City of Victory: The Rise and Fall of Vijayanagara

by Ratnakar Sadasyula

In the year 1336 AD, two brothers Harihara and Bukka Raya, founded a kingdom on the banks of the Tungabhadra River at a place called Hampi. Over the next 3 centuries, it would grow to become one of the mightiest empires in the world, the Vijayanagara Empire. An empire dazzling in it's achievements, in it's riches, in it's arts. From it's founding, to it's fall after the Battle of Tallikota to the heights it achieved under Sri Krishna Deva Raya, City of Victory aims to recreate the splendor and glory of one of the most magnificent empires ev

Genres: History, Nonfiction, India

194 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 16, 2016

About the author

Working as an IT professional since 2000, writing code for a living, now taking the first steps to write books too. In the meantime, have been writing blogs also. Interest in history, music, movies, blogging, books.Settled in Hyderabad, the city of Pearls, Biryani, and Hi Tech.

Reviews

[Vineet Aggarwal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The City of Victory is a tale of Vijayanagar, an empire that dazzled with its riches and conquests and became one of the biggest empires of southern India in history. The book is written by Ratnakar Sadasyula, who, in spite of being a self-acknowledged amateur historian, does not miss any aspect of the rich historical and cultural heritage of this grand empire. The book begins very interestingly with the political situation in United Kingdom, Japan, Lithuania and the northern part of India before turning its course to veer towards the banks of the Tungabhadra River. The developments in Indian sub-continent over the past three centuries are deftly narrated leading towards the moment when the mightiest empire of the south would be born. In author’s own words, today Vijayanagar exists only in stones and stories, but its legacy would forever be remembered and this book shall serve to remind us that history has a way of repeating itself and even the mightiest empires crumble when they become rife with internal strife. Looking forward to more such historical works from the author in the future.

[Anil Swarup · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author has very ably outlined the history of Vijayanagar Empire in this very well researched book. And it is not only about the legendary Krishna Dev Raya. It is about the rise and the fall of this empire with Krishna Deva providing the crowning glory. The author delves into the cultural richness of this period in this region. He also touches upon the atrocities not only of the rulers of the rival Bahmani Kingdom but also of the Portuguese who were finding their feet in India around that time : "The Goan inquisition, exceeded even the horrors of the Spanish one, those who refused to embrace Christianity were tortured and killed."

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just over twenty years ago, I first visited the vast archaeological site at Hampi, near Hospet in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. I have revisited the fascinating and extensive ruins of Vijayanagara, one of the largest cities in the mediaeval world, at least five times. Founded in 1336 AD, this city became not only one of the largest of its time but also one of the richest and, for a time, most powerful. After my first visit, I bought a copy of Richard Sewell’s “A Forgotten Empire”, which was first published in 1900. This very densely written highly scholarly tome has sat untouched in my bookshelf for as long as I have owned it. Recently, I have taken it of the shelf, dusted it, and am about to read it.

The reason for my renewed interest in Sewell’s book is the existence of another book about Vijayanagara, “City of Victory” by Ratnakar Sadasyula (2019). I bought my edition from bookdepository.com, but it is also available on amazon.in. Hence, it has two different ISBN numbers (ISBN:9781523946631 and 9788193373767). The author is a keen amateur historian, who runs an interesting blog about aspects of India’s history (see: https://historyunderyourfeet.wordpres...).

Sadasyula’s book contains a distillation and clarification of much confusing historical information in an easy to read style. During Vijayanagara’s three century long existence, a great deal happened both culturally (literature, music, and architecture) and militarily. Vijayanagara was constantly interacting militarily with its neighbours, both Islamic sultanates and the Portuguese, who were making incursions on the west coast of India. Sadyasyula unravels the complexities of the history of the region in an easily digestible way. I take my hat off to him for managing to incorporate so much history into a short book without confusing the reader. His book is copiously illustrated with black and white images including a few maps. It is a great introduction to an important series of episodes in the history of southern India.

Having read Sadasyula’s lucid and detailed synopsis of the history of Vijaynagara, I now feel that I have sufficient background information to tackle more detailed accounts such as that by Robert Sewell and, more recently, by Burton Stein.

