The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c22: Chapter XVI. Wars with the Muhammadans
The Aravidu Dynasty of Vijayanagara, Vol. I v1.c22
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Chapter XVI. Wars with the Muhammadans
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SUMMARY.—1. Venkata starts an offensive campaign against Golkonda immediately after his coronation.—2. Great victory of Venkata over Muhammad Kuli Qutb Shah.—3. Beginning of Venkata's campaign in the Telugu country.—4. The jagirdars of the Telugu country rebel against Golkonda.—5. Victory of the Raja of Kasimkota over Amin-ul-Mulk.—6. Second invasion of Kandbir.—7. Result of Venkata's campaign in the Telugu country.—8. Siege of Penukonda by the Sultan of Bijapur.—9. Embassy of the Mughal Emperor Akbar to Venkata II.—10. Further projects of Akbar on Vijayanagara.—11. Ibrahim Adil Shah II of Bijapur sends an embassy to Venkata II.
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CONTEMPORARY SOURCES.—1. Ferishta, Anonymous chronicler of Golkonda.—2. Jesuit letters.—3. Du Jarric, Guerreiro.—4. Hindu inscriptions and grants.—5. *Ramarajiyamu*, *Raghunathabhyudayam*.
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A GRANT of Emperor Venkata, dated 1589, says explicitly that his campaigns against the Muhammadans were started 'immediately after' his coronation ¹. Accordingly the anonymous chronicler says that Venkata, in the beginning of his reign, 'made some incursions and invasions into the Golkonda dominions' ². This policy marked the opening of a new era in the long-standing struggle between Vijayanagara and the Muhammadans. Since the battle of Raksas-Tagdi, Tirumala, and after him Ranga I, had been satisfied with defending themselves against the followers of the Prophet. Ranga had only dared to expel the Muslims from Ahobalam and its surroundings ³. But it seems that Venkata II, inaugurated his rule as Emperor of Vijayanagara with an offensive campaign which was successfully carried on some years later.
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¹ *Ep. Carn.*, XII, Ck, 39.
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² Ferishta, III, p. 454.
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³ Cf. Ch. XII, No. 7.
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The Sultan of Golkonda, Muhammad Kuli Qutb Shah, nvaded the Vijayanagara territory, with the object of driving Venkata out of his dominions. He marched towards Penukonda "where he arrived without opposition," says the aforesaid chronicler, "and immediately commenced the siege". Venkata, who was at Penukonda, shortly afterwards deputed his minister Gobraj Tima (Govinda Raja Timma) and his general Pavia Chitti (Papaya Chetti) as Ambassadors to the Golkonda Sultan, "who, upon their making due submission, agreed to an armistice preparatory to negotiating terms of peace". The shrewd Sovereign decided to take advantage of this so-called armistice to prepare himself for a long defence. "The Hindus", the anonymous chronicler continues, "taking advantage of the absence of the Muhammadans from the vicinity of the fort, supplied themselves in three days with provisions for a siege; and on the fourth the famous Jagdew Row (Jagadeva Raya), accompanied by Gulrang Setti, Manupraj and Papia Samywar, at the head of thirty thousand musketteers, threw themselves into the fort"¹. It is most likely that at this juncture Venkata requested Achyuta Nayaka of Tanjore to send the prince Raghunatha to his assistance. At his father's behest "Raghunatha started on the expedition followed by hundreds of tributary chiefs", says the *Raghunathabhyudayam*. He reached Penukonda in a few days². When the King discovered these proccedings", continues the Golkonda chronicler, "he renewed the siege; but his forces made little impression. The rains were now approaching, provisions also were scarce in the camp; and aware that the inundation of the Krishna river would cut off all communication with the Golkonda territory, the King deemed it advisable to raise the siege"³. Thus does the Muhammadan writer conceal the humiliating defeat which was on this occasion inflicted by Venkata upon the army of Golkonda.
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¹ Ferishta, l. c.
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² S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 285.
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³ Ferishta, l. c.
