King, court, and capital : an anthology of Kannada literary sources from the Vijayanagara period
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
King, court, and capital : an anthology of Kannada literary sources from the Vijayanagara period
(Vijayanagara research project monograph series, v. 9)
Manohar : American Institute of Indian Studies, 2003
Available at 5 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
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Note
Summary: Includes translated extracts from ancient Kannada literary works
Description and Table of Contents
Description
While the art and architecture of Vijayanagara is justly celebrated, the literature of the period is relatively unknown outside southern India, due to the lack of adequate translations from Kannada, Telugu and Tamil. This work brings together for the first time in English a selection from literary sources in medieval Kannada language. The texts date from the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries and were written both at the Vijayanagara capital and various provincial outposts of the empire by the most accomplished authors and poets of the day. The texts selected for this volume conform to the literary conventions and imagery of their era and should not be considered historical chronicles like those of the foreign visitors to the capital. Even so, these translated extracts from medieval Kannada shed valuable light on the ways in which contemporary authors thought about life at the Vijayanagara capital. Among the topics that are described here are the layout of the city, its palace and markets and streets, the everyday routines of the king, his courtiers and family members, and a number of religious ceremonies, weddings, feasts and festivals.
To facilitate the reader, the translated extracts have been arranged according to topic, rather than by date or author. An appendix gives background information on the texts and their authors, as well as an index to all the extracts from a particular literary source. An extensive Kannada-English glossary is also provided.
Table of Contents
- Foreword: An Archaeological Perspective
- Preface
- Introduction: Literarary & Cultural Context
- Town & Country
- Fortified Cities
- Palaces & Temples
- Markets, Streets, Waterworks & Charitable Institutions
- Gods, Shrines & Sacred Places at Vijayanagara
- Forests, Fields & Gardens
- The Ideal Ruler in the Perfect State
- The Court
- Royal Reception & Vistis
- Private Life at Court
- Royal Family & Courtiers
- Patronage of Cults & Bestowing of Honours
- Overseas Trade & Foreign Visitors & Courts
- Administration & Politics
- Army & Warfare
- Hunting & Hunters
- Pleasure Gardens & Water Sports
- Food & Dining
- Royal Weddings
- Art & Artists
- Festivals
- Cults & Rituals
- Conception, Birth & Related Ceremonies
- Omens, Talismans, Diseases & Magic Spells
- Competitions, Sports, Games & Intellectual Pursuits.
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