Ritual kinship was the hallmark of Vijayanagar rule. Vijayanagar rulers claimed to have ruled on behalf of which one among the following shrines?

Ritual kinship and divine legitimacy were central to the Vijayanagara polity. The rulers of the Vijayanagara Empire claimed to rule as agents or representatives on behalf of the god Virupaksha, who was the patron deity of the kingdom [1]. This divine association was so significant that all royal orders and official documents were signed with the name "Shri Virupaksha," typically written in the Kannada script [1]. The choice of the capital's site at Hampi was likely influenced by the pre-existing sacred shrines of Virupaksha and Pampadevi [1]. To further solidify their religious and political authority, rulers adopted titles like "Hindu Suratrana" (Hindu Sultan) and participated in temple rituals as major state occasions [1]. While they patronized other deities like Vitthala and made donations to temples in Tirupati and Srisailam, the formal claim of ruling on behalf of a shrine specifically applied to Virupaksha [3].

Sources

1. [1] THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara > 5.1 Choosing a capital > p. 184
2. [2] History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 12: Bahmani and Vijayanagar Kingdoms > Krishnadevaraya (1509-29) > p. 182
3. [3] THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara > An Imperial Capital Vijayanagara (c. fourteenth to sixteenth century) > p. 188