The chronicles of Paes and Nuniz (Vijayanagara) 1.3.3

1.3.3

this is (the case) when there are sons to all of them, but when there is only one son, whosesoever he may be, he is heir. One of these principal wives is the daughter of the king of Orya, and others daughters of a king his vassal who is king of Serimgapatao; another wife is a courtezan whom in his youth he had for mistress before he became king, and she made him promise that if he came to be king he would take her to wife, and thus it came to pass that this courtezan became his wife. For love of her he built this new city, and its name was ... (SIC IN ORIG.) ... Each one of these wives has her house to herself, with her maidens and women of the chamber, and women guards and all other women servants necessary; all these are women, and no man enters where they are, save only the eunuchs, who guard them. These women are never seen by any man, except perhaps by some old man of high rank by favour of the king. When they wish to go out they are carried in litters shut up and closed,[401] so that they cannot be seen, and all the eunuchs with them fully three or four hundred; and all other people keep a long distance from them. They told us that each of these queens has a very large sum of money and treasure and personal ornaments, namely armlets, bracelets, seed-pearls,[402] pearls and diamonds, and that in great quantity: and they also say that each of them has sixty maidens adorned as richly as could possibly be with many jewels, and rubies and diamonds and pearls and seed-pearls.