RAS question
The Battle of Talikota (1565) was fought between:
Correct answer: (C) Vijayanagara and Deccan Sultanates.
The Battle of Talikota in 1565 was fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and the combined armies of the Deccan Sultanates.
Explanation
The Battle of Talikota, also known as the battle of Rakshasi-Tangadi, belongs to the decline phase of the Vijayanagara Empire. NCERT describes how, after Krishnadeva Raya's death, Vijayanagara's internal strains and the shifting alignments with the Deccan Sultanates culminated in a Sultanate alliance against Vijayanagara. In 1565, Rama Raya, the chief minister of Vijayanagara, led the army into battle at Rakshasi-Tangadi, where his forces were routed by the combined armies of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar and Golconda. Bidar was also part of the broader Deccan Sultanate alliance. The result was decisive: Vijayanagara was defeated, and the victorious armies sacked the city.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Mughal Empire is not part of the Talikota conflict; the battle was between Vijayanagara and the Deccan Sultanates.
- (B) This pairing leaves out Vijayanagara, whose army under Rama Raya was the defeated side at Talikota.
- (D) The Portuguese were not one of the fighting sides; NCERT attributes the victory to the combined armies of the Deccan Sultanates.
Concept
This tests the medieval Deccan power struggle and the decline of Vijayanagara after its conflict with the Sultanates. It recurs in RAS because Talikota is a clear marker event linking political alliances, military defeat and the fate of a major south Indian empire.