Remembering the Contribution of Vijayanagara Empire

We need to take pride in our culture and heritage. We should educate and awaken the country so that it can inspire our future generations to continue the legacy of our glorious Hindu tradition and values’, said Sri Krishnadevaraya, from Aravidu dynasty, a descendant of the great Vijayanagara Emperor, Sri Krishnadevaraya .

Sri Krishnadevaraya was speaking on the occasion of the launch of a book titled “City of Victory – Rise and Fall of Vijayanagara” at Bharat Vikas Parishad Hall, Kukatpally, Hyderabad on 16th June 2019. He also added that we should educate people about our glorious past, culture and history. The idea of Bharat as one entity is essential and it is our responsibility of to ensure its integrity. He said while he was in the USA, he understood the importance of preserving and documenting history and culture; Americans with a history of just about 300 years, put in much time and effort towards this endeavour, while we in India with a history spanning millennia are hardly aware of, and are grossly negligent of our history. He said if we don’t take pride in our culture, no one else will.

Sri V. Nagaraj, Secretary of Mythic Society, Bengaluru, said Vijayanagara Empire withstood the onslaught of Islamic invaders and protected entire South India. The kingdom protected Hindu dharma and facilitated its all-round growth in arts and literature, built magnificent temples and forts all over South India, especially in Rayalaseema, and revived the temples of Srirangam and Mathura which were destroyed by the invaders. It was a wealthy, peaceful and prosperous kingdom with several trading sea-ports, and was praised by global travellers and historians of that period. He stated that if a large section of the society today is following Hindu customs and traditions including textiles and cuisine, it’s because of the then Vijayanagara empire. It is interesting to note that Chattrapati Shivaji spent his childhood years in the Bengaluru area with his mother, and was inspired by the mighty Vijayanagara empire. Vijayanagara was a symbol of continuity of our ancient culture during the times of brutal Islamic invasions in India.

Before the launch, the book was introduced and is easily accessible to ordinary readers with an easy style of writing, at the same time capturing the epoch of Vijayanagara well. The author of the book Sri Ratnakar Sadasyula, history blogger, author and an IT professional, said his exposure to the illustrious Vijayanagara Empire and its significance, was due to the stories he read and heard, the important role played by the kingdom in promoting Telugu literature, the temples he visited, and the movies about the empire and especially Sri Krishna Devaraya, all have inspired him to write this book. He said other regions of the country know and take pride in their heroes, while Telugu people lack this spirit and it’s time we know about our own history. On the occasion Sri Ayush, Secretary of Samvit Kendra, thanked the author and the other dignitaries, and said Samvit Kendra would encourage original research and writing of our own history and culture.

Samvit Kendra is a Hyderabad based Center formed by a group of scholars and intellectuals in the year 2014. In the short period, Samvit has produced many works that have been appreciated for their vision and independent scholarship.

Notable among them are the ‘The Liberation Struggle of Hyderabad’, ‘Interrogating Macaulay’s children’, ‘Dr BR Ambedkar’s thoughts on Nationalism and Indian History’. Last year we published ‘Denying National Roots- Early Communism and India’ a seminal work, that examines the early evolution of Communism’s attitude towards nationalism. The History of Vijayanagara: City of Victory by Sri Ratnakar Sadasyula is their latest offering.