Mediæval Vijayanagar: 02-Events after the killing of its king by the Kind of Delhi
This article is an extract from Chronicle of Fernao Nuniz A Portuguese merchant or traveller at Vijayanagar Written, Probably, A.D. 1535 — 37 Published in translation by Mr. Donald Ferguson in Indpaedia is an archive. It neither agrees nor |
Mediæval Vijayanagar: 02-Events after the killing of its king by the Kind of Delhi
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] — See above, p. 294, note 1.]
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, 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.[ [484] — Spelt below "Meliquy niby" and "Mileque neby;" evidently for MALLIK NAIB, the king's deputy.]
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; 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.[ [485] — Above, p. 19 ff.]
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 (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.[ [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.]
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.
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] — 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.]
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 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 in honour of him and gave much revenue to it. [[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.]
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 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.[ [490] — Bukka Raya.]
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, 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.[ [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).]
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; 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, and all the country of Charamamdell, which had also rebelled after the first destruction of this kingdom, and he did many other things which are not recorded here.[ [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).]
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, who inherited the kingdom on the death of his father; and he lived six years, and during this time did nothing worth relating.[ [495] — Vijaya Rao.]
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, and Ceyllao, and Paleacate, and Peguu, and Tanacary and many other countries, paid tribute to him.[ [496] — Quilon.][ [497] — Pulicat, near Madras. This was an important province of Vijayanagar in later years.][ [498] — Tenasserim.]
At his death this King left a son who inherited the kingdom, who was called Pinarao, 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. [[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.]
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] — 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).]
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 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.[ [501] — This seems so imply that the nephew of the king had been one of the twenty ministers (REGEDORES) mentioned in the chronicle.]
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 … , 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.[ [502] — SIC in orig.]
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] — Virupaksha Raya.] 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, 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.[ [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.]
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 into his kingdom and thereby gave great profit to the merchants, paying them for the horses just as they asked.[ [505] — Persia (Ormuz) and Aden. The latter were Arabs.]
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, which have large and rich territories and are the principal forts in the kingdom.[ [506] — "Rachol" is Raichur; "Odegary" represents Udayagiri; "Conadolgi" probably is Kondavid, AOLGI for DRUG, a mountain fortress.]
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; 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.[ [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.]
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, 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 had carried out slaying his brother the king, and by whose death he (the prince) had inherited the kingdom.[ [508] — Pennakonda.] [[509] — CF. "Temersea," p. 250, and note. This, however, was not the man there alluded to, though he bore the same name.]
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 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.[ [510] — Later on we learn that this man's name was Codemerade (p. 360).]
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" (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.[ [511] — Chandragiri, the capital of the kingdom in its decadent days.]" 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] — 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.]
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.
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, — 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.[ [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.]
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, and another Medegulla.[ [514] — Perhaps "Basava Raya," but as yet no brother of Krishna Deva is known bearing that name.][ [515] — Raichur.]
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, 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.[ [517] — Udayagiri.]
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 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.[ [518] — Some say uncle.]
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 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.[ [519] — In the MS. EM QUE AVIA is evidently a mistake for E QUE AVIA.]
And after this fortress was taken he departed and went against Comdovy, 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. [[520] — Kondavid.]
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, and on the other side of the river was the King of Orya with his army. [[521] — I cannot identify this river. There is none such, to my knowledge, twelve miles or thereabouts from Kondavid. "Salt" may perhaps mean brackish.]
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, 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.[ [522] — Kondapalle.]
And he went forward a hundred leagues into the kingdom, finding no one to bar his progress till he got to Symamdary, which was a very large city, in which he halted for six months, waiting for the King of Orya.[ [523] — Rajahmundry. The first syllable has been accidentally dropped, perhaps by the copyist.]
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, 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.[ [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.]
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] — 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.]
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. 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, 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 …and is surrounded with water.[ [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.]
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, and who was awaiting him with sixty thousand men.[ [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.)]
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.