[I bought my copy from Bookdepository. Sadly, the edition I was sent suffers from some poor layout. This did not detract from my enjoyment of the book]

[Sangeeta Ram Satish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book expecting an academic work on one of the richest empires the world had seen but ended being rather impressed by how the author managed to make this book much more than that, in the sense that you really connect with the epoch. Sometimes certain things or events just nudge your thought into a different, more appropriate direction. This book is one of those. A changemaker really. It does change the way one looks at Indian history.
A compact, concise work with not one detail missed. The prelude sets the tone. Everything from the construction of the magnificent city to the infrastructure interventions that elevated the general life experience of the masses, from the high points of art and literature to the unfortunate intrigues towards the end, all covered succinctly. It really reads like a potboiler towards the end and one feels really sad that such a glorious masterpiece of a kingdom could really be reduced to a miserable end.
The book is very well laid out. Well researched is an understatement here.The author has included enough facts for one to get a rich picture of what was and what could have been. I highly recommend City of Victory to everyone who would want to touch base with history as what really was.
A kingdom and dynasty so underrated that it is tragic because Vijayanagara's contribution to India endures to this day.
5 stars since any little lackings look petty in the face of this significant work.

[Rajendra Alapaty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives the due importance to the one of the wonderful southern Indian empires the respect it deserves and a must read for everyone concerned about real Indian heritage, culture and history not the government approved nonsense. I have always been fascinated by Sri Krishna Deva Rayalu and his legacy. Great job the author did. I hope to see more exploratory books about other great southern and telugu kingdoms like Satavahanas, Kakateeyas from you or anyone.

[Chandrika R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must read

Nicely written, should be read as history and taught to all kids on great Hindu kings, instead of all Mughal raj and glorifying them

[Subramanyam K.V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book starts by giving us the backdrop of medival India. It starts with the accounts of the Ghori and Ghazni and the defeat of PrithviRaj Chouhan. From there we get to see the slave dynasty, the Khiljis and the plunders of Malik Kafur. Malik Kafur’s exploits down south would mean that Kakatiyas, Hoyasalas, the Cheras and other south Indian Hindu Kingdoms lose ground. The author illustrates as to how people in the south saw the power vacuum getting created and yearned for a kingdom to protect them.

Then we see the way in which Sage Sri Vidyaranya guides Harihara and Bukka Raya in creating the Hindu Kingdom of the south. From here, the author takes us through various Kings and Dynasties that ruled Vijayanagara and made it one of the greatest Kingdoms ever. He describes the administrative policies of the kings, the way they fostered fine arts, the way they pioneered in building impregnable castles and then takes us to Tallikota where the hammer of time grinds the wheels of the Empire to a screeching halt.

What did I like?

1. The research of the author. Many people do not know that three dynasties ruled Vijayanagara. A Telugu man would not know the amount of Kannada literature that came out from Vijayanagara and Vice Versa. The author lists the books that were written by Telugu Poets, Kannada Poets, Tamil Poets and then he again categorizes them by discipline. Books on Advaita Philosophy, Dwaitha Philosophy, Visishtadwaitha Philosophy, Jainism, Veerasaivam, Music, Dance, Astronomy, Science, Mathematics and folklore all get a mention. Kudos to Ratnakar Garu for the research he has done.

2. The book describes the administrative policies of the Vijayanagara Kings very well. This section is a real value add.

3. Usually, books of this sort concentrate on the Empire they describe and its heroes. Here the author presents a good amount of research on the primary opponents to the empire too, The Bahamani Sultans.

4. I loved the unbiased approach of the author. He calls a spade a spade and gives the credit where it is due. He does not make heroes of villains out of the Vijayanagara Kings or for that matter the Bahamani Sultans based on his prejudices. He applauds the Vijayanagara Kings when needed and chides them when they err. He does the same with the Bahamanis too. That’s the USP of the book for me.

5. The Author spoke about the reasons why the empire lost in the battle of Tallikota. He shows us that the signs of decay were there for the people to see. The palace coups, the involvement of sultans in palace politics, nepotism of Aliya Rama Raya and some other grave errors of Vijayanagara Kings were well portrayed. I loved the inferences and insights the author provided.