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2. Reference is found to this action in different sources;
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and we cannot question their veracity, specially when we consider the account of the following victorious campaign of Venkata in the Udayagiri country, given by the same Muhammadan author. The above-mentioned *Raghunathabhyudayam*, relating only Raghunatha’s exploits, states that “many of the enemies of the emperor fled from Penukonda when they learnt of the arrival of Raghunatha with troops (a common poetical topic), while a few mounted horsemen opposed him. But they were easily defeated by the valiant Raghunatha, and were scattered as the Rakshasas were by Rama” ¹. This was only a partial victory obtained by one of the wings of the great army of Venkata. The Sidhout inscription of Ananta Raja also records that this chief ‘displayed his heroism in humiliating the Muhammadan Pachisa (Padischa) in the battle of Penukonda’ ².
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¹ Krishnaswami Aiyangar, l.c.
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² M.E.R., 1916, p. 148, para 78.
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After careful consideration of all the sources, it seems that the Golkonda army, after having been repelled by the garrison of Penukonda, retreated northwards pursued by the Hindus. “Venkatapati Raya”, says the *Ramarajiyamu*, “collected his army and drove the son of Ibharam (Ibrahim Qutb Shah, *viz.* Muhammad Kuli Qutb Shah) who had invaded his territory, as far as Golkonda. He chased his army back and defeated it on the banks of the Pennar. The water of the river was crimson with the blood of the Muhammadan soldiers killed in the battle” ³. This battle was no doubt a remarkable event in the history of the Hindu Empire; for almost all the grants of Venkata make mention of it. The Vilapaka grant and the Dalavay Agraharam plates, besides two other grants, state that the Muhammadan ruler was “forcibly deprived of troops, of horses and elephants; weapons, white umbrella, parasols, etc., at the head of a battle by the excellent soldiers of the army of this powerful (king)” ⁴. The Vilapaka grant records moreover that the son of Malikibharama (Malik Ibrahim), Mahamandasahu (Muhammad Shah), reached his house in despair, reduced in lustre, ’ and ‘ thus daily, ’ it ends ironically, ‘ makes his name significant (or famous)’¹. It appears that there was more than one battle, because the Vellangudi plates say that Mahamandasahu was “defeated repeatedly by the army of this King, and used daily to return dejected from the battlefield after being deprived of his elephants, horses, arms and umbrella”². The defeat of the Golkonda Sultan is again mentioned in both the Padmaneri grant³, and the Mangalampad grant of the Hindu Emperor⁴.
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³ Ibid., p. 243.
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⁴ Vilapaka grant, *Ep. Ind.*, IV, p. 270; Dalavay Agraharam plates, *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 186, vv. 27-39; Grant of 1587, *Ep. Carn.*, VII, Sh, 83; Grant of 1589, *Ep. Carn.*, XII, Ck, 39.
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¹ Vilapaka grant, l. c.; grants of 1587 and 1589, ll. cc.
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² Ep. Ind., XVI, p. 319 vv. 31-35.
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³ Ibid., p. 297, v. 31.
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⁴ Butterworth, I, p. 31, v. 26
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3. The anoymous chronicler of Golkonda says that “the Muhammadan troops having been required to join the grand army against Penuconda, had left the district of Kandbir wholly unprotected”. This was a magnificent chance for Venkata to recover part of the territory lost in the last war. It seems that even before the final defeat of Muhammad Shah, Venkata despatched a force to assist Kowlanada, the Raja of Udgerrydurg (Udayagiri), ordering him to plunder and lay waste all the territory as far as Kandir and the Krishna; and that the Raja sent his son-in-law, Wurias Ray, to carry this project into effect. After he had fought with the Muhammadans several times he was finally defeated by Afzul Khan and Ajda Khan, with the loss of three thousand men killed, wounded and taken prisoners, and all his camp-equipage”.
