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Q15 (IAS/2021) History & Culture › Medieval India › Vijayanagara society Official Key

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.

Result
Your answer:  ·  Correct: D
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.

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Q. According to Portuguese writer Nuniz, the women in Vijayanagara Empire were expert in which of the following areas? 1. Wrestling 2. Astro…
At a glance
Origin: Mostly Current Affairs Fairness: Low / Borderline fairness Books / CA: 0/10 · 10/10

This 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.

How this question is built

This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.

Statement 1
According to Portuguese writer Nuniz, were women in the Vijayanagara Empire experts in wrestling?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

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.

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.

Statement 2
According to Portuguese writer Nuniz, were women in the Vijayanagara Empire experts in astrology?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 4/5
"According to Portuguese writer Nuniz, women in the Vijayanagara Empire were expert in wrestling, **astrology, accounting, and soothsaying.**"
Why this source?
  • Passage explicitly attributes a list of skills to women in Vijayanagara as reported by Portuguese writer Nuniz.
  • Astrology is included in that list, directly answering whether women were experts in astrology.
Web source
Presence: 4/5
"According to Portuguese writer Nuniz, women in the Vijayanagara Empire were expert in wrestling, **astrology, accounting, and soothsaying.**"
Why this source?
  • This independent page repeats the same attribution to Nuniz, corroborating the claim.
  • It again lists 'astrology' among the skills women were expert in, supporting the answer.

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: 4/5
“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 detailed accounts of Vijayanagara, implying he recorded social customs and occupations.

How to extend

A student could check Nuniz's surviving text for passages on occupations and gender to see if he mentions women practising astrology.

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

Contains direct quotations from Nuniz describing everyday life and market details, showing he reported on social and economic specifics.

How to extend

Use the pattern that Nuniz noted ordinary practices to justify searching his work for mentions of women in specialized roles like astrologers.

History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 12: Bahmani and Vijayanagar Kingdoms > 12.5 Literature > p. 185
Strength: 3/5
“The Vijayanagara rulers were also great patrons of literature. The rulers encouraged Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada literatures and languages. The literary development reached its peak during the reign of Krishnadeva Raya. He was also a great patron of art and literature, and was known as 'Andhra Bhoja'. Sayana, the great Sanskrit scholar of this period, wrote commentaries on the Vedas. These commentaries are considered as standard commentaries even today. He was a minister of Harihara II. Madhavacharya was a well-known Sanskrit scholar who was intimately connected with Vijayanagar royal family. Gangadevi, wife of Kampana, son of Bukka, deserves a preeminent place among the writers of the age.”
Why relevant

Shows women (e.g., Gangadevi) could occupy intellectual/literary positions in Vijayanagara society, establishing a context where women might also engage in learned pursuits such as astrology.

How to extend

Combine this with Nuniz’s habit of recording learned classes to assess plausibility that he would mention women astrologers if they existed.

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

Emphasises that knowledge about Vijayanagara comes from travellers' accounts, inscriptions and oral traditions — different sources that complement or contradict each other.

How to extend

A student could compare Nuniz’s account with inscriptions or local traditions to corroborate or challenge any claim about women astrologers.

Statement 3
According to Portuguese writer Nuniz, were women in the Vijayanagara Empire experts in accounting?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

Web source
Presence: 4/5
"According to Portuguese writer Nuniz, women in the Vijayanagara Empire were expert in wrestling, astrology, accounting, and soothsaying."
Why this source?
  • The passage explicitly attributes to Portuguese writer Nuniz a list of skills of women in the Vijayanagara Empire.
  • That list specifically includes 'accounting', directly supporting the claim that Nuniz described women as experts in accounting.
Web source
Presence: 4/5
"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 statement attributing to Nuniz that women were skilled in multiple areas.
  • It again names 'accounting' among the skills, corroborating the claim.

THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara > The bazaar > p. 191
Strength: 5/5
“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

Nuniz's description of very large, well‑supplied markets implies a complex commercial economy where accounting and bookkeeping would be important.

How to extend

A student could combine this with basic knowledge of market economies to ask whether women participated in market trade or household/business bookkeeping and whether Nuniz mentions their role specifically.

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: 4/5
“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

This snippet lists Fernao (Fernao) Nuniz among the Portuguese travellers who wrote detailed accounts of Vijayanagara, establishing him as a source who might have noted social roles.

How to extend

A student could examine Nuniz's actual text (knowing he is a primary observer) to look for any passages that mention women and economic or accounting activities.

