Q47 (IAS/2015) History & Culture › Medieval India › Vijayanagara polity Official Key

Who of the following founded a new city on the south bank of a tributary to river Krishna and undertook to rule his new kingdom as the agent of a deity to whom all the land south of the river Krishna was supposed to belong?

Result

Your answer: — · Correct: C

Explanation

Bukka (1356-77) founded a new city on the southern bank of a tributary to the river Krishna, ruling his kingdom as the agent of a deity[7]. However, the question asks about the founder who first established this practice. Harihara and Bukka, the two brothers and eldest sons of Sangama, laid the foundation for the Vijayanagar kingdom in about 1336[8]. Their capital city, Vijayanagar, stood on the south bank of river Tungabhadra[9], which is a right hand tributary of the Krishna river[10].

Since Harihara I was the elder brother and co-founder who established the kingdom first, he would be credited with founding the new city and initiating the practice of ruling as the agent of a deity. The concept of ruling as a divine agent, with all land south of Krishna belonging to the deity, was a distinctive feature of Vijayanagar kingship established by its founders. Therefore, Harihara I is the correct answer.

Sources

[1] https://universalinstitutions.com/bahamani-and-vijayanagara-empire/
[2] https://universalinstitutions.com/bahamani-and-vijayanagara-empire/
[3] https://universalinstitutions.com/bahamani-and-vijayanagara-empire/
[4] https://universalinstitutions.com/bahamani-and-vijayanagara-empire/
[5] https://universalinstitutions.com/bahamani-and-vijayanagara-empire/
[6] https://universalinstitutions.com/bahamani-and-vijayanagara-empire/
[7] https://universalinstitutions.com/bahamani-and-vijayanagara-empire/
[8] History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 12: Bahmani and Vijayanagar Kingdoms > Origin and Expansion > p. 180
[9] History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 12: Bahmani and Vijayanagar Kingdoms > 12.6 Art and Architecture > p. 186
[10] Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 8: Energy Resources > Table 8.9 > p. 23

How others answered

Each bar shows the % of students who chose that option. Green bar = correct answer, blue outline = your choice.

Community Performance

Out of everyone who attempted this question.

73%

got it right

Web / Current Affairs

Online pages / news items supporting the statement

Web source

Presence: 5/5

"Bukka (1356-77) Founded a new city on the southern bank of a tributary to the river Krishna, ruling his kingdom as the agent of a deity ..."

Why this source?

Explicitly names Bukka (1356-77) as the founder of a new city on the southern bank of a tributary to the river Krishna.
This attribution identifies a different founder (Bukka), directly refuting the claim that Amoghavarsha I was the founder.

Web source

Presence: 2/5

"Who of the following founded a new city on the south bank of a tributary to river Krishna and undertook ... (c) Harihara I (d) Prataparudra"

Why this source?

Presents the same MCQ about founding a new city on a tributary of the Krishna and lists other candidate founders (e.g., Harihara I, Prataparudra).
Amoghavarsha I is not presented as an option here, supporting that he is not commonly identified as the founder.

Indirect textbook clues (5)

How books hint at the answer

History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 8: Harsha and Rise of Regional Kingdoms > Krishna I and His Successors > p. 113

Strength: 3/5

“Amoghavarsha was a patron of literature and he patronised the famous Digambara acharya Jinasena, Sanskrit grammarian Sakatayana and the mathematician Mahaviracharya Krishna III was the last great ruler of the Rashtrakuta dynasty. Soon after his accession, he invaded the Chola kingdom along with his brother-in-law Butunga. Kanchi and Thanjavur were captured in 943 CE. His army remained in effective control of Thondaimandalam, consisting of Arcot, Chengalpattu and Vellore. In 949 CE, he defeated the Chola army of Rajadithya in the battle of Takkolam (in present day Vellore district). Krishna III marched upto Rameshvaram where he built a pillar of victory.”

Why relevant

Mentions Amoghavarsha as a Rashtrakuta ruler and patron of learning, illustrating that regional kings of the period acted as patrons and sometimes founders of institutions or urban foundations.

How to extend

A student could combine this with examples of contemporary rulers who founded towns to assess whether Amoghavarsha might plausibly have founded a city.

History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 12: Bahmani and Vijayanagar Kingdoms > 12.6 Art and Architecture > p. 186

Strength: 5/5

“The finest temples of Vijayanagara are in Hampi, which has been designated as a World Heritage City. Their capital city, Vijayanagar, stood on the south bank of river Tungabhadra. After the battle of Talikota (1565 CE) this splendid city fell prey to the fury of the victors who wrought untold havoc and destruction. We can form an idea of the architectural achievements of the Vijayanagara rulers and the ruins of Hampi from the accounts of foreign travelers, Nicolo Conti and Abdur Razak. Krishnadeva Raya was a great builder. He founded a town Nagalapura (near Vijayanagar), in memory of his mother, Nagamba and built tanks, gopurams and temples in various parts of empire.”