6. For many people, 16th-century battle of Tallikota was the end of Vijayanagara, loved the fact that Ratnakar Garu traced it till the last ruler, who happened to come in the 17th century.

What did not like?

Tough to tell when I am reading a history book, but I shall try to make a point or two.

1. I read the Kindle version of the book, the pictures that were given were not up to the mark. Most of them are not legible. The Kindle version of the book needs a facelift.

2. We read till Sri Krishna Deva Raya and then read about administration, patronage to arts, etc. Till then, it was mostly about Kings and conquests. In my opinion, it would have been great to have a king, his conquests, policies, and patronage to arts in the same or say succeeding chapters. That would have been a chronological way of putting things.

Conclusion

One word: Must Read.

It is a great job by Ratankar garu, this sort of research and unbiased writing is hard to find. This is the 120th book review on this blog and I have reviewed very few books that are as good and as unbiased as this one. It does not matter whether you are a History buff or not this is a book that you must read. For, as a wise man said: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Happy Reading

[Rajendra Marathe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read; historically accurate and lucidly written. When it comes to the Vijayanagara Empire, most people - ever history buffs like me - think of Krishna Deva Raya. As this book so clearly demonstrates, there is much much more to the great empire.

Ratnakar Sadasyula does a fantastic job writing this book. He is especially at his best when describing the various scholars and musicians patronized by the royalty. What was surprising to me was that Vijayanagara empire was able to flourish so well in science, culture, architecture etc. despite playing mostly defence against the invadors. Looks like they lost majority of the battles with the Bahamani Sultanates; and yet they took care of their citizens so much better than the Bahamani rulers did.

For a book of this cost, it is surprisingly poorly edited. The page numbers are missing and there are several typos and a few grammatical errors. This book could have also used more chronology. It should have been peppered with timelines and dates; sometimes a sequence of events gets lost in otherwise fluently written historical account.

Overall I strongly recommend this book. And it's not a book you want to borrow and return. It's a book that you want to keep in your personal library so that you can keep on going back to it to re-read certain chapters for historical nuggets. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

[Ranajeet Dewasthalee · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a good book which kind of alternates between interesting fast paced narrative to dry text book style depiction of facts. Really appreciate the fact that the author has captured multiple facets of the glorious Vijaynagar empire in a language which can be understood by any person who has no prior knowledge of this history. I am not sure how the book could have been made more interesting (maybe my expectation was different) as many a times it just dishes out a flurry of names, dates and places.

I thank the author though for piquing my interest in this golden period of history and also providing lots of interesting facts about it.

[Ananta Poolla · Rating 5 out of 5]

First look at the glorious days of the past!

This is probably the only comprehensive review of a great South Indian kingdom long forgotten in Indian historical labyrinth. An amazing read, well researched and well written

[Umashankar Kadambar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent researched book

Worth reading if you want to know the glory of Vijayanagara empire. The author gives your enough points to the curious mind.

[SUBRATA DATTA · Rating 2 out of 5]

I first came across Ratnakar Sadasyula's City of Victory in the Organiser, the weekly mouthpiece of the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). When Organiser reviews a book (along with a write-up on the book launch function), you can be forgiven if you are a little skeptical about the historicity of the contents, whether it can stand the rigors of academic scrutiny. Because we are living at a time when history has become a subject of political slugfest.

But I decided to read the book anyway. For the simple reason - and it's a shame - that I knew nothing about the Vijayanagara empire.

Sadasyula is honest and candid about his book: "This is not a scholarly work on Vijayanagara by any means, it is more a layman's effort to study, understand the history of the empire and offer it to readers."

Judged by that limited ambition, it may be said that Sadasyula has succeeded in achieving what he set out to achieve.

City of Victory presents the story of the Vijayanagara empire in simple, unassuming language right from its founding to its destruction 320 years later. For me, without any knowledge of this part of Indian history, it made a very informative reading. The greatness of Krishnadevaraya's rule, grandeur of Hampi, the Astha Diggajas, constant wars with the Bahamani sultans and the final demise of the empire after the battle of Tallikota, all made for an interesting reading.

After finishing the book, I went back to Sunil Khilnani's Incarnations: India in 50 Lives and the chapter on Krishnadevaraya. It enhanced my understanding of the period.

