On an outline map of the world, mark approximately Italy, Portugal, Iran and Russia. Trace the routes the travellers mentioned on p.176 would have taken to reach Vijayanagara.
Followed by routes to reach Vijayanagara from Italy and Portugal:
The travellers crossed the Red Sea, Arabian Sea and then, they taken land route to reach South India. Atlantic Ocean touching the Cape of Good Hope and then Indian Ocean to reach Malabar of India. From here they took land route to reach Vijayanagara. The Italian travellers crossed the Arabian Sea and then Indian Ocean and through Malabar coast they reached Vijayanagara. From Iran via Afghanistan and modern Pakistan they would have taken land route upto Karnataka, India. Russian came to India via Afghanistan. They crossed modern Punjab in Pakistan, central India crossing Vindhyachal, Satpura to Karnataka.
What do you think was the significance of the rituals associated with the mahanavami dibba?
Fig. 7.33 is an illustration of another pillar from the Virupaksha temple. Do you notice any floral motifs? What are the animals shown? Why do you think they are depicted? Describe the human figures shown.
How were the water requirements of Vijayanagara met?
Discuss whether the term “royal centre” is an appropriate description for the part of the city for which it is used.
What impression of the lives of the ordinary people of Vijayanagara can you cull from the various descriptions in the chapter?
What do you think were the advantages and disadvantages of enclosing agricultural land within the fortified area of the city?
What does the architecture of buildings like the Lotus Mahal and elephant stables tell us about the rulers who commissioned them?
What have been the methods used to study the ruins of Hampi over the last two centuries? In what way do you think they would have complemented the information provided by the priests of the Virupaksha temple?
What are the architectural traditions that inspired the architects of Vijayanagara? How did they transform these traditions?
Write a note on the Kitab-ul-Hind.
What are the problems in using the Ain as a source for reconstructing agrarian history? How do historians deal with this situation?
Explain with examples what historians mean by the integration of cults.
Describe the process of manuscript production in the Mughal court.
Compare and contrast the perspectives from which Ibn Battuta and Bernier wrote their accounts of their travels in India.
To what extent is it possible to characterise agricultural production in the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries as subsistence agriculture? Give reasons for your answer.
To what extent do you think the architecture of mosques in the subcontinent reflects a combination of universal ideals and local traditions?
In what ways would the daily routine and special festivities associated with the Mughal court have conveyed a sense of the power of the emperor?
Discuss the picture of urban centres that emerges from Bernier’s account.
Describe the role played by women in agricultural production.
In what ways would the daily routine and special festivities associated with the Mughal court have conveyed a sense of the power of the emperor?
Examine the role played by zamindars in Mughal India.
Describe the major teachings of either Kabir or Baba Guru Nanak, and the ways in which these have been transmitted.
Write a note on the Kitab-ul-Hind.
Discuss the picture of urban centres that emerges from Bernier’s account.
Analyse, with illustrations, why bhakti and sufi thinkers adopted a variety of languages in which to express their opinions.
To what extent do you think caste was a factor in influencing social and economic relations in agrarian society?
To what extent do you think the visual material presented in this chapter corresponds with Abu’l Fazl’s description of the taswir (Source 1)?
Discuss, with examples, the significance of monetary transactions during the period under consideration.
Read any five of the sources included in this chapter and discuss the social and religious ideas that are expressed in them.