The rulers of Vijayanagara Empire took the administration had pursued the realms of Hoysala, Kakatiya and Pandya while adopting certain customs of the Sultanate of Delhi. The king was the supreme authority, but he attended a council of ministers (pradhana) with a valid or Prime Minister at the head (mahapradhana). Other government positions large enough to be carved in stone were the Secretary of State (karyakartha or stripe-swami) and the imperial officers (adhikari). All ministers and senior officials, to qualify for the post, should demonstrate experience in military tactics. In a secretariat attached to the royal palace was used to write and other officials who organized the bureaucracy of the empire, the press and laws were signed with wax seal with the emblem of the king. At the lowest level, were accountants (karanikas or Karnam) and palace guards (kavalu), supervised by wealthy feudal landlords (Gouda). The palace administration was divided into 72 departments (niyogas) in which employed a large number of women elected by their youth and beauty (some foreign or captured as spoils of war), which had previously been trained in administrative tasks simple and noble service, either as courtesans or concubines.
The empire was divided into five provinces (rajya or 'kingdoms'), each under control of a supreme commander (danda-danda-nayaka or natha) and administered by a governor, usually belonging to the royal family, which used the language streamline local government. A rajya was divided into regions (visahaya vente or Kottam) and those in counties (or sime nadu), which in turn are subdivided into municipalities (Kampana or Sthala). The noble families manage, and inherit their own territories and paid tribute to the emperor, although some places like Keladi or Madurai , were under direct supervision of a commander.
On the battlefield, the command was held by the real commanders. Rarely imperial strategy based on large-scale invasions, the usual technique was to develop small attacks staged in which they attacked and destroyed the forts one by one. The empire was one of the first Indian kingdoms that used long-range artillery operated by foreign troops (from which it was said that the best came from what is now Turkmenistan ). There were two kinds of soldiers: the that formed the Royal Guard, recruited directly by the rule, and those who were part of the ranks in the service of every noble.
The army of the King Krishnadevaraya came to be composed of 100,000 soldiers, 20,000 horsemen and 900 war elephants . It was only a fraction of the military, we know that at times came to be composed of more than two million people and an army, as evidenced by the use of the term navigadaprabhu (Admiral supreme). The cams were suffered equally by all social classes, but the landowners were also required to pay additional taxes. The infantry consisted of archers and musketeers protected in robes padded, armor-clad soldiers armed with swords and daggers, and men equipped with shields so large that they needed no additional protection. Horses and elephants were heavily protected by full metal armor, and carried knives strapped to elephant tusks to cause maximum damage.
The capital depended entirely on an artificial system of water distribution and storage, and therefore have sought to ensure the provision of an entire year. The remains of this system represent an opportunity for historians to know the methods of distribution of surface water (rivers and lakes) of the time then in a semi . The inscriptions and the stories of those who visited the region describe the how they erected huge tanks. The excavations have uncovered the remains of an advanced distribution system that served only to actual units and the main temples, suggesting that it was used exclusively by royalty and the most important ceremonies, with sophisticated channels that served as the force of gravity and made use of siphons to carry water through pipes . The only structures that indicate a possible public use of the system are large tanks in water was stored during the monsoon season in summer and dried (except in cases where the tank was connected to springs or underground streams). In more fertile regions, near the river Tungabhadra , channels were dug to divert the river to pools . These pools have locks that are opened and closed to distribute the water flow. In other regions, management promoted the creation of wells. Large reservoirs in the capital were supported with money from the royal coffers, while the smaller containers were borne by nobles and burghers who sought social recognition.