History • Medieval IndiaHard

Consider the following assertions regarding the Vijayanagara Empire's administrative interaction with Tamil regions: Assertion (A): The Vijayanagara emperors appointed military governors known as Nayakas over Tamil-speaking provinces, who subsequently established semi-autonomous principalities in Madurai, Thanjavur, and Gingee following the empire's decline. Reason (R): The Nayankara system was a feudal military tenure where military commanders received land and revenue assignments in exchange for maintaining a stipulated contingent of troops for the imperial sovereign. Select the correct option:

A. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)✓ Correct Answer

B. Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)

C. (A) is true but (R) is false

D. (A) is false but (R) is true

💡 Solution & Explanation

Both assertion and reason are correct and logically connected. The Nayankara administrative system instituted by Vijayanagara rulers delegated military and revenue powers to provincial chiefs termed Nayakas, who later consolidated independent rule in southern Tamil territories when central authority weakened after the Battle of Talikota. This decentralized structure profoundly shaped the political landscape of medieval Tamil Nadu.

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