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A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar; A Contribution to the History of India
by Robert Sewell
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Title:
A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar; A Contribution to the History of India
Author: Robert Sewell
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This Etext Created by Jeroen Hellingman
A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar; A Contribution to the History of India
by Robert Sewell
Preface
The two Portuguese chronicles, a translation of which into English
is now for the first time offered to the public, are contained in
a vellum-bound folio volume in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris,
amongst the manuscripts of which institution it bears the designation
"PORT. NO. 65." The volume in question consists of copies of four
original documents; the first two, written by Fernao Nuniz and Domingo
Paes, being those translated below, the last two (at the end of the
MS.) letters written from China about the year 1520 A.D. These will
probably be published in translation by Mr. Donald Ferguson in the
pages of the INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
The first pair of original papers was sent with a covering letter
by some one at Goa to some one in Europe. The names are not given,
but there is every reason for believing that the recipient was the
historian Barros in Lisbon.
Both these papers are in the same handwriting, which fact -- since
they were written by separate Portuguese merchants or travellers at
Vijayanagar in different years, one, I believe, shortly subsequent
to 1520 A.D., the latter not later than about 1536 or 1537 --
conclusively proves them to be copies of the originals, and not the
originals themselves.[2] I have inserted a facsimile of two pages of
the text, so that no doubt may remain on this point. The first portion
consists of the conclusion of the text of Fernao Nuniz; the second
of the covering letter written by the person who sent the originals
to Europe; the third of the beginning of the text of Domingo Paes.
Paes being the earlier in date (about 1520) I have given his account
of personal experiences first, and afterwards the historical summary
composed by Nuniz about the year 1536 or 1537.
I have stated that the person to whom the documents were sent from
Goa was probably the celebrated historian Barros. He is alluded to
in the covering letter in the words: "It seemed necessary to do what
your Honour desired of me," "I send both the summaries ... because
your Honour can gather what is useful to you from both;" and at the
end of the long note on "Togao Mamede," king of Delhi, quoted in my
introduction, "I kiss your Honour's hand."
Since the first DECADA of Barros was published in 1552,[3]
this argument is not unreasonable; while a comparison between the
accounts given by Nuniz and Barros of the siege and battle of Raichur
sufficiently proves that one was taken from the other. But we have
fortunately more direct evidence, for the discovery of which we have
to thank Mr. Ferguson. I have mentioned above that at the end of the
MS. volume are copies of two letters concerning China. These were
written subsequent to the year 1520 by Vasco Calvo and Christovao
Vieyra. Mr. Ferguson has pointed out to me that, in the third DECADA
(liv. IV, caps. 4, 5), after quoting some passages almost verbatim
from this chronicle of Nuniz regarding Vijayanagar, Barros writes:
"According to two letters which our people had two or three years
afterwards from these two men, Vasco Calvo, brother of Diogo Calvo,
and Christovao Vieyra, who were prisoners in Canton, etc...." He
also mentions these letters in two subsequent passages, and quotes
from them. This renders it certain that Barros saw those letters;
and since they are copied into the same volume which contains the
chronicles of Nuniz and Paes, we may be sure that Barros had the
whole before him. It is of little importance to settle the question
whether the chronicles of Nuniz and Paes were sent direct to Barros
-- whether, that is, Barros himself is the addressee of the covering
letter -- or to some other official (the "our people" of the passage
from Barros last quoted); but that Barros saw them seems certain,
and it is therefore most probable that the Paris MS. was a volume of
copies prepared for him from the originals.
* * *
These documents possess peculiar and unique value; that of Paes because
it gives us a vivid and graphic account of his personal experiences
at the great Hindu capital at the period of its highest grandeur and
magnificence -- "things which I saw and came to know" he tells us --
and that of Nuniz because it contains the traditional history of the
country gathered first-hand on the spot, and a narrative of local
and current events of the highest importance, known to him either
because he himself was present or because he received the information
from those who were so. The summaries of the well-known historians
already alluded to, though founded, as I believe, partly on these
very chronicles, have taken all the life out of them by eliminating
the personal factor, the presence of which in the originals gives
them their greatest charm. Senhor Lopes, who has published these
documents in the original Portuguese in a recent work,[4] writes in his
introduction: "Nothing that we know of in any language can compare with
them, whether for their historical importance or for the description
given of the country, and especially of the capital, its products,
customs, and the like. The Italian travellers who visited and wrote
about this country -- Nicolo di Conti, Varthema, and Federici --
are much less minute in the matter of the geography and customs of
the land, and not one of them has left us a chronicle." They are
indeed invaluable, and throw an extraordinary light on the condition
of Vijayanagar as well as on several doubtful points of history.
Thus, for instance, we have in Nuniz for the first time a definite
account of the events that led to the fall of the First Dynasty and the
establishment of the second by the usurpation of Narasimha. Previous
to the publication of these chronicles by Senhor Lopes we had nothing
to guide us in this matter, save a few vague and unsatisfactory lines
in the chronicle of the historian Firishtah.[5] Now all is made clear,
and though as yet the truth cannot be definitely determined, at least
we have an explicit and exceedingly interesting story. Paes too,
as well as Nuniz, conclusively proves to us that Krishna Deva Raya
was really the greatest of all the kings of Vijayanagar, and not the
mere puppet that Firishtah appears to consider him (Firishtah does not
mention him by name); for Paes saw him on several occasions and speaks
of him in warm and glowing terms, while Nuniz, whose narrative was
evidently firsthand, never so much as hints that his armies were led
to victory by any other general but the king himself. Nuniz also gives
us a graphic description from personal knowledge of the character of
Krishna's degenerate successor Achyuta, whose feebleness, selfishness,
cowardice, and cruelty paved the way for the final destruction of
the great empire.
By the side of these two chronicles the writings of the great European
historians seem cold and lifeless.
* * *
I have mentioned the publication of Senhor Lopes. It is to that
distinguished Arabic scholar that we owe the knowledge of the existence
of these precious documents. He it was who brought them to light
in the first instance, and to him personally I owe the fact of my
being able to translate and publish them. His introduction to the DOS
REIS DE BISNAGA is full of valuable matter. India owes him a debt of
gratitude for his services; and for myself I desire to record here
my sincere thanks for the disinterested and generous help he has so
constantly accorded to me during the last two years.
My thanks are also due to Mr. Donald Ferguson for his careful revision
of the whole of my translations.
I desire further to express my appreciation of a particular kindness
done to me by Colonel R. C. Temple, C.I.E., and lastly to acknowledge
gratefully the liberality of H.E. the Governor of Madras and the
Members of his Council, who by subsidising this work have rendered
its publication possible.
I trust that my remarks regarding the causes of the downfall of
Portuguese trade in the sixteenth century will not be misunderstood. It
is not in any spirit of criticism or comparison that I have written
those passages. History, however, is history; and it is a fact that
while the main cause of the small success which attended the efforts
of the Portuguese to establish a great and lasting commerce with India
was no doubt the loss of trade after the destruction of Vijayanagar,
there must be added to this by the impartial recorder the dislike of
the inhabitants to the violence and despotism of the Viceroys and to
the uncompromising intolerance of the Jesuit Fathers, as well as the
horror engendered in their minds by the severities of the terrible
Inquisition at Goa.
* * *
A word as to my spelling of names. I have adopted a medium course
in many cases between the crudities of former generations and the
scientific requirements of the age in which we live; the result of
which will probably be my condemnation by both parties. But to the
highly educated I would point out that this work is intended for
general reading, and that I have therefore thought it best to avoid
the use of a special font of type containing the proper diacritical
points; while to the rest I venture to present the plea that the
time has passed when Vijayanagar needs to be spelt "Beejanuggur,"
or Kondavidu "Condbeer."
Thus I have been bold enough to drop the final and essential "a"
of the name of the great city, and spell the word "Vijayanagar,"
as it is usually pronounced by the English. The name is composed
of two words, VIJAYA, "victory," and NAGARA, "city," all the "a's"
to be pronounced short, like the "u" in "sun," or the "a" in "organ."
"Narasimha" ought, no doubt, to be spelt "Nrisimha," but that in such
case the "ri" ought to have a dot under the "r" as the syllable is
really a vowel, and I have preferred the common spelling of modern
days. (Here again all three "a's" are short.)
As with the final "a" in "Vijayanagara," so with the final "u" in
such names as "Kondavidu" -- it has been dropped in order to avoid
an appearance of pedantry; and I have preferred the more common
"Rajahmundry" to the more correct "Rajamahendri," "Trichinopoly" to
"Tiruchhinapalle," and so on.
This system may not be very scientific, but I trust it will prove
not unacceptable.
* * *
The name of the capital is spelt in many different ways by the
chroniclers and travellers. The usual Portuguese spelling was
"Bisnaga;" but we have also the forms "Bicheneger" (NIKITIN),
"Bidjanagar" (ABDUR RAZZAK), "Bizenegalia" (CONTI), "Bisnagar,"
"Beejanuggur," &c.
A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Introductory remarks -- Sources of information -- Sketch of history of
Southern India down to A.D. 1336 -- A Hindu bulwark against Muhammadan
conquest -- The opening date, as given by Nuniz, wrong -- "Togao
Mamede" or Muhammad Taghlaq of Delhi -- His career and character.
In the year 1336 A.D., during the reign of Edward III. of England,
there occurred in India an event which almost instantaneously changed
the political condition of the entire south. With that date the volume
of ancient history in that tract closes and the modern begins. It is
the epoch of transition from the Old to the New.
This event was the foundation of the city and kingdom of
Vijayanagar. Prior to A.D. 1336 all Southern India had lain under
the domination of the ancient Hindu kingdoms, -- kingdoms so old
that their origin has never been traced, but which are mentioned in
Buddhist edicts rock-cut sixteen centuries earlier; the Pandiyans at
Madura, the Cholas at Tanjore, and others. When Vijayanagar sprang
into existence the past was done with for ever, and the monarchs
of the new state became lords or overlords of the territories lying
between the Dakhan and Ceylon.
There was no miracle in this. It was the natural result of the
persistent efforts made by the Muhammadans to conquer all India. When
these dreaded invaders reached the Krishna River the Hindus to their
south, stricken with terror, combined, and gathered in haste to the
new standard which alone seemed to offer some hope of protection. The
decayed old states crumbled away into nothingness, and the fighting
kings of Vijayanagar became the saviours of the south for two and a
half centuries.
And yet in the present day the very existence of this kingdom is
hardly remembered in India; while its once magnificent capital,
planted on the extreme northern border of its dominions and bearing
the proud title of the "City of Victory," has entirely disappeared
save for a few scattered ruins of buildings that were once temples
or palaces, and for the long lines of massive walls that constituted
its defences. Even the name has died out of men's minds and memories,
and the remains that mark its site are known only as the ruins lying
near the little village of Hampe.
Its rulers, however, in their day swayed the destinies of an empire
far larger than Austria, and the city is declared by a succession of
European visitors in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries to have
been marvellous for size and prosperity -- a city with which for
richness and magnificence no known western capital could compare. Its
importance is shown by the fact that almost all the struggles of the
Portuguese on the western coast were carried on for the purpose of
securing its maritime trade; and that when the empire fell in 1565,
the prosperity of Portuguese Goa fell with it never to rise again.
Our very scanty knowledge of the events that succeeded one another in
the large area dominated by the kings of Vijayanagar has been hitherto
derived partly from the scattered remarks of European travellers
and the desultory references in their writings to the politics of
the inhabitants of India; partly from the summaries compiled by
careful mediaeval historians such as Barros, Couto, and Correa, who,
though to a certain degree interested in the general condition of
the country, yet confined themselves mostly to recording the deeds
of the European colonisers for the enlightenment of their European
readers; partly from the chronicles of a few Muhammadan writers
of the period, who often wrote in fear of the displeasure of their
own lords; and partly from Hindu inscriptions recording grants of
lands to temples and religious institutions, which documents, when
viewed as state papers, seldom yield us more than a few names and
dates. The two chronicles, however, translated and printed at the
end of this volume, will be seen to throw a flood of light upon the
condition of the city of Vijayanagar early in the sixteenth century,
and upon the history of its successive dynasties; and for the rest
I have attempted, as an introduction to these chronicles, to collect
all available materials from the different authorities alluded to and
to weld them into a consecutive whole, so as to form a foundation
upon which may hereafter be constructed a regular history of the
Vijayanagar empire. The result will perhaps seem disjointed, crude,
and uninteresting; but let it be remembered that it is only a first
attempt. I have little doubt that before very long the whole history of
Southern India will be compiled by some writer gifted with the power
of "making the dry bones live;" but meanwhile the bones themselves
must be collected and pieced together, and my duty has been to try
and construct at least the main portions of the skeleton.
Before proceeding to details we must shortly glance at the political
condition of India in the first half of the fourteenth century,
remembering that up to that time the Peninsula had been held by a
number of distinct Hindu kingdoms, those of the Pandiyans at Madura
and of the Cholas at Tanjore being the most important.
The year 1001 A.D. saw the first inroad into India of the Muhammadans
from over the north-west border, under their great leader Mahmud of
Ghazni. He invaded first the plains of the Panjab, then Multan, and
afterwards other places. Year after year he pressed forward and again
retired. In 1021 he was at Kalinga; in 1023 in Kathiawar; but in no
case did he make good his foothold on the country. His expeditions
were raids and nothing more. Other invasions, however, followed in
quick succession, and after the lapse of two centuries the Muhammadans
were firmly and permanently established at Delhi. War followed war,
and from that period Northern India knew no rest. At the end of the
thirteenth century the Muhammadans began to press southwards into
the Dakhan. In 1293 Ala-ud-din Khilji, nephew of the king of Delhi,
captured Devagiri. Four years later Gujarat was attacked. In 1303
the reduction of Warangal was attempted. In 1306 there was a fresh
expedition to Devagiri. In 1309 Malik Kafur, the celebrated general,
with an immense force swept into the Dakhan and captured Warangal. The
old capital of the Hoysala Ballalas at Dvarasamudra was taken in
1310, and Malik Kafur went to the Malabar coast where he erected a
mosque, and afterwards returned to his master with enormous booty.[6]
Fresh fighting took place in 1312. Six years later Mubarak of Delhi
marched to Devagiri and inhumanly flayed alive its unfortunate prince,
Haripala Deva, setting up his head at the gate of his own city. In
1323 Warangal fell.
Thus the period at which our history opens, about the year 1330, found
the whole of Northern India down to the Vindhya mountains firmly
under Moslem rule, while the followers of that faith had overrun
the Dakhan and were threatening the south with the same fate. South
of the Krishna the whole country was still under Hindu domination,
but the supremacy of the old dynasties was shaken to its base by the
rapidly advancing terror from the north. With the accession in 1325 of
Muhammad Taghlaq of Delhi things became worse still. Marvellous stories
of his extraordinary proceedings circulated amongst the inhabitants
of the Peninsula, and there seemed to be no bound to his intolerance,
ambition, and ferocity.
Everything, therefore, seemed to be leading up to but one
inevitable end -- the ruin and devastation of the Hindu provinces;
the annihilation of their old royal houses, the destruction of their
religion, their temples, their cities. All that the dwellers in the
south held most dear seemed tottering to its fall.
Suddenly, about the year 1344 A.D., there was a check to this wave
of foreign invasion -- a stop -- a halt -- then a solid wall of
opposition; and for 250 years Southern India was saved.
The check was caused by a combination of small Hindu states -- two
of them already defeated, Warangal and Dvarasamudra -- defeated,
and therefore in all probability not over-confident; the third, the
tiny principality of Anegundi. The solid wall consisted of Anegundi
grown into the great empire of the Vijayanagar. To the kings of this
house all the nations of the south submitted.
If a straight line be drawn on the map of India from Bombay to Madras,
about half-way across will be found the River Tungabhadra, which,
itself a combination of two streams running northwards from Maisur,
flows in a wide circuit north and east to join the Krishna not far from
Kurnool. In the middle of its course the Tungabhadra cuts through a
wild rocky country lying about forty miles north-west of Bellary, and
north of the railway line which runs from that place to Dharwar. At
this point, on the north bank of the river, there existed about the
year 1330 a fortified town called Anegundi, the "Nagundym" of our
chronicles, which was the residence of a family of chiefs owning a
small state in the neighbourhood. They had, in former years, taken
advantage of the lofty hills of granite which cover that tract to
construct a strong citadel having its base on the stream. Fordable at
no point within many miles the river was full of running water at all
seasons of the year, and in flood times formed in its confined bed a
turbulent rushing torrent with dangerous falls in several places. Of
the Anegundi chiefs we know little, but they were probably feudatories
of the Hoysala Ballalas. Firishtah declares that they had existed as
a ruling family for seven hundred years prior to the year 1350 A.D.[7]
The chronicle of Nuniz gives a definite account of how the sovereigns
of Vijayanagar first began to acquire the power which afterwards became
so extensive. This account may or may not be accurate in all details,
but it at least tallies fairly with the epigraphical and other records
of the time. According to him, Muhammad Taghlaq of Delhi, having
reduced Gujarat, marched southwards through the Dakhan Balaghat, or
high lands above the western ghats, and a little previous to the year
1336[8] seized the town and fortress of Anegundi. Its chief was slain,
with all the members of his family. After a futile attempt to govern
this territory by means of a deputy, Muhammad raised to the dignity of
chief of the state its late minister, a man whom Nuniz calls "Deorao,"
for "Deva Raya." or Harihara Deva I. The new chief founded the city
of Vijayanagar on the south bank of the river opposite Anegundi and
made his residence there, with the aid of the great religious teacher
Madhava, wisely holding that to place the river between him and the
ever-marauding Moslems was to establish himself and his people in
a condition of greater security than before. He was succeeded by
"one called Bucarao" (Bukka), who reigned thirty-seven years, and
the next king was the latter's son, "Pureoyre Deo" (Harihara Deva II.).
We know from other sources that part at least of this story is
correct. Harihara I. and Bukka were the first two kings and were
brothers, while the third king, Harihara II., was certainly the son
of Bukka.
The success of the early kings was phenomenal. Ibn Batuta, who was
in India from 1333 to 1342, states that even in his day a Muhammadan
chief on the western coast was subject to Harihara I., whom he calls
"Haraib" or "Harib," from "Hariyappa" another form of the king's
name; while a hundred years later Abdur Razzak, envoy from Persia,
tells us that the king of Vijayanagar was then lord of all Southern
India, from sea to sea and from the Dakhan to Cape Comorin --
"from the frontier of Serendib (Ceylon) to the extremities of the
country of Kalbergah ... His troops amount in number to eleven lak,"
I.E. 1,100,000. Even so early as 1378 A.D., according to Firishtah,[9]
the Raya of Vijayanagar was "in power, wealth, and extent of country"
greatly the superior of the Bahmani king of the Dakhan.
The old southern states appear (we have little history to guide
us) to have in general submitted peaceably to the rule of the new
monarchy. They were perhaps glad to submit if only the dreaded
foreigners could be kept out of the country. And thus by leaps
and bounds the petty state grew to be a kingdom, and the kingdom
expanded till it became an empire. Civil war and rebellion amongst
the Muhammadans helped Harihara and Bukka in their enterprise. Sick
of the tyranny and excesses of Muhammad Taghlaq, the Dakhan revolted
in 1347, and the independent kingdom of the Bahmanis was for a time
firmly established.
The chronicle of Nuniz opens with the following sentence: --
"In the year twelve hundred and thirty these parts of India were
ruled by a greater monarch than had ever reigned. This was the king
of Dili,[10] who by force of arms and soldiers made war on Cambaya for
many years, taking and destroying in that period the land of Guzarate
which belongs to Cambaya,[11] and in the end he became its lord."
After this the king of Delhi advanced against Vijayanagar by way of
the Balaghat.
This date is a century too early, as already pointed out. The sovereign
referred to is stated in the following note (entered by Nuniz at
the end of Chapter xx., which closes the historical portion of his
narrative) to have been called "Togao Mamede."
"This king of Delhi they say was a Moor, who was called Togao
Mamede. He is held among the Hindus as a saint. They relate that once
while he was offering prayer to God, there came to him four arms with
four hands; and that every time he prayed roses fell to him from out
of heaven. He was a great conqueror, he held a large part of this
earth under his dominion, he subdued ... (blank in original) kings,
and slew them, and flayed them, and brought their skins with him; so
that besides his own name, he received the nickname ... which means
'lord of ... skins of kings;' he was chief of many people.
"There is a story telling how he fell into a passion on account of
(BEING GIVEN?) eighteen letters (OF THE ALPHABET TO HIS NAME?), when
according to his own reckoning he was entitled to twenty-four.[12]
There are tales of him which do indeed seem most marvellous of the
things that he did; as, for instance, how he made ready an army because
one day in the morning, while standing dressing at a window which was
closed, a ray of the sun came into his eyes, and he cried out that he
would not rest until he had killed or vanquished whomsoever had dared
to enter his apartments while he was dressing. All his nobles could
not dissuade him from his purpose, even though they told him it was
the sun that had done it, a thing without which they could not live,
that it was a celestial thing and was located in the sky, and that he
could never do any harm to it. With all this he made his forces ready,
saying that he must go in search of his enemy, and as he was going
along with large forces raised in the country through which he began
his march so much dust arose that it obscured the sun. When he lost
sight of it he made fresh inquiries as to what the thing was, and
the captains told him that there was now no reason for him to wait,
and that he might return home since he had put to flight him whom he
had come to seek. Content with this, the king returned by the road
that he had taken in his search for the sun, saying that since his
enemy had fled he was satisfied.
"Other extravagances are told of him which make him out a great lord,
as, for instance, that being in the Charamaodel country he was told
that certain leagues distant in the sea there was a very great island,
and its land was gold, and the stones of its houses and those which
were produced in the ground were rubies and diamonds: in which
island there was a pagoda, whither came the angels from heaven to
play music and dance. Being covetous of being the lord of this land,
he determined to go there, but not in ships because he had not enough
for so many people, so he began to cart a great quantity of stones
and earth and to throw it into the sea in order to fill it up, so
that he might reach the island; and putting this in hand with great
labour he did so much that he crossed over to the island of Ceyllao,
which is twelve or fifteen leagues off[13], This causeway that he
made was, it is said, in course of time eaten away by the sea, and
its remains now cause the shoals of Chillao. Melliquiniby,[14] his
captain-general, seeing how much labour was being spent in a thing so
impossible, made ready two ships in a port of Charamaodell which he
loaded with much gold and precious stones, and forged some despatches
as of an embassy sent in the name of the king of the island, in which
he professed his obedience and sent presents; and after this the king
did not proceed any further with his causeway.
"In memory of this work he made a very large pagoda, which is still
there; it is a great place of pilgrimage.
"There are two thousand of these and similar stories with which I
hope at some time to trouble your honour; and with other better ones,
if God gives me life. I kiss your honour's hand."[15]
To conclusively establish the fact that this account can only refer
to Muhammad Taghlaq of Delhi, who reigned from 1325 to 1351, it is
necessary that we should look into the known character of that monarch
and the events of his reign.
Nuniz states that his "Togao Mamede" conquered Gujarat, was at war
with Bengal, and had trouble with the Turkomans on the borders of
Sheik Ismail, I.E. Persia.[16] To take these in reverse order. Early
in the reign of Muhammad Taghlaq vast hordes of Moghuls invaded
the Panjab and advanced almost unopposed to Delhi, where the king
bought them off by payment of immense sums of money. Next as to
Bengal. Prior to his reign that province had been subdued, had given
trouble, and had again been reduced. In his reign it was crushed
under the iron hand of a viceroy from Delhi, Ghiyas-ud-din Bahadur
"Bura," who before long attempted to render himself independent. He
styled himself Bahadur Shah, and issued his own coinage. In 1327
(A.H. 728) the legends on his coins acknowledge the overlordship of
Delhi, but two years later they describe him as independent king of
Bengal.[17] In 1333 Muhammad issued his own coinage for Bengal and
proceeded against the rebel. He defeated him, captured him, flayed
him alive, and causing his skin to be stuffed with straw ordered it
to be paraded through the provinces of the empire as a warning to
ambitious governors. With reference to Gujarat, Nuniz has been led
into a slight error. Muhammad Taghlaq certainly did go there, but
only in 1347. What he did do was to conquer the Dakhan. Firishtah
mentions among his conquests Dvarasamudra, Malabar, Anegundi (under
the name "Kampila," for a reason that will presently be explained),
Warangal, &c, and these places "were as effectually incorporated
with his empire as the villages in the vicinity of Delhi."[18]
He also held Gujarat firmly. If, therefore, we venture to correct
Nuniz in this respect, and say that "Togao Mamede" made war on the
"Dakhan" instead of on "Gujarat," and then advanced against Anegundi
(wrongly called "Vijayanagar," which place was not as yet founded)
we shall probably be not far from the truth. The history of "Togao
Mamede" so far is the history of Muhammad Taghlaq.
Then as to the extraordinary stories told of him. True or not, they
apply to that sovereign. Muhammad is described by contemporary writers
as having been one of the wonders of the age. He was very liberal,
especially to those learned in the arts. He established hospitals
for the sick and alm-houses for widows and orphans. He was the most
eloquent and accomplished prince of his time. He was skilled in many
sciences, such as physic, logic, astronomy, and mathematics. He
studied the philosophies and metaphysics of Greece, and was very
strict in religious observances.
"But," continues Firishtah, from whom the above summary is taken,
"with all these admirable qualities he was wholly devoid of mercy
or consideration for his people. The punishments he inflicted were
not only rigid and cruel, but frequently unjust. So little did he
hesitate to spill the blood of God's creatures that when anything
occurred which excited him to proceed to that horrid extremity, one
might have supposed his object was to exterminate the human species
altogether. No single week passed without his having put to death
one or more of the learned and holy men who surrounded him, or some
of the secretaries who attended him."
The slightest opposition to his will drove him into almost insane
fury, and in these fits he allowed his natural ferocity full play. His
whole life was spent in visionary schemes pursued by means equally
irrational. He began by distributing enormous sums of money amongst
his nobles, spending, so it is said, in one day as much as [pound
sterling]500,000. He bought off the invading Moghuls by immense
payments instead of repelling them by force of arms. Shortly after
this he raised a huge army for the conquest of Persia, his cavalry,
according to Firishtah, numbering 370,000 men. But nothing came
of it except that the troops, not receiving their pay, dispersed
and pillaged the country. Then he decided to try and conquer China
and sent 100,000 men into the Himalayas, where almost all of them
miserably perished; and when the survivors returned in despair the king
put them all to death. He tried to introduce a depreciated currency
into his territories as a means to wealth, issuing copper tokens for
gold, which resulted in entire loss of credit and a standstill of
trade. This failing to fill the treasury he next destroyed agriculture
by intolerable exactions; the husbandmen abandoned their fields and
took to robbery as a trade, and whole tracts became depopulated,
the survivors living in the utmost starvation and misery and being
despoiled of all that they possessed. Muhammad exterminated whole
tribes as if they had been vermin. Incensed at the refusal of
the inhabitants of a certain harassed tract to pay the inordinate
demands of his subordinates, he ordered out his army as if for a hunt,
surrounded an extensive tract of country, closed the circle towards
the centre, and slaughtered every living soul found therein. This
amusement was repeated more than once, and on a subsequent occasion
he ordered a general massacre of all the inhabitants of the old
Hindu city of Kanauj.[19] These horrors led of course to famine,
and the miseries of the Hindus exceeded all power of description. On
his return from Devagiri on one occasion he caused a tooth which he
had lost to be interred in a magnificent stone mausoleum, which is
still in existence at Bhir.
But perhaps the best known of his inhuman eccentricities was his
treatment of the inhabitants of the great city of Delhi. Muhammad
determined to transfer his capital thence to Devagiri, whose name he
changed to Doulatabad. The two places are six hundred miles apart. The
king gave a general order to every inhabitant of Delhi to proceed
forthwith to Devagiri, and prior to the issue of this order he had
the entire road lined with full-grown trees, transplanted for the
purpose. The unfortunate people were compelled to obey, and thousands
-- including women, children, and aged persons -- died by the way. Ibn
Batuta, who was an eye-witness of the scenes of horror to which this
gave rise, has left us the following description: --
"The Sultan ordered all the inhabitants to quit the place (Delhi),
and upon some delay being evinced he made a proclamation stating that
what person soever, being an inhabitant of that city, should be found
in any of its houses or streets should receive condign punishment. Upon
this they all went out; but his servants finding a blind man in one
of the houses and a bedridden one in the other, the Emperor commanded
the bedridden man to be projected from a balista, and the blind one to
be dragged by his feet to Daulatabad, which is at the distance of ten
days, and he was so dragged; but his limbs dropping off by the way,
only one of his legs was brought to the place intended, and was then
thrown into it; for the order had been that they should go to this
place. When I entered Delhi it was almost a desert."[20]
It is characteristic of Muhammad's whimsical despotism that shortly
afterwards he ordered the inhabitants of different districts to
go and repeople Delhi, which they attempted to do, but with little
success. Batuta relates that during the interval of desolation the
king mounted on the roof of his palace, and seeing the city empty
and without fire or smoke said, "Now my heart is satisfied and my
feelings are appeased."
Ibn Batuta was a member of this king's court, and had every opportunity
of forming a just conclusion. He sums up his qualities thus: --
"Muhammad more than all men loves to bestow gifts and to shed
blood. At his gate one sees always some fakir who has become rich, or
some living being who is put to death. His traits of generosity and
valour, and his examples of cruelty and violence towards criminals,
have obtained celebrity among the people. But apart from this he is
the most humble of men and the one who displays the most equity;
the ceremonies of religion are observed at his court; he is very
severe in all that concerns prayer and the punishment that follows
omission of it ... his dominating quality is generosity.... It rarely
happened that the corpse of some one who had been killed was not to
be seen at the gate of his palace. I have often seen men killed and
their bodies left there. One day I went to his palace and my horse
shied. I looked before me and I saw a white heap on the ground, and
when I asked what it was one of my companions said it was the trunk
of a man cut into three pieces.... Every day hundreds of individuals
were brought chained into his hall of audience, their hands tied
to their necks and their feet bound together. Some were killed,
and others were tortured or well beaten."[21]
A man of these seemingly opposite qualities, charity, generosity, and
religious fervour linked to unbridled lust for blood and an apparently
overmastering desire to take life, possesses a character so bizarre,
so totally opposed to Hindu ideals, that he would almost of necessity
be accounted as something superhuman, monstrous, a saint with the heart
of a devil, or a fiend with the soul of a saint. Hence Muhammad in the
course of years gathered round his memory, centuries after his death,
all the quaint tales and curious legends which an Oriental imagination
could devise; and whenever his name is mentioned by the old chroniclers
it is always with some extraordinary story attached to it.
Nuniz, therefore, though accurate in the main, was a century too
early in his opening sentence. His "Togao Mamede" can be none other
than Muhammad Taghlaq.
Henceforward this will be assumed.[22]
CHAPTER 2
Origin of the Empire (A.D. 1316)
Muhammad's capture of Kampli and Anegundi -- Death of his nephew
Baha-ud-din -- Malik Naib made governor of Anegundi -- Disturbances
-- Harihara Deva Raya raised to be king of Anegundi -- Madhavacharya
Vidyaranya -- The city of Vijayanagar founded -- Legends as to the
origin of the new kingdom.
The city of Vijayanagar is, as already stated, generally supposed to
have been founded in the year 1336, and that that date is not far from
the truth may be gathered from two facts. Firstly, there is extant
an inscription of the earliest real king, Harihara I. or Hariyappa,
the "Haraib" of Ibn Batuta,[23] dated in A.D. 1340. Secondly, the
account given by that writer of a raid southwards by Muhammad Taghlaq
tallies at almost all points with the story given at the beginning
of the Chronicle of Nuniz, and this raid took place in 1334.[24]
For if a comparison is made between the narrative of Batuta and the
traditional account given by Nuniz as to the events that preceded and
led to the foundation of Vijayanagar, little doubt will remain in the
mind that both relate to the same event. According to Ibn Batuta,[25]
Sultan Muhammad marched southwards against his rebel nephew,
Baha-ud-din Gushtasp, who had fled to the protection of the "Rai of
Kambila," or "Kampila" as Firishtah calls the place, in his stronghold
amongst the mountains. The title "Rai" unmistakably points to the
Kanarese country, where the form "Raya" is used for "Rajah;" while in
"Kambila" or "Kampila" we recognise the old town of Kampli, a fortified
place about eight miles east of Anegundi, which was the citadel of the
predecessors of the kings of Vijayanagar. Though not itself actually
"amongst the mountains," Kampli is backed by the mass of rocky hills
in the centre of which the great city was afterwards situated. It is
highly natural to suppose that the "Rai," when attacked by the Sultan,
would have quitted Kampli and taken refuge in the fortified heights
of Anegundi, where he could defend himself with far greater chance
of success than at the former place; and this would account for the
difference in the names given by the two chroniclers. Ibn Batuta goes
on to say that the Raya sent his guest safely away to a neighbouring
chief, probably the Hoysala Ballala, king of Dvarasamudra in Maisur,
then residing at Tanur. He caused a huge fire to be lit on which
his wives and the wives of his nobles, ministers, and principal
men immolated themselves, and this done he sallied forth with his
followers to meet the invaders, and was slain. The town was taken,
"and eleven sons of the Rai were made prisoners and carried to the
Sultan, who made them all Mussalmans." After the fall of the place
the Sultan "treated the king's sons with great honour, as much for
their illustrious birth as for his admiration of the conduct of their
father;" and Batuta adds that he himself became intimately acquainted
with one of these -- "we were companions and friends."
There are only two substantial points of difference between this
story and the traditional Hindu account given by Nuniz. One of these
concerns the reason for the Sultan's attack. According to the Hindus
it was a war undertaken from pure greed of conquest; according to
Muhammadan story it was a campaign against a rebel. The second is
that while the Hindus declare that none of the blood royal escaped,
Batuta distinctly mentions the survival of eleven sons, and proves his
point incontestably. But this does not vitiate the general resemblance
of the two accounts, while the synchronism of the dates renders it
impossible to believe that they can refer to two separate events. We
may suppose that since the eleven sons became followers of Islam they
were for ever blotted out of account to the orthodox Hindu.
After the capture of the fortress the Sultan, according to Ibn Batuta,
pursued Baha-ud-din southwards and arrived near the city of the prince
with whom he had taken refuge. The chief abandoned his guest to the
tender mercies of the tyrant, by whom he was condemned to a death of
fiendish barbarity.
"The Sultan ordered the prisoner to be taken to the women his
relations, and these insulted him and spat upon him. Then he ordered
him to be skinned alive, and as his skin was torn off his flesh was
cooked with rice. Some was sent to his children and his wife, and the
remainder was put into a great dish and given to the elephants to eat,
but they would not touch it. The Sultan ordered his skin to be stuffed
with straw, to be placed along with the remains of Bahadur Bura,[26]
and to be exhibited through the country."
To continue briefly the story given by Nuniz. After the capture
of Anegundi in 1334 the Sultan left Malik Naib (whom Nuniz calls
"Enybiquymelly" in his second chapter, and "Mileque neby," "Meliquy
niby," and "Melinebiquy" in the third) as his local governor, and
retired northwards. The country rose against the usurpers, and after a
time the Sultan restored the principality to the Hindus, but made a new
departure by raising to be Raya the former chief minister Deva Raya,
called "Deorao" or "Dehorao" by Nuniz. He reigned seven years. During
his reign this chief was one day hunting amongst the mountains south of
the river when a hare, instead of fleeing from his dogs, flew at them
and bit them.[27] The king, astonished at this marvel, was returning
homewards lost in meditation, when he met on the river-bank the sage
Madhavacharya, surnamed VIDYARANYA or "Forest of Learning," -- for so
we learn from other sources to name the anchorite alluded to -- who
advised the chief to found a city on the spot. "And so the king did,
and on that very day began work on his houses, and he enclosed the
city round about; and that done, he left Nagumdym, and soon filled
the new city with people. And he gave it the name VYDIAJUNA, for so
the hermit called himself who had bidden him construct it."[28]
Thus, in or about the year A.D. 1336, sprung into existence the great
city which afterwards became so magnificent and of such wide-spread
fame.
The chronicle continues by saying that the king constructed in the
city of Vijayanagar a magnificent temple in honour of the sage. This
temple I take to be the great temple near the river, still in use
and known as the temple of Hampi or Hampe, having a small village
clustering about it. On the rocks above it, close to a group of more
modern Jain temples, is to be seen a small shrine built entirely,
roof as well as walls, of stone. Everything about this little relic
proves it to be of greater antiquity than any other structure in the
whole circuit of the hills, but its exact age is doubtful. It looks
like a building of the seventh century A.D. Mr. Rea, superintendent
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
of that kingdom by the Muhammadans in 1323, escaped with a small
body of horse to the hill country about Anegundi, being accompanied
in their flight by the Brahman Madhava or Madhavacharya Vidyaranya,
and by some means not stated became lords of that tract, afterwards
founding the city of Vijayanagar.[29]
Another states that the two brothers were officers in the service of
the Muhammadan governor of Warangal subsequent to its first capture
in 1309. They were despatched against the Hoysala Ballala sovereign
in the expedition under the command of Malik Kafur in 1310, which
resulted in the capture of the Hindu capital, Dvarasamudra; but the
portion of the force to which the brothers belonged suffered a defeat,
and they fled to the mountainous tract near Anegundi. Here they met
the holy Madhava, who was living the life of a recluse, and by his
aid they established the kingdom and capital city.
A variant of this relates that the two brothers for some reason
fled direct from Warangal to Anegundi. This account redounds more
to their honour as Hindus. Though compelled first to accept service
under their conquerors, their patriotism triumphed in the end, and
they abandoned the flesh pots of Egypt to throw in their luck with
their co-religionists.
A fourth story avers that the hermit Madhava himself founded the city
after the discovery of a hidden treasure, ruled over it himself,
and left it after his death to a Kuruba family who established the
first regular dynasty.
A fifth, mentioned by Couto,[30] who fixes the date as 1220, states
that while Madhava was living his ascetic life amongst the mountains
he was supported by meals brought to him by a poor shepherd called
Bukka, "and one day the Brahman said to him, 'Thou shalt be king and
emperor of all Industan.' The other shepherds learned this, and began
to treat this shepherd with veneration and made him their head; and
he acquired the name of 'king,' and began to conquer his neighbours,
who were five in number, viz., Canara, Taligas, Canguivarao, Negapatao,
and he of the Badagas, and he at last became lord of all and called
himself Boca Rao." He was attacked by the king of Delhi, but the
latter was defeated and retired, whereupon Bukka established a city
"and called it Visaja Nagar, which we corruptly call Bisnaga; and we
call all the kingdom by that name, but the natives amongst themselves
always call it the 'kingdom of Canara.' " Couto's narrative seems to
be a mixture of several stories. His wrong date points to his having
partly depended upon the original chronicle of Nuniz, or the summary
of it published by Barros; while the rest of the tale savours more
of Hindu romance than of historical accuracy. He retains, however,
the tradition of an attack by the king of Delhi and the latter's
subsequent retirement.
Another authority suggests that Bukka and Harihara may have been
feudatories of the Hoysala Ballalas.
Nikitin, the Russian traveller, who was in India in 1474, seems to
favour the view that they belonged to the old royal house of the
Kadambas of Banavasi, since he speaks of "the Hindoo Sultan Kadam,"
who resided at "Bichenegher."[31]
Here we have a whole bundle of tales and traditions to account for
the origin of the great kingdom, and can take our choice. There are
many others also. Perhaps the most reasonable account would be one
culled from the general drift of the Hindu legends combined with the
certainties of historical fact; and from this point of view we may
for the present suppose that two brothers, Hindus of the Kuruba caste,
who were men of strong religious feeling, serving in the treasury of
the king of Warangal, fled from that place on its sack and destruction
in 1323 and took service under the petty Rajah of Anegundi. Both they
and their chiefs were filled with horror and disgust at the conduct of
the marauding Moslems, and pledged themselves to the cause of their
country and their religion. The brothers rose to be minister and
treasurer respectively at Anegundi. In 1334 the chief gave shelter
to Baha-ud-din, nephew of Muhammad of Delhi, and was attacked by the
Sultan. Anegundi fell, as narrated by Batuta, and the Sultan retired,
leaving Mallik as his deputy to rule the state. Mallik found the
people too strong for him, and eventually the Sultan restored the
country to the Hindus, raising to be rajah and minister respectively
the two brothers who had formerly been minister and treasurer. These
were Harihara I. ("Hukka") and Bukka I.
The First Vijayanagar Dynasty
[The following shows the pedigree of this dynasty as given in the
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA (iii. p. 36). Inscriptions not yet satisfactorily
examined will probably add to the information given.]
CHAPTER 3
The First Kings (A.D. 1336 to 1379)
Rapid acquisition of territory -- Reign of Harihara I. -- Check to
Muhammadan aggression -- Reign of Bukka I. -- Kampa and Sangama? --
The Bahmani kingdom established, 1347 -- Death of Nagadeva of Warangal
-- Vijayanagar's first great war -- Massacres by Muhammad Bahmani --
Battle at Adoni, 1366 -- Flight of Bukka -- Mujahid's war, 1375 --
He visits the Malabar coast -- Siege of Vijayanagar -- Extension of
territory -- Death of Mujahid, 1378.
The city of Vijayanagar, thus founded about the year 1335, speedily
grew in importance and became the refuge of the outcasts, refugees,
and fighting men of the Hindus, beaten and driven out of their old
strongholds by the advancing Muhammadans.
The first rulers of Vijayanagar, however, did not dare to call
themselves kings, nor did even the Brahmans do so who composed the text
of their early inscriptions. It is for this reason that I have spoken
of Harihara I. and Bukka I. as "Chiefs." The inscription referred to of
Harihara in 1340 calls him "Hariyappa VODEYA," the former name being
less honourable than "Harihara," and the latter definitely entitling
him to rank only as a chieftain. Moreover, the Sanskrit title given
him is MAHAMANDALESVARA, which may be translated "great lord" --
not king. And the same is the case with his successor, Bukka, in
two inscriptions,[32] one of which is dated in 1353. Already in 1340
Harihara is said to have been possessed of very large territories,
and he was the acknowledged overlord of villages as far north as the
Kaladgi district, north of the Malprabha, a country that had been
overrun by Muhammad Taghlaq. That this was not a mere empty boast
is shown by the fact that a fort was built in that year at Badami by
permission of Harihara.
And thus we see the first chief of Vijayanagar quietly, and perhaps
peacefully, acquiring great influence and extensive possessions. These
so rapidly increased that Bukka's successor, Harihara II., styles
himself RAJADHIRAJA, "king of kings," or emperor.
But to revert to the first king Harihara, or, as Nuniz calls him,
"Dehorao," for DEVA RAYA. He reigned, according to our chronicle,
seven years, "and did nothing therein but pacify the kingdom, which
he left in complete tranquillity." His death, if this be so, would
have taken place about the year 1343. Nuniz relates that he founded
a temple in honour of the Brahman hermit, his protector. This was
the great temple at Hampe close to the river, which is still in full
preservation and is the only one among the massive shrines erected
at the capital in which worship is still carried on; the others were
remorselessly wrecked and destroyed by the Muhammadans in 1565. As
already stated, the traveller Ibn Batuta refers to this king under
the name of "Haraib" or "Harib" in or about the year 1342. If the
traditions collated by Nuniz, according to which Harihara I. lived at
peace during the seven years of his reign, be true, his death must
have occurred before 1344, because in that year, as we learn from
other sources, Krishna, son of Pratapa Rudra of Warangal, took refuge
at Vijayanagar, and, in concert with its king and with the surviving
Ballala princes of Dvarasamudra, drove back the Muhammadans, rescued
for a time part of the Southern Dakhan country, and prepared the way
for the overthrow of the sovereignty of Delhi south of the Vindhyas. I
take it, therefore, that Harihara died in or about the year A.D. 1343.
As to his having reigned quietly, I know of only one statement to the
contrary. An inscription of Samgama II. recording a grant in 1356,
and referred to below, states that Harihara I. "defeated the Sultan;"
but perhaps this only alludes to the fact that Muhammad Taghlaq had
to abandon his hold on the country.
The next king was Harihara's brother, Bukka I. ("Bucarao"),
and according to Nuniz he reigned thirty-seven years, conquering
in that time all the kingdoms of the south, even including Orissa
(Orya). Without laying too much stress on conquests by force of arms,
it seems certain that most if not all Southern India submitted to
his rule, probably only too anxious to secure a continuance of Hindu
domination in preference to the despotism of the hated followers of
Islam.[33] According to the chronicle, therefore, the death of Bukka
I., as we must call him, took place about the year A.D. 1380. As to
inscriptions of his reign, Dr. Hultzsch[34] mentions that they cover
the period from about 1354 to 1371, while the first inscription
of his successor, Harihara II., is dated in 1379.[35] If, then,
we assume that Bukka I. reigned till 1379, we find the chronicle
so far accurate that Bukka I. did in fact reign thirty-six years,
though not thirty-seven -- A.D. 1343 to 1379.
But meanwhile we have another story from an inscription on
copper-plates which is to be seen preserved in the Collector's office
at Nellore.[36] It has been carefully edited by Mr. H. Krishna
Sastri. According to this it would appear that Bukka I., who
undoubtedly was a man of war, usurped the throne. It asserts that
the father of Harihara I., who was named Samgama, had five sons. The
eldest was Harihara himself, the second Kampa, and the third Bukka. We
want to know who succeeded Harihara. There is extant an inscription
of Bukka dated in 1354, and there is this Nellore inscription dated in
1356. The latter comes from a far-off country near the eastern coast,
and it relates that Kampa succeeded Harihara, and that Samgama II.,
son of Kampa, succeeded his father, and granted a village in the
Nellore district to the Brahmans on a date which corresponds to May
3, A.D. 1356. It implies that Samgama had succeeded his father Kampa
exactly a year previous to the grant. Thus it claims that Kampa was
king from 1343 to 1355. We know nothing more of this, and there is
only one other document at present known to exist which was executed
in the reign either of Kampa or of Samgama This is alluded to by
Mr. Krishna Sastri, who refers us to the colophon of the MADHAVIYA
DHATUVRITTI, according to which its author, Sayanacharya, uterine
brother of the great Madhavacharya, was minister to king Samgama,
son of Kampa. The only possible inference is that the succession to
Harihara was disputed, and that somehow Bukka got the upper hand and
at least as early as 1354 declared himself king, afterwards claiming
to have immediately succeeded Harihara. It will be seen farther on
that in almost every case the kingdom was racked with dissension on
the demise of the sovereign, and that year after year the members of
the reigning family were subjected to violence and murder in order
that one or other of them might establish himself as head of the State.
On the assumption, therefore, that the reign of Bukka I. lasted from
1343 to 1379, we turn to Firishtah to learn what were this king's
relations with the followers of Islam, now supreme on the north of
the Krishna.
Just after his accession, as it would appear, occurred the successful
campaign alluded to above, in which a combination of Hindus from
different States drove back the invaders. Here is Firishtah's
account of what took place.[37] He is speaking of the year A.H. 744,
which lasted from May 26, A.D. 1343, to May 15, 1344, and he says
that Krishna Naik, son of Rudra Deva of Warangal, went privately to
Ballala Deva and urged him to join a combination of Hindus with the
view of driving out the Muhammadans from the Dakhan. The Ballala
prince consented, and Krishna Naik promised, when the preparations
were complete, to raise all the Hindus of Telingana and place himself
at their head.
Ballala Deva then built the city of Vijayanagar,[38] raised an army,
and the war began. Warangal, then in the hands of the Muhammadans,
was reduced, and its governor, Imad-ul-Mulkh, retreated to Daulatabad
or Devagiri. The two chiefs then induced other Rajahs of the Malabar
and Kanara countries to join them, and the joint forces seized the
whole of the Dakhan and expelled the Muhammadans there, "so that
within a few months Muhammad Taghlak had no possessions in that
quarter except Daulatabad."
So far the Muhammadan historian. It is necessary to observe that
this success of the Hindus was only temporary, for their enemies
still swarmed in the Dakhan, and immediately after this contest
the Hindus appear to have retired south of the Krishna, leaving the
distracted country a prey to temporary anarchy. This, however, was
of short duration, for though the domination of the Sultan of Delhi
in that tract was completely destroyed, yet three years later, viz,
on Friday the 24th Rabi-al-akhir A.H. 748, according to Firishtah,
a date which corresponds to Friday, August 3, A.D. 1347, Ala-ud-din
Bahmani was crowned sovereign of the Dakhan at Kulbarga, establishing
a new dynasty which lasted for about 140 years.
A few years after this there was a successful invasion of the Carnatic
country by Ala-ud-Din; but though the army returned with some booty
Firishtah does not claim for him a decisive victory. He does, however,
claim that the new Sultan extended his territory as far south as the
river Tungabhadra, "the vicinity of the fortress of Adoni." Ala-ud-din
died at the age of sixty-seven on Sunday, February 2, A.D. 1358,[39]
and was succeeded by Muhammad Shah. The Raya of Vijayanagar had
presented Ala-ud-din with a ruby of inestimable price, and this,
set in a bird of paradise composed of precious stones, the Sultan
placed in the canopy over his throne; but some say that this was done
by Muhammad, and that the ruby was placed above his umbrella of State.
Early in the reign of Muhammad it was discovered that the gold and
silver coins of the Bahrami Sultans were being melted down in large
quantities by the Hindus of Vijayanagar and Warangal, and numbers
of the merchants were put to death. At the same time Bukka I.,
supported by his friend at Warangal, demanded the restoration of
certain territories,[40] and as the Sultan was not ready for war, he
"during a year and a half kept the ambassadors of the Raies at his
court, and sent his own to Beejanugger to amuse his enemies." Finally
he resolved on war, and made extravagant counter-demands on the
Hindus. Bukka joined forces with Warangal, and Muhammad waged war
on the latter state, plundering the country up to the capital, and
retiring only on receipt of a large indemnity. Firishtah does not
relate that any further campaign was at that time initiated, and we
are therefore free to suppose that the Muhammadans were unable to
press their advantage. Warangal was not long left in peace, and it
may be well to glance at its subsequent history before returning to
the events of the reign of Bukka at Vijayanagar.
After an interval, enraged at an insult offered or supposed to have
been offered by the Rajah of Warangal, Muhammad made a rapid advance
to the former's city of "Vellunputtun," as it is spelt by Firishtah,
or "Filampatan," according to the author of the BURHAN-I-MAASIR. He
seized it, slaughtered the inhabitants without mercy, and captured
the unfortunate prince Vinayaka Deva.[41] The Sultan "commanded a
pile of wood to be lighted before the citadel, and putting Nagdeo in
an engine (catapult), had him shot from the walls into the flames,
in which he was consumed." After a few days' rest the Sultan retired,
but was followed and harassed by large bodies of Hindus and completely
routed. Only 1500 men returned to Kulbarga, and the Sultan himself
received a severe wound in his arm.
This was followed by a joint embassy from Bukka of Vijayanagar and
the prince of Warangal to the Sultan of Delhi, in which they offered
to act in conjunction with him should an army be sent southwards
by that monarch in order to regain his lost power in the Dakhan;
"but Feroze Shah, being too much employed with domestic commotions to
assist them, did not attend to their representations." Thus encouraged,
Muhammad assembled fresh forces and despatched them in two divisions
against Warangal and Golkonda. The expedition was successful and the
Rajah submitted, the Sultan receiving Golkonda, an immense treasure,
and a magnificent throne as the price of peace. The throne was set
with precious stones of great value, and being still further enriched
by subsequent sovereigns was at one time valued at four millions
sterling.[42] Warangal finally fell in A.D. 1424, and was annexed
to the Bahmani kingdom, thus bringing the Muhammadans down to the
River Krishna all along its length except in the neighbourhood of
the east coast.
Now for the principal events of Bukka's reign and the affairs of
Vijayanagar. The story deepens in interest from about the year 1365,
and for two centuries we can follow the fortunes of the Hindu kingdom
without much difficulty.
Early in A.D. 1366[43] the Sultan opened his first regular campaign
against Vijayanagar. Originating in an after-dinner jest, it ended
only after such slaughter that Firishtah computes the victims on
the Hindu side alone as numbering no less than half a million. The
story is told us by an eye-witness, one Mullah Daud of Bidar, who
was seal-bearer to Sultan Muhammad.[44]
"One evening, when the spring of the garden of mirth had infused
the cheek of Mahummud Shaw with the rosy tinge of delight, a band
of musicians sung two verses of Ameer Khoossroo in praise of kings,
festivity, and music. The Sultan was delighted beyond measure,
and commanded Mallek Syef ad Dien Ghoree to give the three hundred
performers a draft for a gratuity on the treasury of the roy of
Beejanuggur. The minister, though he judged the order the effect of
wine, in compliance with the humour of the Sultan wrote it, but did
not despatch it. However, Mahummud Shaw penetrated his thoughts. The
next day he inquired if the draft had been sent to the roy, and
being answered, not, exclaimed, 'Think you a word without meaning
could escape my lips? I did not give the order in intoxication, but
serious design.' Mallek Syef ad Dien upon this, affixed the royal
seal to the draft, and despatched it by express messenger to the
roy of Beejanuggur. The roy, haughty and proud of his independence,
placed the presenter of the draft on an ass's back, and, parading him
through all the quarters of Beejanuggur, sent him back with every
mark of contempt and derision. He also gave immediate orders for
assembling his troops, and prepared to attack the dominions of the
house of Bhamenee. With this intent he marched with thirty thousand
horse, three thousand elephants, and one hundred thousand foot to
the vicinity of the fortress of Oodnee;[45] from whence he sent
detachments to destroy and lay waste the country of the faithful."
The Raya, in spite of the season being that of the rains, pressed
forward to Mudkal, an important city in the Raichur Doab, or the
large triangle of country lying west of the junction of the Krishna
and Tungabhadra rivers, a territory which was ever a debatable ground
between the Hindus and Mussulmans, and the scene of constant warfare
for the next 200 years. Mudkal was captured, and all the inhabitants,
men, women, and children, put to the sword. One man only escaped and
carried the news to Kulbarga.
"Mahummud Shaw, on hearing it, was seized with a transport of grief
and rage, in which he commanded the unfortunate messenger to be
instantly put to death; exclaiming that he could never bear in his
presence a wretch who could survive the sight of the slaughter of so
many brave companions."
The same day -- I.E. on a day in A.H. 767, in the month of
Jamad-ul-awwal, which lasted from January to February 13, A.D. 1366 --
the Sultan marched southwards taking a solemn oath --
"that till he should have put to death one hundred thousand infidels,
as an expiation for the massacre of the faithful, he would never
sheathe the sword of holy war nor refrain from slaughter. When he
reached the banks of the Kistna, he swore by the power who had created
and exalted him to dominion, that eating or sleep should be unlawful
for him till he had crossed that river in face of the enemy, by the
blessing of heaven routed their army, and gladdened the souls of the
martyrs of Mudkul with the blood of their murderers. He then appointed
his son Mujahid Shaw to succeed him, and Mallek Syef ad Dien regent
of his kingdom. He resigned all his elephants, except twenty, to the
prince, gave him his advice, and sent him back to Kulbarga. He then
crossed the river with nine thousand chosen horse without delay. The
roy of Beejanuggur, notwithstanding his vast army, was so alarmed[46]
that he sent off all his treasure, valuable baggage, and elephants
towards his capital, intending to engage the next morning, or retreat,
as he should find it adviseable. The night being stormy and heavy rain
falling, the elephants and other beasts of burden stuck frequently
in the mud,[47] and were not able to advance above four miles from
the camp. Mahummud Shaw heard of the enemy's movement during the
night, and immediately marched towards them, leaving his encampment
standing. Towards the dawn he arrived at the roy's camp, and the alarm
being given, so great was the confusion, that the infidels fled with
the utmost precipitation towards the fortress of Oodnee, leaving
everything behind them. Mahummud Shaw entered the camp of their
market and baggage, putting all to death without any distinction;
and it is said that the slaughter amounted to seventy thousand men,
women, and children."
Muhammad passed the hot weather and the season of the early rains that
year near Mudkal, and after being reinforced marched against Adoni --
"in the plains of which, on the banks of the Tummedra (Tungabhadra),
the roy of Beejanuggur had taken up his station in his own territories,
having given the command of Oodnee to his sister's son. Here he had
collected a great army, and brought elephants and all the splendid
insignia of empire from Beejanuggur."[48]
The Sultan had with him a train of artillery[49] and in a short time
crossed the Tungabhadra, "and entered the domains of Beejanuggur,
which were now for the first time invaded by a Muhammadan sovereign
in person." This remark of Firishtah's is historically correct, for
the Delhi Sultan's attack on Anegundi took place on the north bank
of that river.
Before continuing the story I must note that Firishtah calls the king
of Vijayanagar "Kishen Roy," otherwise Krishna Raya; but there can
be no doubt that his real name was Bukka. The historian collected
his information more than two hundred years after these events,
and often misnamed the Hindu kings of whom he writes.
Muhammad, then, crossed the Tungabhadra, and only about twenty-five
miles intervened between him and the great fortress of Adoni, which is
situated on a precipitous range of hills about that distance from the
river. The Tungabhadra at this portion of its course may be considered
as forming the arc, west to north, of a quarter circle having Adoni for
its centre, the radius roughly measuring about twenty-five miles. The
river is fordable at most seasons of the year, lying as it does in a
shallow rocky bed with low banks. It is difficult to locate with any
certainty the scenes of this campaign, but I gather generally that,
finding the Muhammadans aiming at the reduction of Adoni, Bukka marched
out with a very large force to intercept this move, and placed himself
on the south bank of the Tungabhadra, In the neighbourhood of the
threatened fortress. The Sultan crossed somewhere near the present town
of Siruguppa, and the great battle that ensued took place in the open
cotton-plains, perhaps near Kavutal ("Kowtall" on the Ordnance Map).
Here is Firishtah's account:[50] --
"Roy Kishen Roy (I.E. Bukka), on receiving the intelligence (that
Muhammad had crossed), called together all the first nobles of his
court, and consulted on the best mode of opposing the mussulmauns. It
was agreed that Hoje Mul,[51] a maternal relation to the roy and
commander of his armies, should have the conduct of the war. Hoje Mul,
vain to excess, on receiving his command, asked the roy if he should
bring the prince of the mussulmauns alive a prisoner into his presence,
or present him only his head upon a spear. Kishen Roy replied, that
a living enemy, in any situation, was not agreeable, therefore he
had better put him to death as soon as he should take him. Hoje Mul,
having received his dismission marched to oppose Mahummud Shaw with
forty thousand horse and five hundred thousand foot. He commanded
the Bramins to deliver every day to the troops discourses on the
meritoriousness of slaughtering the mahummedans, in order to excite
zeal for expelling them. He ordered them to describe the butchery of
cows,[52] the insults to sacred images, and destroying of temples,
practised by the true believers.
"Mahummud Shaw, when the enemy arrived within fifteen coss[53] of his
camp, commanded his general, Khan Mahummud, to muster the troops, who
were found to be fifteen thousand horse and fifty thousand foot. Ten
thousand horse and thirty thousand foot, with all the artillery,
he advanced under Khan Mahummud Khan.
"On the 14th of Zeekaud (A.H. 767, or Thursday, July 23, A.D. 1366),
the armies of light and darkness met. From the dawn till four
in the afternoon, like the waves of the ocean, they continued in
warm conflict with each other, and great numbers were slain on both
sides. Mooseh Khan and Eeseh Khan, who commanded the right and left
wings of Khan Mahummud's line, drank the sherbet of martyrdom, and
their troops broke; which misfortune had nearly given a blow to the
army of Islaam. At this instant Mahummud Shaw appeared with three
thousand fresh horse. This restored the spirits of Khan Mahummud as
also of the disordered troops, who rallied and joined him. Mukkrib
Khan, advancing with the artillery, was not wanting in execution,
greatly disordering the enemy's horse and foot. He asked leave to
charge and complete the rout. Khan Mahummud upon this, detached a
number of the nobility to support him, and permitted him to advance;
which he did with such rapidity that the infidels had not time to use
fireworks (I.E. cannon), but cane to short weapons such as swords and
daggers. At this time an elephant, named Sheer Shikar,[54] belonging
to Khan Mahummud, refused the guidance of his driver, and rushed into
the center of the enemy's line, where he was stopped by the elephants
of Hoje Mul Roy, and his driver was killed. Khan Mahummud with five
hundred horse followed, and the elephant becoming unruly, turned
upon the enemy, throwing their ranks into confusion. Hoje Mul Roy,
after receiving a mortal wound, fled, and his followers no longer
made resistance. The infidels, seeing their center broke, fled on
all sides. The scymetars of the faithful were not yet sheathed from
slaughter when the royal umbrella appeared. The sultan gave orders
to renew the massacre of the unbelievers. They were executed with
such strictness that pregnant women, and even children at the breast,
did not escape the sword.
"Mahummud Shaw halted a week on the field, and dispatched accounts
of his victory to his own dominions. In performance of his vow
of massacre he next marched towards the camp of Kishen Roy, who,
thinking himself unable to oppose notwithstanding his numerous force,
fled to the woods and mountains for shelter. The sultan followed him
from place to place for three months, putting to death all who came
in his way, without distinction. At length Kishen Roy took the road
of Beejanuggur, his capital. The sultan, pursuing, soon arrived with
his army near the city."
To make a long story short, the Sultan besieged Vijayanagar in vain
for a month, and then retreated across the Tungabhadra, harassed at
every step by masses of the Hindus from the city. He halted at last
in an open plain, and the king also pitched his camp at no great
distance. Muhammad's retreat had been deliberately carried out in
order to draw on his enemy, and cause him by over-confidence to
neglect proper precautions. The ruse was successful. The Muhammadans
made a sudden and unexpected night-attack. Bukka (called, as before,
"Kishen") was off his guard, having indulged in wine and the amusements
provided by a band of dancing-women. The slaughter was terrible, and
the Raya fled to Vijayanagar, ten thousand of his troops being slain;
-- "But this did not satisfy the rage of the sultan, who commanded
the inhabitants of every place round Beejanuggur to be massacred
without mercy."
Then Bukka tried to make peace, but the Sultan refused.
"At this time a favourite remarked to the sultan that he had only
sworn to slaughter one hundred thousand Hindoos, and not totally to
destroy their race The sultan replied that though twice the number
of his vow might have been slain, yet till the roy should submit, and
satisfy the musicians, he would not pardon him or spare the lives of
his subjects. To this the ambassadors, who had full powers, agreed,
and the money was paid at the instant. Mahummud Shaw then said,
'Praise be to God that what I ordered has been performed. I would
not let a light word be recorded of me in the pages of time!' "
The ambassadors then pleaded that no religion ordained that the
innocent, and particularly helpless women and children, should suffer
for the guilty: --
"If Kishen Roy had been faulty, the poor and wretched had not been
partakers in his crimes. Mahummud Shaw replied that the decrees of
providence had so ordered, and that he had no power to alter them."
The ambassadors finally urged that as the two nations were neighbours,
it were surely best to avoid unnecessary cruelty, which would only
embitter their relations with one another; and this argument had
effect.
"Mahummud Shaw was struck by their remarks, and took an oath that
he would not in future put to death a single enemy after victory,
and would bind his successors to observe the same lenity."
For some years, no doubt, the promise was fulfilled, but we read of
wholesale massacres perpetrated by sovereigns of later date. As to
Muhammad, Firishtah glories in the statement that he had slaughtered
500,000 Hindus, and so wasted the districts of the Carnatic that for
several decades they did not recover their natural population.
Thus ended the war, and for some years there was peace between
Vijayanagar and Kulbarga.
Muhammad Shah died on 21st April A.D. 1375,[55] and was succeeded
by his son Mujahid, then nineteen years old. Shortly after his
accession Mujahid wrote to Bukka Raya (still called "Kishen Roy"
by Firishtah[56]), "that as some forts and districts between the
Kistnah and Tummedra (Tungabhadra) rivers were held by them in
participation, which occasioned constant disagreements, he must for
the future limit his confines to the Tummedra, and give up all on
the eastern side to him, with the fort of Beekapore and some other
places." This "Beekapore" is the important fortress of Bankapur,
south of Dharwar. The Dakhani sovereigns always looked on it with
covetous eyes, as it lay on the direct route from Vijayanagar to the
sea, and its possession would paralyse Hindu trade.
The Raya replied by a counter-demand that the Sultan should evacuate
the whole of the Doab, since Raichur and Mudkal had always belonged
to the Anegundi family. Bukka declared the Krishna river to be the
true boundary, and asked that the elephants taken by Sultan Muhammad
should be restored.
The Sultan's answer was a declaration of war. He advanced in person,
crossed both the rivers, and arrived before Adoni. On hearing that the
Raya was encamped on the bank of the Tungabhadra, he left one force
to besiege the fortress, sent another to advance towards Vijayanagar,
and himself marched, probably in a north-westerly direction, towards
the river, "by slow marches and with great caution." The Hindu prince
at first prepared to receive his attack, but for some reason[57]
lost heart and retired to the forests on the hills of Sandur, south
of his capital.
Firishtah here pays a tribute to the interest felt by the inhabitants
of this part of India in the new city, then only forty years old,
but evidently growing in grandeur year by year.
"Mujahid Shaw, having heard great praises of the beauty of the city,
advanced to Beejanuggur; but thinking it too strong to besiege at
present, he moved in pursuit of the enemy in the field."
Now follows a passage on which it is difficult to place full reliance,
but which only echoes common tradition. It runs to the effect that,
on the advance of the Sultan, the Raya
"fled through the woods and hills towards Seet Bunder Ramessar
followed by the sultan, who cut passages for his cavalry; through
forests before inaccessible. In this manner the roy fled from place to
place for six months, but never dared to appear without the woods. It
was in vain that the favourites of the sultan represented the pursuit
as fruitless and destructive to the troops. He would not desist. At
last his good fortune prevailed. The health of Kishen Roy and his
family became affected by the noxious air of the woods, and they
were warned to quit them by the physicians.... Driven by necessity,
he retired by secret paths to his capital of Beejanuggur. The sultan
despatched an army after him, while he himself, with the ameer al
amra Bahadur Khan and five thousand men, went to amuse himself with
the sight of Seet Bunda Ramessar.
"The sultan at this place repaired a mosque which had been built
by the officers of Sultan Alla ad Dien Khiljee. He broke down many
temples of the idolaters, and laid waste their country after which
he hastened with all expedition to Beejanuggur."
It is a fact that a mosque is declared to have been erected by Malik
Kafur on the sea-coast in 1310, but apparently not at Ramesvaram,
which lies in the extreme south of India, on the eastern coast
opposite the island of Ceylon. Moreover, it is extremely improbable
that a Muhammadan sovereign could, in the fourteenth century A.D.,
have penetrated so far south with such a handful of men. They
would have been harassed at every step by myriads of Hindus, who,
though doubtless trembling at the sight of a Muhammadan, would,
we may be sure, never have permitted 5000 men to traverse in
peace 1000 miles of forest and mountain; for Ramesvaram is fully
500 miles from Vijayanagar. Malik Kafur's expedition is said to
have taken place after the conquest by him of the Ballala Rajah of
Dvarasamudra in Maisur, when he erected a mosque on the SEA-COAST OF
MALABAR, and therefore nowhere near Ramesvaram. Colonel Briggs has
observed this difficulty,[58] and thinks that the place alluded to
must be Sadasivaghur, on the western coast,) south of Goa, adding,
"The spot ... is called Cape Ramas on our maps."[59] He believes,
however, that the remains of an old mosque do exist at Ramesvaram,
and its date should be settled. Leaving it to others better informed
to throw light on this point, I return to Bukka Raya and his doings.
Firishtah says that there were two roads to Vijayanagar:
"one fit for the passage of armies, the other narrow and difficult. As
the former was lined with ambushes, he chose the latter, through
which he marched with a select-body of troops, and appeared suddenly
in the suburbs of the city."
If Mujahid came up from the Malabar coast, the former of these two
roads would perhaps be the usual route adopted by travellers, which
leads through open undulating plains. Avoiding this route, the Sultan
may have turned the Sandur hills by a flank movement to his right,
and approached either along the valley of Sandur or along the valley
which now carries the main road from Bellary to Vijayanagar, between
the Sandur hills and the hills that surround the latter city.
"Kishen Roy was astonished at his boldness, and sent myriads of his
people to defend the streets. The sultan drove them before him and
gained the bank of a piece of water which alone now divided him from
the citadel, in which Kishen Roy resided. Near this was an eminence,
upon which stood a temple covered with plates of gold and silver set
with jewels, much venerated by the Hindoos, and called in the language
of the country Puttuk. The sultan, esteeming the destruction of it
as a religious obligation, ascended the hill, and having razed the
temple, possessed himself of the precious metals and jewels."
The piece of water alluded to may have been the picturesque lake at
Kamalapuram; but which was the temple that Mujahid destroyed? It seems
useless to speculate, considering that the historian only wrote from
tradition after a lapse of two centuries. There are many temples on
hills to choose from, and several pieces of water. But the strangest
part of the story is that we are not told how the Sultan succeeded
in penetrating the outer lines of works, and in reaching a spot which
divided him only from the inner citadel or palace enclosure. It must,
however, be remembered that though in A.D. 1443 Abdur Razzak saw
seven lines of walls, we are not certain how many there were in the
days of Bukka Raya.
At this point Mujahid was attacked and nearly lost his life.
"The idolaters, upon seeing their object of veneration destroyed,
raised their shrieks and lamentations to the sky. They obliged Kishen
Roy to head them and advanced resolutely in astonishing numbers. Upon
which the sultan formed his disposition. He laid aside his umbrella,
and with one of his arms-bearers, an Afghaun named Mhamood, crossed a
small rivulet to observe the numbers and motions of the infidels. A
Hindoo, who knew the sultan from the horse he rode, resolved, by
revenging the destruction of his gods and country, to gain immortal
reputation for himself. He moved unperceived through the hollows and
broken ground along the bank of the rivulet, had gained the plain,
and was charging towards the sultan at full speed, when Mujahid Shaw,
at a lucky instant, perceiving him, made a sign to Mhamood Afghaun,
who without delay charged the Hindoo. Mhamood's horse rearing, he fell
to the ground. His antagonist, having every advantage, was on the point
of putting him to death, when sultan Mujahid Shaw advanced with the
quickness of lightning. The Hindoo, changing his object, aimed a heavy
stroke at the sultan, giving at the same instant a shout of triumph,
which made the spectators believe his blow was effectual. Luckily, a
helmet of iron saved the head of the sultan, who now inflicted such a
wound on his enemy that he was divided from the shoulder to the navel
and fell dead from his horse,[60] upon which the sultan remounted
Mhamood and joined his army on the other side of the rivulet."
A battle ensued in which the Hindus were defeated; but while
the invading force had hardly recovered from their fatigue, the
Raya's brother[61] "arrived at the city from his government with a
reinforcement of twenty thousand horse and a vast army of foot"[62]
The fighting then became furious. In the middle of the battle the
Sultan's uncle, Daud Khan,[63] fearful for the safety of his sovereign,
quitted his post at "Dhunna Sodra"[64] and joined in the engagement
with distinguished gallantry. The Muhammadans were again victorious;
but the enemy, having taken advantage of Daud Khan's movement,
had captured the abandoned position, and thus seriously threatened
the Sultan's retreat. He therefore left the field, and by skilful
manoeuvring enabled the whole of his force to extricate themselves
in safety from the hills. With between sixty and seventy thousand
prisoners, mostly women, he retreated from Vijayanagar and sat down
before Adoni; but after a siege lasting nine months the attempt was
abandoned, and the Sultan retired to his own territories. Thus ended
the campaign.
Firishtah gives a short account of the kingdom of Vijayanagar at this
period (about 1378 A.D.), from which the following extracts are taken.
"The princes of the house of Bahmanee maintained themselves by superior
valour only, for in power, wealth, and extent of country the roles
of Beejanuggur were greatly their superiors;" and he implies that
at this time, as certainly in after years, all Southern India had
submitted to the sway of the Raya.
"The seaport of Goa,[65] the fortress of Malgaon,[66] ... belonged
to the roy of Beejanuggur, and many districts of Tulghaut[67] were
in his possession. His country was well peopled, and his subjects
submissive to his authority. The roles of Malabar, Ceylon, and other
islands and other countries kept ambassadors at his court, and sent
annually rich presents."[68]
We must revert for a moment to the Sultan's uncle and his behaviour
before Vijayanagar. It will be remembered that, filled with the best
intentions, he had quitted his post to defend his king.
"The sultan, on seeing the standard of Daood Khan, was enraged, but
stifled his displeasure till the gale of victory had waved over the
standards of the faithful. He then called Daood Khan before him, and
gave him a harsh reprimand for quitting a station so important that,
should the enemy gain possession, not a mussulmaun could make his
escape from the city."
Daud treasured up his resentment at this treatment, and, being joined
by other disaffected nobles, secretly plotted the assassination of
the Sultan. The conspirators waited till Mujahid was on his way from
Adoni towards Kulbarga, and then one night, that of Friday, April
16, A.D. 1378,[69] while the Sultan was asleep in his tent, Daud,
accompanied by three other men, rushed in and stabbed him. There was
a struggle, and the unfortunate monarch was despatched by the blow
of a sabre.[70] Daud at once proclaimed himself Sultan as nearest
of kin -- Mujahid having no children -- and being acknowledged,
proceeded to Kulbarga, where he was proclaimed.
The assassination of his nephew availed Daud but little, as the
country was at once divided into two opposing factions, and on May
21, A.D. 1378,[71] after a reign of only one month, the murderer
was himself assassinated while at prayer in the great mosque of the
capital. Meanwhile Bukka Raya overrun the Doab, advanced as far as
the river Krishna, and invested the fortress of Raichur.
Daud was succeeded by Ala-ud-din's youngest son Mahmud I,[72] Mujahid's
sister Ruh Parvar Agah having blinded Daud's son, then a boy of eight
years, in order to prevent dissension. Mahmud was apparently welcome
to all parties, for even the Raya raised the siege of Raichur and
agreed to pay him the tribute exacted by Muhammad Shah; so at least
says Firishtah. And during the whole of his reign of nearly twenty
years there was peace and tranquillity at home and abroad. He died
on the 20th April A.D. 1397.[73]
The decease of Bukka I. of Vijayanagar must apparently, for reasons
shown, be placed at about A.D. 1379.
CHAPTER 4
Growth of the Empire (A.D. 1379 to 1406)
Harihara II. -- Firuz Shah of Kulbarga -- Fresh wars -- Assassination
of a prince in 1399 A.D. -- Bukka II.
Bukka I. was succeeded by Harihara II., his son by his wife
Gauri. Nuniz calls the new king "Pureoyre Deorao," and "Pureoyre"
seems to be a rough Portuguese version of the name Harihara;
H and P representing the same sound in the Kanarese and Telugu
languages. According to the inscriptions,[74] Harihara II. reigned
at least twenty years, and he was the first king who gave himself
imperial titles under the style of MAHARAJADHIRAJA. He gave many
grants to the temples, and consolidated the supremacy of his dynasty
over all Southern India. Sayana, brother of Madhavacharya, appears
to have been his chief minister, as he was to King Samgama II.[75]
Mudda is mentioned in two inscriptions of A.D. 1379 and 1382 as the
king's general. Another of his generals was called Iruga. He was
son of Chaicha, minister of Bukka II. His name appears on a pillar
in a Jain temple near Kamalapura at Vijayanagar in an inscription
bearing date A.D. 1385; which proves that the king was tolerant in
religious matters. There seems also to have been a general named
Gunda living in his reign, but his date is uncertain.[76] According
to another inscription,[77] King Harihara early in his reign expelled
the Muhammadans from Goa; and the last inscription of his reign at
present discovered[78] mentions that one Bachanna Udaiyar was then
governor of that place.
The king's wife, or one of his principal wives, was Malladevi, or
Mallambika. The extent of his domination is shown by the fact that
inscriptions of his reign are found in Mysore, Dharwar, Conjeeveram,
Chingleput, and Trichinopoly.[79] He was a worshipper of Siva under
the form Virupaksha, but appears to have been singularly tolerant
of other religions. The latest actual date of the reign afforded by
inscriptions is October 15, A.D. 1399.[80]
Ghias-ud-din, a boy of seventeen, eldest son of the late Sultan Mahmud,
had succeeded his father on the throne of Kulbarga; but on June 14,
1397,[81] he was treacherously blinded during an entertainment by an
ambitious slave, after a reign of only one month and twenty days. His
younger brother, Shams-ud-din, was then placed on the throne, but after
a reign of five months was blinded and deposed by his cousin Firuz,
second son of the late Sultan Daud. Firuz was by birth undoubtedly of
the elder branch, and he became one of the most celebrated monarchs
of his line, ascending the throne on November 15, A.D. 1397.[82] He
must have then been well advanced in years, as Firishtah says he was
"old" in A.D. 1419.
The date of the last inscription of Harihara II. as yet brought to
light is, as before stated, October 15, A.D. 1399. There are two
inscriptions extant of Bukka II., his eldest son, both dated in
A.D. 1406,[83] and several of the latter's successor, the younger
brother of Bukka II., whose name was Devaraya I., and whose reign
lasted till at least A.D. 1412.
It will be remembered that the first king of Vijayanagar, Harihara I.,
was an old man (Nuniz says "very old"), and reigned seven years. His
successor, Bukka, his brother, reigned thirty-seven years according to
Nuniz, and perhaps, therefore, it would be best not to assume too great
an age for Harihara I. However this may be, it would appear that when
the peaceful monarch Harihara II., son of Bukka I., came to the throne,
his father must have died at a very advanced age, and he himself
must have been by no means young. He reigned at least twenty years,
as before stated, and we are therefore justified in assuming that at
the close of his reign (in A.D. 1399) he was quite an old man. With
this in our minds, let us turn to Firishtah's narrative of the reign of
Firuz Shah Bahmani, beginning with his accession in November A.D. 1397.
He tells us that in the Hijra year 801 (13th September 1398 to 3rd
September 1399), month not given --
"Dewal Roy of Beejanuggur, with thirty thousand horse and a vast
army of foot, invaded the royal territories between the rivers,
with a design to reduce the forts of Mudkul and Roijore" (Raichur).
And in a later passage we are told that the campaign was at an end
a few months before the end of Hijra 801; I.E. a few months before
the end of August A.D. 1399. The first movement of the Hindu army
must therefore have taken place at the beginning of the cold season
of A.D. 1398, probably not earlier than December in that year, when
the great cotton plains across which the troops had to march were
passable. It can hardly be supposed that King Harihara II., then
quite old and always a lover of peace, would without motive have
waged this sudden war and himself led his armies into the field,
and it seems more likely that the invasion was a bold dash made by
his son with the king's permission. The Muhammadan historians admit
an unbroken peace of twenty years previous to this date.
It seems, therefore, that the chronicles of Nuniz, the writings of
Firishtah, and the extant inscriptions all agree together, and that
we must place the death of Harihara II. at the close of the year
A.D. 1399. Little more can be said about the events of his reign.
The new king, his eldest son, Bukka II., must have been a man of
middle age, as he had a son old enough to take the field with him
before he himself came to the throne.
"This king ('Pureoyre')," says Nuniz, "had a son, who by his
death inherited the kingdom, who was called Ajarao; and he reigned
forty-three years, in which time he was always at war with the Moors."
I can give no explanation as to why Nuniz calls the successor of
Harihara II "Ajarao," nor as to his estimate of forty-three years
for his reign. The names and lengths of reigns given to "Ajarao's"
successors by our chronicler prove that by "Ajarao" he means two kings,
Bukka II. and his successor, Deva Raya I.; and the period covered by
their combined reigns was only fourteen years, not forty-three.
Nuniz states that the successor of Harihara II. greatly improved the
city of Vijayanagar, raising fresh walls and towers, increasing its
extent, and building further lines of fortification. But his great
work was the construction of a huge dam in the Tungabhadra river,
and the formation of an aqueduct fifteen miles long from the river
into the city. If this be the same channel that to the present day
supplies the fields which occupy so much of the site of the old city,
it is a most extraordinary work. For several miles this channel is
cut out of the solid rock at the base of the hills, and is one of the
most remarkable irrigation works to be seen in India. No details are
given of the wars he engaged in, except that, besides his campaigns
against the Moors, he took "Goa, Chaul, and Dabull," and reduced the
Choromandel side of the peninsula to loyalty and obedience to his rule.
We learn a great deal more about the doings of Bukka II. and Deva
Raya I. from Firishtah than from Nuniz, and I make no apology for
quoting copiously from the former author, whose writings throw much
light on the period.
Bukka's first war began with the invasion already alluded to. It took
place during his father Harihara's reign, apparently about the month
of December A.D. 1398 (rather later than earlier). The wide cotton
plains of that tract are only passable during prolonged dry weather,
and the prince would certainly not have risked an advance while there
was any likelihood of rain falling. Bukka's son accompanied his father,
and the objective was the country of the Doab, and particularly the
fortresses of Mudkal and Raichur, then in the hands of the Bahmani
Sultan. Sultan Firuz moved to meet him, slaughtering on the way a
Hindu chief or zamindar and seven or eight thousand of his followers,
"who had always been very troublesome and refractory." The Raya
had advanced to the northern frontier of the debatable land and was
encamped on the river Krishna, then in full flood, having large bodies
of troops posted to oppose the passage of the Muhammadans.
"Sultan Feroze Shaw,[84] on his arrival near the river, held a council
of war with his chief officers, but received no advice that to him
appeared satisfactory.
"While the sultan was debating in his own mind how to act, Cauzi
Serauje, seeing his concern, offered, if the sultan would permit him,
to cross the river with a few of his friends, whom he would select
for that purpose, to assassinate Dewal Roy or his son, as he found
most convenient....
"The sultan approving the measure, some hundreds of hurdles covered
with leather[85] were prepared expeditiously for the troops to
cross. Cauzi Serauje, with seven of his friends disguised as holy
mendicants, proceeded to the roy's camp, and repaired to the quarter
where the dancing-girls resided.[86] Here the cauzi pretended to be
enraptured with a courtesan, and was guilty of a thousand extravagances
to support his character. In the evening the girl, having adorned
herself in her richest ornaments, prepared to go out, on which the
cauzi, like a jealous and distracted lover, falling at her feet,
entreated her to stay, or let him attend her, and not rend his heart
by her absence. The woman upon this informed him that she was ordered
to attend an entertainment by the roy's son, and durst not disobey,
nor could she take him with her, as only musicians and dancers would
be admitted. The cauzi upon this replied that he played on the same
instrument as herself, and had, besides, some curious accomplishments
that would highly please the roy's son. The dancing-girl, thinking
him in jest, out of contempt gave him her mundal,[87] and desired him
to play, which he did in so masterly a manner that she was delighted,
saying that his company would give her superiority over her fellows and
do her honour with the roy's son. Accordingly he with his companions
attended the girl to the tents of the young roy.
