Vijayanagara Administration (Nayankara System)

At a Glance

• King High concept of kingship; advised by a council
• Units Rajya or mandalam, nadu, sthala, grama
• Governors Princes first, later nobles and vassals
• Land grant Amaram to military chiefs
• Chiefs Nayaks or palaiyagars
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Medieval History: Vijayanagara Empire

Where Does It Fit?

This is the fourth topic of the category on the Vijayanagara Empire. The previous topic covered Krishna Deva Raya, whose administrative reforms tried to curb the nayaks, and this topic explains the system itself. The next topic covers social and cultural life. Previous topic: Krishnadevaraya and the Tuluva Dynasty.

What Was the Idea of Kingship?

In short: Vijayanagara administration was monarchical, advised by a council of great nobles, with strong provincial governors and military chiefs holding land for service.

The concept of kingship among the Vijayanagara rulers was high. In his book on polity, Krishna Deva Raya advised the king to protect the good and punish the wicked with great care and without neglecting anything he saw or heard, and to levy taxes from his people moderately. The king was advised by a council of ministers made up of the great nobles of the kingdom.

How Was the Empire Divided?

The Chola traditions of village self-government were considerably weakened under Vijayanagara rule. The growth of hereditary nayakships tended to curb village freedom and initiative.

How Powerful Were the Provincial Governors?

The governors of provinces were royal princes at first, and later persons from vassal ruling families and nobles were also appointed. They had a large measure of autonomy: they held their own courts, appointed their own officers and maintained their own armies. They could issue their own coins, though only of small denominations. There was no fixed term for a governor, which depended on his ability and strength. A governor could impose new taxes or remit old ones, and each paid a fixed contribution in men and money to the centre. It has been estimated that while the kingdom’s income was 12,000,000 parados, the central government got only half of it. Many areas were held by subordinate rulers who had been defeated in war but whose kingdoms were restored to them.

What Was the Nayankara System?

In the large centrally controlled area, the king granted amaram, which was territory with a fixed revenue, to military chiefs. These chiefs, called palaiyagars (palegars) or nayaks, had to maintain a fixed number of foot soldiers, horses and elephants for the state. They also had to pay a sum of money to the central exchequer. They formed a very powerful section and were sometimes hard for the government to control.

Krishna Deva Raya tried to curb the nayaks by ousting them from the Tungabhadra doab and administering it directly. These internal weaknesses contributed to the defeat at Bannihatti and the later breakup, after which many nayaks, such as those of Tanjore and Madurai, became independent.

What Taxes Did the State Collect?

The share of produce the peasants paid is not well known. An inscription gives rates varying with crop, soil and irrigation: one-third of the produce of kuruvai rice in winter, one-fourth of sesame, ragi and horsegram, and one-sixth of millet and other dry-land crops. There were also property taxes, a tax on the sale of produce, profession taxes, a military contribution in distress and a marriage tax. The traveller Nikitin remarked that the land was overstocked with people, that those in the country were miserable and that the nobles were very rich.

As an analytical point, the nayankara system was a military and revenue arrangement of the kind historians describe as feudal in other settings, though in this empire its form stayed tied to the Raya’s grants. It allowed a large cavalry and standing army, which made Vijayanagara more centralised than earlier southern Hindu kingdoms, but it depended on a strong king.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Core concept Nayankara and amaram are frequent Prelims terms
• Contrast with the Cholas Shows the decline of village self-government
• Fall of the empire Explains part of the 1565 collapse

What Came Next?

The next topic covers social and cultural life under the Vijayanagara Empire. Next topic: Social and Cultural Life Under the Vijayanagara Empire.

Key People and Terms

• Amaram Land with fixed revenue held by a nayak
• Nayak or palaiyagar Military chief
• Mandalam Province
• Sthala Sub-district
• Parado Coin unit
• Kuruvai A type of rice

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions on the nayankara system ask about its strengths and risks. These points add depth.

• Strength A large army without salaries
• Risk Hereditary chiefs and half the income lost
• Comparison With the iqta and the later Mughal mansab