Which of the following statements about Amaranayakas of Vijayanagara are correct? 1. The Amaranayakas were military commanders who were given territories to govern by the Raya. 2. In lieu of their service and also to maintain their contingents, they were paid in cash. 3. They maintained stipulated contingents and elephants. 4. They used to send tribute to the king annually and personally appeared in the royal court with gifts to express their loyalty. Select the correct answer using the code given below.

The Amaranayaka system was a significant political innovation of the Vijayanagara Empire. Statement 1 is correct as Amaranayakas were military commanders assigned territories (amaram) to govern by the Raya [1]. Statement 3 is correct because they were required to maintain stipulated contingents of horses and elephants to provide the king with an effective fighting force [3]. Statement 4 is correct as they sent annual tribute to the king and personally appeared in the royal court with gifts to demonstrate loyalty [3]. Statement 2 is incorrect because Amaranayakas were not paid in cash; instead, they were granted land territories and retained a portion of the revenue collected from peasants, craftspersons, and traders for their personal use and the maintenance of their military contingents [1].

Sources

1. [1] THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 7: An Imperial Capital: Vijayanagara > 2.3 The rayas and the nayakas > p. 175
2. [3] https://ykcollege.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/ADMINSTRATION-OF-VIAJANAGAR-converted.pdf