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In the meantime Venkata mustered an army of one hundred thousand men, the leaders of which were Yeltumraj, Gulang Setti and Manupraj, and set out to recover Gandikota from the hands of Sanjur Khan. Here the Hindus were daily harassed by sallies from the garrison; but they persevered in the siege till they heard that Murtaza Khan, with the main army of the Muhammadans, had captured the city of Karpa and destroyed its famous temples. Venkata, on being told of this, detached Yeltumraj and Manupraj with ten thousand cavalry to attack Murtaza Khan, and probably followed them shortly after with the rest of his army¹.
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¹ Here the chronicle we are quoting says that 'after a severe action the Hindus were defeated and compelled to seek safety in flight. How can this be true when the same writer records immediately after the brilliant siege of the town by the Hindus, the distress of the Muhammadans, who required help from Golkonda, and the latters's final defeat?
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As soon as the Sultan of Golkonda heard of this course of events, he despatched a force of five thousand horse under the command of Rustom Khan to reinfore Murtaza Khan. "Meanwhile", says the chronicler, "Murtaza Khan continued to defend himself for three whole months against the Hindus, whose numbers increased to such an extent that the Muhammadans found it impossible to give the battle, but confined their operations to plundering and cutting off supplies". Rustom Khan on arriving assumed command of all the troops, according to the Sultan's instructions. "On the day after his arrival", continues the Muhammadan writer, "he crossed a river in front of him, and imprudently encamped on a black clayey soil where the rain had fallen, but did not proceed to attack the Hindus. The enemy, having ascertained that a reinforcement had arrived, delayed also to engage the Muhammadans. At this time, whether to amuse their own soldiers, or for some other reason which is immaterial, the Hindus dressed up a red bullock² with gilded horns, and having painted it with many different colours, and fastened bells to its legs and neck, drove it towards the Muhammadans. Rustom Khan, who happened to be in front of the army and alone, became alarmed at the strange appearance of the animal. He galloped off to the rear in dismay, and caused a panic among his own troops³. The Hindus, observing confusion in the lines of the Muhammadans, took advantage of it to surround them with their musketeers, and galled them on all sides. The Muhammadan cavalry, which consituted the strength of their army, unable to charge through the heavy black soil, were shot one by one, and might have been annihilated, but for Murtaza Khan, who, collecting a small party, forced his way through the enemy's ranks, and thus covered the retreat of many of the Mahammadans; but all the camp-equipage was taken and a heavy loss sustained". The defeat of the Muhammadans on this occasion seems to have been very severe: the chronicler adds at the end of his narrative: "Rustom Khan was disgraced on his return to Haidarabad, by being dressed in female attire; after which he was banished from the kingdom" 1.
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² Biggs thinks that the Pola festival is meant here.
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³ Such cowardice could not be believed of such a general if the case was not narrated by the Muhammadan chronicler, Rustom Khan was, according to the chronicler, a notorious boaster.
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4. At this time Amin-ul-Mulk, the Minister of the Sultan of Golkonda, sent officers to collect the taxes due to the Government by the different jagirdars. But those of the Telugu country were in hopes of throwing off the Muhammadan yoke with the help of the brave and fortunate new sovereign of Vijayanagara. Moreover the anonymous chronicler says that 'this demand had been so long deferred, that the jagirdars refused to pay the taxes demanded, and even invited the Vijayanagara sovereign to join them in opposing Muhammad Kuli's forces. As a proof of their intentions, they plundered the country belonging to Golkonda in the neighbourhood of Kandbir. These jagirdars were not all Hindus: both the Golkonda chronicler and the Aminabad inscription mention four out of these chiefs who rebelled against the Sultan; and of them, two were Muhammadans and two Hindus. The names given by the chronicler are the following: Alam Khan Pathan, Khan Khanan, Sabaji Maratha and Balla Row, which correspond to these given by the inscription: Alamakhanundu Khanakhana, Sabaji and Ballarayandu. This inscription states that there were other chiefs who joined the revolt.
