Vijayanagar means 'City of Victory' in Hindi. The city of Vijayanagar was founded in 1336 and in time it became the capital of the greatest empire in southern India.

The empire led a religious and political revival of  Hinduism and provided a barrier against invasion by the Moslem sultanates of the north. Sanskrit scripture served as a unifying force, and regional literature thrived. The country flourished in unexampled peace and prosperity until 1565 when the Hindus were defeated by the Moslems at the battle of  Talikota.

The city of Vijayanagar was destroy-
ed and internal dissensions led to the final collapse of the empire in 1614.