Why relevant

States that the Vijayanagar capital stood on the south bank of the Tungabhadra (a Krishna tributary) and gives an example of a king (Krishnadeva Raya) founding a town (Nagalapura).

How to extend

Using a map to locate the Tungabhadra as a Krishna tributary and the pattern of royal town-founding on south-bank sites, a student could judge the geographic plausibility of the statement.

Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 3: The Drainage System of India > The Krishna > p. 21

Strength: 4/5

“The river of Krishna has its origin near Mahabaleshwar in the vertical faces of the Western Ghats. Its length is 1290 km and basin area 2,54,743 sq km. A number of minor streams like Koyna and Ghataparbha join the Krishna river to give a subdendritic pattern. The Bhima in the north and the Tungbhadra in the south are the other important tributaries of the Krishna river. Downwards passing through the quartzite scarps, the Krishna has been dammed to form the Nagarjun-Sagar Reservoir. Further east, beyond the gorge in the Srisailam Hills below Vijaiwada, it has built its fertile bird-foot delta (Mississippi-type).”

Why relevant

Lists important tributaries of the Krishna (e.g., Tungabhadra, Bhima) and describes the river's course and basin — supplying geographic context about where a new city on a tributary's bank might be located.

How to extend

A student could use this to identify which tributaries and their south banks are potential locations and then check historical records for Amoghavarsha's activity in those areas.

INDIA PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT, Geography Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 3: Drainage System > River Systems of the Peninsular Drainage > p. 24

Strength: 4/5

“Pranhita, and the Manjra are its principal tributaries. The Godavari is subjected to heavy floods in its lower reaches to the south of Polavaram, where it forms a picturesque gorge. It is navigable only in the deltaic stretch. The river after Rajamundri splits into several branches forming a large delta. The Krishna is the second largest eastflowing Peninsular river which rises near Mahabaleshwar in Sahyadri. Its total length is 1,401 km. The Koyna, the Tungbhadra and the Bhima are its major tributaries. Of the total catchment area of the Krishna, 27 per cent lies in Maharashtra, 44 per cent in Karnataka and 29 per cent in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.”

Why relevant

Also names the Krishna's major tributaries (Koyna, Tungabhadra, Bhima) and specifies the basin across Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, giving regional limits for plausible city-foundings.

How to extend

Combine this with knowledge of Rashtrakuta territorial control to see if Amoghavarsha's realm overlapped these river-bank zones where he could have founded a city.

THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara > An Imperial Capital Vijayanagara (c. fourteenth to sixteenth century) > p. 170

Strength: 3/5

“Vijayanagara or "city of victory" was the name of both a city and an empire. The empire was founded in the fourteenth century. In its heyday it stretched from the river Krishna in the north to the extreme south of the peninsula. In 1565 the city was sacked and subsequently deserted. Although it fell into ruin in the seventeenth-eighteenth centuries, it lived on in the memories of people living in the Krishna-Tungabhadra doab. They remembered it as Hampi, a name derived from that of the local mother goddess, Pampadevi. These oral traditions combined with archaeological finds, monuments and inscriptions and other records helped scholars to rediscover the Vijayanagara Empire.”

Why relevant

Describes the importance of the Krishna-Tungabhadra doab region as a locus of major cities/empires (Vijayanagara) showing the recurring pattern of major urban centres on/near Krishna tributaries.

How to extend

A student could use this pattern to hypothesize that other rulers (including earlier ones) might have founded cities in similar riverine locations and then seek specific evidence about Amoghavarsha.

The city of Nasik is situated on the bank of which one of the following rivers ?

Who among the following rulers of Vijayanagara Empire constructed a large dam across Tungabhadra River and a canal-cum-aqueduct several kilometres long from the river to the capital city?

Question map

Who of the following founded a new city on the south bank of a tributary to river Krishna and undertook to rule his new kingdom as the agent of a deity to whom all the land south of the river Krishna was supposed to belong?

Explanation

PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN

SIMILAR QUESTIONS

The city of Nasik is situated on the bank of which one of the following rivers ?

Who among the following rulers of Vijayanagara Empire constructed a large dam across Tungabhadra River and a canal-cum-aqueduct several kilometres long from the river to the capital city?

On the banks of which one of the following rivers was the ancient Mahishmati located?

Amravati, Bhavani, Hemavati and Kabini are tributaries of which one of the following rivers?

Who among the following laid the foundation of Rashtrakuta Empire?