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When the dis-affection of these jagirdars was reported to the court by Etibar Khan, Amin-ul-Mulk himself volunteered to lead a force against the rebels, and after a while set out from Haidarabad at the head of ten thousand horse. On his arrival near Kandbir he was met by Kowlananda, the Raja of Udayagiri, who on account of his recent intercourse with Venkata, was believed to be the instigator of the rebellion. Accordingly the Muslim general seized the Hindu chief and ordered him to be hanged. This prompt measure alarmed the insurgents. They had an army of seven thousand cavalry and ten thousand infantry and were strongly posted in the fortress of Ardinga; but now they shrank from an encounter with the army of Amin-ul-Mulk, and retreated to join the army of Venkata. The Golkonda general pursued them, but did nothing more than devastate and occupy their estates. Hence the Aminabad inscription states that Amin Malka crossed the river Krishna with a large Golkonda army, and drove away the enemies before him ‘as darkness before the rising sun’. On returning to Kandbir Amin-ul-Mulk seized, a number of Naigwaries who had been the allies of the rebels and ordered about 200 of them to be executed. Nevertheless in spite of this drastic measure, the Muslim general was not able to put down the rebellion; and after his retreat to Haidarabad, no other authority was acknowledged in the Telugu country but that of Venkata, who was still with his army in the South.
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¹ Ferishta, III, p. 455-9.
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5. One instance of this was afforded shortly after by the conduct of Makund Raj, the Raja of Kasimkotta. After having received the robe of instalment from the hands of Muhammad Kuli himself in Golkonda, this young prince attempted to seize the person of Birlas Khan, the Sultan’s representative in the country. “Such outrages,; says the Golkonda chronicler, “called for the immediate interference of the King; particularly as the Raja, confiding in the valour of his troops and his native woods and mountains for protection, had not sent the annual tribute to the court”.
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Accordingly, Muhammad Kuli sent his general Mir Zain-ul-Abidin with a force to proceed against the Raja. “Upon his arrival near Kasimkotta the general deputed a person to Makund Raj, requiring of him to pay the arrears of tribute, and to promise greater punctuality in its future payment; but as they were too few to enforce their demand, Mir Zain-ul-Abidin wrote to court for reinforcements. The King immediately directed the Amir Jumla, Amin-ul-Mulk, to join the former detachment with more troops, and to assume the principal command. Amir Jumla was accompained by Shankar Raj, the nephew of the late Bhaybalandar (the father of the young Raja). Makund Raj, alarmed at the serious preparations made to attack him, wrote to the neighbouring Rajas for assistance, as well as to Venkatapati, Raja of Vijayanagar, to induce him to take advantage of the moment and to detach a force to Kandbir, while he with thirty thousand infantry and three thousand cavalry engaged the King's army in the neighbourhood of Rajmundri”. After a hard-fought battle, in which Shankar Raj was killed, the Muhammadans were defeated with the loss of several brave officers and men. The Raja on reaching Kasimkotta “put to death Birlas Khan and Ghuzunfur Beg, together with several other Muhammadans whom he inveigled into his presence”¹.
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¹ Ferishta, III, p. 460-1; Aminabad inscription of Amin-ul-Mulk, S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 240.
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¹ Ferishta, III, p. 464-5. The Muhammadan writer says that the Golkonda forces were ‘nearly defeated’; that the Muhammadans lost several brave officers and men, and that the Raja on reaching his city ‘put to death Birlas Khan’, etc. Nevertheless, he attributes this victory to the same Muslim army. The imposture is evident. To save the honour of the Muhammadans after describing their defeat, he proclaims an imaginary great victory obtained by them over the Hindus. If the young Raja did not succeed in seizing Birlas Khan, the Sultan’s representative, when there was not in the country such a formidable army of Golkonda, it is impossible to suppose that he could put him to death on this occasion in the face of so large an army commanded by the Amir Jumla, especially after his own army had been entirely routed by the army of Golkonda.
