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Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c14: Chapter VIII. Foreign Relations—Hindu-Muhammadan Amity

Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c14

Language
English

Contents

Chapter VIII. Foreign Relations—Hindu-Muhammadan Amity

Section 1. Treatment of Ambassadors

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BITTER as were the relations between the Hindus and the Muhammadans, yet they were not without some redeeming features which shed a pleasant light on their mutual dealings. The Hindu State owed its origin to the spirit of resistance which confronted the Muhammadans when they swept over the southern peninsula in search of wealth and power; it was well-nigh shattered when the Sultans of the north formed a great coalition against their southern neighbours, whose increasing influence was a continual menace to the Muhammadans. The story of the alleged contempt that was shown by Rāma Rāja to an ambassador from the court of 'Ali 'Ādil Shāh, as given in the Bakhair, was only a flimsy veil which the Muhammadans used to cover the fact that their position as the rulers of a great part of southern India was incompatible with that of the Hindu sovereigns, whose power showed no sign of decline in the early part of the sixteenth century. From the time when poor Bahā-ud-dīn took shelter under the Rāja of Kampili till the dismal days of the battle of Rākshasa-Tangadi, the Hindus endeavoured to sow the seeds of mutual goodwill and respect, which, however, save in one or two notable instances, proved barren in the annals of the two peoples. It is with these attempts that we are concerned, since with their aid we can see the brighter side of the Hindu-Muhammadan relations in mediaeval ages.

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The Hindu rulers gave concrete expression to their desire to promote good feelings with their avowed enemies in their mode of receiving foreign ambassadors, in the aid which they gave the Muhammadans against their own enemies, in their willingness to enlist foreigners, and, finally, in promoting the cause of Islām in their Empire. The most trustworthy account of the treatment which the kings of Vijayanagara gave to foreign ambassadors is from the pen of 'Abdur Razzāq. The Persian ambassador gives us the details of the manner in which the emissaries were summoned and received, the rations that were allotted to them, and how they were dismissed from the royal presence. "They then brought a tray, and gave me two packets of betel, a purse containing 500 fanams, and about 20 miskāls of camphor, and, obtaining leave to depart, I returned to my lodging. The daily provision forwarded to me comprised two sheep, four couple of fowls, five mans of price, one man of butter, one man of sugar, and two varāhas in gold. This occurred every day. Twice a week I was summoned to the presence towards the evening, when the king asked me several questions respecting the Khākān-i-Sa'id, and each time I received a packet of betel, a purse of fanams, and some miskāls of camphor".¹ The Emperor assigned a lofty mansion to the Persian ambassador. "The author of this history who arrived at Bijānagar at the close of Zi-hijja, took up his abode in a lofty mansion which had been assigned to him, resembling that which one sees in Hirāt on the high ground at the King's gate".²

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¹ Elliot, Hist. of India, IV, p. 113; Major, India, p. 31.

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² Elliot, ibid., p. 112.

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But the Hindu rulers do not seem to have always been as generous towards foreign ambassadors as Dēva Rāya II had been to 'Abdur Razzāq. Nuniz tells us the following about the ambassador, whom he calls "Matucotam", from the court of 'Ali 'Adil Shāh: "As soon as he had thus settled himself the ambassador sent to inform the King (Kṛṣṇa Dēva Rāya) of his arrival, and begged that His Highness would grant him an audience and despatch him without delay. The King replied that he would see him, but told him that he should not be impatient since he himself had but now arrived, and that he would give him leave to depart as soon as the time had arrived. And with this the ambassador stayed there a month without the King having sought to see him, nor having asked to know why he had come; he went every day to the palace, and seeing the way in which the King acted towards him he determined to speak no more but to wait till the King summoned him".¹ According to the Bakhair of Rāma Rāja, the Mahaldar, who came also from the same court, was not ordered into the royal presence immediately on his arrival. "He (the Mahaldar) then considered with (in) himself that the Raja (i.e., Rāma Rāja) by not sending for him on his arrival to receive his Sovereign's letters, had shown great slight and contempt; yet (he thought) it was not prudent to open his mouth on this subject as it might not be to his honour. . ."²

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¹ Sewell, For. Emp., p. 350. ² Rama Raja Charitre, Mac-Coll, VII, India Office. ³ This name, also written Harcarah, seems to have been given to an ambassador or vakil in the mediaeval times. I believe it may have originally referred to the harikāra or an elephant courier. See E.C., VII, Hl. 7, dated A.D. 1204, p.

