Vijayanagara was characterised by a distinct building style. Support the statement.

The rulers of Vijayanagara were patrons of art and architecture and under their patronage, architecture flourished in the kingdom. The architects were innovative and various new features in the temple architecture of the region.

• Central shrines have always had towers to signal the presence of the temple from a great distance. But the royal gateways or Raya Gopurams were immense structures often dwarfed the towers of the central shrines. This was done to show off imperial authority.

• Another architectural feature were the mandapas or pavilions and long pillared corridors. some temples were built much earlier like the Virupaksha Temple. Krishnadeva Raya had a massive hall adorned with delicately carved pillars built in front of it to commemorate his accession to the throne.

• Rituals like marriages of deities and special programmes of music, dance, and drama were performed in the halls surrounding the temple.

• The Vitthala temple with it main deity ‘Vitthala’ who was a form of Vishnu was another architectural wonder. It had several halls and a unique shrine designed like a chariot.

• Chariot streets also started becoming a part of temple architecture around this time. These streets extended from the royal gateways to the central shrine in a straight line and was paved with stones. Pillared pavilions ran parallel to it and were utilized by merchants to set up their shops.