UPSC Prelims 2023 Question:

Who among the following rulers of the Vijayanagara Empire constructed a large dam across Tungabhadra River and a canal-cum-aqueduct several kilometers long from the river to the capital city?

Learn more about the achievements of Deva Raya I as a ruler in the given explanation below.

Explanation:

• Deva Raya I constructed a dam across the Tungabhadra so that he could bring the canals into the city to relieve the shortage of water. It irrigated the neighbouring fields also, for we are told that the canals increased his revenues by 350,000 pardaos. He also built a dam on the river Haridra for irrigation purposes.
  
  

Ruler - Deva Raya I

• Deva Raya I was the ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1406 to 1422.
• Deva Raya I was a skilled leader known for his military abilities and support for irrigation projects in his kingdom.
• He made the Vijayanagara army more modern by improving the cavalry, hiring skilled archers from Turkey, and strengthening his archers and horses from Arabia and Persia. 
• An Italian traveler named Nicolo Conti, who visited Vijayanagara around 1420, greatly admired Deva Raya I.
• Deva Raya I also promoted Kannada literature and architecture.
• He had a famous Jain poet named Madhura in his court, who had also served his father, King Harihara II.
• He wrote a book in Kannada about the life of the fifteenth Jain Tirthankar, Dharmanatha, and a poem praising Gommateshvara of Shravanabelagola.
• During his rule, the well-known Hazare Rama temple was constructed, showcasing excellent Deccan architecture.
• Bhima Devi, one of Deva Raya's queens, was a student of Jain guru Abhinava Charukirti Panditacharya. She was devoted to Shantinatha, the 16th Jain tirthankara, and built a temple in Mangayi Basti in Shravanabelagola.
  
  

Therefore, option (1) is the correct answer.

Subject: History|Vijayanagara Empire