Introduction After the decline of the Chola power, South India once again disintegrated into a number of smaller

kingdoms. Among these, Viajaynagar emerged as the dominant p ower in South India. The Viajaynagar empire which would last for about 300 years would become a centre for Hindu culture and would result in its survival today in South India, for in North India a more composite culture would develop as a r esult of the blending elements of Hindu and Islamic ideas. The kingdom was found ed by HariHara who built the magnificent city of Vijaynagara (City of Victory) i n 1343, after which the kingdom was named. The Viajaynagar era has often been described as a period of revival of Hinduism in Southern India, but this is not entirely correct. Viajaynagar was not a kingd om which attempted to spread Hinduism or check the spread of Islam. It did not f orm alliances with other Hindu kingdoms to defeat the new Islamic rulers of the North India. Viajaynagar kings were great patrons of religious institutions and the arts and as a result during their reign Hindu traditions continued undisturb ed. They were able to instill in South Indians a tremendous sense of religion an d values, which was instrumental in the survival of Hindu culture in South India even today, despite enduring 200 year of European rule. After the decline of the Chola power, South India once again disintegrated into a number of smaller kingdoms. Among these, Viajaynagar emerged as the dominant p ower in South India. The Viajaynagar empire which would last for about 300 years would become a centre for Hindu culture and would result in its survival today in South India, for in North India a more composite culture would develop as a r esult of the blending elements of Hindu and Islamic ideas. The kingdom was found ed by HariHara who built the magnificent city of Vijaynagara (City of Victory) i n 1343, after which the kingdom was named. The Viajaynagar era has often been described as a period of revival of Hinduism in Southern India, but this is not entirely correct. Viajaynagar was not a kingd om which attempted to spread Hinduism or check the spread of Islam. It did not f orm alliances with other Hindu kingdoms to defeat the new Islamic rulers of the North India. Viajaynagar kings were great patrons of religious institutions and the arts and as a result during their reign Hindu traditions continued undisturb ed. They were able to instill in South Indians a tremendous sense of religion an d values, which was instrumental in the survival of Hindu culture in South India even today, despite enduring 200 year of European rule. The Economy Of Vijaynagar The economy of the Viajaynagar empire was essentially unchanged from that of the Chola period. Blacksmiths and carpenters were now in great demand and hence occ upied a higher social scale. Meanwhile the guilds continued to have a considerab le influence on the economy. The guilds themselves were hierarchical with artist s guilds working under merchant guilds, who were now powerful distributors who c ould influence the functioning of the artists guilds considerably. The economic power of the merchant guilds was considerable and they began commanding politica l influence as well. Any taxation policy would first have to be cleared with the guild leaders, who were also to some extent representatives of public opinion. The system of credit was controlled by temples who lent money to those who requi red it and often invested in various development project. Those who could not pa y back their dues would have their land taken over by the temple. The temple was often the single largest land owner and consumer of a village, the hub of villa ge economic activity, providing various employment opportunities. Their economic influence forged a closer link between them and the monarchy. Trade continued to remain an important part of the economy, with both foreign an d domestic trade doing extremely well. In fact so important was trade to the eco nomy, and consequently to the stability of the empire, that one of the major con cerns of all kings was to control as much of the trade as possible. The constant competition amongst the kingdoms led to many incentives given to early European traders who began establishing themselves in the country. They were charged low er duties and provided various facilities. The general prevailing customs duties at that time were around 2.5% to about 5%. Certain import goods were subjected to higher duties to discourage their import so as to boost the local industries

in these sectors. The main imports were gold, silver, elephants, horses, spices and certain types of textiles. The main exports were rice, sugar, coconut, mille t, dyes, sandalwood, teak, pepper, cloves and cotton textiles. However the south was no longer the facilitator of Asian-European trade, with the Portuguese and Arabs controlling most of this trade. Sea trade was active with ships visiting I ndian ports regularly. The Indian shipping industry did not command as much of a influence in trade as it once did, with countries like China now leading with s ome of the finest and most reliable vessels. The economy of the Viajaynagar empire was essentially unchanged from that of the Chola period. Blacksmiths and carpenters were now in great demand and hence occ upied a higher social scale. Meanwhile the guilds continued to have a considerab le influence on the economy. The guilds themselves were hierarchical with artist s guilds working under merchant guilds, who were now powerful distributors who c ould influence the functioning of the artists guilds considerably. The economic power of the merchant guilds was considerable and they began commanding politica l influence as well. Any taxation policy would first have to be cleared with the guild leaders, who were also to some extent representatives of public opinion. The system of credit was controlled by temples who lent money to those who requi red it and often invested in various development project. Those who could not pa y back their dues would have their land taken over by the temple. The temple was often the single largest land owner and consumer of a village, the hub of villa ge economic activity, providing various employment opportunities. Their economic influence forged a closer link between them and the monarchy. Trade continued to remain an important part of the economy, with both foreign an d domestic trade doing extremely well. In fact so important was trade to the eco nomy, and consequently to the stability of the empire, that one of the major con cerns of all kings was to control as much of the trade as possible. The constant competition amongst the kingdoms led to many incentives given to early European traders who began establishing themselves in the country. They were charged low er duties and provided various facilities. The general prevailing customs duties at that time were around 2.5% to about 5%. Certain import goods were subjected to higher duties to discourage their import so as to boost the local industries in these sectors. The main imports were gold, silver, elephants, horses, spices and certain types of textiles. The main exports were rice, sugar, coconut, mille t, dyes, sandalwood, teak, pepper, cloves and cotton textiles. However the south was no longer the facilitator of Asian-European trade, with the Portuguese and Arabs controlling most of this trade. Sea trade was active with ships visiting I ndian ports regularly. The Indian shipping industry did not command as much of a influence in trade as it once did, with countries like China now leading with s ome of the finest and most reliable vessels.