However, Sadasyula's book is in need of a better editor. "Ship-Building was a major industry". Why Ship-Building? Why not shipbuilding? Yachama Naidu, a minor player in the Vijayanagara saga, has been spelt, in the space of three pages, variously as "Yachama Naidu", "Yachamanaidu", "Yachama naidu" and "Yechama Naidu".

If you want to be taken seriously by the readers, language is the first thing you need to be careful about. Because language does not only tell the story of a book, it tells the story of the author as well.

Having said all that, City of Victory is a useful introduction to an important chapter of Indian history. It will encourage readers to explore more.

I have already started Abraham Eraly's The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate.

Sadasyula has succeeded in his modest endeavour.

[Abhishek · Rating 3 out of 5]

City of Victory is a concise historical summary of the rise and fall of one of Bharat's greatest empires, the Vijayanagara empire. The author provides a blow-by-blow account of the battles, culture, lifestyle, arts, and other aspects of the kingdom, which spanned over 300 years.

Before delving into the formation of the empire, we are given a brief historical account of the various Islamic invasions and their steady capture of different kingdoms in the north before proceeding south.

As the Khalji and Tughlaq dynasty conquered the Deccan region by defeating the Hoysala, Kakatiya, and Yadava kingdoms, the Vijayanagara kingdom was founded in 1336 to fight the Muslim invasion of South India.

Harirhara I and Bukka Raya founded this empire under the able guidance of their patron saint Vidyaranya Swamy. From its founding, the empire reached its peak under the great Krishna Deva Raya and ultimately met its fall at the battle of Talikota.

The murky waters of managing a kingdom, the constant battles between their primary opponents, the Bahamani Sultans and other Hindu kings to gain territory, and the various alliances formed make it a stimulating read. All is not black and white when it comes to managing an empire, and at multiple points, the Vijayanagara kings allied against Bahamanis to defeat a common enemy.

The empire commanded a vast army, artillery, cavalry, and war elephants at its peak. It delivered crushing defeats to the Bahamanis and other kingdoms, thus playing a crucial role as the Hindu bastion of the South. One also sees a recurring theme of forts and the Tungabhadra river being the most vital parts to be captured and where the power center lay.

Many Vijayanagara kings, most notably Krishna Deva Raya, were patrons of arts, including literature and Carnatic music, and this period is considered the golden age of Telugu literature. The capital city Hampi was a thriving cultural center, and some of the most outstanding scholars and writers of the era assembled there. There was also a flourishing sea trade with China, and exports included cotton, spices, jewelry, and perfumes.

The author also explains that the caste system, untouchability, and sati were quite common. However, it did not play a significant role in the administration and the military. Although the rulers were primarily Shaivites, there was religious toleration for all religions.

The fall of this great empire comes at the battle of Talikota, which the author primarily attributes to the short-sightedness of the rulers, post-Krishna Deva Raya's demise, in trying to play the Sultans against each other. The Bahamanis waged a joint campaign against the empire. They razed the city, its temples, and its forts to the ground and massacred thousands of people in the process.

A fascinating tale of the rise and fall of a Hindu empire from which many lessons can be learned and adapted for today's circumstances.

[Indians Read · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author starts the book by mentioning " This is not a scholarly work on Vijayanagara by any means, it is more a layman’s effort to study, understand the history of the empire and offer it to readers."

The book starts with providing basic context to the story, it mentions the continuous fighting between Indian rulers and the start of invasions from Muslim rulers, attracted by stories of India's riches.

The author then writes how the state of Vijaynagara was formed by Hariharara and Bukka Raya under the guidance of Vidyararanya Swamy. He also mentions the background of the founders and some popular stories around the establishment of the state.

The next few chapters are all about constant fighting between Vijaynagara and Bahmani kingdom - the author states pretty much all the rulers from both the kingdoms and their wins and defeats. Special emphasis is provided for Vijayanagara under the rule of Krishna Deva Raya, as the empire was at its peak during his reign.

The author then provides a brief account of literature, economy, society, religion, and architecture in the empire, and finally, the book ends with the battle of Tallikota which marked the end of the mighty empire of Vijayanagara, although some rulers tried to re-establish the glorious empire, they couldn't manage to bring the empire to its old glory.

