Anuroop Tantry

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Location: Anjaneya Swamy Temple, Rajiv Ganghi Nagar, Virupakshapura, Bengaluru- 560097

Google maps: https://goo.gl/maps/hL9ghrDeXTWA3JfQ9

Obeisance to Ganadhipathi. Obeisance to Shambhu &c

Be it well. On the date specified, when the maharaya raja-paramehsvara vira-Vijayabhupati Raya maharaya’s son Deva Raya maharaya, on the throne of Vijayanagara, was ruling the kingdom of the world in peace and wisdom:- by the personal order of that Deva-raya- maharaya,-for the offerings and decoration of (the God) Somadeva in the front of the town in Sakasamudra,-the great minister Mangappa Dannanayaka’s son Pratapa-Raya granted a dharma-sasana as follows;- for the offerings and decorations of the God Soma have we granted the Virupakshapura village, whose rental is 20 honnu,- a hamlet of Devasamudra in the Yelahanka-nad, belonging to and under Sivanasamudra granted for our office of Nayaka,- making it Vijayadevarayapura and with that, Devarayapura, land (specified) under the old tank of Devasamudra,- at the time of the eclipse of the sun,- in order that long life, health and increase of wealth may be to Deva-Raya maharaya, and from love to Parameshvara. Details of the rental, of the ceremonies to be performed, and of the seven persons to minister to the God. Usual final verse.

Written by Prataparaya

The inscription is dated 1431 AD. It is about the village of Virupakshapura, in present day Kodigehalli near Hebbal, granted to a Soma deva temple. The practice of grants to temples is going to be the area of analysis.

Villages being granted to temples, is a very frequent observation when one studies inscriptions. However, with special reference to Vijayanagara and other empires as well, donations and gifts to temples can be seen as a political tool, in addition to the belief of rajadharma and reverence to the deity by the ruler. The Vijayanagara empire’s control over the Tamil territories was possible through rich gifts and donations made to the temples, thereby making people less hostile to the foreign rule of Vijayanagara ( called vadugars by the Tamils). In fact, not just the Tamil regions, donations made to temples can be seen as a way of having the public, look up to their rulers, giving them a very good image ; hence validating their authority and, making their control over the territory easier and legitimate. As mentioned in the analysis of the Yelachenahalli inscription, the temple authorities also built tanks, as a form of investment of the donations received, helping the local people. An inscription in Devanahalli dated 1698, gives a detailed description of how the villages gifted to temples were used. Crops grown in the village fields would be used for the service of the God, after deducting the salary of the laborers. Surplus revenue from villages were used for buying ornaments for the deity, after meeting the expenses. Archakas, agama professors, purohitas, reciters of vedas, the repeaters of mantras and thousand  names, offerers of flowers and sacrifices, providers of sacred thread and garlands, the parupatyagara and sinabaga, the musicians and dancers, umbrella and palanquin bearers received patronage from the rulers in the form of agraharas for the brahmanas and also villages to palanquin and umbrella bearers (noted in the same inscription Dv-15). As mentioned in the previous sentence, a large number of people were employed for temple management and public work activities initiated by the temple authorities like tank building etc. Also as Noboru Karashima mentioned, the rulers received shares of the offerings to the deities, like foodstuff, clothes as prasadam and honors as the patrons and protectors of the temples, which consolidated their political authority along with the social benefit, which legitimized their position as the ruler. The rulers also received administrative and judicial rights of the temples.

In addition to the mainstream deities, villages also had tutelary deities and lineage or clan shrines belonging to the dominant class of the village. These temples also received benevolent patronage from the Vijayanagara kings. The clan or the lineage shrines of the dominant class, were worshiped by the local ruling chieftain family which claimed to belong to the family of the tutelary deities. According to Burton Stein , the sixteenth and seventeenth century temple chronicles or sthalapurana provided two kinds of myths- one explaining the relationship between the ruling clan and the deity; and the relation between the deity and the mainstream Hindu Gods. Hence the Vijayanagara rulers, having included the local deities into the their religious pantheon, not only made their rule less hostile, but also elevated the position of the local chieftains by claiming their connection to the deity, leading to a sort of political integration. The phrase, ‘granted for our office of naayaka’ in the inscription refers to the naayakara system, discussed in the analysis of Yelachenahalli inscription.