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6. In the meantime Venkatapati Raja, on the invitation of the Raja of Kasimkotta, again invaded the district of Kandbir. The Sultan of Golkonda, who was then defending the city of Ahmadnagar against the army of Prince Murad, Akbar’s son, was informed of the intentions of the Vijayanagara Emperor. So he directed his army under Adil Khan Bungy or Bangush, accompanied by two hundred elephants and many guns, to oppose him. Adil Khan went straight to Kandbir with his cavalry, but was obliged to remain there sometime waiting for his guns. Venkata with his army of two hundred thousand horse and infantry and one thousand elephants, was still advancing; but "finding that the King's troops had arrived, and that the army was very formidable, he thought it prudent to send ambassadors with rich presents to the King of Golkonda. The ambassadors had directions to proffer his excuse, by saying that the object for which he had left his capital and come towards Kandbir was merely to see the lake Cammum (Cumbum?). Orders were accordingly issued to Adil Khan Bungy to refrain from invading his territories, but to remain with the army at Kandbir as a corps of observation" ¹.
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¹ Ferishta, III, p. 466-8.
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Such is the incredible account given by the anonymous chronicler of Golkonda, in his anxiety to conceal the defeat of the Golkonda troops. Is it not strange that Venkata, with the whole of his army of two hundred thousand foot and horse and one thousand elephants, dared not give battle to the Muslim general, with an army accompanied only by two hundred elephants, and an artillery lagging behind him? As a matter of fact the Muhammadan army that opposed Venkata was not at all formidable. The story of the ambassadors sent by the Vijayanagara Emperor and of his desire to see the lake Cammum is still more obviously the writer's concoction.
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7. This becomes more than evident if we consider the version given in the *Ramarajiyamu* and the further history of the Telugu country during Venkata's reign. Both accounts show clearly the final success of the Hindu sovereign in the North-eastern corner of the ancient Empire. The *Ramarajiyamu*, for instance, shows us the Sultan of Golkonda 'as a suppliant seeking terms of peace' and settling finally with Venkata 'that the Krishna should thence forward form the boundary between their respective territories' ².
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² S. Krishnaswamy Aiyangar, *Sources*, p. 243
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Nothing could have been been more pleasing to the Hindu ruler. It meant the recovery of all the lost territories and the re-establishment of the old limits between Vijayanagara and Golkonda ³. Hence the Vellangudi plates state that 'just as Rama
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³ The Vilapaka grant, *Ep. Ind.*, IV, p. 270, and the Mangalampad grant, Butterworth, I, p. 32, v. 28, state that Venkata defeated the king of Oddiya or Orissa. Probably the Sultan of Golkonda is meant in this passage.
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VIJAYANAGARA UNDER VEṄKAṬAPATIDĒVA RĀYA II 1585-1614
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| 1 BARCELOR | 8 KRISHNAPATAM |
| 2 BELGAUM | 9 MADARĀSA |
| 3 BHATKAL | 10 MAILĀPURA |
| 4 DĒVANAPATNAM | 11 MANGALORE |
| 5 HONĀVAR | 12 MASULIPATAM |
| 6 KĀNCHĪVARAM | 13 PALKONDA |
| 7 KARNUL | 14 PULICAT |
| | 15 SAŌ THOME |
| | 16 SIDHOUT |
| | 17 TENKĀŚI |
| | 18 TINNEVELLY |
| | 19 TIRUPATI |
| | 20 TRICHINOPOLY |
| | 21 TUTICORIN |
| | 22 UDAYAGIRI |
| | 23 VIJAYANAGARA |
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XIV. The Empire of Vijayanagara under Venkata II conquered the Rakshasas, this King defeated the Yavanas (Muhammadans)’¹. And the Dalavay Agraharam plates say that ‘he was ruling the earth triumphantly after destroying the demons, the Yavanas’². Venkata’s victories over the Muslim forces are again mentioned in other grants of his and those of his successors ³.
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¹ *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p. 319, vv. 31-35.
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² *Ibid.*, XII, p. 186, vv. 27-39.
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³ Padmaneri grant, *Ep. Ind.*, XVI, p. 297, v. 29; Kondyata grant of Venkata III, *Ind. Ant.*, XIII, p. 127, grant of 1587, *Ep. Carn*, VII, Sh, 83; grant of 1589, *Ibid.*, XII, Ck, 39. Orme, *Historical Fragments*. p. 229, says that one of Venkata’s title was this: ‘*Mahometa norum exercituum debellator*.’
