The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c27.95

v3.c27.95

The Hindus now had reason to repent their breach of the humane treaty between Muhammad I and Bukka I for never, in the course of a long series of wars, did either army display such ferocity as did Ahmad's troops in this campaign. His temper, not naturally cruel, had [been goaded by the spectacle of the atrocities committed by the Hindus after the disastrous campaign of Pāngul, and he glutted his revenge. Avoiding Vijayanagar, the siege of which had been discovered to be an unprofitable adventure, he marched through the kingdom, slaughtering men and enslaving women and children. An account of the butchery was kept, and whenever the tale of victims reached 20,000 the invader halted for three days, and celebrated the achievement with banquets and the beating of the great drums. Throughout his progress he destroyed temples and slaughtered cows, he sent three great brazen idols to Gulbarga to be dishonoured, and omitted nothing that could wound the natural affections, the patriotism, or the religious sentiments of the Hindus. In March 1423, he halted beside an artificial lake to celebrate the festival of the Naurūz and his own exploits, and one day, while hunting, followed an antelope with such persistence that he was led to a distance of twelve miles from his camp, and was observed by a body of five or six thousand of the enemy's horse. Of his immediate bodyguard of 400 men half were slain in the furious onslaught, but he contrived to find shelter in a cattle-fold, where his 200 foreign archers for some time kept the Hindus at a distance, but they had thrown down part of the wall of the enclosure and were endeavouring to force an entrance when aid unexpectedly arrived. A faithful officer, 'Abd-ul-Qādir, whose family had served the king's for three generations, had grown apprehensive for his master's safety, and had led two or three thousand of the royal guards in search of him. This force now appeared, and fell upon the Hindus, who stood their ground until they had slain 500 of their assailants, and then fled, leaving a thousand of their own number dead on the field.