Home || Objective || History || Portrait Sculptures || Architecture || Arts& Social life
Coinage || Catalogue || Profile || Bibliography
Paintings
Mural painting, Veerabadhra Temple, Lepakshi.
Veeranna& Virupanna (Donor Brothers of Temple)
Mural painting, Veerabadhra Temple, Lepakshi. Maids in attendance on Parvathi
FINE ARTS & SOCIAL LIFE
Music and Dance played an important role in the cultural life of Vijayanagara. The purpose of Music and Dance is to provide pleasure and delight both to the ear and the eye. Both the folk songs and classical ones were equally popular among the masses and the classes. Likewise different styles of dancing was prevelent. "Since a visual representation of vocal music is impossible in the sculpture, contemporary music was represented in sculpture and paintings through musical instruments only." A large variety of musical instruments were used by the artists such as Veena, Venu, Mridanga and the like. During those days, atleast a modicum of knowledge, if not proficiency in performing, was considered as basic characteristic of culture. Even after five centuries the musical compositions of Purandaradasa and Annamacharya are popular and is enjoyed by thousands of Sangeeta Rasikas.
Glimpses of the festivals, amusements, social customs and religious beliefs of those medievial period show aspects of social life lead by ordinary people. Subjects were selected at random such as celebration of Holy festival, barbarous practices of Sati, religious vows of Sidi, sports like wrestling and hunting. Sathagopa Jiyar instituted a class of missionaries called Ahobala Dasaris to uplift the hill tribes. Saint Vyasatirtha (1478 - 1539), formost philosopher of Dvaita Vedanta, was, during the reign of Saluva Narasimha, the Spirtiual Advisor and Guardian Angel of the Kingdom was also the Guru of Krishna Devaraya. During 1499-1500 he installed 732 Hanuman idols in different parts of the kingdom beginning with the Yantrodharaka Hanuman at Hampi. He lived at Hampi and he passed away on 8th March 1539 and his mortal remains are entombed at Navabrindavanam.
Navabrindavana, an island in the Tungabhadra river near Hampi, where there are nine Brindavanas (tombs) of nine famous Madhva Saints including that of Vyasatirtha.