"As is the custom of Dekkan, many sets of loolies[88] and dancing-girls
were ordered to perform at the same time, and having finished
their parts, the roy's son called for the players and mummers. The
dancing-girl now obtained leave for the cauzi and one of his companions
to show their feats. Having assumed the dress of women, they entered
ogling and smiling, and so well imitated the mummers in playing on
the mundal, dancing, and mimicry, that the roy's son was charmed
with their performances. At length they each drew a dagger, and,
like the dancers of Dekkan, continued to flourish them for some
time, making a thousand antic postures in advancing, retreating,
and turning round. At last, suddenly rushing upon the roy's son,
they plunged both the daggers into his breast, afterwards attacking
his companions. Their remaining friends, who were watching without
the tent, on hearing an alarm, ripped up the curtain, and entered
to assist them. Many of the company, being much intoxicated, were
easily put to death. The cauzi with his friends extinguished all
the lights, and, making their escape through the rent, mingled with
the crowd. The outcry soon became general round the tents. Great
confusion ensued, and various reports and alarms took place. Some
said that the sultan had crossed the river and surprised the camp,
others that one of his chiefs, with twelve thousand men, had cut off
both the roy and his son. The night was uncommonly dark, and the camp
extended near ten miles, so that circumstances were variously reported,
and the different chiefs, ignorant of the real cause of the alarm,
contended themselves with waiting in their several quarters; under
arms. About four thousand of the sultan's troops, in this interim,
crossed the river in boats and rafts which had been prepared for the
purpose. The enemy's foot, stationed to oppose the passage, terrified
by the alarm in camp and the approach of the sultan's forces, fled in
confusion without waiting to be attacked. Before the morning Feroze
Shaw had crossed the river with his whole army, and at dawn assaulted
the enemy's camp with great fury. Dewul Roy grieved by the death of
his son and panic struck at the bravery of the assailants, made but
a faint resistance. Before sunrise, having taken up his son's corpse,
he fled with his army. The sultan gained immense plunder in the camp,
and pursued him to the vicinity of Beejanuggur. Several actions
happened on the way, all of which were fortunate to the sultan, and
the roads were heaped up with the bodies of the slaughtered Hindoos."
Bukka reached Vijayanagar in safety and took refuge behind its
fortifications, while the Sultan sent his brother Ahmad (afterwards
Sultan), whom he had honoured with the title of "Khankhanan," to
ravage the rich districts south of the city. Ahmad fulfilled his
instructions and returned with numberless prisoners, and amongst them
many Brahmans. The relatives of these in the city begged the aged
Raya (Harihara II., still alive) to offer ransom, and after much
negotiation the Sultan accepted "ten lakhs of oons"[89] and agreed
to the execution of a treaty.
According to this treaty, which was entered into a few months
before the close of the Hijra year 801, I.E. a few months before 3rd
September A.D. 1399, the boundaries of the two kingdoms were to be
the same as before the war, and each party agreed to refrain from
molesting the subjects of the other. This does not look as though
the Sultan had gained any very material advantage in the campaign,
since the true boundary was always a subject of dispute. I obtain
the date above given from Firishtah's sentence: "In a few months
after the conclusion of this campaign, and the beginning of the year
802, the sultan marched to punish Nersing," a chief who had raised
disturbances on the borders of Berar.
The BURHAN-I MAASIR passes over this war with great brevity. It states
that the Sultan began it, and that at its close he accepted a large
indemnity and promise of payment of annual tribute. The date given
is identical.
Not long after this war, but certainly not before October 15,
A.D. 1399, Harihara II, died, and was succeeded by Bukka, his son.
We have little to guide us as to the events of Bukka's reign, but
Firishtah states that he ceased to pay tribute to Firuz Shah, partly
owing to instigation from Gujarat, Malwa, and Khandeish. In Hijra 808
(June 1405 to June 1406 A.D.) four years' tribute was owing, but the
Sultan took no notice, and waited for a more convenient time.
Bukka was followed on the throne of Vijayanagar by his brother Deva
Raya I., the date of whose coronation is fixed by an inscription
at Hasan in Mysore as November 5, 1406.[90] The last inscription of
Bukka Raya at present known bears a date corresponding to April 30th
in that year -- in Hindu reckoning the 12th day of the first half of
the month Vaisakha, in the (expired) Saka year 1328, the name of the
cyclic year being "Vyaya."[91]
CHAPTER 5
Deva Raya I. (A.D. 1406 to 1419)
The amorous monarch, Deva Raya I. -- The farmer's beautiful daughter --
The king's escapade -- The city threatened -- A Hindu princess wedded
to a Muhammadan prince -- Firuz Shah's anger -- Pertal's marriage --
King Vijaya -- Probable date of accession of Deva Raya II.
Firishtah tells us of an event that must have taken place towards
the end of the year A.D. 1406, in which the principal actor was the
king of Vijayanagar. This king I believe to have been Bukka II.'s
successor, his younger brother, Deva Raya I. The story relates to a
mad adventure of the Raya which he undertook in order to secure for
himself the person of a beautiful girl, the daughter of a farmer in
Mudkal. His desire to possess her attained such a pitch, that he made
an expedition into the debatable land north of the Tungabhadra for the
sole purpose of capturing the girl and adding her to his harem. I have
already shown reasons for supposing that Bukka II. was a middle-aged
man at his accession, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that this
hot-blooded monarch was his younger brother, who began to reign in
November 1406 A.D. His escapade must be narrated in full as told by
Firishtah, since it led to very important consequences.
"There resided in the town of Mudkul a farmer, who was blessed with
a daughter of such exquisite beauty, that the Creator seemed to have
united all his powers in making her perfect."
This attractive person was educated by an old Brahman, whose admiration
of her led him to think that she would prove a desirable member of
the Raya's household.
"He proceeded to Beejanuggur and being introduced to the roy, spoke
in such praise of the beauty and accomplishments of the young maid,
that he was fired with the desire of possessing her, and entreated
the bramin to procure her for him of her parents in marriage. This
request was what the bramin earnestly wished, and he immediately
agreed to satisfy him; upon which the roy despatched him with rich
gifts and great promises of favours to the parents, and the title of
ranee, or princess, for their beautiful daughter. The bramin lost no
time in his journey, and, upon his arrival at the farmer's house,
delivered to him and his wife the roy's orders, that they should
repair to Beejanuggur with their daughter. The parents were overjoyed
at such unexpected good fortune, and calling for the young maid, laid
before her the rich gifts of the roy, congratulated her on being soon
to be united to a great prince, and attempted to throw upon her neck
a golden collar set with jewels, as a token of immediate espousals,
and which, if done, could not have been broken off.
"The beautiful virgin, to their great astonishment, drawing her
neck from compliance, refused to receive the collar, and observed,
that whoever entered the harem of Beejanuggur, was afterwards not
permitted to see even her nearest relations and friends; and though
they might be happy to sell her for worldly riches, yet she was too
fond of her parents to submit to eternal absence from them, even
for all the splendour of the palace of Beejanuggur. This declaration
was accompanied with affectionate tears, which melted her parents;
who rather than use force, dismissed the bramin with all his gifts,
and he returned, chagrined and disappointed, to Beejanuggur....
"When the bramin arrived at Beejanuggur, and related to the roy the
failure of his scheme, the prince's love became outrageous, and he
resolved to gratify it by force, though the object resided in the
heart of Feroze Shaw's dominions.[92] For this purpose he quitted
Beejanuggur with a great army, on pretence of going the tour of his
countries; and upon his arrival on the banks of the River Tummedra,
having selected five thousand of his best horse, and giving the reins
of his conduct to love, commanded them, in spite of the remonstrances
of his friends, to march night and day with all expedition to
Mudkul,[93] and, surrounding the village where Pertal[94] lived,
to bring her prisoner to him, with her whole family, without injury."
The unexpected, however, happened. The king neglected to send the
Brahman to warn Pertal's family, and on the arrival of news at
Mudkal that a large force of the Raya's troops was approaching, the
inhabitants fled, and amongst them the girl and her relatives. The
troops therefore resumed, but on the way looted the country. They
were attacked by superior forces and 2000 of them were slain. This
led to a war.
"In the beginning of the winter of the year 809 (I.E. the winter of
A.D. 1406),[95] he (the Sultan) moved in great force, and arrived
near Beejanuggur, in which Dewul Roy had shut himself up. An assault
was made upon the city, and the Sultan got possession of some streets,
which, however, he was obliged to quit, his army being repulsed by the
Carnatickehs. Dewul Roy, encouraged by his success, now ventured to
encamp his army under protection of the walls, and to molest the royal
camp. As the mussulmauns could not make proper use of their cavalry in
the rocky unevenness of ground round Beejanuggur, they were somewhat
dispirited. During this, Sultan Feroze Shaw was wounded by an arrow
in the hand, but he would not dismount; and drawing out the arrow,
bound up the wound with a cloth.
"The enemy were at last driven off by the valour and activity of Ahmed
Khan and Khankhanan, and the Sultan moved farther from the city to a
convenient plain, where he halted till his wounded men were recovered."
He halted here for four months, holding the Raya a prisoner in his
own capital, while bodies of troops harassed and wasted the country
south of Vijayanagar, and attacked the fortress of Bankapur. The
"convenient plain" was probably in the open and rich valley near
the town of Hospett, south of the city; for the Sultan could not
have ravaged the country to the south unless he had been master of
the whole of this valley for many miles. Bankapur was taken, and the
detached forces returned bringing with them 60,000 Hindu prisoners;
on which the Sultan left Khankhanan to hold Vijayanagar, while he
himself attempted to reduce the fortress of Adoni, "the strongest in
possession of the enemy."
Deva Raya then began to treat for peace, and was compelled to submit
to conditions to the last degree humiliating. He agreed to give the
Sultan his daughter in marriage, to indemnify him with an immense
treasure, and to cede for ever the fort of Bankapur.[96]
"Though the roies of Carnatic had never yet married their daughters
but to persons of their own cast, and giving them to strangers was
highly disgraceful, yet Dewul Roy, out of necessity, complied,
and preparations for celebrating the nuptials were made by both
parties. For forty days communication was open between the city and
the sultan's camp. Both sides of the road were lined with shops and
booths, in which the jugglers, drolls, dancers, and mimics of Carnatic
displayed their feats and skill to amuse passengers. Khankhanan and
Meer Fuzzul Oollah, with the customary presents of a bridegroom,
went to Beejanuggur, from whence at the expiration of seven days they
brought the bride, with a rich portion and offerings from the roy,
to the sultan's camp. Dewul Roy having expressed a strong desire to
see the sultan, Feroze Shaw with great gallantry agreed to visit him
with his bride, as his father-in-law.
"A day being fixed, he with his bride proceeded to Beejanuggur,
leaving the camp in charge of Khankhanan. On the way he was met by
Dewul Roy in great pomp. From the gate of the city to the palace,
being a distance of six miles,[97] the road was spread with cloth of
gold, velvet, satin, and other rich stuffs. The two princes rode on
horseback together, between ranks of beautiful boys and girls, who
waved plates of gold and silver flowers[98] over their heads as they
advanced, and then threw them to be gathered by the populace. After
this the inhabitants of the city made offerings, both men and women,
according to their rank. After passing through a square directly
in the centre of the city,[99] the relations of Dewul Roy, who had
lined the streets in crowds, made their obeisance and offerings, and
joined the cavalcade on foot, marching before the princes. Upon their
arrival at the palace gate, the sultan and roy dismounted from their
horses, and ascended a splendid palanquin, set with valuable jewels,
in which they were carried together to the apartments prepared for
the reception of the bride and bridegroom, when Dewul Roy took his
leave, and retired to his own palace. The sultan, after being treated
with royal magnificence for three days, took his leave of the roy,
who pressed upon him richer presents than before given, and attended
him four miles on his way, when he returned to the city.
"Sultan Feroze Shaw was enraged at his not going with him to his
camp, and said to Meer Fuzzul Oollah that he would one day have his
revenge for the affront offered him by such neglect. This declaration
being told to Dewul Roy, he made some insolent remarks, so that,
notwithstanding the connection of family, their hatred was not calmed."
Firuz returned after this to his capital and sent for the lovely
Pertal, and on her arrival, finding that her beauty surpassed
all report, he gave her in marriage to his eldest son, Hasan
Khan, when "the knot was tied amid great rejoicings and princely
magnificence." The lady's husband is described by Firishtah as being
"a weak and dissipated prince." He was heir to the throne, but was
easily ousted by the valiant Ahmad "Khankhanan," and lived privately
at Firuzabad, "entirely devoted to redolence and pleasure." The last
we hear of him is that his usurping uncle, Ahmad Shah I., treated
him kindly, "gave him the palace of Firozeabad for his residence,
with an ample jaghire (estate), and permission to hunt or take his
pleasure within eight miles round his palace, without restriction to
time or form." Hasan "was more satisfied with this power of indulging
his appetites than with the charge of empire. While his uncle lived
he enjoyed his ease, and no difference ever happened between them;
but he was afterwards blinded and kept confined to the palace of
Firozeabad." This must have been after A.D. 1434.
Deva Raya I. lived till at least 1412 A.D., and was succeeded by
his son Vira-Vijaya, whom Nuniz calls "Visaya," and who, he says,
reigned six years. The last extant inscription of Deva Raya I. is
dated in A.D. 1412 -- 13, the first of his successor Vijaya in 1413
-- 14. Vijaya's last known inscription is one of 1416 -- 17, and the
first yet known of his successor, his eldest son, Deva Raya II.,
is dated Monday, June 26, 1424 -- 25. Nuniz gives Deva Raya II. a
reign of twenty-five years.
I am inclined to think that Deva Raya II. began to reign in 1419,
for the following reason. The informants of Nuniz stated that
during Vijaya's reign he "did nothing worth relating," and the
chronicle records that during the reign which followed, namely that
of Deva Raya II., there was "constant warfare." Now we have it from
Firishtah that in 1417 Firuz, Sultan of Kulbarga, commenced a war of
aggression against the Hindus of Telingana He besieged the fortress
of Pangul,[100] seventy miles north-east of Adoni, for a period of
two years, but the attempt to reduce it ended in failure owing to a
pestilence breaking out amongst both men and horses.
"Many of the first nobility deserted the camp and tied with their
followers to their jaghires. At this crisis Dewul Roy collected his
army, and having obtained aid from the surrounding princes, even to
the Raja of Telingana (Warangal), marched against the sultan with a
vast host of horse and foot."
This then took place in 1419 A.D., and since this energetic action was
not consonant with the character of Vijaya, the FAINEANT sovereign,
"who did nothing worth recording" in all his career, we must suppose
that it took place as soon as Deva Raya, his successor, was crowned;
when the nobles surrounding him (he was, I believe, quite young when
he began to reign)[101] filled with zeal and ambition, roused the
Hindu troops and in the king's name plunged into war against their
country's hereditary foe.
If this be correct, the reign of Deva Raya II., granting that it lasted
as stated by Nuniz for twenty-five years, ended in A.D. 1444. Now the
chronicle tells us a story of how this Deva Raya's son and successor,
"Pina Rao,"[102] was attacked by his nephew with a poisoned dagger, and
died from the effects of his wounds after a lapse of six months. Abdur
Razzak, more reliable because he was not only a contemporary but
was at Vijayanagar at the time, relates the same anecdote of Deva
Raya II. himself, making the would-be assassin the king's brother,
and definitely fixing the date beyond a shadow of a doubt. The
event occurred on some day between November 1442 and April 1443 --
the outside limits of Razzak's visit to Calicut -- during his stay
at which place he says it happened. Abdur Razzak does not mention the
king's death, and this therefore had not supervened up to the time of
the traveller leaving the capital in December 1443. On the assumption
that we need not be too particular about Nuniz's "six months," we may
conclude that the attack was made about the month of April 1443, and
that Deva Raya II. died early in 1444 A.D. There is still, however,
a difficulty, as will be noticed below, inscriptions giving us the
name of a Deva Raya as late as 1449 A.D., but it is just possible
that this was another king of the same name.
Putting together the facts given above, we find that the twenty-five
years of the reign of Deva Raya II. lay between 1419 and 1444 A.D.
CHAPTER 6
Deva Raya II. (A.D. 1419 to 1444 or (?) 1449)
A fresh war, 1419 -- Success of Vijayanagar -- Death of Firuz --
Sultan Ahmad attacks Deva Raya -- The latter's adventure and narrow
escape -- Ahmad at the gates of the city -- He nearly loses his life
-- Submission of Deva Raya -- Fall of Warangal -- Sultan Ala-ud-din
-- Deva Raya's precautions -- His attempted assassination, 1433 --
The story as told by Abdur Razzak -- Expedition against Kulbarga --
Improvements at the capital -- Probable date of the kings death --
Was there a King Deva Raya III.?
There was war then with Kulbarga in 1419, Deva Raya II. being king
of Vijayanagar. The Sultan had been unsuccessful in his attack on
the Warangal fortress, Pangul, and the troops of Vijayanagar marched
against him with horse, foot, and elephants. Firuz Shah gave battle
forthwith, though he judged his forces to be inferior. Firishtah does
not mention where the fight took place.
"Meer Fuzzul Oollah, who commanded the troops of Islaam, charged the
infidels with heroic vigour, and, routing their center, proceeded to
attack their right wing. He was on the point of gathering the flowers
of victory, when one of his own attendants, bribed for the purpose
by Dewul Roy, gave him a mortal wound on the head, and he instantly
quaffed the sherbet of martyrdom. This fatal event changed the fortune
of the day; the sultan was defeated, and with the utmost difficulty,
by the most surprising and gallant efforts, made his escape from
the field. The Hindoos made a general massacre of the mussulmauns,
and erected a platform with their heads on the field of battle. They
followed the sultan into his own country, which they wasted with fire
and sword, took many places, broke down many mosques and holy places,
slaughtered the people without mercy; by their actions seeming to
discharge the treasured malice and resentment of ages. Sultan Firoze
Shaw, in the exigence of distress, requested aid of the sultan of
Guzarat, who, having but just acceded to the throne, could afford
none. At last fortune took a turn favourable to his affairs, and the
enemy, after repeated battles, were expelled from his dominions by
the Sultan's brother, Khankhanan; but these misfortunes dwelt on the
mind of Firoze Shaw, now old, and he fell into a lingering disorder
and lowness of spirits."
The Sultan desired the throne for his son Hasan, husband of the
beautiful Pertal, but on Ahmad Khankhanan taking up arms to support
his intended usurpation and advancing, supported by most of the nobles,
to the capital, Firuz gave way and nominated him Sultan in his stead.
Firuz died on September 24, A.D. 1422,[103] and Khankhanan became
Sultan of Kulbarga under the title of Ahmad Shah I.
The first act of the new monarch, after "impressing the minds of
his people with affection to his government" -- probably, that is,
after an interval of a few months -- was to strengthen his army in
order to take revenge for the invasions of the Raya; and having made
all preparations he advanced to the attack. Deva Raya's generals
collected their troops, sent for aid to Warangal, and marched to
the Tungabhadra where they encamped. From this it appears that they
had retired from the Doab after their successful raid. The Sultan
arrived on the north bank of the river opposite the Hindu camp,
and LAAGERED, if we may use the term now in fashion. Firishtah says
that he "surrounded his camp with carriages (carts and waggons),
after the usage of Room (Turkey in Europe), to prevent the enemy's
foot from making night-attacks. Here he halted for forty days." We
are now, therefore, probably in the dry season at the beginning of
the year A.D. 1423, for if the river had been in flood there would
have been no fear of the enemy's crossing it. In the early months of
the Christian year that river is usually shallow in the open country
east of the Hindu capital and away from the hills that surround it,
having only thin streams running in its rocky bed. Indeed, Firishtah
himself tells us that the river was at that time fordable.
Then ensued a dramatic episode. The Muhammadan cavalry had crossed the
river and devastated the country of the Raya, who remained inactive,
and the Sultan determined on a direct frontal attack. The troops of
Warangal deserted the Raya and withdrew.
"Early in the morning Lodi Khan, Aulum Khan, and Dillawer Khan,
who had marched during the night and forded the river at distance,
reached the environs of the enemy's camp. It happened that the roy was
sleeping, attended by only a few persons, in a garden, close to which
was a thick plantation of sugar-cane.[104] A body of the mussulmauns
entered the garden for plunder, and Dewul Roy, being alarmed, fled
almost naked into the sugar-cane plantation. Here he was found by
the soldiers, who thought him only a common person, and -- having
loaded him with a bundle of canes, obliged him to run with it before
them. Dewul Roy, rejoiced at his being undiscovered, held his peace,
and took up the burden readily, hoping that he should be discharged
as a poor person or be able to make his escape.
"They had not gone far when the alarm of Sultan Ahmed Shaw's having
crossed the river, and the loss of the roy, filled the camp, and the
Hindoos began to disperse. The sultan entered the camp, and Dewul Roy's
masters, hoping now for more valuable plunder than sugar-cane, hastened
to join their own fronds, leaving him to shift for himself. Dewul
Roy ran with his own troops, and about noon came up with some of his
nobles, by whom he was recognised and received with great joy. His
safety being made known, his army rallied into some order; but as he
regarded the late accident as an ill omen, he laid aside all thoughts
of engaging in the field, and fled to Beejanuggur.[105]
"Ahmad Shaw not stopping to besiege the city, overran the open country,
and wherever he came, put to death men; women, and children, without
mercy, contrary to the compact made by his ancestor Mahummud Shaw
with the roies of Beejanuggur. Laying aside all humanity, whenever
the number of the slain amounted to twenty thousand, he halted three
days, and made a festival in celebration of the bloody work. He
broke down the idol temples, and destroyed the colleges of the
Bramins. During these operations a body of five thousand Hindoos,
enraged to desperation at the destruction of their country and the
insults of their gods, united in taking an oath to sacrifice their
lives in attempting to kill the sultan, as the grand author of all
their sufferings. For this purpose they employed spies to observe
his motions, that they might seize the first opportunity of action.
"It happened, that the sultan going to hunt, in the eagerness of
chase separated from the body of his attendants, and advanced near
twelve miles from his camp.[106] The devoted infidels, informed of
the circumstance, immediately hastened to intercept him, and arrived
in sight when even his personal attendants, about two hundred Moguls,
were at some distance from him. The sultan alarmed, galloped on in
hopes of gaining a small mud enclosure which stood on the plain as
a fold for cattle, but was so hotly pursued, that some broken ground
falling in his way, he was not able to cross it before his pursuers
came up. Luckily some archers at this instant arrived to his aid, so
that the enemy were delayed sufficiently to give the sultan time to
reach the enclosure with his friends. The infidels attempted to enter,
and a sharp conflict took place; all the faithful repeating the creed
of testimony, and swearing to die, rather than submit.... Their little
troop being mostly killed and wounded, the assailants advanced close to
the wall, which they began to throw down with pickaxes and hatchets,
so that the sultan was reduced to the extremity of distress. At this
critical juncture arrived Abd-al-Kadir, first armour-bearer to the
sultan, and a body of troops, with whom, fearful of some accident
having happened to occasion his absence, he had left the camp in
search of his master. The infidels had completed a wide breach, and
were preparing to enter, when they found their rear suddenly attacked
The sultan with his remaining friends joined Abd-al-Kadir in attacking
the enemy, who after a long struggle were driven off the field, with
a loss of a thousand men, and about five hundred of the mussulmauns
attained martyrdom. Thus the sultan, by the almost inspired caution
of Abd-al-Kadir, acceded, as it were, a second time, from the depths
of danger to the enjoyment of empire.[107] It deserves place among
the records of time, as a remarkable event, that two sovereigns at
the head of armies, should fall into such danger for want of numbers,
and both escape uninjured....
"after this event Ahmed Shaw, having laid waste the whole country,
marched to Beejanuggur, which he kept so closely blocked up, that
the inhabitants were reduced to the greatest distress; when Dewul
Roy, to spare his people, sent ambassadors to the sultan entreating
peace, to which he consented, on condition that he would send the
tribute of as many years as he had neglected to pay,[108] laden
on his best elephants, and conducted by his son, with his drums,
trumpets, and all the other insignia of state, to his camp. Dewul Roy,
unable to refuse compliance, agreed to the demands, and sent his son
with thirty favourite elephants, loaded with treasure and valuable
effects. The sultan sent some noblemen to meet him; and after being led
in ceremony through the market and great streets of the camp, he was
brought to the presence.[109] The sultan, after embracing, permitted
him to sit at the foot of his throne, and putting on his shoulders a
magnificent robe, and girding him with a sabre set with jewels, gave
him twenty beautiful horses of various countries, a male elephant,
dogs for the chase, and three hawks, which the Carnatickehs were till
then strangers to the use of. He then marched from the environs of
Beejanuggur, and on his arrival on the bank of the Kistnah dismissed
the roy's son and returned to Koolburga."
To form some idea of the date of this cessation of hostilities we must
see what follows in Firishtah's narrative. The historian states that
during the year of the Sultan's return to Kulbarga there was a grievous
famine in the Dakhan, and "the next year also, no rain appearing,
the people became seditious." These two years were probably A.H. 826,
827, extending from 15th December A.D. 1422 to 23rd November 1424. He
continues, "In the year 828" the Sultan marched against Warangal. The
last campaign began about December A.D. 1422; and since we must allow
some months for Ahmad's blockade of Vijayanagar, which resulted in his
reducing the inhabitants to a state of starvation so that the Raya
was compelled to capitulate, the date for the end of the war cannot
be safely placed earlier than the winter of the year A.D. 1423. During
these twelve months, however, there was a famine and failure of rain,
so that the Sultan may have been able to traverse the cotton plains
lying between Vijayanagar and Kulbarga, plains quite impassable for
troops in wet weather, somewhat earlier than would otherwise have
been the case.
The Sultan's next war took place in A.H. 828, when he advanced against
Warangal over the undulating plains of the Dakhan, then rich in crop,
and was completely successful. The Hindu kingdom was completely and
for ever destroyed. The English date usually given for this event
is A.D. 1424, but it is quite possible that a mistake has been
made owing to the use of imperfect chronological tables by those
who have written on the subject, and that Ahmad Shah's capture of
Warangal may have taken place in A.D. 1425. Briggs, for instance,
calls A.H. 828 "A.D. 1424," but the year only began on November
23, 1424. The campaign, however, was very short, and may have been
concluded before the end of December of that year.
We hear nothing more from Firishtah regarding the affairs of
Vijayanagar till the early part of the reign of Ahmad's son and
successor, Ala-ud-din II., which began on Sunday, February 27,
A.D. 1435,[110] the day of Sultan Ahmad's death.
Ala-ud-din's first act was to despatch his brother Muhammad Khan with
a powerful army against Deva Raya of Vijayanagar --
"who had withheld his tribute for five years and refused to pay the
arrears. They laid waste the country in such a manner that the Roy
in a short time was glad to procure peace by giving twenty elephants,
a great sum of money, and two hundred female slaves skilled in music
and dancing, besides a valuable present to Mahummud Khan."
Flushed with this victory, and in command of a large force, Prince
Muhammad rebelled against his brother, and Firishtah states that
in doing so he obtained aid from Deva Raya. The prince took Mudkal,
Raichur, Sholapur, Bijapur, and Naldirak from the Sultan's governors,
but in a pitched battle with the royal forces was completely defeated
and fled. Shortly afterwards, however, he was forgiven by his generous
sovereign, and the fortress and territories of Raichur were conferred
on him.
About the year 1442 Deva Raya began to consider more seriously his
situation in relation to his powerful neighbour at Kulbarga.
"He called[111] a general council of his nobility and principal
bramins, observing to them that as his country of Carnatic in extent,
population, and revenue far exceeded the territories of the house
of Bahmenee; land in like manner his army was far more numerous,
wished therefore to explore the cause of the mussulmauns' successes,
and his being reduced to pay them tribute. Some said ... that the
superiority of the mussulmauns arose from two circumstances: one,
all their horses being strong, and able to bear more fatigue than the
weak, lean animals of Carnatic; the other, a great body of excellent
archers always kept up by the sultans of the house of Bahmenee,
of whom the roy had but few in his army.
"Deo Roy upon this gave orders for the entertainment of mussulmauns
in his service, allotted them jaghires,[112] erected a mosque
for their use in the city of Beejanuggur, and commanded that no
one should molest them in the exercise of their religion. He also
ordered a koraun to be placed before his throne, on a rich desk,
that the mussulmauns might perform the ceremony of obeisance in his
presence, without sinning against their laws. He also made all the
Hindoo soldiers learn the discipline of the bow; in which he and his
officers used such exertions, that he had at length two thousand
mussulmauns and sixty thousand Hindoos, well skilled in archery,
besides eighty thousand horse and two hundred thousand foot, armed
in the usual manner with pikes and lances."
On a day which must have been between November 1442 and April 1443 a
desperate attempt was made on the life of King Deva Raya by one of his
closest relatives -- a brother, according to Abdur Razzak, a nephew,
according to Nuniz. Abdur Razzak's story is without doubt the more
reliable of the two, since he is a contemporary witness. The story as
told by Nuniz is given in the chronicle at the end of this volume.[113]
Abdur Razzak was ambassador from Persia to Calicut and Vijayanagar, and
his account is particularly important as it definitely fixes the date.
"During the time that the author of this narrative was still sojourning
at Calicut (November 1442 to April 1443) there happened in the city
of Bidjanagar an extraordinary and most singular occurrence....
"The king's brother, who had had a new house built for himself, invited
thither the monarch and the principal personages of the empire. Now it
is an established usage of the infidels never to eat in presence of
each other. The men who were invited were assembled together in one
grand hall. At short intervals the prince either came in person or
sent some messenger to say that such or such great personage should
come and eat his part of the banquet. Care had been taken to bring
together all the drums, kettledrums, trumpets, and flutes that could
be found in the city, and these instruments playing all at the same
time, made a tremendous uproar. As soon as the individual who had been
sent for entered the above-mentioned house, two assassins, placed in
ambush, sprang out upon him, pierced him with a poignard, and cut him
in pieces. After having removed his limbs, or rather the fragments of
his body, they sent for another guest, who, once having entered this
place of carnage, disappeared.... In consequence of the noise of the
drums, the clamour, and the tumult, no one was aware of what was going
on. In this manner all those who had any name or rank in the state were
slaughtered. The prince leaving his house all reeking with the blood
of his victims, betook himself to the king's palace, and addressing
himself to the guards who were stationed in that royal residence,
invited them with flattering words to go to his house, and caused them
to follow the steps of the other-victims. So that the palace was thus
deprived of all its defenders. This villain then entered into the
king's presence, holding in his hand a dish covered with betel-nut,
under which was concealed a brilliant poignard. He said to the monarch,
'The hall is ready and they only wait your august presence.'
"The king, following the maxim which declares that eminent men
receive an inspiration from heaven, said to him, 'I am not in good
health to-day.'
"This unnatural brother, thus losing the hope of enticing the king
to his house, drew his poignard, and struck him therewith several
violent blows, so that the prince fell at the back of his throne. The
traitor, thus believing that the king was dead, left there one of
his confidants to cut off the monarch's head; then going out of the
hall he ascended the portico of the palace, and thus addressed the
people: 'I have slain the king, his brothers, and such and such emirs,
Brahmins, and viziers; now I am king.'
"Meanwhile his emissary had approached the throne with the intention of
cutting off the king's head, but that prince, seizing the seat behind
which he had fallen, struck the wretch with it with so much violence
on the chest that he fell upon his back. The king then, with the help
of one of his guards, who at the sight of this horrible transaction
had hidden himself in a corner, slew this assassin, and went out of
the palace by way of the harem.
"His brother, still standing on the steps of the hall of council,
invited the multitude to recognise him as their king. At that moment
the monarch cried out, 'I am alive. I am well and safe. Seize that
wretch.'
"The whole crowd assembled together threw themselves upon the guilty
prince and put him to death.
"The only one who escaped was Danaik, the vizier, who previously to
this sad event had gone on a voyage to the frontier of Ceylon. The
king sent a courier to him to invite him to return, and informed
him of what had just occurred. All those who had in any way aided in
the conspiracy were put to death. Men in great numbers were slain,
flayed, burnt alive, and their families entirely exterminated. The
man who had brought the letters of invitation was put to the last
degree of torture...."
Nuniz states that the king died six months later and was succeeded by
his son, but Abdur Razzak declares that he was presented in person to
Deva Raya about the month of December 1443. The name of Deva Raya's
son is not given by Nuniz, nor yet the length of his reign; he only
states that he did nothing worth relating except to give enormous
charities to temples. This king again was succeeded by a son called
"Verupaca Rao," who must be identical with Virupaksha, and Nuniz
dates from his reign the commencement of the troubles that led to
the usurpation of Narasimha and the downfall of the first dynasty.
But before putting together the confusing records of this period I
must revert to the events of the year A.D. 1443.
"At this period," says Abdur Razzak, referring to the second half
of the year 1443, "Danaik[114] the vizier set out on an expedition
into the kingdom of Kalbarga." The reasons which had led to this
invasion were as follows: Sultan Ala-ud-din had heard of the
treacherous attempt to kill the king of Vijayanagar and the murder
of the nobles and Principal people, and he had sent a message to the
king demanding payment of "seven lakhs of varahas," as he thought the
moment auspicious for an attempt to crush the kingdom. "Diou-rai, the
king of Bidjanagar, was equally troubled and irritated by the receipt
of such a message," but he sent a brave answer and prepared for war.
"Troops were sent out on both sides, which made great ravages on
the frontiers of the two kingdoms.... Danaik, after having nit de
an invasion upon the frontiers of the country of Kalbarga, and taken
several unfortunate prisoners, had retraced his steps...."
Firishtah also describes this war of A.D. 1443. He states that Deva
Raya wantonly attacked the Bahmani princes --
"crossed the Tummedra suddenly, took the fortress of Mudkul, sent his
sons to besiege Roijore and Beekapore, encamped himself along the bank
of the Kistnan, and sent out detachments, who plundered the country
as far as Saugher and Beejapore, laying waste by fire and sword.
"Sultan Alla ud Dien, upon intelligence of this invasion, prepared to
repel it, and commanded all his forces from Telingana, Dowlutabad,
and Berar to repair to the capital of Ahmedabad without delay. Upon
their arrival he reviewed the whole, and found his army composed of
fifty thousand horse, sixty thousand foot, and a considerable train
of artillery. With this force he began to march against the enemy;
and Deo Roy, upon his approach, shifted his ground, and encamped under
the walls of the fortress of Mudkul, detaching a large body to harass
the sultan.
"The sultan halted at the distance of twelve miles from Mudkul, and
despatched Mallek al Tijar with the troops of Dowlutabad against the
sons of Deo Roy;[115] also Khan Zummaun, governor of Beejapore, and
Khan Azim, commander of the forces of Berar and Telingana, against the
main body of the enemy. Mallek-al-Tijar, going first to Roijore, gave
battle to the eldest son of Deo Roy, who was wounded in the action,
and fled towards Beekapore, from whence he was joined by his younger
brother, who quitted the siege of that fortress.
"In the space of two months, three actions happened near Mudkul between
the two grand armies; in the first of which multitudes were slain
on both sides, and the Hindoos having the advantage, the mussulmauns
experienced great difficulties.[116] The sultan was successful in the
others; and in the last, the eldest son of Deo Roy was killed by a
spear thrown at him by Khan Zummaun, which event struck the Hindoos
with a panic, and they fled with the greatest precipitation into the
fortress of Mudkul."
Two chief Muhammadan officers, in the ardour of pursuit, entered the
city with the fugitives, and were captured by the Hindus.
Deo Roy then sent a message to the Sultan that if he would promise
never again to molest his territories he would pay the stipulated
tribute annually, and return the two prisoners. This was accepted,
a treaty was executed, and the prisoners returned with the tribute
and added presents; and till the end of Deva Raya's reign both parties
observed their agreement.
From the terms of the agreement we gather that, though Firishtah does
not expressly mention it, tribute had been demanded by the Sultan,
and this confirms the account given by Abdur Razzak. It also shows
why the "Danaik" in Abdur Razzak's narrative had not returned covered
with glory, but merely, having "taken several unfortunate prisoners,
had retraced his steps."
The campaign must have been of short duration, since, while it began in
A.H. 847 (May 1, A.D. 1443, to April 19, 1444) according to Firishtah,
it was over before December 1443 when Abdur Razzak left Vijayanagar.
The narrative being thus brought down to the close of the year 1443,
let us, before passing on, turn to other records and see what they
tell us about the reign of Deva Raya II. I have already stated that
he appears to have been very young at his accession in A.D. 1419. In
1443 he had already reigned twenty-four years. Now the Hakluyt
translation of Abdur Razzak's chronicle states that Razzak saw
King Deva Raya II. in 1443, and the India Office copy contains the
additional information that the king was then "exceedingly young." I
am not aware which version is the more accurate. But even if these
added words be accepted as part of the original, the difficulty is
capable of being explained away by the supposition that perhaps the
ambassador was presented to one of the princes and not to the king
himself. The king appears to have been in doubt as to whether the
traveller was not an impostor in representing himself as an envoy
from Persia, and may have refrained from granting a personal interview.
Several inscriptions of the reign are extant. One records a
proclamation made in the king's name in A.D. 1426.[117] According
to another bearing a date corresponding to Wednesday, October 16,
in the same year,[118] he caused a Jain temple to be erected in
the capital, in a street called the "Pan Supari Bazaar." This
temple is situated south-west of the temple marked as No. 35 on
the Government map. It is within the enclosure of the royal palace,
and close to the rear of the elephant stables still standing. The
king is honoured in this inscription with the full imperial title
of MAHARAJADHIRAJA RAJAPARAMESVARA. The site of this bazaar is thus
definitely established. It lay on either side of the road which ran
along the level dry ground direct from the palace gate, near the temple
of HAZARA RAMASVAMI, in a north-easterly direction, to join the road
which now runs to the Tungabhadra ferry through the fortified gate on
the south side of the river immediately opposite Anegundi. It passed
along the north side of the Kallamma and Rangasvami temples, leaving
the imperial office enclosure with its lofty walls and watch-towers,
and the elephant stables, on the left, skirted the Jain temple and the
temple numbered "35" on the plan, and passed along under the rocky
hills that bound this plain on the north till it debouched on the
main road above mentioned. This street would be the direct approach
from the old city of Anegundi to the king's palace.
In A.D. 1430 the king made a grant to a temple far in the south in
the Tanjore district.[119] There are two inscriptions of his reign
dated respectively in 1433 -- 34 and 1434 -- 35 A.D. at Padavedu in
North Arcot.[120] If, as stated by Nuniz, King Deva Raya II. died a
few months after his attempted assassination, and if Abdur Razzak saw
him in December 1443, we are led to the belief that he died early in
1444. Definite proof is, however, wanting. Other inscriptions must be
carefully examined before we can arrive at any certain conclusion. Thus
an inscription at Sravana Belgola, of date corresponding to Tuesday,
May 24 A.D. 1446, published by Professor Kielhorn,[121] relates to
the death on that day of "Pratapa Deva Raya;" and as it is couched in
very curious and interesting terms, I give the translation in full --
"In the evil year Kshaya, in the wretched (month) second Vaisakha,
on a miserable Tuesday, in a fortnight which was the reverse of
bright,[122] on the fourteenth day, the unequalled store of valour
(PRATAPA) Deva Raya, alas! met with death."
But since royal titles are not given to the deceased, he may have
been only a prince of the blood. An inscription at Tanjore, also
dated in A.D. 1446, mentions the name Deva Raya, but gives no further
royal titles than the BIRUDA -- "Lord of the four oceans."[123] An
inscription bearing date corresponding to Saturday, August 2 A.D. 1449,
at Conjeeveram,[124] records a grant by a king called Vira Pratapa
Praudha-Immadi-Deva Raya, to whom full royal titles are given.
It is provoking that Nuniz omits the name of the successor of Deva
Raya II., as known to tradition in the sixteenth century, for this
might have helped us to a decision. At present it looks as though
there had been a Deva Raya III. reigning from A.D. 1444 to 1449;
but this point cannot as yet be settled.
Mr. Rice has shown that one of the ministers of Deva Raya II. was named
Naganna; he had the title "Dhannayaka," implying command of the army.
CHAPTER 7
The City of Vijayanagar in the Reign of Deva Raya II. (A.D. 1420
(?), 1443)
Description given by Nicolo to Bracciolini -- The capital -- Festivals
-- Immense population -- Abdur Razzak's description -- His journey --
The walls -- Palaces -- The Mint -- Bazaars -- The great Mahahnavami
festival.
It will be well to suspend our historical narrative for a time in
order to acquire some idea of the appearance and condition of the
great city of Vijayanagar in these days. We have already noticed that
as early as 1375 A.D. Sultan Mujahid of Kulbarga had heard so much of
the beauty of this capital that he desired to see it, and it had grown
in importance and grandeur during the succeeding half-century. About
the year 1420 or 1421 A.D. there visited Vijayanagar one Nicolo, an
Italian, commonly called Nicolo Conti or Nicolo dei Conti, and if he
was not the earliest European visitor, he was at least the earliest
that we know of whose description of the place has survived to this
day. His visit must have taken place shortly after the accession of
Deva Raya II. Nicolo never apparently wrote anything himself. His
stories were recorded in Latin by Poggio Bracciolini, the Pope's
secretary, for his master's information. Translated into Portuguese,
they were re-translated from the Portuguese into Italian by Ramusio,
who searched for but failed to obtain a copy of the original in
Latin. This original was first published in 1723 by the Abbe Oliva
of Paris under the title P. BRACCIOLINI, DE VARIETATE FORTUNAE,
LIBER QUATUOR.
Nicolo, on reaching India, visited first the city of Cambaya
in Gujarat. After twenty days' sojourn there he passed down the
coast to "Pacamuria," probably Barkur, and "Helly," which is the
"Mount d'Ely" or "Cabo d'Eli" of later writers. Thence he travelled
inland and reached the Raya's capital, Vijayanagar, which he calls
"Bizenegalia."[125] He begins his description thus: --
"The great city of Bizenegalia is situated near very steep
mountains. The circumference of the city is sixty miles; its walls
are carried up to the mountains and enclose the valleys at their
foot, so that its extent is thereby increased. In this city there
are estimated to be ninety thousand men fit to bear arms."
I must here interpose a correction. There were no "mountains" properly
so called at Vijayanagar; only a confused and tumbled mass of rocky
hills, some rising to considerable altitude. The extent of its
lines of defences was extraordinary. Lofty and massive stone walls
everywhere crossed the valleys, and led up to and mounted over the
hillsides. The outer lines stretched unbroken across the level country
for several miles. The hollows and valleys between the boulder-covered
heights were filled with habitations, poor and squalid doubtless,
in most instances, but interspersed with the stone-built dwellings
of the nobles, merchants, and upper classes of the vast community;
except where the elaborately constructed water-channels of the Rayas
enabled the land to be irrigated; and in these parts rich gardens
and woods, and luxurious crops of rice and sugar-cane, abounded. Here
and there were wonderfully carved temples and fanes to Hindu deities,
with Brahmanical colleges and schools attached to the more important
amongst their number.
As to the appearance of the scenery, I cannot do better than quote the
description given in 1845 by a distinguished South-Indian geologist,
Lieutenant Newbold:[126] --
"The whole of the extensive site occupied by the ruins of Bijanugger
on the south bank of the Tumbuddra, and of its suburb Annegundi on the
northern bank, is occupied by great bare piles and bosses of granite
and granitoidal gneiss, separated by rocky defiles and narrow rugged
valleys encumbered by precipitated masses of rock. Some of the larger
flat-bottomed valleys are irrigated by aqueducts from the river.... The
peaks, tors, and logging-stones of Bijanugger and Annegundi indent the
horizon in picturesque confusion, and are scarcely to be distinguished
from the more artificial ruins of the ancient metropolis of the Deccan,
which are usually constructed with blocks quarried from their sides,
and vie in grotesqueness of outline and massiveness of character
with the alternate airiness and solidity exhibited by nature in the
nicely-poised logging stones and columnar piles, and in the walls of
prodigious cuboidal blocks of granite which often crest and top her
massive domes and ridges in natural cyclopean masonry."
The remains of palaces, temples, walls, and gateways are still to be
seen, and these abound not only on the site of Vijayanagar proper,
but also on the north side of the swiftly rushing river, where stood
the stately citadel of Anegundi, the mother of the empire-city. The
population of this double city was immense, and the area occupied by
it very extensive. From the last fortification to the south, beyond
the present town of Hospett, to the extreme point of the defences of
Anegundi on the north, the distance is about twelve miles. From the
extreme western line of walls in the plain to the last of the eastern
works amongst the hills lying in the direction of Daroji and Kampli the
interval measures about ten miles. Within this area we find the remains
of the structures of which I have spoken. The hovels have disappeared,
and the debris lies many feet thick over the old ground-level. But the
channels are still in working order, and wherever they exist will be
found rich crops, tall and stately trees, and a tangle of luxuriant
vegetation. On the rocks above are the ruins of buildings and temples
and walls, and in many places small shrines stand out, built on the
jutting edges of great boulders or on the pinnacles of lofty crags, in
places that would seem inaccessible to anything but monkeys and birds.
In the central enclosure are the remains of great structures that
must once have been remarkable for their grandeur and dignity. These
immediately surrounded the king's palace; but in 1565 the Muhammadans
worked their savage will upon them with such effect that only the
crumbling ruins of the more massive edifices amongst them still
stand. The site of the palace itself is marked by a large area of
ground covered with heaps of broken blocks, crushed masonry, and
fragments of sculpture, not one stone being left upon another in its
original position.
To return to Nicolo. He continues: --
"The inhabitants of this region marry as many wives as they please,
who are burnt with their dead husbands. Their king is more powerful
than all the other kings of India. He takes to himself 12,000 wives,
of whom 4000 follow him on foot wherever he may go, and are employed
solely in the service of the kitchen. A like number, more handsomely
equipped, ride on horseback. The remainder are carried by men in
litters, of whom 2000 or 3000 are selected as his wives on condition
that at his death they should voluntarily burn themselves with him,
which is considered to be a great honour for them....
"At a certain time of the year their idol is carried through the city,
placed between two chariots, in which are young women richly adorned,
who sing hymns to the god, and accompanied by a great concourse
of people. Many, carried away by the fervour of their faith, cast
themselves on the ground before the wheels, in order that they may be
crushed to death -- a mode of death which they say is very acceptable
to their god. Others, making an incision in their side, and inserting a
rope thus through their body, hang themselves to the chariot by Nay of
ornament, and thus suspended and half-dead accompany their idol. This
kind of sacrifice they consider the best and most acceptable of all.
"Thrice in the year they keep festivals of especial solemnity. On
one of these occasions the males and females of all ages, having
bathed in the rivers or the sea, clothe themselves in new garments,
and spend three entire days in singing, dancing, and feasting. On
another of these festivals they fix up within their temples, and on
the outside on the roofs, an innumerable number of lamps of oil of
SUSIMANNI, which are kept burning day and night. On the third, which
lasts nine days, they set up in all the highways large beams, like the
masts of small ships, to the upper part of which are attached pieces
of very beautiful cloth of various kinds, interwoven with gold. On the
summit of each of these beams is each day placed a man of pious aspect,
dedicated to religion, capable of enduring all things with equanimity,
who is to pray for the favour of God. These men are assailed by the
people, who pelt them with oranges, lemons, and other odoriferous
fruits, all which they bear most patiently. There are also three
other festival days, during which they sprinkle all passers-by, even
the king and queen themselves, with saffron water, placed for that
purpose by the wayside. This is received by all with much laughter."
The first of these festivals may be the Kanarese New Year's Day,
which Domingo Paes in his chronicle asserts to have fallen, during
his visit to Vijayanagar, on October 12 -- "FESTAS EM QUE TODOS VESTEM
PANOS NOVOS E RICOS E GALANTES, E CADA HUU COMO O TEM, E DAO TODOS OS
CAPITAEES PANOS A TODA SUA GNETE DE MUYTAS CORES E GALANTES."[127]
The second should be the Dipavali festival, which occurs about the
month of October, when lamps are lighted by all the householders,
and the temples are illuminated. The description of the third answers
to the nine-days' festival, called the MAHANAVAMI, at Vijayanagar,
which, during the visit of Paes, took place on September 12. The
other feast of three days' duration answers to the HOLI festival.
Conti next describes the finding of diamonds on a mountain which
he called "Albenigaras" and places fifteen days' journey beyond
Vijayanagar "towards the north." He repeats the story which we
know as that of "Sinbad the Sailor," saying that the diamonds lie
in inaccessible valleys, into which lumps of flesh being thrown, to
which the precious stones adhere, these are carried up TO the summits
by eagles, which are then driven off and the stones secured. The
direction given, though it should rather be east than north, points to
the mines on the Krishna river being those alluded to -- mines which
are often styled the "mines of Golkonda" by travellers. Marco Polo told
the same tale of the same mines in the year 1296. Conti continues: --
"They divide the year into twelve months, which they name after the
signs of the zodiac. The era is computed variously...."
After having given a short account of the different coinages and
currencies, which is interesting, but of which the various localities
are left to the imagination, he writes: --
"The natives of Central India make use of the ballistae,[128] and
those machines which we call bombardas, also other warlike implements
adapted for besieging cities.
"They call us Franks and say, 'While they call other nations blind,
that they themselves have two eyes, and that we have but one, because
they consider that they excel all others in prudence.'[129]
"The inhabitants of Cambay alone use paper; all other Indians write
on the leaves of trees. They have a vast number of slaves, and, the
debtor who is insolvent is everywhere adjudged to be the property
of his creditor. The numbers of these people and nations exceeds
belief. Their armies consist of a million men and upwards."
Abdur Razzak also visited, the city during the reign of Deva Raya
II., but about twenty years later than Conti. He was entrusted with
an embassy from Persia, and set out on his mission on January 13,
A.D. 1442. At the beginning of November that year he arrived at
Calicut, where he resided till the beginning of April 1443. Being
there he was summoned to Vijayanagar, travelled thither, and was in
the great city from the end of April till the 5th December of the
same year. The following passage explains why he left Calicut.
"On a sudden a man arrived who brought me the intelligence that
the king of Bidjanagar, who holds a powerful empire and a mighty
dominion under his sway, had sent him to the Sameri[130] as delegate,
charged with a letter in which he desired that he would send on to him
the ambassador of His Majesty, the happy Khakhan (I.E. the king of
Persia). Although the Sameri is not subject to the laws of the king
of Bidjanagar, he nevertheless pays him respect and stands extremely
in fear of him, since, if what is said is true, this latter prince
has in his dominions three hundred ports, each of which is equal to
Calicut, and on TERRA FIRMA his territories comprise a space of three
months' journey."
In obedience to this request, Abdur Razzak left Calicut by sea
and went to Mangalore, "which forms the frontier of the kingdom of
Bidjanagar." He stayed there two or three days and then journeyed
inland, passing many towns, and amongst them a place where he saw a
small but wonderful temple made of bronze.
"At length I came to a mountain whose summit reached the skies. Having
left this mountain and this forest behind me, I reached a town called
Belour,[131] the houses of which were like palaces."
Here he saw a temple with exquisite sculpture.
"At the end of the month of Zoul'hidjah[132] we arrived at the city of
Bidjanagar. The king sent a numerous cortege to meet us, and appointed
us a very handsome house for our residence. His dominion extends from
the frontier of Serendib to the extremities of the country of Kalbergah
(I.E. from the Krishna River to Cape Comorin). One sees there more
than a thousand elephants, in their size resembling mountains and in
their form resembling devils. The troops amount in number to eleven LAK
(1,100,000). One might seek in vain throughout the whole of Hindustan
to find a more absolute RAI; for the monarchs of this country bear
the title of RAI.
"The city of Bidjanagar is such that the pupil of the eye has never
seen a place like it, and the ear of intelligence has never been
informed that there existed anything to equal it in the world. It
is built in such a manner that seven citadels and the same number
of walls enclose each other. Around the first citadel are stones of
the height of a man, one half of which is sunk in the ground while
the other half rises above it. These are fixed one beside the other
in such a manner that no horse or foot soldier could boldly or with
ease approach the citadel."
The position of these seven walls and gates have long been a puzzle to
me, but I hazard the following explanation. The traveller approached
from the southwest, and the first line of wall that he saw must have
been that on the neck between the two hills south-west of Hospett. Paes
also describes this outer defence-work as that seen by all travellers
on their first arrival from the coast. After being received at
this entrance-gate Razzak must have passed down the slope through
"cultivated fields, houses, and gardens" to the entrance of Hospett,
where the second line of fortification barred the way; and since that
town was not then thickly populated, the same features would meet
his eye till he passed a third line of wall on the north side of that
town. From this point the houses became thicker, probably forming a
long street, with shops on either side of the road, leading thence
to the capital. The fourth line of wall, with a strong gateway, is
to be seen on the south of the present village of Malpanagudi, where
several remains of old buildings exist; and notably a handsome stone
well, once probably belonging to the country-house of some noble
or chief officer. The fifth line is on the north of Malpanagudi,
and here the great gateway still stands, though the wall is much
damaged and destroyed. The sixth line is passed just to the south
of the Kamalapur tank. The seventh or inner line is the great wall
still to be seen in fairly good repair north of that village. This
last surrounded the palace and the government buildings, the space
enclosed measuring roughly a mile from north to south, and two miles
and a quarter from east to west. The remains of the upright stones
alluded to by Razzak were seen by Domingo Paes in A.D. 1520.[133]
I believe that they have now disappeared.
Razzak describes the outer citadel as a "fortress of round shape, built
on the summit of a mountain, and constructed of stones and lime. It has
very solid gates, the guards of which are constantly at their post,
and examine everything with severe inspection." This passage must
refer to the outer line of wall, since Razzak's "seventh fortress"
is the innermost of all. The guards at the gates were doubtless the
officers entrusted with the collection of the octroi duties. Sir
Henry Elliot's translation (iv. 104) adds to the passage as quoted
the words, -- "they collect the JIZYAT or taxes." This system of
collecting octroi dues at the gates of principal towns lasted till
recent days, having only been abolished by the British Government.
"The seventh fortress is to the north, and is the palace of the
king. The distance between the opposite gates of the outer fortress
north and south is two parasangs,[134] and the same east to west.
"The space which separates the first fortress from the second, and
up to the third fortress, is filled with cultivated fields and with
houses and gardens. In the space from the third to the seventh one
meets a numberless crowd of people, many shops, and a bazaar. By the
king's palace are four bazaars, placed opposite each other. On the
north is the portico of the palace of the RAI. Above each bazaar is
a lofty arcade with a magnificent gallery, but the audience-hall of
the king's palace is elevated above all the rest. The bazaars are
extremely long and broad.[135]
"Roses are sold everywhere. These people could not live without roses,
and they look upon them as quite as necessary as food.... Each class
of men belonging to each profession has shops contiguous the one to
the other; the jewellers sell publicly in the bazaars pearls, rubies,
emeralds, and diamonds. In this agreeable locality, as well as in the
king's palace, one sees numerous running streams and canals formed
of chiselled stone, polished and smooth.[136]
"On the left of the Sultan's portico rises the DEWAN KHANEH,[137]
which is extremely large and looks like a palace. In front of
it is a hall, the height of which is above the stature of a man,
its length thirty ghez and its breadth ten.[138] In it is placed
the DEFTER-KHANEH (court-house), and here sit the scribes.... In the
middle of this palace, upon an high estrade, is seated an eunuch called
the Danaik,[139] who alone presides over the divan. At the end of the
hall stand chobdars[140] drawn up in line. The Dewan or Danaik settles
people's affairs and hears their petitions. There is no appeal. After
concluding business the Danaik passes through seven doors into the
palace, and entering the last alone, makes his report to the king.
"Behind the king's palace[141] are the house and hall allotted to
the Danaik. To the left of the said palace is the Mint.
"This empire contains so great a population that it would be impossible
to give an idea of it without entering into extensive details. In the
king's palace are several cells, like basins, filled with bullion,
forming one mass."
Opposite the DIVAN-KHANEH, he continues, is the house of the elephants.
"Each elephant has a separate compartment, the walls of which
are extremely solid, and the roof composed of strong pieces of
wood.... Opposite the Mint is the house of the Governor, where are
stationed twelve thousand soldiers on guard.... Behind the Mint is a
sort of bazaar, which is more than three hundred ghez in length, and
more than twenty in breadth.[142] On two sides are ranged houses and
forecourts; in front of them are erected, instead of benches (KURSI),
several lofty seats constructed of beautiful stones. On the two sides
of the avenue formed by the chambers are represented figures of lions,
panthers, tigers, and other animals.[143] Thrones and chairs are
placed on the platforms, and the courtesans seat themselves thereon,
bedecked in gems and fine raiment."
The author took up his abode in a lofty house which had been allotted
to him, on the 1st Muharram (May 1, 1443)
"One day some messengers sent from the palace of the king came
to see me, and at the close of the same day I presented myself at
court.... The prince was seated in a hall, surrounded by the most
imposing attributes of state. Right and left of him stood a numerous
crowd of men arranged in a circle. The king was dressed in a robe of
green satin, around his neck he wore a collar, composed of pearls of
beautiful water, and other splendid gems. He had an olive complexion,
his frame was thin, and he was rather tall; on his cheeks might be
seen a slight down, hut there was no beard on his chin. The expression
of his countenance was extremely pleasing.[144] ...
"If report speaks truly, the number of the princesses and concubines
amounts to seven hundred."
Abdur Razzak gives a glowing account of the brilliancy of a great
festival of which he was a spectator while in the capital. He calls it
the Mahanavami[145] festival, but I have my doubts as to whether he
was not mistaken, since he declares that it took place in the month
Rajab (October 25 to November 23, 1443 A.D.). The Hindus celebrate
the MAHANAVAMI by a nine days' festival beginning on Asvina Sukla
1st in native reckoning, that is, on the day following the new moon
which marks the beginning of the month Asvina; while the New Year's
Day at that period was the first day of the following month, Karttika
(if the year began, as it certainly did at Vijayanagar in the time of
Paes, eighty years later, on 1st Karttika). But the new moon of Rajab
in A.D. 1443 corresponded to the new moon of KARTTIKA, not to that
of ASVINA.[146] Either, therefore, the festival which he witnessed
was the New Year's Day festival, or the traveller was in error in
giving the month "Rajab." It seems most probable that the former
was the case, because he apparently makes the festival one of only
three days' duration, whereas the MAHANAVAMI, as its name implies,
was a nine days' feast. But there is also another difficulty. The
MAHANAVAMI celebrations began with the new moon, whereas Razzak says
that the festival he saw began with the "full moon." This, however,
may have been due to a slip of the pen.
However that may be, he certainly was a spectator of a brilliant scene,
and I append his account of it.
"In pursuance of orders issued by the king of Bidjanagar, the
generals and principal personages from all parts of his empire
... presented themselves at the palace. They brought with them a
thousand elephants ... which were covered with brilliant armour and
with castles magnificently adorned.... During three consecutive days
in the month of Redjeb the vast space of land magnificently decorated,
in which the enormous elephants were congregated together, presented
the appearance of the waves of the sea, or of that compact mass which
will be assembled together at the day of the resurrection. Over this
magnificent space were erected numerous pavilions, to the height of
three, four, or even five storeys, covered from top to bottom with
figures in relief.... Some of these pavilions were arranged in such a
manner that they could turn rapidly round and present a new face: at
each moment a new chamber or a new hall presented itself to the view.
"In the front of this place rose a palace with nine pavilions
magnificently ornamented. In the ninth the king's throne was set
up. In the seventh was allotted a place to the humble author of this
narrative.... Between the palace and the pavilions ... were musicians
and storytellers."
Girls were there in magnificent dresses, dancing "behind a pretty
curtain opposite the king." There were numberless performances given
by jugglers, who displayed elephants marvellously trained.
During three consecutive days, from sunrise to sunset,
the royal festival was prolonged in a style of the greatest
magnificence. Fireworks, games, and amusements went on. On the third
day the writer was presented to the king.
"The throne, which was of extraordinary size, was made of gold,
and enriched with precious stones of extreme value.... Before the
throne was a square cushion, on the edges of which were sown three
rows of pearls. During the three days the king remained seated on
this cushion. When the fete of Mahanawi was ended, at the hour of
evening prayer, I was introduced into the middle of four ESTRADES,
which were about ten ghez both in length and breadth.[147] The roof
and the walls were entirely formed of plates of gold enriched with
precious stones. Each of these plates was as thick as the blade of a
sword, and was fastened with golden nails. Upon the ESTRADE, in the
front, is placed the throne of the king, and the throne itself is of
very great size."
The descriptions given by these travellers give us a good idea of
the splendours of this great Hindu capital in the first half of the
fifteenth century; and with this in our minds we return to the history
of the period.
CHAPTER 8
Close of the First Dynasty (A.D. 1449 to 1490)
Mallikarjuna and Virupaksha I. -- Rajasekhara and Virupaksha II. --
The Dakhan splits up into five independent kingdoms -- The Bijapur
king captures Goa and Belgaum -- Fighting at Rajahmundry, Kondapalle,
and other parts of Telingana -- Death of Mahmud Gawan -- The Russian
traveller Nikitin -- Chaos at Vijayanagar -- Narasimha seizes the
throne.
I have already stated that the period following the reign of Deva
Raya II. is one very difficult to fill up satisfactorily from any
source. It was a period of confusion in Vijayanagar -- a fact that
is clearly brought out by Nuniz in his chronicle.
A.D. 1449 is the last date in any known inscription containing mention
of a Deva Raya, and Dr. Hultzsch[148] allots this to Deva Raya II. It
may be, as already suggested, that there was a Deva Raya III. on the
throne between A.D. 1444 and 1449, but this remains to be proved. Two
sons of Deva Raya II., according to the inscriptions, were named
Mallikarjuna and Virupaksha I. respectively. There are inscriptions
of the former dated in A.D. 1452 -- 53 and 1464 -- 65,[149] and one
of the latter in 1470.[150] Mallikarjuna appears to have had two sons,
Rajasekhara, of whom we have inscriptions in the years A.D. 1479 -- 80
and 1486 -- 87, and Virupaksha II., mentioned in an inscription dated
A.D. 1483 -- 84, three years earlier than the last of Rajasekhara.
Dr. Hultzsch, in the third volume of the EPIGRAPHIA INDICA, p. 36,
gives these dates, but in the fourth volume of the same work (p. 180)
he notes that an inscription of Rajasekhara exists at Ambur in North
Arcot, which is dated in the year corresponding to A.D. 1468 --
69. I have also been told of an inscription on stone to be seen at
the village of Parnapalle (or Paranapalle) in the Cuddapah district,
of which a copy on copper-plate is said to be in the possession of one
Narayana Reddi of Goddamari in the Tadpatri Taluq of the Anantapur
district. This is reported to bear the date Saka 1398 (A.D. 1476 --
77), and to mention as sovereign "Praudha Deva Raya of Vijayanagar."
Rajasekhara's second inscription must have been engraved very shortly
before the final fall of the old royal house, for the first certain
date of the usurper Narasimha is A.D. 1450.
Amid this confusion of overlapping dates we turn for help to
Nuniz; but though his story, gathered from tradition about the year
1535, is clear and consecutive, it clashes somewhat with the other
records. According to him, Deva Raya II. had a son, Pina Raya, who
died six months after his attempted assassination; but we have shown
that Abdur Razzak conclusively establishes that this unfortunate
monarch was Deva Raya II. himself, and that the crime was committed
before the month of April 1443. Pina Raya left a son unnamed, who
did nothing in particular, and was succeeded by his son "Verupaca,"
by which name Virupaksha is clearly meant. Virupaksha was murdered
by his eldest son, who in turn was slain by his younger brother,
"Padea Rao," and this prince lost the kingdom to the usurper Narasimha.
The period was without doubt a troublous one, and all that can be
definitely and safely stated at present is that for about forty years
prior to the usurpation of Narasimha the kingdom passed from one hand
to the other, in the midst of much political agitation, discontent,
and widespread antagonism to the representatives of the old royal
family, several of whom appear to have met with violent deaths. The
usurpation took place at some period between A.D. 1487 and 1490.
Leaving the Hindu and Portuguese records, we must turn to the
Muhammadan historians in order to see what were the political relations
existing at this time between Vijayanagar and its hereditary enemies
to the north. Firishtah tells us of no event occurring between the
year 1443 and 1458 A.D. to disturb the peaceful conditions then
existing. Kulbarga was itself in too troubled a condition to venture
on further national complications. Internal disputes and civil war
raged in the Dakhan, and the country was divided against itself. The
trouble had begun which ended only with the extinction of the Bahmani
monarchy, and the establishment of five rival Muhammadan kingdoms in
the place of one.
Ala-ud-din died February 13, A.D. 1458, (?)[151] and was succeeded by
his son Humayun, a prince of "cruel and sanguinary temper." In the
following year Humayun waged war against the country of the Telugus
and besieged Devarakonda, which made so stout a resistance that the
Dakhani armies were baffled, and retired. He died on the 5th September
1461,[152] to the great relief of all his subjects. Mallikarjuna
appears to have been then king of Vijayanagar.
Nizam Shah succeeded to the throne, being then only eight years old,
but his reign was of short duration. He was succeeded by his brother
Muhammad on July 30, A D. 1463,[153]
In the middle of the year 1469, while either Rajasekhara or Virupaksha
I. was the king of Vijayanagar, Mahmud Gawan, Muhammad's minister,
marched towards the west, and after a fairly successful campaign
attacked Goa, then in the possession of the Raya of Vijayanagar, both
by sea and land. He was completely victorious and captured the place.
The war was probably undertaken in revenge for a cruel massacre of
Muhammadans which took place in this Year A.D. 1469, according to
Barros.[154] At this period the coast trade was altogether in the hands
of the Muhammadans, and they used to import large numbers of horses,
principally for the use of the great contending armies in the Dakhan
and Vijayanagar. The Hindu king depended on this supply to a large
extent. In 1469 the Moors at Batecala (Bhatkal) having sold horses
to the "Moors of Decan," the king of Vijayanagar ordered his vassal
at Onor (Honawar) "to kill all those Moors as far as possible, and
frighten the rest away." The result of this was a terrible massacre, in
which 10,000 Musulmans lost their lives. The survivors fled and settled
themselves at Goa, thus founding the city that afterwards became
the capital of Portuguese India. Nuniz alludes to the loss of "Goa,
Chaull, and Dabull" by Vijayanagar in the reign of "Verupaca."[155]
(Purchas states that the massacre took place in 1479 A.D.)
Shortly afterwards there arose to power under the Sultan Muhammad
one Yusuf Adil Khan, a slave, who before long grew to such power
that he overthrew the Bahmani dynasty, and became himself the first
independent sovereign of Bijapur -- the first "Adil Shah." In 1470,
says the BURHAN-I MAASIR, the Sultan took Rajahmundry and Kondavid from
the king of Orissa. An inscription at Kondapalle, a fine hill-fort
beautifully situated on a range of hills, gives the date as 1470 or
1471; my copy is imperfect.
Firishtah tells us that --
"In the year 877 (A.D. 1472 -- 73) Perkna, roy of the fortress of
Balgoan, at the instigation of the prince of Beejanuggur, marched
to retake the island of Goa.... Mahummud Shaw, immediately upon
intelligence of this irruption, collected his forces and moved against
Balgoan, a fortress of great strength, having round it a deep wet
ditch, and near it a pass, the only approach, defended by redoubts."
The attack ended in the reduction of the place, when the Sultan
returned to Kulbarga.
The BURHAN-I MAASIR CALLS the chief of Belgaum "Parkatapah," and Major
King, the translator of the work, gives a large variety of spellings of
the name, viz.: "Birkanah," "Parkatabtah," "Parkatiyah," "Parkitah,"
"Barkabtah."[156] Briggs gives it as "Birkana." It has been supposed
that the real name was Vikrama.
About the year 1475 there was a terrible famine in the Dakhan and
the country of the Telugus, which lasted for two years. At its close
the Hindu population of Kondapalle revolted, murdered the Muhammadan
governor, and invited aid from the king of Orissa. This monarch
accordingly advanced and laid siege to Rajahmundry, which was then
the governorship of Nizam-ul-Mulkh, but on the Shah marching in person
to the relief of the place the army of Orissa retired. In the latter
part of the year 882, which corresponds to March 1478 A.D., Muhammad
penetrated to the capital of Orissa, "and used no mercy in slaughtering
the inhabitants and laying waste the country of the enemy." The Rajah
submitted, and purchased his immunity from further interference on
the part of the Sultan by a present of some valuable elephants.
Firishtah and the BURHAN-I MAASIR differ considerably as to what
followed. The former states that, after his raid into Orissa,
Muhammad Shah reduced Kondapalle, where he destroyed a temple,
slew the Brahman priests attached to it, and ordered a mosque to be
erected on its site. He remained nearly three years at Rajahmundry,
secured the Telingana country, expelled some refractory zamindars,
and "resolved on the conquest of Nursing Raya."
"Nursing," says Firishtah, "was a powerful raja, possessing the country
between Carnatic[157] and Telingana, extending along the sea-coast,
to Matchiliputtum,[158] and had added much of the Beejanuggur territory
to his own by conquest, with several strong forts."
This was probably the powerful chief Narasimha Raya, a relation of
the king of Vijayanagar, who, intrusted with the government of large
tracts, was rising rapidly to independence under the weak and feeble
monarch whom he finally supplanted. The Sultan went to Kondapalle,[159]
and there was told that, at a distance of ten days' journey, "was
the temple of Kunchy,[160] the walls and roof of which were plated
with gold, ornamented with precious stones;" upon receipt of which
intelligence the Sultan is said to have made a forced march thither,
taking with him only 6000 cavalry, and to have sacked the place.
The account given by the BURHAN-I MAASIR as to Muhammad Shah's
proceedings at this period is that on going to Rajahmundry he found
there Narasimha Raya "with 700,000 cursed infantry, and 500 elephants
like mountains of iron," who, in spite of all his pomp and power,
fled like a craven on the approach of the army of Islam. The Sultan
then reduced Rajahmundry, which had been held by a HINDU force --
not Muhammadan, as Firishtah declares. In November 1480[161] he
marched from Rajahmundry to Kondavid, going "towards the kingdom
of Vijayanagar." After reducing that fortress, he proceeded after
a while to Malur, which belonged to Narasimha, "who, owing to his
numerous army and the extent of his dominions, was the greatest and
most powerful of all the rulers of Telingana and Vijayanagar," and who
"had established himself in the midst of the countries of Kanara and
Telingana, and taken possession of most of the districts of the coast
and interior of Vijayanagar."
While at Malur the Sultan was informed that "at a distance of fifty
farsakhas from his camp was a city called Ganji," containing temples,
&c., to which he promptly marched, arriving before the place on 13th
March A.D. 1481.[162] He sacked the city and returned.
After this the Sultan went to Masulipatam, which he reduced, and thence
returned to Kondapalle. This was his last success. His cold-blooded
murder of the celebrated Mahmud Gawan, his loyal and faithful servant,
in 1481, so disgusted the nobles that in a short time the kingdom
was dismembered, the chiefs revolted, the dynasty was overthrown,
and five independent kingdoms were raised on its ruins.
Muhammad Shah died on 21st March. A.D. 1482. Shortly before his death
he planned an expedition to relieve Goa from a Vijayanagar army which
"Sewaroy, Prince of Beejanuggur," had sent there (Firishtah); but
the Sultan's death put a stop to this (BURHAN-I MAASIR).
We have some further information on the affairs of Kulbarga during
the reign of Muhammad Shah in the writings of the Russian traveller
Athanasius Nikitin, but it is very difficult to fix the exact date
of his sojourn there. Nikitin was a native of Twer, and set out on
his wanderings by permission of the Grand Duke Michael Borissovitch,
and his own bishop, Gennadius. This fixes the time of his start so
far that it must have taken place subsequent to 1462, and the author
of the "Bombay Gazetteer," RE Poonah, assigns the period 1468 to 1474
as that of Nikitin's stay in India.
Nikitin first went to Chaul, and thence travelled by land to Junir.
"Here resides Asat, Khan of Indian Jooneer, a tributary of
Meliktuchar.... He has been fighting the Kofars for twenty years,
being sometimes beaten but mostly beating them."
By "Meliktuchar" is probably meant the celebrated minister Mahmud
Gawan, who in 1457 A.D. received the title "Mallik-al-Tijar,"
a title which was borne by the chief amongst the nobility at the
Bahmani court. It meant literally "chief of the merchants." The
"Kofars" are, of course, the Kaffirs or Hindus. Firishtah tells us of
fighting having taken place in 1469 between the Mallik-al-Tijar and
"the roles of Songeer, Khalneh, and rebels in Kokun," when the troops
of Junir were under the Mallik's command. During the war he captured
Goa, as already stated. There were campaigns also against the Hindus
of Rajahmundry, Vinukonda, and other places, and in 1472 one against
Belgaum, which has been already described. Firishtah tells us that the
Daulatabad and Junir troops were sent against the powerful Hindu Raja
Narasimha on the east coast.[163] As to Kulbarga and his experiences
there, Nikitin writes as follows: --
"The Hindus ... are all naked and bare-footed. They carry a shield
in one hand and a sword in the other. Some of the servants are
armed with straight bows and arrows. Elephants are greatly used
in battle.... Large scythes are attached to the trunks and tusks
of the elephants, and the animals are clad in ornamental plates of
steel. They carry a citadel, and in the citadel twelve men in armour
with guns and arrows.... The land is overstocked with people; but those
in the country are very miserable, whilst the nobles are extremely
opulent and delight in luxury. They are wont to be carried on their
silver beds, preceded by some twenty chargers caparisoned in gold,
and followed by three hundred men on horseback and five hundred on
foot, and by horn-men, ten torch-bearers, and ten musicians.
"There may be seen in the train of the Sultan about a thousand ordinary
horses in gold trappings, one hundred carrels with torch-bearers,
three hundred trumpeters, three hundred dancers.... The Sultan, riding
on a golden saddle, wears a habit embroidered with sapphires, and on
his pointed headdress a large diamond; he also carries a suit of gold
armour inlaid with sapphires, and three swords mounted in gold.... The
brother of the Sultan rides on a golden bed, the canopy of which is
covered with velvet and ornamented with precious stones.... Mahmud
sits on a golden bed, with a silken canopy to it and a golden top,
drawn by four horses in gilt harness. Around him are crowds of people,
and before him many singers and dancers....
"Melikh Tuchar took two Indian Towns whose ships pirated on the Indian
Sea, captured seven princes with their treasures.... The town had
been besieged for two years by an army of two hundred thousand men,
a hundred elephants, and three hundred camels.[164] ...
"Myza Mylk, Mek-Khan, and Farat Khan took three large cities, and
captured an immense quantity of precious stones, the whole of which
was brought to Melik Tuchar.... They came to Beder on the day of
the Ascension."
The Sultan's brother "when in a campaign is followed by his mother
and sister, and 2000 women on horseback or on golden beds;[165]
at the head of his train are 300 ordinary horses in gold equipment."
"Melik Tuchar moved from Beder with his army, 50,000 strong, against
the Indians.... The Sultan sent 50,000 of his own army.... With this
force Melik Tuchar went to fight against the great Indian dominion
of CHENUDAR. But the king of BINEDAR[166] possessed 300 elephants,
100,000 men of his own troops, and 50,000 horse."
The writer then gives details as to the rest of the Sultan's forces,
and the total comes to the enormous amount of over 900,000 foot,
190,000 horse, and 575 elephants.
"The Sultan moved out with his army ... to join Melich Tuchar at
Kalbarga. But their campaign was not successful, for they took only one
Indian town, and that at the loss of many people and treasures.[167]
"The Hindu Sultan Kadam is a very powerful prince. He possesses
a numerous army and resides on a mountain at BICHENEGHER. This
vast city is surrounded by three forts and intersected by a river,
bordering on one side on a dreadful jungle, and on the other on a
dale; a wonderful place and to any purpose convenient. On one side
it is quite inaccessible; a road gives right through the town, and as
the mountain rises high with a ravine below, the town is impregnable.
"The enemy besieged it for a month and lost many people, owing to
the walls of water and food. Plenty of water was in sight but could
not be got at.
"This Indian stronghold was ultimately taken by Melikh Khan Khoda,
who stormed it, and fought day and night to reduce it. The army
that made the siege with heavy guns had neither eaten nor drunk for
twenty days. He lost 5000 of his best soldiers. On the capture of
the town 20,000 inhabitants men and women, had their heads cut off,
20,000 young and old were made prisoners and sold.... The treasury,
however, having been found empty, the town was abandoned."
It is impossible to decide to what this refers, as we have no other
information of any capture of Vijayanagar by the Sultan's forces
at this period. But the traveller may have confused the place with
Rajahmundry or one of the eastern cities of Telingana.
In 1482 A.D., as before stated, Mahmud Shah II. succeeded to the throne
of Kulbarga, being then a boy of twelve, but his sovereignty was only
nominal. Constant disturbances took place; the nobles in many tracts
rose against the sovereign, and amongst others the governor of Goa
attempted to assert his independence, seizing many important places
on the coast; civil war raged at the capital; and before long the
great chiefs threw off all semblance of obedience to the authority
of the Bahmanis, and at length divided the kingdom amongst themselves.
At Vijayanagar, too, there seems to have been chaos, and about the time
when the Dakhani nobles finally revolted, Narasimha Raya had placed
himself on the throne and established a new and powerful dynasty.
The five separate kingdoms which arose in the Dakhan were those of
the Adil Shahs of Bijapur, with whom we have most to do; the Barid
Shahs of Bidr or Ahmadabad; the Imad Shahs of Birar; the Nizam Shahs
of Ahmadnagar; and the Qutb Shahs of Golkonda.
Adil Shah was the first of his line at Bijapur, and he proclaimed
his independence in A.D. 1489. The unhappy king Mahmud II. lived in
inglorious seclusion till December 18, A.D. 1517, and was nominally
succeeded by his eldest son, Ahmad. Ahmad died after two years' reign,
and was followed in rapid succession by his two brothers, Ala-ud-din
III. (deposed) and Wali (murdered), after whom Kalim Ullah, son of
Ahmad II., was nominally placed on the throne but was kept a close
prisoner, and with his death the Bahmani dynasty fell for ever.
CHAPTER 9
The First Kings of the Second Dynasty (A.D. 1490 to 1509)
Narasimha usurps the throne -- Flight of the late king -- Saluva
Timma -- Vira Narasimha -- Bijapur again attacks Vijayanagar --
The Portuguese in India -- They seize Goa -- Varthema's record --
Albuquerque.
In my "Sketch of the Dynasties of Southern India," published in 1883
(p. 106), the following passage occurs: --
"We now come to the second or Narasimha dynasty, whose scions became
more powerful than any monarchs who had ever reigned over the south of
India. Dr. Burnell fixes A.D. 1490 as the initial date of Narasimha's
reign, and at present no inscription that I can be sure of appears to
overthrow that statement. I observe, however, that Bishop Caldwell, in
his 'History of Tinnevelly' (p. 48), fixes the date of the beginning
of Narasimha's ... reign as A.D. 1487.... WE HAVE YET TO LEARN THE
HISTORY OF HIS ACQUIRING THE SOVEREIGNTY OF VIJAYANAGAR AND OUSTING
THE OLDER DYNASTY."
Nothing has since transpired to throw light on this subject, and the
whole matter has remained up to the present in its primeval darkness;
but this newly-found chronicle of Nuniz gives us the entire story
in most interesting form though I can by no means vouch for its
accuracy. It is, nevertheless, a RESUME of the traditional history
of the early sixteenth century, written within fifty or sixty years
of the events with which it deals. He tells us that Virupaksha Raya
("Verupacarao") was a weak and unworthy sovereign, in whose days
large tracts of land were lost to the Muhammadans, including Goa,
Chaul, and Dabhol; and this statement, at least, is historically
accurate. Virupaksha was despotic, cruel, and sensuous, "caring for
nothing but women and to fuddle himself with drink," so that the whole
country was roused to indignation and rebellion. Eventually he was
murdered by his eldest son, who in his turn was slain by his brother
"Padearao," in whom the nation merely found repeated the crimes and
follies of his dead sire. Disgusted with this line of sovereigns,
the nobles rose, deposed their king, and placed on the throne one
of their own number, Narasimha -- "Narsymgua, WHO WAS IN SOME MANNER
AKIN TO HIM."
Nuniz gives us a graphic account of the last scenes; how Narasimha's
captain arrived at the city gates and found them undefended; how he
penetrated the palace and found no one to oppose him; how he even
went as far as the harem, "slaying some of the women;" and how at
last the craven king fled.
"After that, Narasymgua was raised to be king.... And as he had much
power and was beloved by the people, thence-forward this kingdom of
Bisnaga was called the kingdom of Narsymga."
The problem of Narasimha's relationship to the old royal line has never
yet been satisfactorily solved. He belonged to a family called SALUVA,
and we constantly hear, in the inscriptions and literary works of the
time, of powerful lords who were relations or descendants of his. Thus
our chronicle has much to say about the Saluva Timma, whom Nuniz
calls "Salvatinea," who was minister to King Krishna Deva Raya. An
inscription of the Saka year 1395, which corresponds to A.D. 1472 --
73, speaks of Narasimha as a great lord, but a great lord ONLY,[168]
and so does another of A.D. 1482 -- 83.[169] In one of A.D. 1495 -- 96,
however,[170] he is called "MAHA-RAYA," or the "king." But although
the exact date of the usurpation and the exact relationship of the
usurper to the deposed king may be difficult to ascertain, the fact
remains that Narasimha actually became sovereign about this time,
that Muhammadan aggression was stayed by his power and the force
of his arms, and that the empire of Vijayanagar was under him once
more consolidated.
The account of this period as given by Firishtah differs
altogether from that of Nuniz, and gives rise to much confusion and
difficulty. And as to the relationship of the succeeding sovereigns,
Narasa, Vira Narasimha, Krishna Deva Raya, Achyuta, and Sadasiva,
the native inscriptions themselves are totally at variance with one
another. Some few points, however, in the general scheme of history
of the second dynasty are quite certain, and these may be shortly
summarised. The last kings of the first dynasty were recognised down to
ABOUT the year 1490 A.D. Narasimha and Vira Narasimha ruled till the
accession of Krishna Deva Raya in 1509; Achyuta succeeded Krishna in
1530, and Sadasiva succeeded Achyuta in 1542. The latter was virtually
a prisoner in the hands of Rama Raya, the eldest of three brothers, at
first nominally his minister, but afterwards independent. The names of
the other brothers were Tirumala and Venkatadri. These three men held
the government of the kingdom till 1565, when the empire was utterly
overthrown by a confederation of the five Muhammadan kings of the
Dakhan, already mentioned, at the battle of Talikota -- so-called --
and the magnificent capital was almost wiped out of existence.
With these few facts to guide us, we turn to the chronicles of Nuniz
and Firishtah, trying in vain to obtain some points of contact
between them as to the origin of the second dynasty -- some clue
which will enable us to reconcile differences and arrive at the real
truth. If we are to be guided purely by probabilities, it would seem
that the history given by Nuniz is likely to be the more accurate of
the two. His chronicle was written about the year 1535, during the
reign of Achyuta; he lived at the Hindu capital itself, and he gained
his information from Hindu sources not long subsequent to the events
related. Firishtah did not write till about A.D. 1607, was not in any
sense a contemporary recorder, and did not live amongst the Hindus,
but at the court of Nizam Shah at Ahmadnagar. The lengths of reigns,
however, as given by Nuniz do not tally with the dates which we obtain
from sources undoubtedly reliable.
