rai was largely dependent on the troop contingent sent by the Nayaks. The success of the empire was primarily based on the cavalry warfare and large number of mounted Muslim archers in the army. 

• The system maintained cordial relations between Rajas and the Nayaks. Expensive gifts were exchanged on functions and festivals. It is recorded that 15 lakhs Varganas with gold was given by Nayaks to the king on Deepawali.

• Though, the Nayaks acted individually, there existed a political and administrative relation between the centre and the province. They were obliged to be present in the royal headquarters and mostly looked after their territories through their agents or karyakartas. The Nayaks sent two representative in the court of Vijaynagara rulers. One administered the army stationed at the capital while the other looked after the activities related to the Nayak.
• They also did welfare work in their province such as constructing dams and wells, financing art and architecture etc. Nayaks were not subordinates but more of a hereditary territorial lords in their own rights. The rulers excised control over them but could not remove them in practical senses. 

In an account, Nuniz mentions that there were over 200 Nayaks in the Empire. The rulers of the Vijaynagara empire used these Nayaks very efficiently to expand their empire.

 

Views of historians on the Nayankara System -

• DC Sirkar -  Views the whole system as a kind of landlordism. He refutes the feudal theory given by other historians and defines Nayaks as territorial magnates with political aspirations.

• K Sastri - Marks a distinction between Nayaks before 1565 and after it. He states that the Nayakas before 1564 were military leaders holding military fiefs. While the later ones were more dependent on the ruler. He views the empire as a military confederacy of many chieftains cooperating under the leadership of the biggest chief among them.

Views of travellers on the Nayankara System -

European travellers visited the empire in the 16th century. Domingo Paes and Nuniz, the Portugese travellers, visited the kings of Tuvalu Dynasty (Krishnadeva and Achutya Rai) and made extensive accounts about the administration.

• Domingo Paes - Paes in his accounts states that the Nayaks were more like agents of the Rajas. They maintained troops ready for duty. 
• Nuniz - In his account, Nuniz mentions that there were over 200 Nayaks in the empire. All the land belonged to the king and the Nayaks were working under him only. 

Ayyangar System

For the village administration, a committee of 12 members was established who were called as Ayyangars. They were nominated by the ruler. The Ayyangars included the village headmen, blacksmith, carpenter, accountant etc. 

The headmen collected the tax and remitted it to the government.

One important feature of the Ayangar system was that in salaries, the Ayyangars received tax-free land. Special allocation of income from land and specific cash payments were for the first time provided to the village officers.

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