History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 12: Bahmani and Vijayanagar Kingdoms > 12.5 Literature > p. 185
Strength: 4/5
“The Vijayanagara rulers were also great patrons of literature. The rulers encouraged Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada literatures and languages. The literary development reached its peak during the reign of Krishnadeva Raya. He was also a great patron of art and literature, and was known as 'Andhra Bhoja'. Sayana, the great Sanskrit scholar of this period, wrote commentaries on the Vedas. These commentaries are considered as standard commentaries even today. He was a minister of Harihara II. Madhavacharya was a well-known Sanskrit scholar who was intimately connected with Vijayanagar royal family. Gangadevi, wife of Kampana, son of Bukka, deserves a preeminent place among the writers of the age.”
Why relevant

The mention of Gangadevi, a woman writer connected to the royal family, shows that at least some women were literate and engaged in literary/intellectual activity.

How to extend

A student could infer that literate women might also have had the skills for accounting and then check Nuniz (or other sources) for evidence of women doing accounting or administrative work.

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

Description of the amara‑nayaka system and administrative/military chiefs indicates formal governance structures that required recordkeeping and financial administration.

How to extend

Using this, a student could ask whether recordkeeping roles in such systems were held exclusively by men or whether women could occupy accounting positions, then search Nuniz for relevant observations.

THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara > 5.1 Choosing a capital > p. 184
Strength: 3/5
“It is likely that the very choice of the site of Vijayanagara was inspired by the existence of the shrines of Virupaksha and Pampadevi. In fact the Vijayanagara kings claimed to rule on behalf of the god Virupaksha. All royal orders were signed "Shri Virupaksha", usually in the Kannada script. Rulers also indicated their close links with the gods by using the title "Hindu Suratrana". This was a Sanskritisation of the Arabic term Sultan, meaning king, so it literally meant Hindu Sultan. Even as they drew on earlier traditions, the rulers of Vijayanagara innovated and developed these. Royal portrait sculpture was now displayed in temples, and the king's visits to temples were treated as important state occasions on which he was accompanied by the important nayakas of the empire.”
Why relevant

Royal orders signed 'Shri Virupaksha' in Kannada and the practice of formal royal paperwork point to bureaucratic literacy and written administrative processes.

How to extend

A student might extend this to consider who performed clerical/accounting tasks in such a courtly bureaucracy and check traveller accounts like Nuniz for mentions of female clerks or accountants.

Statement 4
According to Portuguese writer Nuniz, were women in the Vijayanagara Empire experts in soothsaying?
Origin: Web / Current Affairs Fairness: CA heavy Web-answerable

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?
  • Directly states Nuniz's observation about women's skills in the Vijayanagara Empire.
  • Specifically lists soothsaying among the areas of expertise attributed to women.
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?
  • Repeats the same factual claim attributing multiple skills, including soothsaying, to women per Nuniz.
  • Provides corroborating text from an independent web passage.

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 Portuguese travellers who wrote detailed accounts of Vijayanagara in the sixteenth century, establishing Nuniz as a potential source on social practices.

How to extend

A student could locate Nuniz's specific travel account (knowing he is a sixteenth‑century Portuguese writer) and search within it for any mention of women's social or religious roles, including soothsaying.

THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 5: Through the Eyes of Travellers > 3. François Bernier A Doctor with a Difference > p. 122
Strength: 5/5
“Once the Portuguese arrived in India in about 1500, a number of them wrote detailed accounts regarding Indian social customs and religious practices. A few of them, such as the Jesuit Roberto Nobili, even translated Indian texts into European languages. Among the best known of the Portuguese writers is Duarte Barbosa, who wrote a detailed account of trade and society in south India. Later, after 1600, we find growing numbers of Dutch, English and French travellers coming to India. One of the most famous was the French jeweller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, who travelled to India at least six times. He was particularly fascinated with the trading conditions in India, and compared India to Iran and the Ottoman empire.”
Why relevant

States that Portuguese writers often recorded Indian social customs and religious practices in detail, implying travellers like Nuniz commonly described local social roles.

How to extend

Use the pattern that Portuguese travellers noted social customs to justify checking Nuniz's text for observations about women and divination practices.

THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara > 5.1 Choosing a capital > p. 184
Strength: 3/5
“It is likely that the very choice of the site of Vijayanagara was inspired by the existence of the shrines of Virupaksha and Pampadevi. In fact the Vijayanagara kings claimed to rule on behalf of the god Virupaksha. All royal orders were signed "Shri Virupaksha", usually in the Kannada script. Rulers also indicated their close links with the gods by using the title "Hindu Suratrana". This was a Sanskritisation of the Arabic term Sultan, meaning king, so it literally meant Hindu Sultan. Even as they drew on earlier traditions, the rulers of Vijayanagara innovated and developed these. Royal portrait sculpture was now displayed in temples, and the king's visits to temples were treated as important state occasions on which he was accompanied by the important nayakas of the empire.”
Why relevant

Explains the centrality of temples and explicit royal association with gods in Vijayanagara, indicating a religious environment where divination and soothsaying could be socially significant.