Nuniz has it that Virupaksha's son "Padearao," the last of the old
line, fled from the capital when the usurper Narasimha seized the
throne; that the latter reigned forty-four years, and died leaving
two sons. These youths being too young to govern, the dying king
intrusted the kingdom to his minister, Narasa Naik, and both the
princes were murdered. Narasa seized the throne, and held it till his
death. The length of his reign is not given. His son, "Busbalrao"
(? Basava Raya), succeeded, and reigned six years, being succeeded
by his brother, the great Krishna Deva Raya. Now we know that Krishna
Deva Raya began to reign in A.D. 1509. This gives 1503 for the date of
the accession of his predecessor, "Busbal." If we allow five years for
the reign of Narasa -- a pure guess -- we have his accession in 1498
A.D., and the forty-four years of Narasimha would begin in A.D. 1454;
but this would apparently coincide with the reign of Mallikarjuna,
son of Deva Raya II. It is perhaps possible that in after years the
usurper Narasimha's reign was measured by the Hindus from the time when
he began to attain power as minister or as a great noble, and not from
the date when he actually became king; but this is pure conjecture.
Firishtah mentions a certain "Sewaroy" as being raya of Vijayanagar in
1482, shortly before the death of Muhammad Shah Bahmani. Speaking of
the new sovereign of Bijapur, the first of the Adil Shahs, in 1489,
the historian tells us that the Adil's rival, Kasim Barid, asked
the then minister of Vijayanagar for aid against the rising power
of his enemy;[171] and that "the Roy being a child, his minister,
Heemraaje,[172] sent an army" and seized the country as far as Mudkal
and Raichur. This occurred in A.H. 895, which embraces the period from
November 1489 to November 1490. "HEEMraaje," therefore, is probably
for SIMHA or Narasimha Raja, or perhaps for Narasa, otherwise called
Vira Narasimha.
Firishtah also gives another account of the same event. According to
this, the Adil Shah, hearing of dissensions in the Hindu capital,
marched, apparently in 1493, against Raichur, when Heemraaje,
having settled these dissensions, advanced "with the young Raya" to
that city. A battle ensued, in which Heemraaje was defeated; and the
young king being mortally wounded, and dying before he reached home,
Heemraaje seized the government and the country.
There are, furthermore, two other passages in Firishtah dealing
with the overthrow of the old dynasty and the accession of
"Heemraaje." One[173] runs as follows: --
"Heemraaje was the first usurper. He had poisoned the young Raja of
Beejanuggur, son of Sheoroy, and made his infant brother a tool to
his designs, by degrees overthrowing the ancient nobility, and at
length establishing his own absolute authority over the kingdom."
The other[174] states: --
"The government of Beejanuggur had remained in one family, in
uninterrupted succession, for seven hundred years, when Seoroy dying,
was succeeded by his son, a minor, who did not live long after him, and
left the throne to a younger brother. He also had not long gathered the
flowers of enjoyment from the garden of royalty before the cruel skies,
proving their inconstancy, burned-up the earth of his existence with
the blasting wind of annihilation.[175] Being succeeded by an infant
only three months old, Heemraaje, one of the principal ministers of
the family, celebrated for great wisdom and experience, became sole
regent, and was cheerfully obeyed by all the nobility and vassals of
the kingdom for forty years; though, on the arrival of the young king
at manhood, he had poisoned him, and put an infant of the family on
the throne, in order to have a pretence for keeping the regency in
his own hands.[176] Heemraaje at his death was succeeded in office by
his son, Ramraaje, who having married a daughter of the son of Seoroy,
by that alliance greatly added to his influence and power."
He then proceeds to describe an event that took place in 1535 or
thereabouts, which will be considered in its place.
Writing of the events of the year 1530,[177] we find Firishtah
stating that the affairs of Vijayanagar were then in confusion
owing to the death of Heemraaje, who was newly succeeded by his son
Ramraaje. And this passage helps us definitely to the conclusion that
his Heemraaje, or Timma Raja, was the Muhammadan name for the ruler of
the state during the reigns of Narasimha, Narasa or Vira Narasimha,
and Krishna Deva Raya, the latter of whom died in 1530. Firishtah
seems to have confused Narasa's and Krishna Deva Raya's powerful
minister, Saluva Timma, with Narasimha and Narasa, and made all three
one person. "Ramraaje" is mentioned as king by Firishtah from the
accession of Achyuta in 1530 down to the year 1565.
Though names and details differ, it will be observed that there is
evidently a common basis of truth in the accounts given by Firishtah
and Nuniz. Both relate the deaths of two young princes, brothers,
the subsequent murder of two other heirs to the kingdom, and the
usurpation of the throne by a minister.
With these remarks we turn to the more reliable portion of Firishtah's
narrative.
Yusuf Adil Khan proclaimed himself independent king of Bijapur in
A.D. 1489. Shortly afterwards his rival, Kasim Barid, who ultimately
became sovereign of the territories of Ahmadabad, in a fit of jealousy
called in the aid of Vijayanagar against Bijapur, promising for reward
the cession of Mudkal and Raichur, or the country between the two
rivers. Narasimha collected the forces of the Hindus, crossed the
Tungabhadra with a large army, and after laying waste the country
seized the two cities Mudkal and Raichur, which thus once more passed
into the possession of Vijayanagar.
Shortly after this, probably about the year 1493 A.D., Sultan Yusuf
Adil again marched to recover the lost territory and advanced to
the Krishna, but falling ill he halted for two months; and Firishtah
gives us the following account of what occurred. This has been already
alluded to, but is now given in full: --
"In this interval Heemraaje, having settled his dissensions,[178]
advanced with the young roy at the head of a great army to Roijore,
which struck terror into the army of Adil Shaw, for whose recovery
earnest prayers were offered up by his subjects." ... (The prayers
were answered and the Sultan recovered.)
"Intelligence arriving that Heemraaje had crossed the Tummedra and
was advancing by hasty marches, Eusuff Adil Shaw ordered a general
review of his army ... (and advanced, entrenching his camp a short
distance from the Hindus). Several days passed inactively, till on
Saturday in Regib 898[179] both armies drew out, and in the beginning
of the action near five hundred of Adil Shaw's troops being slain,
the rest were disordered and fell back, but were rallied again by the
sultan. One of the officers, who had been taken prisoner and made his
escape, observed that the enemy were busily employed in plunder, and
might be attacked with advantage. The sultan relished this advice and
proceeded; when Heemraaje, not having time to collect his whole army,
drew out with seven thousand horse and a considerable number of foot,
also three hundred elephants. Adil Shaw charged his center with such
fury, that Heemraaje was unable to stand the shock. Victory waved the
royal standard, and the infidels fled, leaving two hundred elephants,
a thousand horses, and sixty lacs of OONS,[180] with many jewels
and effects, to the conquerors. Heemraaje and the young roy fled to
Beejanuggur, but the latter died on the road of a wound he had received
by an arrow in the action. Heemraaje seized the government of the
country; but some of the principal nobility opposing his usurpation,
dissensions broke out, which gave Adil Shaw relief from war for some
time from that quarter."
The disputed territory between the two rivers once more passed
into the hands of the Muhammadans. Goa also remained in the Bijapur
Sultan's possession.
The last historical event in the reign of Yusuf Adil Shah of Bijapur,
as narrated by Firishtah, is as follows: --
"In the year 915,[181] the Christians surprised the town of Goa, and
put to death the governor with many mussulmauns. Upon intelligence
of which, Adil Shaw, with three thousand chosen men, Dekkanees and
foreigners, marched with such expedition, that he came upon the
Europeans unawares, retook the fort, and put many to death; but some
made their escape in their ships out to sea."
These Christians were the Portuguese under Albuquerque, and the date
of their entry into Goa was March 1, A.D. 1510.
At this period there was a complete change in the PERSONNEL of the
chief actors on our Indian stage. Ahmad Nizam Shah, who had declared
himself independent at Ahmadnagar in A.D. 1490, died in 1508, and
was succeeded by his son, a boy of seven years of age named Burhan,
with whom the traveller Garcia da Orta[182] afterwards became very
friendly. Da Orta calls him "my friend."[183] Yusuf Adil Shah died
in A.D. 1510, and his successor on the throne of Bijapur was his son
Ismail. Krishna Deva Raya became Raya of Vijayanagar in 1509. The two
last-mentioned monarchs were frequently in contact with one another,
and in the end, according to our chronicles, the Hindu king was
completely victorious. Even Firishtah admits that he dealt Ismail a
crushing blow at the great battle of Raichur, a full description of
which is given by Nuniz.
But before dealing with the history of the reign of Krishna Deva Raya
it is necessary that we should learn how it came about that these
Portuguese Christians who seized Goa came to be living in India,
and some of them even resident at the Hindu capital.
The Portuguese Arrive in India.
King John of Portugal had acquired some knowledge of India in
A.D. 1484, and after causing inquiries to be made as to the possibility
of discovering the rich and interesting country in the Far East, had
begun to fit out three ships, but he died before they were ready. His
successor, Dom Manuel, took up the matter warmly, and sent these ships
out under Vasco da Gama and his brother Paulo, with orders to try and
double the Cape of Good Hope. The full account of the extraordinary
voyage made by them is given in the "Three Voyages of Vasco da Gama,"
translated and published in the Hakluyt edition; being a translation of
certain portions of Correa's LENDAS DA INDIA. Da Gama sailed on July
8, A.D. 1497, and arrived close to Calicut on August 26, 1498.[184]
The Samuri, or king, of Calicut was at first friendly, but there were
misunderstandings on the part of the Portuguese, and they made little
or no progress either in trade or in establishing amicable relations
with the Hindus. Da Gama returned shortly after to Portugal. Early
in 1500 A.D. Cabral took out another and larger fleet, and arrived
at Calicut on September 13th. He at once quarrelled with the Samuri,
and instead of peaceful commerce we read of attacks and counter-attacks
conducted in such sort by the Portuguese as irretrievably to alienate
the natives of the country. A few Europeans, however, settled in that
tract, and amongst them Duarte Barbosa, the celebrated chronicler of
the time.
Da Gama returned to India in 1504, proclaiming the king of Portugal
lord of the seas, and wantonly destroying with all hands a large
vessel having several hundred people on board near the Indian coast. He
reached Calicut on October 29th, and immediately bombarded the city,
seizing the inoffensive native fishermen in the port, eight hundred
of whom he massacred in cold blood under circumstances of brutal
atrocity. In 1503 he again left for Europe, after establishing a
factory at Cochin. In consequence of his violence a war ensued between
Cochin and Calicut. In 1504 Lopo Soares came out with a fleet of
fourteen caravels, and proclaimed a blockade of the port of Cochin,
in spite of the fact that the Rajah of that place had always shown
great kindness and hospitality to the Portuguese.
The next year, 1505, Almeida was appointed viceroy of the king of
Portugal on the Indian coast, and took out with him a large fleet and
1500 soldiers. After some preliminary fighting at Honawar, Almeida
began for the first time to perceive that the true interests of the
Portuguese lay in peaceful commerce, and not in sanguinary and costly
attacks on the natives; and he also learned from an influential native
of the existence of the great kingdom of Vijayanagar and the power
of its king, Narasimha (or Narasa). At Cannanore the viceroy's son,
Lourenco, in 1506, received further information as to the state of
the country from the Italian traveller Varthema, and in consequence
of this Almeida asked King Narasa to allow him to erect a fortress
at Bhatkal, but no answer was returned.
Varthema has left behind him a valuable account of his experiences[185]
at this period. He speaks of Goa as being then under the "Savain,"
which is this writer's form of expressing the ruler known to the
Portuguese as the "Sabayo,"[186] who was the governor of the place
under the Adil Shah of Bijapur. The Sabayo was then at war with
Narasimha of Vijayanagar.
He describes Vijayanagar as a great city, "very large and strongly
walled. It is situated on the side of a mountain,[187] and is seven
miles in circumference. It has a triple circlet of walls." It was very
wealthy and well supplied, situated on a beautiful site, and enjoying
an excellent climate. The king "keeps up constantly 40,000 horsemen"
and 400 elephants. The elephants each carry six men, and have long
swords fastened to their trunks in battle -- a description which agrees
with that of Nikitin and Paes. "The common people go quite naked,
with the exception of a piece of cloth about their middle. The king
wears a cap of gold brocade two spans long.... His horse is worth
more than some of our cities on account of the ornaments which it
wears."[188] Calicut, he says, was ruined in consequence of its wars
with the Portuguese.
Varthema saw forty-eight Portuguese traders massacred at Calicut by the
"Moors," and in consequence of the dangerous state of things existing
there he left the city and pursued his journey southwards round the
coast. Here we may leave him.
In March 1505 a Portuguese fleet destroyed, with immense loss of life,
a large flotilla of small boats belonging to the Rajah of Calicut. In
the next year an outrage committed by the Portuguese led to a siege
of their factory at Cannanore, but the timely arrival of Tristan da
Cunha with a new fleet from home relieved the beleaguered garrison. At
the end of 1507 Almeida and Da Cunha joined forces and again attacked
Calicut, with some measure of success.
Afonso d'Albuquerque was now in the Persian seas fighting with all
the "Moors" he could meet. At the end of 1509 he became "Governor of
India," I.E. of Portuguese India, in succession to Almeida; Diogo Lopes
de Sequeira receiving the governorship under the king of Portugal of
the seas east of Cape Comorin.
From the accession of Krishna Deva Raya to the throne of Vijayanagar in
A.D. 1509 we once more enter a period when the history of the country
becomes less confused, and we are able to trace the sequence of events
without serious difficulty. This was the period of Vijayanagar's
greatest successes, when its armies were everywhere victorious,
and the city was most prosperous.
CHAPTER 10
The Reign of Krishna Deva Raya (A.D. 1509 to 1530)
His character and person -- Bankapur -- Almeida and Fr. Luis's mission
-- Duarte Barbosa -- His description of the city -- The king's early
wars -- Kondapalle -- Rajahmundry -- Kondavid -- Udayagiri -- Wars
of the Qutb Shah of Golkonda in Telingana.
An inscription in the Pampapati temple at Hampe states that on
the occasion of a festival in honour of the coronation of Krishna
Deva Raya, the king built a hall of assembly and a GOPURA or tower
there, and the date is given as the 14th of the first half of the
lunar month Magha in the expired Saka year 1430, the year of the
cycle being "Sukla."[189] It so happens that the cyclic year Sukla
does not correspond to Saka 1430 expired, but to Saka 1431 expired;
and this unfortunate error leaves us in doubt as to the true date of
that important event. If we conceive the mistake as having occurred,
not in the NAME of the year, which was perhaps in constant daily use,
but in the number of the Saka year, then the date corresponds to 23rd
or 24th January A.D. 1510; but if the number of the Saka year was
correct and the name wrong, then the day must have been February 4,
1509, the cyclic year being properly "Vibhava." Even then it is not
certain whether this festival took place on the coronation day itself,
or on an anniversary of that event; and a considerable interval may
have elapsed between the king's accession and coronation. Probably
we shall not be wrong if we consider that the new king succeeded to
the throne in A.D. 1509.[190]
Krishna Raya seems to have possessed a very striking personality,
to judge from the glowing description given us by Paes, who saw
him about the year 1520. The account given by him is all the more
interesting and valuable because without it the world would have
remained justly in doubt as to whether this king really reigned at
all, in the usual acceptation of the word -- whether he was not a
mere puppet, entirely in the hands of his minister, perhaps even an
actual prisoner. For Firishtah never mentions him by name, and the
inscriptions which relate his conquests prove nothing beyond the fact
that they took place during a reign which, for all we know, might have
been a reign only in name, the real power being in the hands of the
nobles. But with the description of Paes in our hands there can be no
longer a shadow of doubt. Krishna Deva was not only monarch DE JURE,
but was in very practical fact an absolute sovereign, of extensive
power and strong personal influence. He was the real ruler. He was
physically strong in his best days, and kept his strength up to the
highest pitch by hard bodily exercise. He rose early, and developed
all his muscles by the use of Indian clubs and the use of the sword;
he was a fine rider, and was blessed with a noble presence which
favourably impressed all who came in contact with him. He commanded his
immense armies in person, was able, brave, and statesmanlike, and was
withal a man of much gentleness and generosity of character. He was
beloved by all and respected by all. Paes writes of him that he was
"gallant and perfect in all things." The only blot on his scutcheon
is, that after his great success over the Muhammadan king he grew to
be haughty and insolent in his demands. No monarch such as the Adil
Shah could brook for a moment such a humiliation as was implied by a
peace the condition of which was that he should kiss his triumphant
enemy's foot; and it was beyond all doubt this and similar contemptuous
arrogance on the part of successive Hindu rulers that finally led,
forty years later, to the downfall of the Hindu empire.
All Southern India was under Krishna Deva's sway, and several
quasi-independent chiefs were his vassals. These were, according to
Nuniz, the chief of Seringapatam, and those of Bankapur,[191] Garsopa,
Calicut, Bhatkal, and Barkur. The Portuguese treated these lesser
chiefs as if they were kings, called them so and sent embassies to
them, no doubt much to their satisfaction.
The present head of the Brahmanical establishment at the Hampe temple
informed me that Krishna Deva Raya celebrated his accession by erecting
the great tower at the entrance of the temple, and the next largest
tower shortly afterwards. Nuniz tells us that immediately on attaining
power, the king, making Saluva Timma his minister, sent his nephew,
the son of the last sovereign, and his own three brothers, to the
fortress of Chandragiri, 250 miles to the south-east, for his greater
security, and himself remained for some time at the capital. This
accords well with the writings of the other Portuguese, who relate
that at least on two occasions, when missions were sent from Calicut
and Goa, viz., those of Fr. Luis and Chanoca, the envoys saw the king
in person at Vijayanagar.
At the beginning of Krishna's reign, Almeida, as stated above,
was viceroy of the Portuguese settlements on the coast, but at the
end of the year 1509 Albuquerque succeeded him under the title of
governor. The latter suffered a severe reverse at Calicut, and from
thence despatched Fr. Luis, of the Order of St. Francis, as ambassador
to Vijayanagar, begging the Raya to come by land and reduce the Samuri
of Calicut, promising himself to assault simultaneously by sea.[192]
The governor declared that he had orders from his master, the king
of Portugal, to war against the Moors, but not against the Hindus;
that Calicut had been destroyed by the governor, and its king had
fled into the interior; that he (the governor) offered his fleet to
assist the king of Vijayanagar in his conquest of the place; that as
soon as Calicut was captured the Moors would be driven therefrom, and
that afterwards the Portuguese would assist the king of Vijayanagar
against his enemies, the "Moors" of the Dakhan. He promised in future
to supply Vijayanagar alone with Arab and Persian horses, and not to
send any to Bijapur. No answer was returned.
Albuquerque next attacked Goa, then under the Adil Shah, and
captured the place, making his triumphal entry into it on March 1,
A.D. 1510. Immediately afterwards he despatched Gaspar Chanoca on
a mission to Vijayanagar, renewing Almeida's request for a fort at
Bhatkal for the protection of Portuguese trade. Barros[193] states
that Chanoca reported that, though he was received "solemnly," Krishna
Deva Raya only made a general answer in courteous terms, and did not
specifically grant the governor's request; the reason being that the
king had then made peace with the Adil Shah. Presumably this peace
was made in order to enable the Adil Shah to retake Goa.[194]
Upon this a message was sent from Vijayanagar to Albuquerque
congratulating the Portuguese on their conquest of Goa, and promising
to aid them against the Adil Shah. This aid, however, does not appear
to have been given. The Muhammadan troops attacked Goa in May and after
a severe struggle were successful, Albuquerque evacuating the place
after decapitating a hundred and fifty of the principal Muhammadans
there, and slaughtering their wives and children.[195]
In November of the same year, Ismail Adil's attention being called off
by internal dissension at Bijapur, Albuquerque attacked Rasul Khan,
Ismail's deputy at Goa, and the eight thousand men under his command,
defeated them, retook the place on December 1, and slew six thousand
men, women, and children of the Muhammadans. Firishtah states that
the young Adil Shah's minister, Kummal Khan, after this made peace
with the Europeans, and left them securely established at Goa. This,
however, is not quite correct, for Rasul Khan made a desperate attempt
in 1512 to retake the place, but failed after severe fighting.[196]
As soon as the news reached Vijayanagar of Albuquerque's success
in December 1510, Krishna Deva Raya sent ambassadors to Goa, and
by them Fr. Luis sent letters to Albuquerque detailing the result
of his mission. He "had been well received by all except the king,"
but the king had nevertheless granted permission for the Portuguese
to build a fort at Bhatkal. Poor Fr. Luis never returned from his
embassy. History is silent as to what happened or what led to the
tragedy, but he was one day murdered in the city of Vijayanagar.[197]
His despatch is interesting as containing information regarding
Vijayanagar and the Sultan of Bijapur, part of which is certainly
accurate, while part tells us of Krishna Deva Raya's proceedings
at this period, regarding which we know nothing from any other
source. Fr. Luis wrote to Albuquerque that the Adil Shah had attacked
Bijapur, and had taken it after a siege of two months, while four lords
had risen against him "since the latter had carried off the king of
Decan as a prisoner." This king was the Bahmani king, while the Adil
Shah and the "four lords" were the revolting Muhammadan princes. He
added that the people of Belgaum had revolted from the Adil Shah and
submitted to the Hindu sovereign. As to Vijayanagar, he said that the
king was getting ready a small expedition of seven thousand men to send
against one of his vassals, who had risen up in rebellion and seized
the city of Pergunda (? Pennakonda), saying that it belonged to himself
by right; and that after he had taken the rebel the king would proceed
to certain places on the sea-coast. Fr. Luis professed himself unable
to understand the drift of this latter design, but warned Albuquerque
to be careful. He advised him to keep up friendly communications with
the king, and by no means to place any reliance on the man on whom, of
all others, the Portuguese had pinned their faith -- one Timoja,[198]
a Hindu who had befriended the new-comers. The priest declared that
Timoja was a traitor to them, and had, in conjunction with the king
of Garsopa, promised Krishna Deva Raya that he would deliver Goa to
him before the Portuguese could fortify their possessions therein,
if he should send a fully equipped army to seize the place.
After Albuquerque's second capture of Goa the chief of Bankapur
also sent messages of congratulation to the Portuguese, and asked
for permission to import three hundred horses a year. The request
was granted, as the place was on the road to Vijayanagar, and
it was important that its chief should be on friendly terms with
the Europeans. Moreover, Bankapur contained a number of superior
saddlers.[199]
Krishna Deva's anxiety was to secure horses. He must have thought
little of this foreign settlement on the coast as a political power,
but what he wanted was horses, and again horses, for his perpetual
wars against the Adil Shah; and Albuquerque, after toying a little
with the Muhammadan, gratified the Hindu by sending him a message in
which he declared that he would prefer to send cavalry mounts to him
rather than to supply them to the Sultan of Bijapur.
About the year 1512 Krishna Deva Raya, who had, taken advantage of
the times to invade the Sultan's dominions, attacked the fortress of
Raichur, which at last was given up to him by the garrison; Ismail
Adil being too much employed in attending to the internal affairs of
his government to afford it timely relief. So says Firishtah.[200]
This event is not noticed by Nuniz, who writes as if the Raya's first
campaign against the Adil Shah took place in 1520, when he advanced
to attack Raichur, it being then in the Shah's possession; and here we
see a difference between the story of Nuniz and the story of Firishtah,
for the latter, writing of the same event, viz., the campaign of 1520,
states that "Ismail Adil Shaw made preparations for marching to recover
Mudkal and Roijore from the Roy of Beejanuggar," he having taken these
cities about 1512, as narrated. Which account is correct I cannot say.
It appears[201] that in 1514 A.D. Krishna Deva offered Albuquerque
[pound sterling] 20,000 for the exclusive right to trade in horses, but
the Portuguese governor, with a keen eye to business, refused. A little
later the Hindu king renewed his proposal, declaring his intention of
making war against the Adil Shah; and the Adil Shah, hearing of this
message, himself sent an embassy to Goa. Albuquerque was now placed
in a position of some political importance, and he wrote first to
Vijayanagar saying that he would give the Raya the refusal of all his
horses if he would pay him 30,000 cruzados per annum for the supply,
and send his own servants to Goa to fetch away the animals, and also
that he would aid the king in his war if he was paid the expense of
the troops; and he wrote afterwards to Bijapur promising the Sultan
the refusal of all horses that came to Goa if he would surrender to
the king of Portugal a certain portion of the mainland opposite the
island. Before this matter was settled, however, Albuquerque died.
We learn from this narrative the Krishna Deva Raya was meditating a
grand attack on the Muhammadans at least five years before his advance
to Raichur -- a year even before his expedition against Udayagiri and
the fortresses on the east, the story of which campaign is given in
our chronicle.
We have an account of what Vijayanagar was like in A.D. 1504 --
14 in the narrative of Duarte Barbosa, a cousin of Magellan, who
visited the city during that period.
Speaking of the "kingdom of Narsinga," by which name the Vijayanagar
territories were always known to the Portuguese, Barbosa writes:[202]
"It is very rich, and well supplied with provisions, and is very full
of cities and large townships."
He describes the large trade of the seaport of Bhatkal on its western
coast, the exports from which consisted of iron, spices, drugs,
myrabolans, and the imports of horses and pearls; but as regards
he last two items he says, "They now go to Goa, on account of the
Portuguese." The governor of Bhatkal was a nephew of King Krishna
Deva. "He lives in great state and calls himself king, but is in
obedience to the king, his uncle."
Leaving the sea-coast and going inland, Barbosa passed upwards through
the ghats.
"Forty-five leagues from these mountains there is a very large city
which is called BIJANAGUER, very populous, and surrounded on one side
by a very good wall, and on another by a river, and on the other
by a mountain. This city is on level ground; the king of Narsinga
always resides in it. He is a gentile, and is called Raheni.[203]
He has in this place very large and handsome palaces, with numerous
courts.... There are also in this city many other palaces of great
lords, who live there. And all the other houses of the place are
covered with thatch, and the streets and squares are very wide. They
are constantly filled with an innumerable crowd of all nations and
creeds.... There is an infinite trade in this city.... In this city
there are many jewels which are brought from Pegu and Celani (Ceylon),
and in the country itself many diamonds are found, because there is
a mine of them in the kingdom of Narsinga and another in the kingdom
of Decani. There are also many pearls and seed-pearls to be found
there, which are brought from Ormuz and Cael ... also silk-brocades,
scarlet cloth, and coral....
"The king constantly resides in the before-mentioned palaces, and
very seldom goes out of them....
"All the attendance on the king is done by women, who wait upon him
within doors; and amongst them are all the employments of the king's
household; and all these women live and find room within these palaces,
which contain apartments for all....
"This king has a house[204] in which he meets with the governors and
his officers in council upon the affairs of the realm.... They come in
very rich litters on men's shoulders.... Many litters and many horsemen
always stand at the door of this palace, and the king keeps at all
times nine hundred elephants and more than twenty thousand horses,
all which elephants and horses are bought with his own money.... This
king has more than a hundred thousand men, both horse and foot,
to whom he gives pay....
"When the king dies four or five hundred women burn themselves with
him.... The king of Narsinga is frequently at war with the king of
Dacani, who has taken from him much of his land; and with another
gentile king of the country of Otira (apparently Orissa), which is
the country in the interior."
Barbosa mentions that the lord of Goa, before the Portuguese attack
on the place, was "Sabaym Delcani," meaning the king of the Dakhan,
and he alludes to its first capture by Albuquerque on 25th February
1510, and the second on 25th November of the same year.
We learn from other sources that about this time Krishna Deva Raya
was engaged with a refractory vassal in the Maisur country, the Ganga
Rajah of Ummatur, and was completely successful. He captured the
strong fortress of Sivasamudra and the fortress of Srirangapattana,
or Seringapatam, reducing the whole country to obedience.
In 1513 A.D. he marched against Udayagiri, in the present district
of Nellore, an exceedingly strong hill-fortress then under the king
of Orissa,[205] and after the successful termination of the war
he brought with him from a temple on the hill a statue of the god
Krishna, which he set up at Vijayanagar and endowed with a grant of
lands. This is commemorated by a long inscription still in existence
at the capital. It was then that the great temple of Krishnasvami was
built, which, though now in ruins, is still one of the most interesting
objects in the city. This is also attested by a long inscription
on stone, still in its place. The king further built the temple of
Hazara Ramasvami near, or in, his palace enclosure, at the same time.
Nuniz relates that at Udayagiri Krishna Raya captured an aunt of the
king of Orissa and took her prisoner to Vijayanagar. He next proceeded
against Kondavid, another very strong hill-fortress also in possession
of the king of Orissa, where he met and defeated the king in person
in a pitched battle, and captured the citadel after a two months'
siege. He left Saluva Timma here as a governor of the conquered
provinces, and went in pursuit of his enemy northwards. Nuniz says
that Saluva Timma appointed his own brother captain of Kondavid,
but an inscription at that place gives us the name of this man as
Nadendla Gopamantri, and calls him a nephew of Timma. Kondavid seems
to have been under the kings of Orissa since A.D. 1454; its capture
by Krishna Deva took place in 1515.[206] To confirm our chronicler's
account of the king's northward journey, I find that there is at the
town of Meduru, twenty-two miles south-east of Bezvada on the Krishna,
an inscription which states that in 1516 a battle took place there
between Krishna Deva and some enemy whose name is obliterated, in
which the former was victorious.
The king, advanced to Kondapalle, took the place after a three months'
siege, and captured therein a wife and son of the king of Orissa. The
unhappy fate of the latter is told in the chronicle. Thence he marched
to Rajahmundry and halted six months. Peace was made shortly after,
and Krishna Deva married a daughter of the Orissan king.[207] After
this marriage King Krishna made an expedition against a place in the
east which Nuniz calls "Catuir," on the Coromandel side, and took
it. I have been unable to locate this place.
By these conquests the whole of his eastern dominions were brought
into entire subjection to the sovereign.
Nuniz writes as though the attack on Raichur immediately followed the
campaign against Udayagiri, Kondavid, and "Catuir," but, according
to the evidence afforded by inscriptions, these expeditions were at
an end in 1515, and the battle of Raichur did not take place for at
least five years later.
A long account of wars in the south-eastern Dakhan country
between Sultan Quli Qutb Shah of Golkonda and his neighbours, both
Mussulman and Hindu, is given in the third volume of Colonel Briggs'
"Firishtah,"[208] translated from a Muhammadan historian -- not
Firishtah himself; and as this certainly covers the period of at least
a portion of Krishna Deva's reign, it is well to give a summary of
it. I cannot, however, as yet determine the exact dates referred to,
and the story differs from that acquired from Hindu and Portuguese
accounts, the dates of which are confirmed by epigraphical records.
Sultan Quli proclaimed himself an independent sovereign in 1512. The
historian referred to states that shortly after this Quli attacked and
took Razukonda and Devarakonda, fortresses respectively south-east
and south-south-east of Hyderabad in Telingana. After the second of
these places had fallen Krishna Raya of Vijayanagar marched against
the Sultan with an immense army and invaded his dominions. This must,
I think, refer to about the year 1513. The Hindu army encamped at
Pangul, in the angle of the Krishna river almost due east of Raichur,
and here a battle took place in which the Qutb Shah was victorious
The place was then besieged; it capitulated, and the Muhammadans
proceeded to Ghanpura, twenty miles to the north. This fort was
captured after heavy loss, and the Sultan led his army to Kovilkonda,
twenty miles to the north-west, on the borders of the country of Bidar,
the territory of Ala-ud-din Imad Shah. This place also fell.
A war with the Imad Shah followed, in which Sultan Quli was again
victorious. Shortly afterwards there were disturbances on the east
of the Golkonda territories. Sitapati, Rajah of Kambampeta, on the
Muniyer river, who possessed extensive territories -- including
Warangal and Bellamkonda, a fortress south of the Krishna -- rose
against the Muhammadans, and the Sultan marched against Bellamkonda,
which, after a long siege, he captured. Sitapati then fought a pitched
battle, was defeated, and fled, Quli returning to Golkonda. The Rajah
then stirred up a number of neighbouring chiefs and assembled large
forces at Kambampeta. Hearing of this, the Golkonda forces marched
to attack them, and met with complete success, Sitapati flying to
the protection of "Ramchunder Dew, the son of Gujputty, who held his
court at Condapilly," and was king of Orissa. The Sultan advanced
and attacked Kambampeta, where, after his capture of the place, he
slew every man, woman, and child in the city, seizing the females
of Sitapati's household for his own seraglio. Meanwhile an immense
Hindu host from all the countries about, under command of the king
of Orissa, prepared to do battle for their country, and a decisive
action took place near the river at Palinchinur, in which the Hindus
were completely defeated. Quli then seized Kondapalle, Ellore, and
Rajahmundry, and a treaty was made between him and Orissa fixing the
Godavari river as the eastern boundary of Golkonda. By this the Sultan
added the districts of Ellore and Bezvada to his own dominions.
Krishna Raya then advanced to the rescue and the Sultan marched to
Kondavid. He invested the place, but was forced to retreat owing to
attacks made on him from Bellamkonda and Vinukonda, the first of
which fortresses he succeeded in reducing after heavy loss. After
this he retired towards Kondapalle. Krishna Raya now arrived and
attacked the Muhammadan garrison in Bellamkonda, upon which the Sultan
counter-marched, and suddenly appeared in rear of the Hindu army. In
the battle which ensued he was victorious and the siege was raised,
after which he returned to Kondavid and took it. On learning of the
fall of Kondavid, Krishna Raya detached "his general and son-in-law
Seeva Ray"[209] with 100,000 foot and 8000 horse to march against
the Muhammadans. The Sultan retreated and encamped on the banks of
the Krishna, leaving Kondavid to the Hindus.[210] After settling
the place the Vijayanagar forces proceeded in pursuit of the Sultan,
were attacked by him, defeated, and retired to Kondavid, which was
a second time invested by the army of Golkonda. The Hindus then
submitted and agreed to become tributary.
On his return towards his capital the Sultan learned that Ismail
Adil Shah of Bijapur was besieging Kovilkonda, "at the instance of
the Raja of Beejanuggur."[211] He marched against him, and a series
of actions ensued, the campaign lasting eleven months, at the end of
which Ismail died of a fever, and was succeeded by his son Malu. In
one of the fights Sultan Quli was wounded severely by a sabre in the
face, and disfigured for life.[212]
I have given the whole of this story in this place because it
runs as a consecutive series of events in the original Muhammadan
account. But it really covers a period of at least twenty-one years;
for the narrative begins shortly after the beginning of Quli's reign
(1512), and ends with Ismail's death (1534). We are left, therefore,
entirely in the dark as to the exact years referred to. But there are
some points of agreement between our authorities. It is certain that
Krishna Deva took Kondavid in A.D. 1515, and fought battles in the
neighbourhood in the following year; and though Nuniz asserts that he
took Kondavid from the king of Orissa, he also alludes to the presence
of armed bodies of Muhammadans in that tract opposed to the Hindus.
With these remarks we return to Vijayanagar history.
From 1516 to 1520 we have no records from Hindu sources to guide us
as to events at the capital.
The Portuguese traded on the coast, and there were some fights with
the neighbouring Hindu chiefs, but they seem to have affected the
capital but little; the foreigners were generally on friendly terms
with the suzerain at Vijayanagar, and so far as he was concerned were
welcome to consolidate their commerce, since he benefited largely by
the import of horses and other requisites. The rest of his dominions
were tranquil and the inhabitants obedient to his rule.
The whole country was divided out -- so Nuniz tells us, and his
account is confirmed by other evidence -- into governorships. Each
chief was allowed entire independence in the territory allotted to
him so long as he maintained the quota of horse, foot, and elephants,
the maintenance of which was the price of his possession, in perfect
readiness for immediate action, and paid his annual tribute to the
sovereign. Failing these he was liable to instant ejection, as the
king was lord of all and the nobles held only by his goodwill.
But during this period of peace the king made extensive preparations
for a grand attack on the territory between the rivers, the
ever-debatable land which for nearly two centuries had been the subject
of dispute between his predecessors and their northern neighbours. His
objective was the city of Raichur, then under the Muhammadans,[213]
and when all was ready he marched to the attack with an immense force.
This event requires a chapter to itself.
CHAPTER 11
The Siege and Battle of Raichur, and Close of Krishna's Reign
(A.D. 1520 to 1530)
The date of the siege -- Evidence of Castanheda, Correa, Barros,
Faria y Souza, Osorio, Lafitau, Firishtah -- Ruy de Mello and the
mainlands of Goa -- Immense numbers engaged -- Firishtah's story
of the fight -- Portuguese present -- Christovao de Figueiredo --
Political effects of the Hindu victory, and the events that followed
it -- The mainlands of Goa.
I shall ask my readers to turn for an account of the great battle and
siege of Raichur to the narrative of Nuniz,[214] whose description
is so full and so vivid that it may well be allowed to stand by
itself. It is only necessary for me to add a few notes.
The following is a short summary of the story: --
Krishna Deva Raya, having determine to attack the Adil Shah
and once for all to capture the disputed fortress of Raichur,
collected all his forces, and marched with an immense host from
Vijayanagar in a north-easterly direction. It was the dry season,
and he probably set out in February or March. The weather must have
been intensely hot during his advance, and still more so during
the campaign; but the cotton plains that lay on his route out and
home were then in the best condition for the passage of his troops,
guns, and baggage. His enormous army consisted of about a million of
men, if the camp-followers be included; for the fighting men alone,
according to Nuniz, numbered about 736,000, with 550 elephants. The
troops advanced in eleven great divisions or army corps, and other
troops joined him before Raichur.
He pitched his camp on the eastern side of that citadel, invested
the place, and began a regular siege. After an interval he received
intelligence of the arrival of the Adil Shah from Bijapur, on the
north side of the Krishna, with an army of 140,000 horse and foot to
oppose him.
Having for a few days rested his troops, the Sultan crossed the river,
advanced (according to Nuniz) to within nine miles of Raichur, and
there entrenched himself, leaving the river about five miles in his
rear.[215] Firishtah, however, differs, and says that the Muhammadan
forces crossed directly in face of the Hindu army encamped on the
opposite bank.
On Saturday morning, May 19, in the year A.D. 1520, according to
my deductions, the forces became engaged, and a decisive pitched
battle was fought. Krishna Deva, making no attempt to outflank
his adversary, ordered an advance to his immediate front of his two
forward divisions. Their attack was so far successful that they drove
the Muhammadans back to their trenches. The Sultan had apparently
deployed his force over too wide an area, expecting that the Raya
would do the same; but finding himself weak in the centre he opened
fire from the guns that he had previously held in reserve, and by this
means caused great loss in the close ranks of the Hindus. The Raya's
troops fell back in face of this formidable bombardment, and at once
their enemies charged them. The retreat was changed to a rout, and for
a mile and a half to their direct front the Mussulman cavalry chased
the flying forces belonging to Krishna Deva's first line. The king
himself, who commanded the second line, began to despair of victory,
but rallied his troops, collected about him a number of his nobles, and
determined to face death with the bravery that had always characterised
him. Mounting his horse, he ordered a forward movement of the whole
of his remaining divisions, and charged the now disordered ranks of
the Mussulmans. This resulted in complete success, for the enemy,
scattered and unable to form, fled before his impetuous onslaught. He
drove them the whole way back to, and into, the river, where terrific
slaughter took place, and their entire army was put to flight.
The Raya then crossed the river and seized the Shah's camp, while
the Shah himself, by the counsel and help of Asada Khan, a man who
afterwards became very famous, escaped only with his life, and fled
from the field on an elephant.
While being driven back towards the river, Salabat Khan, the Shah's
general, made a valiant attempt to retrieve the fortunes of the day. He
had for his bodyguard 500 Portuguese "renegades," and with him these
men threw themselves into the advancing ranks of the Hindus, where they
"did such wonderful deeds" that ever after they were remembered. They
penetrated the king's host, and cut their way forwards till they
almost reached his person. Here Salabat Khan lost his horse, but at
once mounted another and pressed on. The little force was, however,
surrounded and annihilated, and the general, being a second time
overthrown, horse and all, was made prisoner.
The spoil was great and the result decisive. For years afterwards the
"Moors" cherished a wholesome dread of Krishna Raya and his valiant
troops, and the Sultan, panic-stricken, never again during his enemy's
lifetime ventured to attack the dominions of Vijayanagar. Krishna
Deva, flushed with victory, returned at once to the attack of Raichur,
and the fortress was after a short time captured.
Its fall was due in great measure to the assistance rendered by
some Portuguese, headed by Christovao de Figueiredo, who with their
arquebusses picked off the defenders from the walls, and thus enabled
the besiegers to approach close to the lines of fortification and
pull down the stones of which they were formed. Driven to desperation,
and their governor being slain, the garrison surrendered.
Date of the Battle.
Now as to the date of this battle.
I am bold enough to believe, and defend my belief, that when Nuniz
fixed the day of the great fight as the new moon day of the month of
May, A.D. 1522, he made a mistake in the year, and should have written
"1520."
The chronicler states that Krishna Deva was prepared to give battle on
a Friday, but was persuaded by his councillors to postpone his attack
till the following day, Friday being unlucky. The battle accordingly
took place on the Saturday, which was the new moon day.
Before proceeding to examine the month and day, let us consider the
year A.D. of the battle.
Paes describes two grand festivals at the capital of which he was an
eye-witness, and at which Christovao de Figueiredo was present. He
fixes definitely the days on which these occurred. The first was the
nine-days MAHANAVAMI festival, and the second was the festival of the
New Year's Day. Paes states that on the occasion when he was present
the MAHANAVAMI began on September 12 ("ESTAS FESTAS SE COMECAO A
DOSE DõAS DE SETEBRO E DURAO NOVE DIAS"[216]), and the latter began
on October 12 ("ENTRAMDO O MES D OUTUBRO A OMZE DIAS AMDADOS D ELE
... NESTE DIU COMECAO O ANNO, E DIA D ANNO BOM ... COMECAO O ANNO
NESTE MES COM A LUA NOVA, E ELLES NAO CONTAO O MES SE NAO DE LUA A
LUA").[217] Previously to this, when writing about Raichur, Paes has
described that place[218] as a city "that formerly belonged to the
king of Narsymga (I.E. Vijayanagar); there has been much war over it,
and THIS KING took it from the Ydallcao" (Adil Shah). The chronicler,
therefore, was present at these feasts on an occasion subsequent to
the date of Krishna Deva's conquest of Raichur.
Now the MAHANAVAMI festival begins in these tracts on the 1st of
the month of Asvina, and the New Year's Day in the time of Paes was
evidently celebrated on the 1st of the month Karttika, as was often the
case in former years both days being the days following the moment of
new moon. In what year, then, during the reign of Krishna Deva Raya,
did the 1st of Asvina and the 1st of Karttika fall respectively on
September 12 and on October 12? I have worked these dates out for all
the years of the reign, and I find that in no year except A.D. 1520
did this occur. In 1521 the MAHANAVAMI fell on September 2, and the
New Year's Day on October 1; in 1522 the former fell on September 20,
and the latter on October 20. This shows that Paes assisted at the
festivals of A.D. 1520, and that therefore the battle and capture
of Raichur must have taken place before the month of September in
that year.
This again throws fresh light on the magnificent reception accorded
to Christovao de Figueiredo by the king, and the latter's exceptional
kindness to the Portuguese at the time of these feasts.[219] Krishna
Raya cherished an especial fondness for Christovao on account of his
invaluable aid at the siege of the city, and for the fact that but
for him the war might have lasted much longer.
Let us now turn to the other Portuguese writers, and see whether they
confirm our date, 1520, for the fall of Raichur.
The decision of this question turns mainly on the date when the
Portuguese obtained the mainlands opposite the island of Goa,
consisting of the tracts called Salsette, Ponda, and Bardes. It seems
certain that this capture of the mainlands took place by Krishna Deva's
connivance shortly after the fall of Raichur, at a time when Diogo
Lopes de Sequeira, the governor-general, was away at the Red Sea,
and when Ruy de Mello was governor of Goa. Now Sequeira left Goa for
the Red Sea on February 13, A.D. 1520, and arrived again before Diu
in India on February 9, 1521.
Castanheda tells us (and he is a good authority, since he was in
India in 1529) that while Sequeira was absent at the Red Sea war
broke out between the king of Vijayanagar and the Adil Shah,[220]
at the close of which the latter was defeated and put to flight,
while the Hindus took Raichur and other places
"so that many of the TANADARIS[221] near Goa on the mainland were left
undefended. And since the king of Narsinga was very rich, and had no
need of these lands, and wanted that all the horses that came to Goa
should come to him and none to the HIDALCAO, he sent to say to Ruy
de Mello, captain of Goa, that he had taken Belgaum by force of arms
from the Hidalcao, with all the land appertaining to it as far as the
sea, in which were TANADARIS yielding more than 500,000 gold pardaos,
of which he desired to make a present to the king of Portugal ... and
that he wanted all the horses that came to Goa. He therefore said that
the captain of Goa could enter and take possession of the TANADARIS."
This was immediately done, and Ruy de Mello took possession of the
mainland of Goa, including Salsette, in ten days.
Correa, who was in India at the time, having gone thither in
1512 or 1514, mentions[222] that de Sequeira left Goa for the Red
Sea in January 1520, and that "at that time" (NESTE TEMPO -- the
expression is unfortunately vague) war broke out between Vijayanagar
and Bijapur. After its close the Hindu king sent a message to "Ruy
de Mello, captain of Goa," in the absence of the governor-general,
regarding the mainlands of Goa. Correa does not mention distinctly
the year in which this occurred, but the edition of 1860 at the head
of the page has the date "1521." This, however, must be an error
on the part of the editor, for in May 1521 Sequeira was not absent,
and therefore the year referred to cannot be 1521; while in May 1522
Dom Duarte de Menezes, and not Sequeira, was governor-general.[223]
Sequeira sailed for Portugal January 22, A.D. 1522.
Barros relates the departure of de Sequeira from India for the Red
Sea on February 13, 1520, and states that in his absence Ruy de
Mello was governor of Goa, under Sequeira's lieutenant, Aleixo de
Menezes. Ruy de Mello seized the mainland of Goa after the battle
of Raichur,[224] and at that time de Sequeira was absent at the Red
Sea. His description of the siege of Raichur and the great battle
in the vicinity clearly seems to have been taken from the chronicle
of Nuniz. It follows the latter blindly, even in the misspelling of
names, and therefore is really of no greater value. When, however,
Barros comes to deal with the acquisition of the mainlands of Goa,[225]
he is dependent on other information, and gives a much more detailed
account. The time is clearly fixed. After the battle and flight of
the Adil Shah the feeling between the two adversaries was naturally
highly strained, and this "enabled Ruy de Mello, captain of Goa, to
take the mainlands of Goa." Sequeira was at the Red Sea and Menezes
at Cochin. A very important passage for my present purpose occurs a
little later on in Barros's work:[226] --
"Diogo Lopes de Sequeira, AS soon as he arrived at Goa (from the Red
Sea), all necessary arrangements having been made for the government
of the city, AND PRINCIPALLY OF THE MAINLANDS, WHICH HE FOUND THAT
RUY DE MELLO HAD TAKEN ... went to Cochin;"
and thence to Diu, where he arrived on February 9, 1521.[227] Another
passage farther on in the narrative of Barros also establishes the
fact that Ruy de Mello took the lands during Sequeira's absence at
the Red Sea.[228]
Faria y Souza, a Spanish writer, whose work was first published a
century after these events, confirms the period, February 1520 to
February 1521, as that of Sequeira's absence at the Red Sea, and he
writes: --
"While the governor[229] was in the Red Sea, the King Crisnao Rao
of Bisnaga covered the plains and hills and stopped the flow of
the rivers[230] with an army of thirty-five thousand horse, seven
hundred and thirty-three thousand foot, and five hundred and eighty-six
elephants carrying castles with four men in each, and twelve thousand
watermen ... and baggage in such quantities that the courtesans alone
numbered more than twenty thousand."[231]
Souza also states, as does Nuniz, that after the defeat of the Adil
Shah, Krishna Deva Raya demanded that, as the price of peace, the
former should visit him and kiss his foot; and that, taking advantage
of the Adil Shah's difficulties, Ruy de Mello seized the mainlands
of Goa.[232] It is clear, therefore, that both authors are writing
of the same event.
Osorio, a later writer, confirms the story in most of its details,
stating that after the defeat of the Adil Shah, Krishna Raya sent
to Ruy de Mello ("Roderigo Melos"), captain of Goa, offering the
mainlands, and promising after the return of Sequeira to send a
regular embassy to conclude a solemn treaty. De Mello accordingly
took the mainlands.
Lafitau[233] also states that the war took place during Sequeira's
absence at the Red Sea, and that the mainlands were taken after the
Adil Shah's defeat.[234]
Turning to Firishtah, I find a difference. He states that the battle
of Raichur took place in Hijra 927 (December 22, 1520, to December
1, 1521, A.D.), which, if it was fought in May, as Nuniz declares,
makes the date May 1521. That he is speaking of the same affair is
obvious from the details given. He mentions, for instance, the vast
host constituting the Hindu army, the Shah's force advancing to the
river Krishna, the too hasty crossing of the river, the gallant fight
of the Muhammadans, their defeat and rout, the fact of the Adil Shah's
forces being driven to the river and perishing in large numbers while
attempting to re-cross it, the Shah's narrow escape, and his dependence
on Asada Khan. All this leaves no room for doubt. The only difference
is that, whereas we learn from the other authorities that the fortress
of Raichur was in the hands of the Muhammadans, Firishtah states that
the war arose because the Adil Shah "made preparations for marching
to recover Mudkul and Roijore from the Roy of Beejanuggur," as if the
latter were then in possession of those places. As to Firishtah's date,
I believe it to be wrong by one year, for the reasons given above. It
must be remembered that he wrote many years after the event.
Having thus, I hope satisfactorily, established the fact that the
date given by Nuniz for the battle of Raichur is wrong by two years,
and should be 1520, I turn to examine the day and month. It was the
new moon day of May, according to Nuniz, and a Saturday. Krishna Deva
Raya was ready for battle on the Friday, but postponed his attack to
the next day since Friday was considered an unlucky day.
The moment of the occurrence of new moon in May 120 was 2.27 A.M. on
the morning of Thursday, May 17. We do not know whether Nuniz
ascertained his facts from native almanacks or the calculations
of the astrologers, or whether he spoke from observations made by
himself or by some one who was present; but Nuniz was an ordinary
person, not a skilled astronomer, so far as we can tell, and he may
well have called the day on which the crescent of the new moon first
made its appearance just after sunset the "new moon day." This first
appearance actually took place on the Saturday following. The first
day of the Muhammadan month Jamada' l akhir, corresponding to the
heliacal rising of the moon on that occasion, was Saturday, May 19.
I therefore believe that this great battle took place on Saturday,
May 19, A.D. 1520,[235] a date almost synchronous with the of the
"Field of the Cloth of Gold."
The Number of Troops Engaged.
When we total up the list given by Nuniz of the columns that marched
from Vijayanagar for the campaign, the amount is so huge that we pause
in natural doubt as to whether the story could by any possibility be
true: 703,000 foot, 32,600 horse, and 551 elephants, BESIDES the camp
followers, merchants, &c., and "an infinitude of people" who joined
him at a place close to Raichur! It certainly demands a large strain
on our credulity.
Let every one form his own opinion. I can only call attention to
the fact that large armies seem to have always been the rule in
India, and that certainly Krishna Raya had the power to raise immense
numbers of troops,[236] though whether so many as is stated is another
question. His power to do so lay in his mode of government. Allusion
has already been made to this, and Nuniz gives us interesting
details. The whole empire was divided into provinces and estates,
held by chiefs bound to keep up masses of troops fit for immediate
service. It is, of course, natural to suppose that in this great war
the king would have put forth all his strength.
To prove that immense armies were often employed by Indian kings,
we have only to refer to a succession of writers. Barros notes the
great power of the sovereign of Vijayanagar and his almost incredible
richness, and is at pains to give an account of how these enormous
forces were raised, "lest his tale should not be believed."
In the second volume of Scott's "History of the Dekhan," a
translation is given of a journal kept by a Bondela officer in the
reign of Aurangzib, an officer who served under "Dulput Roy" in
A.D. 1690. Writing about Vijayanagar in former days, at the height
of its grandeur and importance, he says, "They kept an army of 30,000
horse, a million of infantry, and their wealth was beyond enumeration."
Conti, who was in India about a century earlier than the war in
question, told Bracciolini that the Vijayanagar army consisted of
"a million of men and upwards."
Abdur Razzak (1442 A.D.) tells the same story, putting the number at
1,100,000 with 1000 elephants.
Twenty years later Nikitin states that the Kulbarga forces marching
to attack the Hindus amounted to 900,000 foot, 190,000 horse, and
575 elephants.
The Sultan himself, independently of his nobles, took the field with
300,000 men, and even when he only went out on a hunting expedition
he took with him a train of 10,000 horse, 500,000 foot, and 200
elephants. He states that the Malik ul Tujar alone had an army of
200,000 employed in the siege of one city. The Hindus fought almost
nude, and were armed with shield and sword.
Even so far back as the time of Alexander the Great (about B.C. 320)
the army of Magadha was computed by the Greeks as consisting of
600,000 foot. 30,000 cavalry, and 9000 elephants, though Quintus
Curtius makes a much more modest estimate.
Lord Egerton of Tatton states[237] that an army of Hindu confederated
states, mustered for the defence of Northern indict against the
Muhammadan invasion in 1192 A.D., amounted, "according to the most
moderate estimate," to 300,000 horse, 3000 elephants, and a great
number of infantry.
In A.D. 1259 a Mogul embassy was received at Delhi by an escort of
50,000 horse, and was led past lines of infantry numbering as many
as 200,000 in their ranks.
It will be remembered how Muhammad Taghlaq of Delhi[238] raised,
according to Firishtah, an army of 370,000 men for the conquest
of Persia, and when he wanted to destroy the inhabitants of a
certain tract of country, he "ordered out his army as if he were
going hunting," surrounded the tract, and then, pressing inwards
towards the centre, slaughtered all the inhabitants therein. This
implies that he took, when merely hunting, immense numbers of men with
him. Shahab-ud-Din, indeed, declared that Muhammad Taghlaq had an army
of 900,000 horse;[239] and Nuniz, on the opening page of his chronicle,
says that this Sultan invaded the Balaghat with 800,000 horse.[240]
This estimate was, of course, only according to the tradition extant
in 1535.
Faria y Souza, writing in the seventeenth century, estimated the forces
of Bahadur, king of Cambay, in 1534, as 100,000 horse, 415,000 foot,
and 600 elephants.
As late as 1762 the Mahrattas are said to have had an army of 100,000
horse.
Nuniz[241] gives details of the provincial forces of Vijayanagar,
compulsorily maintained by eleven out of a total of two hundred nobles
amongst whom the empire was divided, and the total of the forces of
these eleven amounts to 19,000 horse, 171,700 foot, and 633 elephants.
Castanheda confirms other writers in this matter, stating that the
infantry of Vijayanagar were countless, the country being of large
extent and thickly populated, so that the king could call upon a
million, or even two millions, of men at will.[242] This writer visited
India just at the close of the reign of Krishna Deva Raya. He states
that the king kept up at his own cost an establishment of 100,000
horses and 4000 elephants.
As to all this, I repeat that every one is at liberty to form his
own opinion; but at least it seems certain that all the chroniclers
believed that the king of Vijayanagar could, if he so desired,
put into the field immense masses of armed men. They were probably
not all well armed, or well trained, or well disciplined, but as to
large numbers there can be little reasonable doubt. A relic of this
may be seen every year at modern Haidarabad, the capital city of
H.H. the Nizam, where, at the annual festival known as the "Langar,"
armed irregulars in very large numbers file through the principal
streets. They are for the most part a mere mob of men with weapons,
and are not maintained as State troops, but they are brought up by
the various nobles in separate bodies, each chief mustering for the
occasion all his hereditary retainers and forming them into rough
regiments and brigades.
As to the description given by Nuniz of the offensive armour of the
elephants, which are stated to have gone into battle with long swords
like scythes attached to their trunks, the story is confirmed by many
other writers.
Firishtah's Narrative.
Firishtah's account of the battle of Raichur is interesting, as
it gives a description of the affair from the enemy's point of
view. Ismail Adil Shah marched
"to recover Mudkul and Roijore from the roy of Beejanugger, who,
gaining early intelligence of his designs, moved with a great force,
and stationed his camp on the bank of the Kistnah, where he was joined
by many of his tributaries; so that the army amounted at least to
50,000 horse, besides a vast host of foot. The sultan would now have
delayed his expedition, as the enemy possessed all the ferries of
the Kistnah, but that his tents were pitched, and it would have been
disgraceful to retract from his declarations He therefore marched with
7000 horse, all foreign, and encamped on the bank of the river opposite
to the enemy, waiting to prepare floats to cross and attack them.
"Some days after his arrival, as he was reposing in his tent, he
heard one of the courtiers without the skreens reciting this verse:
-- 'Rise and fill the golden goblet with the wine of mirth before the
cup itself shall be laid in dust.' The sultan, inspired by the verse,
called his favourites before him, and spreading the carpet of pleasure,
amused himself with music and wine. When the banquet had lasted
longer than was reasonable, and the fumes of the wine had exercised
their power, a fancy seized the sultan to pass the river and attack
the enemy.... Warm with wine he resolved to cross immediately, and
mounting his elephant, without making his intentions known, proceeded
to the river, as if to reconnoitre, but suddenly gave orders for as
many of his troops as could to go upon the rafts, and others to follow
him on elephants through the river. The officers represented the folly
and danger of precipitation; but the sultan, without reply, plunged
his own elephant into the stream, and was followed involuntarily by
the amras and their followers; on about 250 elephants.
"By great good fortune, all reached the opposite shore in safety, and
as many troops as could cross on the floats at two embarkations had
time to arrive, when the enemy advanced to battle in so great force as
excluded every probable hope of escape to the sultan, who had not more
than 2000 men ready to oppose 30,000. The heroes of Islaam, animated
with one soul, made so gallant a resistance that about a thousand of
the infidels fell, among whom was Sunjeet Roy, the chief general of
Beejanuggur; but at last, harassed beyond all power of opposition by
cannon-shot, musquetry, and rockets, which destroyed near half their
numbers, the survivors threw themselves into the river in hopes of
escaping, and Nursoo Bahadur and Ibrahim Bey, who rode on the same
elephant with Ismaeel Adil Shaw, drove the animal across the stream,
but so great was the current, that except the royal elephant and seven
soldiers, all the rest were drowned. The sultan's rashness was heavily
punished by so great a loss. He took a solemn vow never to indulge in
wine till he had revenged his defeat; and then, throwing away despair,
busied his mind in repairing this unfortunate miscarriage.
"As Mirza Jehangeer had fallen in the action, the sultan consulted
with Assud Khan on what measures would be best to take in the present
crisis of his affairs. Assud Khan replied, that as his loss was
great and the troops dispirited, it would be better for the present
to retreat to Beejapore. The sultan approving the advice, marched
from the Kistnah to Beejapore, and conferring the dignity of Sippeh
Sallar[243] on Assud Khan, added several districts to his jaghire,
and made him his principal adviser in all important affairs."
Comparison of Accounts.
Comparing this account with that given by Nuniz, there can, I think,
be little doubt that both stories refer to the same event, though there
are of course several discrepancies. The origin of the war is related
differently. Firishtah states that on the arrival of the Sultan at
the river-bank he found the Hindu army encamped on the opposite side;
he crossed, after a few days' delay, with a small force, and was
driven into the river. Nuniz says that Krishna Deva Raya heard of
Ismail Adil's arrival on the river-bank while he himself was in camp
at Raichur, fifteen miles away; and that he advanced and gave battle
nine miles from the river, in the end driving the enemy across. But
taking the two narratives as a whole, there are too many points of
coincidence to leave any doubt in the mind that each chronicler is
writing of the same event.
As to which of the two is more accurate it is impossible now to
decide. But considering that Nuniz wrote only fifteen years afterwards,
and that there were Portuguese present at the battle, some of whom
Nuniz may have personally consulted as to what took place, it would
seem more reasonable to trust in him rather than in a Muhammadan
historian who did not compile his work till after an interval of
sixty years. Moreover, there are some inherent improbabilities in
Firishtah's narrative.
It is worthy of notice, too, that throughout the story of Nuniz at
this part of his chronicle there is much that impels the belief that
either himself or his informant was present at the Hindu camp while
these events were taking place. The narrative of the campaign, in
complete contrast to that of the remainder of the history, reads like
the account of an eye-witness; especially in the passages describing
the fortress of Raichur[244] and the camp -- where the supplies were
so great that "you could find everything that you wanted,"[245] where
"you saw"[246] the goldsmiths and artisans at work as if in a city,
where "you will find"[247] all kinds of precious stones offered for
sale, and where "no one who did not understand the meaning of what he
saw would ever dream that a war was going on, but would think that
he was in a prosperous city." Note also the description given of
the extraordinary noise made by the drums, trumpets, and shouts of
the men; so that even the birds fell down into the soldiers' hands
stricken with terror and "it seemed as if the sky would fall to the
earth," and "if you asked anything, you could not hear yourself speak,
and you had to ask by signs." Many such instances might be given,
but not to be tedious I will invite attention to only three more,
viz., the account given by Nuniz of how; when receiving the men of
the city after its surrender, the king, "casting his eye on Christovao
de Figueiredo, nodded his head, and turned to the people telling them
to observe what great things could be effected by one good man;"[248]
his description of the behaviour of the defeated citizens when Krishna
Deva made his triumphant entry into the city; and his narrative of the
ambassador's reception at Vijayanagar by the king after the conclusion
of the campaign.[249] It may be remembered that our other chronicler
Domingo Paes, was at Vijayanagar with Christovao de Figueiredo some
months after the battle, even if he were not personally present in
the fighting at Raichur.
The great interest of Nuniz's narrative lies in the fact that it
is the only detailed account extant. Barros related the events in
historical fashion, taking his facts from this very chronicle; but
he was never in India, and his brief summary is altogether wanting
in the power and force contained in the graphic story of Nuniz. The
other Portuguese writers pass over the war very lightly. It appears
as if it hardly concerned then;, further than that at its close Ruy
de Mello seized the mainlands near Goa.
Political Effects of the Battle.
And yet it had far-reaching effects. The Hindu victory so weakened
the power and prestige of the Adil Shah that he ceased altogether to
dream of any present conquest in the south, and turned his attention
to cementing alliances with the other Muhammadan sovereigns,
his neighbours. The victory also caused all the other Muhammadan
Powers in the Dakhan seriously to consider the political condition
of the country; and this eventually led to a combination without
which nothing was possible, but by the aid of which the Vijayanagar
Empire was finally overthrown and the way to the south opened. It
furthermore greatly affected the Hindus by raising in them a spirit
of pride and arrogance, which added fuel to the fire, caused them to
become positively intolerable to their neighbours, and accelerated
their own downfall.
It equally affected the fortunes of the Portuguese on the coast. Goa
rose and fell simultaneously with the rise and fall of the second
Vijayanagar dynasty; and necessarily so, considering that its entire
trade depended on Hindu support; for the king of Portugal was never
well disposed towards his hereditary enemies, the "Moors." This
is a point frequently left unnoticed by writers, on Portuguese
colonial history. The two most recent authors of works on the
subject, Mr. Danvers ("The Portuguese in India") and Mr. Whiteway
("The Rise of Portuguese Power in India"), pay very little attention
to the internal politics of the great country on the fringe alone
of which the Portuguese settled, and on the coast of which their
vessels came and went. Mr. Danvers devotes one short paragraph to
the battle of Raichur,[250] and another[251] to the destruction of
Vijayanagar. Mr. Whiteway does not even allude to the former event, and
concludes his history before arriving at the date of the latter. Yet
surely it is easy to see that the success or failure of maritime
trade on any given coast must depend on the conditions prevailing in
the empire for the supply of which that trade was established. When
Vijayanagar, with its grandeur, luxury, and love of display, its great
wealth and its enormous armies, was at the height of its power, the
foreign traders were eminently successful: when Vijayanagar fell,
and the city became desolate and depopulated, the foreign traders
had no market for their goods, and trade decayed. So that this great
Hindu victory at Raichur deserved a better fate than to be passed
over by the historians as if it had been an event of small importance.
The Events that followed the Battle.
Nuniz gives us in detail an account of the events that followed the
victory of Krishna Deva Raya, and considering that he wrote only about
fifteen years after their occurrence, we should do well to receive his
account as probably true in the main. Firishtah, perhaps naturally,
preserves a complete silence on the subject.
Nuniz tells us that when the city of Raichur surrendered, the Hindu
king made a triumphal entry into it, and treated the garrison with
kindness and consideration; while the other Muhammadan kings sent
envoys to Krishna Deva Raya on hearing of his success, and received a
haughty and irritating reply. Krishna Deva then returned to Vijayanagar
and held high festival. Shortly afterwards an ambassador arrived from
the defeated Shah, and was treated with scant courtesy for more than
a month, after which he was received in audience; when the king sent
answer by him to his enemy, that if the Adil Shah would come to him,
do obeisance, and kiss his foot, his lands and fortresses should be
restored to him. No attention being paid to this, the Raya set out
to search for the Shah, hoping, that he would be induced to do homage
in the manner demanded and appearing to ignore altogether the effect
which would necessarily be produced on the minds of the other kings
of the Dakhan by this contemplated supreme humiliation of one of
their number. The submission never took place. Krishna led his army
as far north as Bijapur, the Adil Shah's capital, which for a time
he occupied and left sadly injured. Then Asada Khan, the Shah's wily
courtier, successfully brought about the death of his personal enemy,
Salabat Khan, by inducing the Raya to order his execution; an act to,
which the king was led by the machinations of the arch-intriguer,
who subordinated his chief's interests to his own selfish ends.
King Krishna had, in the city of Bijapur, taken prisoner three sons of
a former king of the Bahmani dynasty, who had been held captive by the
Adil Shahs, and he proclaimed the eldest as king of the Dakhan.[252]
This abortive attempt to subvert the rule of the five kings who had
established themselves on the ruins of the single Dakhan sovereignty
naturally fell flat, and only resulted in stiffening the hostility
which these sovereigns felt towards their common foe.
A little later Krishna Raya's son, a young prince on whom he desired to
confer his crown, and in whose favour he had even gone so far as openly
to abdicate, died suddenly of poison, and the king, then himself in
a dying condition, arrested and imprisoned his own minister, Saluva
Timma, and his family. In this he was aided by some Portuguese who
happened to be present at the Durbar. On Saluva Timma's son escaping
to a "mountain range" -- perhaps Sandur, on the south of the capital,
where there are still to be seen the remains of a strong fortress
built of cyclopean masonry on the summit of the highest hill, now
known as Ramandrug -- the king summoned Timma and his brother and son,
and had their eyes put out.
About this time the Adil Shah advanced again to retrieve his broken
fortunes, but fled incontinently on hearing the news that Krishna Deva
was advancing in person to meet him. That the king, though sorely
ill, did indeed move in the manner stated, seems to be confirmed by
the statement of Nuniz that on the way he bought six hundred horses
from the Portuguese. Krishna began to make preparations for an attack
on Belgaum, then in the Adil Shah's possession, and sent an envoy to
invite the assistance in this enterprise of the Portuguese at Goa; but
he fell too seriously ill to carry out his project, and died shortly
afterwards at the age of from forty-two to forty-five years. It was
then the year 1530 A.D.
He was succeeded by Achyuta.
So far Nuniz. We learn something more from other writers. Barros
states that about the year 1523 Saluva Timma, the king's minister,
invaded the mainlands near Goa, which had been recently acquired by
the Portuguese under Ruy de Mello; that he advanced towards Ponda
with a small force, but that he was attacked and driven back.[253]
Shortly after this, viz., in April 1524, the Muhammadans of Bijapur
attacked these same mainlands with success, during the viceroyalty of
Dom Duarte de Menezes. On October 31 of that year the Chamber of Goa
wrote a report to the king of Portugal in which occurs the following
passage: --
"The mainland which Ruy de Mello, who was captain of this city,
conquered, was entered by the Moors, who used to possess it, in the
month of April of five hundred and twenty-four, and they hold it as
theirs, and the first Thanadar's district which they took was that of
Perna, which is by the seaside. There they captured two Portuguese,
and one of them was the Thanadar; these are prisoners in the fortress
of Bylgan (Belgaum), of which the Suffilarim is captain."[254]
It is evident, therefore, that "the Moors" were successful, and yet
it is curious that very little mention is made of this circumstance by
other historians. Firishtah does not mention it; and it may therefore
be reasonably inferred that the "Moors" in question were not the
royal troops acting under the orders of the Sultan, but belonged to
the local levies of Asada Khan, then chief of Belgaum.
According to Firishtah, the defeat at Raichur was followed by Ismail
Adil Shah's marrying his sister to Burhan Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar;
quarrelling and fighting with him (A.D. 1523); again fighting with
him (1528); marrying another sister to Ala-ud-Din Ummad of Birar;
and fighting with and entirely defeating Sultan Amir Barid of Bidar,
then an old man, whom he captured. On the death of Krishna Deva,
Ismail took advantage of the confusion of the Hindus to retake
possession of Mudkal and Raichur.
Firishtah gives no dates for the two last of the event above noted,
but the submission of Amir Barid to the Adil Shah apparently did not
take place till 1529, for Barros[255] implies that it occurred after
an event which cannot have happened earlier than 1529 -- namely, an
attack on Ponda by three Hindu chiefs, which led to the inhabitants
appealing for help to the then governor of Goa, Nuno da Cunha. Da Cunha
was not governor till 1529. "AT THIS TIME," writes the historian,
"Melique Verido[256] submitted to the Hidalchan, by advice of Madre
Maluco and Cota Maluco, and came to his camp in poor clothes, and flung
himself at his feet." This evidently refers to what occurred after the
Barid's capture by the Adil Shah, if Firishtah's story is true.[257]
Let it be remembered, though the fact has no bearing on the history
of Vijayanagar at this date, that in 1526 the Emperor Babar captured
Delhi, and established himself as the first monarch of the great
Moghul dynasty. He was succeeded in 1530 by Humayun, and on the
latter's death in 1556 the great Akbar attained the throne.
CHAPTER 12
The Buildings, Works, and Inscriptions of Krishna Deva
Temples -- Irrigation works -- Statue of Narasimha -- Kamalapuram --
Inscriptions.
Were it not that the description given us by Nuniz and Paes of the
condition of the great city of Vijayanagar at this period is so
graphic, so picturesque, and so detailed as positively to require
no addition, I should have deemed it my duty to attempt to supply
the want; but with their narrative before us in all its original
freshness, it would be useless to attempt anything further. Both of
these writers were on the spot at the time of the city's greatest
grandeur and prosperity, though in the time of Nuniz the period of
its political decay had set in. With their descriptions I shall not
venture to interfere.
I cannot, however, pass on to the reign of Achyuta without calling
attention to some of the works carried out at the capital by Krishna
Deva, and to a few of the inscribed records of his reign.
At the beginning of his reign Krishna built a GOPURA or tower, and
repaired another, at the Hampe temple, which had been built by the
first kings in honour of Madhavacharya, the founder of the fortunes of
Vijayanagar. The great KRISHNASVAMI temple was built by him in 1513,
after his return from the successful campaign in the east. In the
same year he commenced the temple of HAZARA RAMASVAMI at the palace,
the architecture of which leads Mr. Rea[258] to think that it was
not finished till a later period.
Later in his reign the king busied himself in improving the irrigation
of the dry lands about Vijayanagar. He constructed in 1521 the great
dam and channel at Korragal, and the Basavanna channel, both of which
are still in use and of great value to the country.[259]
Another great work of his was the construction of an enormous tank or
dammed-up lake at the capital, which he carried out with the aid of
Joao de la Ponte, a Portuguese engineer, whose services were lent to
him by the governor-general of Goa. Both Paes and Nuniz mention this
lake, and as the former actually saw it under construction it may
have been begun in A.D. 1520. I think that this is the large lake,
now dry, to be seen at the north-western mouth of the valley entering
into the Sandur hills south-west of Hospett, the huge bank of which
has been utilised for the conveyance of the highroad from Hospett
to the southern taluqs. If so, the fact of its original failure
is interesting to us, because for many years past this vast work
has been entirely useless. The description given by Nuniz accords
with the position of this tank, which was doubtless intended partly
for irrigation purposes, and partly for the supply of water to the
"new city," Nagalapura, the king's favourite residence, now known
as Hospett. The chronicler mentions the existence of lofty ridges on
each side, strong gates and towers guarding the entrance, and states
that this was the principal approach to the capital from the south;
all which data coincide with the position of the tank and road in
question. It is through these gates that the Portuguese travellers
entered Vijayanagar. This view is supported by the account given by
Paes. Writing of the approach to Vijayanagar from the western coast,
and describing the "first range," I.E. the first that is seen on
passing upwards from the plains, he states that in these hills was the
principal entrance from that side. He alludes to the gates and wall,
and the city, Nagalapur, constructed by King Krishna. Then he writes,
"the king made a tank THERE," I.E. close to Hospett, at the mouth
of two hills, and in order to this end "broke down a hill." He saw
innumerable people at work on the tank. He confirms the story of
Nuniz as to the sixty human beings offered in sacrifice to ensure
the security of the dam. Both writers are therefore describing the
same tank, and, taking the chronicles together, I can have no doubt
as to the soundness of my identification.
Prior to 1520, Krishna Deva built the outlying town of Nagalapur,
to which allusion has just been made. It was constructed in honour
of his favourite wife, the quondam courtesan, Nagala Devi, and the
king made it his favourite residence.
He also appears to have begun the construction of the temple of
Vitthalasvami on the river-bank, the most ornate of an the religious
edifices of the kingdom. "It shows," writes Mr. Rea in the article
already referred to, "the extreme limit in florid magnificence to
which the style advanced." The work was continued during the reign
of Krishna Deva's successors, Achyuta and Sadasiva, and was probably
stopped only by the destruction of the city in 1565. An inscription
records a grant to the temple in 1561.
In 1528 was constructed one of the most curious and interesting
monuments to be seen in the city. This is an enormous statue of the
god Vishnu in his AVATARA as Narasimha, the man-lion. It was hewn
out of a single boulder of granite, which lay near the south-western
angle of the Krishnasvami temple, and the king bestowed a grant of
lands for its maintenance. Though it has been grievously injured,
probably by the iconoclastic Muhammadans in or after the year 1565,
it is still a most striking object.
I have already alluded to the grants made by Krishna Deva to the great
Virupaksha temple at Hampe, on the occasion of the festival of his
coronation. There is an inscription of his reign on the base of the
inner side of the front tower (GOPURA) of the temple at Virinchipuram,
dated in the year A.D. 1513 -- 14; and one dated Tuesday, September
20, 1513, at Sankalapura, close to the capital, recording a grant of
the lands of that village to the temple of Ganapati in the palace
enclosure.[260] Mr. Fleet[261] mentions others of his reign in
A.D. 1509 -- 10, 1512 -- 13, 1514 -- 15, 1522 -- 23, and 1527 -- 28.
The last inscription of the reign at present known is one which bears
a date corresponding to Friday, April 23, A.D. 1529.[262] It stands
in front of the great statue of Ugra Narasimha, described above.
CHAPTER 13
The Reign of Achyuta Raya
Achyuta Raya -- Fall of Raichur and Mudkal -- Asada Khan and Goa
-- Disturbances at Bijapur -- Ibrahim Shah at the Hindu capital --
Firishtah on Vijayanagar affairs -- Rise of Rama Raya and his brothers
-- "Hoje" -- Tirumala -- Varying legends -- Venkatadri defeated by
Asada Khan near Adoni -- Asada Khan's career -- Belgaum and Goa --
Asada's duplicity -- Portuguese aggressions -- Religious grants by,
and inscriptions relating to, Achyuta.
Achyuta, according to Nuniz and some other authorities, was a brother
of the late king,[263] and, in company with two other brothers
and a nephew, had been confined by Krishna Deva in the fortress of
Chandragiri, in order to prevent dissensions in the kingdom. The new
monarch is said by Nuniz to have been specially selected by Krishna
Deva. If so, the choice was singularly unfortunate, for Achyuta was
a craven and under him the Hindu empire began to fall to pieces.
His minister was one of the powerful Saluva family, to which also
had belonged Timma, the minister of King Krishna. Nuniz calls him
"Salvanay." The earliest known date of Achyuta's reign is gathered
from an inscription bearing a date corresponding to Monday, August 15,
A.D. 1530.[264]
The beginning of his reign was ominously signalised by the loss of the
frontier fortresses Mudkal and Raichur. Firishtah[265] states that
the Adil Shah had, some time before the death of Krishna Deva, made
preparations to recover possession of these cities, and proceeds: --
"The Sultan ... put his army in motion, attended by Ummad Shaw and
Ameer Bereed with their forces; and the affairs of Beejanuggur being in
confusion owing to the death of Heemraaje, who was newly succeeded by
his son Ramraaje,[266] against whom rebellions had arisen by several
roles, met with no interruptions to his arms. Roijore and Mudkul
were taken, after a siege of three months, by capitulation, after
they had been in possession of the infidels for seventeen years."[267]
The relief and delight of the Adil Shah at these successes, and at
the death of his mortal enemy Krishna, must have been great; and
Firishtah relates that the Sultan, "who had vowed to refrain from
wine till the reduction of these fortresses, at the request of his
nobility now made a splendid festival, at which he drank wine and
gave a full loose to mirth and pleasure." Raichur and Mudkal were
never again subject to Hindu princes.
Those who desire to obtain an insight into the character of the new
king of Vijayanagar should turn to the chronicle of Nuniz. It will
suffice here to say that he alienated his best friends by his violent
despotism, and at the same time proved to the whole empire that he
was a coward. His conduct and mode of government ruined the Hindu
cause in Southern India and opened the whole country to the invader,
though he himself did not live to see the end.
After the fall of Raichur and the Doab, Ismail Adil had another
fight (1531) with his rival at Ahmadnagar and defeated him; after
which the two brothers-in-law consolidated a strong alliance. Three
years later Ismail died, having contracted a fever while besieging a
fortress belonging to the Qutb Shah of Golkonda. His death occurred
on Thursday, August 13, 1534,[268] and he was succeeded by his son
Malu. Asada Khan was appointed regent of Bijapur, but immediately
on his accession the new sovereign so offended his powerful subject
that he retired to Belgaum, and Sultan Malu, giving himself up to all
kinds of excesses, was deposed after a reign of only six months. Malu
was blinded by the orders of his own grandmother, and Ibrahim Adil,
his younger brother, was raised to the throne. It was now 1535.
Da Cunha, the Portuguese governor of Goa, took advantage of these
events to erect a fortress at Diu, and early in 1536 to seize again
the mainlands of Goa, which had been for ten years in the possession
of Asada Khan. The Khan sent a force to recapture these lands, and
in February an engagement took place in which the Portuguese were
victorious. A second attack by the Moslems was similarly repulsed. A
third fight took place in July, and again the Muhammadans were beaten;
but Asada Khan then assembled a larger army, and the foreigners were
compelled to retire after blowing up their fortress.
About this time[269] Quli Qutb Shah is said to have attacked Kondavid
on account of its withholding payment of tribute, to have taken it,
and built a tower in the middle of the fort in commemoration of
its reduction.
Two inscriptions at Conjeeveram, dated respectively in 1532 and
1533,[270] imply that at that period King Achyuta reduced the country
about Tinnevelly; but apparently he was not present in person, and
nothing further is known regarding this expedition.
We now enter upon a period very difficult to deal with satisfactorily,
owing to the conflict of evidence in the works of the various writers.
"A year after his accession," writes Firishtah,[271] "Ibrahim, Adil
led his army to Beejanuggur on the requisition of the roy." This
would be the year 1536 A.D. But what led to such an extraordinary
complication of affairs? Can it be true that King Achyuta was so
humiliated and hard pressed as to be compelled to summon to his aid
the hereditary enemies of his country?
Nuniz is silent as to the cause, though he admits the fact. It is quite
possible that Firishtah is correct, that the public were not taken into
confidence by their despotic rulers, and that the troops of Bijapur
marched to the Hindu capital at the request of King Achyuta. That they
actually came there seems quite certain, and it is probable that Nuniz
was in Vijayanagar at the time; but there is a LACUNA in his story
which can only be filled up by reference to Firishtah. Accepting
Firishtah, we can readily understand why King Achyuta received the
Sultan and his army without open opposition, as Nuniz declares that
he did, and why the Muhammadan king received splendid presents before
he retired. To Nuniz, however, this conduct was inexplicable except on
the basis of Achyuta's craven spirit and utter unworthiness.[272] As to
the assertion of Nuniz that the Sultan entered Nagalapur or Hospett and
"razed it to the ground," we may remember the treatment of the city of
Bijapur by Krishna Deva Raya,[273] and surmise that the houses of the
Vijayanagar suburbs may have been pulled to pieces by the Mussalman
soldiery in search for firewood. However all this may be, my readers
have before them the story as given by Nuniz in Chapter XX. of his
chronicle, and the following is Firishtah's account of the event.[274]
"Heem" Rajah, or, as Briggs renders the name, "Tim" Rajah --
representing "Timma," and referring doubtless to Saluva Timma,
the great minister of Krishna Deva -- had, forty years earlier,
become DE FACTO ruler of Vijayanagar on the death of the two sons
of a former king, "Seo" Raya. He had poisoned the infant son of the
younger of these sons, and had thus succeeded in becoming head of
the state. During these forty years he had been obeyed by all. On his
death his son Rama Rajah became ruler. Rama's marriage to "a daughter
of the son of Seo" Raya[275] had greatly added to his dignity and
power, and he now tried to secure the throne for himself and his
family. He was, however, compelled by the nobles to recognise as
king an "infant of the female line," whose person he committed to the
care of the child's uncle, "Hoje" Tirumala Raya,[276] a man of weak
intellect if not absolutely insane. In five or six years Rama cut off
by treachery most of the chiefs who opposed him.[277] He then marched
on an expedition into Malabar, and afterwards moved against a powerful
zamindar to the south of Vijayanagar, who held out for six months and
in the end beat off the troops of Rama Raya. Vijayanagar was at that
time governed by a slave whom Rama had raised to high rank, and this
man, on being applied to by the minister to send supplies from the
capital, was so amazed at the wealth which he saw in the royal treasury
that he resolved to attempt to gain possession of it. He therefore
released the child-king, obtained the co-operation of Hoje Tirumala,
assumed the office of minister, and began to raise troops. "Several
tributary roies, who were disgusted with Ramraaje, flew with speed
to Beejanuggur to obey their lawful king; and in a short time thirty
thousand horse and vast hosts of foot were assembled under his standard
at the city." Tirumala then had the slave-governor assassinated. Rama
Rajah at once returned to the capital, but was unable at that juncture
to assert his authority. Finding himself deserted by many of the nobles
he concluded a treaty with his lawful sovereign, and retired to his
own province, which by agreement he was allowed to retain as his own
independent state. Tirumala shortly afterwards strangled the king and
seized the throne. The nobles submitted, since he was of royal blood,
and better, in their opinion, than Rama Rajah; but when afterwards
they found themselves unable to endure his tyranny and oppression,
they rebelled and invited Rama Rajah to return.