My opinion on the book:

I was quite disappointed with the book, both with the content and how it is written. The book lacks basic editing, there are several simple grammatical mistakes (these are hygiene factors IMO, and one shouldn't ignore them). It is also poorly written as the author mentions a lot of characters without too much background and room for the reader to absorb the information, he also goes back and forth in the timeline a lot which only adds to the chaos. The book also suffers from the repetition of certain things in different chapters.

The section of the book where the author talks about the literature, economy, religion, etc. in the Vijaynagara empire was very dry, with the author only mentioning a lot of names of people and their works. This could have been written in a better way with additional information that would help the reader understand how great these things were in the empire.

Overall, a very mediocre book, and a person reading for the first time about the Vijayanagara empire will be left confused and bored by reading this; though it provides some good info about the empire, the several shortcomings of the book overshadow it.

[Janhavi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good information about the Vijayanagara empire right from it's foundation to the end.
Good info on the empire .. their tactical alliances and rivalries with the Bahmani kings and also the Portuguese.
It's a shame this part of history is not included (or mainly glossed over) in our history textbooks.


P.S. the kindle edition has many typos.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very very well laid and well researched tome on the Vijaynagara kingdom, founded in 1346 as a direct response to the trial posed by the Delhi Sultanate. The book says that Vijaynagara emerged as an expression of Hindu opposition to Islam. The religion became indicative of the invasion of their country by the Delhi and the Bahmani Sultans.

And by the end of this tome you would agree with historian Richard M. Eaton, who has described Vijaynagara as ‘the Maginot Line’ of Deccan historiography.

But neither the Vijaynagara nor the Bahmani kingdom arose out of opposition to each other. The two kingdoms emerged at about the same time for more or less the same reasons, and it was this that was understood as resistance to the Sultanate of Delhi. Richard M. Eaton says that both states were established as ‘revolutionary regimes’ that evolved out of armed resistance to a common imperial power, the Delhi Sultanate.

The Telugu chieftains wanted only to throw off the northern rule.

The Vijaynagara kingdom was founded by two brothers, Harihara and Bukka. They were the sons of Sangama, the last Yadava king, and had been in the service of the Kakatiyas of Warangal. Legend has it that the two brothers fled from Warangal in Andhra Pradesh after its capture by the Muslims; they then settled at Kampili, a minor realm close to what was to become the city of Vijaynagara, where they were taken captive by the Sultan’s army in 1327.

They were taken to Delhi and were made to convert to Islam, whereupon the Sultan put them in charge on his behalf. They then
came under the influence of the great Hindu Karmayogi Vidyaranya, who took them back into the fold of Hinduism.

They founded a new monarchy with a capital at a strategic place south of the Tungabhadra River, where Harihara was crowned king in 1336.

Harihara I was succeeded by his younger brother, Bukka I, in 1357. Bukka began the speedy expansion of the empire. He fought
against Muhammad Shah Bahmani to gain control over the Raichur Doab, the land between the rivers Tungabhadra and Krishna. In a peace treaty of 1365, Doab was ceded to Bukka, with the river Krishna intervening between the two kingdoms. Some revenue districts to the south of the Krishna had to be administered cooperatively.

However, the Doab remained a disputed site in the years to come.

This book also points out that there was a violent interstate competition over control of one of the wealthiest strips of land in the entire peninsula, the Raichur Doab, which lay directly between Vijaynagara and Bahmani domain. By the time Bukka died in 1377, Vijaynagara became the largest regional kingdom of south India.

Throughout the 15th century, there were innumerable clashes between the rulers of Vijaynagara and Bahmani over the annexation of the Doab. Vijaynagara’s defeat exposed the weaknesses of its armed forces. Repeated defeats forced the Vijaynagara rulers to reorganize the army by recruiting Muslim archers and purchasing better and more able-bodied horses.

Raichur Doab again became the bone of contention for a number of turbulent decades beginning in 1465 or so and extending into 1509. In the beginning, Vijaynagara had to surrender the western ports like Goa, Chaul and Dabhol to the Bahmanis. But, around 1490, when the Bahmani kingdom began to disintegrate and Bijapur was established under Yusuf Adil Khan, fortune eventually smiled upon Vijaynagara and it succeeded in capturing Tungabhadra region.