How to extend

Combine this with knowledge that divination often occurs in temple contexts to infer it would be plausible for travellers to record women acting as soothsayers if such roles existed.

History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 12: Bahmani and Vijayanagar Kingdoms > 12.5 Literature > p. 185
Strength: 3/5
“The Vijayanagara rulers were also great patrons of literature. The rulers encouraged Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada literatures and languages. The literary development reached its peak during the reign of Krishnadeva Raya. He was also a great patron of art and literature, and was known as 'Andhra Bhoja'. Sayana, the great Sanskrit scholar of this period, wrote commentaries on the Vedas. These commentaries are considered as standard commentaries even today. He was a minister of Harihara II. Madhavacharya was a well-known Sanskrit scholar who was intimately connected with Vijayanagar royal family. Gangadevi, wife of Kampana, son of Bukka, deserves a preeminent place among the writers of the age.”
Why relevant

Notes that women like Gangadevi participated in literary and religious life, showing women could hold recognized intellectual/religious roles in Vijayanagara society.

How to extend

Extend this to hypothesize women might also have held other religious or ritual roles (including soothsaying), and then check Nuniz's account for confirmation or refutation.

Pattern takeaway: UPSC has moved from asking 'Which king ruled when?' to 'What did the primary source text say about society?'. They are testing your depth of reading regarding social history through the eyes of foreign chroniclers.
How you should have studied
  1. [THE VERDICT]: Sitter for TN Board readers; Bouncer for NCERT purists. Source: Tamil Nadu Class 11 History, Chapter 12.
  2. [THE CONCEPTUAL TRIGGER]: Medieval History > Vijayanagara Empire > Socio-Cultural Conditions > Position of Women.
  3. [THE HORIZONTAL EXPANSION]: Map the Traveler to the Unique Observation: (1) Abdur Razzak: 7 lines of fortification. (2) Domingo Paes: Compared Hampi to Rome; detailed the Mahanavami Dibba. (3) Duarte Barbosa: Detailed the horse trade and prevalence of Sati. (4) Nicolo Conti: Mentioned slavery and polygamy. (5) Nuniz: Detailed the history of the dynasty and women in royal service (wrestlers, accountants).
  4. [THE STRATEGIC METACOGNITION]: Do not just memorize 'Who visited when'. You must memorize 'Who observed what'. Create a matrix of [Traveler] x [Social Observation (Women/Slavery/Forts/Trade)].
Concept hooks from this question
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S1
👉 Foreign travellers as primary textual sources
💡 The insight

Portuguese travellers such as Fernao Nuniz are textual witnesses used to reconstruct urban life in Vijayanagara.

High-yield for UPSC: knowing which historians and travelers provide information helps answer historiography and source-based questions. This concept connects to themes on methodology, corroboration with inscriptions and archaeological data, and critical analysis of sources.

📚 Reading List :
  • 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
🔗 Anchor: "According to Portuguese writer Nuniz, were women in the Vijayanagara Empire expe..."
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S1
👉 Vijayanagara bazaar and urban economy
💡 The insight

Nuniz describes markets overflowing with fruits, meats and diverse goods, highlighting the city’s commercial prosperity.

Important for questions on economic life and urbanization; helps link trade, market organization and social life in essay and polity questions. It is reusable for questions on urban centres, commerce, and material culture in medieval India.

📚 Reading List :
  • THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara > The bazaar > p. 191
  • Exploring Society:India and Beyond ,Social Science-Class VII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 12: Understanding Markets > The Glorious Hampi Bazaar, Karnataka > p. 250
🔗 Anchor: "According to Portuguese writer Nuniz, were women in the Vijayanagara Empire expe..."
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S1
👉 Scope and limits of traveller observations
💡 The insight

Travellers like Nuniz tend to record conspicuous public features (markets, goods) rather than detailed private social practices such as women’s expertise in wrestling.

Crucial for source-criticism questions: enables candidates to evaluate reliability and representativeness of accounts, compare with epigraphic/archaeological records, and avoid overgeneralisation in answers.

📚 Reading List :
  • 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
  • THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara > The bazaar > p. 191
🔗 Anchor: "According to Portuguese writer Nuniz, were women in the Vijayanagara Empire expe..."
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S2
👉 Foreign travellers as primary historical sources
💡 The insight

Foreign travellers produced detailed, contemporaneous descriptions of Vijayanagara's urban life and institutions.