Tirumala then found himself in great straits, and sent ambassadors
with large presents to Ibrahim Adil Shah, begging him to march to
his assistance and promising that the Vijayanagar kingdom should
be declared tributary to Bijapur. Ibrahim, delighted beyond measure,
after consulting Asada Khan accepted the terms, moved from his capital,
and arrived before Vijayanagar "in the year 942," which corresponds
to the period from July 2, A.D. 1535, to June 20, 1536.[278] He
was conducted into the city by Hoje Termul Roy, who seated him on
the musnud of the raaje and made rejoicings for seven days." This
conduct led to a change of front on the part of Rama Rajah and his
supporters. They entreated Tirumala for the sake of the country to
procure the retreat of the Sultan to his own dominions, promising
submission and obedience if this should be done; and Tirumala,
thinking that now he had no further use for his allies, requested
the Sultan to return home. He paid over the subsidy agreed upon,
which was assessed at something approaching two millions sterling,
and made many other gifts. The story then ends with a tragedy.
"Ibrahim Adil Shaw had not yet recrossed the Kistnah, when Ramraaje
and the confederates, who had bribed many of the troops in the city,
broke their newly made vows, and hastened towards Beejanuggur, resolved
to put the roy to death, on pretence of revenging the murder of his
predecessor. Hoje Termul Roy, seeing he was betrayed, shut himself
up in the palace, and, becoming mad from despair, blinded all the
royal elephants and horses, also cutting off their tails, that they
might be of no use to his enemy. All the diamonds, rubies, emeralds,
other precious stones, and pearls, which had been collected in a
course of many ages, he crushed to powder between heavy millstones,
and scattered them on the ground. He then fixed a sword-blade into a
pillar of his apartment, and ran his breast upon it with such force
that it pierced through and came out at the back, thus putting an end
to his existence, just as the gates of the palace were opened to his
enemies. Ramraaje now became roy of Beejanuggur without a rival."
After this point in Firishtah's narrative we hear of no more "young
Roies" or imprisoned sovereigns of the Second Dynasty. "Ramraaje"
alone is spoken of as king, and Kings Achyuta and Sadasiva -- the
latter of whom was undoubtedly recognised as king for some years
though he was kept in custody -- are not so much as mentioned.
Thus Firishtah and Nuniz both agree that Ibrahim Adil advanced as
far as the city of Vijayanagar, and retired after payment of immense
sums of money and the gift of many valuable presents. The date was
A.D. 1535 -- 36. With this date ends the historical portion of the
chronicle of Nuniz.[279]
We continue the narrative of events in Achyuta's reign as gathered from
Firishtah.[280] As soon as he heard of the death of Hoje Tirumala and
the seizure of the throne by "Ramraaje," Ibrahim Adil Shah sent Asada
Khan to reduce the important fortress of Adoni, which was undisputedly
in Vijayanagar territory. Rama Rajah despatched his younger brother,
Venkatadri, to its relief, and the latter hastened thither with a
large force.
"Assud Khan, upon his approach, raised the siege and moved towards
him. A sharp engagement ensued, and Assud Khan, finding that he was
likely to have the worst of the action, from the vast superiority
in numbers of the enemy, retreated in good order, but was followed
fourteen miles by the victors, when he encamped; and Venkatadry,[281]
in order to be ready to harass the retreat the next day, halted in
full security at a distance of only two miles from him. Assud Khan,
who had ardently wished for such an event; towards the dawn of day,
with four thousand chosen horse, surprized the camp of Venkatadry,
whose self-confidence had left him wholly off his guard against such
a manoeuvre. Assud Khan penetrated to his tents before he received
the alarm, and he had scarce time to make his escape, leaving his
treasures, family, and elephants to the mercy of the victors. When
the day had fully cleared up, Venkatadry collected his scattered
troops, and drew up as if to engage; but seeing Assud Khan resolute
to maintain his advantage, and fearing for the personal safety of
his wife and children, he declined hazarding a battle, and, retiring
some miles off, fixed his camp: from whence he wrote Ramraaje an
account of his disaster, and requested reinforcements to enable him
to repair it. Ramraaje immediately sent supplies of men and money,
openly declaring his intentions of carrying on the war, but privately
informed his brother that he had reason to imagine that Ibrahim Adil
Shaw had not been led merely of his own will to besiege Oodnee; that he
suspected the zemindars of that quarter had invited him to make war,
and that many of the nobility with him were secretly in his interest;
therefore, he thought he would act prudently by making peace with
the mussulmauns at present, and procuring the release of his wife and
family from Assud Khan. Venkatadry, in consequence of the desires of
his brother, having procured the mediation and influence of Assud Khan,
addressed the sultan for peace, which being granted, and all affairs
settled to the satisfaction of both states, Ibrahim Adil Shaw returned
to Beejapore with Assud Khan and the rest of his nobility and army."
Asada Khan after this was greatly honoured by the Sultan, in spite
of the intrigues which were fomented against him. Quarrels and
disturbances, however, arose in the Bijapur dominions which lasted
during the whole of the year 1542; in the course of which year King
Achyuta died, and was succeeded nominally by Sadasiva, during whose
reign Vijayanagar was practically in the hands of Rama Rajah and of
his two brothers, Tirumala and Venkatadri.
Firishtah was a great admirer of Asada Khan and supported him
in all that he did.[282] Asada was a Turk, who, beginning life
under the simple name of Khusru in the service of Ismail Adil Shah,
distinguished himself in his sovereign's defence during the attack
on Bijapur in 1511, a defence celebrated on account of the heroic
conduct of the Sultan's aunt, Dilshad Agha. Khusru was rewarded by
Ismail with the title of "Asada Khan," a name which he bore for the
rest of his life, and a grant of the jaghir of Belgaum. He rose to
be chief minister and commander-in-chief of the army of his master,
and died full of years and honours in A.D. 1549.
The Portuguese at Goa had a very low opinion of Asada's character. They
held him to be an inveterate intriguer, ready at every moment to betray
his best friends, even his sovereign, if only by so doing he could
advance his own personal and selfish interests; and in this, owing to
his consummate skill and tortuous ways, he invariably succeeded. If
space permitted, many interesting stories could be narrated of him,
culled from the various writings of the day.[283]
Barros calls him "Sufo Larij,"[284] a name which some writers have
derived from "Yusuf of Lar." Castanheda spells the name "Cufolarim."
Asada Khan is entitled to a chapter to himself, but, to avoid
prolixity, I will only give one extract from the "Asia" of Barros.[285]
Allusion has been made above to an attack on the mainlands of Goa by
three Hindu chiefs, when Ponda was besieged. The inhabitants appealed
to Nuno da Cunha, the governor-general, who hesitated to interfere
for fear of bringing on a war with the Adil Shah. The principal danger
was the lord of Belgaum, Asada Khan.
"Acadachan, like one who in a safe and lofty place watches some
great fire spreading over the plains below, watched from his city
of Belgaum the events that were passing;" -- but did nothing till
the Adil Shah wrote desiring him to return to Bijapur, which he had
temporarily left owing to a disagreement, and to assist him in the
government of the kingdom. Asada Khan replied craftily that he had
done with the affairs of this life, and proposed to go and die at
Mecca. At this Ismail flew into a passion and vowed revenge against his
powerful subject, who, to save himself, wrote to Da Cunha, professing
his unalloyed friendship for the Portuguese, and inviting them to
take possession of certain tracts on the mainland; declaring that
his master, the Sultan, was powerless to defend himself against the
armies of Vijayanagar. This was, it must be borne in mind, long after
the Hindu victory at Raichur. Da Cunha sent Christovao de Figueiredo,
Krishna Deva's valiant friend, to bear his reply, since the latter was
on friendly terms with the lord of Belgaum. A conversation took place,
in which Asada Khan said that he was afraid of his master, who was of
variable and inconstant character, and that he desired of all things
to preserve friendship with the Portuguese. He therefore begged to be
allowed to visit Goa and cement an alliance with the governor-general,
to whom he faithfully promised that the lands in question should
become for ever the property of the king of Portugal. Accordingly
the lands were seized by Da Cunha.
Immediately afterwards Asada began to intrigue with the king of
Vijayanagar, and being invited to visit that city on the occasion of
one of the great MAHANAVAMI festivals, left Belgaum with 13,000 men
and 200 elephants. Before starting he wrote to Da Cunha, asking that
Figueiredo might be sent to accompany him, and promising to obtain for
the Portuguese a definite cession of the lands from the Raya, since
these had formerly been the latter's possession. Accordingly Figueiredo
left for Vijayanagar, but learned that the Khan had already arrived
there and had joined the king. The Raya received Asada favourably,
and, as a present, gave him two towns, "Tunge and Turugel,"[286]since
he hoped for his aid against the Sultan.
When the Sultan heard of Asada Khan's defection he gave himself up
for lost, but assembled an army and advanced to within twelve leagues
of the king's camp, where Asada Khan had pitched his tents at some
distance from those of the Hindu lords. The Sultan thence wrote to
the Raya demanding the delivery to him of his recalcitrant "slave,"
and the Raya sent on the letter to Asada Khan, who told the king
that he would never join the Muhammadans, but would remain faithful
to Vijayanagar. A short pause ensued, during which the Raya learned
that constant messages were passing between the camps of the Sultan
and Asada Khan. Both armies then marched towards Raichur, the Raya
to retake the place from the Sultan, the Sultan watching for an
opportunity to attack the Raya.
On the third day Asada Khan started with his forces two hours in
advance of the royal troops, crossed the river first, and hastened to
join the Sultan. Adil Shah received him with great apparent cordiality,
and at length freely forgave him on the Khan's protestations that
his intrigues with Vijayanagar and the Portuguese were only so
many moves in a game undertaken for the advancement of the Sultan's
interests. Previous to this move the Khan had held a conversation with
Figueiredo, in which he succeeded in totally deceiving him as to his
intentions, and reiterated his promises to obtain the cession of the
mainlands from the Raya, for whom he professed the greatest friendship.
In the end, says Barros, the Adil Shah, secretly fearful of Asada
Khan's duplicity, made a treaty of peace with the Raya, by which the
Muhammadans retained Raichur but gave up some other territory.
Though this story differs from Firishtah at almost every point,
it is permissible to think that it may refer to the events of 1535,
when the Sultan visited Vijayanagar; for in continuing his narrative,
Barros a little later mentions the year 1536. It seems hopeless to try
and reconcile the conflicting stories of Nuniz, Barros, and Firishtah,
but enough has been said to afford insight into the character of Asada
Khan. Nuniz echoes the general sentiment when he writes of the Khan's
rescue of the Adil Shah, after his defeat at Raichur in 1520 A.D.,
as being effected "by cunning," for his own purposes; and when he
describes how, by a series of lies, Asada contrived the execution of
Salabat Khan at the hands of Krishna Raya.
During this reign the Portuguese were busy establishing themselves
at various places on the coast, and they built several forts there
for the protection of their trade. They had been constantly at war
with the Samuri of Calicut and other feudatories of Vijayanagar;
but with the Raya himself they were on terms of friendship, and in
1540 they ratified a treaty of peace with the sovereigns of Bijapur
and Ahmadnagar as well as with the Samuri.
Throughout the whole of their dealings with the Portuguese I find
not a single instance where the Hindu kings broke faith with the
intruders,[287] but as much cannot, I fear, be said on the other
side. The Europeans seemed to think that they had a divine right to the
pillage, robbery, and massacre of the natives of India. Not to mince
matters, their whole record is one of a series of atrocities. It is
sad to turn from the description given us by Paes of the friendship
felt for the Portuguese, and especially for Christovao de Figueiredo,
by the "gallant and perfect" King Krishna Deva, and then to read of
the treachery of the Viceroy towards the great Hindu Government; with
which the Portuguese had made alliances and treaties, and for which
they openly professed friendship. Thus, to take one instance only,
in 1545 the governor of Goa made ready a large fleet and a force
of 3000 men, but kept all his preparations secret, for very good
reason. His object was to sail round the coast to San Thome, near
Madras, land his troops, march inland, and sack the great temple of
Tirumala or Tirupati, purely for lust of gain. Luckily a severe storm
prevented him from setting said, but he plundered and destroyed some
rich temples on the western coast, and enriched himself with the spoil
This was a mere wanton attack on property belonging to feudatories of
the Vijayanagar empire, for there has never been any pretence that
the peace-loving Brahmans attached to these temples had in any way
offended or interfered with the Portuguese.
In the time of Achyuta a large number of grants were made by the nobles
to temples throughout Southern India, and numerous inscriptions on
stone and copperplates are extant relating to these charitable and
religious donations. One of the most important has been published by
Professor Kielhorn.[288] It relates that the king, being on the banks
of the Tungabhadra on the 12th October A.D. 1540, at the temple of
Vitthalasvami or Vitthalesvara -- the splendidly sculptured pavilions
of which remain to this day, even in their ruin and decay, an object
of astonishment and admiration to all beholders -- gave a grant of
a village not far from Madras to the Brahmans learned in the Vedas.
The last date of Achyuta known to epigraphists at present is found
in an inscription[289] bearing a date corresponding to January 25,
A.D. 1541; and the earliest date similarly available of his successor,
Sadasiva, is July 27, A.D. 1542.
CHAPTER 14
The Beginning of the End
Reign of Sadasiva -- The king a prisoner but acknowledged -- Rama Raya
-- The Adil Shah again at Vijayanagar -- Bijapur in danger -- Saved by
Asada Khan -- Rebellion of Prince Abdullah -- Royal gratitude -- Death
of Asada at Belgaum -- The Portuguese support Abdullah -- Treaties --
Ain-ul-Mulkh -- Fights near Goa -- Rama Raya's threatened expedition
to Mailapur -- He joins the Adil Shah and wastes the territories
of Ahmadnagar -- Portuguese violence on the Malabar coast -- The
Inquisition at Goa.
Sadasiva, then, began to reign in 1541 or 1542 A.D., but was only
nominally king, the whole power of the state being in the hands of
Rama Raya and his two brothers, Tirumala and Venkatadri. That Sadasiva
was recognised by every one as the real sovereign is shown by a large
number of inscriptions, ranging from 1542 to 1568;[290] most of which,
however, have not yet been properly examined. A careful study has been
made by Dr. Hultzsch[291] of one of these, dated in A.D. 1566 -- 67,
a year or so after the great defeat of the Hindus at Talikota and
the destruction of the capital; and this is especially interesting
as it bears out my assertion that even the three brothers themselves
recognised Sadasiva as king, though he had no power and was kept
under constraint. In this document Rama Rajah's brother, Tirumala,
is the important personage, but he submits to the minor title,
MAHAMANDALESVARA, while Sadasiva is mentioned as sovereign. The
inscription states that a certain person presented a petition to the
"Mahamandalesvara Rama Raja Tirumala Raja," who, AFTER OBTAINING
SANCTION AT THE FEET OF SADASIVA-DEVA MAHARAYA, granted a village to
the great temple at Vellore. Rama Rajah and Venkatadri were both at
that time dead, and Tirumala was king DE FACTO. Couto[292] even goes
so far as to say that the three brothers "went on one day every year
and prostrated themselves before their lawful sovereign in token of
his rights over them." But as to the read relationship of Achyuta to
Krishna, and Sadasiva to both, we are still completely in doubt.
We saw that, according to Nuniz, Krishna Deva, immediately on his
accession to the throne, imprisoned his three brothers and a nephew,
then eight years old, son of the late king, "Busbalrao." This was in
the year 1509 A.D., and Krishna was then over twenty years old. We
hear of no king of the name of "Busbalrao," or anything like it,
from other sources; nor are the names of Krishna's three brothers
as given by Nuniz[293] at all like those of the two half-brothers
mentioned in some of the inscriptions.
More than one epigraphical record contains the following genealogy: --
Here we have two half-brothers of Krishna Deva named Ranga and Achyuta,
the latter being chosen king; and a nephew, Sadasiva.
Two inscriptions noted in my "Sketch of the Dynasties of Southern
India"[294] state that Achyuta was the son of Krishna Deva; while
a Telugu work, the MANUCHARITRAM, makes him son of the second
Narasimha. Couto[295] says that he was nephew of Krishna Raya.
As to Sadasiva, some authorities make him, as stated above, nephew
of Krishna Deva and son of Ranga, while another says that he was the
son of Achyuta.
An inscription at Conjeeveram[296] states that Achyuta had a wife
named Varada Devi who bore him a son, Venkata. Venkata was actually
raised to the throne, but lived only a short time, and then young
Sadasiva was crowned king.
If it is necessary to make any choice amid all this confusion, I
recommend my readers to accept provisionally the pedigree given in
the above table, leaving it for future research to finally settle
the question.
As to Rama Raya, several inscriptions state that he and his two
brothers were sons of one Ranga Raya, whose pedigree is given; and
Professor Kielhorn considers it established that Rama married Krishna
Deva's daughter.[297] She was probably a child at her marriage. She had
a brother eighteen months old at the time of Krishna Deva's death --
so Nuniz says -- but we hear nothing more about him, or what became
of him. Another daughter of Krishna Deva Raya's is said to have been
married to Rama Raya's brother, Tirumala. Some authorities state that
Rama's wife was Sadasiva's sister.[298]
That there were disturbances at the capital on the death of Achyuta
in 1542 seems clear; and indeed it could hardly be otherwise, for he
appears to have dislocated the whole empire, alienated the nobles,
upon whom the defence of the country rested, and aroused in them a
spirit of rebellion to the crown.
Gaspar Correa has left us an account of what took place at Vijayanagar
at that time, and I repeat his story for what it is worth; though it
certainly seems as if he had made a mistake and brought down to this
year the affairs of 1535 -- 36, the story of which has already been
told. For he alludes to a visit of the Adil Shah to Vijayanagar,
and unless there were two such visits, Correa would seem to be in
error, since Firishtah's date is confirmed by Nuniz, in whose time
King Achyuta was alive.
Correa[299] states that in 1542 Achyuta, king of Vijayanagar, died,
leaving a young son in the power of his uncle, brother of the dead
king, who had been king contrary to right.[300] The nobles wished
to keep the boy at liberty, nominating two ministers to carry on
the government; but the uncle disagreed, since in this way he would
lose all power, and he contrived to gain over some partisans to his
side. The nobles in disgust separated, returned to their estates,
and, in despair of good government, began to assume independence
each in his own province. The queen, mother of the boy, begged the
Adil Shah to come to her aid and secure the kingdom for her son,
promising him, in return for this favour, immense riches. The Sultan
set out for this purpose, intending to visit Vijayanagar, but on the
road he was met by emissaries from the minister, and bought off with
lavish gifts. The king by real right (probably the uncle, Ranga),
who had been detained in a fortress, was then liberated, and he also
sought aid from the Sultan of Bijapur. The Sultan took advantage of
the opportunity to set out afresh, nominally to aid the true king,
but really to acquire the kingdom for himself. The Hindus, in fear
for their safety, placed on the throne the brother of the dead king,
and succeeded in defeating the Adil Shah close to Vijayanagar. The
new king, in order to strengthen his position for the future, caused
the boy, his rival, to be assassinated, as also two of the latter's
uncles and a nephew of the dead king (Achyuta).[301] Then, in dread
of the power of the principal nobles, he summoned them to court,
and put out the eyes of those who arrived first; so that the rest
returned in great anger to their homes and began to intrigue with
the Sultan. They urged him to depose the tyrant, promising their
aid, and offering him the kingdom for himself if only the country
could be freed from this monster. The Adil Shah therefore advanced,
entered the kingdom of Vijayanagar, and was received as sovereign by
many; but he also assumed such intolerant and haughty airs that he
aroused the hatred of all around him, and in the end was obliged, in
fear for his own safety, to retire to Bijapur. "Meanwhile a new king
had seized the throne of Vijayanagar, a great lord from Paleacate,
married to a sister of the king that preceded the dead king,[302]
and in the end he secured the kingdom."[303]
It seems impossible, as Senhor Lopes justly observes, to get at the
truth of all this at present, and I think it best to abandon the
subject and pass on to consider the events of the reign of Sadasiva,
which lasted from 1542 to 1567. It is pretty evident that each
chronicler acquired his knowledge "from stories transmitted from
mouth to mouth and disfigured in the process."[304]
In 1543 Burhan Nizam Shah made an alliance with Rama Rajah and
Jamshid Qutb Shah, Sultan of Golkonda, and attacked the Adil Shah,
whereupon Rama Rajah, taking advantage of the latter's troubles,
sent Venkatadri to reduce Raichur and the Doab, "so that Beejapore,
attacked at the same time by three powerful princes in three separate
quarters, was full of danger and disorder."[305] True to the traditions
of his predecessors, the new Sultan of Bijapur "called Assud Khan
from Balgoan to his presence and demanded his advice on the alarming
state of affairs," with the result that he patched up a peace with
Burhan, making over to him the rich districts surrounding Sholapur,
and sent ambassadors to arrange terms with Vijayanagar. This done,
and the allies having retired, Asada Khan marched against the Qutb
Shah of Golkonda, defeated him under the walls of his capital,
and in a personal encounter grievously wounded him in the face with
his sabre.[306]
The Portuguese at this period had been very active, and amongst other
more or less successful enterprises the Governor, Affonso de Sousa,
attacked the territory of the Rani of Bhatkal on the pretext that
she had withheld tribute due to the king of Portugal, and wasted
her country with fire and sword. Her city was burnt, the Hindus were
slain in large numbers, and the Rani reduced to submission.
About the year 1544 -- the date is somewhat uncertain -- Sultan
Burhan again attacked Ibrahim Adil at the instigation of Rama Rajah,
but was completely defeated.
"The sultan (Ibrahim) after this victory growing haughty and imperious,
treated the ambassadors of Nizam Shah in a contemptuous manner,
and behaved tyrannically to his own subjects, putting to death many
and severely punishing others of his principal nobility for slight
offences, which occasioned disaffection to his government."
On Burhan again invading Bijapur territories, a party was formed to
depose Ibrahim and raise to the throne his brother Abdullah. This
prince, finding that the conspiracy had been discovered, fled for
safety to Goa, where he was well received. But when Ibrahim promised
certain provinces to the Portuguese if they would send Abdullah
away to a place where he could no longer disturb the peace of the
Bijapur territories, De Sousa accepted the conditions; receiving
the gift of Salsette and Bardes for the crown of Portugal, and the
whole of the vast treasures accumulated by Asada Khan at Belgaum as
a personal present for himself. Having pocketed as much as he could
of the bribe, however, he only took Abdullah as far as Cannanore
and then brought him back to Goa; and when, at the end of the next
year, De Castro succeeded De Sousa as Governor, the former refused
to surrender the rebel prince. This duplicity placed the Sultan in
great difficulty, and in February 1546 he executed a treaty of peace,
one of the terms of which was that no person belonging either to the
Dakhan, or to the territories of the Nizam Shah, or to those of the
king of Vijayanagar, with certain others specially mentioned, should
be permitted to have any communication with Abdullah or his family
until the reply of the king of Portugal was received to an embassy
which the Adil Shah proposed to send to him. There were other terms
also, and these not being acted up to by the Portuguese, the Sultan
in 1547 sent some troops into the provinces of Salsette and Bardes,
which were driven out by the Viceroy after a stubborn fight.
De Castro then concluded treaties with Vijayanagar on the 19th
September 1547, and with Ahmadnagar on the 6th October of the same
year, by the former of which the Hindu king was secured in the monopoly
of the Goa horse trade,[307] and by the latter a defensive alliance was
cemented between the Portuguese and the Nizam Shah. This constituted
a tripartite league against Bijapur.
Shortly afterwards a still more determined attack was made by the
Bijapur troops against the mainlands of Goa, and in the battle which
ensued one of the Adil Shah's principal generals was slain.
In 1548 the Viceroy concluded a more favourable arrangement with
Bijapur and also with the Rani of Bhatkal.
The Portuguese historians say that De Sousa and Asada Khan both joined
the ranks of the supporters of Abdullah, and that Asada Khan promised
to give the king of Portugal all the territories of the Konkan on the
downfall of Ibrahim, but the Viceroy changed his mind and withdrew,
while Asada Khans death put a stop to all intrigues in that quarter.
Firishtah's account, however, of the conduct of Asada at this period
totally differs, as do his dates. He states that, although the Khan
was much distressed at his master's neglect, his coldness towards him,
and his attitude of suspicion, yet he himself was consistently loyal
in his actions, and did his utmost to crush the conspiracy. As to
the Portuguese, this historian avers that, so far from abjuring the
cause of Abdullah, they actually marched with that prince from Goa
towards Bijapur, supported by the Nizam Shah, and even reached the
neighbourhood of Belgaum; but when it became evident that Asada could
not be corrupted, the nobles of Bijapur returned to their allegiance
to their sovereign, and the alliance broke up. Sultan Ibrahim advanced
to Belgaum in February 1549,[308] but on the road heard that Asada
had died.
Firishtah's account of the Bijapur Sultan's conduct when he arrived at
Belgaum is too suggestive to be omitted. The king, he says, "COMFORTED
HIS (ASADA KHAN'S) MOURNING FAMILY WITH KHELAUTS AND ASSURANCES OF
ROYAL FAVOUR, BUT ALL HIS ESTATES AND TREASURES HE TOOK FOR HIS OWN
USE" -- though these treasures were the accumulated property of a
man whom the historian declares to have been, during the whole of his
long life, the most faithful, courageous, and devoted adherent of his
royal master, whom on many occasions he had personally rescued from
difficulties which appeared almost insurmountable! The Portuguese
account as to the fate of the treasures accumulated by Asada Khan is
given by Mr. Danvers, who, treating the Khan as an unprincipled rebel,
writes: --
"In addition to making over Salsette and Bardes to the Crown of
Portugal, the Adil Khan had also given Martim Affonso (De Sousa,
the viceroy) the vast treasure which Acede Khan had collected for
the purpose of carrying out his rebellion, and which is said to have
amounted to ten millions of ducats, OF WHICH, HOWEVER, ONLY ONE MILLION
CAME INTO THE HANDS OF MARTIM AFFONSO. Some accounts state that he sent
about half of this amount to Portugal for his own use, but others aver
that he employed a great part of it in the public service in India,
besides sending some home for the king's use in Portugal." [309]
It will be seen that the two accounts differ widely in details.
At this time Ibrahim Qutb Shah, younger brother of Jamshid and
heir presumptive to the throne of Golkonda, was at Vijayanagar,
whither he had fled in fear of Jamshid's despotic and violent
temper. Firishtah[310] relates a story of him which is worth repeating
here, partly because the event occurred in the Hindu capital, partly
because it illustrates the practice of duelling which, as Nuniz tells
us, largely obtained at that time.[311] and partly because it confirms
the assertions of Nuniz that the king of Vijayanagar was in the habit
of disposing at will with the revenues of his provinces.
Rama Raya had despotically turned out of his estate an Abyssinian
officer in his employ named Ambur Khan, and conferred the same on
Prince Ibrahim for his support.
"Ambur Khan, enraged at the alienation of his estate, and meeting
Ibrahim Kootb Shah in the streets of Beejanuggur, accused him of
depriving him of it. The latter replied that monarchs were at liberty
to dispose of their own property, and that the king of Beejanuggur
had chosen to give him the estate. Ibrahim Kootb Shah proceeded on
his way; but the Abyssinian called him coward in refusing to dispute
his title with the sword. Ibrahim warned him of his imprudence;
but the Prince's mildness only added fury to the Abyssinian's anger,
who proceeded to abuse him in grosser language. On this the Prince
dismounted and drew. The Abyssinian rushed upon him, but the Prince's
temper giving him the advantage, he killed his antagonist, whose
brother, standing by, insisted on taking up the cause, and he also
fell a victim to his temerity."
Prince Ibrahim succeeded to the throne of Golkonda In A.D. 1550. In
the previous year, says Firishtah, an alliance was cemented between
Sultan Ibrahim of Bijapur and the new sovereign of Bidar, Ali Barid,
son of Amir Barid.
Rama Rajah having at this period accepted the presents and professions
of regard sent to him by the Nizam Shah with an embassy, Sultan
Ibrahim, roused to indignation, treated the Vijayanagar ambassadors
at Bijapur with such indignity that they fled in fear of their lives,
and Rama Rajah, offended in his turn, induced Burhan Nizam to attack
Ibrahim. He did so successfully, and captured the fortress of Kallian;
and on Ibrahim's retaliating by seizing one of the Ahmadnagar forts,
an open alliance was entered into between Burhan and Rama. The two
kings met near Raichur in 1551, laid siege to the place and took
it. Mudkul also capitulated, and the Doab was thus once more restored
to the Hindu sovereign.
About this time,[312] so we are told by a Muhammadan historian,
Rama Raya's two brothers rebelled against his authority during his
absence from the capital, and seized the fortress of Adoni; upon which
Rama begged aid from the Qutb Shah Ibrahim, and this being granted,
Rama besieged Adoni for six months. The place eventually capitulated,
and the brothers were then pardoned.
In 1553 Burhan died, and once more the two leading Muhammadan states
became friendly for a short time; but the air was too full of intrigue
and jealousy for this to last long. Sultan Ibrahim negotiated an
understanding with Vijayanagar, and this led to a renewal of the war,
in the course of which a battle took place at Sholapur, where Ibrahim
was worsted.
But the most serious reverse which he suffered was at the hands of
a chief named Ain-ul-Mulkh, whom by ingratitude and ill-treatment he
had driven into open rebellion. At the end of a short campaign against
this person the royal troops were completely beaten, and the Sultan
was driven to take refuge at Bijapur. In a state of desperation
he called on the Raya of Vijayanagar for aid, and Rama, as usual
representing the puppet sovereign, sent his brother, Venkatadri, with
a large force to expel the enemy from the Sultan's dominions.[313]
The story of the rebel "Ein-al-Moolk's" discomfiture at the hands of
Venkatadri is thus told by Firishtah:[314] --
"Syef Ein al Moolkh, imitating Assud Khan, resolved to surprize
the infidels; but Venkatadry, having intelligence of his designs,
ordered his troops to be on their guard; and having procured long
faggots, with cloth steeped in oil bound round one end of each,
commanded his followers upon the alarm being given to light them,
and holding them up as high as possible, give the troops a full sight
of the enemy. Ein al Moolk, agreeably to his intentions, having one
night chosen two thousand men for the purpose, marched with Sullabut
Khan to the enemy's camp, which he was allowed to enter unmolested;
but upon a signal given, all the brands were instantly lighted up,
and Venkatadry, who was prepared with his troops, rushed upon the
surprizers, who expected no resistance, with such success that above
five hundred of them were killed before the detachment could clear
the camp. Ein al Moolk and Sullabut with the greatest difficulty made
their escape; but, losing, the road through the darkness of the night,
a report spread in his camp on the return of some of the fugitives,
that he was killed; and his troops being immediately struck with a
panic, separated and fled to different quarters. Ein al Moolkh and
Sullabut Khan, with two hundred horse, about daylight arriving at
their ground, and seeing it deserted, fled in confusion by the route
of Maan to the dominions of Nizam Shaw, where they sought protection,
but were basely assassinated by his treachery."
In 1555 an attempt was made by the Portuguese under their new Viceroy,
Pedro de Mascarenhas, to place Prince Abdullah on the throne of
Bijapur, the foreigners being dazzled by the magnificent offers made
to them, should the joint efforts of the conspirators be crowned with
success. Abdullah was established at Ponda, and proclamation made of
his accession to the throne. On the death of De Mascarenhas in 1555,
Francisco Barreto succeeded him with the title of governor, and having
installed the prince at Ponda he proceeded to collect the revenues of
the country. He was, however, opposed by an officer of Ibrahim Adil
who was backed by seven thousand troops, and several fights took place.
Meanwhile Ibrahim himself had not been idle, and aided by fifteen
thousand of Sadasiva's troops from Vijayanagar he dethroned and
captured the ambitious prince, following this up by several attacks
on the Portuguese forces. The war lasted during the whole winter of
1556, but with no very decisive results. Next year a fresh relay of
troops from Bijapur attacked Salsette and Bardes, but were beaten by
a small force of Portuguese near Ponda, and hostilities were suspended
for a time.
Shortly after this, viz., in 1557, Sultan Ibrahim died. "During his
illness he put to death several physicians who had failed in cure,
beheading some, and causing others to be trodden to death by elephants,
so that all the surviving medical practitioners, alarmed, fled from
his dominions." He was succeeded by his eldest son, Ali Adil.
The new Sultan, immediately on his accession, cemented his father's
alliance with Sadasiva and Rama Rajah by the execution of a new
treaty, and sent ambassadors on a similar errand to Husain Nizam
Shah, the successor of Burhan at Ahmadnagar. These, however, were
badly received, and Sultan Ali, whose envoys at the Hindu capital had
been warmly welcomed and hospitably treated, determined to establish,
if possible, a real and lasting friendship with Vijayanagar. To this
end he adopted a most unusual course, the account of which will be
best given in Firishtah's own words.
"Ali Adil Shaw, who was intent on extricating his dominions from
the losses of his father by alliance with Ramraaje, on the death of
a son of that monarch,[315] with uncommon prudence and resolution
went, attended by one hundred horse, to Beejanuggur, to offer his
condolence on the melancholy occasion. Ramraaje received him with the
greatest respect,[316] and the sultan with the kindest persuasions
prevailed upon him to lay aside his mourning. The wife of Ramraaje
adopted the sultan as her son, and at the end of three days, which
were spent in interchanges of friendly professions, he took his leave;
but as Ramraaje did not attend him out of the city, he was disgusted,
and treasured up the affront in his mind, though too prudent to show
any signs of displeasure for the present."[317]
The incident thus entirely failed in its intended effect. It produced a
lasting irritation in the mind of the Sultan, and a haughty arrogance
on the part of Rama Raya, who conceived that the fortunes of his
hereditary enemy must be at a very low ebb when he could condescend
so far to humble himself.
In the next year, 1558, according to Couto,[318] Rama Raya made an
expedition to "Meliapor," or Mailapur, near Madras, where was an
important establishment of Roman Catholic monks and the Church of
St. Thomas. I quote the passage from the summary given by Senhor
Lopes in his introduction to the CHRONICA DOS REIS DE BISNAGA
(p. lxvi.). "The poor fathers of the glorious Order of St. Francis
having seized all the coast from Negapatam to San Thome, they being
the first who had begun to preach there the light of the Holy Gospel,
and having throughout that tract thrown down many temples and destroyed
many pagodas, a thing which grieved excessively all the Brahmans,
these latter reported the facts to Rama Raya, king of Bisnaga, whose
vassals they were, and begged him that he would hasten to their
assistance for the honour of their gods."
They succeeded in persuading him that the newcomers were possessed of
enormous riches, and he proceeded against the place, but afterwards
finding that this was not true, and that the inhabitants were loyal
to him, he spared them and left them in peace.
On his return to Bijapur, Ali Adil peremptorily demanded from Hussain
Nizam Shah the restoration of the fortresses of Kallian and Sholapur;
and on the latter's contemptuous refusal (he "sent back a reply so
indecent in expression as to be unfit to relate." says Firishtah)
another war broke out.
"In the year 966 (October 14, A.D. 1558 to October 3, 1559), Ali
Adil Shaw having called Ramraaje to his assistance, they in concert
divided the dominions of Houssein Nizam Shaw, and laid them waste in
such a manner that from Porundeh to Khiber, and from Ahmednuggur to
Dowlutabad, not a mark of population was to be seen. The infidels
of Beejanuggur, who for many years had been wishing for such an
event, left no cruelty unpractised. They insulted the honour of the
mussulmaun women, destroyed the mosques, and did not even respect
the sacred koraun."[319]
This behaviour on the part of the Hindus so incensed the followers of
Islam, not only the hostile subjects of Golkonda but even the allied
troops and inhabitants of the Bijapur territories, that it laid the
foundation for the final downfall and destruction of Vijayanagar.
In 1558 Dom Constantine de Braganza became Viceroy of Goa, and his
period of government was signalised by every kind of violence and
aggression. In 1559 Luiz de Mello carried fire and sword into the towns
along the Malabar coast. He attacked Mangalore, set fire to the town,
and put all the inhabitants to death. Later in the year he destroyed
in similar manner a number of towns and villages on the same coast,
and desolated the whole seaboard.
In 1560 the See of Goa was elevated into an arch-bishopric, and
the Inquisition, the horrors of which even excelled that of Spain,
was established. The inhabitants of Goa and its dependencies were
now forced to embrace Christianity, and on refusal or contumacy were
imprisoned and tortured. In this year also, and those following, the
predatory excursions of the Portuguese were continued. In 1564 the
Viceroy sent Mesquita with three ships to destroy a number of ships
belonging to the Malabarese. Mesquita captured twenty-four of these,
by twos and threes at a time, sunk them, beheaded a large number of
the sailors, and in the case of hundreds of others, sewed them up in
sails and threw them overboard. In these ways he massacred 2000 men.
This resulted in a serious war in Malabar, as the wretched inhabitants
of the country; driven to desperation, determined at all hazards
to destroy the ruthless invaders of their land. The Portuguese were
attacked at Cannanore, and a series of desperate struggles took place,
in the course of which Noronha, the commandant, desolated the country
and ruined many people by cutting down forty thousand palm trees. At
last, however, peace was made.
CHAPTER 15
Destruction of Vijayanagar (A.D. 1565)
Arrogance of Rama Raya -- Ahmadnagar attacked -- Muhammadans combine
against Vijayanagar -- The league of the five kings -- Their advance
to Talikota -- Decisive battle, 1565, and total defeat of the Hindus
-- Death of Rama Raya -- Panic at Vijayanagar -- Flight of the
royal family -- Sack of the great city -- Its total destruction --
Evidence of Federici, 1567 -- Downfall of Portuguese trade, and decay
of prosperity at Goa.
Meanwhile affairs were advancing rapidly in the interior. After
the Nizam Shah's dominions had been wasted, as already described,
by the Adil Shah and Rama Raya, peace was made by the restoration
of Kallian to Bijapur;[320] but as soon as the allies had retired,
Hussain entered into an alliance with Ibrahim Qutb Shah and again
marched to attack Ali Adil. Again Ali called in the aid of Vijayanagar,
and again Rama Raya marched to his aid, this time with 50,000 horse
and an immense force of infantry. The opposing forces met at Kallian,
when the Qutb Shah deserted to Ali Adil, and Hussain was compelled
to withdraw to Ahmadnagar. Attacked in his own capital, he retreated.
"The three sovereigns laid siege to Ahmednuggur, and despatched
detachments various ways to lay waste the country round. The Hindoos
of Beejanuggur committed the most outrageous devastations, burning
and razing the buildings, putting up their horses in the mosques,
and performing their idolatrous worship in the holy places; but,
notwithstanding, the siege was pushed with the greatest vigour, the
garrison held out with resolution, hoping that at the approach of
the rainy season, the enemy would be necessitated to raise the siege.
"when the rains had set in, from the floods, damp, and want of
provisions, distress began to prevail in the camp of the allies, and
Kootub Shaw also secretly corresponded with the besieged, to whom he
privately sent in grain."[321]
The siege was raised, therefore, and before long the allies separated,
and the Hindu army returned home.
"In the first expedition on which Ali Adil Shaw, pressed by
the behaviour of Houssein Nizam Shaw, had called Ramraaje to his
assistance, the Hindoos at Ahmednuggur committed great outrages, and
omitted no mark of disrespect to the holy religion of the faithful,
singing and performing their superstitious worship in the mosques. The
sultan was much hurt at this insult to the faith, but, as he had not
the ability to prevent it, he did not seem to observe it. Ramraaje
also, at the conclusion of this expedition, looking on the Islaam
sultans as of little consequence, refused proper honours to their
ambassadors. When he admitted them to his presence, he did not suffer
them to sit, and treated them with the most contemptuous reserve and
haughtiness. He made them attend when in publick in his train on foot,
not allowing them to mount till he gave orders. On the return from
the last expedition to Nuldirruk, the officers and soldiers of his
army in general, treated the mussulmauns with insolence, scoffing,
and contemptuous language; and Ramraaje, after taking leave, casting
an eye of avidity on the countries of Koottub Shaw and Adil Shaw,
dispatched armies to the frontiers of each."
Both the great Shahs, therefore, abandoned certain territories to
the Hindus, and from Golkonda Rama obtained Ghanpura and Pangul. It
was the last Hindu success.
"Ramraaje daily continuing to encroach on the dominions of the
mussulmauns, Adil Shaw at length resolved, if possible, to punish his
insolence and curtail his power by a general league of the faithful
against him; for which purpose he convened an assembly of his friends
and confidential advisers."
Some of these urged that the Raya was too wealthy and powerful, by
reason of his immense revenues, which were collected from no less than
sixty seaports in addition to very large territories and dependencies,
and the number of his forces was too vast, for any single Muhammadan
monarch to cope with him. They therefore pressed the Sultan to form a
federation of all the kings of the Dakhan and wage a joint war. Ali
Adil heartily concurred in their opinion, and began by despatching
a secret embassy to Ibrahim Qutb Shah.
Ibrahim eagerly accepted, and offered his services as mediator
between Ali Adil and his great rival at Ahmadnagar. An envoy was
sent to the latter capital, and the sovereign, Hussain Shah, warned
beforehand of the important proposals to be made, received him in
private audience. The ambassador then laid before the king all the
arguments in favour of the Bijapur plan.
"He represented to him that during the times of the Bhamenee princes,
when the whole strength of the mussulmaun power was in one hand,
the balance between it and the force of the roles of Beejanuggur
was nearly equal; that now the mussulmaun authority was divided,
policy demanded that all the faithful princes should unite as one,
and observe the strictest friendship, that they might continue secure
from the attacks of their powerful common enemy, and the authority of
the roles of Beejanuggur, who had reduced all the rajas of Carnatic
to their yoke, be diminished, and removed far from the countries of
Islaam; that the people of their several dominions, who ought to
be considered the charge of the Almighty committed to their care,
might repose free from the oppressions of the unbelievers, and their
mosques and holy places be made no longer the dwellings of infidels."
These arguments had their full weight, and it was arranged that Hussain
Nizam Shah should give his daughter Chand Bibi in marriage to Ali Adil
with the fortress of Sholapur as her DOT, and that his eldest son,
Murtiza, should espouse Ali's sister -- the two kingdoms coalescing
for the conquest and destruction of Vijayanagar. The marriages were
celebrated in due course, and the Sultans began their preparations
for the holy war.
"Ali Adil Shaw, preparatory to the war, and to afford himself a
pretence for breaking with his ally, dispatched an ambassador to
Ramraaje, demanding restitution of some districts that had been wrested
from him. As he expected, Ramraaje expelled the ambassador in a very
disgraceful manner from his court; and the united sultans now hastened
the preparations to crush the common enemy of the Islaam faith."
Ibrahim Qutb Shah had also joined the coalition, and the four princes
met on the plains of Bijapur, with their respective armies. Their
march towards the south began on Monday, December 25, A.D. 1564.[322]
Traversing the now dry plains of the Dakhan country, where the cavalry,
numbering many thousands, could graze their horses on the young crops,
the allied armies reached the neighbourhood of the Krishna near the
small fortress and town of Talikota, a name destined to be for ever
celebrated in the annals of South India.[323]
It is situated on the river Don, about sixteen miles above its
junction with the Krishna, and sixty-five miles west of the point
where the present railway between Bombay and Madras crosses the great
river. The country at that time of the year was admirably adapted
for the passage of large bodies of troops, and the season was one of
bright sunny days coupled with cool refreshing breezes.
Here Ali Adil, as lord of that country, entertained his allies in royal
fashion, and they halted for several days, attending to the transport
and commissariat arrangements of the armies, and sending out scouts
to report on the best locality for forcing the passage of the river.
At Vijayanagar there was the utmost confidence. Remembering how often
the Moslems had vainly attempted to injure the great capital, and how
for over two centuries they had never succeeded in penetrating to the
south, the inhabitants pursued their daily avocations with no shadow
of dread or sense of danger; the strings of pack-bullocks laden with
all kinds of merchandise wended their dusty way to and from the several
seaports as if no sword of Damocles was hanging over the doomed city;
Sadasiva, the king, lived his profitless life in inglorious seclusion,
and Rama Raya, king de facto, never for a moment relaxed his attitude
of haughty indifference to the movements of his enemies. "He treated
their ambassadors," says Firishtah, "with scornful language, and
regarded their enmity as of little moment."[324]
Nevertheless he did not neglect common precautions. His first action
was to send his youngest brother, Tirumala, the "Yeltumraj" or
"Eeltumraaje" of Firishtah, to the front with 20,000 horse, 100,000
foot, and 500 elephants, to block the passage of the Krishna at all
points. Next he despatched his second brother, Venkatadri, with another
large army; and finally marched in person towards the point of attack
with the whole power of the Vijayanagar empire. The forces were made
up of large drafts from all the provinces -- Canarese and Telugus
of the frontier, Mysoreans and Malabarese from the west and centre,
mixed with the Tamils from the remoter districts to the south; each
detachment under its own local leaders, and forming part of the levies
of the temporary provincial chieftain appointed by the crown. According
to Couto, they numbered 600,000 foot and 100,000 horse. His adversaries
had about half that number. As to their appearance and armament, we
may turn for information to the description given us by Paes of the
great review of which he was an eye-witness forty-five years earlier
at Vijayanagar,[325] remembering always that the splendid troops
between whose lines he then passed in the king's procession were
probably the ELITE of the army, and that the common soldiers were
clad in the lightest of working clothes, many perhaps with hardly
any clothes at all, and armed only with spear or dagger.[326]
The allies had perhaps halted too long. At any rate, their scouts
returned to their sovereigns with the news that all the passages of the
river were defended, and that their only course was to force the ford
immediately in their front. This was in possession of the Hindus, who
had fortified the banks on the south side, had thrown up earthworks,
and had stationed a number of cannon to dispute the crossing.
The defenders of the ford anxiously awaited intelligence of their
enemy's movements, and learning that he had struck his camp and marched
along the course of the river, they quitted their post and followed,
keeping always to the south bank in readiness to repel any attempt to
cross directly in their front. This manoeuvre, a ruse on the part of
the Mussulmans, was repeated on three successive days. On the third
night the Sultans hastily left their camp, returned to the ford,
and, finding it deserted, crossed with a large force. This movement
covered the transit of the whole of their army, and enabled them to
march southwards to the attack of Rama Raya's main body.
Rama Raya, though surprised, was not alarmed, and took all possible
measures for defence. In the morning the enemy was within ten miles
of his camp, and Venkatadri and Tirumala succeeded in effecting a
junction with their brother.
On the following day, Tuesday, January 23; 1565,[327] both sides
having made their dispositions, a pitched battle took place[328] in
which all the available forces of both sides were engaged. In one of
his descriptions Firishtah estimates the Vijayanagar army alone as
amounting to 900,000 infantry, 45,000 cavalry, and 2000 elephants,
besides 15,000 auxiliaries; but he himself varies so greatly in the
numbers he gives in different parts of his narrative that there is no
necessity to accept these figures as accurate. There can be little
doubt, however, that the numbers were very large. The Hindu left,
on the west, was entrusted to the command of Tirumala; Rama Raya in
person was in the centre, and the right was composed of the troops
of Venkatadri. Opposed to Tirumala were the forces of Bijapur under
their Sultan Ali Adil; the Mussalman centre was under the command of
Hussain Nizam Shah; and the left of the allied army, in Venkatadri's
front, consisted of the forces brought from Ahmadabad and Golkonda by
the two Sultans, Ali Barid and Ibrahim Qutb. The allied forces drew
up in a long line with their artillery in the centre, and awaited
the enemy's attack, each division with the standards of the twelve
Imams waving in the van. The Nizam Shah's front was covered by six
hundred pieces of ordnance disposed in three lines, in the first of
which were heavy guns, then the smaller ones, with light swivel guns
in the rear. In order to mask this disposition two thousand foreign
archers were thrown out in front, who kept up a heavy discharge as the
enemy's line came on. The archers fell back as the Hindus of Rama's
division approached, and the batteries opened with such murderous
effect that the assailants retreated in confusion and with great loss.
Rama Rajah was now a very old man -- Couto says "he was ninety-six
years old, but as brave as a man of thirty" -- and, against the
entreaties of his officers, he preferred to superintend operations from
a litter rather than remain for a long time mounted -- a dangerous
proceeding, since in case of a reverse a rapid retreat was rendered
impossible. But he could not be induced to change his mind, remarking
that in spite of their brave show the enemy were children and would
soon be put to flight. So confident was he of victory that it is
said he had ordered his men to bring him the head of Hussain Nizam,
but to capture the Adil Shah and Ibrahim of Golkonda alive, that he
might keep them the rest of their lives in iron cages.
The battle becoming more general, the Hindus opened a desolating fire
from a number of field-pieces and rocket-batteries. The left and right
of the Muhammadan line were pressed back after destructive hand-to-hand
fighting, many falling on both sides. At this juncture Rama Raya,
thinking to encourage his men, descended from his litter and seated
himself on a "rich throne set with jewels, under a canopy of crimson
velvet, embroidered with gold and adorned with fringes of pearls,"
ordering his treasurer to place heaps of money all round him, so
that he might confer rewards on such of his followers as deserved his
attention. "There were also ornaments of gold and jewels placed for the
same purpose." A second attack by the Hindus on the guns in the centre
seemed likely to complete the overthrow of the whole Muhammadan line,
when the front rank of pieces was fired at close quarters, charged
with bags of copper money; and this proved so destructive that 5000
Hindus were left dead on the field in front of the batteries. This
vigorous policy threw the Hindu centre into confusion, upon which
5000 Muhammadan cavalry charged through the intervals of the guns and
cut their way into the midst of the disorganised masses, towards the
spot where the Raya had taken post. He had again changed his position
and ascended his litter; but hardly had he done so when an elephant
belonging to the Nizam Shah, wild with the excitement of the battle,
dashed forward towards him, and the litter-bearers let fall their
precious burden in terror at the animal's approach. Before he had
time to recover himself and mount a horse, a body of the allies was
upon him, and he was seized and taken prisoner.
This event threw the Hindus into a panic, and they began to give
way. Rama Raya was conducted by the officer who commanded the artillery
of Hussain Nizam to his Sultan, who immediately ordered his captive
to be decapitated, and the head to be elevated on a long spear,
so that it might be visible to the Hindu troops.
On seeing that their chief was dead, the Vijayanagar forces broke
and fled "They were pursued by the allies with such successful
slaughter that the river which ran near the field was dyed red with
their blood. It is computed on the best authorities that above one
hundred thousand infidels were slain in fight and during the pursuit."
The Mussulmans were thus completely victorious, and the Hindus fled
towards the capital; but so great was the confusion that there was not
the slightest attempt made to take up a new and defensive position
amongst the hills surrounding the city, or even to defend the walls
or the approaches. The rout was complete.
"The plunder was so great that every private man in the allied army
became rich in gold, jewels, effects, tents, arms, horses, and slaves,
as the sultans left every person in possession of what he had acquired,
only taking elephants for their own use."
De Couto, describing the death of Rama Raya, states[329] that Hussain
Nizam Shah cut off his enemy's head with his own hand, exclaiming, "Now
I am avenged of thee! Let God do what he will to me!" The Adil Shah,
on the contrary, was greatly distressed at Rama Raya's death.[330]
The story of this terrible disaster travelled apace to the city of
Vijayanagar. The inhabitants, unconscious of danger, were living in
utter ignorance that any serious reverse had taken place; for their
leaders had marched out with countless numbers in their train, and
had been full of confidence as to the result. Suddenly, however, came
the bad news. The army was defeated; the chiefs slain; the troops in
retreat. But still they did not grasp the magnitude of the reverse;
on all previous occasions the enemy had been either driven back,
or bought off with presents from the overstocked treasury of the
kings. There was little fear, therefore, for the city itself. That
surely was safe! But now came the dejected soldiers hurrying back
from the fight, and amongst the foremost the panic-stricken princes
of the royal house. Within a few hours these craven chiefs hastily
left the palace, carrying with them all the treasures on which they
could lay their hands. Five hundred and fifty elephants, laden with
treasure in gold, diamonds, and precious stones valued at more than
a hundred millions sterling, and carrying the state insignia and the
celebrated jewelled throne of the kings, left the city under convoy
of bodies of soldiers who remained true to the crown. King Sadasiva
was carried off by his jailor, Tirumala, now sole regent since the
death of his brothers; and in long line the royal family and their
followers fled southward towards the fortress of Penukonda.
Then a panic seized the city. The truth became at last apparent. This
was not a defeat merely, it was a cataclysm. All hope was gone. The
myriad dwellers in the city were left defenceless. No retreat, no
flight was possible except to a few, for the pack-oxen and carts
had almost all followed the forces to the war, and they had not
returned. Nothing could be done but to bury all treasures, to arm
the younger men, and to wait. Next day the place became a prey to
the robber tribes and jungle people of the neighbourhood. Hordes of
Brinjaris, Lambadis, Kurubas, and the like,[331] pounced down on the
hapless city and looted the stores and shops, carrying off great
quantities of riches. Couto states that there were six concerted
attacks by these people during the day.
The third day[332] saw the beginning of the end. The victorious
Mussulmans had halted on the field of battle for rest and refreshment,
but now they had reached the capital, and from that time forward for
a space of five months Vijayanagar knew no rest. The enemy had come
to destroy, and they carried out their object relentlessly. They
slaughtered the people without mercy, broke down the temples and
palaces; and wreaked such savage vengeance on the abode of the kings,
that, with the exception of a few great stone-built temples and walls,
nothing now remains but a heap of ruins to mark the spot where once
the stately buildings stood. They demolished the statues, and even
succeeded in breaking the limbs of the huge Narasimha monolith. Nothing
seemed to escape them. They broke up the pavilions standing on the
huge platform from which the kings used to watch the festivals, and
overthrew all the carved work. They lit huge fires in the magnificently
decorated buildings forming the temple of Vitthalasvami near the
river, and smashed its exquisite stone sculptures. With fire and
sword, with crowbars and axes, they carried on day after day their
work of destruction. Never perhaps in the history of the world has
such havoc been wrought, and wrought so suddenly, on so splendid a
city; teeming with a wealthy and industrious population in the full
plenitude of prosperity one day, and on the next seized, pillaged,
and reduced to ruins, amid scenes of savage massacre and horrors
beggaring description.
Caesaro Federici, an Italian traveller -- or "Caesar Frederick," as he
is often called by the English -- visited the place two years later,
in 1567. He relates that, after the sack, when the allied Muhammadans
returned to their own country, Tirumala Raya tried to re-populate
the city, but failed, though some few people were induced to take up
their abode there.
"The Citie of BEZENEGER is not altogether destroyed, yet the houses
stand still, but emptie, and there is dwelling in them nothing,
as is reported, but Tygres and other wild beasts."[333]
The loot must have been enormous. Couto states that amongst other
treasures was found a diamond as large as a hen's egg, which was kept
by the Adil Shah.[334]
Such was the fate of this great and magnificent city. It never
recovered, but remained for ever a scene of desolation and ruin. At
the present day the remains of the larger and more durable structures
rear themselves from amongst the scanty cultivation carried on by
petty farmers, dwellers in tiny villages scattered over the area once
so populous. The mud huts which constituted the dwelling-places of by
far the greater portion of the inhabitants have disappeared, and their
materials overlie the rocky plain and form the support of a scanty and
sparse vegetation. But the old water-channels remain, and by their aid
the hollows and low ground have been converted into rich gardens and
fields, bearing full crops of waving rice and sugar-cane. Vijayanagar
has disappeared as a city, and a congeries of small hamlets with an
industrious and contented population has taken its place.
Here my sketch of Vijayanagar history might well end, but I have
thought it advisable to add a few notes on succeeding events.
Tirumala took up his abode at Penukonda, and shortly afterwards
sent word to the Portuguese traders at Goa that he was in need of
horses. A large number were accordingly delivered, when the despotic
ruler dismissed the men to return to Goa as best they could without
payment. "He licensed the Merchants to depart," writes Federici,
"without giving them anything for their Horses, which when the poore
Men saw, they were desperate, and, as it were, mad with sorrow and
griefe." There was no authority left in the land, and the traveller
had to stay in Vijayanagar seven months, "for it was necessarie to
rest there until the wayes were clear of Theeves, which at that time
ranged up and downe." He had the greatest difficulty in making his
way to Goa at all, for he and his companions were constantly seized
by sets of marauders and made to pay heavy ransom for their liberty,
and on one occasion they were attacked by dacoits and robbed.
Tirumala being now with King Sadasiva in Penukonda, the nobles of the
empire began to throw off their allegiance, and one after another to
proclaim their independence. The country was in a state of anarchy. The
empire, just now so solid and compact, became disintegrated, and from
this time forward it fell rapidly to decay.
To the Portuguese the change was of vital importance. Federici has
left us the following note on their trade with Vijayanagar, which I
extract from "Purchas's Pilgrims:" --
"The Merchandize that went every yeere from Goa to Bezeneger were
Arabian Horses, Velvets, Damaskes, and Sattens, Armesine[335]
of Portugall, and pieces of China, Saffron, and Scarletts; and
from Bezeneger they had in Turkie for their commodities, Jewels and
Pagodas,[336] which be Ducats of Gold; the Apparell that they use in
Bezeneger is Velvet, Satten, Damaske, Scarlet, or white Bumbast cloth,
according to the estate of the person, with long Hats on their heads
called Colae,[337] &c."
Sassetti, who was in India from 1578 to 1588, confirms the others as
to Portuguese loss of trade on the ruin of the city: --
"The traffic was so large that it is impossible to imagine it; the
place was immensely large; and it was inhabited by people rich, not
with richness like ours, but with richness like that of the Crassi
and the others of those old days.... And such merchandise! Diamonds,
rubies, pearls ... and besides all that, the horse trade. That alone
produced a revenue in the city (Goa) of 120 to 150 thousand ducats,
which now reaches only 6 thousand."
Couto tells the same story:[338] --
"By this destruction of the kingdom of Bisnaga, India and our State
were much shaken; for the bulk of the trade undertaken by all was
for this kingdom, to which they carried horses, velvets, satins and
other sorts of merchandize, by which they made great profits; and
the Custom House of Goa suffered much in its Revenue, so that from
that day till now the inhabitants of Goa began to live less well;
for paizes and fine cloths were a trade of great importance for
Persia and Portugal, and it then languished, and the gold pagodas,
of which every year more than 500,000 were laden in the ships of the
kingdom, were then worth 7 1/2 Tangas, and to day are worth 11 1/2,
and similarly every kind of coin."
Sassetti gives another reason, however, for the decay of Portuguese
trade and influence at Goa, which cannot be passed over without
notice. This was the terrible Inquisition. The fathers of the Church
forbade the Hindus under terrible penalties the use of their own sacred
books, and prevented them from all exercise of their religion. They
destroyed their temples and mosques, and so harassed and interfered
with the people that they abandoned the city in large numbers,
refusing to remain any longer in a place where they had no liberty,
and were liable to imprisonment, torture, and death if they worshipped
after their own fashion the gods of their fathers.[339]
About this period, therefore (1567), the political condition of
Southern India may be thus summed up: -- The Muhammadans of the Dakhan
were triumphant though still divided in interest, and their country
was broken up into states each bitterly hostile to the other. The
great empire of the south was sorely stricken, and its capital was
for ever destroyed; the royal family were refugees at Pennakonda;
King Sadasiva was still a prisoner; and Tirumala, the only survivor
of the "three brethren which were tyrants,"[340] was governing the
kingdom as well as he could. The nobles were angry and despondent,
each one seeking to be free; and the Portuguese on the coast were
languishing, with their trade irretrievably injured.
Firishtah summarises the events immediately succeeding the great
battle in the following words: --
"The sultans, a few days after the battle, marched onwards into the
country of Ramraaje as far as Anicondeh,[341] and the advanced troops
penetrated to Beejanuggur, which they plundered, razed the chief
buildings, and committed all manner of excess. When the depredations
of the allies had destroyed all the country round, Venkatadri,[342]
who had escaped from the battle to a distant fortress, sent humble
entreaties of peace to the sultans, to whom he gave up all the places
which his brothers had wrested from them; and the victors being
satisfied, took leave of each other at Roijore (Raichur), and returned
to their several dominions. The raaje of Beejanuggur since this battle
has never recovered its ancient splendour; and the city itself has been
so destroyed that it is now totally in ruins and uninhabited,[343]
while the country has been seized by the zemindars (petty chiefs),
each of whom hath assumed an independent power in his own district."
In 1568 (so it is said) Tirumala murdered his sovereign, Sadasiva,
and seized the throne for himself; but up to that time he seems to
have recognised the unfortunate prince as his liege lord, as we know
from four inscriptions at Vellore bearing a date corresponding to
5th February 1567 A.D.[344]
And thus began the third dynasty, if dynasty it can be appropriately
called.
CHAPTER 16
The Third Dynasty
Genealogy -- The Muhammadan States -- Fall of Bankapur, Kondavid,
Bellamkonda and Vinukonda -- Haidarabad founded -- Adoni under the
Muhammadans -- Subsequent history in brief.
The following is the genealogy of this third family.[345] They came
apparently of the old royal stock, but their exact relationship to
it has never been conclusively settled. The dates appended are the
dates of inscriptions, not necessarily the dates of reigns.
The present Rajah of Anegundi, whose family name is Pampapati, and who
resides on the old family estate as a zamindar under H.H. the Nizam
of Haidarabad, has favoured me with a continuation of the family tree
to the present day.
Ranga VI., or, as he is generally styled, Sri Ranga, is said to have
been the youngest of three brothers, sons of Chinna Venkata III.,
Vira Venkatapati Raya being the eldest. Gopala, a junior member of
the family, succeeded to the throne and adopted Ranga VI., who was
thus a junior member of the eldest branch. The eldest brother of
Ranga VI. was ousted.
I have no means of knowing whether this information is correct,
but the succession of the eldest is given on the following page.
Pampapati Rajah is recognised by his Government as head of the family
for two reasons: first and foremost, because the elder line is extinct
and he was adopted by his sister Kuppamma, wife of Krishna Deva of the
elder line; secondly, because his two elder brothers are said to have
resigned their claims in his favour. The title of the present chief
is "Sri Ranga Deva Raya." Whether or no he has better title than his
nephew, Kumara Raghava, need not here be discussed. The interest to
the readers of this history lies in the fact that these two are the
only surviving male descendants of the ancient royal house.
To revert to the history, which need only be shortly summarised since
we have seen Vijayanagar destroyed and its territories in a state of
political confusion and disturbance.
I omit altogether the alternate political combinations and
dissolutions, the treacheries, quarrels, and fights of the various
Muhammadan states after 1565, as unnecessary for our purpose and
in order to avoid prolixity, summarising only a few matters which
more particularly concern the territories formerly under the great
Hindu Empire.
According to Golkonda accounts, a year after the great battle which
resulted in the destruction of Vijayanagar, a general of the Qutb Shah,
Raffat Khan Lari, ALIAS Malik Naib, marched against Rajahmundry, which
was finally captured from the Hindus in A.D. 1571 -- 72 (A.H. 979).
Shortly after his return to Bijapur (so says Firishtah), Ali Adil
Shah moved again with an army towards Vijayanagar, but retired on the
Ahmadnagar Sultan advancing to oppose him; and not long afterwards he
made an ineffectual attempt to reduce Goa. Retiring from the coast,
he marched to attack Adoni, then under one of the vassal chiefs of
Vijayanagar, who had made himself independent in that tract. The
place was taken, and the Nizam Shah agreed with the king of Bijapur
that he would not interfere with the latter's attempts to annex the
territories south of the Krishna, if he on his part were left free
to conquer Berar.
In 1573, therefore, Ali Adil moved against Dharwar and Bankapur. The
siege of the latter place under its chief, Velappa Naik, now
independent, lasted for a year and six months, when the garrison,
reduced to great straits, surrendered. Firishtah[346] states that
the Adil Shah destroyed a "superb temple" there, and himself laid
the first stone of a mosque which was built on its foundation. More
successes followed in the Konkan. Three years later Bellamkonda was
similarly attacked, and the Raya in terror retired from Penukonda to
Chandragiri. This campaign, however, resulted in failure, apparently
owing to the Shah of Golkonda assisting the Hindus. In 1579 the king
of Golkonda, in breach of his contract, attacked and reduced the
fortresses of Vinukonda and Kondavid as well as Kacharlakota and
Kammam,[347] thus occupying large tracts south of the Krishna.
In 1580 Ali Adil was murdered. Firishtah in his history of the Qutb
Shahs gives the date as Thursday, 23rd Safar, A.H. 987, but the true
day appears to have been Monday, 24th Safar, A.H. 988, corresponding
to Monday, April 11, A.D. 1580. This at least is the date given
by an eye-witness, one Rafi-ud-Din Shirazi, who held an important
position at the court at the time. (The question is discussed by
Major King in the INDIAN ANTIQUARY, vol. xvii. p. 221.) Ibrahim Qutb
Shah of Golkonda also died in 1580 and was succeeded by Muhammad
Quli, his third son, who in 1589 founded the city of Haidarabad,
originally carted Bhagnagar. He carried on successful wars in the
present Kurnool and Cuddapah districts, capturing Kurnool, Nandial,
Dole, and Gandikota, following up these successes by inroads into
the eastern districts of Nellore.
King Tirumala of Vijayanagar was in 1575 followed apparently by his
second son, Ranga II., whose successor was his brother Venkata I.[348]
(1586). The latter reigned for at least twenty-eight years, and
died an old man in 1614. At his death there were widespread revolts,
disturbances, and civil warfare, as we shall presently see from the
account of Barradas given in the next chapter. An important inscription
of his reign, dated in A.D. 1601 -- 2, and recorded on copper-plates,
has been published by Dr. Hultzsch.[349]
In 1593 the Bijapur Sultan, Ibrahim Adil, invaded Mysore, which then
belonged to the Raya, and reduced the place after a three months'
siege. In the same year this Sultan's brother, Ismail, who had been
kept prisoner at Belgaum, rose against his sovereign and declared
himself independent king of the place. He was besieged there by the
royal troops' but owing to treachery in the camp they failed to take
the place, and the territories in the neighbourhood were for some
time a prey to insurrections and disturbances. Eventually they were
reduced to submission and the rebel was killed. Contemporaneously
with these events, the Hindus again tried to obtain possession of
Adoni, but without success;[350] and a war broke out between the
rival kingdoms of Bijapur and Ahmadnagar.
With this period ends abruptly the narrative of Firishtah relating to
the Sultans of Bijapur. The Golkonda history[351] appears to differ
widely from it, but I have not thought it necessary here to compare
the two stories.
The history of the seventeenth century in Southern India is
one of confusion and disturbance. The different governors became
independent. The kings of the decadent empire wasted their wealth and
lost their territories, so that at length they held a mere nominal
sovereignty, and nothing remained but the shadow of the once great
name -- the prestige of family. And yet, even so late as the years
1792 and 1793, I find a loyal Reddi in the south, in recording on
copper-plates some grants of land to temples, declaring that he did so
by permission of "Venkatapati Maharaya of Vijayanagar;"[352] while I
know of eight other grants similarly recognising the old Hindu royal
family, which were engraved in the eighteenth century.[353]
The Ikkeri or Bednur chiefs styled themselves under-lords of
Vijayanagar till 1650.[354] A Vijayanagar viceroy ruled over Mysore
till 1610, after which the descendants of the former viceroys became
Rajahs in their own right. In Madura and Tanjore the Nayakkas became
independent in 1602.
All the Muhammadan dynasties in the Dakhan fell under the power of the
Mogul emperors of Delhi towards the close of the seventeenth century,
and the whole of the south of India soon became practically theirs. But
meanwhile another great power had arisen, and at one time threatened to
conquer all India. This was the sovereignty of the Mahrattas. Sivaji
conquered all the Konkan country by 1673, and four years later he
had overthrown the last shreds of Vijayanagar authority in Kurnool,
Gingi, and Vellore; while his brother Ekoji had already, in 1674,
captured Tanjore, and established a dynasty there which lasted for
a century. But with this exception the Mahrattas established no real
domination in the extreme south.
Mysore remained independent under its line of Hindu kings till the
throne was usurped by Haidar Ali and his son and successor, "Tippoo,"
who together ruled for about forty years. After the latter's defeat
and death at Seringapatam in 1799, the country was restored by the
English to the Hindu line.
The site on which stands Fort St. George at Madras was granted to
Mr. Francis Day, chief factor of the English there, by Sri Ranga Raya
VI. in March 1639, the king being then resident in Chandragiri.
The first English factory at Madras had been established in 1620.
CHAPTER 17
The Story of Barradas (1614)
Chandragiri in 1614 -- Death of King Venkata -- Rebellion of Jaga
Raya and murder of the royal family -- Loyalty of Echama Naik --
The Portuguese independent at San Thome -- Actors in the drama --
The affair at "Paleacate." -- List of successors -- Conclusion.
The following note of occurrences which took place at Chandragiri
in 1614 on the death of King Venkata I. will be found of singular
interest, as it relates to events of which we in England have hitherto,
I think, been in complete ignorance. In consists of an extract from a
letter written at Cochin on December 12, A.D. 1616, by Manuel Barradas,
and recently found by Senhor Lopes amongst a quantity of letters
preserved in the National Archives at Lisbon.[355] He copied it from
the original, and kindly sent it to me. The translation is my own.
"I will now tell you ... about the death of the old King of
Bisnaga, called Vencattapatti Rayalu,[356] and of his selection
as his successor of a nephew by name Chica Rayalu; setting aside
another who was commonly held to be his son, but who in reality was
not so. The true fact was this. The King was married to a daughter
of Jaga Raya by name Bayama, and though she eagerly longed for a
son she had none in spite of the means, legitimate or illegitimate,
that she employed for that purpose. A Brahman woman of the household
of the Queen's father, knowing how strong was the Queen's desire
to have a son, and seeing that God had not granted her one, told
her that she herself was pregnant for a month; and she advised her
to tell the King, and to publish it abroad, that she (the Queen)
had been pregnant for a month, and to feign to be in that state, and
said that after she (the Brahman woman) had been delivered she would
secretly send the child to the palace by some confidant, upon which
the Queen could announce that this boy was her own son. The advice
seemed good to the Queen, and she pretended that she was pregnant,
and no sooner was the Brahman woman delivered of a son than she sent
it to the palace, and the news was spread abroad that Queen Bayama
had brought forth a son. The King, knowing all this, yet for the love
he bore the Queen, and so that the matter should not come to light,
dissembled and made feasts, giving the name 'Chica Raya' to the boy,
which is the name always given to the heir to the throne.[357] Yet he
never treated him as a son, but on the contrary kept him always shut
up in the palace of Chandigri,[358] nor ever allowed him to go out
of it without his especial permission, which indeed he never granted
except when in company of the Queen. Withal, the boy arriving at the
age of fourteen years, he married him to a niece of his, doing him
much honour so as to satisfy Obo Raya, his brother-in-law.[359]
"Three days before his death, the King, leaving aside, as I say, this
putative son, called for his nephew Chica Raya, in presence of several
of the nobles of the kingdom, and extended towards him his right hand
on which was the ring of state, and put it close to him, so that he
should take it and should become his successor in the kingdom. With
this the nephew, bursting into tears, begged the King to give it to
whom he would, and that for himself he did not desire to be king,
and he bent low, weeping at the feet of the old man. The King made
a sign to those around him that they should raise the prince up, and
they did so; and they then placed him on the King's right hand, and
the King extended his own hand so that he might take the ring. But the
prince lifted his hands above his head, as if he already had divined
how much ill fortune the ring would bring him, and begged the King
to pardon him if he wished not to take it. The old man then took the
ring and held it on the point of his finger offering it the second
time to Chica Raya, who by the advice of the captains present took
it, and placed it on his head and then on his finger, shedding many
tears. Then the King sent for his robe, valued at 200,000 cruzados,
the great diamond which was in his ear, which was worth more than
500,000 cruzados, his earrings, valued at more than 200,000, and his
great pearls, which are of the highest price. All these royal insignia
he gave to his nephew Chica Raya as being his successor, and as such
he was at once proclaimed. While some rejoiced, others were displeased.
"Three days later the King died at the age of sixty-seven years. His
body was burned in his own garden with sweet-scented woods, sandal,
aloes, and such like; and immediately afterwards three queens burned
themselves, one of whom was of the same age as the King, and the
other two aged thirty-five years. They showed great courage. They went
forth richly dressed with many jewels and gold ornaments and precious
stones, and arriving at the funeral pyre they divided these, giving
some to their relatives; some to the Brahmans to offer prayers for
them, and throwing some to be scrambled for by the people. Then they
took leave of all, mounted on to a lofty place, and threw themselves
into the middle of the fire, which was very great. Thus they passed
into eternity.
"Then the new King began to rule, compelling some of the captains to
leave the fortress, but keeping others by his side; and all came to him
to offer their allegiance except three. These were Jaga Raya, who has
six hundred thousand cruzados of revenue and puts twenty thousand men
into the field; Tima Naique, who has four hundred thousand cruzados of
revenue and keeps up an army of twelve thousand men; and Maca Raya,
who has a revenue of two hundred thousand cruzados and musters six
thousand men. They swore never to do homage to the new King, but, on
the contrary, to raise in his place the putative son of the dead King,
the nephew of Jaga Raya,[360] who was the chief of this conspiracy. In
a few days there occurred the following opportunity.
"The new King displeased three of his nobles; the first, the Dalavay,
who is the commander of the army and pays a tribute of five hundred
thousand cruzados, because he desired him to give up three fortresses
which the King wished to confer on two of his own sons; the second,
his minister, whom he asked to pay a hundred thousand cruzados,
alleging that he had stolen them from the old King his uncle; the
third, Narpa Raya, since he demanded the jewels which his sister,
the wife of the old King, had given to Marpa. All these three answered
the King that they would obey his commands within two days; but they
secretly plotted with Jaga Raya to raise up the latter's nephew to
be King. And this they did in manner following: --
"Jaga Raya sent to tell the King that he wished to do homage to him,
and so also did Tima Maique and Maca Raya. The poor King allowed
them to enter. Jaga Raya selected five thousand men, and leaving
the rest outside the city he entered the fortress with these chosen
followers. The two other conspirators did the same, each of them
bringing with them two thousand selected men. The fortress has two
walls. Arrived at these, Jaga Raya left at the first gate a thousand
men, and at the second a thousand. The Dalavay seized two other
gates of the fortress, on the other side. There being some tumult,
and a cry of treason being raised, the King ordered the palace
gates to be closed, but the conspirators as soon as they reached
them began to break them down. Maca Raya was the first to succeed,
crying out that he would deliver up the King to them; and he did so,
seeding the King a message that if he surrendered he would pledge his
word to do him no ill, but that the nephew of Jaga Raya must be King,
he being the son of the late King.
"The poor surrounded King, seeing himself without followers and
without any remedy, accepted the promise, and with his wife and
sons left the tower in which he was staying. He passed through the
midst of the soldiers with a face grave and severe, and with eyes
downcast. There was none to do him reverence with hands (as is the
custom) joined over the head, nor did he salute any one.
"The King having left, Jaga Raya called his nephew and crowned him,
causing all the nobles present to do him homage; and he, finding
himself now crowned King, entered the palace and took possession of
it and of all the riches and precious stones that he found there. If
report says truly, he found in diamonds alone three large chests full
of fine stones. After this (Jaga Raya) placed the deposed King under
the strictest guard, and he was deserted by all save by one captain
alone whose name was Echama Naique, who stopped outside the fortress
with eight thousand men and refused to join Jaga Raya. Indeed,
hearing of the treason, he struck his camp and shut himself up in
his own fortress and began to collect more troops.
"Jaga Raya sent a message to this man bidding him come and do homage to
his nephew, and saying that if he refused he would destroy him. Echama
Naique made answer that he was not the man to do reverence to a boy
who was the son of no one knew whom, nor even what his caste was;
and, so far as destroying him went, would Jaga Raya come out and meet
him? If so, he would wait for him with such troops as he possessed!
"When this reply was received Jaga Raya made use of a thousand gentle
expressions, and promised honours and revenues, but nothing could turn
him. Nay, Echama took the field with his forces and offered battle to
Jaga Raya; saying that, since the latter had all the captains on his
side, let him come and fight and beat him if he could, and then the
nephew would become King unopposed. In the end Jaga Raya despaired
of securing Echama Naique's allegiance, but he won over many other
nobles by gifts and promises.
"While Jaga Raya was so engaged, Echama Naique was attempting to obtain
access to the imprisoned King by some way or other; but finding this
not possible, he sought for a means of at least getting possession of
one of his sons. And he did so in this manner. He sent and summoned
the washerman who washed the imprisoned King's clothes, and promised
him great things if he would bring him the King's middle son. The
washerman gave his word that he would so do if the matter were kept
secret. When the day arrived on which it was the custom for him to
take the clean clothes to the King, he carried them (into the prison)
and with them a palm-leaf letter from Echama Naique, who earnestly
begged the King to send him one at least of the three sons whom
he had with him, assuring him that the washerman could effect his
escape. The King did so, giving up his second son aged twelve years,
for the washerman did not dare take the eldest, who was eighteen years
old. He handed over the boy, and put him in amongst the dirty clothes,
warning him to have no fear and not to cry out even if he felt any
pain. In order more safely to pass the guards, the washerman placed on
top of all some very foul clothes, such as every one would avoid; and
went out crying 'TALLA! TALLA!' which means 'Keep at a distance! keep
at a distance!' All therefore gave place to him, and he went out of
the fortress to his own house. Here he kept the prince in hiding for
three days, and at the end of them delivered him up to Echama Naique,
whose camp was a league distant from the city, and the boy was received
by that chief and by all his army with great rejoicing.
"The news then spread abroad and came to the ears of Jaga Raya, who
commanded the palace to be searched, and found that it was true. He
was so greatly affected that he kept to his house for several days;
but he doubled the guards on the King, his prisoner, closed the gates,
and commanded that no one should give aught to the King to eat but
rice and coarse vegetables.[361]
"As soon as it was known that Echama Naique had possession of the
King's son, there went over to him four of Jaga Raya's captains
with eight thousand men; so that he had in all sixteen thousand,
and now had good hope of defending the rightful King. He took,
therefore, measures for effecting the latter's escape. He selected
from amongst all his soldiers twenty men, who promised to attempt to
dig an underground passage which should reach to where the King lay in
prison. In pursuance of this resolve they went to the fortress, offered
themselves to the Dalavay as entering into his service, received pay,
and after some days began to dig the passage so as to gain entrance
to the King's prison. The King, seeing soldiers enter thus into his
apartment, was amazed, and even more so when he saw them prostrate
themselves on the ground and deliver him a palm-leaf letter from Echama
Naique, in which he begged the King to trust himself to these men,
as they would escort him out of the fortress. The King consented. He
took off his robes hastily and covered himself with a single cloth;
and bidding farewell to his wife, his sons, and his daughters, told
them to have no fear, for that he, when free, would save them all.
"But it so happened that at this very moment one of the soldiers
who were guarding the palace by night with torches fell into a hole,
and at his cries the rest ran up, and on digging they discovered the
underground passage. They entered it and got as far as the palace,
arriving there just when the unhappy King was descending into it
in order to escape. He was seized and the alarm given to Jaga Raya,
who sent the King to another place more confined and narrower, and
with more guards, so that the poor prisoner despaired of ever escaping.
"Echama Naique, seeing that this stratagem had failed, bribed heavily a
captain of five hundred men who were in the fortress to slay the guards
as soon as some good occasion offered, and to rescue the King. This
man, who was called Iteobleza,[362] finding one day that Jaga Raya
was leaving the palace with all his men in order to receive a certain
chief who had proffered his submission, and that there only remained
in the fortress about five thousand men, in less than an hour slew
the guards, seized three gates, and sent a message to Echama Naique
telling him to come at once and seize the fortress. But Jaga Raya was
the more expeditious; he returned with all his forces, entered by a
postern gate, of the existence of which Iteobleza had not been warned,
and put to death the captain and his five hundred followers.
"Enraged at this attempt, Jaga Raya, to strengthen the party of his
nephew, resolved to slay the King and all his family. He entrusted this
business to a brother of his named Chinaobraya,[363] ordering him to
go to the palace and tell the poor King that he must slay himself,
and that if he would not he himself would kill him with stabs of
his dagger.
"The prisoner attempted to excuse himself, saying that he knew
nothing of the attempted revolt. But seeing the determination of
Chinaobraya, who told him that he must necessarily die, either by
his own hand or by that of another -- a most pitiful case, and one
that I relate full of sorrow! -- the poor King called his wife, and
after he had spoken to her awhile he beheaded her. Then he sent for
his youngest son and did the same to him. He put to death similarly
his little daughter. Afterwards he sent for his eldest son, who was
already married, and commanded him to slay his wife, which he did by
beheading her. This done, the King took a long sword of four fingers'
breadth, and, throwing himself upon it, breathed his last; and his
son, heir to the throne, did the same to himself in imitation of his
father. There remained only a little daughter whom the King could
not bring himself to slay; but Chinaobraya killed her, so that none
of the family should remain alive of the blood royal, and the throne
should be secured for his nephew.
"Some of the chiefs were struck with horror at this dreadful deed, and
were so enraged at its cruelty that they went over to Echama Naique,
resolved to defend the prince who had been rescued by the washerman,
and who alone remained of all the royal family. Echama Naique, furious
at this shameful barbarity and confident in the justice of his cause,
selected ten thousand of his best soldiers, and with them offered
battle to Jaga Raya, who had more than sixty thousand men and a number
of elephants and horses. Echama sent him a message in this form: --
'Now that thou hast murdered thy king and all his family, and there
alone remains this boy whom I rescued from thee and have in my keeping,
come out and take the field with all thy troops; kill him and me,
and then thy nephew will be secure on the throne!'
"Jaga Raya tried to evade this for some time; but finding that Echama
Naique insisted, he decided to fight him, trusting that with so great
a number of men he would easily not only be victorious, but would
be able to capture both Echama Naique and the prince. He took the
field, therefore, with all his troops. Echama Naique entrusted the
prince to a force of ten thousand men who remained a league away,
and with the other ten thousand he not only offered battle, but was
the first to attack; and that with such fury and violence that Jaga
Raya, with all the people surrounding his nephew, was driven to one
side, leaving gaps open to the enemy, and many met their deaths in
the fight. Echama Naique entered in triumph the tents of Jaga Raya,
finding in them all the royal insignia belonging to the old King
and these he delivered to the young prince, the Son of Chica Raya,
proclaiming him rightful heir and King of all the empire of Bisnaga.
"The spoil which he took was very large, for in precious stones alone
they say that he found two millions worth.
"After this victory many of the nobles joined themselves to Echama
Naique. So much so, that in a short time he had with him fifty thousand
fighting men in his camp; while Jaga Raya, with only fifteen thousand,
fled to the jungles. Here, however, he was joined by more people, so
that the war has continued these two years,[364] fortune favouring
now one side now the other. But the party of the young prince has
always been gaining strength; the more so because, although the great
Naique of Madura[365] -- a page of the betel to the King of Bisnaga,
who pays a revenue every year of, some say, 600,000 pagodas, and has
under him many kings and nobles as vassals, such as he of Travancor --
took the side of Jaga Raya, and sustained him against the Naique of
Tanjaor. Yet the latter, though not so powerful, is, with the aid of
the young King, gradually getting the upper hand. Indeed there are now
assembled in the field in the large open plains of Trinchenepali[366]
not only the hundred thousand men that each party has, but as many
as a million of soldiers.