The loss of western ports had completely dislocated the horse trade, on which the Vijaynagara army hugely depended for its cavalry. However, the occupation of Donavar, Bhatkal, Bakanur and Mangalore led to the revival of the horse trade, ensuring the regular supply of horses.

This book has described the Vijaynagara state as essentially feudal in structure and has compared it to European feudalism. The author has also highlighted the differences between the western and the Vijaynagara models of feudalism. Mahalingam’s opinion was mainly based on his study of the Nayankara system. In the Vijaynagara polity, land was conceived of as belonging to the king. Hence, he could distribute it to his dependants.

The book also delves in detail on the social life of the kingdom. The author refers to the existence of four castes — Brahmins,
Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras — in the Vijaynagara society. The author quotes foreign travelers, who have left vivid accounts on the splendour of buildings and luxurious social life in the city of Vijaynagara. Silk and cotton clothes were mainly used for dress. Perfumes, flowers and ornaments were used by the people. Paes mentions of the beautiful houses of the rich and the large number
of their household servants. Nicolo Conti refers to the commonness of slavery. Dancing, music, wrestling, gambling and cock-fighting
were some of the amusements. The Sangama rulers were chiefly Saivaites and Virupaksha was their family deity. But other dynasties were Vaishnavites. Srivaishnavism of Ramanuja was very popular. But all kings were tolerant towards other religions.

The Vijaynagara Empire was the nearest approach to a war-state ever made by a Hindu kingdom. The resources of the empire were devoted to military purposes. The organization of this war-state was dominated by its military needs. The nayakas i.e. warriors, great and small, served as the key political figures in the Vijaynagara state. The nayankara system constitutes an important feature of the Vijaynagara provincial organization.

Give it a go, if you choose.

[yoursbibliophilic · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Noah Feldman stated, “Empires inevitably fall, and when they do, history judges them for the legacies they leave behind”, today we are piecing the story of Vijayanagar from stone, delipidated and destroyed temple & literature. The author traces the rise and fall of Vijayanagar empire in an easy-to-read manner, covering “the contribution of the four great ruling dynasties- Sangama, Saluva, Tuluva and Aravidu. And finally it also looks at what happened after the disastrous battle of Tallikota.” (Loc:58-59)

As the author himself states in preface, “This is not a scholarly work on Vijayanagara by any means, it is more a layman’s effort to study, understand the history of the empire and offer it to readers.” ( Loc:54-55) However, the author disagrees with many of the myths/statements associated with the Vijayanagar empire like,

* Harihara and Bukka Raya were soldiers in Kakatiya Empire, who were captured by Muslim rulers, converted to Islam and again reconverted back as proposed by Muslim scholars like Ziauddin Barani, Ferishta and foreign visitors like Ibn Battuta

* Vira Narasimha, while on his death bed, ordered Timmarasu to blind his half brother Krishnadevaraya to ensure that his own minor son of eight years would become king of the empire as suggested by Portuguese traveller Fernao Nuniz

Without giving strong reason for his disagreement, but simply stating them to be “a bit farfetched”.

The author gives a laundry list of war fought won and lost and not given any importance of administration, civilian life & belief at each generation. However, there are chapters on “Golden age of Telugu literation”, “literature in Vijayanagar period”, “administration and economy”, “society & religion”, and “architecture” which is just 39 pages with lot of pictures and main focus is on the period of Krishna Deva Raya.

This book is a must-read book for novice to understand how, “For three centuries, the Vijayanagara Empire, stood like a mighty bulwark, protecting the Hindu dharma in the South and in the Deccan. It stood like a rock against the Muslim invasions that had ravaged and destroyed large parts of the North. Today it exists only in stones and stories, but its legacy would forever be remembered.” (Loc:1760-1762)

[Ananth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vijayanagara needs no introduction and to think that the empire stretched through most of south and central India is just amazing. This book is an attempt to present the history behind the genesis, rise and fall of the Vijayanagara empire in a simple and concise manner. Most books on this empire were written by the early historians and is quite elaborate which don't get the eyeballs of the current generation. The author has referred to some authentic sources and presented it in a concise way. Multiple perspectives of those times have been outlined. Some interesting lesser known "palace politics" incidents find generous mention.

