Festivals of Vijayanagar Empire

There were three important celebrations during the year. In the first, women, men and children bathe in the river or sea, put on new clothes and ornaments, sing and dance for three days and nights and participate in the celebration. Secondly, oil lamp was kept in the temple courtyard day and night. The third celebration, which lasts for nine days, takes place on all major thoroughfares. Decorated pillars are placed on several places in the city. These pillars are decorated with garlands and cloths of various colors including gold . A person who is willing to endure anything and completely pious will be carried to the top of each pillar every day. Fruits like oranges and lemons are thrown at them by passers-by and they endure it patiently. In another festival, people will celebrate by pouring saffron-mixed water on each other's bodies. It is customary for everyone, even the king and queen, to take part in it. The first of these celebrations is thought to have been the "New Year's Eve" that historian and traveler Domingo Paes saw when he visited Vijayanagar.

The second should be "Diwali", which is celebrated by lighting lamps in houses and temples. Mahanavami celebrated on September 12 in Vijayanagar can be considered as the third festival. Holi is the other festival with colors. There is also a reference by Nicola Conte to a collection of diamonds found in the mountains that is located north of Vijayanagar. The diamond lies in the inaccessible canyons and valleys, to extract it, pieces of flesh are thrown on top of it. The eagles carve the precious stones that cling to the flesh and take them to the top of the mountain, where they eat the flesh and leave the precious stones there. Its direction is likely to be east rather than north, indicating the Golconda diamond mines on the banks of the Krishna River. The city of Vijayanagar had divided a year into twelve months and each was named after the signs of the zodiac. While rest of the people in India used leaves to write, only the people of Vijayanagar used paper to write. There were a lot of slaves there. If the borrower could not repay the loan, the borrower would have to work as a slave to the lender. Such slaves were considered the property of the lender. Vijayanagar was a land inhabited by a large number of people. Their number of soldiers was over one million.

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Seven Forts of Vijayanagar Empire

Twenty years after the visit of Nicola Conte, let us examine the travel experience of Abdur Razak, a Persian traveler who visited Vijayanagar during the reign of Devaraya II. During his voyage from Kozhikode to Vijayanagar in 1443, Razak was amazed by a small temple made of bronze. There is also a reference to a temple that is notable for its unique architecture. Vijayanagara, which stretches from the Krishna River to Kanyakumari, had a thousand elephants and about 11 lakh troops. The Vijayanagara kings defended the country by building seven strong forts and huge walls to protect the country from being penetrated by the waves of enemy army. The city's surveillance system and intelligence system were considered the best in the world. A traveler coming from the south can see the beginning of the fort that lie between the two hills southwest of the Hospet as the first defensive system. After that entrance you will reach the second stage with farms, houses and...

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Vijayanagar Empire

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