Q30. What was the single most important imported item for Vijayanagara’s military establishment?
[WBCS Prelims – 2020]
A. Silk
B. Horses
C. Spices
D. Rice
Answer: B. Horses
Explanation: Quality warhorses could not be bred easily in much of peninsular India. Vijayanagara therefore imported large numbers through Arabian Sea ports, making horse trade strategically vital.
Q29. Which statement about Vijayanagara is NOT correct?
[Punjab Civil Services – 2020]
A. Kings maintained complete separation between religion and administration
B. Land revenue was an important income source
C. Villages had hereditary administrative officers
D. Local administration was significant
Answer: A. Kings maintained complete separation between religion and administration
Explanation: Vijayanagara kings closely connected political legitimacy with temples and deities. Land revenue remained fundamental, while hereditary village officers played important administrative roles.
Q28. In which year was the Battle of Talikota fought between Vijayanagara and the Deccan Sultanates?
[Delhi Police Constable – 2020]
A. 1561
B. 1556
C. 1565
D. 1575
Answer: C. 1565
Explanation: The January 1565 confrontation ended in Rama Raya’s defeat. The victorious Sultanate armies subsequently entered and plundered Vijayanagara’s magnificent capital.
Q27. When was the Vijayanagara Empire established?
[Karnataka Civil Police Constable – 2020]
A. 1333
B. 1334
C. 1335
D. 1336
Answer: D. 1336
Explanation: Vijayanagara’s conventional foundation date is 1336. Harihara and Bukka established the Sangama polity amid the fragmentation of Delhi Sultanate authority in the south.
Q26. What was the capital of the Vijayanagara Kingdom?
[WBPSC Miscellaneous – 2020, 2019 cycle]
A. Mysore
B. Aihole
C. Hampi
D. Kanchipuram
Answer: C. Hampi
Explanation: Hampi was Vijayanagara’s monumental capital on the Tungabhadra. Its extensive archaeological remains are today among India’s most important medieval historical sites.
Q25. Building Kalyana Mandapas was a notable feature of temple construction in which kingdom?
[UPSC CSE Prelims – 2019]
A. Chalukya
B. Chandela
C. Rashtrakuta
D. Vijayanagara
Answer: D. Vijayanagara
Explanation: Vijayanagara temples commonly featured elaborate ceremonial halls or Kalyana Mandapas associated with divine marriage festivities and increasingly monumental gopurams and temple complexes.
Q24. Krishnadevaraya was ruler of which empire?
[RRB JE – 2019]
A. Chola
B. Pandya
C. Chera
D. Vijayanagara
Answer: D. Vijayanagara
Explanation: Krishnadevaraya ruled Vijayanagara between 1509 and 1529 and presided over its greatest territorial expansion, cultural achievements and military successes.
Q23. Hampi, the ancient capital of Vijayanagara, is located in which state?
[SSC CHSL – 2019]
A. Tamil Nadu
B. Kerala
C. Telangana
D. Karnataka
Answer: D. Karnataka
Explanation: Hampi lies in present-day Karnataka beside the Tungabhadra River. Its monumental ruins were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.
Q22. The Battle of Talikota was fought between which forces?
[APPSC Group-I – 2019]
A. Vijayanagara and Deccan Sultanates
B. Marathas and Mughals
C. Mughals and Malik Ambar
D. Mysore and British
Answer: A. Vijayanagara and Deccan Sultanates
Explanation: Major Deccan Sultanates temporarily overcame their rivalries to confront Rama Raya’s Vijayanagara army, defeating it decisively at Talikota in 1565.
Q21. Which traveller visited the court of Krishnadevaraya?
[RPF SI – 2019]
A. Niccolò de’ Conti
B. William Hawkins
C. Domingo Paes
D. Abdur Razzaq
Answer: C. Domingo Paes
Explanation: Domingo Paes visited during Krishnadevaraya’s reign. Conti and Abdur Razzaq belonged to earlier Vijayanagara periods, while Hawkins came to Mughal India.
