RAS question
The Vijayanagara Empire was founded by:
Correct answer: (D) Harihara and Bukka.
The Vijayanagara Empire was founded in 1336 by the brothers Harihara and Bukka.
Explanation
Harihara and Bukka are the founders of the Vijayanagara Empire. The date is 1336 CE, with the standard exam details: they were inspired by the sage Vidyaranya, established the Sangama dynasty, and made Hampi, on the banks of the Tungabhadra, their capital. NCERT supports the core identification by stating that, according to tradition and epigraphic evidence, the two brothers Harihara and Bukka founded the Vijayanagara Empire in 1336. This is why the answer is not a later famous ruler or a later dynasty-founder: the question asks about the foundation of the empire itself, and that foundation belongs to Harihara and Bukka at the start of Vijayanagara's history.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Devaraya II was a Sangama dynasty ruler, so he belongs to the ruling history of Vijayanagara but not to its foundation.
- (B) Tirumala is associated with founding the Aravidu dynasty, the last Vijayanagara dynasty, not with founding the empire in 1336.
- (C) Krishnadevaraya was the greatest Vijayanagara ruler, but NCERT places him much later than the empire's foundation by Harihara and Bukka.
Concept
This tests the medieval Indian history theme of dynastic foundations and chronology. RAS repeats such questions because Vijayanagara connects political history, Hampi, the Sangama dynasty and south Indian state formation in one compact fact cluster.