Notes on Society and Economy conditions of the

Vijayanagara Dynasties
The Vijayanagara state possessed an urban quality which was not present in any Indian
state of the time. The capital city had within its boundaries markets, palaces, temples,
and mosques. After the battle of Talikota in 1!, the city was completely "andali#ed by
the combined army of the $eccan %uslim states.
The social structure of the Vijayanagara empire was composed of the following elements&
'a( secular functions of the brahmans) 'b( dual di"ision of lower social groups) and 'c(
territorial segmentation of the society.
The construction of large numbers of temples endowed with de"adana "illages ga"e the
brahmans as functionaries of such temples the authority to e*ercise ritual control o"er all
other castes and considerable secular power.
The dual di"ision of lower castes meant Vaishna"as engaged in agriculture and local trade
signified the +right,hand+ caste, while -hai"as as artisans and e*tensi"e trades people
represented the +left,hand+ caste. .astly, social groups in the Tamil country were di"ided
on the basis of natural sub,region and occupational patterns associated with them.
/onsequently, such groups had less interaction with groups at a distance from them,
following thereby a kind of territorial segmentation.
0owe"er, temples played an important role in denoting the social space of "arious groups
who worshipped a common deity, an e*ample of which was the common de"otion of all
the kings of a dynasty to the lineage tutelary. In the same way, ammans or the non,
brahman priests of the common tutelary shrines also participated in the management of
the great -i"a and Vishnu temples presided o"er by brahmans.
The literary te*t, Amuktamalyada by 1rishnade"a 2aya as also the narrati"es of 3uni#
and 4aes gi"e an account of the foreign trade carried out during the Vijayanagara rule.
5enerally %uslims and Arabs controlled such trade importing from abroad, damask, silk,
"el"et, palm,sugar, gems, etc. The chief items of e*port were rice, coconut, iron, and sug,
arcane. 0orses were a special item of import to meet the needs of the army.
Arabs and later the 4ortuguese brought them by sea because the $eccan %uslim states
blocked the o"erland trade routes to 3orth India. As regards internal trade, the foreigners
say that both inside and outside the country, there was increased trading acti"ity during
the Vijayanagara rule.
2oads and ri"ers 'especially the backwaters on the west coast( were used e*tensi"ely for
the mo"ement of commodities, and facilities to encourage the growth of trade were
pro"ided. Villages and towns held frequent trade,fairs to promote business which the
local merchants organi#ed, and the concerned merchant was known as pattanaswamy.
Inscriptions and literary te*ts refer to 67 such trade centres in the 1th,1!th century,
some of which were religious while the others were administrati"e or commercial towns.
-eparate markets e*isted for "arious commodities as also according to the left and right
hand caste affiliations. Trade in prasadam for pilgrims and the sale of the right or ritual
functions were important aspects of temple,related commerce. The artisans and
merchants of Andhra were identified with particular cities. 8or e*ample, 9e#wada was
identified as the city of Telugu oil,millers. /ities like these deri"ed their incomes from
transit duties and such other ta*es.
The empire of Vijayanagara was one of the richest states of the time. The country was
self, sufficient in food and industries flourished, such as te*tiles, mining and metallurgy,
and perfumery. Industries and trade were regulated by guilds. The empire possessed
numerous ports and had commercial relations with foreign countries. 5old, sil"er and
copper coins were in use.
The practice of sati was largely pre"alent. :omen were fairly educated and their ser"ices
were utilised as clerks in the royal household. The Vijayanagara rulers also had women
bodyguards and wrestlers.
4unishments for crime were cruel and se"ere, prostitution was regulated and hea"ily
ta*ed.