of the Madras Archaeological Survey, in an article published in the
MADRAS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE MAGAZINE for December 1886, points out that
the fact of mortar having been used in its construction throws a doubt
upon its being as old as its type of architecture would otherwise
make it appear. It is quite possible, however, that the shrine may
have been used by a succession of recluses, the last of whom was the
great teacher Madhava. If we stand on that rock and imagine all the
great ruins of the city visible from thence, the palaces and temples,
the statues and towers and walls, to be swept out of existence, we
have around us nothing but Nature in one of her wildest moods -- lofty
hills near and far, formed almost entirely of huge tumbled boulders
of granite, but with trees and grass on all the low ground. It was a
lonely spot, separated by the river from the mere inhabited country
on the farther side, where dwelt the chiefs of Anegundi, and was
just such as would have been chosen for their abode by the ascetics
of former days, who loved to dwell in solitude and isolation amid
scenes of grandeur and beauty.

We shall, however, in all probability never know whether this hermit,
whose actual existence at the time is attested by every tradition
regarding the origin of Vijayanagar, was really the great Madhava or
another less celebrated sage, on whom by a confusion of ideas his
name has been foisted. Some say that Madhavacharya lived entirely
at Sringeri.

There are a number of other traditions relating to the birth of the
city and empire of Vijayanagar.

One has it that two brothers named Bukka and Harihara, who had been
in the service of the king of Warangal at the time of the destruction