Composite Culture in Medieval South India- A Vijayanagar Experience – 14th to 17th Century CE

Composite culture is often seen in regions with a history of cultural diversity and intercultural exchange, such as trading centers, crossroads of civilizations, or areas with a history of migration and conquest. It is important to note that composite culture is not a static concept; it continues to evolve as societies and cultures interact and change over time. People of multi philosophical ideas had co-existed right from the Vedic period. At the end of Vedic times, we could notice the evolving and inclusive living of societies with Buddhist’s, Mahavir’s principles along with the Ajivikas to mention a few. With the beginning of Common Era, the principles of Christianity came into confluence and the followers of Islam also lived in the same society of south India when Islam originated. It goes without saying that the epigraphs are the primary and contemporary and more reliable source of the time and found mostly engraved on the stone walls of the temples. In this search we are lucky to have the multiple volumes of them published by The Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR), categorically volumed on language basis. The specialty of Vijayanagar period is the availability of inscriptions in multiple languages like Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu and Kannada.