Explanation:

• Option (d) is correct: Vijayanagara forces were defeated at the Battle of Talikota (1565) by the combined armies of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, and Golconda.
• Battle of Talikota (1565) After the death of Krishnadeva Raya in 1529, his successors were troubled by rebellious nayakas or military chiefs.
• By 1542, the control at the centre had shifted to another ruling lineage, that of the Aravidu dynasty of Vijayanagar Empire, which remained in power till the end of the seventeenth century.
• During this period, the military ambitions of the rulers of Vijayanagara as well as those of the Deccan Sultanates resulted in shifting alignments.
• Eventually, this led to an alliance of the Sultanates against Vijayanagara.
• In 1565, Rama Raya, the chief minister of Vijayanagara, led the army into battle at Rakshasi-Tangadi (also known as Battle of Talikota), where his forces were routed by the combined armies of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, and Golconda.
• The Battle of Talikota (or Tellikota) (January 26, 1565) constituted a watershed battle fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Deccan sultanates, resulting in a rout of Vijayanagara, ending the last great Hindu kingdom in South India.
• Talikota situates in northern Karnataka, about 80 km to the southeast of the city of Bijapur.
• On January 26, 1565, the Deccan Sultanates of Ahmednagar, Berar, Bidar, Bijapur, and Golconda formed a grand alliance to met the Vijayanagara army.
• They met at Talikota situated on the alluvial banks of the Krishna River, in present day Karnataka state, between the two villages Rakkasa and Tangadi.
• The battle represented one of the few times in medieval Indian history that factions employed a joint strategy.