High-yield for UPSC because evaluation of historical reliability and cross-checking of foreign and indigenous sources is frequently tested; it links to historiography, source criticism, and reconstruction of socio-economic life in medieval India. Mastering this enables answers on methodology, comparative source use, and judging biases in traveller accounts.

📚 Reading List :
  • 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
🔗 Anchor: "According to Portuguese writer Nuniz, were women in the Vijayanagara Empire expe..."
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S2
👉 Vijayanagara urban economy and the bazaar
💡 The insight

Vijayanagara had large, well-stocked markets with abundant foodstuffs and diverse commodities.

Important for questions on urbanisation, trade and economic life in medieval South India; connects to topics on internal trade networks, market organisation, and social consumption patterns. Understanding this helps answer questions on urban prosperity, social structure, and economic causes of political power.

📚 Reading List :
  • THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara > The bazaar > p. 191
  • 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
🔗 Anchor: "According to Portuguese writer Nuniz, were women in the Vijayanagara Empire expe..."
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S2
👉 Royal patronage of literature and scholarship
💡 The insight

Vijayanagara rulers patronised Sanskrit, Telugu and Kannada literatures and supported prominent scholars and poets.

Crucial for sections on cultural history and state-society relations; links to questions on temple-centered cultural production, language politics, and the role of courts in literary growth. Mastering this aids in essays and mains answers on cultural renaissance and courtly patronage.

📚 Reading List :
  • History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 12: Bahmani and Vijayanagar Kingdoms > 12.5 Literature > p. 185
  • Exploring Society:India and Beyond ,Social Science, Class VIII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 2: Reshaping India’s Political Map > Krishnadevaraya > p. 34
🔗 Anchor: "According to Portuguese writer Nuniz, were women in the Vijayanagara Empire expe..."
📌 Adjacent topic to master
S3
👉 Traveller accounts as primary historical sources
💡 The insight

Portuguese travellers such as Nuniz provided descriptive narratives of Vijayanagara's urban life and social customs.

UPSC aspirants must evaluate traveller narratives for content, perspective and bias; this skill is high-yield for source-based questions and historiography essays. Mastery helps in comparing oral/inscriptional records with foreign observations and in answering questions on reliability and reconstruction of social history.

📚 Reading List :
  • 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
  • THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara > The bazaar > p. 191
🔗 Anchor: "According to Portuguese writer Nuniz, were women in the Vijayanagara Empire expe..."
🌑 The Hidden Trap

Since Nuniz (16th century) is tested on women, look out for **Domingo Paes** (also Portuguese, 16th century). He famously described the King (Krishnadevaraya) as 'gallant and perfect in all things' but noted he was 'subject to sudden fits of rage'. He also gives the most detailed account of the **Mahanavami Dibba** festivals.

⚡ Elimination Cheat Code

The 'Royal Household Plausibility' Hack: In ancient/medieval Indian courts (Mauryan to Vijayanagara), women were often employed as bodyguards (wrestlers) and personal attendants to the King to prevent male treachery in the inner quarters. If 'Wrestling' (physical) and 'Accounting' (intellectual) are options, the list is likely describing the *entire* female staff of the palace. In such 'List of Skills' questions regarding women in history, 'All of the above' is historically the highest probability outcome unless an option is anachronistic (e.g., 'Rocketry').

🔗 Mains Connection

Mains GS1 (Indian Society/History): Use this fact to argue against the stereotype that medieval Indian women were confined solely to domesticity. The Vijayanagara state employed women in **security (wrestling)** and **administration (accounting)**, showing a complex gender division of labor in the royal court.

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SIMILAR QUESTIONS

CDS-II · 2010 · Q50 Relevance score: -2.24

Consider the following statements about Vijayanagara Empire : 1. Vijayanagar was noted for its markets dealing in spices, textiles and precious stones. 2. Krishnadeva Raya’s rule was characterised by the strain within the imperial structure. 3.The amara-nayakas were military commanders who were given territories to govern by the Rayas. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

CDS-I · 2016 · Q92 Relevance score: -2.92

Which of the following statements about the Vijayanagara Empire is / are true? 1. The kings claimed to rule on behalf of the God Virupaksha 2. Rulers used the title “Hindu Suratrana” to indicate their close links with Gods 3. All royal orders were signed in Kannada, Sanskrit and Tamil 4. Royal portrait sculpture was now displayed in temples Select the correct answer using the code given below :

CDS-I · 2015 · Q115 Relevance score: -3.15

Which empire did Niccolo de Conti, Abdur Razzaq, Afanasy Nikitin and Fernao Nuniz visit ?