"Taking advantage of these civil wars, the city of San Thome[367] --
which up to now belonged to the King of Bisnaga, paying him revenues
and customs which he used to make over to certain chiefs, by whom
the Portuguese were often greatly troubled determined to liberate
itself, and become in everything and for everything the property
of the King of Portugal. To this end she begged the Viceroy to send
and take possession of her in the name of his Majesty, which he did,
as I shall afterwards tell you. Meanwhile the captain who governed
the town, by name Manuel de Frias, seeing that there was close to the
town a fortress that commanded it, determined to seize it by force,
seeing that its captain declined to surrender it. So he laid siege
to it, surrounding it so closely that no one could get out."
In the end the Portuguese were successful. The fortress was taken,
its garrison of 1500 men capitulated, and a fleet came round by sea
to complete the conquest.
The foregoing story relates to events never before, I think, made
known to English readers, and so far is of the highest interest. Let
us, for the moment, grant its accuracy, and read it by the light of
the genealogical table already given.[368]
King Venkata I. (1586 -- 1614) had a sister who was married to a
chief whom Barradas calls "Obo" (perhaps Obala) Raya. So far as
we know, his only nephews were Tirumala II. and Ranga III., sons
of his brother, Rama III. Since Tirumala II. appears to have had
no sons, and Ranga III. had a son, Rama IV, who is asserted in the
inscriptions to have been "one of several brothers," it is natural
to suppose that the nephew mentioned by Barradas, who was raised to
be king on the death of the old King Venkata I. in 1614, and who had
three sons, was Ranga III., called "Chikka Raya" or "Crown-prince"
in the text. He, then, succeeded in 1614, but was afterwards deposed,
imprisoned, and compelled to take his own life. His eldest son at the
same time followed his example, and his youngest son was slain by his
father. The "middle son" escaped, and was raised to the throne by a
friendly chief named Echama Naik. This second son was probably Ranga
IV. Two of King Venkata's wives were Bayama, daughter of Jaga Raya,
and a lady unnamed, sister of Narpa Raya. A niece of Venkata I. had
been given in marriage to a Brahman boy, who had been surreptitiously
introduced into the palace by Bayama and educated in the pretence
that he was son of King Venkata. The plot to raise him to the throne
was temporarily successful, and Ranga III. and all the royal family
were killed, saving only Ranga IV., who afterwards came to the throne.
How much of the story told is true we cannot as yet decide; but it
is extremely improbable that the whole is a pure invention, and we
may for the present accept it, fixing the date of these occurrences
as certainly between the years 1614 and 1616 A.D. -- the date of
Barradas's letter being December 12 in the latter year.
It will be observed that the inscriptions upon which the genealogical
table given above, from the EPIGRAPHIA INDICA, is founded do not yield
any date between A.D. 1614 and 1634, when Pedda Venkata II. is named
as king. In 1883 I published[369] a list of Vijayanagar names derived
from reports of inscriptions which had then reached me. I am by no
means certain of their accuracy, and it is clear that they must all
be hereafter carefully examined. But so far as it goes the list runs
thus: --
A.D.
Ranga 1619
Rama 1620, 1622
Ranga 1623
Venkata 1623
Rama 1629
Venkata 1636
The last-mentioned name and date are apparently correct.
In 1633 the Portuguese, encouraged by the Vijayanagar king, still
at Chandragiri, attempted to eject the Dutch from "Paleacate," or
Pulicat. An arrangement was made by which the Portuguese were to
attack by sea and the Rajah by land; but while the Viceroy sent his
twelve ships as agreed on, the Rajah failed to attack, alleging in
explanation that he was compelled to use his army to put down internal
disturbances in the kingdom. A second expedition met with no better
success, the plans of the Portuguese being again upset by the non
fulfilment of the king's part of the bargain. On the departure of the
fleet the king did attack the Dutch settlement, but was bought off by
a large payment, and the Hollanders remained subsequently undisturbed.
Senhor Lopes tells me that he has found in the National Archives
in the Torre do Tombo, amongst the "Livros das Moncoes," a number
of papers bearing on this subject. The most interesting are those
contained in Volume xxxiv. (fol. 91 -- 99). These were written by the
Captain-General of Meliapor (St. Thome), by Padre Pero Mexia of the
Company of Jesus, and by the Bishop; and amongst the other documents
are to be seen translations of two palm-leaf letters written by the
king of Vijayanagar, then at Vellore. It appears from these that
the king was devoid of energy, and that one Timma Raya had revolted
against him.
We know that in 1639 the king of Vijayanagar was named Ranga or
Sri-Ranga, and that he was at that time residing at Chandragiri;
because in that year Mr. Day, the head of the English trading station
a Madras, obtained from the king a grant of land at that place,
one mile broad by five miles long, on which Fort St. George was
afterwards constructed. The country about Madras was then ruled over
by a governor or Naik, and so little heed did he pay to the wishes or
commands of his titular sovereign, that although the Raya had directed
that the name of the new town should be "Srirangarayalapatnam" ("city
of Sri Ranga Raya"), the Naik christened it after the name of his own
father, Chenna, and called it "Chennapatnam," by which appellation it
has ever since been known to the Hindus. Such, at least, is the local
tradition. This king was probably the Ranga VI. of the Epigraphia list,
mentioned as living in 1644 A.D.
After this date my (doubtful and unexamined) inscriptions yield the
following names and dates: --
A.D.
Ranga 1643, 1647, 1655, 1662, 1663, 1665, 1667, 1678
Venkata 1678, 1680
Ranga 1692
Venkata 1706
Ranga 1716
Mahadeva 1724
Ranga 1729
Venkata 1732
Rama 1739 (?)
Venkata 1744
Venkata 1791, 1792, 1793
From Sir Thomas Munro's papers I gather that the territory about the
old family estate of Anegundi was early in the eighteenth century
held by the Rayas from the Mogul emperor of Delhi as a tributary
state. In 1749 it was seized by the Mahrattas, and in 1775 it was
reduced by Haidar Ali of Mysore, but continued to exist as a tributary
quasi-independent state till the time of Tipu (Tippoo Sultan).
Tipu, who never suffered from an excess of compunction or compassion
when his own interests were at stake, annexed the estate bodily to his
dominions in 1786. Thirteen years later he was killed at Seringapatam,
and in the settlement that followed the little territory was made over
to the Nizam of Haidarabad, the English Government retaining all lands
on their side of the Tungabhadra. Partly in compensation for this loss
of land the Government has till very recently paid an annual pension
to the head of the Anegundi family. This has now been abolished.
Chronicles of Paes and Nuniz
Letter
(? to the historian Barros) which accompanied the Chronicles when
sent from India to Portugal about the year 1537 A.D.
Since I have lived till now in this city (? Goa), it seemed necessary
to do what your Honour desired of me, namely, to search for men who had
formerly been in Bisnaga; for I know that no one goes there without
bringing away his quire of paper written about its affairs. Thus I
obtained this summary from one Domingos Paes, who goes there, and who
was at Bisnaga in the time of Crisnarao when Cristovao de Figueiredo
was there. I obtained another from Fernao Nuniz, who was there three
years trading in horses (which did not prove remunerative). Since one
man cannot tell everything -- one relating some things which another
does not -- I send both the summaries made by them, namely, one in
the time of Crisnarao, as I have said, and the other sent from there
six months since. I desire to do this because your honour can gather
what is useful to you from both, and because you will thus give the
more credit to some things in the chronicle of the kings of Bisnaga,
since they conform one to the other. The copy of the summary which
he began to make[370] when he first went to the kingdom of Bisnaga
is as follows: --
Narrative of Domingos Paes
(written probably A.D. 1520 -- 22)
Of the things which I saw and contrived to learn concerning the kingdom
of Narsimga, etc.[371]
On leaving India[372] to travel towards the kingdom of Narsymga from
the sea-coast, you have (first) to pass a range of hills (SERRA),
the boundary of the said kingdom and of those territories which are
by the sea. This SERRA runs along the whole of the coast of India,
and has passes by which people enter the interior; for all the rest
of the range is very rocky and is filled with thick forest. The said
kingdom has many places on the coast of India; they are seaports with
which we are at peace, and in some of them we have factories, namely,
Amcola, Mirgeo, Honor, Batecalla, Mamgalor, Bracalor, and Bacanor. And
as soon as we are above this SERRA we have a plain country in which
there are no more ranges of hills, but only a few mountains, and these
small ones; for all the rest is like the plains of Ssantarem.[373] Only
on the road from Batecala[374] to a town called ZAMBUJA, there are some
ranges with forests; nevertheless the road is very even. From Batecala
to this town of Zambur[375] is forty leagues; the road has many streams
of water by its side, and because of this so much merchandise flows
to Batecala that every year there come five or six thousand pack-oxen.
Now to tell of the aforesaid kingdom. It is a country sparsely wooded
except along this SERRA on the east,[376] but in places you walk for
two or three leagues under groves of trees; and behind cities and towns
and villages they have plantations of mangoes, and jack-fruit trees,
and tamarinds and other very large trees, which form resting-places
where merchants halt with their merchandise. I saw in the city of
Recalem[377] a tree under which we lodged three hundred and twenty
horses, standing in order as in their stables, and all over the country
you may see many small trees. These dominions are very well cultivated
and very fertile, and are provided with quantities of cattle, such as
cows, buffaloes, and sheep; also of birds, both those belonging to the
hills and those reared at home, and this in greater abundance than
in our tracts. The land has plenty of rice and Indian-corn, grains,
beans, and other kind of crops which are not sown in our parts; also an
infinity of cotton. Of the grains there is a great quantity, because,
besides being used as food for men, it is also used for horses, since
there is no other kind of barley; and this country has also much wheat,
and that good. The whole country is thickly populated with cities and
towns and villages; the king allows them to be surrounded only with
earthen walls for fear of their becoming too strong. But if a city
is situated at the extremity of his territory he gives his consent
to its having stone walls, but never the towns; so that they may make
fortresses of the cities but not of the towns.
And because this country is all flat, the winds blow here more than
in other parts. The oil which it produces comes from seeds sown and
afterwards reaped, and they obtain it by means of machines which they
make. This country wants water because it is very great and has few
streams; they make lakes in which water collects when it rains, and
thereby they maintain themselves. They maintain themselves by means
of some in which there are springs better than by others that have
only the water from rain; for we find many quite dry, so that people
go about walking in their beds, and dig holes to try and find enough
water, even a little, for their maintenance. The failure of the water
is because they have no winter as in our parts and in (Portuguese)
India, but only thunder-storms that are greater in one year than
in another. The water in these lakes is for the most part muddy,
especially in those where there are no springs, and the reason why it
is so muddy is because of the strong wind and the dust that is in this
country, which never allows the water to be clear, and also because of
the numbers of cattle, buffaloes, cows, oxen, and other small cattle
that drink in them. For you must know that in this land they do not
slaughter oxen or cows; the oxen are beasts of burden and are like
sumpter-mules; these carry all their goods. They worship the cows,
and have them in their pagodas made in stone, and also bulls; they
have many bulls that they present to these pagodas, and these bulls go
about the city without any one causing them any harm or loss. Further,
there are asses in this country, but they are small, and they use them
only for little things; those that wash clothes lay the cloths on them,
and use them for this more than for anything else. You must know that
this kingdom of Narsymga has three hundred GRAOS of coast, each GRAO
being a league, along the hill-range (SERRA) of which I have spoken,
until you arrive at Ballagate and Charamaodel,[378] which belong to
this kingdom; and in breadth it is one hundred and sixty-four GRAOS;
each large GRAO measures two of our leagues, so that it has six
hundred leagues of coast, and across it three hundred and forty-eight
leagues... across from Batacalla to the kingdom of Orya.[379]
And this kingdom marches[380] with all the territory of Bengal, and on
the other side with the kingdom of Orya, which is to the east, and on
the other side to the north with the kingdom of Dakhan, belonging to
which are the lands which the Ydallcao[381] has, and Ozemelluco.[382]
Goa is at war with this Ydallcao, because that city was his, and we
have taken it from him.
And this kingdom of Orya, of which I have spoken above, is said
to be much larger than the kingdom of Narsymga, since it marches
with all Bengal, and is at war with her; and it marches with all the
kingdom of Pegu and with the MALLACA Sea. It reaches to the kingdom of
Cambaya, and to the kingdom of Dakhan; and they told me with positive
certainty that it extends as far as Persia. The population thereof
is light coloured, and the men are of good physique. Its king has
much treasure and many soldiers and many elephants, for there are
numbers of these in this country. (My informants) know this well,
and they say that there is no ruler greater than he. He is a heathen.
Coming back to our subject, I say that I will not mention here the
situation of the cities, and towns, and villages in this kingdom
of Narsymga, to avoid prolixity; only I shall speak of the city
of Darcha,[383] which has a monument such as can seldom be seen
elsewhere. This city of Darcha is very well fortified by a wall,
though not of stone, for the reason that I have already stated. On the
western side, which is towards (Portuguese) India, it is surrounded
by a very beautiful river, and on the other, eastern side the interior
of the country is all one plain, and along the wall is its moat. This
Darcha has a pagoda, which is the monument I speak of, so beautiful
that another as good of its kind could not be found within a great
distance. You must know that it is a round temple made of a single
stone, the gateway all in the manner of joiners work, with every art of
perspective. There are many figures of the said work, standing out as
much as a cubit from the stone, so that you see on every side of them,
so well carved that they could not be better done -- the faces as well
as all the rest; and each one in its place stands as if embowered in
leaves; and above it is in the Romanesque style, so well made that
it could not be better. Besides this, it has a sort of lesser porch
upon pillars, all of stone, and the pillars with their pedestals[384]
so well executed that they appear as if made in Italy; all the cross
pieces and beams are of the same stone without any planks or timber
being used in it, and in the same way all the ground is laid with
the same stone, outside as well as in. And all this pagoda, as far
round as the temple goes, is enclosed by a trellis made of the same
stone, and this again is completely surrounded by a very strong wall,
better even than the city has, since it is all of solid masonry. It
has three entrance gates, which gates are very large and beautiful,
and the entrance from one of these sides, being towards the east and
facing the door of the pagoda, has some structures like verandahs,
small and low, where sit some JOGIS;[385] and inside this enclosure,
which has other little pagodas of a reddish colour, there is a stone
like the mast of a ship, with its pedestal four-sided, and from thence
to the top eight-sided, standing in the open air. I was not astonished
at it, because I have seen the needle of St. Peters at Rome, which
is as high, or more.[386]
These pagodas are buildings in which they pray and have their idols;
the idols are of many sorts, namely, figures of men and women, of
bulls, and apes, while others have nothing but a round stone which
they worship. In this temple of Darcha is an idol in the figure of a
man as to his body, and the face is that of an elephant with trunk and
tusks,[387] and with three arms on each side and six hands, of which
arms they say that already four are gone, and when all fall then the
world will be destroyed they are full of belief that this will be,
and hold it as a prophecy. They feed the idol every day, for they
say that he eats; and when he eats women dance before him who belong
to that pagoda, and they give him food and all that is necessary,
and all girls born of these women belong to the temple. These women
are of loose character, and live in the best streets that there are
in the city; it is the same in all their cities, their streets have
the best rows of houses They are very much esteemed, and are classed
amongst those honoured ones who are the mistresses of the captains;
any respectable man may go to their houses without any blame attaching
thereto. These women (are allowed) even to enter the presence of the
wives of the king, and they stay with them and eat betel with them,
a thing which no other person may do, no matter what his rank may
be. This betel is a herb which has a leaf like the leaf of the pepper,
or the ivy of our country; they always eat this leaf, and carry it in
their mouths with another fruit called areca. This is something like a
medlar, but it is very hard, and it is very good for the breath and has
many other virtues; it is the best provision for those who do not eat
as we do. Some of them eat flesh; they eat all kinds except beef and
pork, and yet, nevertheless, they cease not to eat this betel all day.
Afterwards going from this city of Darcha towards the city of
Bisnaga,[388] which is eighteen leagues distant, and is the capital
of all the kingdom of Narsymga, where the king always resides,
you have many cities and walled villages; and two leagues before
you arrive at the city of Bisnaga you have a very lofty SERRA which
has passes by which you enter the city. These are called "gates"
(PORTAS). You must enter by these, for you will have no means of
entrance except by them. This range of hills surrounds the city
with a circle of twenty-four leagues, and within this range there
are others that encircle it closely. Wherever these ranges have
any level ground they cross it with a very strong wall, in such a
way that the hills remain all closed, except in the places where
the roads come through from the gates in the first range, which are
the entrance ways to the city. In such places there are some small
pits (or caves?)[389] which could be defended by a few people; these
SERRAS continue as far as the interior of the city. Between all these
enclosures are plains and valleys where rice is grown, and there are
gardens with many orange-trees, limes, citrons, and radishes (RABAOS),
and other kinds of garden produce as in Portugal, only not lettuces
or cabbages. Between these hill-ranges are many lakes by which they
irrigate the crops mentioned, and amongst all these ranges there
are no forests or patches of brushwood, except very small ones, nor
anything that is green. For these hills are the strangest ever seen,
they are of a white stone piled one block over another in manner most
singular, so that it seems as if they stood in the air and were not
connected one with another; and the city is situated in the middle
of these hills and is entirely surrounded by them.
The SERRAS reach as far as the kingdom of Daquem,[390] and border upon
the territories belonging to the Ydallcao, and upon a city called
Rachol that formerly belonged to the king of Narsymga; there has
been much war over it, and this king took it from the Ydallcao. So
that these ranges are in a way the cause (of the two kingdoms) never
uniting and always being at war; and even on the side of Orya also
there are ranges, but they are different from these, since like ours
they have scrub and small patches of brushwood; these ranges are low
and between them are great plains. On the extreme east of these two
kingdoms you must know that the country is all covered with scrub,
the densest possible to be seen, in which there are great beasts,
and (this) forms so strong a fortress for it that it protects both
sides; it has its entrances by which they pass from one kingdom to
the other. In these passes on the frontier the king of Narsymga has
a captain with a quantity of troops, but on the side of (Portuguese)
India he has none, except as I have said.
Now turning to the gates of the first range, I say that at the entrance
of the gate where those pass who come from Goa, which is the principal
entrance on the western side; this king has made within it a very
strong city[391] fortified with walls and towers, and the gates at the
entrances very strong, with towers at the gates; these walls are not
like those of other cities, but are made of very strong masonry such as
would be found in few other parts, and inside very beautiful rows of
buildings made after their manner with flat roofs. There live in this
many merchants, and it is filled with a large population because the
king induces many honourable merchants to go there from his cities,
and there is much water in it. Besides this the king made a tank[392]
there, which, as it seems to me, has the width of a falcon-shot,[393]
and it is at the mouth of two hills, so that all the water which comes
from either one side or the other collects there; and, besides this,
water comes to it from more than three leagues by pipes which run
along the lower parts of the range outside. This water is brought
from a lake which itself overflows into a little river. The tank has
three large pillars handsomely carved with figures; these connect above
with certain pipes by which they get water when they have to irrigate
their gardens and rice-fields. In order to make this tank the said
king broke down a hill which enclosed the ground occupied by the said
tank. In the tank I saw so many people at work that there must have
been fifteen or twenty thousand men, looking like ants, so that you
could not see the ground on which they walked, so many there were;
this tank the king portioned out amongst his captains, each of whom
had the duty of seeing that the people placed under him did their work,
and that the tank was finished and brought to completion.
The tank burst two or three times, and the king asked his Brahmans
to consult their idol as to the reason why it burst so often,
and the Brahmans said that the idol was displeased, and desired
that they should make a sacrifice, and should give him the blood
of men and horses and buffaloes; and as soon as the king heard this
he forthwith commanded that at the gate of the pagoda the heads of
sixty men should be cut off, and of certain horses and buffaloes,
which was at once done.
These Brahmans are like friars with us, and they count them as holy men
-- I speak of the Brahman priests and the lettered men of the pagodas
-- because although the king has many Brahmans, they are officers of
the towns and cities and belong to the government of them; others are
merchants, and others live by their own property and cultivation, and
the fruits which grow in their inherited grounds. Those who have charge
of the temples are learned men, and eat nothing which suffers death,
neither flesh nor fish, nor anything which makes broth red, for they
say that it is blood. Some of the other Brahmans whom I mentioned,
who seek to serve God, and to do penance, and to live a life like
that of the priests, do not eat flesh or fish or any other thing that
suffers death, but only vegetables[394] and butter and other things
which they make of fruit,[395] with their rice. They are all married,
and have very beautiful wives; the wives are very retiring, and very
seldom leave the house. The women are of light colour, and in the
caste of these Brahmans are the fairest men and women that there are
in the land; for though there are men in other castes commonly of
light complexion, yet these are few. There are many in this country
who call themselves Brahmans, but they lead a life very different
from those of whom I have spoken, for these last are men to whom the
king pays much honour, and he holds them in great favour.
This new city that the king made bears the name of his wife for love of
whom he made it,[396] and the said city stands in a plain, and round it
the inhabitants make their gardens as the ground suits, each one being
separate. In this city the king made a temple with many images. It is
a thing very well made, and it has some wells very well made after
their fashion; its houses are not built with stories like ours, but
are of only one floor, with flat, roofs and towers,[397] different
from ours, for theirs go from storey to storey. They have pillars,
and are all open, with verandahs inside and out, where they can easily
put people if they desire, so that they seem like houses belonging to
a king. These palaces have an enclosing wall which surrounds them all,
and inside are many rows of houses. Before you enter the place where
the king is there are two gates with many guards, who prevent any one
from entering except the captains and men who have business there;
and between these two gates is a very large court with its verandahs
round it, where these captains and other honoured people wait till
the king summons them to his presence.
This king is of medium height, and of fair complexion and good figure,
rather fat than thin, he has on his face signs of small-pox. He is
the most feared and perfect king that could possibly be, cheerful of
disposition and very merry; he is one that seeks to honour foreigners,
and receives them kindly, asking about all their affairs whatever
their condition may be He is a great ruler and a man of much justice,
but subject to sudden fits of rage,[398] and this is his title --
"Crisnarao Macacao,[399] king of kings, lord of the greater lords of
India, lord of the three seas and of the land." He has this title[400]
because he is by rank a greater lord than any, by reason of what he
possesses in (?) armies and territories, but it seems that he has (in
fact) nothing compared to what a man like him ought to have, so gallant
and perfect is he in all things. This king was constantly at war with
the king of Orya, and entered his kingdom, taking and destroying many
cities and towns; he put to rout numbers of his soldiers and elephants,
and took captive his son, whom he kept for a long time in this city of
Bisnaga, where he died; and in order to make a treaty and (preserve)
peace, the king of Orya gave him a daughter whom the king of Bisnaga
married and has as his wife.
This king has twelve lawful wives, of whom there are three principal
ones, the sons of each of these three being heirs of the kingdom,
but not these of the others; this is (the case) when there are sons
to all of them, but when there is only one son, whosesoever he may
be, he is heir. One of these principal wives is the daughter of the
king of Orya, and others daughters of a king his vassal who is king
of Serimgapatao; another wife is a courtezan whom in his youth he had
for mistress before he became king, and she made him promise that if
he came to be king he would take her to wife, and thus it came to
pass that this courtezan became his wife. For love of her he built
this new city, and its name was ... (SIC IN ORIG.) ... Each one of
these wives has her house to herself, with her maidens and women of
the chamber, and women guards and all other women servants necessary;
all these are women, and no man enters where they are, save only the
eunuchs, who guard them. These women are never seen by any man, except
perhaps by some old man of high rank by favour of the king. When they
wish to go out they are carried in litters shut up and closed,[401]
so that they cannot be seen, and all the eunuchs with them fully
three or four hundred; and all other people keep a long distance
from them. They told us that each of these queens has a very large
sum of money and treasure and personal ornaments, namely armlets,
bracelets, seed-pearls,[402] pearls and diamonds, and that in great
quantity: and they also say that each of them has sixty maidens
adorned as richly as could possibly be with many jewels, and rubies
and diamonds and pearls and seed-pearls. These we afterwards saw,
and stood astonished; we saw them at certain festivals which I will
afterwards speak of, and of the manner in which they came. Within,
with these maidens, they say that there are twelve thousand women;
for you must know that there are women who handle sword and shield,
and others who wrestle, and others who blow trumpets, and others
pipes, and others instruments which are different from ours; and in
the same way they have women as bearers (BOOIS) and washing-folk,
and for other offices inside their gates, just as the king has the
officers of his household. These three principal wives have each
the same, one as much as the other, so that there may never be any
discord or ill feeling between them; all of them are great friends,
and each one lives by herself. It may be gathered from this what a
large enclosure there must be for these houses where so many people
live, and what streets and lanes they must have.
The king lives by himself inside the palace, and when he wishes to have
with him one of his wives he orders a eunuch to go and call her. The
eunuch does not enter where she is, but tells it to the female guards,
who make known to the queen that there is a message from the king,
and then comes one of her maidens or chamber-women and learns what
is wanted, and then the queen goes where the king is, or the king
comes where she is, and so passes the time as it seems good to him
without any of the others knowing. Amongst these eunuchs the king
has some who are great favourites, and who sleep where he sleeps;
they receive a large salary.
This king is accustomed every day to drink QUARTILHO (three-quarter
pint) of oil of GINGELLY[403] before daylight, and anoints himself
all over with the said oil; he covers his loins with a small cloth,
and takes in his arms great weights made of earthenware, and then,
taking a sword, he exercises himself with it till he has sweated out
all the oil, and then he wrestles with one of his wrestlers. After this
labour he mounts a horse and gallops about the plain in one direction
and another till dawn, for he does all this before daybreak. Then he
goes to wash himself, and a Brahman washes him whom he holds sacred,
and who is a great favourite of his and is a man of great wealth; and
after he is washed he goes to where his pagoda is inside the palace,
and makes his orisons and ceremonies, according to custom. Thence
he goes to a building made in the shape of a porch without walls,
which has many pillars hung with cloths right up to the top, and
with the walls handsomely painted; it has on each side two figures of
women very well made. In such a building he despatches his work with
those men who bear office in his kingdom, and govern his cities,
and his favourites talk with them. The greatest favourite is an
old man called Temersea;[404] he commands the whole household,
and to him all the great lords act as to the king. After the king
has talked with these men on subjects pleasing to him he bids enter
the lords and captains who wait at the gate, and these at once enter
to make their salaam to him. As soon as they appear they make their
salaam to him, and place themselves along the walls far off from him;
they do not speak one to another, nor do they chew betel before him,
but they place their hands in the sleeves of their tunics (CABAYAS)
and cast their eyes on the ground; and if the king desires to speak
to any one it is done through a second person, and then he to whom the
king desires to speak raises his eyes and replies to him who questions
him, and then returns to his former position. So they remain till the
king bids them go, and then they all turn to make the salaam to him
and go out. The salaam, which is the greatest courtesy that exists
among them, is that they put their hands joined above their head as
high as they can. Every day they go to make the salaam to the king.
When we came to this country the king was in this new town, and
there went to see him Christovao de Figueiredo[405] with all of us
Portuguese that came with him, and all very handsomely dressed after
our manner, with much finery; the king received him very well, and
was very complacent to him. The king was as much pleased with him as
if he had been one of his own people, so much attention did he evince
towards him; and also towards those amongst us who went with him he
showed much kindness. We were so close to the king that he touched us
all and could not have enough of looking at us. Then Christovao de
Figueiredo gave him the letters from the Captain-Major[406] and the
things he had brought for him, with which he was greatly delighted;
principally with certain organs[407] that the said Christovao de
Figueiredo brought him, with many other things (PECAS). The king was
clothed in certain white cloths embroidered with many roses in gold,
and with a PATECA[408]of diamonds on his neck of very great value,
and on his head he had a cap of brocade in fashion like a Galician
helmet, covered with a piece of fine stuff all of fine silk, and he
was barefooted; for no one ever enters where the king is unless he has
bare feet, and the majority of the people, or almost all, go about the
country barefooted. The shoes have pointed ends, in the ancient manner,
and there are other shoes that have nothing but soles, but on top are
some straps which help to keep them on the feet. They are made like
those which of old the Romans were wont to wear, as you will find on
figures in some papers or antiquities which come from Italy. The king
gave to Christovao de Figueiredo on dismissing him a CABAYA (tunic)
of brocade, with a cap of the same fashion as the king wore,[409]
and to each one of the Portuguese he gave a cloth embroidered with
many pretty figures, and this the king gives because it is customary;
he gives it in token of friendship and love.
When Christovao de Figueiredo had been dismissed by the king we
came to the city of Bisnaga, which is a league from this new city,
and here he commanded us to be lodged in some very good houses; and
Figueiredo was visited by many lords and captains, and other persons
who came on behalf of the king. And the king sent him many sheep
and fowls, and many vessels (CALOEES) full of butter and honey and
many other things to eat, which he at once distributed amongst all
the foot-soldiers and people whom he had brought with him. The king
said many kind and pleasant things to him, and asked him concerning
the kind of state which the king of Portugal kept up; and having been
told about it all he seemed much pleased.
Returning then to the city of Bisnaga, you must know that from it
to the new city goes a street as wide as a place of tourney, with
both sides lined throughout with rows of houses and shops where they
sell everything; and all along this road are many trees that the
king commanded to be planted, so as to afford shade to those that
pass along. On this road he commanded to be erected a very beautiful
temple of stone,[410] and there are other pagodas that the captains
and great lords caused to be erected.
So that, returning to the city of Bisnaga, you must know that before
you arrive at the city gates there is a gate with a wall that encloses
all the other enclosures of the city, and this wall is a very strong
one and of massive stonework; but at the present time it is injured
in some places. They do not fail to have citadels[411] in it. This
wall has a moat of water in some places, and in the parts where it was
constructed on low ground. And there is, separate from it, yet another
(defence) made in the following manner. Certain pointed stones of great
height are fixed in the ground as high as a man's breast; they are
in breadth a lance-shaft and a half, with the same distance between
them and the great wall. This wall rises in all the low ground till
it reaches some hill or rocky land. From this first circuit until
you enter the city there is a great distance, in which are fields
in which they sow rice and have many gardens and much water, which
water comes from two lakes. The water passes through this first line
of wall, and there is much water in the lakes because of springs; and
here there are orchards and a little grove of palms, and many houses.
Returning, then, to the first gate of the city, before you arrive at
it you pass a little piece of water and then you arrive at the wall,
which is very strong, all of stonework, and it makes a bend before
you arrive at the gate; and at the entrance of this gate are two
towers, one on each side, which makes it very strong. It is large and
beautiful. As soon as you pass inside there are two little temples;
one of them has an enclosing wall with many trees, while the whole
of the other consists of buildings; and this wall of the first gate
encircles the whole city. Then going forward you have another gate with
another line of wall, and it also encircles the city inside the first,
and from here to the king's palace is all streets and rows of houses,
very beautiful, and houses of captains and other rich and honourable
men; you will see rows of houses with many figures and decorations
pleasing to look at. Going along the principal street, you have one
of the chief gateways,[412] which issues from a great open space[413]
in front of the king's palace; opposite this is another which passes
along to the other side of the city; and across this open space pass
all the carts and conveyances carrying stores and everything else,
and because it is in the middle of the city it cannot but be useful.
This palace of the king is surrounded by a very strong wall like
some of the others, and encloses a greater space (TERAA MOOR CERCA)
than all the castle of Lisbon.
Still going forward, passing to the other gate you see two temples
connected with it, one on each side, and at the door of one of these
they kill every day many sheep, for in all the city they do not kill
any sheep for the use of the heathen (Hindus), or for sale in the
markets, except at the gate of this pagoda. Of their blood they make
sacrifices to the idol that is in the temple. They leave the heads
to him, and for each sheep they give a SACO (CHAKRAM), which is a
coin like a CARTILHA (QUARTILHA -- a farthing).
There is present at the slaughter of these beasts a JOGI (priest)
who has charge of the temple, and as soon as they cut off the head
of the sheep or goat this JOGI blows a horn as a sign that the idol
receives that sacrifice. Hereafter I shall tell of these JOGIS,
what sort of men they are.[414]
Close to these pagodas is a triumphal car covered with carved work
and images, and on one day in each year during a festival they drag
this through the city in such streets as it can traverse. It is large
and cannot turn corners.
Going forward, you have a broad and beautiful street, full of rows
of fine houses and streets of the sort I have described, and it
is to be understood that the houses belong to men rich enough to
afford such. In this street live many merchants, and there you will
find all sorts of rubies, and diamonds, and emeralds, and pearls,
and seed-pearls, and cloths, and every other sort of thing there
is on earth and that you may wish to buy. Then you have there every
evening a fair where they sell many common horses and nags (ROCIS E
SEMDEIROS), and also many citrons, and limes, and oranges, and grapes,
and every other kind of garden stuff, and wood; you have all in this
street. At the end of it you have another gate with its wall, which
wall goes to meet the wall of the second gate of which I have spoken
in such sort that this city has three fortresses, with another which
is the king's palace. Then when this gate is passed you have another
street where there are many craftsmen, and they sell many things; and
in this street there are two small temples. There are temples in every
street, for these appertain to institutions like the confraternities
you know of in our parts,[415] of all the craftsmen and merchants;
but the principal and greatest pagodas are outside the city. In this
street lodged Christovao de Figueiredo. On every Friday you have a
fair there, with many pigs and fowls and dried fish from the sea,
and other things the produce of the country, of which I do not know
the name; and in like manner a fair is held every day in different
parts of the city. At the end of this street is the Moorish quarter,
which is at the very end of the city, and of these Moors there are
many who are natives of the country[416] and who are paid by the king
and belong to his guard. In this city you will find men belonging
to every nation and people, because of the great trade which it has,
and the many precious stones there, principally diamonds.
The size of this city I do not write here, because it cannot all
be seen from any one spot, but I climbed a hill whence I could see
a great part of it; I could not see it all because it lies between
several ranges of hills. What I saw from thence seemed to me as large
as Rome, and very beautiful to the sight; there are many groves of
trees within it, in the gardens of the houses, and many conduits of
water which flow into the midst of it, and in places there are lakes
(TAMQUES); and the king has close to his palace a palm-grove and other
rich-bearing fruit-trees. Below the Moorish quarter is a little river,
and on this side are many orchards and gardens with many fruit-trees,
for the most part mangoes and areca-palms and jack-trees, and also
many lime and orange trees, growing so closely one to another that
it appears like a thick forest; and there are also white grapes. All
the water which is in the city comes from the two tanks of which I
have spoken, outside the first enclosing wall.
The people in this city are countless in number, so much so that I
do not wish to write it down for fear it should be thought fabulous;
but I declare that no troops, horse or foot, could break their way
through any street or lane, so great are the numbers of the people
and elephants.
This is the best provided city in the world, and is stocked with
provisions such as rice, wheat, grains, Indian-corn, and a certain
amount of barley and beans, MOONG,[417] pulses, horse-gram,[418]
and many other seeds which grow in this country which are the food
of the people, and there is large store of these and very cheap;
but wheat is not so common as the other grains, since no one eats
it except the Moors. But you will find what I have mentioned. The
streets and markets are full of laden oxen without count, so that you
cannot get along for them, and in many streets you come upon so many
of them that you have to wait for them to pass, or else have to go by
another way. There is much poultry; they give three fowls in the city
for a coin worth a VINTEM,[419] which coins are called FAVAOS;[420]
outside the city they give four fowls for a VINTEM.
In this country there are many partridges, but they are not of the
same sort or quality as ours: they are like the ESTARNAS[421] of Italy.
There are three sorts of these: one class has only a small spur such
as those of Portugal have; another class has on each foot two very
sharp spurs, almost as long and thick as one's finger; the other class
is painted, and of these you will find the markets full; as also
of quails, and hares, and all kinds of wild fowl, and other birds
which live in the lakes and which look like geese. All these birds
and game animals they sell alive, and they are very cheap, for they
give six or eight partridges for a VINTEM, and of hares they give two
and sometimes one. Of other birds they give more than you can count,
for even of the large ones they give so many that you would hardly
pay any attention to the little ones they give you, such as doves
and pigeons and the common birds of the country. The doves are of
two kinds; some are like those in Portugal, others are as large as
thrushes; of the doves they give twelve or fourteen for a FAVAO; the
pigeons are the same price as the other birds. Then the sheep that
they kill every day are countless, one could not number them, for in
every street there are men who will sell you mutton, so clean and so
fat that it looks like pork; and you also have pigs in some streets of
butchers' houses so white and clean that you could never see better
in any country; a pig is worth four or five FANAMS.[422] Then to see
the many loads of limes that come each day, such that those of Povos
are of no account,[423] and also loads of sweet and sour oranges,
and wild BRINJALS, and other garden stuff in such abundance as to
stupefy one. For the state of this city is not like that of other
cities, which often fail of supplies and provisions, for in this one
everything abounds; and also the quantity of butter and oil and milk
sold every day, that is a thing I cannot refrain from mentioning; and
as for the rearing of cows and buffaloes which goes on in the city,
there is so much that you will go very far before you find another
like it. There are many pomegranates also; grapes are sold at three
bunches a FANAM, and pomegranates ten for a FANAM.
On the north side of the city is a very great river with much water,
in which are many fish, which fish are very unwholesome, and in
this river there is that which passes for ... (SIC. IN ORIG.); other
streams flow into it, which make it very large.
Now as to the places on the bank of this river. There is a city built
there which they call SENAGUMDYM,[424] and they say that of old it
was the capital of the kingdom, but there now live in it few people;
it still has good walls and is very strong, and it lies between two
hill-ranges which have only two entrances. A captain lives in this
city for the king. People cross to this place by boats which are
round like baskets;[425] inside they are made of cane, and outside
are covered with leather; they are able to carry fifteen or twenty
persons, and even horses and oxen can cross in them if necessary,
but for the most part these animals swim across. Men row them with
a sort of paddle, and the boats are always turning round, as they
cannot go straight like others; in all the kingdom where there are
streams there are no other boats but these.[426]
There are also in this city places where they sell live sheep; you
will see the fields round the city full of them, and also of cows and
buffaloes -- it is a very pretty sight to see, -- and also the many
she-goats and kids, and the he-goats so large that they are bridled
and saddled. Many sheep are like that also, and boys ride them.
Outside the city walls on the north there are three very beautiful
pagodas, one of which is called VITELLA,[427] and it stands over
against this city of Nagumdym; the other is called AOPERADIANAR,[428]
and this is the one which they hold in most veneration, and to which
they make great pilgrimages.
In this pagoda, opposite to its principal gate which is to the
east, there is a very beautiful street of very beautiful houses with
balconies and arcades, in which are sheltered the pilgrims that come
to it, and there are also houses for the lodging of the upper classes;
the king has a palace in the same street, in which he resides when
he visits this pagoda. There is a pomegranate tree [429] above this
first gate, the gate has a very lofty tower all covered with rows of
men and women and hunting scenes and many other representations, and
as the tower goes narrowing towards the top so the images diminish
in size. Passing this first gate, you come at once into a large
courtyard with another gate of the same sort as the first, except
that it is rather smaller throughout; and passing this second gate,
there is a large court with verandahs all round on pillars of stone,
and in the middle of this court is the house of the idol.
Opposite the principal gate stand four columns, two gilded and the
other two copper, from which, owing to their great age as it seems to
me, the gold has worn off; and the other two are also of copper, for
all are of copper. That which stands nearest the gate of the temple
was given by this King Crisnarao who now reigns here, and the others
by his predecessors. All the outer side of the gate of the temple up
to the roof is covered with copper and gilded, and on each side of the
roof on the top are certain great animals that look like tigers, all
gilt. As soon as you enter this idol-shrine, you perceive from pillar
to pillar on which it is supported many little holes in which stand
oil lamps, which burn, so they tell me, every night, and they will
be in number two thousand five hundred or three thousand lights. As
soon as you pass this shrine you enter another small one like the
crypt (CINZEYRO)[430] of some church; it has two doors at the sides,
and thence onward this building is like a chapel, where stands the
idol which they adore. Before you get to it there are three doors;
the shrine is vaulted and dark without any light from the sky; it is
always lit with candles. At the first gate are doorkeepers who never
allow any one to enter except the Brahmans that have charge of it,
and I, because I gave something to them, was allowed to enter. Between
gate and gate are images of little idols. The principal idol is a
round stone without any shape; they have great devotion for it. This
building outside is all covered with copper gilt. At the back of
the temple outside, close to the verandahs of which I have spoken,
there is a small idol of white alabaster with six arms;[431] in one
it has a ...[432] and in the other a sword, and in the others sacred
emblems (ARMAS DE CASA), and it has below its feet a buffalo, and a
large animal which is helping to kill that buffalo. In this pagoda
there burns continually a lamp of GHEE, and around are other small
temples for houses of devotion.
The other temples aforesaid are made in the same manner, but this one
is the principal one and the oldest; they all have many buildings
and gardens with many trees, in which the Brahmans cultivate their
vegetables[433] and the other herbs that they eat. Whenever the
festival of any of these temples occurs they drag along certain
triumphal cars which run on wheels, and with it go dancing-girls and
other women with music to the temple, (conducting) the idol along the
said street with much pomp. I do not relate the manner in which these
cars are taken, because in all the time that I was in this city none
were taken round. There are many other temples in the city of which
I do not here speak, to avoid prolixity.
You should know that among these heathen there are days when they
celebrate their feasts as with us; and they have their days of fasting,
when all day they eat nothing, and eat only at midnight. When the
time of the principal festival arrives the king comes from the new
city to this city of Bisnaga, since it is the capital of the kingdom
and it is the custom there to make their feasts and to assemble. For
these feasts are summoned all the dancing-women of the kingdom, in
order that they should be present; and also the captains and kings
and great lords with all their retinues, -- except only those whom the
king may have sent to make war, or those who are in other parts, or at
the far end of the kingdom on the side where (an attack) is feared,
such as the kingdom of Oria and the territories of the Ydallcao;
and even if such captains are absent in such places, there appear
for them at the feasts those whom I shall hereafter mention.
These feasts begin on the 12th of September,[434] and they last nine
days, and take place at the king's palace.
The palace is on this fashion: it has a gate opening on to the open
space[435] of which I have spoken, and over this gate is a tower of
some height, made like the others with its verandahs; outside these
gates begins the wall which I said encircled the palace. At the gate
are many doorkeepers[436] with leather scourges in their hands, and
sticks, and they let no one enter but the captains and chief people,
and those about whom they receive orders from the Chief of the
Guard. Passing this gate you have an open space, and then you have
another gate like the first, also with its doorkeepers and guards;
and as soon as you enter inside this you have a large open space,
and on one side and the other are low verandahs where are seated the
captains and chief people in order to witness the feasts, and on the
left side of the north of this open space is a great one-storeyed
building (TERREA); all the rest are like it. This building stands on
pillars shaped like elephants and with other figures, and all open
in front, and they go up to it by staircases of stone; around it,
underneath, is a terrace (CORREDOR) paved with very good flagstones,
where stand some of the people looking at the feast. This house
is called the House of Victory, as it was made when the king came
back from the war against Orya, as I have already told you. On the
right side of the open space were some narrow scaffoldings, made of
wood and so lofty that they could be seen over the top of the wall;
they were covered at the top with crimson and green velvet and other
handsome cloths, and adorned from top to bottom. Let no one fancy that
these cloths were of wool, because there are none such in the country,
but they are of very fine cotton. These scaffoldings are not always
kept at that place, but they are specially made for these feasts;
there are eleven of them. Against the gates there were two circles in
which were the dancing-women, richly arrayed with many jewels of gold
and diamonds and many pearls. Opposite the gate which is on the east
side of the front of the open space, and in the middle of it, there
are two buildings of the same sort as the House of Victory of which
I have spoken; these buildings are served by a kind of staircase of
stone beautifully wrought, -- one is in the middle and the other at
the end. This building was all hung with rich cloths, both the walls
and the ceiling, as well as the supports, and the cloths of the walls
were adorned with figures in the manner of embroidery; these buildings
have two platforms one above the other, beautifully sculptured, with
their sides well made and worked, to which platforms the sons of the
king's favourites come for the feasts, and sometimes his eunuchs. On
the upper platform, close to the king, was Christovao de Figueiredo,
with all of us who came with him, for the king commanded that he should
be put in such a place as best to see the feasts and magnificence. That
I may not forget to tell of the streets that are in the palace I here
mention them. You must know that inside the palace that I have spoken
of is the dwelling of the king and of his wives and of the other women
who serve them; as I have already said, who are twelve thousand in
number; and they have an entrance to these rows of houses so that they
can go inside. Between this palace and the House of Victory is a gate
which serves as passage to it. Inside there are thirty-four streets.
Returning to the feasts, you must know that in this House of Victory
the king has a room (CASA) made of cloth, with its door closed,
where the idol has a shrine; and in the other, in the middle (of the
building), is placed a dais opposite the staircase in the middle; on
which dais stands a throne of state made thus, -- it is four-sided,
and flat, with a round top, and a hollow in the middle for the
seat. As regards the woodwork of it, you must know that it is all
covered with silk cloths (?SOAJES),[437] and has lions all of gold,
and in the spaces between the cloths (SOAJES) it has plates of gold
with many rubies and seed-pearls, and pearls underneath; and round
the sides it is all full of golden images of personages, and upon
these is much work in gold, with many precious stones. In this chair
is placed an idol, also of gold, embowered in roses and flowers. On
one side of this chair, on the dais below, stands a head-dress; this
also is made in the same manner; it is upright and as high as a span,
the top is rounded, it is all full of pearls and rubies and all other
precious stones, and on the top of it is a pearl as large as a nut,
which is not quite round. On the other side is an anklet for the foot
made in the same fashion; it is another state jewel, and is full of
large pearls and of many rubies, emeralds, and diamonds, and other
stones of value; it will be of the thickness of a man's arm. In front
of all this, at the edge[438] of the dais, resting on a support were
some cushions where the king was seated during all these feasts. The
feasts commence thus: --
You must know that when it is morning the king comes to this House
of Victory, and betakes himself to that room where the idol is with
its Brahmans, and he performs his prayers and ceremonies. Outside
the house are some of his favourites, and on the square are many
dancing-girls dancing. In their verandahs round the square are
many captains and chief people who come there in order to see; and
on the ground, near the platform of the house, are eleven horses
with handsome and well-arranged trappings, and behind them are four
beautiful elephants with many adornments. After the king has entered
inside he comes out, and with him a Brahman who takes in his hand a
basket full of white roses and approaches the king on the platform,
and the king, taking three handfuls of these roses, throws them to
the horses,[439] and after he has thrown them he takes a basket of
perfumes and acts towards them as though he would cense them; and when
he has finished doing this he reaches towards the elephants and does
the same to them. And when the king has finished this, the Brahman
takes the basket and descends to the platform,[440] and from thence
puts those roses and other flowers on the heads of all the horses,
and this done, returns to the king. Then the king goes again to where
the idol is, and as soon as he is inside they lift the curtains[441]
of the room, which are made like the purdahs of a tent, and the king
seats himself there where these are, and they lift them all. Thence
he witnesses the slaughter of twenty-four buffaloes and a hundred and
fifty sheep, with which a sacrifice is made to that idol; you must know
that they cut off the heads of these buffaloes and sheep at one blow
with certain large sickles which are wielded by a man who has charge
of this slaughter; they are so sure of hand that no blow misses. When
they have finished the slaughter of these cattle the king goes out
and goes to the other large buildings, on the platforms of which is a
crowd of Brahmans, and as soon as the king ascends to where they stand
they throw to the king ten or twelve roses -- those (that is) who are
nearest to him. Then he passes all along the top of the buildings,
and as soon as he is at the end he takes the cap from his head, and
after placing it on the ground turns back (to the place) where the
idol is; here he lies extended on the ground. When he has arisen he
betakes himself to the interior of the building, and enters a garden
(or walled enclosure -- QUYNTAL) where they say that a little fire has
been made, and he throws into the fire a powder made up of many things,
namely, rubies and pearls and all other kinds of precious stones,
and aloes and other sweet-scented things. This done, he returns to
the pagoda and goes inside and stays a little, at which time enter
by the other door some of his favourites who are in the building,
and they make their salaam. Then he goes back to the place whence he
threw the flowers to the horses, and as soon as he is here all the
captains and chief people come and make their salaam to him, and some,
if they so desire, present some gifts to him; then as they came so
they retire, and each one betakes himself to his own dwelling. And
the king withdraws to the interior of his palace by that gate which I
have already mentioned -- that which stands between the two buildings
that are in the arena (TERREYRO); the courtesans and bayaderes[442]
remain dancing in front of the temple and idol for a long time. This
is what is done during the morning of each day of these nine days,
with the ceremonies I have mentioned, and each day more splendid
(than the last).
Now, returning to the feasts. At three o'clock in the afternoon
every one comes to the palace. They do not admit every one at once
(they allowed us to go into the open part that is between the
gates), but there go inside only the wrestlers and dancing-women,
and the elephants, which go with their trappings and decorations,
those that sit on them being armed with shields and javelins, and
wearing quilted tunics.[443] As soon as these are inside they range
themselves round the arena, each one in his place, and the wrestlers
go close to the staircase which is in the middle of that building,
where has been prepared a large space of ground for the dancing-women
to wrestle. Many other people are then at the entrance-gate opposite to
the building, namely Brahmans, and the sons of the King's favourites,
and their relations; all these are noble youths who serve before the
king. The officers of the household go about keeping order amongst all
the people, and keep each one in his own place. The different pavilions
are separated by doors, so that no one may enter unless he is invited.
Salvatinica,[444] who is the principal person that enters the building,
supervises the whole, for he brought up the king and made him king,
and so the king looks on him like a father. Whenever the king calls
to him he addresses him as "Lord (SENHOR) Salvatinica," and all the
captains and nobles of the realm make salaam to him. This Salvatinica
stands inside the arena where the festivals go on, near one of the
doors, and from there gives the word for the admission of all the
things necessary for the festival.
After all this is done and arranged the king goes forth and seats
himself on the dais I have mentioned, where is the throne and the
other things, and all those that are inside make their salaam to
him. As soon as they have done this the wrestlers seat themselves
on the ground, for these are allowed to remain seated, but no other,
howsoever great a lord he be, except the king so commands; and these
also eat betel, though none else may eat it in his presence except
the dancing-women, who may always eat it before him. As soon as the
king is seated in his place he bids to sit with him three or four men
who belong to his race, and who are themselves kings and the fathers
of his wives; the principal of these is the king of Syrimgapatao and
of all the territory bordering on Malabar, and this king is called
Cumarvirya,[445] and he seats himself as far in front as the king on
the other side of the dais, the rest are behind.
There the king sits, dressed in white clothes all covered with
(embroidery of) golden roses and wearing his jewels -- he wears a
quantity of these white garments, and I always saw him so dressed --
and around him stand his pages with his betel, and his sword, and the
other things which are his insignia of state. Many Brahmans stand round
the throne on which rests the idol, fanning it with horsetail plumes,
coloured, the handles of which are all overlaid with gold; these plumes
are tokens of the highest dignity; they also fan the king with them.
As[446] soon as the king is seated, the captains who waited without
make their entrance, each one by himself, attended by his chief people,
and so on, all in order; they approach and make their salaams to the
king, and then take their places in the pavilions (VERAMDAS) which
I have previously described. As soon as these nobles have finished
entering, the captains of the troops approach with shields and spears,
and afterwards the captains of the archers; these officers are all
stationed on the ground around the arena in front of the elephants,
and they constitute the king's guard, for into such a place no man
may enter bearing arms, nor near to where the king is. As soon as
these soldiers have all taken their places the women begin to dance,
while some of them place themselves in the circular galleries that
I have said were (erected) at their gate of entrance. Who can fitly
describe to you the great riches these women carry on their persons? --
collars of gold with so many diamonds and rubies and pearls, bracelets
also on their arms and on their upper arms, girdles below, and of
necessity anklets on the feet. The marvel should be otherwise, namely
that women of such a profession should obtain such wealth; but there
are women among them who have lands that have been given to them,
and litters, and so many maid-servants that one cannot number all
their things. There is a woman in this city who is said to have a
hundred thousand PARDAOS,[447] and I believe this from what I have
seen of them.
Then the wrestlers begin their play. Their wrestling does not seem
like ours, but there are blows (given), so severe as to break teeth,
and put out eyes, and disfigure faces, so much so that here and
there men are carried off speechless by their friends; they give
one another fine falls too. They have their captains and judges,
who are there to put each one on an equal footing in the field,
and also to adjust the honours to him who wins.
In all this portion of the day nothing more is done than this wrestling
and the dancing of the women, but as soon as ever the sun is down many
torches are lit and some great flambeaux made of cloth; and these are
placed about the arena in such a way that the whole is as light as
day, and even along the top of the walls, for on all the battlements
are lighted lamps, and the place where the king sits is all full of
torches. As soon as these are all lit up there are introduced many very
graceful plays and contrivances, but these do not stop long; they only
approach where the king is and then go out. Then there enter others in
other fashion, with battles of people on horseback; these horses are
like the hobby-horses made in Portugal for the feast of the Corpo de
Dios; others come with casting-nets, fishing, and capturing the men
that are in the arena. When these amusements are ended, they begin to
throw up many rockets and many different sorts of fires, also castles
that burn and fling out from themselves many bombs (TIROS) and rockets.
When these fireworks are finished, there enter many triumphal cars
which belong to the captains, some of them sent by those captains
who are waging war in foreign parts; and they enter thus. The first
belongs to Salvatinica, and they come in one after the other. Some of
the cars appear covered with many rich cloths, having on them many
devices of dancing-girls and other human figures; there are other
cars having tiers one on top of another, and others all of one kind;
and so in their order they pass to where the king is. When the cars
have gone out they are immediately followed by many horses covered
with trappings and cloths of very fine stuff of the king's colours,
and with many roses and flowers on their heads and necks, and with
their bridles all gilded; and in front of these horses goes a horse
with two state-umbrellas of the king, and with grander decorations
than the others, and one of the lesser equerries leads it by the
bridle. In front of this horse goes another caracoling and prancing,
as do all horses here, being trained in that art. You must know that
this horse that is conducted with all this state is a horse that the
king keeps, on which they are sworn and received as kings, and on
it must be sworn all those that shall come after them; and in case
such a horse dies they put another in its place. If any king does
not wish to be sworn on horseback, they swear him on an elephant,
which they keep and treat with equal dignity.
These horses, then, going in the way I have stated, pass twice round
the arena and place themselves in the middle of the arena in five
or six lines, one before the other, and the king's horse in front
of them, all facing the king; they stand in such a way that between
them and the men there is an open space all round. As soon as they are
arranged in this way and are all quiet there goes out from the inside
of the palace a Brahman, the highest in rank of those about the king,
and two others with him, and this chief Brahman carries in his hands
a bowl with a cocoanut and some rice and flowers, while others carry
a pot of water; and they pass round by the back of the horses, which
all stand facing the king; and after performing his ceremonies there,
he returns to the palace.
After this is over you will see issuing from inside twenty-five or
thirty female doorkeepers, with canes in their hands and whips on their
shoulders; and then close to these come many eunuchs, and after these
eunuchs come many women playing many trumpets and drums and pipes
(but not like ours) and viols, and many other kinds of music, and
behind these women will come some twenty women-porters, with canes
in their hands all covered with silver, and close to them come women
clothed in the following manner. They have very rich and fine silk
cloths; on the head they wear high caps which they call COLLAES,[448]
and on these caps they wear flowers made of large pearls; collars
on the neck with jewels of gold very richly set with many emeralds
and diamonds and rubies and pearls; and besides this many strings of
pearls, and others for shoulder-belts; on the lower part of the arms
many bracelets, with half of the upper arm all bare, having armlets
in the same way all of precious stones; on the waist many girdles of
gold and of precious stones, which girdles hang in order one below the
other, almost as far down as half the thigh; besides these belts they
have other jewels, and many strings of pearls round the ankles, for
they wear very rich anklets even of greater value than the rest. They
carry in their hands vessels of gold each as large as a small cask of
water; inside these are some loops made of pearls fastened with wax,
and inside all this a lighted lamp. They come in regular order one
before the other, in all perhaps sixty women fair and young, from
sixteen to twenty years of age. Who is he that could tell of the
costliness and the value of what each of these women carries on her
person? So great is the weight of the bracelets and gold and jewels
carried by them that many of them cannot support them, and women
accompany them assisting them by supporting their arms. In this manner
and in this array they proceed three times round the horses, and at
the end retire into the palace. These women are maids of honour to the
queens, and so are the others that go with them; on each day of these
nine days of the feast one of the queens sends, each on her own day,
her ladies with the others. The officials, in honour of the feast,
have the days divided between them in accordance with their custom
as already arranged by the king; and these women come every day most
richly attired, taking pleasure in strewing themselves in such things,
and in making a display each one of what she possesses.
When these women retire the horses also go, and then come the
elephants, and after making their salaam they too retire. As soon as
they are gone the king retires by a small door which is at the end
of the building. Then the Brahmans go and take an idol, and carry
it to the House of Victory, where is the room of cloth that I have
spoken of; and the king at once comes from within, and goes to where
the idol is, and offers his prayers and performs his ceremonies. Then
they bring there more buffaloes and sheep, and kill them in the same
way as before, and then come the professional women to dance. As soon
as the slaughter of the buffaloes and sheep is over the king retires,
and goes to his supper; for he fasts all these nine days, and (each
day) they eat nothing until all is finished, and their hour for food
is midnight. The bayaderes remain dancing before the idol a long time
after all this is done.
In this way are celebrated these festivals of nine days; on the last
day there are slaughtered two hundred and fifty buffaloes and four
thousand five hundred sheep.
When these days of festival are past, the king holds a review of
all his forces, and the review is thus arranged. The king commands
to pitch his tent of Mecca velvet a full league from the city, at a
place already fixed for that purpose; and in this tent they place the
idol in honour of which all these festivals are celebrated. From this
tent to the king's palace the captains range themselves with their
troops and array, each one in his place according to his rank in the
king's household. Thus the soldiers stand in line; but it does not
appear to you to be only one line but in some places two or three,
one behind the other. Where there was a lake it was surrounded with
troops, and where the road was narrow they were drawn up on the plain;
and so on the slope of the hills and eminences, in such a way that
you could see neither plain nor hill that was not entirely covered
with troops. Those on foot stood in front of those on horses, and the
elephants behind the horses; in this array was each captain with his
troops. The captains who had their stations inside the city, since
the soldiers could not be drawn up on the flat roofs of the houses,
put up scaffoldings across the mouths of the streets to hold the
troops, in such a way that all were full, both outside and in.
Now I should like to describe to you how they were armed, and their
decorations. The cavalry were mounted on horses fully caparisoned, and
on their foreheads plates, some of silver but most of them gilded, with
fringes of twisted silk of all colours, and reins of the same;[449]
others had trappings of Mecca velvet, which is velvet of many colours
with fringes and ornaments; others had them of other silks, such as
satins and damask, and others of brocade from China and Persia.[450]
Some of the men with the gilded plates had them set with many large
precious stones, and on the borders lace-work of small stones. Some
of these horses had on their foreheads heads of serpents and of
other large animals of various kinds, made in such a strange manner
that they were a sight to see for the perfection of their make. The
horsemen were dressed in quilted tunics,[451] also of brocade and
velvet and every kind of silk. These tunics are made of layers of
very strong raw leather, and furnished with other iron (plates) that
make them strong; some have these plates gilded both inside and out,
and some are made of silver. Their headpieces are in the manner of
helmets with borders covering the neck, and each has its piece to
protect the face; they are of the same fashion as the tunics. They
wear on the neck gorgets (COFOS) all gilded, others made of silk with
plates of gold and silver, others of steel as bright as a mirror. At
the waists they have swords and small battle-axes, and in their hands
javelins with the shafts covered with gold and silver. All have their
umbrellas of state made of embroidered velvet and damask, with many
coloured silks on the horses. They wave many (standards with) white
and coloured tails, and hold them in much esteem -- which tails are
horses' tails. The elephants in the same way are covered with caparison
of velvet and gold with fringes, and rich cloths of many colours, and
with bells so that the earth resounds; and on their heads are painted
faces of giants and other kinds of great beasts. On the back of each
one of them are three or four men, dressed in their quilted tunics,
and armed with shields and javelins, and they are arrayed as if for
a foray. Then, turning to the troops on foot, there are so many that
they surround all the valleys and hills in a way with which nothing
in the world can compare. You will see amongst them dresses of such
rich cloths that I do not know where they came from, nor could any
one tell how many colours they have; shield-men with their shields,
with many flowers of gold and silver on them, others with figures
of tigers and other great beasts, others all covered with silver
leaf-work beautifully wrought, others with painted colours, others
black and (so polished that) you can see into them as into a mirror,
and their swords so richly ornamented that they could not possibly be
more so. Of the archers, I must tell you that they have bows plated
with gold and silver, and others have them polished, and their arrows
very neat, and so feathered that they could not be better; daggers
at their waists and battle-axes, with the shafts and ends of gold and
silver; then you see musqueteers with their musquets and blunderbusses
and their thick tunics, all in their order, with their ...[452] in
all their bravery; it was indeed a thing to see. Then the Moors --
one must not forget them -- for they were there also in the review
with their shields, javelins, and Turkish bows, with many bombs and
spears and fire-missiles; and I was much astonished to find amongst
them men who knew so well how to work these weapons.
The king leaves his palace riding on the horse of which I have already
told you, clothed in the many rich white cloths I have mentioned, with
two umbrellas of state all gilded and covered with crimson velvet,
and with the jewels and adornments which they keep for the purpose of
wearing at such times: he who ever wears such jewels can understand the
sort of things so great a lord would wear. Then to see the grandeur
of the nobles and men of rank, I cannot possibly describe it all,
nor should I be believed if I tried to do so; then to see the horses
and the armour that they wear, you would see them so covered with
metal plates that I have no words to express what I saw, and some
hid from me the sight of others; and to try and tell of all I saw is
hopeless, for I went along with my head so often turned from one side
to the other that I was almost falling backwards off my horse with
my senses lost. The cost of it all is not so much to be wondered at,
as there is so much money in the land, and the chiefs are so wealthy.
There went in front of the king many elephants with their coverings
and ornaments, as I have said; the king had before him some twenty
horses fully caparisoned and saddled, with embroideries of gold and
precious stones, that showed off well the grandeur and state of their
lord. Close to the king went a cage such as is seen at Lisbon on the
day of the Corpo de Dios festival, and it was gilded and very large;
it seemed to me to be made of copper or silver; it was carried by
sixteen men, eight on each side, besides others who took their turns,
and in it is carried the idol of which I have already spoken. Thus
accompanied the king passed along gazing at his soldiers, who gave
great shouts and cries and struck their shields; the horses neighed,
the elephants screamed, so that it seemed as it the city would
be overturned, the hills and valleys and all the ground trembled
with the discharges of arms and musquets; and to see the bombs and
fire-missiles over the plains, this was indeed wonderful. Truly it
seemed as if the whole world were collected there.
In this way it went on till the king arrived at the place where
the tent was that I have already mentioned, and he entered his
and performed his usual ceremonies and prayers. You must not think
that when the king passed the troops moved from their positions,
on the contrary they stood motionless in their places till the king
returned. As soon as the king had finished his ceremonies he again
took horse and returned to the city in the same way as he had come,
the troops never wearying of their shouting; as soon as he passed
by them they began to march. Then to see those who were on the hills
and slopes, and the descent of them with their shouts and beating of
shields and shaking of arrows and bows that were without count. Truly,
I was so carried out with myself that it seemed as if what I saw was a
vision, and that I was in a dream. Then the troops began to march to
their tents and pavilions in the plains, which were in great number;
and all the captains accompanied the king as far as the palace,
and thence departed to rest themselves from their labour.
Now I desire you to know that this king has continually a million
fighting troops,[453] in which are included 35,000 cavalry in armour;
all these are in his pay, and he has these troops always together and
ready to be despatched to any quarter whenever such may be necessary. I
saw, being in this city of Bisnaga, the king despatch a force against
a place, one of those which he has by the sea-coast; and he sent fifty
captains with 150,000 soldiers, amongst whom were many cavalry. He has
many elephants, and when the king wishes to show the strength of his
power to any of his adversaries amongst the three kings bordering on
his kingdom, they say that he puts into the field two million soldiers;
in consequence of which he is the most feared king of any in these
parts. And although he takes away so many men from his kingdom, it must
not be thought that the kingdom remains devoid of men; it is so full
that it would seem to you as if he had never taken away a man, and
this by reason of the many and great merchants that are in it. There
are working people and all other kinds of men who are employed in
business, besides those who are obliged to go into the field; there
are also a great number of Brahmans. In all the land of the heathen
there are these Brahmans; they are men who do not eat anything that
suffers death; they have little stomach for the use of arms.
Should any one ask what revenues this king possesses, and what his
treasure is that enables him to pay so many troops, since he has so
many and such great lords in his kingdom, who, the greater part of
them, have themselves revenues, I answer thus: These captains whom
he has over these troops of his are the nobles of his kingdom; they
are lords, and they hold the city, and the towns and villages of
the kingdom; there are captains amongst them who have a revenue of
a million and a million a half of PARDAOS, others a hundred thousand
PARDAOS, others two hundred, three hundred or five hundred thousand
PARDAOS, and as each one has revenue so the king fixes for him the
number of troops he must maintain, in foot, horse, and elephants.[454]
These troops are always ready for duty, whenever they may be called out
and wherever they may have to go; and in this way he has this million
of fighting men always ready. Each of these captains labours to turn
out the best troops he can get because he pays them their salaries; and
in this review there were the finest young men possible to be seen or
that ever could be seen, for in all this array I did not see a man that
would act the coward. Besides maintaining these troops, each captain
has to make his annual payments to the king, and the king has his own
salaried troops to whom he gives pay. He has eight hundred elephants
attached to his person, and five hundred horses always in his stables,
and for the expenses of these horses and elephants he has devoted the
revenues that he receives from this city of Bisnaga. You may well
imagine how great these expenses may be, and besides these that of
the servants who have the care of the horses and elephants; and by
this you will be able to judge what will be the revenue of this city.
This king of Bisnaga has five kings his subjects and vassals,[455]
besides other captains and lords having large territories and great
revenues; whenever a son happens to be born to this king, or a
daughter, all the nobles of the kingdom offer him great presents of
money and jewels of price, and so they do to him every year on the
day of his birth.
You must know that when these feasts of which I have spoken are ended,
at the beginning of the month of October, when eleven of its days are
past, they make great feasts, during which every one puts on new,
and rich, and handsome cloths, each one according to his liking,
and all the captains give their men handsome cloths of many colours,
each one having his own colour and device. On the same day they give
great gifts of money to the king, it is even said that they give on
that day to the king in money a million and five hundred thousand
gold PARDAOS, and each PARDAO is worth three hundred and sixty REIS,
and from this you will be able to know how many REIS there will be. I
wish you to know that on this day begins their year; it is their New
Year's Day, and for this they make the feast and give the gifts;
and it is not to be wondered at, for we also do the same on New
Year's Day. They begin the year in this month with the new moon,
and they count the months always from moon to moon.[456]
And now I wish you to know that the previous kings of this place for
many years past have held it a custom to maintain a treasury, which
treasury, after the death of each, is kept locked and sealed in such
a way that it cannot be seen by any one, nor opened, nor do the kings
who succeed to the kingdom open them or know what is in them. They are
not opened except when the kings have great need, and thus the kingdom
has great supplies to meet its needs. This king has made his treasury
different from those of the previous kings, and he puts in it every
year ten million PARDAOS, without taking from them one PARDAO more
than for the expenses of his house. The rest remains for him, over and
above these expenses and of the expenses in the houses of his wives,
of whom I have already told you that he keeps near him twelve thousand
women; from this you will be able to judge how great is the richness
of this kingdom, and how great the treasure that this king has amassed.
And if any one does not know what a PARDAO is, let him know that it
is a round gold coin, which coin is not struck anywhere in India
except in this kingdom; it bears impressed on it on one side two
images and on the other the name of the king who commanded it to
be struck; those which this king ordered to be struck have only one
image. This coin is current all over India. Each PARDAO, as already
said, is worth three hundred and sixty REIS.
After all these things (feasts) had passed the king betook himself to
the new city, of which I have already told you that he delights in it
much because it was made and peopled by him, of which I have already
told you. In two years the king built this city. The king was received
by the citizens with great feasts, and the streets were hung with rich
cloths, and with many triumphal arches under which he passed. In this
city the king held another review of the troops of his guard, and
he distributed pay to all because it was the beginning of the year,
and it is their custom to pay salaries year by year. An inspection is
held by the officers of his house, and they write down the name of each
one, and the marks that he has on his face or body. There are men of
the guard who have a thousand PARDAOS pay, and others eight hundred,
others six hundred and more, and a little more or less; there is a
difference, and also a difference in the persons. Some men of them who
are of higher rank than others have two horses or three, and others
have no more than one. These troops have their captains, and each
captain goes with his guard to mount guard at the palace according
to order and custom; the king has in his guard five hundred horse,
and these watch outside the palace armed with their weapons. There
are two watches inside, and people with swords and shields.
The king, then, being in his new city, as I have said, Christovao de
Figueiredo begged him of his kindness that he would permit him to be
shown the palace of the city of Bisnaga, forasmuch as there had come
with him many Portuguese who had never been in Bisnaga, and they would
rejoice to see it, in order to have somewhat to tell of on their return
to their own lands, whenever God should take them there. The king at
once commanded that they should be shown certain of his residences,
for that of his wives no one ever sees. As soon as we had returned
to the city of Bisnaga, the governor of that place, who is called
Gamdarajo, and is brother of Salvatinica,[457] showed us the palace.
You must know that on entering that gate of which I have spoken,
by which the ladies serving the king's wives make their exit when
they come to the feast, opposite to it there is another of the same
kind. Here they bade us stand still, and they counted us how many
we were, and as they counted they admitted us one by one to a small
courtyard with a smoothly plastered floor, and with very white walls
around it.[458] At the end of this courtyard, opposite this gate by
which we entered, is another close to it on the left hand, and another
which was closed; the door opposite belongs to the king's residence. At
the entrance of this door outside are two images painted like life and
drawn in their manner, which are these; the one on the right hand is of
the father of this king, and the one on the left is of this king. The
father was dark and a gentleman of fine form, stouter than the son
is; they stand with all their apparel and such raiment as they wear
or used to wear when alive. Afterwards, wishing to pass in at this
door, they again counted us, and after they had finished counting us
we entered a little house which contained what I shall now relate.
As soon as you are inside, on the left hand, are two chambers one above
the other, which are in this manner: the lower one is below the level
of the ground, with two little steps which are covered with copper
gilded, and from there to the top is all lined with gold (I do not
say "gilded," but "lined" inside), and outside it is dome-shaped. It
has a four-sided porch made of cane-work[459] over which is a work
of rubies and diamonds and all other kinds of precious stones, and
pearls, and above the porch are two pendants of gold; all the precious
stonework is in heart-shapes, and, interweaved between one and another,
is a twist of thick seed-pearl work; on the dome are pendants of the
same. In this chamber was a bed which had feet similar to the porch,
the cross-bars covered with gold, and there was on it a mattress of
black satin; it had all round it a railing of pearls a span wide;
on it were two cushions and no other covering. Of the chamber above
it I shall not say if it held anything because I did not see it,
but only the one below on the right side. In this house there is
a room with pillars of carved stone; this room is all of ivory, as
well the chamber as the walls, from top to bottom, and the pillars
of the cross-timbers at the top had roses and flowers of lotuses all
of ivory, and all well executed, so that there could not be better,
-- it is so rich and beautiful that you would hardly find anywhere
another such. On this same side is designed in painting all the ways
of life of the men who have been here even down to the Portuguese,
from which the king's wives can understand the manner in which each
one lives in his own country, even to the blind and the beggars. In
this house are two thrones covered with gold, and a cot of silver
with its curtains. Here I saw a little slab of green jasper, which is
held for a great thing in this house. Close to where this jasper is,
I.E. underneath some arches where is the entrance into the palace,
there is a little door closed with some padlocks: they told us that
inside it there was a treasury of one of the former kings.
As soon as we left this house we entered a courtyard as large as an
arena for beast-fights, very well plastered, and almost in the middle
are some pillars of wood, with a cross beam at the top all covered
with copper gilt, and in the middle four chains of silver links with
hooks which are caught one into the other; this serves for a swing
for the wives of the king. At the entrance of this courtyard on the
right hand we mounted four or five steps and entered some beautiful
houses made in the way I have already told you -- for their houses
are single-storeyed houses with flat roofs on top, although on
top there may be other houses; the plan is good, and they are like
terraces. There is a building there built on many pillars, which are
of stone-work, and so also is all the work of the roof, with all the
rest of wood (MANERIA), and all the pillars (with all the other work)
are gilded so that they seem as if covered with gold.
Then at the entrance of this building in the middle nave, there is,
standing on four pillars, a canopy covered with many figures of
dancing-women, besides other small figures[460] which are placed in
the stone-work. All this is also gilded, and has some red colour on
the under-sides of the leaves which stand out from the sculpture. You
must know that they make no use of this building because it belongs to
their idol and to the temple. At the end of this is a little closed
door where the idol is. Whenever they celebrate any festival of this
idol, they carry it on a golden throne and put it underneath that
canopy which is made for that purpose; and then come the Brahmans to
perform their ceremonies there, and the dancing-girls come to dance.
Descending from this building, we passed on the left side of the
courtyard, and we entered a corridor which runs the whole length
of it, in which we saw some things. On entering the corridor was a
cot suspended in the air by silver chains; the cot had feet made of
bars of gold, so well made that they could not be better, and the
cross-bars of the cot were covered with gold. In front of this cot
was a chamber where was another cot suspended in the air by chains of
gold; this cot had feet of gold with much setting of precious stones,
and the cross-bars were covered with gold. Above this chamber was
another, smaller, and with nothing in it save only that it was gilt
and painted. Passing this chamber, along the same corridor in front
was a chamber which this king, commanded to be made; on the outside
were figures of women with bows and arrows like amazons. They had
begun to paint this chamber, and they told us that it had to be
finer than the others, and that it was to be all plated with gold,
as well the ground below as all the rest. Passing this corridor and
mounting up into another which is higher, we saw at one end three
caldrons of gold, so large that in each one they could cook half
a cow, and with them were others, very large ones, of silver, and
also little pots of gold and some large ones. Thence we went up by a
little staircase, and entered by a little door into a building which
is in this manner. This hall is where the king sends his women to be
taught to dance. It is a long hall and not very wide, all of stone
sculpture on pillars, which are at a distance of quite an arm's length
from the wall; between one and another is an arm's length and a half,
perhaps a little more. These pillars stand in that manner all around
the building; they are half-pillars (?)[461] made with other hollows
(?) all gilt.[462] In the supports (or pedestals) on the top[463]
are many great beasts like elephants, and of other shapes; it is open
so that the interior is seen, and there are on the inner side of
these beasts other images, each placed according to its character;
there are also figures of men turned back to back, and other beasts
of different sorts. In each case from pillar to pillar is a cross-bar
(the architrave) which is like a panel, and from pillar to pillar are
many such panels; there are images of old men, too, gilded and of the
size of a cubit. Each of the panels has one placed in this way. These
images are over all the building. And on the pillars are other images,
smaller, with other images yet more subordinate, and other figures
again, in such a way that I saw this work gradually diminishing in
size on these pillars with their designs, from pillar to pillar, and
each time smaller by the size of a span as it went on, becoming lost;
so it went dwindling gradually away till there remained of all the
sculptured work only the dome, the most beautiful I ever saw. Between
these images and pillars runs a design of foliage, like plates (A
MANEYRA DE LAMINES), all gilt, with the reverses of the leaves in
red and blue, the images that are on the pillars are stags and other
animals, they are painted in colours with the pink on their faces;
but the other images seated on the elephants, as well as those on
the panels, are all dancing women having tattle drums (tom-toms).
The designs of these panels show the positions at the ends of dances
in such a way that on each panel there is a dancer in the proper
position at the end of the dance; this is to teach the women, so
that if they forget the position in which they have to remain when
the dance is done, they may look at one of the panels where is the
end of that dance. By that they keep in mind what they have to do.
At the end of this house on the left hand is a painted recess where
the women cling on with their hands in order better to stretch and
loosen their bodies and legs; there they teach them to make the whole
body supple, in order to make their dancing more graceful. At the
other end, on the right, in the place where the king places himself
to watch them dancing, all the floors and walls where he sits are
covered with gold, and in the middle of the wall is a golden image
of a woman of the size of a girl of twelve years, with her arms in
the position which she occupies in the end of a dance.
They did not show us more than this. The residence of the women no
one may see except the eunuchs, of whom I have already told you. From
here we returned by the way we had entered to the second gate, and
there they again counted us.
Of the city of Bisnaga they say that there are more than a hundred
thousand dwelling-houses in it, all one-storeyed and flat-roofed,
to each of which there is a low surrounding wall, and in this city
the king lives most of the time. On the north side are rocky hills;
a river runs between them, and the wall runs along the top of them,
and on the farther side is a city called Nagumdym; and it has only
three gates, namely one by the river, which they cross in boats
embarking just at this gate;[464] one on the other side which is to
the north, this is a stronger gate; and one on the north-west side,
a little gate between two very high ridges; and it is such a bad road
that only one horseman can pass out a time.
And on the north-west side (of Bisnaga) is another city called
Crisnapor[465] connected with Bisnaga, in which are all their pagodas,
those in which they most worship, and all the revenue of this city is
granted to them, and they say that they have a revenue of a hundred
thousand PARDAOS OF gold. The pagodas are high and have great buildings
with many figures of men and women, all in lascivious attitudes.
On the south side is the other city called Nagalapor in a plain; in
it the Ydalcao stopped with all his forces when he besieged Bisnaga,
and he razed it to the ground; but already it is again rebuilt,
and this is a league from Bisnaga.[466]
On the east side is another city called Ardegema,[467] which is the
name of the principal wife of this king, and it is new, and he built
it for love of her.
Chronicle of Fernao Nuniz
(Written, Probably, A.D. 1535 -- 37)
CHAPTER 1
Copy and Summary of a Chronicle of the Kings of Bisnaga, who reigned
(ORIG. were) from the era one thousand two hundred and thirty, which
was after the general destruction of the kingdom of Bisnaga.[468]
In the year twelve hundred and thirty[469] these parts of India were
ruled by a greater monarch than had ever reigned. This was the King of
Dili,[470] who by force of arms and soldiers made war on Cambaya for
many years, taking and destroying in that period the land of Guzarate
which belongs to Cambaya,[471] and in the end he became its lord.
And this taken, not being content with the victory which he had already
gained, he made ready a large army of foot and horse, and determined
to make war on the King of Bisnaga, leaving his captains in his lands
and fortresses to defend themselves against his enemies, of whom there
were many; for this King[472] was at that time at war with Bemgalla,
and with the Turkomans on the confines of the country of Sheikh
Ismael.[473] These men are fair and large of body; in their lands
are many horses with which this King of Delly made war on Cambaya
and laid it waste; and after the country was taken and he lord of it,
there still remained to him as many as eight hundred thousand horsemen
with whom he passed on to Bisnaga; of the number of people on foot
nothing is said here because no one counted them.
And, determining to make war on the King of Bisnaga and to reduce him
under his rule, he passed out of the lands which he had newly gained,
entering into those of the King of Bisnaga, which at that time were
many; and quitting the kingdom of Cambaya, he began to invade and make
war on the Ballagate,[474] whose lands now belong to the Idalcao,[475]
taking and destroying many towns and places in such a way that the
people of the country surrendered to him their persons and property,
though he left to them their weapons which he could not prevent
their carrying.
And after he had become lord of all the country of the Ballagate,
he passed the river of Duree,[476] which forms the boundary of the
territories of the Ballagate and of those of the King of Bisnaga,
which river he passed in basket-boats without finding any one to
oppose the passage. Up to that time, in all that was (afterwards)
the kingdom of Bisnaga, no place was populated save only the city of
Nagumdym,[477] in which the King of Bisnaga[478] then was, awaiting
his destruction, since it was strong, and because he possessed no
other citadel but that, which was his Lisbon.
And from the river which that King of Delly passed in
basket-boats,[479] to that city was twenty-five leagues, all being open
country (CAMPOS); and in them it seemed good to him to pitch his camp,
so that his people might drink of the water in the plain (CAMPOS)
along the length of the river. At that time there was great drought
by reason of the summer season, and the waters of the few little lakes
that were in the plain would not suffice for ten days for his troops,
horses, and elephants, without drying up; and for that reason he halted
some days by the banks of that river, till rain fell in the fields
and lakes, enough for such a large army as he had brought with him.
And when the time came he raised his camp and brought his array to
a halt in sight of that city of Nagundy.
And the King of Bisnaga, seeing his great power and how many troops
he had brought with him, determined to abandon the city, which was
very difficult to enter; close to which was, and now is, a river
which is called Nagundy, whence the city is called Nagundy, and they
say the city had its name because of it. And he fled for shelter to
a fortress called Crynamata,[480] which was by the bank of the river,
and which contained much provision and water; but not enough for the
sustenance of so many people as he had with him, as many as fifty
thousand men. Therefore the King chose five thousand men with their
property and took refuge in the fortress; and for the rest he bade
them betake themselves to another fortress of his in another part of
his kingdom.
And being sheltered in the fortress, after he had taken order about
his provisions, he was beset on all sides by the King of the people
of Dely, who had already up to this time been at war with him[481]
for twelve years; over which siege little time was spent, because the
people that were inside the fortress were numerous, and in a little
space had consumed their provisions.
Then the King of Bisnaga, seeing the determination of the soldiers
of the King of Delly that they would never leave the place without
making an end of those whom he had with him in the fortress, made a
speech to them all, laying before them the destruction that the King
of the troops of Dely had caused in his own kingdoms;[482] and how,
not content with that, he had besieged this fortress, so that now
there was nothing for them to look to but death, since already there
was no water in the fortress nor anything left to eat. And (he said)
that of the fifty thousand men who had been in the city of Nagundy
he had chosen them alone as his companions and true friends, and he
begged of them that they would hold fast in death to the loyalty which
they had borne him in their lives; for he hoped that day to give battle
to the King of Delly. Then he said that already there remained to him
of his kingdom and lordship nothing but that fortress and the people
that were in it, and so he asked them to arm themselves and die with
him in battle, giving their lives to the enemy who had deprived them
of all their lands.
All of them were very content and glad at this, and in a short space
were all armed; and after they were so the King made them another
speech, saying, "Before we join battle we have to wage another war
with our sons and daughters and wives, for it will not be good that
we should allow them to be taken for the use of our enemies." And the
King said, "I will be the first to deal with my wife and sons." At this
time they were all standing in a large open space which was before the
citadel, and there by the hand of the King were slain over fifty of his
wives and some sons and little daughters; and the same was done with
their own hands by all who had wives and sons that could not fight.
