Because before it fell it had passed its torch on to the next Emperor- Emperor Akbar, Emperor for Hindus and Muslims alike, and the Hindu Royal courts of his allies the Rajputs, especially of Amer (Amber) and Jodhpur, Bundi and Kota, in whose courts and beautiful cities everything that makes Vijayanagar great and beautiful flourished even as it had in Vijayanagar itself!
Vijayanagar did not fall- because it had already passed the torch to Emperor Akbar and his Rajput allies- Rajput allies that were great and unfallen when the Industrial British came in to Rajasthan well into the 19th Century!
The heirs in spirit to the Rajputs now share the leadership in India's democracy with Akbar's descendents, where the light of Vijayanagar shines as brightly as ever as it is currently* in the process of being reborn!
God loves you! I will cover that part of India's story in a book one day!
Sincerely,
David S. Annderson
*It is early 2023
P.S. The Rajputs were not just some little states off to the side! The Rajputs were great among the leaders of the Mughal Empire, one Rajput was far a while Governor of about a third of the Empire! Emperors Jahangir and Shah Jehan were their allies and even Emperor Aurangzeb needed them for a while. In fact, Emperor Jahangir and Emperor Shah Jehan were both sons of Rajput mothers themselves! (Shah Jehan was 3/4 Rajput by blood and honored his mother and grandmother like any good Muslim!) While the cities of Rajasthan were a great crossroads- the shortest, easiest route from Agra, Delhi and their part of the rich Ganges valley to the nearest seaports on the Indian ocean! Amer, its successor Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, and the like were (and still are!) a great crossroads in the heart of India!