The inscription was found in the Anjaneya Temple in Kodigehalli. The temple priest gave an interesting piece of information; the video has been uploaded on instagram. As mentioned in the post, most of the information given by the priest is either incorrect or unverified. However, he said that the idol was installed by Vyasatirtha, during the reign of Krishnadevaraya. We have no evidence to prove this, however the possibility may not be denied as Vyasatirtha from the Madhwa math was the preceptor or spiritual adviser to Krishnadevaraya. This throws light into another important feature of this era; the patronage received by the monasteries or mathas. The role played by these mathas and especially the Madhwa math under Vyasatirtha in Vijayanagara has been explained in detail by Valerie Stoker in his book Polemics and Patronage in the City of Victory.

Arjun Appadurai also vividly explains the role played by these mathas in the political conquest of the Tamil country. The transaction between the Vijayanagara rulers and the temples in Tamil Nadu occurred as a result of the intermediary activities of the mathas, thus consolidating not just the authority of the sovereign, but their position in the society as well.

Coming back to the installation of idols, Stoker mentions in his book, how Vyasatirtha, with the wealth he received, went around the empire installing icons and subsidiary shrines. Considering that, we may accept that this idol may have been installed by Vyasatirtha but we do not have any evidence to prove this.

REFERENCES

1. Stoker, V. (2016). Hindu Sectarianism and the City of Victory. In Polemics and Patronage in the City of Victory: Vyasatirtha, Hindu Sectarianism, and the Sixteenth-Century Vijayanagara Court (pp. 1-16). Oakland, California: University of California Press. Retrieved April 7, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1kc6jt3.7
2. Carla M. Sinopoli, & Kathleen D. Morrison. (1995). Dimensions of Imperial Control the Vijayanagara Capital. American Anthropologist, 97(1), new series, 83-96. Retrieved April 7, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/682381
3. Stein, B. (1990). The New Cambridge History of India. doi: 10.1017/chol9780521266932
4. Epigraphia Carnatica, Volume-9

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Location: Yellamma Temple, 1st Stage, Kumaraswamy Layout, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560078

Google maps: https://goo.gl/maps/f3HVNVDviH9dpcN66

In the Saka Year 1324, Chitrabhaanu, Jeshta, Ba. 10 , Shu. ( le., on 26th May 1402) AD.

Under The Rule Of Vijayanagar Emperor Harihara 2, His officer ‘Muuvaru Raayara Ganda Saariya ( suriya?) Nagappa Naayaka’s Maneya Gowda Marappa and Tirumale Setty’s Son Nachasetty of Nagarthara Community Built a Tank And Provided The Sluice At ‘Elajeeyaraha Halli Seeme’ And Granted Two Khanduga and Ten Kolaga of Land As Dharmma.

The inscription was issued during reign of Immadi Harihararaya. When one looks into the translation, the content might seem very trivial. The inscription is donative and is about the building of a tank and land grant. However a detailed study can reveal a lot of important information.

LANGUAGE

Language is a very important aspect in historiography. It is constantly evolving (time bound), territorial, and is subject to variation when spoken by different social classes. Language is also used to certify the authenticity of a historical text. The language used in the inscription is Nadugannada. The modern Kannada has evolved from Purva Halegannada, Halegannada, Nadugannada and finally we have the modern Kannada. Hence it can be inferred that during the period of 1400’s Nadugannada was the spoken language because inscriptions were issued by the elite to validate their authority and it was always done in the language people understood. They were installed in public places and were frequently read out, for the illiterate masses. Though the origin of the Sangama rulers ( under whom Immadi Harihararaya falls) of the Vijayanagara Empire is an issue of conflict between scholars like Dr. BA Saletore and Dr. Venkatachalayya, it can be inferred that the area was inhabited by Kannada speaking masses.

