Change set
Pick exam & year, then Go.
Question map
According to Portuguese writer Nuniz, the women in Vijayanagara Empire were expert in which of the following areas? 1. Wrestling 2. Astrology 3. Accounting 4. Soothsaying Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Explanation
The correct answer is Option 4 (1, 2, 3 and 4).
Fernao Nuniz, a Portuguese traveler and chronicler who visited the Vijayanagara Empire during the reign of Achyuta Deva Raya, provides detailed accounts of the diverse roles played by women in the royal court and society. His chronicles highlight that women were not confined to domestic spheres but were highly educated and professionally trained in various specialized fields.
According to Nuniz:
- Wrestling: Women were trained in physical combat and wrestling to serve as bodyguards and entertainers.
- Astrology and Soothsaying: Many women were proficient in predicting the future, reading celestial movements, and interpreting omens.
- Accounting: Women were employed as clerks and bookkeepers to maintain the accounts of the kingdom and internal palace expenses.
Since Nuniz explicitly mentions that the King had women for all these duties, including music and literature, all four areas listed are historically accurate according to his records.
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Guest previewThis question exposes the 'TN Board Advantage'. While NCERT mentions Nuniz visited, the specific list of skills (wrestling, astrology, accounting) is a verbatim lift from the Tamil Nadu Class 11 History Textbook (Chapter: Bahmani and Vijayanagar). It proves that for South Indian history, NCERT is insufficient; the TN Board text is the primary source.
This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.
Web source
Presence: 5/5
"According to Portuguese writer Nuniz, women in the Vijayanagara Empire were expert in wrestling, astrology, accounting, and soothsaying."
Why this source?
- The passage directly attributes an observation to Portuguese writer Nuniz about women's skills in the empire.
- It explicitly lists 'wrestling' among the areas in which women were expert.
Web source
Presence: 5/5
"According to Portuguese writer Nuniz, women in the Vijayanagara Empire were expert in wrestling, astrology, accounting, and soothsaying."
Why this source?
- This passage repeats the same explicit attribution to Nuniz, reinforcing the claim.
- It again names 'wrestling' as one of the specific skills women possessed according to Nuniz.
- The passage directly attributes an observation to Portuguese writer Nuniz about women's skills in the empire.
- It explicitly lists 'wrestling' among the areas in which women were expert.
- This passage repeats the same explicit attribution to Nuniz, reinforcing the claim.
- It again names 'wrestling' as one of the specific skills women possessed according to Nuniz.
THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara > Finding out about the city > p. 176
Strength: 5/5
“A large number of inscriptions of the kings of Vijayanagara and their nayakas recording donations to temples as well as describing important events have been recovered. Several travellers visited the city and wrote about it. Notable among their accounts are those of an Italian trader named Nicolo de Conti, an ambassador named Abdur Razzaq sent by the ruler of Persia, a merchant named Afanasii Nikitin from Russia, all of whom visited the city in the fifteenth century, and those of Duarte Barbosa, Domingo Paes and Fernao Nuniz from Portugal, who came in the sixteenth century. Ü Would you find these features in a city today?”
Why relevant
Lists Fernao Nuniz among travellers who wrote descriptive first‑hand accounts of Vijayanagara, implying he recorded social customs and practices.
How to extend
A student could check Nuniz's travel account for mentions of gendered social activities (e.g., sports, entertainment) to see if he noted women wrestlers.
THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara > The bazaar > p. 191
Strength: 4/5
“More generally, he described the city as being "the bestprovided city in the world" with the markets "stocked with provisions such as rice, wheat, grains, India corn and a certain amount of barley and beans, moong, pulses and horse-gram" all of which were cheaply and abundantly available. According to Fernao Nuniz, the Vijayanagara markets were "overflowing with abundance of fruits, grapes and oranges, limes, pomegranates, jackfruit and mangoes and all very cheap". Meat too was sold in abundance in the marketplaces. Nuniz describes "mutton, pork, venison, partridges, hares, doves, quail and all kinds of birds, sparrows, rats and cats and lizards" as being sold in the market of Bisnaga (Vijayanagara).”
Why relevant
Quotes Nuniz describing markets and everyday life in detail (foods and goods), showing he reported mundane and surprising social facts.
