10. Vijayanagara

10.毗奢耶那伽羅王朝（Vijayanagara）“勝利城”

The city of Vijayanagara (“the city of victory”), located in Southern India, was the capital of an empire by the same name. This empire held power in the 14th to 17th centuries and covered much of the Indian subcontinent. Its existence is due to the power vacuum left behind by the Delhi Sultans, who wreaked havoc and then abandoned the region. Using the threat of encroaching Muslims as an incentive to bring all the Hindu people together, the first Vijayanagaran rulers managed to create an empire capable of holding rival Sultanates in check.

毗奢耶那伽羅城（“勝利城”），坐落于印度南部，是毗奢耶那伽羅王朝的首都。14世紀到17世紀，毗奢耶那伽羅王朝執政，其權利延伸到印度次大陸大部分地區。此王朝的建立，源于德里蘇丹國（the Delhi Sultans）留下的權力真空期。德里蘇丹國的統治造成浩劫后，君主主動放棄此領域統治權。而毗奢耶那伽羅王朝首位統治者，為了制約蘇丹國，不惜以殘害穆斯林為代價，來團結所有印度教信徒。

The capital of the empire, as described by Dr. George Michell, “Was perhaps the most complete example of an imperial city… situated in one of the most extraordinary landscapes to be found in Asia, not just in India…” A granitic landscape through which the Tungabhadra River flows allowed the people to build irrigation canals, while at the same time offering natural protection from surprise invasions. The region also holds tremendous religious importance for the locals.

喬治·米歇爾博士筆下的王朝首都是這樣的，“毗奢耶那伽羅城可能是保存最完整的古都……地理位置得天獨厚——在印度如此，在整個亞洲也如此……”棟格珀德拉河(Tungabhadra）河水流經堅硬的花崗巖大地，流域兩岸人民修建起運河，不僅用于灌溉，還具有防護自然災害功能。在該區域，宗教信仰對當地人民來說至關重要。

Eyewitness accounts, provided to us by Persian and European visitors, paint a picture of life in Vijayanagara as well as the magnificence of the local Maha Navami festival. Among the lavish palaces and temples, archeologists have found the remnants of army garrisons and elephant stables. With the major defeat of its army in 1565 AD at the hands of the Muslims, the city was abandoned and burned to the ground. Unlike most Indian settlements, Vijayanagara was never repopulated, despite multiple attempts to do so.

根據波斯和歐洲游客描述，我們畫了一幅毗奢耶那伽羅民生圖，和當地節日（ Maha Navami festival ）盛況圖。在這些奢華的宮殿和寺廟中，考古學家已經發掘出了軍隊駐守要塞遺物和大象棚。公元1565年，毗奢耶那伽羅王朝遭遇滑鐵盧，兵敗穆斯林軍，此城被付諸一炬。毗奢耶那伽羅城和印度其他城市不同，多次嘗試振興，卻均以失敗告終，逐漸變為荒城一個。