Social Complexity: The capitol city of Vijayanagara, the greatest Hindu empire of medieval India, was establishing at a long-standing pilgrimage center. Parts of its political power and prestige came from association with that pilgrimage landscape and its marked symbols.

One of the most accurate north-south lines of the ancient world was established by the Vijayanagara kings. The line passed through a ceremonial gateway in the Royal Center (G) across an artificial lake which may have been symbolic of the cosmic ocean (L) through the summit of Matanga hill (M), and across the north flowing Tungabhadra river (T) which mimics the north flowing Ganga at Varanasi.