📍 🇮🇳 Beauties and modernity of Vitthala Temple

"Autumn gifted to the ponds chilla seeds by name Agastya!
When waves of water carried them up to the steps of the ponds,
And ground those seeds there, the water became clear!
As all the waves of water in the ponds on the earth
Carried the pollen grains of lotuses and water lilies,
It appeared as if lotus-eyed women-like autumn,
Desiring to give the sweetness of nectar to the water
Sprinkled golden yellowish powder in its surface
While boiling it to remove the impurities!
The water drops on the lotus leaves
And the shadows of the sky on the water around leaves
Appeared to compete with each other in their lightness!"

Thus, Krishna Deva Raya (r. 1509 to 1529 CE), the King of Viajayanagara, described the beauties of his own kingdom. The territory he controlled modernized quickly under his reign: tanks harvested and conserved rain beside each temple and from the mountains around, with such efficiency that people never went thirsty and the town bloomed in all seasons.

In the same 16th century, foreign travelers multiplied in India and witnessed the strength of Deva Raya’s administration. Most praised the system and the reception. Barely a few decades before the British conquest that changed the world’s perception on India for centuries.

_____ Sources ______

>> Srinivas Sistla, Sri Krishna Deva Raya, Amuktamalyada, 2010