Vijayanagara architecture exemplifies the amalgamation of past traditions with contemporary practices.…

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Vijayanagara architecture exemplifies the amalgamation of past traditions with contemporary practices. Elucidate with examples.

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

Vijayanagara architecture kept the inherited Dravida temple core of vimana, mandapa, prakara and gopuram while absorbing Deccan Sultanate arches and domes, new rituals and courtly display. Hampi's Virupaksha gopura, Vitthala stone chariot, Lotus Mahal and Mahanavami Dibba show this synthesis.

**Introduction**

Hampi's Vitthala stone chariot, now on the 50-rupee note, sums up Vijayanagara (1336 to 1646) architecture: inherited southern temple forms reworked alongside the court culture and Sultanate styles of its own age.

**Continuity with Past Traditions**

SKETCH: venn | The Vijayanagara Synthesis
a: Dravida temple legacy
b: Deccan Sultanate forms
c: Court and folk life
overlap: Vijayanagara style

1. **Dravida temple core**: Virupaksha and Vitthala keep the garbhagriha, vimana, pillared mandapa and prakara of the Chola and Pandya temple-city.
2. **Gopuram enlarged**: Late Chola and Pandya gateways grew into massive raya gopurams, like Virupaksha's eastern gopura, that dominate the skyline.
3. **Monolithic carving**: The Pallava habit of carving whole rock returns in the Ugra Narasimha monolith (1528), and the stone chariot recalls Chola Darasuram.
4. **Epic reliefs**: Ramayana friezes on the Hazara Rama temple continue older narrative panels.

**Absorption of Contemporary Practices**

1. **Indo-Islamic forms**: The Lotus Mahal pairs Sultanate cusped arches and stucco with a tiered, temple-like roof, and the Elephant Stables and Queen's Bath use domes and vaults.
2. **New temple elements**: Amman shrines, kalyana mandapas and rearing-horse pillars reflect new rituals and the horse trade, and Vitthala's musical pillars add sound to stone.
3. **Court life in stone**: The Mahanavami Dibba, the Dasara platform described by Domingo Paes, shows hunts, dancers and foreign horse traders.

**Way Forward**

1. **Protect Hampi**: Strengthen its heritage management authority, guard against vandalism like the 2019 toppling of pillars, and expand digital documentation.

**Conclusion**

Vijayanagara architecture kept the Dravida core while openly borrowing Sultanate and courtly forms, making Hampi lasting proof of India's genius for synthesis.

Vijayanagara architecture exemplifies the amalgamation of past traditions with contemporary practices. Elucidate with examples.

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