Vijayanagar [Sanskrit,=city of victory], ruined city, SE India. It was the capital (14th-16th cent.) of the Hindu Vijayanagar empire, which embraced all India S of the Kistna River and shielded S India from the Muslim kingdoms of the north. At its height during the reign (c.1510-c.1530) of Krishnadeva Raya, the empire had dealings with many Asian and European countries. The city of Vijayanagar, then some 60 mi (95 km) in circumference, flourished as a prosperous trade center and was noted for its artists, writers, and temples. After a crushing defeat of the Hindus at Talikota (1565) Muslim forces utterly demolished the city, and, except for a brief revival, the empire was destroyed.

Former Hindu kingdom, southern India, south of the Krishna River. Founded in 1336, it became the greatest empire of southern India and for more than two centuries served as a barrier against Muslim raiders from the north. It was an important centre of Hindu culture and Dravidian art. Its downfall began with the defeat at Talikota (1565) by a confederacy of Deccan Muslim sultans; the empire dissolved circa 1614. The kingdom's capital, Vijayanagar, was destroyed in 1565. Its ruined site is located at modern Hampi, in southeastern Karnataka.

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