Vijayanagara, the Bahmanis and the Marathas
Vijayanagara, the Bahmanis and the Marathas
The regional powers of medieval India give 2 questions in the Part-III history block. They matter because they show that the Sultanate and the Mughals never held the whole subcontinent, and the paper asks about their founders, their capitals and their administration.
Vijayanagara
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1336, by Harihara and Bukka |
| Capital | Vijayanagara, at Hampi on the Tungabhadra |
| Greatest ruler | Krishnadeva Raya |
| Language and literature | Telugu flourished; he wrote Amuktamalyada |
| Foreign accounts | Domingo Paes and Nuniz from Portugal, Abdur Razzaq from Persia |
| Ended after | Defeat at Talikota in 1565 |
Hampi is now a World Heritage Site, and the foreign travellers' accounts are the main descriptions of the city at its height. The amara-nayaka system, under which military commanders held revenue rights over territory, is the administrative feature asked.
The Bahmani Kingdom
- Founded in 1347 by Alauddin Bahman Shah, in the Deccan.
- Capital first at Gulbarga, later at Bidar.
- Mahmud Gawan was its greatest minister, a reformer and patron of learning.
- It later broke into five states, of which Bijapur, Ahmednagar and Golconda are the best known.
- Those five combined to defeat Vijayanagara at Talikota in 1565.
The pairing to remember is that Vijayanagara and the Bahmani kingdom rose within about a decade of each other and fought over the Raichur Doab for two centuries. Their rivalry is what a question on Deccan politics is usually about.
✗ Vijayanagara was destroyed by the Mughals | ✓ It was defeated at Talikota in 1565 by the combined Deccan sultanates
The Marathas
| Figure | Known for |
|---|---|
| Shivaji | Founded Maratha power; crowned at Raigad in 1674 |
| Ashtapradhan | His council of eight ministers |
| Peshwa | The chief minister; later the effective ruler |
| Balaji Vishwanath | First of the Peshwas to hold real power |
| Baji Rao I | Expanded Maratha power northward |
| Panipat, 1761 | Third battle; heavy Maratha defeat by Ahmad Shah Abdali |
Shivaji's administration is asked for two features: the Ashtapradhan, his council of eight ministers, and his revenue demands chauth and sardeshmukhi, levied on neighbouring territory. He also built a navy, which few Indian rulers of the period did.
The Third Battle of Panipat in 1761 is the date that matters: it broke Maratha momentum at the moment they were closest to replacing the Mughals, and it left the field open for the East India Company. That consequence is the reasoning question, not the battle itself.
Why Regional Powers Matter
The school syllabus treats these kingdoms as evidence that medieval India was politically plural rather than a single empire. Vijayanagara, the Bahmanis, the Marathas, the Ahoms in Assam and the Rajput states all held real power at various times.
A teaching paper may ask precisely this: what the existence of these kingdoms shows about the reach of Delhi. The answer is that imperial authority was often nominal beyond a core region, and that is the point a class 7 textbook is making when it places these chapters beside the Sultanate.
तालीकोट 1565 — विजयनगर की हार; पानीपत 1761 — मराठों की।
TRE pointer: Three dates carry this topic: 1336 for Vijayanagara, 1565 for Talikota and 1761 for the third Panipat. The commonest error is attributing Vijayanagara's fall to the Mughals rather than to the combined Deccan sultanates. Shivaji's Ashtapradhan, chauth and sardeshmukhi are the administrative terms most often asked, and the 1761 defeat is the reasoning question because of what followed it.
60-Second Recap
- Vijayanagara founded in 1336 by Harihara and Bukka, capital at Hampi.
- Krishnadeva Raya was its greatest ruler; it fell after Talikota in 1565.
- The Bahmani kingdom was founded in 1347; Mahmud Gawan was its great minister.
- Shivaji was crowned at Raigad in 1674 and ruled with the Ashtapradhan.
- Chauth and sardeshmukhi were the Maratha revenue demands.
- The Third Battle of Panipat in 1761 broke Maratha power and cleared the field for the Company.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who defeated Vijayanagara and when?
The combined forces of the Deccan sultanates defeated it at the Battle of Talikota in 1565, after which the capital at Hampi was sacked. The Mughals were not involved, and attributing the defeat to them is the standard error in this question.
What were chauth and sardeshmukhi?
Two revenue demands levied by the Marathas on territory outside their direct control. Chauth was about a quarter of the revenue, paid in return for protection, and sardeshmukhi an additional levy claimed by Shivaji as the hereditary chief of the region.
Why does the Third Battle of Panipat matter?
Because it broke Maratha power in 1761 at exactly the moment they were closest to replacing the Mughals as the dominant force in India. Their defeat left no strong Indian power in the north, which cleared the way for the East India Company.
What was the Ashtapradhan?
Shivaji's council of eight ministers, each holding a defined department such as finance, foreign affairs or the army. The Peshwa was the chief among them, and after Shivaji the office of Peshwa gradually became the real seat of Maratha power.