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This indiscreet ambassador, whose name is not given in the Bakhair of Rāma Rāja, was in no small measure responsible for the coalition of the Muhammadans against the Hindus. There is reason to believe that he was rather inaccurate in his estimate of the great Hindu Regent. For in the same account we are informed that the moment "he (the Mahaldar, or as he was also called 'Harracarra')³ came to the Gates (of the Capital), the Raja sent for his Dalavāy and ordered him to lodge the Mahaldar in the Ananda Mahall near Chaupesh-hazara".⁴ The Vijayanagara ruler at once "also ordered him (the Dalavāy) to defray all his (the Mahaldar's) expenses. The Dalavāy accordingly lodged the Public Messenger Harracarra there and defrayed his expenses agreeable to his rank and reported all these circumstances to the King".⁵ Even after the disagreeable incident of the fowls and the swine for which none but the Mahaldar was responsible, the Vijayanagara monarch "took pains to quiet his (the Mahaldar's) uneasiness and presented him with Clothes and Betle (suited to his rank) and despatched him apparently in good humour".¹

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¹⁵⁹ B.A.S. ⁴ Rama Rāja Charitre. ⁵ Ibid.

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¹ Rama Raja Charitre. ² Sewell, For. Emp., p.

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Rāma Rāja's generous attitude towards the foreign ambassador, in spite of the latter's provocative speech, as it is reported in the Rama Raja Charitre, was modelled on that of the benevolent Kṛiṣhṇa Dēva Rāya the Great. This monarch too dismissed the ambassador from the court of 'Ali 'Adil Shāh in the accredited manner with "a robe of silk and the cloths that are customary".² That the mode of dismissing foreign ambassadors was the same in early times in Vijayanagara can be seen by noting the remarks of 'Abdur Razzaq: "The king approved highly of my reply, and ordered that I should receive several bags of fanams and betel, and some fruits reserved for his special use".³

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The delay which marked the presentation of an ambassador to the king may have been caused by State reasons rather than by personal or religious causes. The prominence which the mischievous Mahaldar gave to the alleged contempt shown to him was perhaps his own creation. For, in the same account, we are told that it was on the day after his arrival that he sent a verbal message to the Regent thus: "Though Your Majesty has not sent for me at once to receive the letters I bear, as they are written on matters of particular importance, I request (that) Your Majesty will be pleased to order me into the Presence where on delivering them, you shall be informed of all other circumstances".⁴ On hearing this the "Rajadhiraja was satisfied with the message of the Mahaldar and ordered him to be conducted into his presence . . .".⁵ Rāma Rāja was evidently at a loss to know why 'Adi Ādil Shāh, to whom he was attached by mutual friendship, should have sent an express messenger to the Hindu court when the political horizon was uncommonly clear of all clouds of conflict. It is true that the Bakhair does not enlighten us on all these points relating to the alleged contempt shown to the Mahaldar. But from the attitude which the Hindu rulers generally bore to the foreign ambassadors, it may be assumed that they were not always guided by motives of pride or ill will towards their northern neighbours.

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³⁵² See also pp. 350-1 for the treatment given by the same ruler to the emissaries from foreign courts. ³ Elliot, Hist. of India, IV, p. 120. ⁴ Rama Raja Charitre. ⁵ Ibid.

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For they were truly hospitable to foreign emissaries. And that this was neither forced nor feigned is apparent from the accounts of the Portuguese chroniclers. Paes relates to us how Christavão de Figueiredo with many Portuguese went to see Kṛṣṇa Dēva Rāya: "When we came to this country the king was in this new town, and there went to see him Christovão de Figueiredo with all of us Portuguese that came with him, and all very handsomely dressed after our manner, with much finery; the king received him very well, and was very complacent to him. The king was as much pleased with him as if he had been one of his own people, so much attention did he evince towards him; and also towards those amongst us who went with him he showed much kindness . . . . The king gave to Christovão de Figueiredo on dismissing him a cabaya (tunic) of brocade, with a cap of the same fashion as the king wore, and to each one of the Portuguese he gave a cloth embroidered with many pretty figures, and this the king gives because it is customary; he gives it in token of friendship and love".¹

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¹ Sewell, *For. Emp.* pp. 251-2.

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The Vijayanagara monarchs maintained their high traditions in this matter in the later ages. Floris and some Englishmen were received by Veṅkaṭapati Rāya in A.D. 1614 in the following manner: "The nine and twentieth of July, arrived foure persons as Ambassadors, with my man Wengali", writes Peter Williamson Floris, "from the Great King of Narsinga or Velur, bringing me a Caul with his Abestiam (which is a white Cloth where his owne hand is printed in Sandall or Saffron) as also one from the Queene of Paleacatte, and diverse Letters from Jaga Raja, Tima Raja, Apocondaia and others. The King's Letter was written upon a leafe of Gold, wherein he excused the former fault done to us in Paleacatte desiring that now we would come into his Countrey and chuse a place to our best liking, and that there we should build a house or Castle according to our owne liking, with other priviledges. He gave me a Towne of about foure hundred pound of yearely revenue, with promise to doe more at my comming thither. . . . My man Wengali had beene in person before the King and spoken with him, the King laying his hand on his head, and presenting him with a Tesseriffe'.¹

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¹ Floris, Purchas, Pilgrims, III, p. 337.