TERRITORIAL EXTENT OF THE EMPIRE

An inscription installed testifies the control of the empire or emperor over that territory. Immadi Harihararaya’s control over this area is essentially proved by this inscription. The Vijayanagara Empire was established in the 1340’s. Though the Sringeri inscription during the reign of Harihara-1 testifies the emperor’s control over both the oceans, the Vijayanagara rulers had an uphill task of maintaining their stronghold as their authority was constantly challenged by the Gajapatis of Orissa, Reddis of Kondavidu, Velamas of Racakonda and the numerous chieftains of Deccan Peninsula who had accepted the authority of Vijayanagara reluctantly. Vijayanagara Empire was not a centralized political entity till the time of Krishnadevaraya who made efforts to do so. In the background of uncertain loyalty by the local chieftains, the inscription is a valuable testimony to the existence of Vijayanagara authority over this region.

NAYAKARA SYSTEM

This system of land tenure was special to the Vijayanagara Empire and wasn’t prevalent during the time of their predecessors Hoysala, Chalukyas etc. According to Dr. Venkatachalayya this practice was derived from the last rulers of Kakatiya Dynasty. Under this system, king owned all the land, who distributed it among his nayakas who were obliged to maintain an army of troops, horses, elephants and had to pay an annual tribute to the King. This should not be confused with centralization. According to Burton Stein there was no attempt of centralization till the time of Krishnadevaraya who appointeed Telugu and Kannada Brahmins to rule the Tamil country in response to consistent rebellions from the chieftains. The nayakas authority was communal and existed even before the Vijayanagara conquest. They just accepted the supreme authority of the King. Hence the land was owned by the nayakas and they made the grants, acknowledging the authority of Vijayanagara.

NAGARTHARA AND SETTI COMMUNITIES

These were the merchant communities or the merchant guilds. They were prosperous because of trade and hence established markets, fairs, collected tax, built tanks for the welfare of society. Their affluence and service to the society also led to their control over local governance. They were given titles like ‘Pattanaswami’ (Village headman), Pattanadishwara etc.

PRACTICE OF TANK BUILDING

Tank building was a practice which was started during the time Chalukyas and Pallavas. Tank building was to facilitate agriculture and drinking water needs. The practice of tank building ensured flourishing of agriculture in the whole Deccan region, which along with it’s magnificent trade emporia attracted the Delhi Sultanate in the late 13th century. Ancient kingdoms were generally river valley civilizations. Kingdoms like the Chola, Pandya, Pallava were around the rivers Kaveri, Valgai, Tambraparni, where agriculture flourished and surplus production was traded. However the upland regions of Deccan were dry and there was lack of rainfall. The practice of tank building hence made the dry upland region of the peninsula suitable for agriculture. Tank building was also linked to temples. From the ancient times, temples received a lot of grants and donations from the rulers. Hence temple authorities invested these into building tanks. According to Burton Stein Tirumala temple had close to 170 villages under it and tanks were constructed in about 100 of them. Tank building helped the cultivators and also indirectly the merchant guilds who were involved in trade.

MEASURING UNITS

Khanduga and Kolaga are measures of volume. According to Wilson, 1 Kolaga is equal to 1/20 Khanduga. The ratio of volume of seeds required for sowing in wet and dry land is 4:1. It can be inferred that land was measured by the quantity seeds or grains which could be sown.

REFERENCES

1. Stein, B. (1990). The New Cambridge History of India. doi: 10.1017/chol9780521266932
2. Veṅkaṭaramaṇayya N. (1933). Vijayanagara, origin of the city and the Empire, by N. Venkata Ramanayya, .. Madras: University of Madras.