When these nuptial feasts, so abhorred of all, were fulfilled, they
opened the gates of the fortress, and their enemies forthwith entered,
and slew all of them except six old men who withdrew to a house. These
were made captive and were taken before the King (of Delhi), and the
King asked them who they were and how they had escaped, and they told
them who they were; at which the King greatly rejoiced, because one
of them was the minister of the kingdom and another the treasurer,
and the others were leading officers in it. They were questioned by
the King concerning the treasures of the King of Bisnaga, and such
riches as were buried in the vaults of the fortress were delivered up
to him, they also gave him an account of the revenues of the kingdom
of Bisnaga at that time. When all was known to the King he delivered
them to one of his captains, and commanded to make over the bodies of
the dead to another captain, and gave orders that the bodies should
be burned; and the body of the King, at the request of those six men,
was conveyed very honourably to the city of Nagundy. From that time
forward that place became a burying-place of the kings. Amongst
themselves they still worship this King as a saint.
CHAPTER 2
Of what the King (of Delhi) did after he had slain the King of Bisnaga,
and entirely overthrown him, and seized his lands for himself, none
being left to defend them.
As soon as the King had thus fulfilled all his desires, he bade his
captains destroy some villages and towns which had risen against him,
and give security to those who sought it of him. After the death of
the (Hindu) King he stayed in that fortress two years, having already
for twelve waged war on the kingdom.[483] He was far from his home,
which WAS more than five hundred leagues distant; and, his forces
being all scattered, news came to him how that all the land which
was first gained by him had rebelled. As soon as this was known to
the King he sent to collect his people, leaving in this fortress,
which was the strongest in the kingdom, abundant provisions for its
defence in all circumstances; and he left, for captain and governor
of the kingdom, Enybiquymelly,[484] a Moor, and with him he left many
troops, showing much kindness to each one of them separately, giving
to each lavish gifts and lands in such a way that all were content,
and, abandoning, forthwith all hope of returning to their own country,
made there their homes.
CHAPTER 3
How the King of Dily departed with his troops, and took to his kingdom
the six captives that he had taken in the fortress, &c.
The King having departed to his own kingdom in consequence of the news
that had been brought to him, leaving the kingdom of Bisnaga in the
power of Meliquy niby, when it was known throughout the country how
he was out of it, those who had escaped to the mountains, with others
who, against their will and through fear had taken oaths of fealty
for their towns and villages, rose against the captain Mileque neby,
and came to besiege him in the fortress, allowing no provisions to go
in to him, nor paying him the taxes that had been forced on them. And
Meliquy niby, seeing how little profit he could get in this country,
and how badly he was obeyed, and how far off was the succour sent by
his lord the King, sent quickly to him to tell him how all the land
was risen against him, and how every one was lord of what he pleased,
and no one was on his side; and that His Highness should decide what
he thought best to be done in such case. And when the King heard this
news he took counsel, telling the great people of the realm of the
letter and message which he had from Melinebiquy, his captain and
governor of the kingdom of Bisnaga, and how badly the lords of the
land obeyed him; so that each one was king and lord over whomsoever
he pleased, as soon as he acquired any power, there being no justice
amongst them, nor any one whom they wished to obey. What was it seemed
best to them (he asked), and what in such case ought they, and could
they, do, so that he should not lose so fair a territory and one so
rich, the seizure of which had cost such labour, so much money, and
the lives of so many of their fellows? All the councillors decided
that the King should command the presence of the six men whom he held
captive, and that he should learn from them who was at that time the
nearest of kin, or in any way related to the Kings of Bisnaga; and,
this questioning done, no one was found to whom by right the kingdom
could come, save to one of the six whom he held captive, and this one
he who at the time of the destruction of Bisnaga had been minister of
the kingdom. He was not related by blood to the kings, but only was
the principal judge; but (it seemed) good that His Highness should give
the kingdom to that one. And this advice pleased the King and them all.
At once the six captives were released and set at liberty, and many
kindnesses and honours were done them, and the governor was raised to
be King and the treasurer to be governor;[485] and he took from them
oaths and pledges of their fealty as vassals; and they were at once
despatched and sent to their lands with a large following to defend
them from any one who should desire to do them an injury. And when
these six men had thus finished their journey to the city of Nagundy,
they found only the ruined basements of the houses, and places peopled
by a few poor folk.
In a short time the arrival of Deorao[486] (for so he was called)
was known in all the country, and now he had been exalted to be King,
with which the people were well content, as men who had felt so deeply
their subjection to a lord not of their own faith; and from this man
have descended all those who have reigned up to now. And they made
great feasts for him, and delivered up to him the lands taken by former
kings and lost to them, and he was obeyed as King. And when the captain
Meliquy niby became aware of this, he was very pleased and contented,
and delivered up to him the fortress and kingdom as the King his lord
had commanded; and making himself ready with all speed he departed,
leaving the land to its proper owner. And after he had gone, King
Deorao, entering on his rule, strove to pacify the people and those who
had revolted, and to make them safe, and he did them many kindnesses
so as to secure their good-will, and travelled about their fortresses
and towns. He abandoned the lost lands since he knew that he could
not regain them, having no army or forces for such a work, nor any
cause for which he could make war; and also because he was very old.
CHAPTER 4
How the City of Bisnaga was built by that King Dehorao.
The King going one day a-hunting, as was often his wont, to a mountain
on the other side of the river of Nagumdym, where now is the city of
Bisnaga, -- which at that time was a desert place in which much hunting
took place, and which the King had reserved for his own amusement, --
being in it with his dogs and appurtenances of the chase, a hare rose
up before him, which, instead of fleeing from the dogs, ran towards
them and bit them all, so that none of them dared go near it for the
harm that it did them.[487] And seeing this, the King, astonished
at so feeble a thing biting dogs which had already caught for him a
tiger and a lion, judged it to be not really a hare but (more likely)
some prodigy; and he at once turned back to the city of Nagumdym.
And arriving at the river, he met a hermit who was walking along
the bank, a man holy among them, to whom he told what had happened
concerning the hare. And the hermit, wondering at it, said to the
King that he should turn back with him and shew him the place where
so marvellous a thing had happened; and being there, the hermit said
that the King ought in that place to erect houses in which he could
dwell, and build a city, for the prodigy meant that this would be
the strongest city in the world, and that it would never be captured
by his enemies, and would be the chief city in the kingdom. And so
the King did, and on that very day began work on his houses, and he
enclosed the city round about; and that done he left Nagumdym and soon
filled the new city with people. And he gave it the name Vydiajuna,
for so the hermit called himself[488] who had bidden him construct it;
but in course of time this name has become corrupted, and it is now
called Bisnaga. And after that hermit was dead the King raised a very
grand temple[489] in honour of him and gave much revenue to it. And
ever since, in his memory, the Kings of Bisnaga, on the day when they
are raised to be kings, have, in honour of the hermit, to enter this
house before they enter their own, and they offer many prayers in it,
and celebrate many feasts there every year.
This King Dehorao reigned seven years, and did nothing therein but
pacify the kingdom, which he left in complete tranquillity.
By his death one called Bucarao[490] inherited the kingdom, and he
conquered many lands which at the time of the destruction of that
kingdom remained rebellious, and by him they were taken and turned
to his power and lordship; and he took the kingdom of Orya, which is
very great; it touches on Bemgalla. He reigned thirty-seven years,
being not less feared than esteemed, and obeyed by all in his kingdom.
On the death of that King Bucarao there came to the throne his son
called Pureoyre Deorao,[491] which in Canara means "powerful lord,"
and he coined a money of PARDAOS which even now they call "PUROURE
DEORAO;" and from that time forward it has become a custom to call
coins by the names of the kings that made them; and it is because
of this that there are so many names of PARDAOS in the kingdom of
Bisnaga. And this King in his time did nothing more than leave at
his death as much conquered country as his father had done.
This King had a son who by his death inherited the kingdom, who was
called Ajarao;[492] and he reigned forty-three years, in which time
he was always at war with the Moors; and he took Goa, and Chaul, and
Dabull, and Ceillao,[493] and all the country of Charamamdell,[494]
which had also rebelled after the first destruction of this kingdom,
and he did many other things which are not recorded here.
This King made in the city of Bisnaga many walls and towers and
enclosed it anew. Now the city at that time was of no use, there
being no water in it by which could be raised gardens and orchards,
except the water of the Nagumdym which was far from it, for what water
there was in the country was all brackish and allowed nothing to grow;
and the King, desiring to increase that city and make it the best in
the kingdom, determined to bring to it a very large river which was at
a distance of five leagues away, believing that it would cause much
profit if brought inside the city. And so he did, damming the river
itself with great boulders; and according to story he threw in a stone
so great that it alone made the river follow the King's will. It was
dragged thither by a number of elephants of which there are many in
the kingdom; and the water so brought he carried through such parts
of the city as he pleased. This water proved of such use to the city
that it increased his revenue by more than three hundred and fifty
thousand PARDAOS. By means of this water they made round about the
city a quantity of gardens and orchards and great groves of trees and
vineyards, of which this country has many, and many plantations of
lemons and oranges and roses, and other trees which in this country
bear very good fruit. But on this turning of the river they say the
King spent all the treasure that had come to him from the king his
father, which was a very great sum of money.
This King left a son at his death called Visarao,[495] who inherited
the kingdom on the death of his father; and he lived six years,
and during this time did nothing worth relating.
At his death he left a son called Deorao, who reigned twenty-five
years. He determined to collect great treasures, but owing to constant
warfare he could not gain more than eight hundred and fifty millions of
gold, not counting precious stones. This was no great sum, seeing that
in his time the King of Coullao,[496] and Ceyllao, and Paleacate,[497]
and Peguu, and Tanacary[498] and many other countries, paid tribute
to him.
At his death this King left a son who inherited the kingdom, who
was called Pinarao,[499] he reigned twelve years, and was a great
astrologer; he was given much to letters, and made many books and
(promulgated) ordinances in his land and kingdom. As long as he
reigned he had twenty ministers, which is an office that amongst these
(people) is (generally) held only by one person. This King was very
wise; he was well versed in all his duties, and possessed such good
talents and qualities that they called him Pinarao, which amongst
them, in the language of Canara, means a very wise man. This King
was killed by treason by the hand of a nephew whom he had brought up
in his house like a son, who thus caused the death of the King.[500]
The nephew resolved to marry, and for the feasts at his wedding he
prayed the King, his uncle; that he would command that he should
be attended and honoured at his wedding by the King's own son; and
the King, for the love that he bore him and the pleasure that he
had in honouring him, bade his son make ready with his following,
and sent him with the ministers and captains of his court to attend
and honour the wedding of his nephew. And he, making all ready, as
soon as they were in his house, being at table, they were all slain
by daggers thrust by men kept in readiness for that deed. This was
done without any one suspecting it, because the custom there is to
place on the table all that there is to eat and drink, no man being
present to serve those who are seated, nor being kept outside, but
only those who are going to eat; and because of their thus being
alone at table, nothing of what passed could be known to the people
they had brought with them. And after he had killed the King's son
with all the captains, the minister[501] set out to ride as if he
were going to bear a present to the King, and as soon as he arrived
at the gates of the palace he sent a message to the King saying that
he was there, and had brought him a present according to custom. And
the King, being at that time at leisure and amusing himself with his
wives, bade him enter; and as soon as he was come to where he stood,
he presented to the King a golden bowl in which he had placed a dagger
steeped in poison, with which he wounded him in many places; but the
King, as he was a man who knew how to use both sword and dagger better
than any one in his kingdom, avoided by twists and turns of his body
the thrusts aimed at him, freed himself from him, and slew him with
a short sword that he had. And this done he ordered a horse to be
saddled, and mounted it, and rode holding his nephew's head in his
hand; and he took the road to the latter's house, apprehending that
treason might have been wrought and fearing that his son might be
dead. And as soon as he arrived he beheld the treason in very deed,
and how wicked a deed his nephew had done; seeing that his son and
his principal captains were dead, and that the traitor might have
prevailed against himself had he had the power. In great wrath the
King commanded his men to inflict dreadful punishments on all found
guilty of this treason, and indeed many who were not so. He himself
remained grievously wounded with the poisoned wounds and he lasted only
six months, and these ended, died of the poison carried on the dagger.
After his death a son remained to him who inherited the kingdom and
was called ... [502], and this King, as soon as he began to reign,
sent to call his treasurers and the minister and the scribes of
his household, and inquired of them the revenue of his kingdom, and
learned how much revenue came in yearly; and His Highness had every
year thirteen millions of gold. This King granted to the pagodas a
fifth part of the revenue of his kingdom; no law is possible in the
country where these pagodas are, save only the law of the Brahmans,
which is that of the priests; and so the people suffer.
On the death of this King succeeded a son named Verupacarao.[503] As
long as he reigned he was given over to vice, caring for nothing but
women, and to fuddle himself with drink and amuse himself, and never
showed himself either to his captains or to his people; so that in
a short time he lost that which his forefathers had won and left to
him. And the nobles of the kingdom, seeing the habits and life of this
king, rebelled, every one of them, each holding to what he possessed,
so that in his time the King lost Goa, and Chaull, and Dabull, and
the other chief lands of the realm. This King in mere sottishness
slew many of his captains. Because he dreamed one night that one of
his captains entered his chamber, on the next day he had him called,
telling him that he had dreamed that night that the captain had entered
his room to kill him; and for that alone he had him put to death. This
King had two sons already grown up, who, seeing the wickedness of
their father and how he had lost his kingdom, determined to kill him,
as in fact was done by one of them, the elder, who was his heir; and
after he had killed him, when they besought him to be King, he said,
"Although this kingdom may be mine by right, I do not want it because
I killed my father, and did therein that which I ought not to have
done, and have committed a mortal sin, and for that reason it is
not well that such an unworthy son should inherit the kingdom. Take
my brother and let him govern it since he did not stain his hands
with his father's blood;" which was done, and the younger brother
was raised to the throne. And when they had entrusted the kingdom to
him he was advised by his minister and captains that he should slay
his brother, because, as the latter had killed his father so he would
kill him if desirous of so doing; and as it appeared to the King that
such a thing might well be, he determined to kill him, and this was
at once carried out, and he slew him with his own hand. So that this
man truly met the end that those meet with who do such ill deeds This
King was called Padearao; and after this was done he gave himself up
to the habits of his father, and, abandoning himself to his women,
and not seeking to know ought regarding his realm save only the vices
in which he delighted, he remained for the most part in the city.
One of his captains who was called Narsymgua,[504] who was in some
manner akin to him, seeing his mode of life, and knowing how ill
it was for the kingdom that he should live and reign, though all
was not yet lost, determined to attack him and seize on his lands;
which scheme he at once put into force.
He wrote, therefore, and addressed the captains and chiefs of the
kingdom, saying how bad it was for them not to have a King over them
who could govern properly, and how it would be no wonder, seeing the
manner of his life, if the King soon lost by his bad government even
more than his father had done.
He made great presents to all of them so as to gain their goodwill,
and when he had thus attached many people to himself he made ready
to attack Bisnaga where the King dwelt. When the King was told of the
uprising of this captain Narsymgua, how he was approaching and seizing
his lands and how many people were joining him, he seemed unmindful of
the loss he had suffered, he gave no heed to it nor made ready, but,
instead, he only ill-treated him who had brought the news. So that a
captain of the army of this Narsymgua arrived at the gates of Bisnaga,
and there was not a single man defending the place; and when the King
was told of his arrival he only said that it could not be. Then the
captain entered the city, and the King only said that it could not
be. Then he even entered his palace and came as far as the doors of
his chamber, slaying some of the women. At last the King believed,
and seeing now how great was the danger, he resolved to flee by the
gates on the other side; and so he left his city and palaces, and fled.
When it was known by the captain that the King had fled he did not
trouble to go after him, but took possession of the city and of the
treasures which he found there; and he sent to acquaint his lord,
Narsymgua. And after that Narsymgua was raised to be king. And as
he had much power and was beloved by the people, thenceforward this
kingdom of Bisnaga was called the kingdom of Narsymga.
After he was raised to be king and was obeyed he came to Bisnaga,
where he did many acts of justice; and he took the territories from
whomsoever had, contrary to right, taken them from the king. This King
reigned forty-four years, and at his death left all the kingdom in
peace, and he regained all the lands which the kings his predecessors
had lost. He caused horses to be brought from Oromuz and Adeem[505]
into his kingdom and thereby gave great profit to the merchants,
paying them for the horses just as they asked. He took them dead or
alive at three for a thousand PARDAOS, and of those that died at sea
they brought him the tail only, and he paid for it just as if it had
been alive.
At the death of that King there remained three fortresses which had
revolted from his rule, and which he was never able to take, which were
these -- Rachol, and Odegary and Conadolgi,[506] which have large and
rich territories and are the principal forts in the kingdom. At his
death he left two sons, and the governor of the kingdom was Nasenaque,
who was father of the king that afterwards was king of Bisnaga;[507]
and this king (Narsymgua), before he died, sent to call Narsenaque
his minister, and held converse with him, telling him that at his
death he would by testament leave him to govern the kingdom until
the princes should be of an age to rule; also he said that all the
royal treasures were his alone, and he reminded him that he had won
this kingdom of Narsymgua at the point of the sword; adding that now
there remained only three fortresses to be taken, but that for him
the time for their capture was passed; and the King begged him to
keep good guard over the kingdom and to deliver it up to the princes,
to whichever of them should prove himself most fitted for it. And
after the King's death this Narsenaque remained as governor, and soon
he raised up the prince to be king, retaining in his own hands the
treasures and revenues and the government of the country.
At that time a captain who wished him ill, determined to kill the
prince, with a view afterwards to say that Narsenaque had bidden him
commit the murder, he being the minister to whom the government of
the kingdom had been entrusted, and he thought that for this act of
treason Narsenaque would be put to death. And he soon so arranged it
that the prince was killed one night by one of his pages who had been
bribed for that purpose, and who slew the prince with a sword. As soon
as Narsenaque heard that he was dead, and learned that he himself (was
supposed to have) sent to kill him, he raised up another brother of the
late King's to be king, not being able further to punish this captain,
because he had many relations, until after he had raised this younger
brother to be king, who was called Tamarao. He (Narsenaque) went out
one day from the city of Bisnaga towards Nagumdym, saying that he was
going hunting, leaving all his household in the city. And after he had
arrived at this city of Nagumdym he betook himself to another called
Penagumdim,[508] which is four-and-twenty leagues from that place,
where he at once made ready large forces and many horses and elephants,
and then sent to tell the King Tamarao of the cause of his going;
relating to him the treason that that captain by name Tymarsaa[509]
had carried out slaying his brother the king, and by whose death he
(the prince) had inherited the kingdom. He told him how that the
kingdom had been entrusted to him by his father, as well as the care
of himself and his brother, that as this man had killed his brother,
so he would do to him in the same way, for he was a traitor; and he
urged that for that reason it was necessary to punish him. But the king
at that time was very fond of that captain, since by reason of him
he had become King, and in place of punishing him he bestowed favour
on him and took his part against the minister. And, seeing this,
Narsenaque went against him with large forces, and besieged him,
threatening him for four or five days, until the King, seeing his
determination, commanded Timarsaa to be put to death; after which he
(the King) sent the (traitor's) head to be shown to the minister,
who greatly rejoiced. Narsenaque sent away all the troops and entered
the city, where he was very well received by all the people, by whom
he was much loved as being a man of much justice.
And after some days and years had passed, Narsenaque, seeing the age
of the king how young he was, determined to keep him in the city of
Penagumdy, with large guards to make safe his person, and to give
him 20,000 cruzados of gold every year for his food and expenses,
and himself to govern the kingdom -- for it had been entrusted to
him by the king his lord so to do. After this had been done he told
the King that he desired to go to Bisnaga to do certain things that
would tend to the benefit of the kingdom, and the King, pleased at
that, told him that so it should be; thinking that now he himself
would be more his own master and not be so liable to be checked by
him. And after he had departed and arrived at Bisnaga, Narsenaque
sent the King 20,000 men for his guard, as he had arranged, and he
sent as their captain Timapanarque, a man in whom he much confided;
(commanding him) that he should not allow the King to leave the city,
and that he should carefully guard his person against treachery.
And after this was done Narsenaque began to make war on several places,
taking them and demolishing them because they had revolted. At that
time it was proposed by some captains that they should kill the King,
as he was not a man fitted to govern, but to this Narsenaque would
answer nothing. After some days had passed, however, Narsenaque,
pondering on the treason about which they had spoken to him, how it
would increase his greatness and more easily make him lord of the
kingdom of which he was (only) minister, called one day those same
captains who had often proposed it to him, and asked them by what means
the King could be slain without its being known that he had had a hand
in his death. Then one man[510] told him that a very good way would be
that he (the minister) should appear to be annoyed with him and should
send to command his presence, which mandate he would not obey, and
on account of this act of disrespect he (the minister) should ordain
that some punishment be inflicted, and at this aggravation he would
leave the city and fly to Penagundy to stir up the King against the
minister. He said that after he had gained the goodwill of the King
he would so plot against him that he would render him disobedient;
and that to give the King greater encouragement he would forge letters
as if from captains which should contain the same counsel -- namely,
that he should leave that city where he was more prisoner than free --
and would point out to him that he alone was king and lord, and yet
that the land was under the power of Narasenaque his vassal, who had
made himself very strong and powerful in the kingdom and held him (the
King) prisoner, and had rebelled. He would urge the King to secretly
quit the city and betake himself to a fortress belonging to the captain
who had sent him that letter, and that there he should prepare himself,
getting together a large following. And he would tell him that when
the lords and captains came to know of his wish and determination they
would act according to it, and would help him, and would come with him
to fall upon Narsenayque, and would bestow upon him (Narsenaque) the
prison in which he (the King) was now kept. So he would be king. (The
captain further said) that after he had persuaded the King to this
he would cause him to (leave the city), and while going out he would
kill him, and that in this way Narsenaque should become king.
Narsenayque was well pleased to listen to this treason and to hear
of the evil deed which this captain planned, and he showed him much
favour. The captain disappeared after some days from where Narsenayque
was, feigning to have fled; and he came to Penagumdy, where in a few
days his arrival was known; and he set about and put in hand all those
things that had been arranged. Every day he showed the King a letter,
one day from a captain of one fortress, the next day another from
another captain; and the King, understanding the plots contained in
the letters so shown, replied that the counsel and advice seemed good,
and yet how could he resist the power of Narsenayque, who, besides
being minister of the kingdom, had (possession of) all the horses
and elephants and treasure, so that he could at once make war against
him? "True it is, Sire, that which thou sayest," answered the traitor,
"and yet he is much misliked by all the captains who raised thee
to be king, and as soon as they shall see thee in Chaodagary"[511]
(which was a fortress whither he had advised him to flee, being one
which up to that time was independent), "all will flock to thine aid,
since they esteem it a just cause." Said the King, -- "Since this is
so, how dost thou propose that I should leave this place, so that my
going should not be known to the guards and to the 20,000 men who
surround me in this city?" "Sire," he replied, "I will disclose to
thee a very good plan; thou and I will go forth by this thy garden,
and from thence by a postern gate which is in the city (wall), and
which I know well; and the guards, seeing thee alone without any
following, will not know that it is thou, the King, and thus we shall
pass to the outside of the city, where I will have horses ready that
will take us whithersoever it seemeth good to thee." All this pleased
the King well, and he placed everything in his hands; and, seeing
fulfilled all his desire, the captain spoke with those men who guarded
that part of the garden by which he wished that the King should fly,
and which was near the King's own houses, (for into this garden the
King often went to amuse himself with his wives, which garden was at
that part guarded by a matter of 300 armed men) and to these men he
spoke thus, saying to them: -- "If ye shall happen to see me pass by
here on such a night and at such an hour, and if ye shall see a man
coming with me, slay him, for he well deserves it of me, and I will
reward ye;" and they all said that that would be a very small service
to do for him. When that day had passed the traitor went to the King
and said to him: -- "Sire, do not put off till to-morrow that which
thou hast to do to-day; for I have the horses ready for thy escape,
and have planned so to escort thee forth that even thy ladies shall
not be aware of thy departure, nor any other person. Come, Sire, to
the garden, where I will await thee." The King replied that his words
were good and so he would do, and as soon as night was come and the
hour arrived, the King went carefully out, and still more careful was
he who for some time had awaited him; and he gave signal to the armed
men, and as soon as he was come to the garden he passed between two
of them who were the guards, and they threw themselves on the King
and slew him, and forthwith buried him at the foot of a tree in the
same garden. And this being accomplished without their knowing whom
they had slain, the traitor gave them his thanks, and returned to
his inn to make ready to leave the city, and also so as not to give
cause for talk therein. And the next morning it was found that the
King was missing; and though searched for throughout all the city no
news of him could be heard, all the people thinking that he had fled
somewhere, whence he would make war on Narsenayque. And to Narsenayque
the news was straightway brought, and he, feigning much sorrow at it,
yet made ready all his horses and elephants in case the kingdom should
be plunged into some revolution by the death of the king; although as
yet he knew not for certain how the matter stood, save that the King
had disappeared. And afterwards the man came who had killed the King,
and told him how it had been done and how secretly he had been slain,
so that even the very men who had killed him knew not who it was;
and Narsenayque bestowed upon him rich reward. And since there was
no news of the King, and he holding everything now under his hand,
he was raised to be king over all the land of Narsymga.
And this king left at his death five sons, one was called Busbalrao,
and another Crismarao, and another Tetarao, and another Ramygupa and
another Ouamysyuaya.[512]
And this Busbalrao inherited the kingdom at the death of his father
Narsenayque and reigned six years, during which he was always at war,
for as soon as his father was dead the whole land revolted under its
captains; who in a short time were destroyed by that King, and their
lands taken and reduced under his rule. During these six years the
King spent, in restoring the country to its former condition, eight
million gold PARDAOS. This King died of his sickness in the city of
Bisnaga; and before he died he sent for Salvatimya, his minister,[513]
and commanded to be brought to him his (the King's) son, eight years
old, and said to Sallvatina that as soon as he was dead he must raise
up this son to be king (though he was not of an age for that, and
though the kingdom ought perhaps to belong to his brother Crisnarao)
and that he must put out the eyes of the latter and must bring them to
show him; in order that after his death there should be no differences
in the kingdom. Salvatina said that he would do so and departed, and
sent to call for Crisnarao, and took him aside to a stable, and told
him how his brother had bade him put out his eyes and make his son
king. When he heard this, Crisnarao said that he did not seek to be
king, nor to be anything in the kingdom, even though it should come to
him by right; that his desire was to pass through this world as a JOGI
(ascetic, recluse), and that he should not put his eyes out, seeing
that he had not deserved that of his brother. Sallvatina, hearing
this, and seeing that Crisnarao was a man of over twenty years and
therefore more fit to be king, as you will see farther on, than the
son of Busbalrao who was only eight years old, commanded to bring a
she-goat, and he put out its eyes, and took them to show the King,
for already he was at the last hour of his life; and he presented them
to him, and as soon as the King was dead his brother Crisnarao was
raised to be king, whose eyes the late King had ordered to be torn out.
CHAPTER 5
Of the things done by King Crisnarao after he was raised to the throne.
As soon as Crisnarao was raised to be King and was obeyed throughout
all his kingdom, -- Salvatine being his minister, who had been the same
for his brother Busbalrao,[514] -- he without delay sent his nephew,
son of Busbalrao his brother, together with his own three brothers,
to a fortress called Chaodegary; the nephew remained there till he
died. And after the King had done this for his own safety he stayed in
the city of Bisnaga for a year and a half without going outside of it,
learning the affairs of the kingdom and looking at the testaments of
past kings. Amongst these he found one of king Narsymga, whose minister
his father Narsenayque had been, in which that King desired that his
sons, or whoever should inherit this kingdom of Narsymga which he had
gained by force of arms, should capture three fortresses that at his
death remained in revolt against him, the which he had not himself
taken because time failed him; one of them was called Rracholl,[515]
and another Medegulla.[516]
Crisnarao, seeing this testament and seeing how badly the kings his
predecessors had acted in what had been enjoined on them, determined
at once to prepare armies and to go against these places; and one
of these fortresses was called Odigair, and it belonged to the King
of Orya. And, determining to go first against this, he collected
(an army of) thirty-four thousand foot and eight hundred elephants,
and arrived with this force at the city of Digary,[517] in which
there were ten thousand foot soldiers and four hundred horse; for the
fortress had no necessity for more by reason of its great strength,
because it could not be taken except by being starved out.
And the King laid siege to it for a year and a half, in which time he
made many paths across rocky hills, breaking up many great boulders
in order to make a road for his soldiers to approach the towers of
the fortress. The place at this time was so strong that they could not
approach it except by one way which was so narrow that men could only
pass along it one at a time; and in this place he made a broad road,
and many others also, so that he could come close to the fortress.
And he took it by force of arms, and in it captured an aunt[518]
of the King of Orya, who was taken captive and carried off with all
the courtesy that he could show her, having her liberty; and he took
her along with himself.
And after this was done he called Salvatinya and bade him see how well
he had performed that which king Narsymga had by his testament enjoined
on him, and yet he said he was not content with such a trivial victory,
for[519] he desired to go forward a hundred leagues into the kingdom
of Orya; and he ordered him to make ready provisions and pay fully
the salaries of the forces.
And after this fortress was taken he departed and went against
Comdovy,[520] which was one of the principal cities of the kingdom
of Orya, and besieged it; and, learning this, the King of Orya
came against him to defend his territories, and brought with him one
thousand three hundred elephants, and twenty thousand horsemen, and he
brought five hundred thousand foot-soldiers. Crisnarao, being aware of
the approach of the king of Orya, left the city without assaulting it,
saying that he preferred to fight the King in person and his army
rather than to attack the city, and that there would be plenty of
time afterwards to take it; and he went forward four leagues from it,
leaving a force to prevent the escape of the people from the city
if they should seek to flee to the coast. And he arrived at a large
river of salt water crossed by a ford,[521] and on the other side of
the river was the King of Orya with his army. King Crisnarao halted
his army on this side of the river, and sent the King a message that
if he desired to fight with him he would retire from the river two
leagues, so that he (the king of Orya) might pass the river unmolested,
and as soon as he had passed he would join battle; to which message
the King of Orya gave no reply, but on the contrary made ready to
give battle. And King Crisnarao, seeing his determination, crossed
the river with all his forces and elephants, and in the crossing of
the river there were heavy encounters on both sides, and many were
slain. Notwithstanding this, King Crisnarao crossed the river, and
on the bank fought so bravely that he defeated the King of Oria and
put him to flight, in which defeat he took many horses and elephants.
And after the King had done this he told Salvatinea his minister
that he purposed to turn back to the fortress, which had not yet
experienced his strength, and he went against it, and stopped there
two months besieging it; and he took it.
And he gave the command of it to Salvatinea, who left in it, from his
army, for captain one of his brothers, in order that he himself might
go forward with the King through the kingdom of Orya. And the King,
passing the river once more in pursuit of the King of Orya, and taking
and ravaging all the country which had no reason for expecting him,
arrived at a city called Comdepallyr,[522] where were all the chiefs
of the kingdom, it being the chief city in that kingdom. And he laid
siege to it, and remained there three months without being able to
capture it, and in the end he took it more by reason of his numbers
than by force of arms; in which fortress he found many people of
high rank whom he made captive, amongst whom was a wife of the King,
and one of his sons who was a prince, and seven principal captains
of the kingdom, all of whom he sent by road to Bysnaga.
And he went forward a hundred leagues into the kingdom, finding no
one to bar his progress till he got to Symamdary,[523] which was a
very large city, in which he halted for six months, waiting for the
King of Orya. He sent many messages to say that he was waiting for him
in the field, but he never came. And in this city he did many works,
and gave alms to the temples, and erected therein a very grand temple
to which he gave much revenue. And he commanded to engrave on it an
inscription which says: -- "Perhaps when these letters are decayed,
the king of Orya will give battle to the King of Bisnaga. If the King
of Orya erases them, his wife shall be given to the smiths who shoe
the horses of the King of Bisnaga."
And after this was done he returned, leaving the greater part of
those lands to the temples, and came to Bisnaga where he rested some
days. And he sent to call the son of the king of Orya who was taken
captive in the first fortress, and told him that as people said that
he was a very active man and was very dexterous with both sword and
dagger, he would be pleased to see him fence.
The young man said that since His Highness summoned him he would do
what he could, and asked that this might be put off till next day. And
when the next day came the King sent to call him, and also sent for one
of his own men who at that time was very expert in the art,[524] that
he should fence with him. And when the son of the King of Orya saw him,
being offended with the King for sending a man to fight with him who
was not the son of a King but only a man of humble birth, he cried out
to the King: -- "God forbid that I should soil my hands by touching a
man not of the blood royal," and saying this he slew himself. And his
father, hearing how his son was dead, wrote to Salvatinea (asking) by
what means he could ransom his wife who remained in the power of the
King, since his son was dead; to which he made answer that he should
arrange the marriage of his daughter with the King, and that afterwards
the King would restore him his wife and lands (or, would take only
his lands).[525] This counsel he accepted, and he sent ambassadors
to Bisnaga to arrange a marriage with his daughter, with which King
Crisnarao was well content; and when the King of Orya knew his will
(in the matter) he sent him his daughter; and with the coming of her
they were friends. And Crisnarao restored the lands on the other side
of the river, and kept those on the hither side for himself.
CHAPTER 6
How Crisnarao, after he had made peace with the King of Oria,
determined to go against the land of Catuir.
After Crisnarao had made peace, and had married the daughter of the
King of Oria, and had restored to him his wife and the lands beyond
the river, as has been narrated above, he made ready a large army
and prepared to attack Catuir,[526] which is the land of a lord who
had been in revolt for fifty years; this land is on the Charamaodel
side. And he went against it, and laid siege to one of the principal
cities where the lord of the land was; and it is called ...[527]and
is surrounded with water.
Now at the time when Crisnarao attacked this city it was winter, for
which cause the river that surrounded it was so swollen, and carried
down so much water, that the king could do no harm to the place. And
King Crisnarao, seeing this, and seeing that time was passing away
without his attaining his desire, commanded his men to cut many new
channels in order to be able to attack that principal (river) which
had opposed itself to the fulfilment of his wishes. And this was
done in a short time, since he had many soldiers; and after the (new)
watercourses were finished and brought to where the water should go
he opened mouths in the river, the water of which very soon flowed
out so that the bottom could be seen, and it was left so shallow
that it enabled him to reach the walls of the city; and the river
was thus diverted into fifty different beds. Inside the city were
one hundred thousand foot-soldiers and three thousand cavalry, who
defended themselves and fought very bravely, but this availed little
to prevent Crisnarao from entering in a few days and slaughtering
all of them. He found large treasures in this city, amongst others
in ready money a million and six hundred thousand golden PARDAOS,
besides jewels, and horses, which were numerous, and elephants. And
after he had finished the capture of this land Crisnarao divided it
amongst many of his captains, giving to each one what was necessary
for him; and the chief who lived in the city and who was lord of the
land was taken away captive and carried to Bisnaga, where he died in
the King's prison.
And after the King had settled the country he came to Bisnaga, whence
he sent Salvatinea to the city of Comdovy, since he was chief of it,
by whom his brother was placed in it so as to see directly to the
land and ifs government; for after the King returned from Orya he
never went again thither.
And Salvatinea, having departed on his journey to Comdovy, before he
arrived there, met, opposing his path, a Muhammadan named Madarmeluquo,
who was a captain of the King on this side,[528] and who was awaiting
him with sixty thousand men. Salvatinea had two hundred thousand men,
and had very little fear of him; and with these he went against him,
and took and defeated him, and took prisoners himself and his wife
and son and horses and elephants and much money and store of jewels,
and sent them all to King Crisnarao. The king commanded to put (the
captives) in prison, and there they died. And Sallvatinea went to
his territories, and after he had stayed there some months and seen
to its government and decided matters in dispute, he returned to the
King at Bisnaga, by whom he was well received as being the principal
person in the kingdom.
CHAPTER 7
How Crisnarao, on the arrival of Salvatinia, determined to attack
Rachol, a city of the Ydalcao, and to break the peace that had lasted
so long; and the reason why.
After Salvatinia had arrived and had been well received by the King,
and after the lapse of some days, the King told him that he desired
to fulfil all the wishes expressed in the testament of King Narsynga,
one of which was to capture Rachol, which was a very strong city and
amongst the principal ones of the Ydallcao, who had taken it from
the kings his ancestors; and because there was now peace between
both parties, and had been so for forty years, he knew not how he
could manage to break it. But Salvatinia said that since the peace
had been made under certain conditions -- one of which was that if
on either one side or the other any land-owners, captains in revolt,
or other evil-doers should be harboured and their surrender should
be demanded, they should forthwith be given up -- there was now great
reason for breaking the peace, since many land-owners and debtors to
His Highness had tied into the kingdom of the Ydallcao. He counselled
therefore that the King should send to demand the surrender of
these men, and that on refusal to give them up there would be good
ground for breaking the peace. Many, however, disagreed with this
advice. Now it happened at this time that the King (of Bisnaga)
sent Cide Mercar with forty thousand PARDAOS to Goa to buy horses,
which Cide Mercar was a Moor in whom the King of Bisnaga confided on
account of various affairs with which he had already been entrusted;
and this man, when he arrived at a place where the Moors lived which
was called, Pomdaa and is two leagues from Goa, fled from that place,
Pomdaa, to the Ydallcao, carrying with him all the treasure. Some say
that the Ydallcao wrote to him a letter as soon as he got there. As
soon as they gave to the King this news of the flight of Cide, and
how he had carried off all the money, he said that he would write to
the Ydallcao to send the man back to him with all the money, since he
was his friend. Then the King caused a letter to be written, in which
he spoke of the friendship that had existed for so many years so that
nothing could shake it, and that he hoped that a traitor would not
be the cause of breaking a peace of such long standing as had been
between them; and he begged that he would send Cide back at once.
As soon as the letter was read to the Ydallcao he sent to summon his
kazis and the men of his council, and he bade them read the letter
which had come from the King, as to which letter there were many
suggestions made. At the end of all they agreed that he should not
send him (Cide) to him (the King of Bisnaga), for they said that he
(Cide) was one learned in the law and related to Mafumdo.[529] And the
Ydallcao, as a cloak to his action, gave Dabull to that Cide, by way
of showing that he was not near his person nor knew he aught of him;
from which town of Dabull Cide fled, nor had they any further news
of him. When those who had come from the King returned bearing the
Ydallcao's answer, the King showed great indignation at it, and held
that the peace was broken; he at once ordered to appear before him the
great lords of his Council, and had the letter read aloud so that all
might hear. As soon as it was read he said that without more ado they
should make ready, since he was determined to take full vengeance. But
the councillors advised the King, saying that for such a small sum
of money as this it was not well so to act; that he should think of
what would be said and talked of throughout the world; and that if he
was bent on breaking so prolonged a peace for such a trifling cause,
he should call to mind that there never was any honesty in a Moor;
that others were to blame in that which Cide had done; and that if
Cide should dare to come to that war which was waged in order to
take vengeance on him,[530] then it would be well that those who
accompanied him should die, but that they knew that Cide would keep
well away from the army.[531]
The councillors, however, saw that the King remained unmoved from his
determination to make war, and they then counselled him, saying: --
"Sire, do not go to war by that route (Dabull), but go against Rachol,
which now belongs to the Ydallcao but of old was part of this kingdom;
then the Ydallcao will be forced to come to defend it, and thus thou
wilt take vengeance jointly both on one and the other." The King
held this advice to be good and prepared for his departure, sending
letters to Madre Maluco, and Demellyno, and Desturvirido,[532] and
other superior lords, giving them an account of what had taken place
in the matter of the Ydallcao, and how he had determined to make war
on him; from which lords he received answer that he was doing rightly,
and that they would assist him as far as they were able. As to the
Zemelluco, at the time when the messengers returned this answer he
could find no excuse for not sending some troops to the aid of his
sister who was wedded to the Ydallcao.
The King had sent the letters to those lords out of his great
craftiness, for he told them of what he was about to do in order
to seduce them to his side, -- so far at least as concerned their
goodwill, seeing that in the matter of troops he had no need of
them -- because if they had joined the Ydallcao he (the King) would
never have conquered as he did; but because the Ydallcao was hated
by them all as being a more powerful chief than they, (for there is
little faith amongst the Moors, and they bite one another like dogs
and like to see one after the other destroyed) he was conquered,
as you will see hereafter, in the month of May, on the new moon day,
in the year one thousand five hundred and twenty-two.[533]
After the King had made his offerings and performed sacrifices to
his idols he left the city of Bisnaga with all his troops; and they
marched in the following order. The chief of the guard (O PORTEIRO
MOOR)[534] led the advance with thirty thousand infantry -- archers,
men with shields, and musqueteers, and spearmen -- and a thousand
horse and his[535] elephants. After him went Trimbicara with fifty
thousand foot and two thousand horse and twenty elephants. After him
went Timapanayque; he had with him sixty thousand foot and three
thousand five hundred horse and thirty elephants; and after him
went Adapanayque with one hundred thousand foot and five thousand
horse and fifty elephants. After him came Comdamara,[536] and he had
one hundred and twenty thousand foot six thousand horse and sixty
elephants; after him went Comara, and he had eighty thousand foot and
of horse two thousand five hundred, and forty elephants; after him the
forces of Ogemdraho,[537] the governor of the city of Bisnaga, with
one of his captains, who had one thousand horse and thirty thousand
foot and ten elephants. After him went three eunuchs, favourites of
the King, who had forty thousand foot and one thousand horse and
fifteen elephants. The page who served the King with betel[538]
had fifteen thousand foot and two hundred horse, but he had no
elephants. Comarberca[539] had eight thousand foot and four hundred
horse and twenty elephants. The people of the chief of Bengapor[540]
went by another route with the people of Domar, who were very numerous;
and in the same way went other captains of ten or twelve thousand men,
of whom I make no mention, not knowing their names. The King took of
his guard six thousand horse and forty thousand foot, the pick of all
his kingdom, men with shields, archers, and three hundred elephants.
All were equally well armed, each after his own fashion, the archers
and musqueteers with their quilted tunics,[541] and the shieldmen
with their swords and poignards[542] in their girdles; the shields
are so large that there is no need for armour to protect the body,
which is completely covered; the horses in full clothing, and the
men with doublets,[543] and weapons in their hands, and on their
heads headpieces after the manner of their doublets, quilted with
cotton. The war-elephants go with their howdahs (CASTELLOS) from
which four men fight on each side of them, and the elephants are
completely clothed, and on their tusks they have knives fastened,
much ground and sharpened, with which they do great harm. Several
cannon were also taken. I do not speak here of the washermen, who are
numberless here -- they wash clothes -- nor of the public women who
accompanied the army; there were twenty thousand of them with the king
during his journey. Any one can imagine the amount of baggage that
such a large number of people would take. In the rear with the king,
but always on the road in front of him, some ten or twelve thousand
men with water-skins who go seeking water, and place themselves along
the road to give water to those who have no one to bring it to them;
this is done so that none of the people should die of thirst. Three
or four leagues in front of all this multitude go some fifty thousand
men who are like scouts; they have to spy out the country in front,
and always keep that distance; and on their flanks there are two
thousand horse of the cavalry of that country. These are all bowmen,
and they always advance on the flanks of the scouts.
In this order, as I have stated, they left the city of Bisnaga, and
with them a great number of merchants, besides many others who were
already in advance with all supplies; so that wherever you may be you
will at once find all you want. Every captain has his merchants who
are compelled to give him all supplies requisite for all his people,
and in the same way they carry all other necessaries
According to the King's custom, when he wishes to lie down and sleep,
they make for him a hedge of brush-wood and of thorns behind which
his tent is pitched, which was done for him all along this route;
on which route was seen a wonderful thing, namely that on passing
a river which, when they reached it, came half-way up to the knee,
before half the people had passed it was totally dry without a drop
of water; and they went about in the sand of it making pits to find
some water. In this order the King proceeded till he arrived at the
town of Mollabamdym,[544] which is a league from the city of Rachol,
where he pitched his camp so as to give a rest to the people after
the fatigues of the march.
And the King being in the city of Mollabamdyn, settling all that was
necessary for the siege of Rachol, there came to him people of the King
of Bisnaga, and the people of Domaar, and also many other captains with
an infinitude of people. As soon as they had joined and everything was
put in order, and after his Brahmans had finished their ceremonies
and sacrifices, they told the King that it was now time, that the
pagodas had given sign of conquest, and that he should advance.
Then he sent the Moors in the royal service to lead the van, and
Camanayque, the chief of the guard, pitched the camp very near the
ditches of the city of Rachol, and every captain halted his people
according to the commands given. The people of the City received
them with many shots from heavy cannon that they had, and from many
firelocks, and many arrows and musket-shots, so that those of the
besiegers who arrived close to the ditches suffered heavily and wanted
to retreat. But the King would not permit this, saying that he would
not have sent them there were it not that he would soon effect an
entry into the city, and if not, that they should all die; wherefore
his men were compelled to attack the city, and did so in many brave
and severe fights. In these many of them lost their lives, since
those of the city were in very strong position and well acquainted
with everything that was necessary for their defence, while the
King's troops never ceased their attacks on the city. The captains,
seeing how badly the attack was going in consequence of the number
of soldiers killed, had recourse to lavish gifts and stratagems,
as thus: -- They began to buy (from the soldiers) the stones which
they took from the walls and towers, and they paid them according to
the value of the stone; so that the stones were worth ten, twenty,
thirty, forty, and fifty FANAMS.[545] By this device they contrived
to dismantle the wall in many places, and laid the city open; but
since the city was in itself so strong, and the soldiers who were
in it were such chosen men and so used to warfare, they killed many
of the King's people. Yet not for that did they cease fighting, but
every day and at every attack they became bolder, in consequence of
their greed for what the captains gave them, for the money had the
power of taking from them the terror of death which had inspired them
before. They also gave them something for dragging away a dead man
from the foot of the wall. So the fight dragged on for a space of
three months till the Ydallcao came up with reinforcements.
Now I wish you to know more of the situation, and of the city, and
the people which it held. This city of Rachol lies between two great
rivers, and in the midst of a great plain where there are no trees
except very small ones, and there are great boulders there; from
each river to the city is three leagues. One of these rivers is the
northern boundary, and beyond it the country belongs to the Ydallcao,
and the other is the boundary to the south which is the boundary of
Narsymga. This plain lies in the middle of these two rivers, and there
are large lakes therein and wells and some little streams where the
city is situated, and a hill which looks like a woman's breast and
is of natural formation. The city has three lines of strong walls
of heavy masonry made without lime; the walls are packed with earth
inside, and it has on the highest point a fortress like a tower, very
high and strong; at the top where the fortress stands is a spring
of water which runs all the year round. It is held to be a holy and
mysterious thing that a spring which is in a lofty situation should
in some way never be without water. Besides this spring there are
several tanks of water and wells, so that the citizens had no fear
of being ever taken for lack of water; and there were in the city
supplies for five years. There were eight thousand men as garrison
and four hundred horse and twenty elephants, and thirty catapults
(TRABUCOS) which hurled heavy stones and did great damage. The towers
which are on the walls are so close together that one can hear words
spoken from one to the other. Between these and all around they
posted their artillery, which consisted of two hundred heavy pieces,
not to mention small ones. As soon as the people of the city knew
of the arrival of the King's troops, and after they had received a
captain of the Ydallcao who came with some soldiers to the city, they
closed the gates with stone and mortar. The chief fight which takes
place is on the east side, because on the north and south sides it
stands on huge rocks which make it very strong; and, the city being
besieged on all sides, the camp of the King was on the east side,
and so was the strength of the attack.
CHAPTER 8
Of the manner in which the King had his camp, &c.
The tent of the King was surrounded by a great hedge of thorns with
only one entrance, and with a gate at which stood his guards. Inside
this hedge lodged the Brahman who washes him and has charge of the
idol that he always carries about with him, and also other persons
who hold offices about the King's person, and eunuchs who are always
to be found in his chamber. And outside this circle all around are
his guards, who watch all night at fixed spots; with this guard are
quartered the officers of the household; and from thence to the front
were all the other captains in their appointed posts, according as
each one was entrusted and ordered. Outside of all these people, in
a camp by themselves, were the scouts of whom I have already spoken,
whose duty it is to patrol all night through the camp and watch to
see if they can catch any spies. On the other side the washermen,
(who are those that wash clothes) were in a camp by themselves,
and they were near to the place where they could best wash clothes.
All the camp was divided into regular streets. Each captain's division
has its market, where you found all kinds of meat, such as sheep,
goats, pigs, fowls, hares, partridges and other birds, and this
in great abundance; so much so that it would seem as if you were
in the city of Bisnaga. And you found many endless kinds of rice,
grains, Indian-corn, vetches (MINGUO),[546] and other seeds that they
eat. Besides these things, which are necessaries, they had another
(market) where you could find in great abundance everything that
you wanted; for in these markets they sell things that in our parts
are sold by professional hucksters.[547] There were craftsmen, also,
working in their streets, so that you saw made there golden jewels
and gewgaws, and you will find all kinds of rubies and diamonds and
pearls, with every other kind of precious stone for sale. There also
were to be seen sellers of cloths, and these were without number as
that is a thing so many want, they being of cotton. There were also
to be seen grass and straw in infinite abundance. I do not know who
could describe it so as to be believed, so barren a country is this
Rachol and so sandy. It is a mystery how there should be an abundance
of everything therein. Any one can imagine what grass and straw would
be required each day for the consumption of thirty-two thousand four
hundred horses and five hundred and fifty-one elephants,[548] to say
nothing of the sumpter-mules and asses, and the great numbers of oxen
which carry all the supplies and many other burdens, such as tents
and other things. Indeed no one who did not understand the meaning of
what he saw would ever dream that a war was going on, but would think
that he was in a prosperous city. Then to see the numbers of drums
and trumpets, and other musical instruments that they use. When they
strike up their music as sign that they are about to give battle it
would seem as if the heavens must fall; and if it happened that a bird
came flying along at the time when they made such a terrific noise,
it used to come down through terror of not being able to get clear
of the camp, and so they would catch it in their hands; principally
kites, of which they caught many.
But I cease to speak more of this because I should never finish;
and so I turn to tell of the battle.
CHAPTER 9
How the King attacked the city of Rachol.
The King, being as I have said at the siege of the city of Rachol,
there came to him sure news that the Ydallcao had arrived at the river
on the northern side, and that there he had pitched his camp. The
King therefore sent his spies to keep watch over the foe, to see what
he was doing and to send word of his every movement. With the coming
of this news a tumult broke out in the camp, principally among the
common soldiers, in whose minds suspicion was never wanting, and
they still suffered under the terror inspired from old time by the
Moors. There the Ydallcao halted some days so as to see what the King
was doing and whether he would march to attack him there in his camp;
for it was thought by him and by his people that as soon as the King
should learn of his arrival he would at once march to meet him, and
they decided that he could defend himself from the King in the place
where he was better than in any other, by help of the river. For
there was no other ford than the one close at hand; and this they
proposed to guard so well that none should take it, least of all,
they thought, men who (in their eyes) were only blacks.
Although the King heard that the enemy was on the opposite bank of the
river, he yet made no move, nor did he do anything; and the Ydallcao,
seeing that he made no advance, took counsel with his officers, and
at this council the advice given greatly differed, as each had his
own opinion regarding the non-movement of the King. Many said that
this was because the King held his foe to be of little account, and
wished to show his people how great was his power; and they said that
he was only waiting for them to cross the river to at once fall upon
them. The principal person who said this was Amcostam,[549] who was
captain of Pomdaa at the time that Dom Guterre was captain of Goa.[550]
Others said no, but that the King was afraid, thinking of times past
and the many conquests that the Moors had gained over the Hindus, and
that he had brought with him some veteran soldiers that had taken part
in those wars. The advice of these was to push forward and pass the
river. It was not well (they said) for the Ydallcao to show weakness,
and the longer he stayed where he was the less would he benefit himself
and harm the enemy; and although they were not so many in number as
the Hindus, yet they had the advantage in the remembrance of the former
battles that had been fought between them.[551] In the end the Ydallcao
ordered that they should muster the forces, and said that after this
was ended he would decide what was best to be done. When the muster
was made, he found that he had one hundred and twenty thousand men
on foot, archers and musqueteers and men with shields and spearmen,
and eighteen thousand cavalry, and one hundred and fifty elephants;
and when the muster was over and he had seen his forces for himself,
seeing also the great strength of artillery that he had, he said that
with his artillery he would seek to defeat the Rao of Narsymga. He
therefore ordered them to make ready, since he desired to cross the
river at once and advance to the attack; for the Ydallcao believed
that his best course was to halt on the farther side and thence send
his troops to charge the camp of the King, and that in so doing he
would not be beaten and would not lose Rachol.[552]
In this greedy resolve he passed the ford and advanced to within
three leagues of the King's camp, and he caused his own camp to be
strengthened by large trenches, and commanded all his artillery to
take post in front, and he arranged the order of his positions and
the manner in which they should behave if they were attacked by the
enemy. His camp extended along the length of the river for the sake
of the water, that he might not be cut off from it by the enemy.
As soon as they brought news to the King that the Ydallcao had passed
the river, he commanded all to make ready, but that no movement should
take place in his army till he should see how the enemy acted; and
when they brought him further news that the enemy had pitched his camp
and strengthened his position, he ordered a general advance of all his
forces. He divided his army into seven wings. Comarberya[553] begged
from him (the command) of the van, he being the king's father-in-law
and a great lord; he is King of Serigapatao and lord of a large state;
he brought with him thirty grown-up sons. The King bade him pitch his
camp a league from the Ydallcao and ordered all to arm themselves at
dawn, as he intended then to give battle to the enemy; but the men
of the Council said that that day was an unlucky day, and begged him
not to attack, as it was a Friday, and they asked him not to attack
till Saturday, which they hold for a lucky day.
When the King had left Rachol, those inside opened a gate, and one of
the captains who was inside, a eunuch, made a sally with two hundred
horse, certain foot-soldiers and elephants; he kept entirely along the
river-bank on the King's flank. The object of this no one could guess,
each one having his own opinion. As soon as the King halted he also
did the same, keeping always his spies in the King's camp to see what
passed and (what would be) the end of the battle. Since both armies
were so close, each to his foe, they never put aside their weapons
but watched all the night through.
Seeing that the dawn of Saturday was now breaking, the drums and
trumpets and other music in the King's camp began to sound and the
men to shout, so that it seemed as if the sky would fall to the earth;
then the neighing and excitement of the horses, and the trumpeting of
the elephants, it is impossible for any one to describe how it was. But
even if told in simple truth it would hardly be believed the great fear
and terror that struck those who heard it, so that even those very
men that caused the noise were themselves frightened at it. And the
enemy on their part made no less noise, so that if you asked anything
you could not hear yourself speak and you had to ask by signs, since
in no other manner could you make yourself understood. When all in the
camp had gone to the front it was already two hours after sunrise, and
the King ordered an advance of his two forward divisions, with command
so to strike home that they should leave not one of the enemy alive;
and this was forthwith done. They attacked the enemy so hotly that many
of the King's troops found themselves on the tops of the trenches[554]
that the Moors had constructed in the fields. The Moors were disposed
as if they expected that the King would engage them all at once
with all his forces, and so it appeared to the Ydallcao and to his
officers; and for that reason he held ready all his artillery, waiting
for the time when, owing to the adventurousness of their main body,
his men must of necessity cause much slaughter in their ranks. Then
he intended to bring up his artillery and destroy them. But as soon
as he saw the manner of their attack the Ydallcao had to abandon the
plan that had seemed to him best for their safety, and he commended
the whole of the artillery at once to open fire; which discharge,
as it was very great, did much damage to the enemy, killing many of
the horse and foot and many elephants, and it compelled the King's
troops to retire. As soon as the Moors saw their enemies beginning to
leave the field they charged all amongst them, so that there did not
remain one man in the saddle nor one who kept his face to the foe;
but all the King's troops began to fly, and the Moors after them,
slaughtering them for about half a league. When the King saw the way
in which his troops fled he began to cry out that they were traitors,
and that he would see who was his side; and that since they all had
to die they should meet their fate boldly according to custom.[555]
"Who ranges himself with me?" he cried. Immediately there thronged
about him all those lords and captains that were ready to side with
him, and the King said that the day had arrived in which the Ydallcao
would boast that he had slain in it the greatest lord in the world,
but that he should never boast that he had vanquished him. Then he
took a ring from his finger and gave it to one of his pages, so that
he might show it to his queens in token of his death, that they might
burn themselves according to custom. Then he mounted a horse and
moved forward with all his remaining-divisions, commanding to slay
without mercy every man of those who had fled. As soon as these last
saw what a reception they received at the hand of their fellows they
felt compelled to turn and charge the enemy, and their attack was
such that not one amongst the Moors was found to face them; for the
Moors met them as men engaged in a pursuit, all in great disorder. The
confusion was so great amongst the Moors and such havoc was wrought
(in their ranks) that they did not even try to defend the camp they
had made so strong and enclosed so well; but like lost men they leaped
into the river to save themselves. Then after them came large numbers
of the King's troops and elephants, which latter worked amongst them
mischief without end, for they seized men with their trunks and tore
them into small pieces, whilst those who rode in the castles (howdahs)
killed countless numbers.
The troops advanced thus, pursuing the foe, till the King reached
the river, where, seeing the death of so many -- for here you would
see women and boys who had left the camp, there horses and men who
through clinging one to another could not escape as there was so much
water in the river -- and the King's troops stood on the bank, so that
whenever a man appeared he was killed, and the horses that tried to
clamber up by the bank of the river, unable to do so, fell back on
the men, so that neither one nor the other escaped, and the elephants
went into the stream, and those that they could seize were cruelly
killed by them. Seeing what passed, I say, the King out of compassion
commanded the troops to retire, saying that numbers had died who did
not deserve death nor were at all in fault; which order was at once
obeyed by all the captains, so that each one withdrew all his forces.
The King then advanced to the camp of the Ydallcao and rested himself
in his tent, but many of the captains spoke against his action in thus
taking repose, saying that he ought rather to complete the destruction
of all his enemies, and they would secure this for him; and that if
he did not wish himself to do this he should at least command some
of them to do it, and that it was not wise to cease from pursuit so
long as daylight should last. To whom the King answered that many had
died who were not to blame; that if the Ydallcao had done him wrong,
he had already suffered enough; and moreover, that it did not seem to
him good, since Rachol remained behind them to be taken, that they
should go forward, but rather they should make themselves ready for
its capture; for that the siege had to be conducted henceforth in a
new and better manner. For the King was persuaded throughout that,
since the Ydallcao had lost so many men and so much honour, and had
lost indeed all his power, he would not wish to live any longer, and
that he must be dead on the field. Which, however, was not so, seeing
that the Ydallcao had not even entered into the fight, but had all
the time remained under guard of Sefallarym[556] -- he who now calls
himself Acadacao and is lord of Belgaum -- who, fearing the event,
contrived by cunning that the Ydallcao should select him for his
guard with all his troops, among whom he had four hundred cavalry;
and when he saw how the soldiers fled, and how completely they had
been defeated, he said to the Ydallcao, "Sire, if thou seekest to live
follow me!" and the Ydallcao took refuge on an elephant and followed
him, leaving his camp and all that he possessed. And as Acadacao wished
him to travel by land,[557] he took no care to search for the ford,
but skirting the range of hills on the south he went by that way.[558]
As it may be asked what became of the captain who sallied out of
Rachol with the two hundred horsemen and elephants and foot-soldiers,
I say that he ever kept himself advised of what passed in the field;
and as soon as he learned that the Ydallcao was defeated he turned
back to take refuge again in the citadel. But those within were
not of a mind to receive him, there being a quarrel between him and
another captain who was in the city; and he, seeing that they would
not admit him, was forced to think how he could save himself, and he
did so by passing the river by another ford farther down, and so saved
himself. The belief of many was that he who was inside thought that
he would now possess the city for his own, and that he would thereby
become rich, and for that reason refused to receive the captain.
CHAPTER 10
Of the spoil taken from the Moors, of how the King burned all the dead,
and of what Christovao de Figueiredo did.
The King being thus in the camp, he commanded the spoil that
remained of the Moors to be collected, and there were found five
captains who were taken prisoners (those of highest rank were found
amongst the dead); the chiefest of them was Salabatacao,[559] who
was captain-general of all the troops of the Ydallcao He had taken
for his guard in the battle five hundred Portuguese of the renegades
who were with the Moors; and as soon as this Salabatacao saw that his
army was defeated, he strove to collect and form a body of men, but
could not do it because there was not one amongst them who thought of
aught but to save himself. And thinking it worse to be conquered than
to die, he threw himself amongst the King's troops, slaughtering them,
and doing such wonderful deeds that ever after he and his Portuguese
were remembered, so much were their terrible strokes feared, and the
deeds they did; so that they let them pass on, and they penetrated
so far amongst the troops that they found themselves close to the
King's bodyguard. There the horse of Salabatacao was killed. In
order to succour him the Portuguese did great deeds and killed so
many men that they left a broad road behind them which no one dared
to enter, and they fought so well that they got another horse for
Salabatacao. As soon as he was on its back he seemed like nothing
but a furious wolf amongst sheep; but since already they were all
so exhausted, so wounded all over, and so encircled by the enemy
(for they were attacked at every point), Salabatacao was at length
overthrown, and his horse with him. And as the Portuguese who tried
to succour him were all killed, not one escaping, and he himself was
wounded in many places, he was taken prisoner.
The spoil was four thousand horses of Ormuz, and a hundred elephants,
and four hundred heavy cannon, besides small ones; the number of
gun-carriages for them was nine hundred, and there were many tents and
pavilions. I take no account of the sumpter-horses and oxen and other
beasts, for they were numberless, nor of the numbers of men and boys,
nor yet of some women, whom the King ordered to be released.
Here the King stayed till all the dead had been burned, and the
customary honours had been paid to them; and here he gave much
alms for the souls of those who had been killed in battle on his
side. These numbered sixteen thousand and odd. These things done,
he turned again upon Rachol and pitched his camp as he had done before.
During this return of the King there came to meet him Christovao
de Figueiredo,[560] who was at that time in the city of Bisnaga
with horses, and he took with him twenty Portuguese musqueteers,
he also himself having his musquet. The King took much pleasure in
his company, glad that he should see the war and his great power;
and he ordered some tents to be given to him of those taken from
the Ydallcao, and commanded that he should be lodged close to his
own quarters. One day Christovao de Figueiredo told the King that he
wanted to go and see the city, but the King said that he should not
set his heart upon that because he did not want any disaster to befall
him. But Christovao de Figueiredo replied that the whole business of
the Portuguese was war, and that this would be the greatest favour
that he could do him, namely that His Highness should permit him to
go and see the Moors. So the King gave him leave and sent some people
with him. Christovao de Figueiredo went close to the trench before
the walls, keeping himself as much concealed as possible, and seeing
how fearlessly the Moors exposed themselves on the wall, began, with
the musqueteers whom he had brought, to open fire on them in such a
way that he slew many, the Moors being careless and free from fear,
as men who up to then had never seen men killed with firearms nor with
other such weapons. So they began to forsake the wall (at this point),
and the king's troops found an opportunity of coming in safety to it,
and they began to destroy much of the masonry; and so many people
collected on this side that all the camp was put in commotion,
saying that Christovao de Figueiredo had entered the city with his
Portuguese. This was told to the King. Those in the city could not
understand what was going on, nor how these people came to be in the
King's service, until they recollected how on the day of the other
fight the Portuguese had come, and then they considered themselves
lost. For by the aid of those men the King's people came without fear
to the wall, where already it was damaged in many places, because the
city had its cannon so high up that these could do no injury to the men
who were at the foot of the wall. The wall also was filled up inside
with earth, and there were no cannon in the breaches. The people of
the city whom up to that time they had killed had been supplied with
stones which they had flung on the besiegers from the top of the wall,
and with musquets and arrows, so that even if the King's men were able
to reach the wall at all they were at least wounded; but as Christovao
de Figueiredo with the Portuguese prevented the enemy from appearing
at all on the wall, the Hindus were enabled to reach it at their ease.
Here you would have seen how the King's captains begged Christovao
de Figueiredo to permit them one day to attack the Moors in his
company, and he, in order to content the more honourable of them,
went with them on those days. One day he divided his musqueteers
into three companies and began to kill several amongst the Moors
who showed themselves, insomuch that none durst be seen; and then
the King's troops began, in these three divisions, to attack the
wall with many pickaxes and crowbars,[561] and he sent to tell the
rest that they should attack on their own account; and such was the
result that the defenders of the city began to abandon the first
line of fortification, and the women and children took refuge in the
citadel. The captain of the city, seeing the dismay that had spread
amongst his people, began to turn them back with encouraging words,
and with some of them betook himself to that part of the wall which
he saw was most severely pressed, begging them that they would come
back to the wall and not be afraid. He was answered by some that at
that point were those Franks[562] who were helping, and that as soon
as any one showed himself he was a dead man; and he, wishing to see
for himself where the Portuguese were, reached over with his body in
front one of the embrasures and was killed with a musquet-shot that
struck him in the middle of his forehead. It was said by the Moors that
Christovao de Figueyredo had killed him, and they took notice of him
(DERAO SYGNAES D ELLE). As soon as the captain was thus killed there
was great lamentation in the city, and soon the wall was deserted,
so that the men from the King's camp were left to do as they pleased
with it; and they noticed the outcry that arose within and saw that
there was no one defending the wall. They therefore retired to see
what should happen, and left off fighting for that day.
CHAPTER 11
How those in the city asked for terms, and the king granted them
quarter.
Next day, which was twenty days since the battle had taken place in
which the Ydallcao had been defeated, the men of the city opened a
gate, and with a white flag carried in front of them went the way of
the King's camp with their hands uplifted, begging the King's mercy.
When the King was advised of their coming, he commanded Solestema,[563]
his minister, to receive them; and when they saw that he came out to
receive them they began to hope that they should experience kindness
at the King's hands.
Thus they came to the place where he was, and there they prostrated
themselves on the ground with much groaning and tears, and besought
his pity and benevolence.
The King commanded them to rise, saying that he would save all their
persons and property, and that they need have no fear but should
return to the city, and that on the next day he would enter it;
and he bade a captain take possession of the city.
Whilst the Moors were thus in presence of the King (the soldiers
looking on), they saw Christovao de Figueiredo, and told the King
that the conquest and capture of the city was due to that foreigner,
that he had slain their captain, and with his people had killed many
Moors, which caused the city's destruction. The King, casting his
eyes on Christovao de Figueiredo, nodded his head, and turned to the
people telling them to observe what great things could be effected
by one good man. He then retired to his tent and the men of the city
to the city, and the king's troops made great feasting and rejoicing.
CHAPTER 12
How the King entered the city, and of the feast that was made for him,
and of the regulations and arrangements he made there.
As soon as the next day dawned, the King, after he had performed both
his customary prayers and others which it is their wont to offer after
victories, giving thanks to God (for indeed the principal thing they
pray for is a conquest such as this), rode in company with the other
great lords and his captains, and with his guard took the way to the
city. There the citizens were standing awaiting his arrival, with more
cheerful countenances than their real feelings warranted, yet striving
to take courage, and they followed him with much loud shouting; crying,
-- "God be praised who has sent to save us after so many years!" and
with these and other such words they begged him to spare them and have
pity on them. So he proceeded till he arrived close to the citadel,
when he sent to call the most honoured men in the city, and to these
the King said that he would spare all their property, that they might
freely act as they wished regarding both that and their persons,
and those who wished to stay in the city might remain in their old
state as before; and as for those who wished to depart they might do
so at once with all that they possessed. They all raised their hands
to Heaven, and threw themselves on the ground in thankfulness for such
gentle treatment. While the King was thus engaged there came men to
tell him that his troops were robbing the city, and he at once tool;
measures to prevent this, and everything was returned to its owner;
but as in such cases as these the conquered are content merely with
their own liberty, laying little store by anything they may get back,
great robberies took place; and some of these afterwards came to the
ears of the King, and those who had done it were soundly chastised.
In a short time the defeat of the Ydallcao was known all over India,
and also in other regions of the interior, he being a great lord in
these parts; and as soon as the news was carried to Zemelluco and
Madremalluco and Destuy and Virido, and also to other lords who were
like slaves to the king Daquym,[564] although in some measure they
rejoiced since they wished him ill, yet on the other hand they began
to be fearful for their own safety.[565] So they all took measures
to send their envoys, and these found the King still inside the
city of Rachol. Astonished though they were to see that the King
had captured so strong a city, they were much more surprised to see
how great was his power and how numerous his troops. Having arrived
where he was they gave him the letters they had brought, and these
were forthwith read. In these the chiefs told the King that he ought
to content himself with having defeated the Ydallcao as he had done,
and ought not to wage further war; they begged him of his goodness
to return to the Ydallcao that which he had so taken from him, and
that if he did so they would always obey whatever he commanded; but
if he was not of a mind to this, then he must know for certain that
they would be compelled to turn against him and forthwith join the
Ydallcao, for whom they would speedily recover that which he had now
lost. The King, seeing what was contained in the letters, answered
them in the following manner by one single letter to them all; --
"Honoured Madremalluco, and Zemelluco, Descar, and Veride, and all
others of the kingdom of Daquym, I have seen your letters, and thank
you much for what you have sent to say. As regards the Ydallcao,
what I have done to him and taken from him he has richly deserved;
as regards returning it to him that does not seem to me reasonable,
nor am I going to do it; and as for your further statement that ye will
all turn against me in aid of him if I do not do as ye ask, I pray
you do not take the trouble to come hither, for I will myself go to
seek ye if ye dare to await me in your lands; -- and this I send you
for answer." And he commanded to give many gifts to the messengers,
and giving his letter to them sent them away.
CHAPTER 13
How a number of people left the city, and the King did much kindness
to them.
Many people left the city, and to many who had nothing wherewith to
depart the king commanded to give all that was required for their
journey. Here the King stayed some days, after having made all the
arrangements that were necessary for the government of the city;
and after repairing the walls he left behind him sufficient troops
to guard the place, and took the road to the city of Bisnaga, where
he was received with great triumphs, and great feasts were made and
he bestowed bountiful rewards on his troops.
As soon as the festivals were ended he went to the new city; and,
being there, they told him how there was entered an ambassador of the
Ydallcao. Already he knew that an ambassador had come but he pretended
that he did not know, since it is not customary for the King to send
out to receive any ambassador (on his arrival). Since this ambassador
was in the city of Bisnaga, knowing that the King was in the new
city, which is two leagues from Bisnaga, he betook himself thither;
and close to the city bade the people pitch his tent, which was the
best and most beautiful and rich that up to that time had ever been
seen in those parts. This ambassador was called Matucotam; he brought
with him one hundred and fifty horse and much people to serve him and
many pack animals, among which were certain camels. He brought also
two of the scribes of the chamber of the Ydallcao, so that indeed
you would believe that he had brought all the power of the Ydallcao
"pera segumdo elle ficou desbaratado."[566]
As soon as he had thus settled himself the ambassador sent to inform
the King of his arrival, and begged that His Highness would grant
him an audience and despatch him without delay. The King replied that
he would see him,[567] but told him that he should not be impatient
since he himself had but now arrived, and that he would give him
leave to depart as soon as the time had arrived. And with this the
ambassador stayed there a month without the King having sought to see
him, nor having asked to know why he had come; he went every day to
the palace, and seeing the way in which the King acted towards him
he determined to speak no more but to wait till the King summoned
him. Still he never ceased to go every day to the palace and to speak
with the nobles. One day the King sent to tell the ambassador that
the following day was an auspicious day, and that he wished to hear
him and learn wherefore he had come, and the ambassador made ready
as it behoved him to present himself before so great a lord. As was
fitting, considering his mission and the request he had to make, he
was accompanied by many Moors whom the city contained, and had with
him all his people with their trumpets and drums as was customary;
and so he went to the palace, where he was received very honourably
by the nobles and officers of the household. They seated themselves
inside the first gate, awaiting there a message from the King giving
permission to enter where he was, and there was no long delay before
the command to admit him was given. His obeisance to the King having
been made according to his mode and custom, the men of the council
standing by the King's side, he was bidden to announce the terms
of his embassy, the King being ready graciously to listen; and the
ambassador, seeing that the King so commanded, delivered himself of
his message in manner following, with the awed demeanour assumed by
such envoys when they find themselves in presence of such great kings.
CHAPTER 14
How the Captain acquitted himself of his embassy before the King.
"Sire! the Ydallcao, my master, sends me to thee; and by my mouth he
begs thee that thou wouldest be pleased to do justice. He bids me
say that he bears very good will towards thee[568] as towards the
most true and powerful prince in all the world, and one possessed,
of most justice and truth; that thou without reason hast broken the
friendship and peace which thou hast had towards him, and not only
so but a peace which was made so many years ago and maintained by all
the kings so truthfully; that he does not know why thou hast left thy
kingdom and made such war on him; that he was without suspicion when
they brought him the news how thou hadst besieged the city of Rachol,
and hadst robbed and destroyed the country round about, which news
caused him to move and come to its rescue; that then all the members of
his court were slain by thee, and his camp all plundered and destroyed,
thou thyself being good witness of what was done, and that he begs
thee to make amends therefor, and to send back to him his artillery
and tents, his horses and elephants, with the rest that was taken from
him, and also to restore his city of Rachol; that if thou wilt give him
the satisfaction for which he prays as to this property and all other
things thou wilt have him always for a loyal friend; but if not, thy
action will be evil, even though pleasing to thyself." Thus he ended,
without saying more. The King said that he might retire and repose,
and that next day he would give him leave to depart, and the King
gave him a robe of silk and the cloths that are customary.
CHAPTER 15
How the King sent to call the ambassador, and of the answer which he
gave to him.
Next day the King sent to call the ambassador, and after other things
had been spoken of between[569] them, the King said that he would be
content to restore everything to the Ydallcao according to his wish,
and would be pleased at once to release Satabetacao, provided the
Ydallcao would come and kiss his foot. When the ambassador heard the
King's answer he took leave of him and went to his tent; and he wrote
to the Ydallcao and told him what had passed, sending to him one of the
scribes that had come with him. And much time had not passed when the
Ydallcao sent him a reply, saying: How could it be possible for him to
meet the King, seeing that he could not go to Bisnaga? and yet that
he was of full mind joyfully to do that which the King wished. With
this answer the ambassador went to the King, and since the King
would have set higher value on the Ydallcao's coming to kiss his feet
than on all that he had taken from him, he said to the ambassador,
"Do thou cause the Ydallcao to come to the confines of my kingdom, for
I shall be, soon there." Agreeing to this, the ambassador departed,
so as to persuade the Ydallcao to come to the boundary. The King on
his part went forthwith to a city called Mudugal[570] which is close
to the boundary, and there he waited until they told him that the
Ydallcao was coming and was already near at hand. Forthwith the King
set out to meet him, and entered the kingdom of Daquem, so desirous
was he to meet the Ydallcao; but the Ydallcao, after all, dared not
meet the King. And the King journeyed so far, whilst they kept saying
to him, "Lo! he is here close at hand," that he even went as far as
Bizapor,[571] which is the best city in all the kingdom of Daquem. It
has numbers of beautiful houses built according to our own fashion,
with many gardens and bowers made of grape-vines, and pomegranates,
and oranges and lemons, and all other kinds of garden produce.
Hither went the King, for it seemed well for him to await the coming
of the Ydallcao in so goodly a city; and he formed the determination
that if he got him here he would seize him or command him to be put to
death, to avenge the affront that had been put upon him; and seeing
that his enemy did not dare to come he remained in the city several
days. Then he turned away because water failed him; for since this
city lies in a plain and has no water save that which it receives
from rainfall into two lakes, of which there are two large ones, the
Moors had opened these in order to drain them, so that the King should
not be able to stay in their country. For this reason it behoved the
King to depart. But the city was left almost in ruins -- not that the
King had commanded it to be destroyed, but that his troops, in order
to make fires for cooking, had torn down so many houses that it was
a great grief to see -- and this was occasioned by there being in
the country a dearth of firewood, which comes to them from a great
distance. The Ydallcao sent to ask the King what wrong the houses
of his captains had done that he had commanded to destroy them; for
there remained no other houses standing save only the palaces of the
Ydallcao, the King himself being therein. The King sent answer that it
was not he who had done it, but that he could not control his people.
When the King went to the town of Modogal the Ydallcao returned to
Bigapor, where, seeing the great havoc that had been wrought in it,
he took to himself the blame for such damage having been done,[572]
saying that if he had gone to the King such destruction would not have
taken place, and that at least he could do this in future; he said that
he had been badly advised since for his own part he had been prepared
to do it. Thus he took counsel with his advisers, putting before them
how secure his position was if he had the friendship of the King,
that if allied to him he might be able to still further increase
(the greatness of) his State, and that with the King's favour he
would be able to carry out all his wishes. Concerning these things
and others similar to these he continued constantly speaking with his
advisers. Wherefore Acadacao the lord of Bilgao, he who had fled with
him in the battle, and who was a man sagacious and cunning in such
matters, addressed the Ydallcao begging permission to go himself to
the King, and saying that he would remedy everything and would cause
everything to take place just as his lord wished; and the Ydallcao
listened to him readily.
Now Acadacao did not trouble himself to make this journey because
he desired to serve the Ydallcao, for another would have done it as
well, but he did it with a villainous motive and from the ill-will
he bore to Salebatacao whom the King held in prison at Bisnaga; and
the reason that he had this wicked motive was because Salebatacao
knew that Acadacao was the man that had caused the Ydallcao to
flee, and that the cowardice of such an act was enough to destroy
an army. Salebatacao had spoken angrily about this to all those who
went to see him or who were sent to visit him, and he always said
that he did not desire to be released from his captivity save for one
reason only, namely that he might ruin Acadacao and war against him as
against a mortal enemy. These things were all known to Acadacao, and he
knew that if they released him it would come to pass as he had said,
and therefore he determined to prevent this by contriving his enemy's
death, as will be mentioned in its place. It was for this reason that
Acadacao asked to be sent as ambassador to the King; and this was done.
CHAPTER 16
How Acadacao went as ambassador for his King and compassed the death
of Sallabatecao.
Acadacao, being despatched by the Ydallcao, accompanied by certain
horsemen with some servants took the road to the city of Mudogal where
the King was, and the Ydallcao went with him as far as the river. When
Acadacao had arrived, being allowed inside the city by command of
the King, he remained several days without seeing the King until he
was summoned by his order; then he was admitted and spoke with the
King, giving him, with the manner of one who in such negotiations is
both wise and bold, an excuse for the mistake which the Ydallcao had
committed. He knew how to speak to the King so well that he removed
all the King's wrath and fury against the Ydallcao, and he told the
King that the principal cause why the Ydallcao did not meet him was
the conduct of Salebatacao whom he had captured, and that this man
had written to the Ydallcao telling him not to do so, and giving for
reason that the King desired to slay him. By these and other similar
sayings he sought to set the King's mind against Salebatacao, even to
the death, and the King, seeing what Acadacao wanted, and believing
that a man of such great fame would not be guilty of saying anything
that was not perfectly true, angrily commanded that Salebatacao,
who was then in Bisnaga, should be beheaded; and this was at once
done as soon as the message arrived.
As soon as Acadacao had accomplished this business he thought himself
unsafe, and at once asked leave of the King, saying that he wished
to go and get the Ydallcao to come to the river, so that when His
Highness arrived he might meet him there. But the King told him not to
be impatient but to amuse himself there some days, and added that he
wished to show him some things, and that he had somewhat about which
to speak to him. Acadacao, however, being afraid that his treason
would be discovered, did not feel safe, and behaved in such a manner
that what he had done concerning Salebatacao was found out; wherefore
the King sent to seize him, but when they went to look for him he was
already gone. For he fled one night and betook himself to the Ydalcao,
telling him that the King had commanded Salebatacao to be put to death,
and that he wanted to do the same to him, and so he had escaped; and
it seemed to him that he (the Ydalcao) ought not to trust the King,
who after all was nothing but a black. After he had spoken in this
way he went to Bilgao, where he strengthened his position, and when
the Ydallcao sent afterwards to summon him he never obeyed, because
he knew that the wickedness that he had done had been found out.
CHAPTER 17
How the King went to the extremity of his territory to meet the
Ydalcao, and what he did on not finding him.
The King did not fail to go to the extremity of his territory, and
since he did not find the Ydalcao there, nor his mother, as Acadacao
had told him, he at once perceived that this was due to trickery
on the part of Acadacao, and that he had done it all in order to
compass the death of Salebatacao. Full of fury at this he entered
the kingdom of Daquem and marched against the city of Culbergura[573]
and destroyed it and razed the fortress to the ground, and the same
with many other places.
Thence he wanted to press forward, but his councillors did not agree
to this, saying that water would fail him by that road and that it
did not seem to them that those Moorish lords whom they counted as
friends would be otherwise than afraid that the King would take their
lands as he had taken those of the others, since they all served one
sovereign, and that for this reason these lords would probably make
friends with the Ydalcao, and together they would come against the
King; and although there was no reason to be afraid of them, yet the
King must needs fear the want of water, of which they had none. And
the King agreed that this counsel was good.
In this city of Calbergara, in the fortress belonging to it, the King
took three sons of the King of Daquem. He made the eldest King of the
kingdom of Daquem, his father being dead, though the Ydallcao wanted
to make King one of his brothers-in-law, who was a bastard son of
the King of Daquem, and had married one of the Ydallcao's sisters;
for this reason he had kept these three brothers prisoners in that
fortress. He whom he thus made King was received by all the realm as
such, and obeyed by all the great lords, and even by the Ydallcao owing
to his fear of the King.[574] The other two brothers he took with him,
and gave them each one an allowance, to each one every year fifty
thousand gold PARDAOS; and he holds them and treats them as princes
and great lords, as indeed they are. After the return of the King
to Bisnaga, which took place in the same year in which he had left,
nothing more passed between him and the Ydalcao worthy of record,
relating either to peace or war.
CHAPTER 18
How this King, during his own lifetime, raised to be King his son,
being of the age of six years.
After the King had made an end of this, and had obtained so great a
victory over his enemies, perceiving that he was already advanced in
years, desiring to rest in his old age and wishing his son to become
King when he died, he determined to make him King during his lifetime,
the boy being six years old and the King not knowing what would happen
after his death. Wherefore he abdicated his throne and all his power
and name, and gave it all to his son, and himself became his minister,
and Salvatinica[575] who had held that office became his counsellor,
and he made one of the latter's sons a great lord among them. And so
far did King Crisnarao go that after he had given the kingdom to his
son, he himself did obeisance to him. With these changes the King
made great festivals which lasted eight months, during which time
the son of the King fell sick of a disease of which he died.
