INSCRIPTIONS OF THE VIJAYANAGARA RULERS VOLUME V PT I
Edited Y Subbarayalu and S Rajavelu
New Delhi, Primus Books, 2014
Right from the very beginning of the nineteenth century Vijayanagara Epigraphy has been a popular theme in the historiography of medieval South India. The early volumes of the Asaiatik Researches contain a number of interesting articles by Ravenshaw and later by Fleet, Elliot and Sewell on Vijayanagara inscriptions. The prime purpose of the early pioneers was to establish the chronological context of the Vijayanagara Empire and untangle the knotty problems associated with the order of succession of the kings (rayas) belonging to the four dynasties of the Vijayanagara state. The fact that the script of the Vijayangara inscriptions was very close to the scripts of South Indian languages as they were written in the early nineteenth century made scholars spend considerable effort on Vijayanagara inscriptions. Further, there was also the fact that concentrated collections of Vijayanagara inscriptions were located in Temples such as Tirupathi, Srisailam, Kanchipuram and Srirangam making the study of Vijayanagara history both popular and relatively widespread. And in the decades prior to Independence, the study of Vijayanagara history was particularly bereft of the overtones of identity politics that this aspect of South Indian history came to acquire after Independence and more sharply after the linguistic division of states in 1956. Against this background any attempt to bring together epigraphs and historical records distributed over three linguistic zones is certainly welcome.
The eminent historian Y Subbarayaly along with Dr S Rajavelu have in the volume under discussion collected the texts of all Vijayanagara inscriptions found in the Tamil country distibuted in time from the middle of the fourteenth century till 1509, the year that marked the accession of Krishnadevaraya. The Telugu inscriptions found in the Tamil region have to some extent been published in South Indian Inscriptions volume XIV. The transliteration of all the inscriptions is provided along with a brief summary of the contents of the inscriptions.In all 576 epigraphs have been published and since they are all arranges in chronological sequence, a glance through the volume provides insight into the changing pattern of Vijayangara rule in the region. It is interesting to note that after the rather impressive debut of Kumara Kampana, whose inscriptions are found even in the deep South, Vijayangara ruler Devaraya II (1422-1444) was the next ruler whose inscriptions are fairly widespread. Another interesting aspect to note is that from the time of Devaraya II we find multiple copies of the same inscription in different parts of the Tamil region which suggests that effort was being made to standardize the administrative and revenue protocols.
The German historian Herman Kulke in one of his papers has argued that the age of myth of Vidyaranya associated with the establishment of the Vijayanagara empire was created post 1565 as a strategy of legitimating the post Talikota polities which surfaced after the collapse of Vijayanagara. This interpretation may need to be revisited as the volume under discussion and review has an ealy Vijayanagara inscription from Srirangam (183) which was issued in the reign of Virupaksha which mentions Vidyaranya. An ealy reference to the sage in an inscription from Tamil region is certainly interesting and the issue needs to be restudied in the light of this record. The inscriptions demonstrate that from the middle of the fifteenth century new administrative units such as uhavadi and rajayam came into existence in the Tamil region.
The impressively produced volume is a welcome contribution to Vijayanagara studies and we hope that the post 1509 inscriptions are also published soon.
Edited Y Subbarayalu and S Rajavelu
New Delhi, Primus Books, 2014
The eminent historian Y Subbarayaly along with Dr S Rajavelu have in the volume under discussion collected the texts of all Vijayanagara inscriptions found in the Tamil country distibuted in time from the middle of the fourteenth century till 1509, the year that marked the accession of Krishnadevaraya. The Telugu inscriptions found in the Tamil region have to some extent been published in South Indian Inscriptions volume XIV. The transliteration of all the inscriptions is provided along with a brief summary of the contents of the inscriptions.In all 576 epigraphs have been published and since they are all arranges in chronological sequence, a glance through the volume provides insight into the changing pattern of Vijayangara rule in the region. It is interesting to note that after the rather impressive debut of Kumara Kampana, whose inscriptions are found even in the deep South, Vijayangara ruler Devaraya II (1422-1444) was the next ruler whose inscriptions are fairly widespread. Another interesting aspect to note is that from the time of Devaraya II we find multiple copies of the same inscription in different parts of the Tamil region which suggests that effort was being made to standardize the administrative and revenue protocols.
The German historian Herman Kulke in one of his papers has argued that the age of myth of Vidyaranya associated with the establishment of the Vijayanagara empire was created post 1565 as a strategy of legitimating the post Talikota polities which surfaced after the collapse of Vijayanagara. This interpretation may need to be revisited as the volume under discussion and review has an ealy Vijayanagara inscription from Srirangam (183) which was issued in the reign of Virupaksha which mentions Vidyaranya. An ealy reference to the sage in an inscription from Tamil region is certainly interesting and the issue needs to be restudied in the light of this record. The inscriptions demonstrate that from the middle of the fifteenth century new administrative units such as uhavadi and rajayam came into existence in the Tamil region.
The impressively produced volume is a welcome contribution to Vijayanagara studies and we hope that the post 1509 inscriptions are also published soon.
