The dry interior districts of northern Karnataka that supported the Vijayanagara capital posed special challenges to agricultural production; the success of the city depended on meeting these challenges. A diverse repertoire of agricultural strategies was practiced by Vijayanagara food producers; in particular, a process which Kathleen Morrison has termed “agricultural intensification.” This was crucial both the initial founding of the city and its dramatic expansion in the first half of the 16th century. A key factor in this process of intensification was the control of water.

One of the primary concerns of the Vijayanagara kings was to attract sufficient population to work the land, pay taxes, and defend the scarce resources against marauders. To entice and sustain a population of sufficient size and ability, best use had to be made of the scant water available for agricultural and domestic use. There were also significant religious and ritual needs to be provided for: traditional Hindu culture has always been inextricably bound up with water and the necessity for ritual purification. The key to increasing economic potential was seen to be the optimum utilization of resources.

Most important among these resources was water. From earliest times the Vijayanagara kings were concerned to construct and operate effective and reliable water supply systems to satisfy the metropolitan area of Vijayanagara. Seeking to promote the appearance of a strong city state with powerful leaders, the kings exploited the hydrological environment to its maximum advantage, irrigating agricultural land inside the city, directing water into urban areas for domestic use, and building an impressive system of baths and channels to service the Royal Centre. At a larger scale several instances of interlinked reservoirs and canals were also created. The most elaborate of these involved channels directing water into the Daroji tank, 30 kilometres east of Hospet. In this and similar projects of the era, the Vijayanagara kings showed their mastery of water control to provide for the many and varied needs of the population, both urban and agricultural.

For documentation and analysis of water control throughout the city, see Davison-Jenkins 1997, Irrigation and Water Supply Systems of Vijayanagara, and Morrison 2009, Daroji Valley: Landscape History, Place, and the Making of a Dryland Reservoir System in Project Publications.