During this period, palaces, temples, huge halls (mahamantapa), forts, towers, public buildings, dams, tanks and canals were constructed.
South Indian art and architecture attained a new fullness.
The Vijayanagar rulers produced a new style of architecture called as Dravida style.
The chief characteristics of the Vijayanagara architecture were the construction of tall Raya Gopurams or gateways and the Kalyanamandapam.
The sculptures on the pillars were carved with distinctive features.
The horse was the most common animal to be depicted on the pillars.
Large mandapams contain one hundred pillars as well as one thousand pillars in some big temples.
Fine examples of kalyana mandapa can be seen at Vellore as also in the Varadharajaswami and Ekamparanatha temples at Kanchipuram and in the Jambukesvara temple at Thiruchirapalli.
During the period of the Vijayanagar kings, temples were built in Hampi, Shringeri, Tirupati, Kalahasti, Nandi, Kolar, Srishaila, etc.
New elements were introduced in the temple architecture.
In addition to the main shrine, a smaller temple was built in the north-west called Amma Shrine where the Lord or main diety’s consort resided.
This practice, which began in the late Chola period now became the rule.
The palace of the king was the most conspicuous building in the city.
Other features included the towering gateways called gopurams and are a unique feature of south Indian temples, particularly those built by the Vijayanagar rulers.
The Raya Gopurams at Thiruvannanmalai and Chidambaram speak the glorious epoch of Vijayanagar.
They were continued by the Nayak rulers in the later period.
The finest temples of Vijayanagara are in Hampi, which has been designated as a World Heritage City.
Their capital city, Vijayanagar, stood on the south bank of river Tungabhadra.
After the battle of Talikota (1565 CE) this splendid city fell prey to the fury of the victors who wrought untold havoc and destruction.
We can form a idea of the architectural achievements of the Vijayanagara rulers and the ruins of Hampi from the accounts of foreign travelers, Nicolo Conti and Abdur Razak.
The important features of Vijayanagara style of temple architecture are monolithic pillars, ornate bracelets and decoration on the exterior side of the walls.
Krishnadeva Raya was a great builder.
He founded a town Nagalapura (near Vijayanagar), in memory of his mother, Nagamba and built tanks, gopurams and temples in various parts of empire.
The most famous among these temples are the Vittalaswamy temple and Virupaksha temples.
The famous Hazara temple, built during the reign of Krishnadeva Raya, is, as remarked by Longhurst, “one of the most perfect specimens of Hindu temple architecture in existence”.
The Vittalaswamy temple is also a fine example of Vijayanagar style.
In the opinion of Fergusson, it “shows the extreme limit in florid magnificence to which the style advanced”.
The Vittalswamy temple with its saptaswara musical pillars and the Stone Chariot are a few architectural wonders.
Paintings at the Virabhadra temple and Lepakshi temple show the excellence of Vijayanagar painters.
The Vijayanagar rulers inscribed the stories of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata on the walls of the various temples.
The Vijayanagar kings patronized fine arts like music, dance, drama and yakshagana.
Artists enjoyed great respect in the palace and temples.
The life size portrait statues of the Narasimha and of Krishnadevaraya and his two queens are fine examples of Vijayanagara art.
Painting as an art found its expression on the walls of the temples of the Vijayanagar Empire.
The wall paintings such as Dasavathara and Girijakalyanam in the Virupaksha temple are beautiful specimens of art.