4. Butterworth, III, 1365-7 and 1637-9.
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Accordingly, numerous inscriptions of the following years acknowledge Venkata as the sovereign of the Telugu country. In 1586-7 while the first campaign was going on, two inscriptions proclaim Venkata the ruler of Udayagiri⁴. A similar inscription dated 1612 is found in Rapur, Nellore ⁵. In 1514, the chief Marakampi Nayaningaru, in Nellore, declares himself feudatory of Venkata ⁶. At the end of his reign, a village in Udayagiri which had been bestowed before by his father Tirumala was again granted by him to some one ⁷, and there are besides two inscriptions of 1616, that mention Venkata as the ruling sovereign ⁸.
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⁵ *Ibid.*, p. 1284-6.
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⁶ Rangacharya, II, p. 1049.
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⁷ Butterworth, III, p. 1359-60.
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⁸ Rangacharya, II, p. 1049, 1 and p. 1079. 263.
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A certain Sriman Mahamandalesvara Muddayoadeva Maharaja, son of Kondadeva Maharaja, seems to have been the governor of the Telugu country under Venkata and acknowledged the latter’s suzerainty ⁹. In 1602 he presented the village of Nandirayi, Nellore, to Sri Chennakesavaraya of Palnaru, for providing light, refreshments, incense, etc. ¹⁰. But according to an inscription 1613-4 at Kandukur, it seems that the Muhammadans retained their sovereignty over the northern part of the district ¹¹.
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⁹ Butterworth, I, p. 269-71.
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¹⁰ Rangacharya, II, p. 1056, 54.
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8. No other wars between Golkonda and Vijayanagara are recorded in the Muhammadan histories. But in the meantime the Sultan of Bijapur, Ibrahim Adil Shah II, had sent several expeditions against the Kanarese country, as we shall relate in one of the following chapters. As a consequence of these incursions an alliance was made between Venkata and Burhan Nizam Shah of Ahmadnagar against Bijapur. Then Ibrahim Adil Shah again marched his army towards the South and laid siege to Penukonda¹. According to Du Jarric, Venkata in this war against the Sultan of Bijapur, opposed his enemy with an army of seven hundred thousand infantry and forty thousand cavalry, besides five hundred elephants². Ferishta relates that on the approach of the Sultan, Venkata entrusted the command of the place as well as of his army to one of his nobles and ‘retired with his treasures and effects to the fortress of Chandragiri’. The Muhammadan writer does not tell us who this noble was, but we feel sure that he was no other than Mantla Ananta, called at that time ‘the right-hand of the Emperor of Karnata’. The Sidhout inscription referring to him says that ‘in the battle of Penukonda he destroyed the pride of the Muhammadan Padishah’³. This piece of information very likely refers to this action.
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¹ Ferishta, III, p. 141, evidently misplaces this event, as we have previously pointed out. The ruler of Penukonda, Venkatadri, giving the command of the place to one of his nobles and retiring to Chandragiri, is a fact which cannot be placed in 1576-7, during the reign of Ranga I, precisely when this sovereign was made prisoner, or when his capital was so brilliantly defended by Jagadevaraya. Cf. Ch. XII, Nos. 5 and 6. The misplacement of a page of the MS. may explain this incongruence. Mr. H. Krishna Sastri, The Third Vijayanagara Dynasty, l. c. p. 185, and Dr. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, before us, have acknowledged the anomalous occurrence.
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² Du Jarric, I, p. 653.
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³ S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Sources, p. 249.
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Ibrahim besieged the city investing it closely for three months. He was, it seems, determined to remain there, until he could either take it by storm or compel the besieged general to surrender. Ferishta relates that at the end of these three months ‘the garrison were nearly submitting for want of provisions’.
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sions.' On this point, if we are to rely upon this writer's authority, Venkata "bribed Handiatum Naik, the chief of the Bergies, with twenty-four laks of rupees and five elephants, to desert with his followers from the King and harass his camp". Accordingly, Handiatum deserted the army of the Sultan, who was consequently compelled to retreat to his own kingdom, "leaving Mustafa Khan to protect the frontiers" ¹.