After his death Crisnarao learned that his son had died by poison given
him by the son of Sallvatinica, and in his anger, being certain that
this was so, he sent to call Salvatinica and his son and Guandaja,
brother of Ssallvatinica, and many other captains relatives of
Ssallvatinica, and made them a speech at the time of the salaam,
there being present many chiefs and principal persons of the kingdom,
and relations of Ssallvatinica; he addressed him thus: -- "I held thee
always as my great friend, and now for these forty years thou hast
been governor in this kingdom, which thou gavest me; yet I am under
no obligation to thee for that, because in doing so thou didst act
in a way contrary to thy duty. Thou wert bound, since thy lord the
King my brother commanded so, to put out mine eyes; yet thou didst
not carry out his will nor obey him, but instead thou didst cheat
him and the eyes of a goat were put out, wherefore, since thou didst
not fulfil his command, thou wert a traitor, and thy sons with thee
for whom I have done so much. Now I have learnt that my son died of
poison given to him by thee and thy sons, and for that ye are all here
made prisoners." With these words he arose and laid hands on them and
seized them, and in doing so called for aid from many Portuguese who
were then in the country with horses, asking them to come to his aid;
and after he had seized the men, father and sons, they remained three
years in prison. And he made minister a son of Codemerade, the same
who had killed the son of King Narsymga in the city of Penagundy in
the garden by treachery, by command of the King his father, as has
already been told in this history.[576]
And soon afterwards Danayque, son of Salvatinica, escaped from prison
and betook himself to a mountain range in which dwelt nobody but
robbers and highwaymen, and in this there was a fortress where dwelt
a captain, his relative, who received him and helped him in all that
he could, and from there he made such war on the King Crisnarao that
he was driven to send against him much people, and as captain of the
army he sent his minister Ajaboissa, who invested the place on all
sides and took him therein and brought him prisoner to the King. After
he had so come the King commanded him to be brought before him, with
Sallvatinica his father and another brother of his who was kept in
the prison, and he sent them to the place of executions and there had
their eyes put out, for in this country they do not put Brahmans to
death but only inflict some punishment so that they remain alive. So he
put them in prison again, and there Timadanayque died, and Salvatinica
his father remained in the prison with his other son Gamdarja.[577]
CHAPTER 19
How the Ydallcao came against Rachol, and did not dare to await the
King, and fled.
At this time the Ydallcao collected his army and formed afresh
his forces of cavalry and elephants, and marched upon Rachol which
remained under the king of Bisnaga. Hearing this news, Crisnarao,
without even telling any one, ordered to saddle a horse, and he rode
at full speed in the direction of Rachol where already the Ydallcao
was; but as soon as his enemy was aware of the coming of the King
he fled. On the road King Crisnarao bought six hundred horses from
the Portuguese at the rate of 4 3/4 for 1000 pardaos.[578] And from
Rachol he sent a message to the Ydallcao saying that he had already
twice broken his oath and his word, and that as he had not fulfilled
the promise he had made he would make war on him in such fashion as
that by force he should become his vassal, and that he would not let
him alone till he had taken from him Billgao.[579]
As the winter had now begun the King could not then go forward, and
so he went to Bisnaga to make ready for this war; and he commanded to
prepare a large force of artillery, and sent an ambassador to Goa to
ask for the help of the Governor. He promised him that after taking
Billgao he would give him the mainland; for this city of Billgao is
fifteen leagues from Goa, and its captain is lord of the mainland
of Goa. Goa is the frontier or boundary of his city of Billgao,
and there is one of his captains at a fortress called Pomda which
is three leagues from Goa by the mainland, who also receives the
revenues and has command over several villages; and in like manner
these and others have captains appointed by the Ydalcao, who is lord
of the whole land.[580]
While Crisnarao was thus making ready he presently fell sick of the
same illness of which all his ancestors had died, with pains in the
groin, of which die all the kings of Bisnaga.
Now this King Crisnarao, when he was young and growing up in this
city of Bisnaga, had an intrigue with a courtezan for whom he had
much affection, and who was called Chinadevidy, and for the great
love he bore her he promised many times that if ever he became King
he would marry her; and though he said this in jest, it afterwards
became true, so the history records. For when raised to the throne
and taken away from the things he had done when a young man, he still
did not forget the affection he felt for this woman, but used secretly
to leave his palace and go to her house. And this was discovered one
night by his minister Sallvatinica, who watched him until he had got
into the woman's house, and he rebuked him much for it and brought
him back to the palace. Then the King told him how well he loved her,
and that he had promised to marry this woman and was determined to
do so in any case; and the minister, seeing how he was bent on it,
gave way to his wish, saying that he would accomplish it in such
a way that His Highness would not be blamed for it. In order to do
this he sought for him a very beautiful woman of the family of the
kings of Narsymga, and after he had married him to her, at the end of
the wedding ceremonies, he put this woman and the other in a house,
to which he had added a tower very lofty and large, and in which he
lodged her. Afterwards the King married many other wives, for these
kings hold it as a very honourable thing to have many wives; and
this King Crisnarao married four, and yet he loved this one better
than any of the others. This King built a city in honour of this
woman, for the love he bore her, and called its name Nagallapor and
surrounded it with a new wall which is one of the best works that he
has in his kingdom, and he made in it a street very long and large
with houses all of masonry. In order to people this town he ordered
all the chiefs of his kingdom to build themselves palaces therein,
and so they did. This town has one principal street, of length
four thousand and seven hundred paces[581] and of breadth forty,
which is certainly the most beautiful street it is possible to see;
and he made and finished this town without stinting any expense on
it. It now yields forty-two thousand PARDAOS of duties for things
which enter into it, the duties in this land being very great; since
nothing comes through the gates that does not pay duty, even men and
women, as well as head-loads and all merchandise.
This King also made in his time a lake for water, which lies between
two very lofty SERRAS. But since he had no means in the country for
making it, nor any one who could do it, he sent to Goa to ask the
Governor to send some Portuguese masons, and the Governor sent him
Joao della Ponte,[582] a great worker in stone, to whom the King told
how he wanted the tank built. Though it seemed to this man (MESTRE,
modern MAISTRY) impossible to be made, nevertheless he told the King
he would do it and asked him to have lime prepared, at which the
King laughed much, for in his country when they build a house they
do not understand how to use lime. The King commanded to throw down
quantities of stone and cast down many great rocks into the valley,
but everything fell to pieces, so that all the work done in the day
was destroyed each night, and the King, amazed at this, sent to
call his wise men and sorcerers and asked them what they thought
of this thing. They told him that his idols were not pleased with
this work, it being so great and he giving them nothing, and that
unless he spilled there the blood of men or women or buffaloes that
work would never be finished. So the King sent to bring hither all
the men who were his prisoners, and who deserved death, and ordered
them there to be beheaded; and with this the work advanced. He made
a bank across the middle of the valley so lofty and wide that it was
a crossbow-shot in breadth and length, and had large openings;[583]
and below it he put pipes by which the water escaped, and when they
wish so to do they close these. By means of this water they made many
improvements in the city, and many channels by which they irrigated
rice-fields and gardens, and in order that they might improve their
lands he gave the people the lands which are irrigated by this water
free for nine years,[584] until they had made their improvements,
so that the revenue already amounts to 20,000 PARDAOS.
Above this tank is a very large ridge all enclosed, and in the middle
some very strong gates with two towers, one on one side and one on
the other; and within are always posted 1000 men on guard. For through
this gate all things must enter that come into the two cities, since
in order to enter the city of Bisnaga there is no other road but this,
all other roads meeting there. This gate is rented out for 12,000
PARDAOS each year, and no man can enter it without paying just what the
renters ask, country folk as well as strangers. In both these cities
there is no provision or merchandise whatever,[585] for all comes from
outside on pack-oxen, since in this country they always use beasts
for burdens;[586] and every day there enter by these gates 2000 oxen,
and every one of these pays three VINTEES,[587] except certain polled
oxen without horns, which never pay anything in any part of the realm.
Outside these two cities are fields and places richly cultivated with
wheat and gram and rice and millet, for this last is the grain which
is most consumed in the land; and next to it betel (BETRE), which is
a thing that in the greater part of the country they always eat and
carry in the mouth.
CHAPTER 20
How on the death of Crisnarao his brother Achetarao was raised to
be king.
Before[588] the death of King Crisnarao from his disease as has been
before recounted, being sick and already despairing of his life, he
made a will, saying that of his three brothers whom, at the time when
they raised him to be King, he had sent to be confined in the fortress
of Chamdegary[589] with his nephew, son of the King Busbalrao,[590]
they should make King his brother Achetarao[591] who now reigns;
for the latter seemed to him to be better fitted for that than any
of the others, for the reason that he himself had no son of fit age
for the throne, but only one of the age of eighteen months. After his
death Salvanay became minister of the kingdom, and governed it till
the coming of King Achitarao from the fortress of Chamdegary where
he was detained. And he further left in his will that he should take
Billgao,[592] and should make war on the Ydallcao.
Which King Chytarao, after he ascended the throne, gave himself over to
vice and tyranny. He is a man of very little honesty, and on account of
this the people and the captains are much discontented with his evil
life and inclinations; for he has never done anything except those
things that are desired by his two brothers-in-law,[593] who are men
very evilly disposed and great Jews. By reason of this the Ydalcao,
learning of how little weight he was, determined to make war on him,
believing that he would easily succeed since the King was not inclined
to war; so he made his forces ready, and began to invade the King's
territory, and arrived within a league of the city of Bisnaga. Chetarao
was in the city with such great forces and power that he could easily
have captured him if his heart had allowed him to take action, since
the Ydallcao had with him only 12,000 foot and 30,000 horse; yet
with this small force the Ydallcao entered Nagallapor a league from
Bisnaga and razed it to the ground. The King never tried to go out
against him, nor had he the stomach for a fight, and there were only
small skirmishes by some captains, good horsemen. These spoke to the
King, asking that His Highness would give them leave to attack, and
saying that his own presence was unnecessary for so slight an affair;
but the King was terrified, and by the advice of his brothers-in-law
(of which they gave not a little) decided to send and make peace with
the Ydallcao. The Ydallcao was very glad and made a peace with him
which was to last for a hundred years, on condition that the King
should give him ten LAKHS of gold PARDAOS, each LAKH being 100,000
PARDAOS, and further should yield up to him the city of Rachol which
the King Crisnarao had taken from him, and which had a revenue with
its lands of 150,000 PARDAOS, as well as jewels which could easily
be valued at a LAKH. The King accepted these terms, and the Ydallcao
departed well pleased with this money; and after all was done the
King sent to him a diamond stone weighing 130 MANGELLINIS,[594]
with fifteen other similar ones worth fully a LAKH. This money he
soon afterwards recovered and put in his treasury, exacting payments
from his captains and people so ruthlessly that they say that in six
months he had recovered and put the whole in his treasury.
Wherefore the captains and troops, both because he made this peace
and because he exacted this sum of money contrary to the wishes of
them all, have lived greatly discontented, and have held that if this
kingdom should ever be brought to destruction, it must take place in
the lifetime of King Chitarao; for he had destroyed the principal
people of his kingdom and killed their sons and taken their goods,
all owing to the bad counsel of his brothers-in-law, by whom he
was dominated.
I will tell you of one who was called Crisnaranarque whom he seized
one night, and who, before he surrendered himself, killed all his
wives, in number two hundred, and then killed himself with poison in
presence of the King. This was because the King wanted to kill his son
in his presence. By sale of the captain's arms, namely daggers, swords,
spears, battle-axes and other things, which were all ornamented with
gold and silver, the King realised more than 3000 PARDAOS. In this way
the kingdom has been deprived of its principal men and of those who
sustain it, wherefore the Ydalcao holds it in so little esteem that he
puts upon it every day a thousand affronts and requisitions. Of this
King there is nothing more so far to recount, save that he is a man
that they hold to be of little force of character, and very negligent
of the things which most concern the welfare of his kingdom and State.
CHAPTER 21
Of the manner of attendance on these kings, which is as follows.
[What follows concerns the reign of Achyuta Raya.]
All the service of this house, with the things which they make use of,
is of silver and gold, that is to say basins and bowls, stools, ewers,
and other vessels of that sort. The bedsteads[595] in which his wives
sleep are covered and adorned with silver plates. Every wife has her
bed in which she sleeps, and that of the King is plated and lined and
has all its legs of gold, its mattress of silk, and its round bolster
worked round the ends with large seed pearls. It has four pillows of
the same pattern for the feet, and has no other sheet than a silk
cloth on top. He always carries with him a mosquito curtain with a
frame of silver,[596] and he has a house made of pieces of iron in
which is contained a very large bed, which is intended for such time
as he takes the field.
He has five hundred wives and as many less or more as he wants, with
whom he sleeps; and all of these burn themselves at his death. When
he journeys to any place he takes twenty-five or thirty of his most
favourite wives, who go with him, each one in her palanqueen with
poles. The palanqueen of the principal wife is an covered with scarlet
cloth tasselled with large and heavy work in seed-pearls and pearls,
and the pole itself is ornamented with gold. The palanqueens of the
other wives are ornamented only with silver, but another palanqueen,
which is for his own person, always goes on the right side, and is in
the same way decorated with gold. For a son or a daughter, if such an
one goes with him, he takes another bedstead of ivory inlaid with gold;
and when he takes the field, wherever he pitches his camp there they
make for him houses of stone and clay, for he does not stay in a tent,
and he always has these decorated with cloths.[597]
In his palace within the gates he is served by women and eunuchs
and servants numbering fully five or six hundred; and these wives
of the King all have their own officials for their service, each
for herself, just as the King has within the gates, but these are
all women. The palaces of the King are large and with large rooms;
they have cloisters like monasteries, with cells, and in each one is
one of his wives, and with each of these ladies is her maid-servant;
and when the King retires to rest he passes through these cloisters,
and his wives stand at the doors and call him in; but these are not
the principal wives, they are the daughters of captains and nobles
of the country. Inside the gates of the palace they say that there
are over two hundred milch-cows, from the milk of which they make
butter for these ladies to eat.
The King has no expense in connection with his food, because the nobles
send it to him every day to his house, namely rice and wheat and meat
and fowls with all other necessary things. In the kitchen there are
some two hundred inferior guards, and four over it, and two chief
officers of the guard; and those who are now captains of the guard
of this king are called, one Pedanayque and the other Ajanaique,
they are also captains of soldiers; these porters do not go further
inside than through four or five doors, because inside of these are
none but eunuchs and women.
When the King rides out there go with him usually two hundred
horsemen of his guard whom he pays, and a hundred elephants, and
this in addition to the captains, forty or fifty in number, who
are always in attendance with their soldiers. He takes with him two
thousand men with shields, all men of good position, ranged in order
on the flanks, and in front goes the chief ALCAID with about thirty
horsemen having canes in their hands like porters; the chief ALCAID
bears a different wand; he who is now the chief ALCAID of this King
is called Chinapanaique. Behind with the rearguard goes the Master
of the Horse with two hundred horsemen, and behind the cavalry go
a hundred elephants, and on their backs ride men of high estate. He
has in front of him twelve destriers, saddled, and in front of these
horses go five elephants, specially for the King's person, and in front
of these elephants go about five-and-twenty horsemen with banners
in their hands, and with drums and trumpets and other music playing
so loudly that you can hear nothing. Before these goes a great drum
carried by men at the sides, and they go now and then striking it; the
sound of this is heard a long distance off; and this drum they call
PICHA. After the King has mounted he counts the two hundred horsemen
and the hundred elephants and the shield-bearers of the guard, and
whoever is missing is severely punished and his property confiscated.
CHAPTER 22
Of the manner in which obeisance is done to the King, &c.
The manner of the salaam which the nobles make to the King every day is
this: -- In the morning the nobles go to the palace at ten or eleven
o'clock, at which hour the King comes out from within where his wives
are, and after he has taken his seat they open to the nobles, and each
one comes by himself and bows his head and raises his hands. This is
what they call the "salaam" (SALEMA). With the king are about ten
or twelve men who have the duty, on the entrance of each captain,
of saying to the King: "See, your Highness, your captain so-and-so,
who makes salaam to you."
The Kings of Bisnaga have always liked, for show, to have many horses
in their stables, and they always had eight or nine hundred horses
and four or five hundred elephants, on account of which, and on
account of the people that looked after them, they were put to great
expense; and this King that now is (Achyuta Raya) has in his stable
seven hundred and odd horses and four hundred elephants. He spends
on account of them and for their attendants, to whom he gives food,
two thousand gold PARDAOS per day. And of horsemen whom the King pays
he has six thousand, and all of them are on the stables establishment
(?) (COMEM DA ESTREBARYA); and those who serve them are paid each
year, some a thousand PARDAOS, some five hundred, some three hundred,
and those who have less pay receive not less than a hundred. Of these
six thousand, two hundred are obliged to ride with the King.
The kings of this country are able to assemble as many soldiers as
they want, as they have them there in their kingdom and have much
wealth wherewith to pay them. This King Chitarao has foot-soldiers
paid by his nobles, and they are obliged to maintain six[598] LAKHS
of soldiers, that is six hundred thousand men, and twenty-four
thousand horse, which the same nobles are obliged to have. These
nobles are like renters who hold all the land from the King, and
besides keeping all these people they have to pay their cost; they
also pay to him every year sixty LAKHS of rents as royal dues. The
lands, they say, yield a hundred and twenty LAKHS of which they must
pay sixty to the King, and the rest they retain for the pay of the
soldiers and the expenses of the elephants which they are obliged to
maintain. For this reason the common people suffer much hardship,
those who hold the lands being so tyrannical. Of these sixty LAKHS
that the king has of revenue every year he does not enjoy a larger
sum than twenty-five LAKHS, for the rest is spent on his horses,
and elephants, and foot-soldiers, and cavalry, whose cost he defrays.
During his feasts and the almsgiving to his temples all these captains,
who are thus like renters, must always attend the court, and of those
whom this King always has about him and by whom he is accompanied in
his court there are more than two hundred. These are obliged always
to be present with the King, and must always maintain the full number
of soldiers according to their obligations, for if he finds that
they have a less number they are severely punished and their estates
confiscated. These nobles are never suffered to settle themselves in
cities or towns because they would there be beyond reach of his hand;
they only go thither sometimes. But a concession is granted to the
kings that are subject to him, namely they do not go to court unless
they are summoned, and from their own cities they send to him their
rents or tributes; yet the King of Bengapor is obliged to be always
in camp, and he goes to court twice in the year.
The kings who are subject are these, besides this King of Bengapor,
namely the King of Gasopa and the King of Bacanor and the King of
Calecu and he of Batecala,[599] and these when they come to the Court
of Bisnaga are not held in higher esteem than any other captains,
either by the King or by the other nobles.
The captains and lords of this kingdom of Bisnaga, as well those
who are at Court as those who are away from it, have each one his
secretary who goes to the palace in order to write to him and let him
know what the King is doing; and they manage so that nothing takes
place of which they do not soon know, and day and night they are
always in the palace. And the King also, when he leaves the palace,
takes with him on his own account secretaries, who write what the
King says, and the favours he bestows, and with whom he spoke, and
upon what subject, and what his determination was; and to these men is
given a credit equal to that of the Evangelists, because they say that
whenever the King speaks there must be something worthy to be recorded,
and also that such a record is necessary for their remembrance. Thus
no written orders are ever issued, nor any charters granted, for the
favours he bestows or the commands he gives; but when he confers
a favour on any one it remains written in the registers of these
secretaries. The King however gives to the recipient of the favour a
seal impressed in wax from one of his rings, which his minister keeps,
and these seals serve for letters patent.
These Kings of Bisnaga eat all sorts of things, but not the flesh of
oxen or cows, which they never kill in all the country of the heathen
because they worship them. They eat mutton, pork, venison, partridges,
hares, doves, quail, and all kinds of birds; even sparrows, and rats,
and cats, and lizards, all of which are sold in the market of the
city of Bisnaga.
Everything has to be sold alive so that each one may know what he
buys -- this[600] at least so far as concerns game -- and there are
fish from the rivers in large quantities. The markets are always
overflowing with abundance of fruits, grapes, oranges, limes,
pomegranates, jack-fruit, and mangoes, and all very cheap. It is
said that in the markets they give twelve live sheep for a PARDAO,
and in the hills they give fourteen or fifteen for A PARDAO. The King
drinks water which they bring from a spring, which is kept enclosed
under the hand of a man in whom the King has great confidence; and
the vessels in which they draw the water come covered and sealed. Thus
they deliver it to the women who wait on him, and they take it inside
to the other women, the King's wives.
The greatest mark of honour that this King of Bisnaga confers on a
noble consists of two fans ornamented with gold and precious stones,
made of the white tails of certain cows;[601] he gives them bracelets
also. Everything which the noble receives is placed on the ground. The
King confers very high honour, too, if he permits a certain one
to kiss his feet, for he never gives his hands to be kissed by any
one. When he wishes to please his captains, or persons from whom he
has received or wishes to receive good service, he gives them scarves
of honour[602] for their personal use, which is a great honour; and
this he does each year to the captains at the time that they pay him
their land-rents. This takes place in the month of September[603]
when for nine days they make great feasts. Some say that they do
this in honour of the nine months during which Our Lady bore her Son
in the womb; others say that it is only done because at this time
the captains come to pay their rents to the King. Which feasts are
conducted in the following manner.
The first day they put nine castles in a piece of ground which is
in front of the palace, which castles are made by the nine principal
captains in the kingdom. They are very lofty and are hung with rich
cloths, and in them are many dancing-girls and also many kinds of
contrivances. Besides these nine every captain is obliged to make
each one his castle, and they come to show these to the King. Each
one has his separate device, and they all come like this during the
nine days of the feast. The officers of the city are bound to come
with their devices each day at night, just as in our festivals, and in
these nine days they slaughter animals and make sacrifice. The first
day they kill nine male buffaloes and nine sheep and nine goats, and
thenceforward they kill each day more, always doubling the number; and
when they have finished slaying these beasts, there come nine horses
and nine elephants of the King and these come before the king covered
with flowers -- roses -- and with rich trappings. Before them goes the
chief Master of the Horse with many attendants, and they make salaam to
the King. And when these have finished making their salaam there come
from within priests, and they bring rice and other cooked edibles, and
water, and fire, and many kinds of scents, and they offer prayers and
throw the water over the horses and elephants, just (as our priests
do with) holy water; and they put chaplets of roses on them. This
is done in the presence of the King, who remains seated on a throne
of gold and precious stones; he never sits on this except only this
once in the year. And this King that now reigns does not sit on it,
for they say that whoever sits on it must be a very truthful man,
one who speaks the whole truth, and this King never does so. Whilst
this is going on there pass by the King fully a thousand women,
dancing and posturing before him. After all the devices that have
been prepared have been witnessed all the horses of the King pass by,
covered with their silken trappings,[604] and with much adornment of
gold and precious stones on their heads, and then all the elephants
and yokes of oxen[605] in the middle of the arena[606] in front of
the palace. After these have been seen there come thirty-six of the
most beautiful of the King's wives covered with gold and pearls,
and much work of seed-pearls, and in the hands of each a vessel of
gold with a lamp of oil burning in it; and with these women come all
the female servants and the other wives of the King, with canes in
their hands tipped with gold and with torches burning; and these then
retire inside with the King. These women are so richly bedecked with
gold and precious stones that they are hardly able to move.
In this way during these nine days they are compelled to search for
all things which will give pleasure to the King.
The King has a thousand wrestlers for these feasts who wrestle before
the King, but not in our manner, for they strike and wound each other
with two circlets with points[607] which they carry in their hands
to strike with, and the one most wounded goes and takes his reward
in the shape of a silk cloth,[608] such as the King gives to these
wrestlers. They have a captain over them, and they do not perform
any other service in the kingdom.
And after these nine days are finished the Rao[609] rides out and goes
to hold a review of the troops of his captains, and he goes a length of
two leagues between the armed men. At the end he dismounts and takes a
bow in his hand and shoots three arrows, namely one for the Ydallcao,
and another for the King of Cotamuloco,[610] and yet another for the
Portuguese; it was his custom to make war on the kingdom lying in
the direction where the arrow reached furthest. After this is done
the King returns home, and on that day he fasts and with him all
the people of the land; and on the next day he goes to the river to
bathe with all his people. Within these nine days the King is paid
all the rents that he receives from his kingdom; for, as already said,
all the land belongs to the King, and from his hand the captains hold
it. They make it over to the husbandmen who pay nine-tenths to their
lord; and they have no land of their own, for the kingdom belongs
entirely to the King;[611] only the captains are put to charges
on account of the troops for whom the King makes them responsible,
and whom they are obliged to provide in the way of service. Every
Saturday the dancing-girls are obliged to go to the palace to dance
and posture before the King's idol, which is in the interior of his
palace. The people of this country always fast on Saturdays and do
not eat all day nor even at night, nor do they drink water, only
they may chew a few cloves to sweeten the breath. The King always
gives large sums in charity; in the palace there are always two or
three thousand Brahmans who are his priests, and to whom the King
commands to give alms. These Brahman priests are very despicable men;
they always have much money, and are so insolent that even by using
blows the guards of the door cannot hold them in check.
The captains and principal people use[612] at night torches of oil,
from four to twelve torches (according to rank), those of highest rank
having twelve at most. The King, however, must have a hundred or a
hundred and fifty torches. There is much wax in the country, but they
do not know how to work it. Every merchant who brings merchandise in
horses and other things which he may have brought to sell to the King,
if he desires an audience, has to offer him a present of a piece of
goods or a horse of the best that he has brought, in order that he
may obtain an audience and transact his business. And this not only
to the King. You must perforce pay bribes to all the several officers
with whom you have to deal. They will do nothing without some profit
to themselves
When any one suffers wrong and wishes to represent his case to the
King he shows how great is his suffering by lying flat on his face
on the ground till they ask him what it is he wants. If, perchance,
he wishes to speak to the King while he is riding, he takes the
shaft of a spear and ties a branch to it and thus goes along calling
out. Then they make room for him, and he makes his complaint to the
King; and it is there and then settled without more ado, and the King
orders a captain, one of those who go with him, to do at once what the
supplicant asks. If he complains that he was robbed in such and such
a province and in such and such a road, the King sends immediately
for the captain of that province, even though he be at court, and
the captain may be seized and his property taken if he does not catch
the thief. In the same way the chief bailiff[613] is obliged to give
an account of the robberies in the capital, and in consequence very
few thefts take place; and even if some are committed, you give some
little present and a description of the man who stole from you, and
they will soon know by the agency of the wizards whether the thief
be in the city or not; for there are very powerful wizards in this
country. Thus there are very few thieves in the land.
This King has continually fifty thousand paid soldiers, amongst
whom are six thousand horsemen who belong to the palace guard, to
which six thousand belong the two hundred who are obliged to ride
with him. He has also twenty thousand spearmen and shield-bearers,
and three thousand men to look after the elephants in the stables;
he has sixteen hundred grooms[614] who attend to the horses, and has
also three hundred horse trainers[615] and two thousand artificers,
namely blacksmiths, masons, and carpenters, and washermen who wash
clothes. These are the people he has and pays every day; he gives
them their allowance at the gate of the palace. To the six thousand
horsemen the King gives horses free and gives provision for them
every month, and all these horses are marked with the King's mark;
when they die they are obliged to take the piece of skin containing
the mark to Madanarque, the chief master of the horse, so that he
may give them another, and these horses which he gives are mostly
country-breds which the King buys, twelve or fifteen for a thousand
PARDAOS.[616] The King every year buys thirteen thousand horses of
Ormuz, and country-breds, of which he chooses the best for his own
stables, and he gives the rest to his captains, and gains much money
by them; because after taking out the good Persian horses, he sells
those which are country-bred, and gives five for a thousand PARDAOS,
and they are obliged to pay him the money for them within the month
of September; and with the money so obtained he pays for the Arabs
that he buys of the Portuguese, in such a way that his captains pay
the cost of the whole without anything going out of the Treasury.
This King has also within his gates more than four thousand women,
all of whom live in the palace; some are dancing-girls, and others
are bearers[617] who carry the King's wives on their shoulders,
and the King also in the interior of the palace, for the king's
houses are large and there are great intervals between one house
and another. He has also women who wrestle, and others who are
astrologers and soothsayers; and he has women who write all the
accounts of expenses that are incurred inside the gates, and others
whose duty it is to write all the affairs of the kingdom and compare
their books with those of the writers outside; he has women also for
music, who play instruments and sing. Even the wives of the King are
well versed in music.
The King has other women besides. He has ten cooks for his personal
service, and has others kept for times when he gives banquets; and
these ten prepare the food for no one save for the King alone. He has
a eunuch for guard at the gate of the kitchen, who never allows any one
to enter for fear of poison. When the King wishes to eat, every person
withdraws, and then come some of the women whose duty it is and they
prepare the table for him; they place for him a three-footed stool,
round, made of gold, and on it put the messes. These are brought in
large vessels of gold, and the smaller messes in basins of gold, some
of which are adorned with precious stones. There is no cloth on the
table, but one is brought when the King has finished eating, and he
washes his hands and mouth. Women and eunuchs serve him at table. The
wives of the King remain each in her own chamber and are waited on
by maid-servants. It is said that he has judges, as well as bailiffs
and watchmen who every night guard the palace, and all these are women.
The King never puts on any garment more than once, and when he takes
it off he at once delivers it to certain officers who have charge of
this duty, and they render an account; and these garments are never
given to any one. This is considered to show great state. His clothes
are silk cloths (PACHOIIS)[618] of very fine material and worked
with gold, which are worth each one ten PARDAOS; and they wear at
times BAJURIS of the same sort, which are like shirts with a skirt;
and on the head they wear caps of brocade which they call CULAES,[619]
and one of these is worth some twenty cruzados. When he lifts it from
his head he never again puts it on.
The punishments that they inflict in this kingdom are these: for
a thief, whatever theft he commits, howsoever little it be, they
forthwith cut off a foot and a hand, and if his theft be a great
one he is hanged with a hook under his chin. If a man outrages a
respectable woman or a virgin he has the same punishment, and if he
does any other such violence his punishment is of a like kind. Nobles
who become traitors are sent to be impaled alive on a wooden stake
thrust through the belly, and people of the lower orders, for whatever
crime they commit, he forthwith commands to cut off their heads in
the market-place, and the same for a murder unless the death was
the result of a duel. For great honour is done to those who fight
in a duel, and they give the estate of the dead man to the survivor;
but no one fights a duel without first asking leave of the minister,
who forthwith grants it. These are the common kinds of punishments,
but they have others more fanciful; for when the King so desires,
he commands a man to be thrown to the elephants, and they tear him
in pieces. The people are so subject to him that if you told a man
on the part of the King that he must stand still in a street holding
a stone on his back all day till you released him, he would do it.
The officers of the King who go about the kingdom are these: -- First
the minister (REGEDOR) of the kingdom, who is the second person in it,
then the treasurer, with the scribes of the King's own lands,[620]
the chief treasurer, and the commander of the palace guards (O
PORTEIRO MOOR), the treasurer of the jewels, the chief master of the
horse. The King has no controller of the revenues nor other officers,
nor officers of his house, but only the captains of his kingdom;
of whom I will here mention some, and the revenues they hold, and of
what territory they are lords,
Firstly Salvanayque, the present minister; he has a revenue of a
million and a hundred thousand gold PARDAOS. He is lord of Charamaodel
and of Nagapatao, and Tamgor, and Bomgarin, and Dapatao, and Truguel,
and Caullim, and all these are cities; their territories are all very
large, and they border on Ceylon.[621] Of this money he is obliged
to give a third to the King, and two-thirds remain for him for the
expenses of his LASCARIS and horses, which he is obliged to maintain
for the King, viz.: thirty thousand foot and three thousand horse and
thirty elephants; so that he only gets the balance after deducting
the expenses of this force. But in this way he acquires much wealth
because he never maintains the whole force. And the King, whenever
he wishes, takes away property of these nobles.
Another captain, Ajaparcatimapa,[622] who was minister of Crisnarao,
has a revenue of eight hundred thousand PARDAOS of gold, and is lord
of the city of Hudogary,[623] and of the city of Condovim,[624] and of
the city of Penagundim,[625] and of Codegaral[626] of Cidaota.[627] All
these large cities border on the kingdom of Oria, and some of them with
Cape Comorin (CABO DE COMARY). These lands Crisnarao gave him when he
made him minister and put out the eyes of Salvatinica, his minister,
who was captain of them. He is obliged to serve with twenty-five
thousand[628] foot, fifteen hundred horse, and forty elephants,
and pays each year to the King three hundred thousand PARDAOS.
Another captain, who is called Gapanayque, is lord of these lands,
namely of Rosyl,[629] and of Tipar, and of Ticalo, and of Bigolom.[630]
These lands march with the territory of the Ydallcao, and in all these
there is much wheat and grains and cattle and goats and gingely and
cotton; and very fine cloth made of the last, for all the cloth that
is manufactured is made of it. He has a revenue from these territories
of six hundred thousand PARDAOS, and is obliged to furnish two thousand
five hundred horse, and twenty thousand foot, and twenty elephants, and
he pays every year to the King a hundred and fifty thousand PARDAOS.
Another captain called Lepapayque, who is lord of Vimgapor,[631] a
land very rich in seed-plots and cattle-breeding farms, has a revenue
of three hundred thousand PARDAOS; and is obliged to furnish twelve
hundred horse and twenty thousand foot and twenty-eight elephants,
and he pays to the King every year eighty thousand PARDAOS.
The treasurer of the jewels, who is called Narvara is captain of the
new city which is called Ondegema,[632] and is lord of the city of
Diguoty and of Darguem and of Entarem,[633] and of the other lands
bordering on the lands of Bisnaga; they are all fields. They yield
him every year four hundred thousand PARDAOS, of which he gives the
King two hundred thousand, and the rest he spends on twelve thousand
foot and six hundred horse and twenty elephants.
Another captain called Chinapanayque, the King's marshal, is lord of
the land of Calaly[634] in the direction of Cochim in the interior, and
of many other lands that yield him three hundred thousand PARDAOS; and
he is obliged to pay the King every year one hundred thousand PARDAOS,
and serves with eight hundred horse and ten thousand foot (PRACOS).
Crisnapanayque is lord of Aosel,[635] which is a large city, and of
other villages that I do not here mention as they have very difficult
names. These lands yield him every year twenty thousand PARDAOS of
gold, and he pays an annual revenue to the King of seven thousand
PARDAOS, and serves with five hundred horse and seven hundred foot
(PRACOS).
Also Bajapanarque, who is captain of the country of Bodial,[636]
which borders on Mamgalor[637] by the sea-coast. He is lord too of
Guiana.[638] In this country there is much pepper and sugar-cane
and cloth (of flax)[639] and much rice; but there is no wheat, nor
other cloth, and it is a land of wax. It yields him three hundred
thousand PARDAOS a year, and he serves with eight hundred horsemen
and ten thousand foot and fifteen elephants. He pays the King ten
thousand PARDAOS.
Mallpanarque, who was chief master of the horse to King Crisnarao,
is lord of the country of Avaly,[640] which is in the interior of
Calecu.[641] This land has much iron and much cotton, rice, goats,
sheep, cows and buffaloes. He has a revenue of fifteen thousand
PARDAOS, and is obliged to serve with four hundred horse and six
thousand foot, and pays the King every year five thousand PARDAOS.
Another captain, called Adapanayque, who is the chief counsellor of the
King, is lord of the country of Gate,[642] whence come the diamonds,
and of many other territories which yield him three hundred thousand
gold PARDAOS, excluding the precious stones which form a revenue by
themselves. He pays to the King every year forty thousand PARDAOS,
with the condition that all diamonds which exceed twenty MANGELINS[643]
in weight shall be given to the King for his Treasury. He serves with
eight thousand foot and eight hundred horse and thirty elephants,
and pays the King every year one hundred thousand PARDAOS.
Another Bajapanayque is captain of Mumdoguel,[644] which was a
fortress of the Ydalcao, and was taken from him by Crisnarao when
he took Rachol,[645] which was a boundary of it. This fortress of
Mumdoguel with other territories yields him four hundred thousand
PARDAOS, and he serves with a thousand cavalry and ten thousand foot
and fifty elephants, and pays the King every year one hundred and
fifty thousand PARDAOS.
In this way the kingdom of Bisnaga is divided between more than two
hundred captains who are all heathen,[646] and according to the lands
and revenues that they have so the King settles for them the forces
that they are compelled to keep up, and how much revenue they have
to pay him every month during the first nine days of the month of
September. He never gives any receipts to them, only, if they do
not pay they are well punished, and are ruined and their property
taken away. All the captains of this kingdom make use of litters
and palanqueens. These are like biers and men carry them on their
shoulders, but people are not allowed to make use of litters unless
they are cavaliers of the highest rank, and the captains and principal
persons use palanqueens. There are always at the court where the King
is twenty thousand litters and palanqueens.
These matters concerning (I.E. the power and greatness of) the kingdom
of Bisnaga, though it may seem to you that I have exaggerated, yet the
people of this country assert them to have been even more notable[647]
in times past, and greater than they now are.
And in this kingdom of Bisnaga there is a class of men, natives of
the country, namely Brahmans, who the most part of them never kill
or eat any live thing, and these are the best that there are amongst
them. They are honest men, given to merchandise, very acute and of
much talent, very good at accounts, lean men and well-formed, but
little fit for hard work. By these and by the duties they undertake
the kingdom is carried on. They believe that there are Three Persons
and only One God, and they call the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity
"TRICEBEMCA." There is another class who are Canarese who have pagodas
in which are (images of?) monkeys, and cows, and buffaloes, and devils,
to whom they pay much honour, and these idols and monkeys which they
adore they say that in former times this land belonged all to the
monkeys, and that in those days they could speak. They have books full
of fine stories of chivalry, and many foolish tales about their idols,
such as it is out of reason for men to believe. But because of this,
neither in the kingdom of Bisnaga nor in all the land of the heathen
are any monkeys killed, and there are so many in this country that
they cover the mountains. There is another class of men called
Telumgalle;[648] when these die their wives are buried alive with them.
The King of Bisnaga is a Brahman;[649] every day he hears the preaching
of a learned Brahman, who never married nor ever touched a woman. He
urges in his preaching (obedience to) the commandments of God,
that is to say, that one must not kill any living thing, nor take
anything belonging to another, and as with these so with the rest of
the commandments. These people have such devotion to cows that they
kiss them every day, some they say even on the rump -- a thing I do
not assert for their honour -- and with the droppings of these cows
they absolve themselves from their sins as if with holy water. They
have for a commandment to confess their sins to the Brahman priests,
but they do not do it, except only those who are very religious
(AMIGUOS DE DIOS). They give in excuse that they feel a shame to
confess themselves to another man, and say that it is sufficient
to confess themselves alone after approaching God, for he who does
not do so does not acquire grace; thus they fulfil the command in
one way or another. But they do it so seldom (in reality) that they
(may be said to) neglect this command to confess.
This kingdom of Bisnaga is all heathen. The women have the custom of
burning themselves when their husbands die, and hold it an honour
to do so. When therefore their husbands die they mourn with their
relations and those of their husbands, but they hold that the wife
who weeps beyond measure has no desire to go in search of her husband;
and the mourning finished their relations speak to them, advising them
to burn themselves and not to dishonour their generation. After that,
it is said, they place the dead man on a bed with a canopy of branches
and covered with flowers, and they put the woman on the back of a
worthless horse, and she goes after them with many jewels on her,
and covered with roses; she carries a mirror in her hand and in the
other a branch of flowers, and (she goes accompanied by) many kinds
of music, and his relations (go with her) with much pleasure. A man
goes also playing on a small drum, and he sings songs to her telling
her that she is going to join her husband, and she answers also in
singing that so she will do. As soon as she arrives at the place where
they are always burned she waits with the musicians till her husband
is burned, whose body they place in a very large pit that has been
made ready for it, covered with much firewood. Before they light the
fire his mother or his nearest relative takes a vessel of water on the
head and a firebrand in the hand, and goes three times round the pit,
and at each round makes a hole in the pot; and when these three rounds
are done breaks the pot, which is small, and throws the torch into
the pit. Then they apply the fire, and when the body is burned comes
the wife with all the feasters and washes her feet, and then a Brahman
performs over her certain ceremonies according to their law; and when
he has finished doing this, she draws off with her own hand all the
jewels that she wears, and divides them among her female relatives, and
if she has sons she commends them to her most honoured relatives. When
they have taken off all she has on, even her good clothes, they put
on her some common yellow cloths, and her relatives take her hand and
she takes a branch in the other, and goes singing and running to the
pit where the fire is, and then mounts on some steps which are made
high up by the pit. Before they do this they go three times round the
fire, and then she mounts the steps and holds in front of her a mat
that prevents her from seeing the fire. They throw into the fire a
cloth containing rice, and another in which they carry betel leaves,
and her comb and mirror with which she adorned herself, saying that
all these are needed to adorn herself by her husband's side. Finally
she takes leave of all, and puts a pot of oil on her head, and casts
herself into the fire with such courage that it is a thing of wonder;
and as soon as she throws herself in, the relatives are ready with
firewood and quickly cover her with it, and after this is done they
all raise loud lamentations. When a captain dies, however many wives
he has they all burn themselves, and when the King dies they do the
same. This is the custom throughout all the country of the heathen,
except with that caste of people called Telugas, amongst whom the
wives are buried alive with their husbands when they die. These go
with much pleasure to the pit, inside of which are made two seats of
earth, one for him and one for her, and they place each one on his
own seat and cover them in little by little till they are covered up;
and so the wife dies with the husband.
CHAPTER 23
Of the ceremonies practised at the death of Brahmans.
When a Brahman is sick, before he dies, they send to call the learned
Brahmans who are his priests, so that they should come to pray, and
console the sick man; and they talk to him of the affairs of his soul,
and what he must do to save it, bidding him spend money in alms. After
this ceremony is over they make the Brahman priests shave the sick
man's head, and after the shaving they bid them wash it, and after
the washing it is their custom to bring into their houses a cow
with a calf, -- there are very few Brahmans, however poor they be,
who do not have one to live in their house, -- which cow, when they
have finished washing the man's head, they take a turban and tie it to
its neck and put the end of the turban into the hand of the sick man,
and he gives it and the calf in alms for his soul to those priests who
perform these ceremonies. On that day he gives alms according to his
position, and gives to eat to some Brahmans who are invited and who
come there for the purpose. They believe that when these ceremonies
are made for the sick man, if he is to live he is soon cured of his
infirmity, and if not that he soon dies.
After the death of the sick man they have the ground washed upon which
he lay, and after the washing they take cow-dung and spread it over
the ground, and place the body on the top of this dung. They hold that
a sick man who dies on a cot, or on anything so-ever except only on
the ground, commits a mortal sin. As soon as the body is laid on the
ground they make for it a bier covered with boughs of the fig-tree,
and before they place the body on the bier they wash it well with
pure water, and anoint it with sandal-wood (oil); and they place by
the body branches of sweet basil and cover it with a new cloth, and
so place it in the bier. Then one of his relatives takes the bier on
one side, and they call three other Brahmans whosoever they may be
to aid them to lift it; and so they carry it to the place where they
are to burn it, accompanied by many Brahmans who go singing in front
of the corpse. In front of all goes his son, if he has one, or next
younger brother or nearest relative, with fire in the hand for the
burning. As soon as they arrive at the place where they have to burn
the body, they scatter money according to their ability, and then put
the fire to it; and they wait there till the whole body is consumed,
and then all go and wash their bodies in a tank and afterwards return
each one to his house. The son or brother or relation who put the fire
is obliged to sleep on the ground where the man died for nine nights,
and after the lapse of nine days from the death come the priests and
learned men and they command to shave the head of this man. During
these nine days, they feed the poor and they give them the dead man's
clothes, and they give the cot with its bed in alms to the priests,
with some money in addition; if he is a rich man they give gardens and
other things in alms to many Brahmans. When ten days are finished,
and the son has been shaved, he goes to the place where they burned
his father or his brother, and they perform many ceremonies over the
ashes and bones that remain unburned; then they put them in a small
vessel and make a pit in the ground and bury them in it, and keep
them thus guarded and buried in order (afterwards) to send the bones
to be thrown into a sacred river, which is distant from Goa over one
thousand leagues.[650] There is a very large temple there, the object
of many pilgrimages, and they hold that every pilgrim who dies there
is saved, and goes to Paradise, and also every dead man whose bones
are thrown into that river. In spite of this they in reality take
very few people there. The heir or the father or son of the dead man
is obliged, from the day of the death, for eleven days to give food
to twenty-seven Brahmans, and until twenty-one days to three others;
until twelve days again he feeds seven Brahmans, and until twenty-seven
days gives to eat to the three; on the last day of the month he gives
food to three others, and thenceforward, until one year is finished,
he gives meals once a month to three Brahmans. They do this in honour
of the Trinity for the soul of the deceased. When this year is over
he gives no more alms, except that each year, on the day on which the
death happened, he feeds six Brahmans, -- namely, three in honour of
the Trinity, and three for the persons of his father, grandfather,
and great-grandfather; who thus seemingly eat together. Thus he obtains
favour with God, and for these expenses they beg alms of the Brahmans
if they are poor. These give him all help for it. Before they dine
they wash the feet of all six, and during the meal some ceremonies
are performed by Brahman priests who come there for that purpose.
CHAPTER A
Diamonds
However much it may at first sight appear that our chroniclers have
exaggerated in their description of the wealth of the Hindu sovereign
and his nobles, and of the wonderful display of jewels made on days of
high festival by the ladies of their households, an account of which
is given us by Paes, I for one see little reason for doubt. Nuniz
distinctly states (p. 389) that the diamond mines, in their day the
richest in the world, were farmed out on condition that all stones
above twenty mangellins in weight -- about twenty-five carats -- were
sent to the Raya for his personal use, and there must have been many
of these. Barradas (p. 226 above) states that, according to rumour,
even after the downfall of the empire the king at Chandragiri in
1614 A.D. had no less than three large chests full of diamonds in
his possession; and every traveller and chronicler has something to
say on the subject.
The principal mines were on the north bank of the Krishna river,
and in the Kurnool and Anantapur countries, notably at Vajra
Karur. Generically these are known as "the mines of Golkonda," and
the phrase has passed into a proverb.
Linschoten (ii. 136) writes: "They (diamonds) grow in the countrie
of Decam behinde Ballagate, by the towne of Bisnagar, wherein are
two or three hilles, from whence they are digged, whereof the King
of Bisnagar doth reape great profitte; for he causeth them to be
straightly watched, and hath farmed them out with this condition,
that all diamonds that are above twenty-five Mangellyns in weight
are for the King himselfe (every Mangellyn is foure graines in weight).
"There is yet another hill in the Countrie of Decam, which is called
Velha, that is the old Rocke, from whence come the best diamonds and
are sold for the greatest price.... Sometimes they find Diamonds of
one hundred and two hundred Mangelyns and more, but very few."
As regards the diamond "as large as a hen's egg," said to have been
found at the sack of Vijayanagar and presented to the Adil Shah
(above, p. 208), Couto (Decade VIII. c. xv.) says that it was a jewel
which the Raya had affixed to the base of the plume on his horse's
head-dress. Garcia da Orta, who was in India in 1534, says that at
Vijayanagar a diamond had been seen as large as a small hen's egg, and
he even declares the weights of three others to have been respectively
120, 148, and 250 MANGELIS, equivalent to 150, 175, and 312 1/2 carats
(Tavernier, V. Ball, ii. 433).
Dr. Ball has gone carefully into the question of the diamonds known
as "Babar's," "the Mogul's," "Pitt's," "the KOH-I-NUR," and others,
and to his Appendix I. I beg to refer those interested in the subject.
It is clear that this hen's egg diamond could not be the fame as Sultan
Babar's, because the former was taken at Vijayanagar in A.D. 1565,
whereas Sultan Babar's was received by his son Humayun at Agra in 1526,
and could not have been, forty years later, in the possession of the
Hindu king of the south.[651]
Dr. Ball has shown that probably the KOH-I-NUR is identical with
the "Mogul's diamond." Was, then, this "hen's egg" diamond the
same? Probably not. If we had been told that the "hen's egg," when
found in the sack of Vijayanagar, had been cut, the proof CONTRA would
be conclusive, since the KOH-I-NUR was certainly uncut in A.D. 1656
or 1657. But there is no information available on this point.
The "hen's egg" was apparently taken by the Adil Shah to Bijapur in
1565, and it is not likely to have found its way, still in an uncut
state, into the possession of Mir Jumla in 1656.
The KOH-I-NUR was found at Kollur on the river Krishna, probably in
A.D. 1656. Mir Jumla farmed the mines at that time, and presented
it uncut to the emperor, Shah Jahan. It is said to have weighed 756
English carats (Ball, ii. 444). It was entrusted to a Venetian named
Hortensio Borgio, and was so damaged and wasted in his hands that,
when seen by Tavernier in Aurangzib's treasury in 1665, it weighed
not more than 268 1/2 English carats. In 1739 Nadir Shah sacked Delhi
and carried the stone away with him to Persia, conferring on it its
present immortal name the "Mountain of Light." On his murder in 1747
it passed into the hands of his grandson, Shah Rukh. Four years later
Shah Rukh gave it to Ahmad Shah Durani of Kabul, and by him it was
bequeathed to his son Taimur. In 1793 it passed by descent to his
son Shah Zaman, who was blinded and deposed by his brother Muhammad;
but he retained possession of the stone in his prison, and in 1795 it
became the property of his brother Sultan Shuja. In 1809, after Shuja
became king of Kabul, Elphinstone saw the diamond in his bracelet
at Peshawur. In 1812, Shuja, being dethroned by Muhammad, fled to
Lahore, where he was detained as a quasi-prisoner by Ranjit Singh,
the ruler of the Panjab. In 1813 an agreement was arrived at, and Shuja
surrendered the diamond to Ranjit Singh. Ranjit often wore the stone,
and it was constantly seen by European visitors to Lahore. Dying in
1839, the KOH-I-NUR was placed in the jewel-chamber till the infant
Dhulip Singh was acknowledged as Ranjit's successor. In 1849 it was
handed over to Sir John Lawrence on the annexation of the Panjab, and
by him was sent to England to Her Majesty the Queen. In 1851 it was
exhibited at the first great Exhibition, and in 1852 it was re-cut by
an Amsterdam cutter, Voorsanger, in the employ of Messrs. Garrards. The
weight is now 106 1/16 carats.
It would be interesting to trace the story of the "hen's egg" diamond
after its acquisition by the Bijapur sultan, Ali Adil.
H. de Montfart, who travelled in India in 1608, saw a very large
diamond in the possession of the Mogul emperor Jahangir at Delhi,[652]
but this had been pierced. "I have seene one with the great MOGOR
as bigge as a Hen's egge, and of that very forme, which he caused
expressly to bee pierced like a pearle to weare it on his arme.... It
weighteth 198 Mangelins."
CHAPTER B
The Wealth of the Dakhan in the Fourteenth Century A.D.
When Malik Kafur, in the year 1310 A.D., during the reign of Ala-ud-Din
Khilji of Delhi, carried out his successful raids into the Dakhan
and to the Malabar coast, sacking all the Hindu temples, ravaging
the territory of Maisur, and despoiling the country, he is said to
have returned to Delhi with an amount of treasure that seems almost
fabulous. Firishtah writes: "They found in the temples prodigious
spoils, such as idols of gold adorned with precious stones, and other
rich effects consecrated to Hindu worship;" and Malik presented his
sovereign with "312 elephants, 20,000 horses, 96,000 MANS of gold,
several boxes of jewels and pearls, and other precious effects."
When we come to estimate the amount of gold we are met with a
difficulty, as there are many varieties of MANS in India, the
variation being as much as from 19 lbs. in Travancore to 163 1/4
lbs. in Ahmadnagar. The Madras MAN weighs 25 lbs., the Bombay MAN
28 lbs. Hawkins, writing in 1610, gives 55 lbs. to the MAN,[653]
Middleton, in 1611, 33 lbs.[654] Now Firishtah had more to do with
Ahmadnagar than any other part of India, and if his estimate was based
on the MAN of that tract. Malik Kafur's 96,000 MANS of gold would
have amounted to the enormous sum of 15,672,000 lbs. weight. It is
hardly likely that Firishtah would have had in his mind the Travancore
MAN. Even if he was thinking of the Madras MAN, which is not likely,
his estimate of the weight of the gold carried off amounted to
2,400,000 lbs.
Whether we accept these amounts or not, there can be no manner of
doubt that the richness of the temples was very great, and the reason
is easy to see. The country had always been subject to Hindu kings, and
treasures had year by year accumulated. The Brahmans exacted gifts and
payments from the people on all occasions. Kings and chiefs, merchants
and landowners, vied with one another in presenting rich offerings
to their favourite places of worship; and when it is remembered
that this practice had been going on from time immemorial, it need
be no matter for wonder that the man who first violently despoiled
the sacred buildings departed from the country laden with an almost
incredible amount of booty. Colonel Dow, in his translation of the
works of Firishtah (i. 307), computes the value of the gold carried
off by Malik Kafur at a hundred millions sterling of our money.
CHAPTER C
Portuguese Viceroys and Governors of Goa
(A.D. 1505 TO 1568.)
A.D.
Dom Francisco de Almeida (VICEROY) 1505
-- 1509
Afonso de Albuquerque (GOVERNOR) 1509
-- 1515
Lopo Soares de Albergaria (GOVERNOR) 1515 -- 1518
Diogo Lopes de Sequeira (GOVERNOR) 1518
-- 1521
Dom Duarte de Menezes (GOVERNOR) 1521
-- 1524
Dom Vasco da Gama, Conde de Vidigueria (VICEROY) 1524
Dom Henrique de Menezes (GOVERNOR) 1525
-- 1526
Lopo Vaz de Sampaio (GOVERNOR) 1526
-- 1529
Nuno da Cunha (GOVERNOR)
1529 -- 1538
Dom Garcia de Noronha (VICEROY) 1538
-- 1540
Dom Estevao da Gama (GOVERNOR) 1540
-- 1542
Martim Affonso de Sousa (GOVERNOR) 1542
-- 1545
Dom Joao de Castro (GOVERNOR AND CAPTAIN-IN-CHIEF) 1545 -- 1547
,, ,, (VICEROY) 1547 -- 1548
Garcia de Sa (GOVERNOR)
1548 -- 1549
Jorge Cabral (GOVERNOR)
1549 -- 1550
Dom Affonso de Noronha (VICEROY) 1550
-- 1554
Dom Pedro Mascarenhas (VICEROY) 1554
-- 1555
Francisco Barreto (GOVERNOR) 1555
-- 1558
Dom Constantino de Braganza (VICEROY) 1558 -- 1561
Dom Francisco Coutinho, Conde de Redondo (VICEROY) 1561 -- 1564
Joao de Medonca (GOVERNOR)
1564
Dom Antonio de Noronha (VICEROY) 1564
-- 1568
[The above List is extracted from Mr. Danvers's work, "The Portuguese
in India" (vol. ii. p. 487). The author continues the List to the
present day.]
NOTES
[1] -- Translation of the "Chronica dos reis de Bisnaga", written
by Domingos Paes and Fernao Nunes about 1520 and 1535, respectively,
with historical introduction. Includes bibliographical references.
[2] -- The letters from China were copied by a different hand.
[3] -- Barros was apparently never himself in India, but held an
official position in the India Office in Lisbon. His work was
completed in four Decadas. Couto repeats the fourth DECADA of
Barros, and continues the history in eight more DECADAS. The first
three DECADAS of Barros were published in A.D. 1552, 1553, and 1563,
bringing the history down to 1527, under the title of DOS FEITOS QUE
OS PORTUGUESES FIZERAM NO DESCUBRIMENTO E CONQUISTA DOS MARES E TERRAS
DO ORIENTE. His fourth DECADA, published by Couto, dealt with the
period A.D. 1527 to 1539, and contained an account of the events that
occurred during the governorships of Lopo Vaz de Sampaio and Nuno da
Cunha. Couto's own eight DECADAS covered the subsequent period down
to 1600. The combined work is generally called the DA ASIA. Couto
completed his publication in 1614. The fourth DECADA was published
in 1602, the fifth in 1612, the sixth in 1614, the seventh in 1616,
the year of his death. Couto spent almost all his life in India,
for which country he embarked in 1556.
[4] -- CHRONICA DOS REIS DE BISNAGA, by David Lopes, S.S.G.L. Lisbon,
1897: at the National Press. The extract given is taken from his
Introduction, p. lxxxvi.
[5] -- Firishtah was a Persian of good family, and was born about
1570 A.D. Early in his life he was taken by his father to India, and
resided all his life at the Court of the Nizam Shahs of Ahmadnagar,
rejoicing in royal patronage. He appears to have begun to compile his
historical works at an early age, since his account of the Bijapur
kings was finished in 1596. He appears to have died not long after the
year 1611, which is the latest date referred to in any of his writings.
[6] -- According to tradition the wealth carried off was something
fabulous. See Appendix B.
[7] -- It is highly probable that amongst the hills and crags about
the upper fortress of Anegundi there may be found remains of a date
long prior to the fourteenth century; and it is much to be regretted
that up to now no scientific examination of that tract, which lies
in the present territories of Haidarabad, has been carried out. Want
of leisure always prevented my undertaking any exploration north of
the river; but from the heights of Vijayanagar on the south side I
often looked wistfully at the long lines of fortification visible on
the hills opposite. It is to be hoped that ere long the Government of
Madras may place us in possession of a complete map of Vijayanagar and
its environs, showing the whole area enclosed by the outermost line
of fortifications, and including the outworks and suburbs. Hospett
and Anegundi were both part of the great city in its palmy days,
and Kampli appears to have been a sort of outpost.
[8] -- Nuniz erroneously gives the date as 1230. The error will be
commented on hereafter.
[9] -- Scott, i. 45, 46.
[10] -- Delhi.
[11] -- The Portuguese historians often mistook "Cambay" for the name
of the country, and "Gujarat" for one of its dependencies.
[12] -- SIC. The meaning is doubtful.
[13] -- There is evidently a confusion here between tales of the
doings of Muhammad Taghlaq and much older legends of Rama's Bridge
and his army of monkeys.
[14] -- Mallik Naib. (See the chronicle below, pp. 296, 297.)
[15] -- "Your honour" was probably the historian Barros (see preface).
[16] -- Sheik Ismail's power in Persia dates from early in the
sixteenth century. Duarte Barbosa, who was in India in 1514 and wrote
in 1516, mentions him as contemporary. He had subjugated Eastern
Persia by that time and founded the Shiah religion. Barbosa writes:
"He is a Moor and a young man," and states that he was not of royal
lineage (Hakluyt edit. p. 38). Nuniz was thus guilty of an anachronism,
but he describes Persia as he knew it.
[17] -- "Chronicle of the Pathan Kings of Delhi," by Edward Thomas,
p. 200.
[18] -- Firishtah (Briggs, i. 413).
[19] -- Elphinstone, "History of India," ii. 62.
[20] -- Lee's translation, p. 144.
[21] -- Sir H. Elliot's "History of India," iii. 215.
[22] -- If we add together the number of years of the reigns of
kings of Vijayanagar given by Nuniz prior to that of Krishna Deva
Raya ("Crisnarao"), we find that the total is 180 (Senhor Lopes,
Introduction, p. lxx.). The date of the beginning of the reign of
Krishna Deva Raya is known to be 1509 -- 10 A.D.; whence we obtain
1379 -- 80 A.D. as the foundation of the empire in the person of
"Dehorao" according to the chronicle. This is not quite accurate,
but it helps to prove that "1230" is a century too early.
[23] -- Batuta was a native of Tangiers, his name being Sheik Abu'
Abdullah Muhammad. He arrived at the Indus on the 1 Muharram A.H. 734
(September 12, 1333 A.D.), and he seems to have resided in India
till 1342.
[24] -- The narrative is given in the French translation of Ibn
Batuta's travels, by Defremery and Sanguinetti (vol. iii. pp. 318 --
320). See also Sir Henry Elliot's "History of India" (vol. iii. pp. 615
-- 616).
[25] -- Firishtah's account is somewhat different, and he gives the
date A.H. 739, or July 20, 1338, to July 9, 1339. But I consider the
narrative of Ibn Batuta to be far the most reliable, since he wrote
from personal experience, while Firishtah compiled his story two and
a half centuries later.
[26] -- This was Ghiyas-ud-din Bahadur Bura of Bengal, mentioned above.
[27] -- This tale is told of the rise of almost every kingdom,
principality, or large zamindari in Southern India, the usual variant
being the discovery of a hidden treasure.
[28] -- I think that there can be little doubt that this derivation,
though often given, is erroneous, and that the name was "City of
Victory," not "City of Learning," -- VIJAYA, not VIDYA. VYDIAJUNA
evidently represents VIDYARJUNA.
[29] -- Buchanan ("Mysore," &c., iii. 110), while on a visit to Beidur
in Mysore in 1801, was shown by one Ramappa Varmika a Sanskrit book in
his possession called the VIDYARAYANA SIKKA, which relates that the
founders of Vijayanagar were Hukka and Bukka, guards of the treasury
of Pratapa Rudra of Warangal. These young men came to the Guru,
or spiritual teacher, Vidyaranya, who was head of the monastery of
Sringeri, and the latter founded for them the city of Vijayanagar. This
was in 1336, and Hukka was made first king. But this story entirely
leaves out of account the most important point. How could two
brothers, flying from a captured capital and a conquered kingdom,
suddenly establish in a new country a great city and a sovereignty?
[30] -- DECADA VI. l. v. c. 4.
[31] -- "India in the Fifteenth Century," Hakluyt edit., p. 29.
[32] -- JOURNAL BOMBAY BR. R.A.S., xii. 338, 340.
[33] -- There is an undated inscription, published in Dr. Hultzsch's
"South Indian Inscriptions" (vol. i. p. 167), on a rock not far from
the summit of the lofty hill on which stands the virgin fortress of
Gutti or Gooty in the Anantapur District, according to which that
stronghold belonged to King Bukka. The place is seventy-eight miles
east of Vijayanagar.
[34] -- EPIG. IND., iii. 36.
[35] -- An inscription of 1368 -- 69 (Saka 1290, year Kilaka) mentions
Madhavacharya Vidyaranya, apparently as still living. IND. ANT.,
iv. 206.
[36] -- See my "Antiquities of Madras," ii. 8, No. 58; Hultzsch's
EPIG. INDICA, iii. 21.
[37] -- Briggs, i. 427.
[38] -- This is in itself absurd, and carries with it its own
refutation. It would be manifestly impossible for the city to be
"built" in so short a time, and, moreover, it would have been sheer
waste of time for the Prince to have employed himself in such a
way. The sentence was probably introduced merely to account for that
city having been built ABOUT this period.
[39] -- Firishtah says on 1st Rabi-ul-awwal A.H. 759; A.H. 761
(A.D. 1359 -- 60) according to the BURHAN-I-MAASIR. But the author
of the latter work says that Ala-ud-din reigned thirteen years ten
months and twenty-seven days, which would make the date of his death
the 22nd of Rabi-ul-awwal A.H. 762, or January 31, A.D. 1361. He does
not, therefore, appear to be very accurate. Firishtah gives in words
the length of his reign as "eleven years two months and seven days."
[40] -- Certain inscriptions published by Mr. Rice state that the
general who commanded Bukka's armies about this time was Nadegonta
Mallinatha, son of Nadegonta Sayyana. These bear date A.D. 1355 --
1356 and 1356 -- 57.
[41] -- Called "Nagdeo" in Scott's translation (i. 19).
[42] -- Briggs, ii. 307.
[43] -- There is a confusion of dates here in Firishtah; but he
definitely fixes the month and year when Muhammad set out, and we
may accept it for the present. The BURHAN-I-MAASIR implies that the
war against Vijayanagar took place prior to the campaign against
Warangal. Firishtah places it certainly after the "Vellunputtun"
affair.
[44] -- Firishtah (Scott, i. 23).
[45] -- Adoni as now called; Adhvani as properly spelt. This is a fine
hill-fortress with extensive lines of walls, a few miles south of the
River Tungabhadra and on the line of railway between Madras and Bombay.
[46] -- We must never forget that the narrative of Firishtah is
necessarily tinged with bias in favour of the Musalmans, and that it
was not compiled till the end of the sixteenth or beginning of the
seventeenth century A.D. The "infidels" are, of course, the Hindus,
the "faithful" the followers of Muhammad the Prophet.
[47] -- The country in question is a plain composed of a deep alluvial
deposit, generally overlying gravel, and known as "black cotton
soil." After heavy rain it is practically impassable for traffic for
some days.
[48] -- The expression of Firishtah last quoted is deserving of note,
as it implies that, according to tradition in his time, the Raya of
Vijayanagar had by the year 1366 A.D. become a great and important
sovereign.
[49] -- Briggs (ii. 312, n.) considers it unlikely that the armies
could have possessed artillery at so early a date.
[50] -- Scott's edit., i. 27.
[51] -- Briggs gives the name as Bhoj-Mul. He MAY be the Mallayya or
Mallinatha mentioned above (p. 31, note).
[52] -- Sacred animals to the Hindus.
[53] -- About forty-two miles.
[54] -- The Tiger-Hunter.
[55] -- 19th Zilkada A.H. 776 (Firishtah). The BURHAN-I MAASIR says
in A.H. 775.
[56] -- The BURHAN-I MAASIR calls the Raya "Kapazah." Major King says
that even the vowel marks are given, and there can be no doubt about
the name. I venture to hazard a conjecture that if the word had been
written "Pakazah," transposing the first two consonants -- a mistake
occasionally made by writers dealing with, to them, outlandish names
-- the sound of the word would suggest Bukka Shah. There is no name
that I have met with amongst those borne by the kings of Vijayanagar
in the remotest degree resembling "Kapazah."
[57] -- Firishtah relates a story which is hardly sufficient to
account for Bukka's faint-heartedness. He says that Mujahid went one
day while on the march after a man-eating tiger of great ferocity,
and shot it with a single arrow through the heart. "The idolaters,
upon hearing of this exploit, were struck with dread." At the present
day, at least, there are no tigers in the country between Adoni and
Vijayanagar, though panthers are plentiful enough.
[58] -- Firishtah, ii. 332 n.
[59] -- A French map of A.D. 1652, published by Mr. Danvers
("Portuguese in India," end of vol. i), shows at this spot "C. de
Rames," but the modern Ordnance Map has no place of that name in
the vicinity.
[60] -- It should be noted that Firishtah has previously described
Mujahid, though he was then only about twenty years old, an a
remarkably powerful man. He states that at the age of fourteen he
had broken the neck of an opponent in a wrestling match.
[61] -- Probably Marappa or Muddappa.
[62] -- It will be seen hereafter that the kingdom was divided into
provinces, held by nobles an condition of maintaining large armies
ready for service at any moment.
[63] -- Some authorities say that Daud was Mujahid's cousin.
[64] -- "Dhunna Sodra" is, I think, a lake or tank in the plain on
the eastern edge of the Vijayanagar hills, close under a lofty hill
called, in the Trigonometrical Survey Taluq map, "Dannsundram," for
(probably) Dharma Samudram. On the summit of this hill is a great
Trigonometrical Survey pillar. The hill is 500 feet high, and lies
within the limits of the village of Kanvi Timmapuram. Commanding,
as it does, the route by which a force issuing from the capital would
attempt, by rounding the hills, to cut off the only line of retreat
open to the invaders towards the north east, the importance of the
post to the Muhammadan army could not be over estimated.
[65] -- Senhor Lopes tells me that he recently found in the archives of
the Torre do Tombo in Lisbon (CORPO CHRONOLOGICO, Part iii. packet 11,
No. 107) a copy of a copper-plate grant which was executed by the chief
of Goa in A.D. 1391 in the name of "Virahariar," king of Vijayanagar,
the suzerain. This was "Vira" Harihara II. It was copied in A.D. 1532,
and translated into Portuguese.
[66] -- Probably Belgaum.
[67] -- The Tulu-ghat, or the Tulu country on the Malabar coast.
[68] -- Compare the passage in the Chronicle of Nuniz, p. 302 below,
where, writing of a period a few years later, he says, "The king of
Coullao (Quilon) and Ceylon, and Paleacate (Pulicat), and Pegu and
Tanacary (Tenasserim), and many other lands, pay tribute to him" --
the Raya.
[69] -- 17th Zil-hijja, A.H. 779.
[70] -- Meadows Taylor, in his "History of India," relates (p. 163)
that on one occasion Mujahid, during his attack on Vijayanagar,
penetrated into the second line of works, where there was a celebrated
image of the monkey-god, Hanuman. The Sultan dispersed the Brahmans
who tried to protect it, and struck the image in the face, mutilating
its features. "A dying Brahman lying at the foot of the image cursed
the king. 'For this act,' he said, 'thou wilt die ere thou reachest
thy kingdom.' A prophecy which was literally fulfilled. The image,
hewn out of a large boulder of granite, still remains, and shows the
marks of the king's mutilation." I do not know to which image the
historian alludes. There are several statues of Hanuman in the second
line of works, two of them lying south of the temple of Malaanta
Raghunathasvami.
[71] -- 21st Muharram A.H. 780.
[72] -- The name is generally given as Mahmud, and so Firishtah names
him but Dr. Codrington (NUMISMATIC CHRONICLE, 3rd Series, vol. xviii
p. 261) points out that the name on all the coins of this Sultan is
"Muhammad," and not "Mahmud;" and this is confirmed by the BURHAN-I
MAASIR and two other authorities (Major King in IND. ANT., July 1899,
p. 183, note 39). I think it best, however, to adhere to Firishtah's
nomenclature to prevent confusion.
[73] -- 21st Rajab A.H. 799. The 26th according to the BURHAN-I MAAZIR.
[74] -- See Rice's "Mysore Inscriptions," p. 55 (A.D. 1379); JOURNAL
BOMBAY BRANCH ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, xii. 340 (A.D. 1399).
[75] -- See above, p. 28. Professor Aufrecht believes that Sayana
died A.D. 1387.
[76] -- "Mysore Inscriptions," p. 226.
[77] -- JOURNAL BOMBAY BRANCH ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, ix. 227.
[78] -- In this the king is called "MAHAMANDALESVARA, son of Vira
Bukka Udaiyar, Lord of the four seas."
[79] -- EPIG. IND., iii. pp. 115 -- 116.
[80] -- OP. CIT., p. 119.
[81] -- 17th Ramazan A.H. 799 (Firishtah).
[82] -- 23rd Safar A.H. 800 (Firishtah).
[83] -- EPIGRAPHIA INDICA, iii. 36, N. 3.
[84] -- Firishtah (Scott, p. 76).
[85] -- Rather, I think, basket-boats. These are described in the
text of Paes (below, p. 259) as being in use on these rivers in
the sixteenth century, just as they are to-day. They are circular
in shape, and are made of wickerwork of split bamboo covered all
over outside with leather. Colonel Briggs, writing of these boats
(Firishtah, ii. 371), in a footnote says, "A detachment of the British
army crossed its heavy guns without even dismounting them over the
Toongbudra in 1812 in these basket-boats."
[86] -- These women always accompanied the Raya's armies. Nuniz says
that large numbers of them were at the Hindu camp at Raichur in 1520.
[87] -- A stringed instrument.
[88] -- Youths trained to sing and dance in public.
[89] -- Assessed at "near [pound sterling]400,000" (Scott, Firishtah,
p. 79, note).
[90] -- "Mysore Inscriptions," Rice, p. 279, No. 150. Professor
Kielhorn in IND. ANT., xxiv. p. 204, No. 304, and note.
[91] -- "South Indian Inscriptions," i. 82 (Dr. Hultzsch).
[92] -- We must remember that the narrator is a loyal
Muhammadan. Mudkal was in the tract always in dispute between the
two kingdoms.
[93] -- About forty miles north.
[94] -- Briggs gives her name as "Nehal."
[95] -- Briggs says, "In the beginning of the year 809." This would
be the month of June, and the months following would have been
unfavourable for the march of armies. I prefer Scott's rendering.
[96] -- Firishtah generally calls this place "Beekapore" (Scott, i. 47,
69, 85, 86 &c.), but on p. 301 he spells the name "Binkapore." Bankapur
was one of the principal fortresses in the Carnatic. It is the
"Bengapor" or "Vengapor" of our chronicles. (See below, p. 122.)
[97] -- This again points to the Muhammadan camp having been in the
neighbourhood of Hospett, south of Vijayanagar.
[98] -- "Plates of gold filled with incense and silver flowers." --
Briggs (ii. 386).
[99] -- This square is the open space mentioned by both Nuniz and
Paes. On the left of it, as the cortege advanced, was the palace.
[100] -- Scott has it "Mankul" (i. 90), but Briggs (ii. 389) corrects
this into "Pangul," which is undoubtedly correct.
[101] -- His grandfather, Deva Raya I., was young enough at the
beginning of his reign (A.D. 1406) to plunge into amorous intrigues
and adventures, and he reigned only seven years at most. His son and
successor, Vijaya, reigned only six years. Vijaya's son, Deva Raya
II., therefore, was probably a mere boy when he came to the throne
in A.D. 1419.
[102] -- PINA = CHINNA (Telugu) or CHIKKA (Kanarese), and means
"little" or "young." (See the tale told by Barradas below, p. 222 ff.,
of the events of 1614 A.D.) The name is very common in Southern India,
and was generally applied to the Crown Prince.
[103] -- 7th Shawwal A.H. 825. Firishtah, (Scott) p. 95, gives the
length of the reign, and his figures yield this result.
[104] -- The spot-was therefore probably close to one of the old
irrigation channels, supplied by dams constructed across this river
under the Rayas.
[105] -- It is difficult to reconcile this story with the fact of
the Raya's tender age at this date, for I think it is certain that he
was then quite a boy. Is it possible that the Muhammadan chroniclers,
from whom Firishtah obtained the narrative, mistook for the king an
adult member of the family who commanded the army? Such mistakes were
certainly made in later years. The chroniclers seem to have taken
little pains to ascertain the actual names of the Hindu kings. It
must, however, be noted that a little later on Firishtah speaks of
Deva Raya's son.
[106] -- There is no clue as to where this event took place, except
that it was not very close to Vijayanagar. The Sultan must have
been near some hills with a plain below, because he met with open
ground difficult for a horse to cross, in his eagerness to reach a
mud enclosure in a plain. The description is applicable to numberless
places in the vicinity, and it is useless to speculate. As he was on
horseback, it is possible that he was riding down antelope.
[107] -- Before Ahmad's accession, his brother, the late Sultan Firuz,
had designed, in order to secure the throne for his own son Hasan,
that Ahmad, should be blinded. Ahmad was warned of this and left
Kulbarga in time to secure his safety.
[108] -- This is the Muhammadan version. Nothing is said regarding
this tribute by Firishtah in describing the terms of the peace of
1399 A.D. It is possible, however, that tribute was really paid. It
had apparently been exacted by Muhammad Shaw Bahmani, and agreed to
by Bukka Raya I. who confirmed the arrangement on the accession of
Daud Shah's brother Muhammad (See above, p. 47.)
[109] -- This looks as if he was really paraded with ignominy as a
vanquished inferior, and so displayed to the Muhammadan troops. If
he had desired to do him honour, the Sultan himself would have
met the prince and personally escorted him, as representing his
father. Moreover, the prince was only permitted to sit at the foot
of the throne, and was taken, almost as a prisoner, for many days
with the army till it reached the Krishna river.
[110] -- 8th Rajab A.H. 838 (Firishtah). The BURHAN-I MAASIR says
22nd Rajab.
[111] -- Firishtah (Scott), i. 118.
[112] -- Estates.
[113] -- Below, p. 303.
[114] -- DANAIK, a word which the traveller apparently took for a
proper name, is simply "the commander" -- DHANNAYAKA.
[115] -- As to Deva Raya's age see above, p. 63. He had now been on
the throne for twenty-four years.
[116] -- These words appear to confirm Abdur Razzak's statement.
[117] -- Saka 1348 current, year Visvavasu ("Asiatic Researches,"
xx. p. 22; Hultzsch's "South Indian Inscriptions," i. 82).
[118] -- OP. CIT., p. 160 Saka 1349 current, cyclic year Parabhava,
on the full moon day of the month Karttika.
[119] -- Hultzsch's "South Indian Inscriptions," i. p. 79. Fifth
Karkataka Sukla, Saka 1353 current, year Sadharana. The donor's
name is given as Vira Pratapa Deva Raya Maharaya and he is styled
MAHAMANDALESVARA, "Lord of the four oceans."
[120] -- OP. CIT. p. 109. They both give the king full royal titles.
[121] -- IND. ANT., xxv. 346.
[122] -- I.E. the second or dark half (KRISHNA PAKSHA) of the month.
[123] -- Hultzsch's "South Indian Inscriptions," ii. 339. The date
is Saka 1863 expired, year Kshaya, Wednesday the fifth day of the
bright half of the month, on the day of the Nakshatra Purva Phalguni.
[124] -- Hultzsch's "South Indian Inscriptions," i. 110. Saka 1371
expired, year Sukla, Saturday 13th Sukla of the month of Simha,
on the day of the Nakshatra Uttarashadha.
[125] -- The termination IA is appended to many Indian names by
Bracciolini; thus "Pacamuria" for Bacanor, the Portuguese way of
spelling Barkur, "Cenderghiria" for Chandragiri, "Odeschiria" for
Udayagiri, and so on.
[126] -- JOURNAL OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL, vol. xiv. Part
ii. p. 518.
[127] -- Text of Paes, below, p. 281. I have discussed in full the
dates given by the chronicler in considering the question as to the
year of the battle of Raichur (see pp. 140 -- 147).
[128] -- The stone balls, generally made of quartzose granite,
which are so often found in the country about Vijayanagar on the
sites of old forts, were probably intended to be projected from these
weapons. They are often called "cannon-balls," but could hardly have
been fired from guns, as they would have broken up under the discharge
and have seriously injured the piece.
[129] -- About the same time, viz., 1436, Barbaro (Hakluyt Society,
"Travels of Barbaro," p. 58), speaking of his sojourn in Tartary,
wrote: "At which time, talking of Cataio, he tolde me howe the chief
of that princes corte knewe well enough what the Franchi were ... We
Cataini have twoo eyes, and yow Franchi one, whereas yow (torneing
him towards the Tartares that were wth him) have never a one." The
coincidence is curious.
[130] -- The Samuri of Calicut.
[131] -- Sir H. Elliot ("History," iv. 103, note) has "BIDRUR" as
Abdur Razzak's spelling. The place alluded to was probably Bednur.
[132] -- This was in A.H. 846, and corresponds to the end of April
A.D. 1443.
[133] -- Below, p. 253.
[134] -- I.E. about seven miles. It is actually about eight miles if
measured from the extreme south point of the first line of defence
northwards to the river. Razzak evidently did not include the walls
of Anegundi, the northern lines of which lie two miles farther still
to the north.
[135] -- The descriptions are rather vague, but, if I am right in
supposing that there was a long bazaar called the Pansupari bazaar,
along the road leading from the palace gate to the Anegundi gate on
the river, it must certainly have been crossed by another road, and
probably therefore a road lined with shops, leading from the Kamalapura
gate of the inner enclosure northwards to the great Hampi temple. Close
to the gate of the palace proper these roads would intersect at right
angles, and would form four separate bazaars or streets. The galleries
and porticoes are now not in existence, but the remains in the street
running east from the Hampi temple will show what the galleries were
like in those days. This last street alone is half a mile long.
[136] -- Remains of these are still to be seen not far from the
"Ladies' Bath." There was a long trough that conveyed the water,
and on each side were depressions which may have been hollowed for
the reception of round vessels of different sizes, intended to hold
water for household use.
[137] -- "The DEWAN KHANAH resembles a forty-pillared hall" (Sir
H. Elliot's translation, "History," iv. 108). I am doubtful as to what
building is referred to. The Hakluyt translator's rendering seems to
point to the great enclosure west of the elephant stables, which has
been called the "Zenana." I know of no hall exactly answering to Sir
Henry Elliot's description. The lofty walls with watch-towers at the
angles WHICH surround the enclosure referred to would be just such as
might be supposed to have been erected for the protection of the royal
archives and offices of the kingdom -- the "Dewan Khana." If so, the
"hall" in front would be the structure to which has been fancifully
given the name of "the concert-hall." This hall, or DAFTAR-KHANA,
would be the usual working office of the Minister and his colleagues --
the office of daily work or courthouse, the necessary documents and
records being brought to and from the central offices in the enclosure.
[138] -- Roughly, twenty yards by seven. It is difficult to understand
the height mentioned.
[139] -- I give this word as in the India Office copy. The Hakluyt
edition has DAIANG, which seems incorrect.
[140] -- Officers with staves, generally covered with silver.
[141] -- Abdur Razzak writes as if he was standing at the gate
of the palace looking eastwards. Taken so, his description seems
exact. Mr. A. Rea takes this view generally in a paper published in
the MADRAS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE MAGAZINE (December 1886).
[142] -- About two hundred yards by fifteen.
[143] -- All this seems to have disappeared, but the buildings may
have stood on each side of what is now the main road from Kamalapura
to Hampi -- "behind the Mint," as the author stood.
[144] -- The India Office copy adds here: "He was exceedingly
young." If so, the personage whom the ambassador interviewed could
hardly have been Deva Raya II., who at this period (1443) had been
on the throne for twenty-four years.
[145] -- MAHANADI (Hakluyt), MAHANAWI (Elliot). There can be little
doubt as to the meaning.
[146] -- The actual moment of the new moon corresponding to the
beginning of the month of Karttika in Hindu reckoning was 7.40 A.M. on
the morning of October 23, and the first Hindu day (TITHI) of Karttika
began at 5 A.M. on October 24. The Muhammadan month begins with the
heliacal rising of the moon, and this may have taken place on the
24th or 25th evening. At any rate, Razzak could hardly have called a
festival that took place a whole month earlier a festival which took
place "during three days in the month Rajab." Hence I think that he
must have been present at the New Year festivities in Karttika, not at
the Mahanavami in Asvina, a month previous. Note Paes' description of
the festivals at which he was present. He states that the nine days'
MAHANAVAMI took place on September 12, when he was at Vijayanagar,
and the details correspond to the year A.D. 1520. September 12, 1520,
was the first day of the month Asvina. The New Year's festival that
year took place on October 12, which corresponded to the first day
of Karttika, each of these being the day following the NEW moon,
not the full moon.
[147] -- About seven yards or twenty-one feet.
[148] -- Genealogical table in EPIGRAPHIA INDICA, iii. 36.
[149] -- Dr. Hultzsch (EPIG. IND., iii. 36, and note; IND. ANT.,
xxi. 321). The last is on a temple at Little Conjeeveram and is dated
in Saka 1387 expired, year Parthiva.
[150] -- Saka 1392 expired, year Vikriti, on the same temple
(IND. ANT., xxi. 321 -- 322).
[151] -- Firishtah says that he reigned twenty-three years nine months
and twenty days, which gives this date. The BURHAN-I MAASIR fixes
his decease at the end of Junmada'l Awwal A.H. 862, which answers to
April A.D. 1458. Major King states that another authority gives the
date as four years later (IND. ANT., Sept. 1899, p. 242, note).
[152] -- 28th Zil-kada A.H. 865.
[153] -- 13th Zil-kada A.H. 867.
[154] -- Dec. I. viii. c. 10.
[155] -- Below, p. 305.
[156] -- IND. ANT., November 1899, p. 286, note.
[157] -- Vijayanagar.
[158] -- Masulipatam.
[159] -- Scott's translation has "Ghondpore" (i. 166); Briggs (ii. 500)
says "Condapilly."
