The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c15.110

v1.c15.110

This was probably too much for the old Hindu ruler, who now dismounted and sat similarly “on a rich throne set with jewels, under a canopy of crimson velvet, embroidered with gold and adorned with fringes of pearls”. But not to discourage his troops with his weakness, he ordered his treasurer to give some money to them, and “to place heaps of money around him that he might confer rewards on such of his soldiers as merited the distinction; rich ornaments of gold and jewels were also placed before him for the same purpose”. The Hindus, inspired by this generosity, recovered from the panic produced by the discharge of the Nizam's artillery, and charged the right and left wings of the allies “with such vigour that they were thrown into temporary disorder; and Ali Adil Shah and Ibrahim Qutb Shah began to despair of victory, and even to prepare for retreat” ². This account of Ferishta, who also states that “the two flanks had already fallen back” ³, agrees not only with the Burhan-i-Ma'asir, which says that “the defeat of the Muslims appeared inevitable” ⁴, and with the Hindu chronicles, which say that two divisions of the Muslim army had been defeated ⁵, but also with Faria y Sousa, who writes that “Rama Raya almost defeated his enemies” ⁶. The Basatin-us-Salatin relates this tremendous havoc in the Muslim army as follows : “The Muslim slain were piled in heaps over heaps, and autumn seemed to have come over the Muslim army. The infidels showed their superiority and valour” ⁷.