Question

Defeat in the Battle of Talikota saw the downfall of which empire?
A) Ahmednagar
B) Chola
C) Vijayanagar
D) Rashtrakuta

Answer 1

Hint: In the Battle of Talikota, the Hindu ruler of Vijayanagar and the four Muslim sultans of Bijapur, Bidar, Ahmadnagar, and Golconda fought in the Deccan region of southern India. A combat took place southeast of Bijapur, in what is now northern Karnataka, on January 23, 1565.

Complete answer:
According to Hermann Kulke and Dietmar Rothermund in their study of Indian history, the Vijayanagara army was winning the war until two Muslim generals switched sides and pledged their allegiance to the Sultanates.

In view of the distinctly contradictory narratives evident throughout primary sources, reconstructing the particular specifics of the conflict and its immediate aftermath is infamously difficult. The disparity in relative military prowess is sometimes blamed for the defeat. Orientalist and nationalist historians claimed that the conflict was a collision of civilizations between Hindus and Muslims; this viewpoint has since pervaded Hindutva rhetoric.

The armies numbered in the hundreds of thousands, with massive elephant contingents. Since late December 1564, they had been congregating in the region. The Muslim artillery and the capture and execution of the reigning Hindu minister Rama Raya appear to have decided the fight. Vijayanagar, the capital city, was seized, devastated during a five-month period, and never reoccupied.

Therefore the correct answer is option ‘C’.

Note: The raja and Rama Raya's brother Tirumala left for Penukonda in 1570, where the latter stole the kingdom. The fight was essential in dismantling the Vijayanagar empire, a Telugu-speaking hegemony over Tamil and Kannada-speaking southern India. It also marked the start of the last Muslim incursion into southern India, which lasted until the end of the 18th century.