ABSTRACT
The site's religious associations, together with its naturally defensive aspects, drew the Sangama brothers to found Vijayanagara, "the City of Victory," on the southern banks of the Tungabhadra River in approximately 1336. The natural defenses were provided by the river, which is almost unfordable, and the massive granite boulders that are strewn across the hilly landscape. The layout of fortifications built there incorporated the huge boulders and line of the hills into the defensive scheme. Construction of the new city, which stood opposite the older fortress of Anegondi on the northern bank of the river, was complete by 1343. Records indicate that the Sangama brothers were directed to the site by their guru Vidyāranya (some believe the city was named for the latter personage). The meteoric rise of their dynasty can to some extent be attributed to the Muslim invasions that had left the older Hindu kingdoms in disarray. Vijayanagara was to become the setting for a wealthy, cultured, and cosmopol itan society, where a variety of peoples were welcome, and the center of an empire that encompassed most of the southern half of the subcontinent.