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¹ Ferishta, III, p. 141. It was probably not long after this event that Abdul Wahab was deputed by the Bijapur Sultan, with a powerful army to take the fort of Karnul. He invested the town, which was then governed by the last of its Hindu rulers, Gopala Raja, a grandson of Rama Raya, the Regent of Sadasiva. This chief stoutly defended the town, which was strongly fortified. He was assisted, it is said, by a force sent by his relation the Emperor Venkata. Gopala Raja, however, was eventually forced to yield; and he is said to have fled from the town through the northern gateway of the fort, still known as 'Gopal Darwaza'. Gopala's palace, even in its present ruinous state, shows to this day its ancient beauty and richness. Cf. M. E. R., 1915-16, p. 44, para 26.
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9. Towards the beginning of the 17th century Vijayanagara was free from the Muhammadan attacks. The Jesuit letters are silent about the wars between Venkata and the Sultans of the Deccan, during the remainder of the former's reign. A great danger for those sovereigns was then rising in the North. In 1593, after the complete subjugation of the northern provinces, the Mughal Emperor Akbar had despatched an army under the command of Prince Murad and Khan Khanan, to start the conquest of the Deccan. They besieged the city of Ahmadnagar, which was bravely defended by the gallant Regent Chand Bibi. Ahmadnagar, however, fell into the hands of Sultan Daniyal, Akbar's third son, seven years later in 1600 ².
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² Cf. Smith, *Akbar*, p. 266-72.
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At the same time Akbar, while still before the walls of Asirgarh, sent an embassy to the Emperor of Vijayanagara ³. The account of this embassy has never been published hitherto. The letter of Fr. B. Coutinho which gives this information is dated Chandragiri, August, 1600, and seems to have been written during the stay of the ambassador at the court. Fr. Coutinho does not give the name of the ambassador, but only states that ‘he is a prudent and experienced man’. On reaching Chandragiri, since there was no building fitted for receiving such visitors, the official who was responsible for the entertainment of the ambassadors and their introduction to the King, asked the Jesuit Fathers to lodge him in their own house for two days. “We gave him a suitable place,” says Fr. Coutinho, “where he is staying for a month. It is he who informed us of what our Fathers had done at Achebar’s (Akbar’s) court”. The reason why the ambassador of Chandragiri stayed so long was that Venkata did not receive him in audience till he had waited twenty days, “as he (Venkata) had been warned by his councilors”, says the aforesaid Jesuit, “not to trust Achebar; because, if those three Muhammadan kings of Abdenegan or Melique (Ahmadnagar), Dialcan (Bijapur) and Mussalepatan (Golkonda) were to submit to him, he would easily also bring the Bisanagara Empire under his sway. On hearing this, the King, they say, replied that his kingdom was in the hands of God, and that ‘if He wishes to deprive me, he said, of my Empire, who will be able to stop Him? So much is certain, however, I shall never kiss the feet of a Muhammadan; should he come over here, war is sure to follow’ ”.
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³ Francois Valentyn, *Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien*, IV, p. 214, says that Akbar "captured several cities of the kingdom of Narsinga (called otherwise Bisnagar and Vidjia Nagaar)". I am sure that Valentyn's information was not good on this occasion. He also says that Akbar reached Goa and Calicoet (Calicut), which is certainly false.
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At last Akbar’s envoy was received by Venkata. He presented the Emperor with four horses and other gifts on behalf of his sovereign, but Venkata returned them to the ambassador; the sums of money he had brought as a present were also handed back to him by Venkata’s order ‘to defray his expenses’. Fr. Coutinho says nothing of the political affairs discussed by the Hindu sovereign and the Muhammadan ambassador; he only states that the latter was loud in his praises regarding the Jesuits at his Lord’s court, who held them in great honour¹. “The King in his reply,” continues Coutinho, “said that he, too, was quite pleased with us. Moreover, he added that he would give us a church, house and whatsoever we needed" 1.
