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 DAS 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.