How to extend
Use the fact Nuniz recorded everyday oddities to argue he might have mentioned women wrestling if it were visible in public life; locate the specific passage to confirm.
Exploring Society:India and Beyond ,Social Science-Class VII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 12: Understanding Markets > The Glorious Hampi Bazaar, Karnataka > p. 250
Strength: 4/5
“Another Portuguese traveller, Fernao Nuniz, wrote about the bazaar, "There were craftsmen, also, working in their streets, so that you”
Why relevant
Another fragment attributing descriptive material on bazaars to Nuniz, reinforcing that his narratives covered civic life and public spectacles.
How to extend
Combine this pattern with a search in Nuniz's text for terms related to wrestling or public performances involving women.
THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara > 2.3 The rayas and the nayakas > p. 175
Strength: 3/5
“Among those who exercised power in the empire were military chiefs who usually controlled forts and had armed supporters. These chiefs often moved from one area to another, and in many cases were accompanied by peasants looking for fertile land on which to settle. These chiefs were known as nayakas and they usually spoke Telugu or Kannada. Many nayakas submitted to the authority of the kings of Vijayanagara but they often rebelled and had to be subdued by military action. The amara-nayaka system was a major political innovation of the Vijayanagara Empire. It is likely that many features of this system were derived from the iqta system of the Delhi Sultanate.”
Why relevant
Explains the amara‑nayaka military/chief system and prominence of armed male chiefs, suggesting a strongly martial, male‑dominated public sphere.
How to extend
A student could weigh the prevalence of male military elites against the plausibility of women as public wrestling experts in that society and look for corroborating evidence.
THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara > Elephants, horses and men > p. 172
Strength: 2/5
“Gajapati literally means lord of elephants. This was the name of a ruling lineage that was very powerful in Orissa in the fifteenth century. In the popular traditions of Vijayanagara the Deccan Sultans are termed as ashvapati or lord of horses and the rayas are called narapati or lord of men. Some of the areas that were incorporated within the empire had witnessed the development of powerful states such as those of the Cholas in Tamil Nadu and the Hoysalas in Karnataka. Ruling elites in these areas had extended patronage to elaborate temples such as the Brihadishvara temple at Thanjavur and the Chennakeshava temple at Belur.”
Why relevant
Uses gendered political titles like 'lord of men' (narapati), indicating public and political roles were framed in male terms.
How to extend
Use this pattern to hypothesize that martial activities were primarily male; then seek specific traveler or inscriptional mentions to confirm or refute women’s involvement in wrestling.
Lists Fernao Nuniz among travellers who wrote descriptive first‑hand accounts of Vijayanagara, implying he recorded social customs and practices.
A student could check Nuniz's travel account for mentions of gendered social activities (e.g., sports, entertainment) to see if he noted women wrestlers.
Quotes Nuniz describing markets and everyday life in detail (foods and goods), showing he reported mundane and surprising social facts.
Use the fact Nuniz recorded everyday oddities to argue he might have mentioned women wrestling if it were visible in public life; locate the specific passage to confirm.
Another fragment attributing descriptive material on bazaars to Nuniz, reinforcing that his narratives covered civic life and public spectacles.
Combine this pattern with a search in Nuniz's text for terms related to wrestling or public performances involving women.
Explains the amara‑nayaka military/chief system and prominence of armed male chiefs, suggesting a strongly martial, male‑dominated public sphere.
A student could weigh the prevalence of male military elites against the plausibility of women as public wrestling experts in that society and look for corroborating evidence.
Uses gendered political titles like 'lord of men' (narapati), indicating public and political roles were framed in male terms.
Use this pattern to hypothesize that martial activities were primarily male; then seek specific traveler or inscriptional mentions to confirm or refute women’s involvement in wrestling.
This tab shows concrete study steps: what to underline in books, how to map current affairs, and how to prepare for similar questions.
Login with Google to unlock study guidance.
Discover the small, exam-centric ideas hidden in this question and where they appear in your books and notes.
Login with Google to unlock micro-concepts.
Access hidden traps, elimination shortcuts, and Mains connections that give you an edge on every question.
Login with Google to unlock The Vault.