Early Buddhist Stupa-art, while depicting folk motifs and narratives successfully expounds Buddhist ideals. Elucidate.

Answer

Approach:IntroductionBriefly introduce Krishnadeva Raya and his reign in Vijayanagar.BodyDiscuss Krishnadeva Raya’s achievements as a scholar and patron of learning and literature, with examples from his reign.ConclusionWrite a relevant conclusion mentioning the views of the Portuguese travelers who visited the Vijayanagar empire during his reign.

Introduction

The kingdom of Vijayanagar was ruled by Sri Krishnadeva Raya from 1509 to 1529. He is considered as one of the greatest statesmen in Indian history. It is said that he is one of the greatest rulers that medieval South India had produced. He was called by various names, some of them being“Kannadaraya”,“Kannada Rajya Ramaramana”etc. All round development and prosperity was witnessed in Southern India during his reign.

Body

The reign of Sri Krishnadeva Raya in the Kingdom of Vijayanagar is said to be a glorious chapter in the literary history of South India:

He was an eminent scholar:

• Hewrote Madalasa Charita, Satyavedu Parinaya, Rasamanjari and Jambavati Kalyana.


• Much ofhis wealth was reserved for the promotion of scholarship.


• He wasfluent in many languagesand hence, his patronage was enjoyed by the poets of Sanskrit, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada.


• Hewrote Amuktamalkyada in Telugu.It is a poetic narration of the story of Goda Devi and of her foster father Vishnuchitta. He was conferred with the titleAndhrabhojafor this.


• He alsowrote a Sanskrit play Jambavati Kalyana.

Also, a great patron of learning and literature and was known as Abhinava Bhoja:

• Sri Krishnadeva Rayaestablished himself as a royal poet, an emperor-poet, a poets’ poet and a people’s poet.


• Ashtadiggajaswere eight great scholars in his court. They includedAllasani Peddanaoften described as theAndhra-kavitapitamaha.His famous work was Manucharitamu. Another famous poet was Nandi Thimmanna, the author of Parijathapaharanamu.


• Kannada Mahabharatha,which was originally started by Kumara Vyasa was finallycompleted by Kannada poet Thimmanna at the behest of Sri Krishnadeva Raya.


• Poets and Authors who were patronized during his reign are as follows:


• Kannada poet Mallanaryawho wrote Veerasaivamrita, Bhavachintaratna etc.


• Chatu Vittalanathawho wrote Bhagvatha.


• Timmanna Kaviwho wrote his eulogy Krishnaraya Bharata.


• Tamil poet


• Peddanna, a Telugu poet was personally honored by Sri Krishnadeva Raya for the former’s proficiency in Telugu and Sanskrit.


• He was alsoresponsible for developing and nurturing Carnatic musical traditionby providing shelter to musicians such as VyasaRaya, who was the propagator of Haridasa movement in Karnataka.


• Classical dance forms like Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudiwere also encouraged by him.

Conclusion

Domingo Paes and Duarte Barbosa, the Portuguese travelers, visited the Vijayanagar empire during his reign and they have mentioned in their travelogs that the King was not only a good administrator but also an excellent scholar and a patron of art and literature.