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¹ The Jesuits who were then at Akbar’s court were those of the third expedition, *viz.* Fr. Jerome Xavier, Fr. Manoel Pinheiro and Bro. Bento de Goes.
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¹ From Fr. B. Coutinho to Fr. N. Pimenta, Chandragiri, July 17th, 1600, Ap. C, No. V. Cf. Anquetil du Perron, l. c., p. 168.
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10. The suspicions aroused among the nobles at the court of Venkata were very well grounded. Fr. Jerome Xavier who was in Akbar's retinue when he was about to besiege the fort of Asirgarh in the kingdom of Kandesh, writes that "the purpose of this journey was to conquer Goa and the Malabar and the whole kingdom of Bisnaga (Vijayanagara) after having taken the Deccan kingdoms" 2. And one of the secret purposes of the embassy to the court of Venkata was probably to examine the efficiency of his army and the strength of his fortresses, in order to enable Akbar to plan his intended campaign in the South. Fr. Xavier informs us that this was Akbar's method of ascertaining the enemy's strength. "And for this purpose, (viz. for conquering Goa), he very often sends some one of his courtiers to Goa with the title of ambassador. But it is understood that he is really a spy, sent in order to see either what the Portuguese are doing or what they are able to do; and he does this at the time of the arrival of the ships from Portugal, in order to estimate how much wealth and how many people have come" 3. The same kind of espionage was probably now employed in the court of Venkata. Hence Fr. Coutinho rightly suspected that the formidable army, headed by excellent generals which Venkata had assembled round him, was for no other purpose than "for driving back the army of Akbar, and garrisoning the northern cities and fortresses against the Mughal invasion" 4.
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After a while the fortress of Asirgarh too fell into Akbar's hands. 5. That event added fresh encouragement to the old Emperor's imperial ambition, which would not be satisfied until he had the whole of India under his feet; and accordingly four years later another embassy was despatched to Venkata's court, to get fresh information of the Hindu ruler's position. The annual letter of the Province of Malabar, of the years 1604-1606, informs us that the Jesuit Provincial could only be received by Venkata after some days, because there were at that time at Chandragiri several embassies waiting for the King's audience; and one of these legations was that of the Mughal Emperor ¹. Death suddenly cut short the warlike projects of Akbar in the following year.
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² Guerrero (sic), *Relacion Anual......en los anos de 600 y 601*, p. 17; Du Jarric, III, p. 43.
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³ Guerrero (sic), o. c., p. 29-34. Cf. Heras, *The Emperor Akbar and the Portuguese Settlements*, Indo-Portuguese Review, 1924, p. 20.
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⁴ From Fr. B. Coutinho to Fr. N. Pimenta, Chandragiri, July 17th, 1600, Ap. C, No. V.
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⁵ Cf. Heras, *The Siege and Conquest of the Fort of Asirgarh*, Ind. Ant., LIII, p. 33-41.
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¹ Litterae Annuae of the Province of Malabar, 1604-1606, Ap. C, No. XXII.
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II. Another embassy that the Jesuit Provincial found at Chandragiri in 1604 was one from Ibrahim Adil Shah II of Bijapur ². No other information is given about this legation; it means however that the two sovereigns, though formerly irreconcilable foes, became friends in face of the common enemy. And probably even Bijapur went to the length of inviting Vijayanagara to form a defensive alliance against the ambitious schemes of the Mughal Emperor, as she herself had been invited by the Portuguese Viceroy, with further instructions, to seek the co-operation of the other Deccani Sultans ³. Such an alliance served no useful purpose; forty years later we see both Bijapur and Golkonda taking possession of the territories and fortresses of Vijayanagara; and subsequently the great-grandson of Akbar, Aurangzeb, also appears on the stage sweeping away the relics of those two Muslim thrones and obliterating the ruins of the Hindu Empire.
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² Ibid.
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³ Heras, The Portuguese Alliance with the Muhammadan Kingdoms of the Deccan, B. B. R. A.S., I (N.S.), p. 125.