[160] -- This evidently means Kanchi or Conjeeveram; but the story
is exceedingly improbable. The distance was 250 miles, and the way
lay through the heart of a hostile country.
[161] -- Ramazan A.H. 885.
[162] -- 11th Muharram, A.H. 886.
[163] -- Scott's translation, i. 167.
[164] -- It is possible that one of these towns was Goa, which was
taken in 1469.
[165] -- Meaning evidently palanquins.
[166] -- "Chenudar" and "Binedar" appear to be variations of the name
Vijayanagar, called "Bichenegher" farther on.
[167] -- This may, perhaps, refer to Belgaum (A.D. 1471).
[168] -- Mahamandalesvara Medinisvara Gandan Kattari Saluva
Dharanivaraha Narasimha Raya Udaiyar. These are not the titles of a
sovereign. (Hultzsch, "South Indian Inscriptions," i. 131, No. 116).
[169] -- OP. CIT., p. 132, No. 119.
[170] -- OP. CIT., p. 131.
[171] -- Scott's "Firishtah," i. pp. 190, 210; Briggs, ii. 537,
iii. 10.
[172] -- Briggs calls him "Timraj" (ii. 538) in all cases whence I
conclude that in this passage Scott's "Ramraaje" is a slip of the
pen. It does not occur again. The former translator in the second of
the two passages calls "Timraj" the general of the Roy of Beejanuggur.
[173] -- Scott, i. p 228.
[174] -- Scott, i. p. 262.
[175] -- This is very similar to the story told by Nuniz of the two
sons of Virupaksha.
[176] -- This again is similar to the tale Nuniz gives us of the
minister Narasa and the two young princes.
[177] -- Scott, i. p. 252; Briggs, iii. 66.
[178] -- Firishtah has told us in a previous paragraph that
"dissensions prevailed in Beejanuggur."
[179] -- April A.D. 1493.
[180] -- Scott's note to this is "about one million eight hundred
thousand pounds sterling." Briggs (iii. p. 13) says two millions.
[181] -- April 1509 to April 1510.
[182] -- Da Orta was at Vijayanagar in 1534, at the same time as our
chronicler Nuniz.
[183] -- Colloq., x.
[184] -- May 20th, according to Barros.
[185] -- Published by the Hakluyt Society in English.
[186] -- The origin of the name "Sabayo" has often been discussed,
and never, I think, quite satisfactorily explained. Several of the
old writers have exercised their ingenuity on the question. Barros
(Dec. II. l. v. cap. 1) writes: "AO TEMPO CUE NOS ENTRAMOS NA INDIA,
ERA SENHOR DESTA CIDADE GOA HUM MOURO PER NOME SOAI, CAPITAO D'EL REY
DO DECAN, A QUE COMMUNAMENTE CHAMAMOS SABAYO" -- "When we arrived
in India, the lord of this city of Goa was a Moor, by name Soai,
captain of the king of the Dakhan, whom we commonly call Sabayo." But
Barros must not always be depended upon for Indian names. He explains
"Sabayo" as derived from SABA or SAVA -- "Persian," and says that
the Sabayo's son was Adil Shah. Garcia da Orta derives it from SAHIB,
Burton (LUSIADS, iii. p. 290) thinks it was a corruption of SIPANDAR or
"military governor."
[187] -- I have not seen the original, and suspect an error of
translation here.
[188] -- Compare the account given by Paes as to his horse, which
he saw at the Mahanavami festival, and at the review which followed
(pp. 272, 278 below).
[189] -- EPIG. IND., i. 366; IND. ANT., xxiv. 205.
[190] -- Henry VIII. of England succeeded to the throne on April 22nd
of the same year. It is interesting, when reading the description of
the splendours of Krishna Raya's court in the narrative of Nuniz, to
remember that in Western Europe magnificence of display and personal
adornment seems to have reached its highest pitch at the same period.
[191] -- The chief of Bankapur seems to have been a Mahratta. Nuniz
calls him the "Guym de Bengapor." Albuquerque styles him "King
Vengapor" about A.D. 1512 (Hakluyt edit., iii. 187).
Osorio writes: -- "EST AUTEM VENGAPOR REGIO MEDITERRANEA, CUM ZABAIMI
REGIONE CONTINENS" (p. 263).
Castanheda states that Albuquerque, then Governor-General of Goa,
sent two embassies, one to Vijayanagar and one to "Vengapor," as
if the latter were independent; and adds of the chief of Vengapor,
"His kingdom is a veritable and safe road to Narsinga, and well
supplied with provisions."
Barros speaks of the same event, calling the place "Bengapor"
and stating explicitly that its king was "vassal of Narsinga" (or
Vijayanagar) (Dec. II. l. v. cap. 3). Subsequently, writing of the
chiefs in the same neighbourhood, Barros speaks of two brothers,
"Comogij" and "Appagij" (Dec. III. l. iv. cap. 5), and describing
Krishna Deva Raya's march towards Raichur -- recapitulating the story
and details given by Nuniz -- he speaks of "the Gim of the city
of Bengapor." In l. v. cap. 3 of the same Decade Barros says that
"Bengapor" was "on the road" to Vijayanagar. "Gim," "Guym" and other
names appear to be renderings of the Mahratta honorific "Ji."
Bankapur was one of the most important fortresses in the Karnataka
country, situated forty miles south of Dharwar on the direct road
from Honawar to Vijayanagar. The road from Bhatkal, a favourite
landing-place, first went northwards to Honawar, then inland to
Bankapur, and thence to Banavasi, Ranibennur, and over the plains
to Hospett and Vijayanagar. It was known as early as A.D. 848,
and remained in possession of Hindu rulers down to 1573, when it was
captured by Ali Adil Shah and its beautiful temple destroyed. Firishtah
calls the place "Beekapore" and "Binkapor" (Scott's edit., i. 47,
69, 85, 86, 119, 301, &c).
[192] -- "Commentaries of Afonso Dalboquerque" (Hakluyt edit.,
ii. p. 73). Fr. Luis left Cochin, travelled to Bhatkal, and thence
to Vijayanagar.
[193] -- Dec II. l. v. cap. 3.
[194] -- See also Castanheda, who was in India in 1529
(Lib. iii. cap. 12).
[195] -- As before stated, Firishtah mentions this event (Scott,
i. 225).
[196] -- Purchas's summary of the Portuguese conquest of Goa runs as
follows: "SABAIUS (I.E. the "Sabayo") when he died, left his sonne
IDALCAN (Adil Khan) very young; whereupon his Subjects rebelled,
and the King of Narsinga warred upon him, to dispossesse him of his
Dominion. Albuquerque, taking his opportunitie, besieged and ... took
Goa with the Iland. Which was soon after recovered by Idalcan, comming
with a strong Armie thither, the Portugal flying away by night. But
when the King of Narsinga again invaded Idalcan, He was forced to
resist the more dangerous Enemy, leaving a strong Garrison at Goa,
which yet ALBUQUERK overcame, and sacked the Citie." Purchas's work was
published (folio) in 1626. He merely follows Barros (Dec. I. l. viii
cap. 10).
[197] -- "Commentaries of Afonso Dalboquerque" (Hakluyt edit, iii. 35).
[198] -- The name may represent "Timma Raja."
[199] -- "Commentaries of Dalboquerque," iii. pp. 246 -- 247.
[200] -- Firishtah (Scott), i. p. 236.
[201] -- "Commentaries of Dalboquerque," iv. 121.
[202] -- "East Africa and Malabar" (Hakluyt edit., pp. 73,
&c.). Barbosa was son of Diego Barbosa, who sailed in the first fleet
sent out under Joao de Nova in 1501. He gives no dates in his own
writings except that he finished his work in 1516 (Preface), after
"having navigated for a great part of his youth in the East Indies." It
was probably begun about 1514. He was certainly in the Indian Ocean in
1508 -- 9. The heading of the work is "Description of the East Indies
and Countries on the sea-board of the Indian Ocean in 1514." It was
published in Spanish (translated from the Portuguese) in 1524. The
copy in the Library at Barcelona is said to be the oldest extant.
[203] -- This name awaits explanation.
[204] -- This probably refers to the highly decorated building in
the interior of what I believe to have been the Government offices,
surrounded by a lofty wall with watch-towers, and often called "The
Zenana" The elephant stables lie to the east of it. The building in
question is "No. 29 Council Room" on the Government plan.
[205] -- Barbosa in A.D. 1514 mentions this expedition.
[206] -- An inscription at Kondavid glorifying Saluva Timma states
that he took the fortress on Saturday, June 23, A.D. 1515 (Ashadha
Sukla Harivasara Saurau, Saka 1437). This information was kindly
supplied to me by Dr. Luders.
[207] -- There is a long inscription in the temple of Varadarajasvami
at Conjeeveram exactly confirming this whole story, It relates that
the king first captured Udayagiri, Bellamkonda, Vinukonda, Kondavid,
and other places; then Bezvada and Kondapalle, and finally Rajahmundry.
[208] -- Pp 354 to 371.
[209] -- Krishna Raya in 1515 was only about twenty-nine years old;
but we must not forget the Hindu custom of the marriages of girls
while infants.
[210] -- If this refers to Krishna Raya's capture of that place in
1515, it is to be noted here that Nuniz asserts that it was taken,
not from the Muhammadans, but from the king of Orissa.
[211] -- Firishtah's account of this is that Ismail Adil joined
with Amir Barid in an attack on Telingana and laid siege to
Kovilkonda. Vijayanagar had no part in the causes of the campaign.
[212] -- Firishtah tells this story of Jamshid Qutb Shah, Quli's
successor (1543 -- 50).
[213] -- So says Nuniz, but, as before stated, Firishtah differs. In
my opinion we must accept the former as correct, for his account is so
graphic and detailed that it is impossible to believe that he could
have been mistaken. Firishtah did not write for many years later and
was much more liable to en on Several Portuguese were present at the
siege, and, if I am not mistaken, either Nuniz was there himself,
or obtained his information from those who were so. The story bears
all the marks of a personal narrative.
[214] -- Pp. 323 to 347 below.
[215] -- On the Ordnance Map I observe on the river-bank, thirteen
miles N.N.E. of Raichur, a plan of what appears to be a large fortified
camp, with its base on the river, the average of its west, south, and
east faces being about a mile each It lies just below the junction
of the Bhima and Krishna rivers, and two miles west of the present
railway station on the latter river. What this may be I know not,
but it looks like the remains of an entrenched camp erected in some
former year. Perhaps some one will examine the place.
[216] -- Below, p. 263. "These feasts begin on the twelfth of
September, and they last nine days."
[217] -- Below, p. 281. "At the beginning of the month of October
when eleven of its days had passed.... On this day begins their year;
it is their New Year's Day.... They begin the year in this month with
the new moon, and they count the months always from moon to moon."
[218] -- Below, p. 243.
[219] -- "On the upper platform, close to the king, was Christovao de
Figueiredo, with all of us who came with him, for the king commanded
that he should be in such a place, so as best to see the feasts and
magnificence." (Paes, p. 264 below.)
[220] -- Lib. v. c 57.
[221] -- TANADARIS are small local divisions of the kingdom, each
under its own petty official. A THANAH is a police-station in modern
parlance. I can think of no English word exactly suitable, but,
as far as area is concerned, perhaps the term "parish" would best
express the meaning.
[222] -- LENDAS DA INDIA, ii. 581.
[223] -- Menezes assumed charge of the Viceroyalty on January 22,
1522. A short summary of Sequeira's career is given in the interesting
MS. volume called the LIVRO DAS FORTALEZAS DA INDIA, of which the
text was written by Antonio Bocarro, and the numerous portraits and
plans were drawn and coloured by Pero Barretto de Rezenda. The British
Museum copy is in the Sloane Collection and bears the number "197."
[224] -- Dec. III. 1. in cap. 4.
[225] -- IDEM, cap. 5.
[226] -- IDEM, cap. 8.
[227] -- IDEM, cap. 9.
[228] -- IDEM, cap. 10.
[229] -- "Asia Portugueza" of Faria y Souza, I. Pt. iii. cap. 4
(Stevens' translation).
[230] -- Compare Nuniz (text, p. 329).
[231] -- These numbers are probably taken from Barros, who copied
Nuniz.
[232] -- "Asia Portugueza," I. Pt. iii. cap. 4, sec. 5. "Ruy de Mello,
que estava a Goa, viendo al Hidalchan divertido con sus ruinas o
esperancas, o todo junto, y a muchos en perciales remolinos robando
la tierra firme de aquel contorno, ganola facilmente con dozientos
y sincuenta cavallos, y ochocientos peones Canaries"
[233] -- "Histoire des Descouvertes et Conquestes des Portugais"
(Paris, 1733).
[234] -- Danvers, "The Portuguese in India," i. 347, gives us the same
dates for Sequeira's absence, and mentions De Figueiredo's presence
at the battle of Raichur.
[235] -- The corresponding actual new moon day in May 1521 was Monday,
May 6, and the new moon was first visible on Wednesday. In 1522 the
actual new moon day was Sunday, May 25, and it was first visible
on Tuesday.
[236] -- Paes says that on an emergency he could raise even two
millions.
[237] -- "Handbook of Indian Arms," pp. 15 -- 16.
[238] -- Above, p. 12.
[239] -- OP. CIT., p. 18.
[240] -- Below, p. 292.
[241] -- Below, pp. 384 to 389.
[242] -- Liv. ii. c 16.
[243] -- Commander-in-chief.
[244] -- Below, p. 333.
[245] -- "OMDE ACHAVEIS ... HO QUE AVIEIS MISTER."
[246] -- "VERIEIS."
[247] -- "ACHAREIS."
[248] -- Below, pp, 346, 347.
[249] -- Below, p. 351.
[250] -- Vol. i. p. 347.
[251] -- Vol. i. p. 533.
[252] -- We hear nothing of this from Firishtah. But we know that
the Bahmani Sultan Mahmud II., who died in 1518, had three sons,
Ahmad Ala-ud-Din, and Wali-Ullah, the first of whom became Sultan
in December 1517, the second in 1521, the third in the same year;
in all cases only nominally.
[253] -- Dec. III. l. iv. c. 10.
[254] -- Correa, Stanley's translation (Hakluyt edition, p. 387, note;
Danvers, "Portuguese in India," i. 363. The "Suffilarim" is Asada Khan.
Mr. Baden-Powell has published, in the JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC
SOCIETY for April 1900, an interesting paper on the king of Portugal's
regulations for, and record of customs in, the newly acquired tracts,
dated at Goa in A.D. 1526, and called FORAL DOS USOS E COSTUMES.
[255] -- Dec. IV. 1. vii. c. 1.
[256] -- Mallik Barid. The Hidalchan is the Adil Khan or the Adil Shah;
Madre Maluco is the Imad Shah, and Cota Maluco the Qutb Shah.
[257] -- Perhaps this matter ought to find place under the reign of
Achyuta Raya, but I mention it here as it may have occurred before
the death of Krishna Deva.
[258] -- Article "Vijayanagar" in the MADRAS CHRISTIAN COLLEGE MAGAZINE
for December 1886.
[259] -- "Bellary District Manual" (Kelsall), p. 231.
[260] -- "South Indian Inscriptions" (Hultzsch), p. 132; and EPIGRAPHIA
INDICA, BY the same author, iv. 266.
[261] -- JOURNAL, BOMBAY BRANCH, ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, xii. 336, &c.
[262] -- EPIG. IND., i. 398; iv. p. 3, note 4.
[263] -- I have broadly declared this relationship, but, as a matter
of fact, almost every inscription and literary work in the country
differs as to the genealogy of the sovereigns who reigned from this
time forward. Nuniz, however, as a contemporary writer residing at
the capital, is an excellent authority.
[264] -- EPIG. IND., iv. 3, note 4 (Professor Kielhorn).
[265] -- Scott's edition, i. 252.
[266] -- These names are discussed below.
[267] -- This is apparently an error. The period was only ten years.
[268] -- 16th Safar, A.H. 941 (Firishtah).
[269] -- Firishtah, Briggs, iii. 374 -- 375.
[270] -- "Lists of Antiquities, Madras," vol. i. p. 181 (No. 86),
and p. 182 (No. 115).
[271] -- Scott's translation, i. p. 262.
[272] -- Below, p. 367.
[273] -- IDEM, p. 354.
[274] -- Scott, i. pp. 262 ff.; Briggs, iii. p. 80.
[275] -- Briggs has it "a daughter of Shew Ray." Rama married a
daughter of Krishna Deva, who was son of the first Narasimha.
[276] -- Inscriptions do not give us the name of any prince of
the female line at this period. Briggs calls the uncle "Bhoj"
Tirumala. Couto (Dec. VI. l. v. cap. 5) renders the name as "Uche
Timma," and states that UCHE means "mad."
[277] -- Here we probably find an allusion to the reign of
Achyuta. Rama was the elder of three brothers afterwards to become very
famous. He and his brother Tirumala both married daughters of Krishna
Deva Raya. Achyuta being, in Nuniz's belief, brother of the latter
monarch, that chronicler calls these two brothers "brothers-in-law" of
King Achyuta. (Below, p. 367.) Nuniz says that King Achyuta "destroyed
the principal people in the kingdom and killed their sons" (p. 369).
[278] -- Achyuta had then been for about six years on the throne.
[279] -- If the Sultan's march towards Vijayanagar began in 1535 -- 36,
we shall perhaps not be far wrong in assigning Nuniz's chronicle to the
year 1536 -- 37, seeing that the author alludes to the dissatisfaction
and disgust felt by the nobles and others for their rulers, which
presupposes a certain interval to have passed since the departure of
the Mussalman army.
[280] -- Scott's edit., i. 265.
[281] -- Scott spells the name "Negtaderee," but I have substituted
the rendering given by Briggs, "Venkatadry," as less confusing.
[282] -- Firishtah writes glowingly (Scott, i. 277) of the grandeur
of Asada Khan. He "was famed for his judgment and wisdom.... For
nearly forty years he was the patron and protector of the nobles
and distinguished of the Dekhan. He lived in the highest respect
and esteem, with a magnificence and grandeur surpassing all his
contemporary nobility. The sovereigns of Beejanuggur and every country
observing a respect to his great abilities, frequently honoured
him with letters and valuable presents. His household servants
... amounted to 250. He had sixty of the largest elephants and 150 of
a smaller size. In his stables he had 400 horses of Arabia and Persia,
exclusive of those-of mixed breed foaled in India. His treasures and
riches were beyond amount," &c.
[283] -- Firishtah's story of Asada Khan's life is contained in
Scott's edition. i. pp. 236 -- 278; Briggs, iii. pp. 45 -- 102.
[284] -- Dec. III. l. iv. cap. 5.
[285] -- Dec. IV. l. vii. cap. 6.
[286] -- Turugel is probably Tirakhol, north of Goa.
[287] -- Couto tells us (Dec. VII. l. vii. c. 1) that Rama Raya in 1555
made an expedition against the Christian inhabitants of San Thome, near
Madras, but retired without doing great harm; and it is quite possible
that the king acknowledged no connection between San Thome and Goa.
[288] -- EPIGRAPHIA INDICA, iii 147.
[289] -- EPIGRAPHIA CARNATICA (Rice), Part i. p. 176, No. 120.
[290] -- I have published a rough list of eighty-eight of these,
eighty-four of which are dated, in my "Lists of Antiquities, Madras"
(vol. ii. p. 134 ff.).
[291] -- South Indian Inscriptions," vol. i. p. 70.
[292] -- Dec. VI. l. v. cap. 5.
[293] -- "Tetarao," "Ramygupa," and "Ouamysyuaya" (text, below,
p. 314).
[294] -- Page 108.
[295] -- Dec. VI. l. v. cap. 5.
[296] -- EPIG. IND., iii. 236.
[297] -- Firishtah (Scott, i. 252) states that Rama Raya "married a
daughter of the son of Seoroy, by that alliance greatly adding to his
influence and power." If so, "Seoroy" must be the first Narasa The
historian says that "Seoroy dying was succeeded by his son, a minor,
who did not live long after him, and left the throne to a younger
brother." These brothers, then, were the second Narasa, called also
Vira Narasimha, and Krishna Deva. The rest of Firishtah's account does
not tally with our other sources of information. As being son-in-law
of Krishna Deva, Rama was called "Aliya," which means "son-in-law,"
and by this name he is constantly known.
[298] -- IND. ANT., xiii. 154.
[299] -- Vol. iv. pp. 247 -- 249, 276 -- 282.
[300] -- See the pedigree above. The young son would be Venkata,
and the uncle, Ranga.
[301] -- Who all these were we do not know. The boy Venkata's uncles
would be either brothers of Ranga or brothers of the queen-mother,
widow of Achyuta. Achyuta's nephew referred to could not be Sadasiva,
because he survived. He may have been nephew of the Rani. The
assassination of the boy-king recalls to our minds the story of
Firishtah of the murder of the infant prince by "Hoje" Tirumala.
[302] -- Sister, that is, of Krishna Deva. As above stated, Rama
Raya, for undoubtedly he is here referred to, married Krishna Deva's
daughter, not sister, so far as we can gather.
[303] -- Caesar Frederick states that Rama and his two brothers,
of whom Tirumala was minister and Venkatadri commander-in-chief,
kept the rightful kings prisoners for thirty years prior to their
downfall in 1565. If so, this would include the reign of Achyuta,
and the story would differ from that of Nuniz, who represents King
Achyuta as free but subject to the malign influence of his "two
brothers-in-law." These two may, perhaps, represent Rama and Tirumala,
who are said to have married two daughters of Krishna Deva. They would,
however, not have been really brothers-in-law of Achyuta.
[304] -- Senhor Lopes, DOS REIS DE BISNAGA, Introduction, p. lxix.
[305] -- Firishtah (Scott, i. 271).
[306] -- So Firishtah. The Muhammadan historian of the Qutb Shahi
dynasty of Golkonda, translated by Briggs, tells this story of Quli
Qutb Shah, Jamshid's predecessor (Firishtah, Briggs, iii. 371).
[307] -- The terms of this treaty are interesting, as they throw much
light on the political and commercial relations of the Portuguese at
this period with the two great states their neighbours.
The contracting parties are stated to be the king of Portugal by his
deputy, the captain-general and governor of Goa, Dom Joao de Castro,
and the great and powerful King Sadasiva, king of Bisnaga.
(A) Each party to be friends of the friends, and enemy of the enemies,
of the other; and, when called on, to help the other with all their
forces against all kings and lords in India, the Nizam Shah always
excepted.
(B) The governor of Goa will allow all Arab and Persian horses landed
at Goa to be purchased by the king of Vijayanagar on due notice and
proper payment, none being permitted to be sent to Bijapur.
(C) The king of Vijayanagar will compel all merchants in his kingdom
trading with the coast to send their goods through ports where the
Portuguese have factors, permitting none to proceed to Bijapur ports.
(D) The king of Vijayanagar will forbid the importation of saltpetre
and iron into his kingdom from any Bijapur port; and will compel its
purchase from Portuguese factors.
(E) The same with cloths, copper, tin, China silk, &c.
(F) The king of Vijayanagar will allow no Moorish ship or fleet to
stop in his ports, and if any should come he will capture them and send
them to Goa. Both parties agree, to wage war on the Adil Shah, and all
territory taken from the latter shall belong to Vijayanagar, except
lands on the west of the Ghats from Banda on the north to Cintacora
on the south, which lands shall belong to the king of Portugal.
[308] -- Muharram, A.H. 956. But the Portuguese records state that
Asada Khan died in 1545 (Danvers, i. 465).
[309] -- Danvers' "Portuguese in India," i. 465, 466.
[310] -- Briggs, iii. 328.
[311] -- Below, p. 383.
[312] -- Briggs' "Firishtah," iii. 397, &c.
[313] -- Senhor Lopes has recently found amongst the archives in
the Torre do Tombo in Lisbon a paper, dated 1555 A.D., which states
that the king of Vijayanagar had consented to aid Ibrahim Adil Shah
against Ain-ul-Mulkh and "the Meale" (I.E. Prince Abdullah, called
"Meale Khan" by the Portuguese), in return for a present of 700,000
pardaos (CORPO CHRONOLOGICO, Part i., packet 97, No. 40).
[314] -- Scott's edit., i. 284.
[315] -- The Muhammadans seem to have always treated Rama Rajah as
king. Sadasiva was perhaps too young at that period to have had a son,
and the allusion is probably to a son of Rama.
[316] -- King Sadasiva was apparently not strewn.
[317] -- That Ali Adil actually made this visit is confirmed by the
narrative of a Golkonda historian, whose work has been translated and
published by Briggs (Firishtah, iii. 402). The story may be compared
with that told above of the visit of Firuz Shah Bahmani to King Deva
Raya in A.D. 1406, which had a similar ending.
[318] -- Dec. VII. l. vii. c 1.
[319] -- See also Briggs' "Firistah," iii. 403 -- 405.
[320] -- Firishtah relates an interesting anecdote about this in
his history of the Ahmadnagar Sultans. Hussain Nizam Shah desired
to make peace with Vijayanagar, and Rama Raja offered to grant it on
certain conditions, one of which was that Kallian should he restored
to Bijapur, and another that the Nizam Shah should submit to pay him a
visit and receive betel from him. Hussain was in such straits that he
accepted these severe terms and went to Rama Raja's camp, "who rose on
his entering his tent (he did not go out to meet him) and kissed his
hand. The Sultan, from foolish pride, called for a basin and ewer,
and washed his hands, as if they had been polluted by the touch of
Ramraaje, who, enraged at the affront, said in his own language,
'If he were not my guest he should repent this insult;' then calling
for water, he also washed." Hussain then gave up the keys of Kallian.
[321] -- Scott's "Firishtah." i. 291; Briggs, iii. 406.
[322] -- 20th Jamada 'l awwal, Hijra 972. Firishtah (Scott), i. 295;
Briggs, iii. 413.
[323] -- Though, in fact, the battle did not take place there, but
many miles to the south of the river. Talikota is twenty-five miles
north of the Krishna. The battle took place ten miles from Rama Raya's
camp south of the river, wherever that may have been. There is no
available information on this point, but it was probably at Mudkal,
the celebrated fortress. The ford crossed by the allies would appear
to be that at the bend of the river at Ingaligi, and the decisive
battle seems to have been fought in the plains about the little
village of Bayapur or Bhogapur, on the road leading directly from
Ingaligi to Mudkal.
[324] -- Couto (Dec. VIII. c. 15) tells an incredible story that
Rama Raya was utterly ignorant of any impending attack, and never
even heard that the enemy had entered his territories till the news
was brought one day while he was at dinner.
[325] -- Below, pp. 275 to 279.
[326] -- I have seen on several occasions bodies of men collected
together at Vijayanagar and the neighbourhood, dressed and armed
in a manner which they assured me was traditional. They wore rough
tunics and short drawers of cotton, stained to a rather dark red-brown
colour, admirably adapted for forest work, but of a deeper hue than
our English khaki. They grimly assured me that the colour concealed
to a great extent the stains of blood from wounds. Their weapons were
for the most part spears. Some had old country swords and daggers.
[327] -- Firishtah gives the date as "Friday the 20th of
Jumad-oos-Sany," A.H. 972 (Briggs, iii. 414), but the day of the
month given corresponds to Tuesday, not Friday.
[328] -- What follows is taken entirely from Firishtah (Scott, i. 296
ff.; Briggs, iii 128, 247).
[329] -- Dec. VIII. c. 15.
[330] -- An interesting note by Colonel Briggs is appended to his
translation of these passages of Firishtah (iii. 130). "It affords a
striking example at once of the malignity of the Mahomedans towards
this Hindoo prince, and of the depraved taste of the times, when
we see a sculptured representation of Ramraj's head, at the present
day, serving as the opening of one of the sewers of the citadel of
Beejapoor, and we know that the real head, annually covered with
oil and red pigment, has been exhibited to the pious Mahomedans of
Ahmudnuggur, on the anniversary of the battle, for the last two hundred
and fifty years, by the descendants of the executioner, in whose hands
it has remained till the present period." This was written in 1829.
[331] -- Couto calls them "Bedues," probably for "Beduinos," "Bedouins"
or wandering tribes.
[332] -- In this I follow Couto; but the Golkonda historian quoted by
Briggs (Firishtah, iii. 414) states that the "allied armies halted for
ten days on the field of action, and then proceeded to the capital of
Beejanuggur." It is, however, quite possible that both accounts are
correct. The advanced Muhammadan troops are almost certain to have
been pushed on to the capital. The main body, after the sovereigns
had received information that no opposition was offered, may have
struck their camp on the tenth day.
[333] -- Purchas, edit. of 1625, ii. p. 1703.
[334] -- Couto states that this diamond was one which the king
had affixed to the base of the plume on his horse's headdress
(Dec. VIII. c. 15). (See Appendix A.)
[335] -- Portuguese ARMEZIM, "a sort of Bengal taffeta" (Michaelis'
Dict.).
[336] -- Gold coins of Vijayanagar.
[337] -- KULLAYI. See below, p. 252, 273, 383, and notes.
[338] -- Dec. VIII. c. 15. I have taken this and the next paragraph
from Lopes's CHRONICA DOS REYS DE BISNAGA, Introd., p. lxviii.
[339] -- Writing in 1675, the travelled Fryer relates what he saw of
the Inquisition at Goa. I take the following from his Letter iv.,
chapter ii. "Going the next Morning to the Palace-Stairs, we saw
their Sessions-House, the bloody Prison of the Inquisition; and in a
principal Market-place was raised an Engine a great height, at top like
a Gibbet, with a Pulley, with steppings to go upon, as on a Flagstaff,
for the STRAPADO, which unhinges a Man's joints; a cruel Torture. Over
against these Stairs is an Island where they burn ... all those
condemned by the Inquisitor, which are brought from the SANCTO OFFICIO
dress'd up in most horrid Shapes of Imps and Devils, and so delivered
to the executioner.... St. JAGO, or St. James's Day, is the Day for
the AUCTO DE FIE." And in chapter v. of the same Letter he states
that, when he was at Goa, "all Butcher's Meat was forbidden, except
Pork" -- a regulation irksome enough even to the European residents,
but worse for those Hindus allowed by their caste rules to eat meat,
but to whom pork is always especially distasteful. Linschoten, who was
in India from 1583 to 1589, mentions the imprisonments and tortures
inflicted on the Hindus by the Inquisition (vol. ii. pp. 158 -- 227).
[340] -- Caesar Frederick.
[341] -- I.E., they advanced by way of Mudkal, Tavurugiri, and
Kanakagiri, a distance of about fifty-five miles, to Anegundi on the
north bask of the river at Vijayanagar.
[342] -- Other accounts say that Venkatadri was killed in the battle,
and that Tirumala alone of the three brothers survived. Firishtah
only wrote from hearsay, and was perhaps misinformed. Probably for
"Venkatadri" should be read "Tirumala."
[343] -- Firishtah wrote this towards the close of the century.
[344] -- "South Indian Inscriptions," Hultzsch, i. 69; IND. ANT.,
xxii. 136.
[345] -- The pedigree is taken from the EPIGRAPHIA INDICA, iii. 238. I
am not responsible for the numbers attached so the names. Thus I
should prefer to call Rama Raya II. "Rama I.," since his ancestors
do not appear to have reigned even in name. But I take the table
as Dr. Hultzsch has given it. See the Kondyata grant of 1636
(IND. ANT., xiii. 125), the Vilapaka grant of 1601 (ID. ii. 371),
and the Kallakursi grant of 1644 (ID. xiii. 153), also my "Lists
of Antiquities, Madras," i. 35 -- an inscription of 1623 (No. 30)
at Ellore.
[346] -- Scott, i, 303.
[347] -- Briggs, iii pp. 435 -- 438.
[348] -- According to the Kuniyur plates (EPIG. IND, iii. 236),
Rama III., Tirumala's third son, was not king.
[349] -- EPIG. IND., iv. 269 -- The Vilapaka Grant.
[350] -- Traditionary history at Adoni relates that the governor of
the fortress appointed by Sultan Ali Adil about A.D. 1566 was Malik
Rahiman Khan, who resided there for nearly thirty-nine years. His
tomb is still kept up by a grant annually made by the Government in
continuation of the old custom, and is in good preservation, having
an establishment with a priest and servants. Navab Siddi Masud Khan
was governor when the great mosque, called the Jumma Musjid, was
completed (A.D. 1662). The Bijapur Sultan, the last of his line, sent
to him a marble slab with an inscription and a grant of a thousand
bold pieces. The slab is still to be seen on one of the arches in
the interior, and the money was spent in gilding and decorating the
building. Aurangzib of Delhi annexed Bijapur in 1686, and appointed
Navab Ghazi-ud-Din Khan governor of Adoni, who had to take the place
from the Bijapur governor, Siddi Masud Khan. This was done after
a fight, in consequence of the Delhi troops firing (blank) on the
great mosque from their guns; which so terrified the governor, who
held the Jumma Musjid dearer than his life, that he surrendered. The
new governor's family ruled till 1752, when the country was given
to Bassalat Jung of Haidarabad. He died and was buried here in 1777,
and his tomb is still maintained. The place was ceded to the English
by the Nizam in 1802 with the "Ceded Districts."
[351] -- Briggs, iii. 416, ff.
[352] -- "Lists of Antiquities, Madras" (Sewell), ii. 6, 7, Nos. 45,
46.
[353] -- OP. CIT., ii 139 -- 140.
[354] -- The Italian traveller Pietro della Valle was at Ikkeri at the
close of the year 1623, and gives an interesting account of all that
he saw, and what befell him there. He went with an embassy from Goa
to that place. "This Prince VENKTAPA NAIEKA was sometime Vassal and
one of the ministers of the great King of VIDIA NAGAR ... but after
the downfall of the king ... Venktapa Naieka ... remain'd absolute
Prince of the State of which he was Governour, which also, being a
good souldier, he hath much enlarged."
[355] -- CARTARIO DOS JESUITOS (Bundle 36, packet 95, No. 22, in
the National Archives at Lisbon, ARCHIVO DA TORRE DO TOMBO). Compare
Antonio Bocarro, DECADA xiii. p. 296. Mr. Lopes also refers me to an
as yet inedited MS., DOCUMENTOS REMETTIDOS DA INDIA, or LIVROS DAS
MONCOES, t. i. 359, and t. ii. 370 -- 371, as relating to the same
tragic events.
[356] -- See the genealogical table on p. 214. Venkata I. was son
of Tirumala, the first real king of the fourth dynasty. The nephew,
"Chikka Raya," may have been Ranga III., "Chikka" (young) being, as
Barradas tells us, a name usually given to the heir to the throne. In
that case Ranga's son, Rama IV., "one of several brothers," would be
the boy who survived the wholesale massacre related in the letter.
[357] -- The name "Chikka Raya" in Kanarese means "little" or
"young" Raya.
[358] -- Chandragiri.
[359] -- It is not known to whom this refers. The name is perhaps
"Obala."
[360] -- This youth was only a great-nephew of Jaga Raya's by a
double marriage. His wife was niece of King Venkata, and therefore
by marriage niece of Queen Bayama, who was Jaga Raya's daughter.
[361] -- BREDOS. See note, p. 245.
[362] -- Perhaps Ite Obalesvara.
[363] -- Chinna Obala Raya.
[364] -- Written in 1616.
[365] -- This was Muttu Virappa, Nayakka (or Naik) of Madura from
1609 to 1623. Mr. Nelson ("The Madura Country") mentions that in
his reign there was a war with Tanjore. Nuniz, writing in 1535, does
not mention Madura as amongst the great divisions of the Vijayanagar
kingdom; and this coincides with the history as derived from other
sources. But by 1614 the Naik of Madura had become very powerful,
though the people still occasionally recognised their old sovereigns,
the Pandiyans, one of whom is mentioned as late as 1623 ("Sketch of
the Dynasties of Southern India," 85).
[366] -- Trichinopoly.
[367] -- Close to Madras, often called "Melliapor" by the Portuguese,
its native name being Mailapur. Linschoten, writing at the end of the
sixteenth century, a few years earlier than the date of the events
described, says, "This towne ... is now the chiefe cittie of Narsinga
and of the coast of Choromandel."
[368] -- See above, p. 214.
[369] -- "Sketch of the Dynasties of Southern India," p. 112.
[370] -- "He" here is Domingo Paes.
[371] -- The "kingdom of Narsinga" is the name often given by the
Portuguese and others to Vijayanagar.
[372] -- The term here is limited to the small territory of Portuguese
India immediately round the city of Goa. Thus Linschoten (A.D. 1583)
wrote, "At the end of Cambaya beginneth India, AND the lands of Decam
and Cuncam," meaning that immediately south of the territories of
Cambay began those of Portuguese India, while other countries on the
border were the Dakhan and the Konkan.
[373] -- In Portugal.
[374] -- This was apparently the usual route for travellers from the
coast to Vijayanagar. Fr. Luis used it for his journey from Cochin
to the capital in 1509 (above, p. 123, and note).
[375] -- Probably Sandur, about 120 miles from the coast at
Bhatkal. Sandur is a small Mahratta state 25 miles from Vijayanagar.
[376] -- That is, on the east of Portuguese India, west of the
territory of Vijayanagar.
[377] -- Unidentified. The great tree was of course a banyan.
[378] -- Coromandel. This name was applied by the Portuguese to the
Eastern Tamil and Southern Telugu countries. It had no well-defined
limits, and often was held to extend even as far north as to the
Krishna river, or even to Orissa. Yule and Burnell adhere to the
now generally received definition of the name from CHOLA-MANDALA,
the country of the Cholas (Glossary, S.V. Coromandel).
[379] -- Orissa.
[380] -- COMQUISTA COM is evidently an error for CONFINA COM. The
same word is used three times in the next paragraph.
[381] -- The Adil Khan, Sultan of Bijapur. The name is sometimes
written by the Portuguese IDALXA (XA for Shah). We have numberless
spellings in the old chronicles, thus, HIDALCAN, ADELHAM, &c.
[382] -- For Nizam-ul-Mulkh, or the Nizam Shah, the Sultan of
Ahmadnagar. Similarly the Qutb Shah of Golkonda is called in these
chronicles "Cotamaluco." The Imad Shah of Birar is called the
"Imademaluco," or even "Madremaluco," by the Dutch (Linschoten)
and Portuguese. The Barid Shah of Bidar is styled "Melique Verido."
[383] -- The spelling of the name in the original is very
doubtful. First it reads ARCHA, on the next occasion it is undoubtedly
DARCHA. The third mention of the place calls it LARCHA. But in each
case the R is not very clear, and might be an I undotted. Moreover,
the C may possibly be an E, and the name may be ARCHA or DAREHA. If
we should accept the latter, we may identify it with Dharwar, and
believe it to be the same as the DUREE of Nuniz (below, p. 292).
[384] -- PRANHAS in original, probably for PIANHAS or PEANHAS (see
below, p. 288).
[385] -- JOGIS, Hindu ascetics.
[386] -- This probably refers to the Egyptian obelisk at St. Peter's.
[387] -- Evidently the god GANESA.
[388] -- "Bisnaga," the Portuguese rendering of VIJAYANAGAR, the "city
of victory." The spellings adopted by different writers have been
endless. We have Beejanugger and Beejnugger in the translations of
Firishtah; Bisnagar, Bidjanagar, Bijanagher, amongst the Portuguese;
Bicheneger In the writings of the Russian Nikitin; Bizenegalia in
those of the Italian Nicolo dei Conti.
[389] -- BUQUEYROIS. The word implies something dug out, as opposed
so redoubts, which would be built up.
[390] -- Dakhan.
[391] -- This is Nagalapur, the modern Hospett (EPIG. IND., iv. 267).
[392] -- This tank or lake is described by Nuniz (see p. 364).
[393] -- HUU TIRO DE FALLCAO, a shot from a falcon, an old piece
of artillery.
[394] -- BREDOS, "blites," an insipid kitchen vegetable. But as the
word is not common, and as Brahmans make use of most vegetables,
I have preferred the more general term.
[395] -- MACAAS, literally "apples."
[396] -- It was generally called Nagalapur, but Nuniz says that the
lady's name was Chinnadevi (below, p. 362).
[397] -- CORUCHEES. See p. 200, note 3.
[398] -- GRANDES SUPITOS.
[399] -- A mixture, apparently, of MAHA, "great," and "Shah."
[400] -- The passage that follows is not very clear in the original.
[401] -- The word last used is SELLADOS, literally "sealed."
[402] -- ALJOFAR. This word is constantly used in the
chronicles. Garcia da Orta (COLLOQ. xxxv.) derives it from Cape Julfar
in Arabia, near Ormuz. Cobarruvias says it is from Arabic jauhar,
"jewel" (Yule and Burnell Dict.). Da Orta writes: "CHAMA-SE perla EM
CASTELHANO E perola EM PORTUGUEZ, E EM LATIM unio, E ISTO NO aljofar
GRANDE; PORQUE O MIUDO CHAMA-SE EM LATIM margarita, E EM ARABIO lulu,
E EM PERSIO E NEST' OUTRAS GERACOES DA INDIA moti, E EM MALAVAR mutu,
E EM PORTUGUEZ E CASTELHANO aljofar;" I.E. a large pearl is called
PERLA in Spanish, PEROLA in Portuguese, UNIO in Latin; a small pearl
is called in Latin MARGARITA, in Arabic LULU, in Persian and many
Indian languages MOTI, in Malayalam MUTU, and in Portuguese and
Spanish ALJOFAR.
[403] -- EMGELLYM, sesamum or gingelly, an oil seed.
[404] -- This was the great Saluva Timma, Krishna Deva's minister. The
termination -RSEA probably represents ARASA, the Kanarese form for
Rajah. TEMERSEA = TIMMARASA = TIMMA RAJAH.
[405] -- According to Correa, Christovao de Figueiredo had been sent
by the governor, Lopo Soares, in 1517 to Vijayanagar as factor, with
horses and elephants (LENDAS DA INDIA, ii. 509 -- 510); but Senhor
Lopes points out (Introduction to his CHRONICA, lxxxii. note) that we
do not know how far this assertion is true. He certainly lived at Goa,
and not long after this battle was made chief TANEDAR of the mainlands
of Goa, with residence at the temple of Mardor. He was several times
in peril at the hands of the Mussalmans, and in 1536 was present at
the battles which took place between the Portuguese and Asada Khan of
Belgaum, with whom he was on terms of friendship. Mr. Danvers (ii. 507)
states that he was also at one time attorney of the factory of Goa.
[406] -- This apparently refers to Ruy de Mello (see above, p. 142
ff.). If De Sequeira were meant he would have been called "Governor."
[407] -- HORGAOS. Mr. Ferguson points out that these were undoubtedly
musical instruments. Castanheda (v. xxviii.), describing the embassy to
"Prester John" under Dom Roderigo de Lima in 1520 (the same year),
states that among the presents sent to that potentate were "some
organs and a clavichord, and a player for them." These organs are
also mentioned in Father Alvares's account of their embassy (Hakluyt
Society Trans., p. 10).
[408] -- PATECA, something worn round the neck. There appears to
be some mistake here, as PATECA means "a sort of long robe or gown
(worn) in India" (Michaelis' Dict.).
[409] -- Varthema says, "The king wears a cap of gold brocade two
spans long." This was Krishna Deva's predecessor, Narasimha.
[410] -- This may refer to the handsome temple of Anantasayana,
a mile or so from Hospett on the road to Kamalapur. The trees still
stand in parts.
[411] -- FORTALEZAS. Probably the writer refers either to bastions or
towers, or to strongly fortified places of refuge on the hilltops. The
passage is obscure.
[412] -- Four words, TEMDES HUA PORTA PRIMCIPAL, have been accidentally
omitted in the printed copy.
[413] -- TERREIRO. The gateway here spoken of is most probably the
great entrance to the palace enclosure, just to the north of the
village of Kamalapur.
[414] -- The writer forgot to fulfil this promise.
[415] -- POR QUE SAO COMO AS COMFRARYAS que NAS NOSSAS PARTES HAA.
[416] -- A MUYTOS NATURAES DA TERRA.
[417] -- MUNGUO. "Moong ... green gram ... a kind of vetch" (Yule
and Burnell, Dict.).
[418] -- MACHARUY.
[419] -- A VINTEM = 1 7/20 of a penny.
[420] -- Probably for FANAOS. But the plural of FANAO is usually
given as FANOES.
[421] -- ESTARNA. "A sort of small partridge with black feet"
(Michaelis' Dict.).
[422] -- Here we have the plural FANOEES.
[423] -- Povos is a place near Lisbon.
[424] -- Anegundi.
[425] -- Below, pp. 292, 293.
[426] -- The stone bridge, built on rows of rough monolithic
uprights, the remains of which are still to be seen near the temple
of Vitthalasvami, appears, from the absence of allusion to it, to
have been constructed at a later date.
[427] -- This clearly alludes to the beautifully sculptured temple
of Vitthalasvami, which is in the situation described.
[428] -- This word is a puzzle. If the temple be, as seems most
probable from the description, the principal temple at Hampe, still in
use, I suggest that AOPE represents "Hampi" or "Hampe." RADI may be
"rajah," or RADIAN may be "rajyam." The name was perhaps given to
Paes by some one who described it as "the royal Hampe temple" and
this would accurately describe it. It was dedicated to Virupaksha,
and was the cathedral of the great city.
[429] -- The word used is ROMEYRA, which may mean either a pomegranate
tree or a female pilgrim. The allusion is to the plaster figures and
designs on the tower (CORUCHEO) above the gate.
[430] -- CINZEYRO apparently means a place for ashes (CINZA). CINZAS
are "ashes of the dead." The reference may be to a place in a church
where incense-burners are kept, or, as I think, equally well to the
crypt, and this last sense seems better to suit the context.
[431] -- SEUS for SEIS.
[432] -- The word is omitted in the original.
[433] -- BREDOS. See above, pp. 227, 245, notes.
[434] -- For a discussion as to the dates given in Paes, see p. 140
ff. above.
[435] -- TERREYRO. See above, p. 254. Evidently the place of arms is
referred to.
[436] -- PORTEYROS, PORTEYRO MOOR. These men are often mentioned in the
chronicle. Their chief was one of the king's most important officers,
and I give him the title "Chief of the Guard."
[437] -- I am doubtful about this translation. The word used has
probably some technical meaning. Yule's Dictionary has SOOSIE from
Persian susi. "Some kind of silk cloth, but we know not what kind." The
original passage runs: -- "Quoanto ao pao, sabereis que he toda chea
de sues soajes, e de liois todos d ouro, e no vao d estas soajes tem
huas chapas d ouro com muytos robis," &c.
[438] -- CABO. I think this must mean the edge, the front, not the
extreme end of the king's balcony.
[439] -- This is given in the singular number, probably by mistake,
as the plural is used immediately afterwards AO CAVALLO ... OS ENCEMCA.
[440] -- TAVOLEIRO.
[441] -- PAREDES, probably for "purdahs" (Persian, PARDA), curtains
or screens. The Portuguese word means a "wall."
[442] -- MOLHERES SOLTEIRAS E BAYLHADEIRAS, I.E. the dancing girls
of the temple and palace.
[443] -- LAVODES. See below, p. 276, note regarding LAUDES.
[444] -- Saluva Timma, the minister. The name is spelt in various
ways in the chronicles of both Paes and Nuniz. Krishna Deva owed his
throne to him (below, p. 315).
[445] -- The king of Seringapatam at this period was Bettada Chama
Raya, who ruled the Mysore country from 1513 to 1552. He had three
sons. The two eldest received at his death portions of his estate,
but both died without issue. The third son was called "Hire" or "Vira"
Chama. He was apparently the most powerful, and the best beloved of
his father, since he received as his portion on the latter's death
the principal tract of Mysore, the town itself, and the neighbouring
province. After the fall of Vijayanagar in 1565 he became practically
independent, and ruled till the principal power was seized by his
relative, Raja Udaiyar, in 1578. The word KUMARA (= "son") is often
applied in royal families in India to one of the reigning king's
offspring, and I venture to think that CUMARVIRYA represents KUMARA
VIRAYYA, the king of Seringapatam being himself not present at these
feasts, and the personage seen by Paes being his son Vira.
[446] -- The writer begins again, "But returning to the feasts." I
have omitted the phrase here, as it has become rather monotonous.
[447] -- A small gold coin, of which it is very difficult to assess
the exact value. Abdur Razzak (1443) apparently makes it equal to
the half pagoda; Varthema (1503 -- 7) to the pagoda itself; and this
latter is the sense in which we must take it. Varthema calls it a
"gold ducat." Purchas says it was in his day about the value of a
Flemish dollar. The general value assigned in more recent days to
the pagoda is 3 1/2 rupees, or seven shillings when the rupee stands
at par value. (See Yule and Burnell's Dictionary, "Hobson-Jobson,"
S.V. "pagoda" and "pardao." Yule apparently values it, at the period
treated of, as about 4s. 6d.) Barros and Castanheda both agree with
Paes that the pardao was worth 360 reis. (Below, p. 282.)
[448] -- Kullayi in Telugu. See pp. 210, 252, note 2, and p. 383. These
women appear to have worn men's head-dresses.
[449] -- The reins were not of leather, but of silk twisted into ropes.
[450] -- I read the word in the MS. XISMAEL, and Mr. Lopes suggests
that this stands for Sheik (XEQUE) Ismail. If so, undoubtedly Persia
is meant.
[451] -- LAUDEIS. This word, variously spelt, is constantly used. It
appears to refer to the thick quilted tunics, strengthened by
leather or metal pieces, which were so often worn in India in old
days. They were in many cases richly ornamented, and formed a good
defence against sword-cuts. The pillars of the elaborately ornamented
KALYANA MANDAPA of the temple in the fort at Vellore in North Arcot,
which was built during the Vijayanagar period, are carved with
rearing horses, whose riders wear jerkins, apparently of leather,
fastened with buttons and loops. It is possible that this was the
body-clothing referred to by the chronicler. I can give no clue to the
origin of the word, unless it be connected with the Kanarese LODU,
"a stuffed cloth or cushion." Barros, describing the dress of the
Hindu cavalry in the Raichur campaign of 1520, says that they wore
LAUDEES of cotton (EMBUTIDOS, whatever that may mean in this context
-- lit. "inlaid"), or body, head, and arms, strong enough to protect
them against lance-thrusts or sword-cuts; the horses and elephants
were similarly protected. Foot-soldiers carried no defensive armour
"but only the LAUDEES." -- Dec. III. l. iv. c. 4.
[452] -- LIOES. The meaning is not clear.
[453] -- As to this large number see p. 147 ff. above.
[454] -- Some details are given by Nuniz (below, p. 384 f.).
[455] -- According to the quite independent testimony of Nuniz (below,
p. 374) these were the "kings" of Bankapur, Gersoppa, Bakanur Calicut,
and Bhatkal.
[456] -- For a full note as to these chronological details see above,
p. 140 ff.
[457] -- The "Guandaja" of Nuniz (below, p. 361).
[458] -- All these buildings are utterly destroyed, but there is no
doubt that careful and systematic excavations would disclose the whole
plan of the palace, and that in the ruins and debris would be found the
remains of the beautiful sculptures described. Close behind the great
decorated pavilion, from which the king and his court witnessed the
feasts described by Paes, and therefore close to the gate just alluded
to, are to be seen, half-buried in earth and debris, two large stone
doors, each made of a single slab. The stone has been cut in panels
to imitate woodwork, and teas large staples carved from the same block.
[459] -- FEYTO DE HUAS MEYAS CANAS. I am doubtful as to the meaning
of this. Examination of the mass of ruins now remaining would settle
all these points. Stone sculptures were broken up and left. They were
not removed. (See also p. 288 below.)
[460] -- Mr. Ferguson has ingeniously emendated Senhor Lopes's reading
from YINAGEES POR QUE NAS QUE ESTAO METIDAS TO YMAGEES PEQUENAS QUE,
&c ... The MS., however, which is itself a copy, has POR QUE NAS.
[461] -- SAO DE MEAS CANES (see above, p. 285). Meaning not understood,
unless it be as rendered.
[462] -- This description deserves special notice. The writer is
evidently describing a MANDAPA richly sculptured, of which so many
examples are still to be seen in temples, and he states that the whole
of the stone carving was richly coloured and gilded. This probably
was always the case. Traces of colour still remain on many of these
buildings at Vijayanagar.
[463] -- PRANHUS (see above, p. 241). Probably the sculptures were like
many still to be seen in the temples of that date in Southern India,
where the base of the pillar is elaborately carved with grotesque
figures of elephants, horses, and monsters.
[464] -- The gate still exists opposite the Anegundi ferry.
[465] -- Krishnapura, where are the ruins of a fine temple.
[466] -- It seems clear that this sentence must be interpolated,
and perhaps also the whole of the last four paragraphs. For the
penultimate sentence could not have formed part of the original
chronicle of Paes, written perhaps in 1522, or thereabouts, as it
refers to an event that took place in 1535 -- 36.
[467] -- Elsewhere called "Ondegema." Its other name was Nagalapur. It
is the modern Hospett. (See below, Nuniz, p. 387.)
[468] -- This "general destruction" evidently refers to the conquest
of Anegundi by Muhammad Taghlaq.
[469] -- (See above, p. 8.) The date should be about 1330. Nuniz was
here about a century wrong.
[470] -- Delhi.
[471] -- A common error with the foreigners. Properly speaking it
was Cambaya which belonged to Gujarat.
[472] -- Muhammad Taghlaq of Delhi.
[473] -- Persia (above, p. 10).
[474] -- I.E. the Balaghat, or country above the ghats. "The high land
on the top is very flatte and good to build upon, called Ballagatte and
Decan, and is inhabited and divided among divers kings and governors"
(Linschoten, i. 65). Correa divides this part of India into "Bisnega,
Balagate, and Cambay."
[475] -- This is the Portuguese rendering of the Adil Khan, or Adil
Shah of Bijapur. "Idalxa" represents the latter title.
[476] -- The description applies best to the Malprabha River, and
perhaps "Duree" represents Dharwar.
[477] -- Anegundi.
[478] -- He was at that time only chief or king of Anegundi,
Vijayanagar not having been yet founded.
[479] -- These basket-boats are described by Paes (see above, p. 259).
[480] -- I have not been able to identify this name. It is possible
that the first syllable represents the word SRI, and that the whole
may have been a special appellation of the upper fortress or citadel,
on the rocky heights above the town of Anegundi.
[481] -- There had been no special war with Anegundi that we know of;
but the Rajah of that place had very possibly been directly affected
by, if not actually engaged in, the wars between the Hindu Hoysala
Ballalas and the rulers of Warangal and Gujarat on the one hand,
and the Muhammadan invaders from Delhi on the other.
[482] -- See Introduction, p. 13. "His kingdoms" (SEUS REYNOS) refers
to the territories of Muhammad Taghlaq, whose barbarities had resulted
in the wasting and depopulation of large tracts.
[483] -- See above, p. 294, note 1.
[484] -- Spelt below "Meliquy niby" and "Mileque neby;" evidently
for MALLIK NAIB, the king's deputy.
[485] -- Above, p. 19 ff.
[486] -- Deva Raya. This was the general title of the Vijayanagar
kings; thus, Harihara Deva Raya, Bukka Deva Raya, Krishna Deva Raya,
&c. This first king is given no personal name by Nuniz. There were
afterwards two kings who are known to history by the names Deva Raya
I. and Deva Raya II., with no personal name prefixed.
[487] -- This same tale is told of many kings and chiefs in Southern
India. The "Tazkarat-ul-Muluk" (IND. ANT., May 1899, p. 129) also
relates it of the Bahmani Sultan Ahmad Shah (1422 -- 35), alleging
that it was the behaviour of a hunted hare that induced him to make
Bidar his capital.
[488] -- This was the great Sringeri Guru, Madhavacharya, surnamed
VIDYARANYA, or "Forest of Learning." This derivation of the name of
the city is very common, but is believed to be erroneous.
[489] -- The large temple of Virupaksha at Hampe.
[490] -- Bukka Raya.
[491] -- PUREOYRE probably represents "Harihara." This king was not
the first to coin PARDAOS or pagodas. A pagoda of Bukka I. is known
(IND. ANT., xx. 302).
[492] -- See above, p. 51. There is no name amongst those of this
dynasty with which this can be at present connected.
[493] -- Ceylon.
[494] -- Coromandel (note, p. 239 above).
[495] -- Vijaya Rao.
[496] -- Quilon.
[497] -- Pulicat, near Madras. This was an important province of
Vijayanagar in later years.
[498] -- Tenasserim.
[499] -- PINA = CHINNA in Telugu, CHIKKA in Kanarese, and means
"little." Pina Raya or Chikka Raya was the title applied to the Crown
Prince (above, p. 223). The derivation given by Nuniz is plainly wrong.
[500] -- Abdur Razzak relates the same story, and fixes the event
as having taken place between November 1442 and April 1445 A.D.,
"while he was at Calicut" (above, p. 73).
[501] -- This seems so imply that the nephew of the king had been
one of the twenty ministers (REGEDORES) mentioned in the chronicle.
[502] -- SIC in orig.
[503] -- Virupaksha Raya.
[504] -- NARASHIMHA. He had apparently large tracts of country under
his charge to the east of the capital towards the east coast. His
relationship to the sovereign has always been a matter of doubt.
[505] -- Persia (Ormuz) and Aden. The latter were Arabs.
[506] -- "Rachol" is Raichur; "Odegary" represents Udayagiri;
"Conadolgi" probably is Kondavid, AOLGI for DRUG, a mountain fortress.
[507] -- This account of the second Narasa and the family relationship
differs altogether from the results obtained from epigraphical study,
according to which the second Narasa was elder son of the first Narasa
or Narasimha Krishna Deva being the latter's younger son.
[508] -- Pennakonda.
[509] -- CF. "Temersea," p. 250, and note. This, however, was not
the man there alluded to, though he bore the same name.
[510] -- Later on we learn that this man's name was Codemerade
(p. 360).
[511] -- Chandragiri, the capital of the kingdom in its decadent days.
[512] -- Inscriptions do not give us the names of any sons having
names like these. "Crismarao" probably represents Krishna Deva Raya,
son of the first Narasa or Narasimha, and brother of the second Narasa,
often called Vira Narasimha.
[513] -- Saluva Timma. This man belonged apparently to the new royal
family, whose family name was Saluva. He was the powerful minister
of Krishna Deva Raya, hut died disgraced, imprisoned, and blinded. He
is constantly mentioned in inscriptions of the period.
[514] -- Perhaps "Basava Raya," but as yet no brother of Krishna Deva
is known bearing that name.
[515] -- Raichur.
[516] -- Mudkal.
[517] -- Udayagiri.
[518] -- Some say uncle.
[519] -- In the MS. EM QUE AVIA is evidently a mistake for E QUE AVIA.
[520] -- Kondavid.
[521] -- I cannot identify this river. There is none such, to my
knowledge, twelve miles or thereabouts from Kondavid. "Salt" may
perhaps mean brackish.
[522] -- Kondapalle.
[523] -- Rajahmundry. The first syllable has been accidentally dropped,
perhaps by the copyist.
[524] -- Senhor Lopes's "Chronica" has "HU HOME SEU QUE AQUELLE
TEMPO D AQUELLE TEMPO MUITO SABIA." Mr. Ferguson suggests, and with
good reason, that for the second TEMPO we should read JOGO. I have
translated the passage accordingly. Senhor Lopes concurs.
[525] -- The original MS. has TOMARIA SUAS TERRAS -- "would take his
lands." Possibly the first of these words should have been TORNARIA,
in which case the sentence would mean that the King "would restore
the lands" to his enemy.
[526] -- I am unable to identify this country. The description of
the town answers to Vellore in North Arcot, the fine old fort at
which place is surrounded with a deep moat. According to tradition,
this place was captured by Krishna Deva Raya from a Reddi chief.
[527] -- Blank in the original.
[528] -- ELREY DAQUEM.. This may be "the king on this side" or "the
king of the Dakhan." The former seems most probable, and I think that
the reference is to the forces of Sultan Quli Qutb Shah of Golkonda
(see the Muhammadan account of affairs at this time, given above,
pp. 132 -- 135.)
[529] -- Muhammad, Mahomet, I.E. he was of the Prophet's kindred.
[530] -- The text is confused here.
[531] -- The following is Barros's account of this affair of "Cide
Mercar." After mentioning the terms of the treaty between Vijayanagar
and Bijapur, one of which provided for the reciprocal extradition of
criminals and debtors, he writes: --
"Crisnarao, knowing that he could catch the Hidalcao in this trap,
called a Moor by name Cide Mercar, who had been in his service for
many years, and bade him take forty thousand pardaos and go to Goa to
buy horses of those that had come from Persia. Crisnaro wrote letters
to our Captain ... on purpose so that the affair might become widely
known to all. Cide Mercar, either tempted by the large sum of money
in his charge, or swayed by a letter which they say was sent to him
by the Hidalcao, when he arrived at a TANADARIA called Ponda, three
leagues from Goa, fled to the Hidalcao from there. The Hidalcao as
soon as he arrived sent him to Chaul, saying hat he bestowed on him
this TANADARIA as he was an honourable man of the family of Mahamed
...; but in a few days he disappeared from there, and they say that
the king ordered his murder after he had taken from him the forty
thousand pardaos."
[532] -- "Madre" stands for Imad, the Birar Sultan; "Virido" for the
Barid Sultan of Bidar. I cannot explain Demellyno or DESTUR, unless the
former be an error of the copyist for "Zemelluco" as written below,
which certainly refers to the Nizam Shah. Several Portuguese writers
omit the first syllable of "Nizam" In their chronicles. On p. 348
below, these names are given as Madremalluco, Zemelluco, "Destuy" and
"Virido;" and therefore "Destur" and "Destuy" must mean the Qutb Shah
of Golkonda, at that period Sultan Quli. On p. 349 we have the form
"Descar."
[533] -- For a full discussion of this date see above, p. 140.
[534] -- See above, p. 263, note. His name was Kama Naik (p 329).
[535] -- SEUS ALLYFANTES. Perhaps SEUS is a clerical error for SEIS,
"six." Barros, in describing the same event, says "sixteen elephants."
[536] -- See below, p. 360, note.
[537] -- Probably Ganda Rajah, brother of Saluva Timma, the
minister. (See p. 284, and note to p. 361.) The initial "O" may he
the article "The."
[538] -- The great vassal lords of Madura, who after the fall of the
kingdom established themselves as a dynasty of independent sovereigns,
descended, so Barradas tells us, from the "Page of the betel" (above,
p. 230).
[539] -- I think that the second C in this name is an error for E,
and that "Comarberea" represents Kumara Virayya of Mysore (above,
p. 269). Later on Nuniz spells the name "Comarberya" (below, p. 336).
[540] -- Above, pp. 40, 60, 122.
[541] -- LADES, for LAUDEIS, quilted tunics, doublets. The word is
spelt in other places LAYDES, LAMDES, LANDYS, LAMDYS, and LANDEIS. See
note, p. 276, above.
[542] -- GOMEDARES, probably the modern AGOMIA or GOMIA, "a
poignard." Senhor Lopes refers me to Barros, Mendes, Pinto, &c.,
where the form used is GUMIA; the word being derived from the Arabic
KUMMIYA, which properly means a curved dagger -- "UM PUNHAL EM MEO
ARCO" (MS. in Portuguese, on Morocco, in Senhor Lopes's possession).
[543] -- See above, p. 270.
[544] -- Malliabad, as now called, close to Raichur. The name given
by Nuniz I take to represent "Mallia (or Malliya) Banda," probably
the Hindu name. BANDA = "rock." "Malliabad" is the name given by
the Musalmans.
[545] -- A small copper coin.
[546] -- MINGUO, probably MOONG or green grain ("Hobson-Jobson"). Ibn
Batuta calls it MUNJ, others MUNGO.
[547] -- REGATOEES D ARTE.
[548] -- The total cavalry and elephants of the different columns
enumerated above comes to 32,600 and 551 respectively.
[549] -- Barros has ANCOSTAO, and Correa ANCOSCAO. The latter
termination seems the most natural -- CAO for KHAN. The name appears
to be "Ankus Khan." "Pomdaa" is Pomda or Ponda, close to Goa.
[550] -- Dom Guterre de Monroy sailed from Portugal to India in 1515 in
command of a fleet (Albuquerque, Hakluyt edition, iv. 194). In 1516 he
was in command at Goa during the absence of Governor Lopo Soares at the
Red Sea, between the months of February and September, and during that
period attacked the Bijapur troops at Ponda, which were commanded by
Ankus Khan, with some success (Barros, Dec III. l. i. c. 8). Osorio
(Gibbs' translation, ii. 235) represents De Monroy as a man of a
very cruel and licentious disposition. He was married to a niece of
the governor.
[551] -- They believed, that is, that their prestige would give them
great moral superiority over the Hindus.
[552] -- This passage is obscure.
[553] -- See above, p. 327 and note.
[554] -- The original has CAVAS E BAUDES. The meaning of the last
word is not clear.
[555] -- AVYAO DE MORRER PEDIDO AUSA DA MORTE. AUSA is perhaps for
OUSADIA, "boldness;" and the passage would then mean that since death
appeared inevitable they should meet it half-way, and not lazily await
it; they should die like soldiers in a charge, not stupidly standing
still to be slaughtered.
[556] -- "Sufo Larij," Barros, Dec. III. l. iv. cap. 5. Asada Khan's
love of intrigue was proverbial amongst the Portuguese of that day.
[557] -- COMO QUER QUE ACADACAO TRAZIA QUEM HIA A TERRA. A doubtful
passage.
[558] -- TOMAMDO A FALLDRA DA SERRA DA BAMDA DO SUL. It would be
interesting to learn which range of hills is referred to.
[559] -- Salabat Khan.
[560] -- See above, p. 251, note.
[561] -- LLAVAOCAS, for ALAVANCA, a Portuguese word for crowbar still
everywhere in Ceylon.
[562] -- FRAMGES, I.E. Feringhees, Franks, or Europeans.
[563] -- Saluva Timma.
[564] -- Rey Daquym, I.E. King of the Dakhan. This evidently refers to
the Bahmani king, who was still recognised as titular sovereign, though
the whole country had revolted and broken up into five independent
kingdoms. For the names that precede this see note to p. 325 above.
[565] -- COMECARAO DEITAR AS BARBES EM REMOLHO. This refers to the
Portuguese proverb -- "Quando vires arder as barbas do teu vizinho, poe
(or deita) as tuas em remolho" -- "When you see your neighbour's beard
on fire, steep your own in water;" or guard against like treatment. --
D. F.
[566] -- This passage appears to be corrupt, and I have been unable
to guess at its meaning. Senhor Lopes, whom I have consulted, is
equally at fault about it.
[567] -- ELREY O MAMDOU VER.
[568] -- QUE ELLE TE AMA A TY DIANTE DE TY. The latter words may be
an emphatic expression, akin to DIANTE DE DEUS E DE TODO O MUNDO,
"In the face of God and all the world."
[569] -- Ante elles should be "antre elles."
[570] -- Mudkal.
[571] -- Bijapur.
[572] -- TODO A CULLPA DE TALL SER FEYTO POR ASY. Lit. "all on account
of his having acted thus."
[573] -- Kulbarga, the ancient Bahmani capital.
[574] -- This passage does not seem very exact from an historical
standpoint (see above, p. 157, and note).
[575] -- Saluva Timma.
[576] -- (Above, p. 310 f.) The original text has "E FEZ REGEDOR
HUU FILHO CODEMERADE," but I cannot identify the name with any
ordinary Hindu name or title; and if "son of Codemerade" be meant,
as I suppose, the DE has been omitted accidentally. If, however,
there has been a confusion of syllables and the original reading was
"FILHO DE CODEMERA," then I would point to the list given above of
powerful nobles (p. 327) who commanded the forces of the king in
the great Rachol campaign, one of whom was called COMDAMARA. In the
concluding paragraph of this chapter we have this new minister's name
given as "Ajaboissa," and in the list of provincial lords (p. 385
below) as "Ajaparcatimapa." The latter name sounds more probable
than the former. The first half would be the family name, the last,
"Timmappa," his own personal name.
[577] -- In the passage earlier in this chapter Saluva Timma is said
to have had a brother "Guandaja." Putting the two together, it would
seem that his brother and son both bore the same name, probably Ganda
Rajah. Paes refers to the brother as being in his day governor of the
capital (above, p. 284. He calls him "Gamdarajo." See also p. 327,
note 2.
[578] -- CYMCO MENOS HUU QUOARTO POR MIL PARDAOS, or nineteen
for four thousand pardaos. The chronicler was a trader in horses
at Vijayanagar. Later on he mentions the usual price as twelve or
fifteen horses for a thousand PARDAOS (below, p. 381).
[579] -- Belgaum.
[580] -- The captain of Ponda was Ankus Khan (above, p. 335, notes
1, 2).
[581] -- About a mile and a quarter. Nagalapur is the modern
Hospett. If the measurement is accurate, this street, leading, no
doubt, towards the capital, is now non-existent.
[582] -- The Della Pontes are more than once mentioned in the history
of the sixteenth century. They were probably an Italian family or
Italien in origin, and engineers by profession, the Rialto at Venice
having been constructed by Antonio della Ponte in 1588. This, however,
may be a fanciful connection. It is possible that both in Portugal
and in Italy families may have received that surname in consequence
of their skill in bridge-building, or of one of the family having in
former days distinguished himself by the construction of a particular
bridge. The engineer mentioned in the text is probably the individual
who at the end of April 1520 was sent by the king of Portugal to
examine into the possibility of building a fortress at Tetuan in
Morocco. Dom Pedro de Mascarenhas (afterwards, in 1554, Viceroy at
Goa) sailed on this mission from Ceuta, and "Joao Nunes del Pont"
is mentioned as accompanying him. The king and the Emperor Charles
V. were both at this time anxious to prevent the Moorish corsairs
from using Tetuan in future, as they had done in the past, as a
base for their piratical attacks on Spain and Portugal. (Damiao de
Goes, CHRONICA DE DOM MANUEL, edit. of Coimbra, 1790, vol. i. Part
IV. p. 532; ALGUNS DOCUMENTOS DO ARCHIVO NACIONAL DA TORRE DO TOMBO,
Lisbon, 1892; pp. 445 -- 446.)
In 1521, some time after the month of March, when Dom Diogo Lopes de
Sequeira, the governor of Goa, had returned from his expedition to
the Red Sea, he was urged by his counsellors to build a fortress at
Madrefaba near Goa, as the place contained an anchorage sufficient
for an entire fleet. (Correct, LENDAS DA INDIA, ii. p. 622.) Correa
continues: "The governor, however, thought better to send in a COTIA
Antonio Correa and Pero de Coimbra, his chief pilot, to inspect the
river of Madrefaba and measure the water on the bar, and Manuel da
Ponte, Overseer of Works, and Joao de la Ponte, his brother, who
understood it well, to view the land, and if there were stone, and
if lime could be made for the work, and to bring him certitude of all."
If this man were the same as he who went with Mascarenhas to Tetuan,
he had, in all probability, not been long in India when he went to
Madrefaba. This seems to show that the great tank of Krishna Deva
Raya, seen in process of construction by the chronicler Paes (see
p. 244), and mentioned in the text by Nunez, was not begun till at
least the autumn of 1521. If so, Paes did not WRITE his description
of Vijayanagar till after that date (say 1522). (See above, p. 162.)
[583] -- ESPACOS. This probably means sluices or weirs.
[584] -- POR NOVE ANOS DE GRACA.
[585] -- NAO HA NENHU MANIMETO NEM MERCADARYAS.
[586] -- The original (itself a copy) has "NESTA TERRO NAO SE SERVEM
DE BESTAS PERA CARREGUAS." I think that the words SE NAO must have
been accidentally omitted before DE BESTAS, and have ventured so to
render the passage.
[587] -- About 3 1/2d. (?). A VINTEM is about 7 1/20d.
[588] -- I have given the meaning here, not a literal translation. The
writer begins: "After the death of King Crisnarao from his disease,
as has been already recounted." Then he inserts a long parenthesis
which might he read: "While he was sick ... he had made a will
... &c...." down to ... "but only one of the age of eighteen
months." Then he continues: "After his death (as I have said) Salvanay
became minister," &c....
[589] -- Chandragiri.
[590] -- See above, p. 315.
[591] -- Achyuta.
[592] -- Belgaum.
[593] -- These two may perhaps be two of the three powerful brothers
Rama, Tirunnala, and Venkatadri, of whom the two first married two
daughters of Krishna Deva. In such case, however, they would not have
been actually brothers-in-law of King Achyuta, but of his brother
the late king.
[594] -- A mangelin is roughly equivalent to a carat, hut actually
the difference is one-fifth; 4 mangelins = 5 carats. So that 130
mangelins = 162 carats, The KOH-I-NUR, when brought to England,
weighed 186 carats (See Appendix A.)
[595] -- The word used is CATRE, a light bedstead, probably the origin
of the modern South Indian word "cot," for a camp bedstead.
[596] -- ARQUELHA DE PRATA. ARQUELHA is a mosquito-net. Since
manifestly the net itself could not be made of silver, the allusion is
probably to its supports. Senhor Lopes, in a letter to me, suggests
that it means the upper portion of the canopy, "LE CIEL DU LIT," or
the framework that holds the curtains, ARQUELHA being a diminutive of
ARCO, a "bow" or "arch." In this case it might mean the domed ceiling
of a canopy made in Muhammadan fashion, and the curtains may have
been of silk or brocade, and not of mosquito-netting.
[597] -- The word used is ARMADAS. It may mean "furnished" or "hung
round with cloths," or possibly "fenced" or "fortified."
[598] -- SEUS LEQUES must be a misprint for SEIS LEQUES.
[599] -- Above, pp. 121, 281, and notes.
[600] -- E YSTO HE COANTO A CACA. At the present day in Southern
India game-birds are sold alive, generally with the eyes sewn up.
[601] -- This evidently refers to the yak-tail whisks used in the
service of idols in the temples and in the palaces of nobles. On
occasions of ceremony at the present day any chief or noble who
has a pretension to sovereignty, or who claims descent from a line
of independent lords, proclaims his dignity by the use of certain
insignia, and amongst these the yak-tail fan finds place. It is one
of the most graceful of ornaments. The soft white hair is set in a
metal handle of brass or silver and waved slowly by an attendant. Its
material object was to keep away flies.
[602] -- PACHARI for PICHHAURI.
[603] -- Above, p. 263.
[604] -- "Silken trappings." The original word is PATOLLAS. Later on
(see p. 383), in describing the king's dress, Nuniz writes, "OS SEUS
VESTIDOS SAO PACHOIIS," &c. Both these words probably refer to the
same Canarese word, PATTUDA, "a silk cloth." Barbosa and Pinto use
it in the form PATOLA, Correa as PATOLO, and Peyton (in Purchas)
as PATOLLA. (Yule and Burnell's Glossary, S.V. PATOLA) In Telugu,
PATTU = "silk."
[605] -- JUNTAS. The meaning is doubtful, but in all probability
yokes of oxen are referred to. In the Canarese country these are often
handsomely decorated and clothed when attached to travelling vehicles.
[606] -- TERREIRO.
[607] -- RODAS DE BICOS. These may perhaps have been weapons such as
in England were known as "knuckledusters."
[608] -- A free translation. The original runs, "DE MANEIRA QUE O
QUE FICA DE BAIXO D OUTRO MAIS FERIDO VAY, LEVA A FOGACA, QUE HE
HUU PACHARIM," &c. It seems curious that the vanquished should be
rewarded. LEVA A FOGACA is literally "takes the cake." For PACHARIM
see above, p. 376 note 2.
[609] -- This is he only occasion on which the chronicler gives
the king his hereditary title of Raya, usually spelt RAO by the
Portuguese. RAYA is the same as RAJA.
[610] -- The Qutb Shah of Golkonda.
[611] -- Whether true or not, this statement, coming as it does from
a totally external source, strongly supports the view often held that
the ryots of South India were grievously oppressed by the nobles when
subject to Hindu government. Other passages in both these chronicles,
each of which was written quite independently of the other, confirm
the assertion here made as to the mass of the people being ground
down and living in the greatest poverty and distress.
[612] -- When passing through the city, probably.
[613] -- MEYRINHO.
[614] -- FARAZES.
[615] -- SANEIS QUE ENSYNDO OS CAVALLOS.
[616] -- Above, p. 361, and note.
[617] -- BOIS. Hindu women of the Boyi caste. The Boyis are Telugus,
and are employed as bearers of palanqueens and other domestic service
in Southern India. Hence the Anglo-Indian term "Boy" for a servant.
[618] -- See above, note to p. 377.
[619] -- Telugu, KULLAYI. See pp. 210, 252, 273.
[620] -- DE FAZEMDA. I think that the meaning is as given. It will
be observed below that the kingdom was divided into provinces or
estates, each one entrusted to a noble who farmed the revenue to his
own advantage, paying a fixed sum every year to the king. In the case
of Narvara, the treasurer of the jewels, his estate is described as
"bordering on the country of Bisnaga," and as this expression cannot
refer to the entire country ruled by the king, it must be taken in a
limited sense as applying to the king's own personal lands -- his home
farm, so to speak. The system is well known in India, where a prince
holds what are called KHAS lands, I.E. lands held privately for his
own personal use and benefit, as distinct from the lands held under him
by others, the revenue of which last ought to go to the public purse.
[621] -- Note that Madura is not mentioned in these lists. And yet
it would appear that a Nayakka, or subordinate chief of Vijayanagar,
had been ruling at that place since 1499. Mr. Nelson, in his work,
"The Madura Country," gives the following list of Nayakkas there: --
A.D.
Narasa Nayakka 1499 -- 1500
Tenna Nayakka 1500 -- 1515
Narasa Pillai (a Tamulian) 1515 -- 1519
Kuru Kuru Timmappa Nayakka 1519 -- 1524
Kattiyama Kamayya Nayakka 1524 -- 1526
Chinnappa Nayakka 1526 -- 1530
Ayyakarai Veyyappa Nayakka 1530 -- 1535
Visvanatha Nayakka Ayyar 1535 -- 1544
Four others are mentioned before we come to the great Visvanatha
Nayakka, who founded an hereditary dynasty, though himself only
a deputy of the crown. He ruled Madura from 1559 to 1563. Muttu
Krishnappa (1602 -- 1609) seems to have been the first to assume
royal titles at Madura. His son, Muttu Virappa (1609 -- 1623), is
stated, in the narrative of the Portuguese writer Barradas (above,
p. 230), to have paid a tribute in A.D. 1616 to the Vijayanagar king
at Chandragiri of 600,000 pagodas; he had several vassal kings under
him, and must have already obtained great power. It is possible that,
in the time of Nuniz, Madura was not one of the greater provinces,
but that it became so later.
The names Choromandel, Negapatam, and Tanjore are easy to
distinguish in this list. "Bomgarin" I cannot identify, though the
termination, GARIM, may represent GIRI, "mountain." "Dapatao" may be
Devipatnam. "Truguel" seems to have some affinity with Tirukovil. It
cannot be the "Truguel" mentioned by Barros and others as one of the
fortresses given to Asada Khan by the king of Vijayanagar (above,
p. 175), because those were close to Belgaum, while this "Truguel"
was in the extreme south "Caullim" may be Kayal.
[622] -- Above, p. 300, note 1.
[623] -- Udayagiri.
[624] -- Kondavid.
[625] -- Pennakonda.
[626] -- (?) Kanigiri, Nellore district. Codegaral MAY represent
Gandikota, the termination GIRI, "hill," being substituted for KOTA,
"fort," E.G. GANDIGIRI.
[627] -- Siddhout or Siddhavattam, Cuddapah district.
[628] -- The passage is incomplete, and I have rendered it as seems
reasonable. It runs, "VINTE E CIMCO MILL E QUINHENTOS DE CAVALLO E,"
&c. Looking at the other lists of troops, it cannot be supposed that
this chief had to provide 25,000 horse. It seems more probable that
such a word as PIAES was accidentally omitted after MILL, and that
MILL should have been repeated before QUINHENTOS.
[629] -- Perhaps Rachol, near Goa.
[630] -- Bicholim (?).
[631] -- "Bengapor" as elsewhere spelt, I.E. Bankapur, south of
Dharwar.
[632] -- See the last sentence of the chronicle of Paes (above,
p. 290), where a town "on the east" is called the new city which
Krishna Deva built in honour of his favourite wife. The writer
has evidently been confused in that statement, for it seems clear
that the town so founded was Nagalapur, the old name for Hospett,
with which it is distinctly identified in other places. This town
"on the east" is said, in the sentence referred to, to bear the
name "Ardegema," and the locality is hard to determine. "East"
of what? If east of Nagalapur be meant, then Ardegema or Ondegema
(GEMA probably represents GRAMA, "village") might have been a suburb
of that town. If east of the capital be intended, I cannot identify
the place. But these places evidently were close to the capital,
bordering on the crown lands. This, I take it, is the meaning of
"bordering on the lands (TERRA) of Bisnaga."
[633] -- These three places I cannot identify. "Diguoty" may
perhaps be Duggavatti, in the Harpanhalli division of the Bellary
district. "Darguem" suggests "Droog" or "Durgam." The word is applied
to a hill-fort, of which there are many in the neighbourhood. One
of the most important was Rayadrug, south of Bellary. One of the
ghat roads leading eastwards from Goa is called the "gate de Digui"
in old maps.
[634] -- Possibly Kalale in Mysore, a place fifteen miles south of
that capital. It is said to have been founded in 1504 by a noble who
was connected with the Vijayanagar royal family (Rice's gazetteer,
ii. 255).
[635] -- Unidentified.
[636] -- Perhaps Budehal in Mysore, which like Kalale was founded
by a Vijayanagar officer, and contains several sixteenth-century
inscriptions. It is in the Chittaldrug division, forty miles south
of that place.
[637] -- Mangalore.
[638] -- Unidentified.
[639] -- ROUPA. Linen cloth. The word is not used of cotton, and the
next sentence shows that cotton did not grow in that tract.
[640] -- I hazard the suggestion that this may be a mistake of the
copyist for "Avati." This place, now a village in the Kolar district
of Mysore, was in the fifteenth century an important place, a ruling
family having been founded here by the "Morasu Wokkalu" or "Seven
Farmers" (Rice, "Mysore and Coorg," ii. 20). The description applies
to it fairly well.
[641] -- Calicut.
[642] -- Either "the ghats," or perhaps Gutti (Goofy). The rich
Vajra Karur diamond mines are about twenty miles south-west of Gooty,
where are the remains of a very fine hill-fortress.
[643] -- See note above, p. 368.
[644] -- Mudkal.
[645] -- Raichur.
[646] -- I.E. of the Hindu religion, not Muhammadans.
[647] -- NOVEIS in the original, probably for NOTAVEIS.
[648] -- Telugus.
[649] -- This was certainly not the case.
[650] -- The Ganges.
[651] -- Its history is known from A.D. 1304, when it was acquired
by Ala-ud-Din Khilji from the Rajah of Malwa.
[652] -- De Montfart's "Survey of all the East Indies." Translation,
edition of 1615, p. 34.
[653] -- Purchas, i. 218.
[654] -- See Yule and Burnell's Dictionary, S.V. "Maund."
End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of
A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar; A Contribution to the History of India