I went into this book hoping to find the history of Vijayanagara presented in an action oriented way. However it maintains a slow narrative and at places falls into "textbook" style writing. There were quite a few repetitions of facts (like details of elephants and army etc.) and some slips in facts (eg: in Pg 122, it has been mentioned that Swami Vidyaranya was of the Vaishnava order of Sringeri). A few sketches along with rough maps (other than what have been provided) could have helped follow the geography a lot better.

If you wish to have a quick view of the rise of fall of Vijayanagara, give this book a read. Thank you Shri Ratnakar Sadasyula.

[Siddhartha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A neatly presented history of the great Vijayanagara empire, it condenses a lot of history into 180 odd pages and makes it readable. Would have liked more on Sri Krishna Deva Raya's reign and conquests.

Loses one star because of some typos and oversight's like:

Referring to Pravarakhya as the second Manu, whereas it is his grandson Swarochisha who was the Manu.

Referring to Madhvacharya as Madhavacharya sometimes.

I started reading Robert Sewell's book, but could not complete it. Recommend this for anyone who finds Sewell's language tough and needs a quick primer on Vijayanagara!

[Ajitabh Pandey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is wealth of information along with several references about the Vijaynagar empire. And it was interesting to read that information. However, as a book I did not see a flow of material, rather than that the information looked like a collection of notes presented along with references and photographs.

I think with the help of some good editor, the book could have been presented better. The book had all the potential of becoming a best seller.

I hope the author will take this feedback and implemented on his next work.

[Sahil · Rating 1 out of 5]

I loved the title of book and wanted to read it. The book contain stories of Vijayanagar empire but in broken manner & short stories. No brief accounts of battle and references are given. It look like the author had taken oral references and summarised them put it in here. Some dates, broken stories are present here. Author was unable to provide any context of geopolitical situations. It’s super boring tbh.

[Prashanth Mysore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vijayanagara empire lasted for three centuries (1336 CE to 1652 CE) and protected the Hindu Dharma from Muslim invasions in the Deccan or South India. As usual, our history books (CBSE) does not even mention about Vijayanagara empire. Must read for brief overview of glorious period of Vijayanagara empire.

[Siddhartha Sur · Rating 2 out of 5]

Promising yet a Failure.

The book was alluring to start with. The start was superb, yet the author lost his way in propagating Religious deaths rather than focussing more on each era. Narration was very fast in the middle and it becomes difficult for a layman to remain in touch.
Yet a good attempt.

[Vasantha Krishna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read to get to know the history of Vijayanagara

A good read on the history of one of the greatest empires in Indian history, unfortunately this was more of a timeline of all the events that occurred during this empire and not an in-depth account of life, culture and further insights.

A good attempt by the author to give some basic history of events.

[Sujith Subramanian · Rating 3 out of 5]

History as it is with the mythical tales of "founding of the city". Narrative moves back and forth, which causes some confusion regarding the sequence of events. Good book if you wish to know about the key facts about Vijayanagara Kingdom.

[Rajesh Mohta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too text bookish

[Manu Brar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The greatest empire of mideival India that protected southern Bharat from the ravages of Islamist invaders.

[Sujit Choudhury · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a book to learn about the Vijayanagara Empire. However, I found that the author focused too much on the battles between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Bahmani Kingdom, and most of the time it seemed that the Vijayanagara Empire was the weaker of the two. It would have been better if the author had not mentioned the wars so frequently, as it gives the impression that the empire was nothing but a state in a perpetual state of war. A civilization cannot flourish if it is constantly at war, and soldiers end up killing innocent people, looting, and perpetrating barbarism in the name of a Hindu state.

Ordinary people most likely paid the price, and it seemed that the poorer people lived in thatched houses, while the rich lived in grand palaces. Sadly, it appears that not much has changed in India since then. Nevertheless, I did learn something about the so-called great Empire. However, I was disheartened to find out that it was not as great as I had imagined. It was certainly not as impressive as the Cholas, Mauryas, or the Gupta Empires.

[Vivek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a history book that can be read with a breeze. There is a lot of information to process. A LOT. Especially names of places and individuals. A nice book for ready reference, but will need a bit of will power to complete it.