A War Expedition or a Pilgrimage? Acyutarāya’s Southern Campaign as Depicted in the Acyutarāyābhyudaya

Abstract

A visit to a temple before a battle, or visiting a holy place on the way to a military campaign, as well as paying homage to a god and offering rich gifts after a victorious battle are well attested in literature and inscriptions. However, Vijayanagara ruler Acyutarāya’s southern campaign depicted by the poet Rājanātha Ḍiṇḍima, as will be shown further in the paper, is in fact a pilgrimage route of a pious Hindu. Thus, while accompanying the monarch on his war expedition, instead of witnessing bloody battles, the reader becomes acquainted with sacred geography of South India.

Keywords

• Vijayanagara
• Acyutarāya
• pilgrimage
• sacred geography of South India
• kings and poets