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The Vijayanagara viceroys imitated their rulers in this as in other matters. Pimenta, A.D. 1599, tells us how he was received by the Nāyaka of Gingee. "The Naichus of Gingi was come thither, in whose Dominion it standeth. He commanded that we should be brought to his Presence. . . .He entertained us kindly, and marvelled much that wee chewed not the leaves of Betels which were offered us, and dismissed us with gifts of precious Cloths wrought with Gold, desiring a Priest of us for his new Citie which hee was building".²

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² Pimenta, ibid., X, p. 208. Cf. the method in which ambassadors were received in the seventh century A.D. Bāṇa, Harshacharita, p. 215.

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But the history of the Hindu-Muhammadan relations in mediaeval ages was not always one of mutual good will and exchange of costly presents. It was marked by actions and episodes which indicate as much the inebriated oriental recklessness of the Sultans as the uncommon haughtiness of the Hindu rulers. Firishtah quotes from the Thofut-us-Sulatin, written by Mulla Da'ūd, when the latter was only twelve years of age: "One evening, when the fragrance of the garden of pleasure had suffused the cheek of Mahmod Shah (Bāhmani I) with the rosy tinge of delight, a band of musicians sang two verses of Ameer Khusrow, descriptive of royal festivity; when the King, delighted beyond measure, commanded Mullik Seif-ood-Deen Ghoory to give the three hundred performers a draft for a gratuity on the treasury of the Raja of 'Beejanuggur'."³ Firishtah also relates how the Hindu king received this order of the Sultan. "The Raja, naturally haughty, and proud of his independence, seated the person presenting the order for the money on an ass, and having exhibited him through all the quarters of Beejanuggur, sent him back, after he had been subjected to every mark of contempt and derision".⁴

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³ Firishtah, Briggs, The Rise, II, pp. 308-9.

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⁴ Ibid., p. 309.

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But that was not the manner in which the Hindus treated the members of royalty. Firishtah tells us how Firūz Shāh Bāhmani tried to bring about a Hindu-Muhammadan alliance after inflicting a defeat on Dēva Rāya II in A.D.

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1406: "For forty days communication was open between the city and the King's camp, a distance of fourteen miles. Either side of the road was lined with booths of Mahomedans and Hindoos; while the jugglers, dancers, and buffoons of the Carnatic, displayed their skill to amuse passengers. Khan Khanan and Meer Fuzl Oolla were deputed, in great state, to Beejanuggur, with the customary present of a bridegroom; from whence, at the expiration of seven days, they brought the bride (i.e. the daughter of the Hindu king), with a rich portion and offerings from the Ray, to the King's camp. Dew Ray having expressed a desire to meet his son-in-law, Feroze Shah, in the excess of his politeness, consented to pay his father-in-law a visit, attended by his bride.

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"A day being fixed, the King proceeded with the bride to Beejanuggur, leaving the camp in charge of Khan Khanan. He was met on the road by Dew Ray in great state. From the gate of the city to the palace, being a distance of nearly six miles, the road was spread with cloths of gold, velvet, satin and other rich stuffs. The two monarchs rode on horseback together, between ranks of beautiful boys and girls, who waved over their heads plates of gold full of incense and silver flowers, which they scattered abroad, to be gathered by the populace. This ceremony being over, the inhabitants of the city, both men and women, made offerings according to their rank. After passing through a square in the centre of the city, the relatives of Dew Ray, who had lined the streets, made their obeisance, and joined the cavalcade, marching on foot before the two Kings. On their arrival at the palace gate, Feroze Shah and the Raja dismounted from their horses, and ascending a splendid litter, set with valuable jewels, were carried together to the apartments prepared for the reception of the bride and the bridegroom. Dew Ray then took his leave, and retired to his own apartments. The King, after being feasted magnificently for three days, took leave of the Ray, who pressed upon him richer presents than he had before given, and attended him for four miles on his way to his camp, before he returned to the city. Feroze Shah was offended, however, at his not going with him to his camp, and said to Meer Fuzl Oolla that he would one day have revenge for the affront offered him by such neglect. This remark being conveyed to Dew Ray, he made use of some offensive observations, so that, notwithstanding the union of the two families, their animosity was not allayed".¹

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¹ Firishtah, Briggs, The Rise, II, pp. 385-8; Sewell, For. Emp., p. 61.

Section 2. Other Methods of Conciliation

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Vijayanagara could indeed be proud, not of her martial victories which she won over the enemy, but of her attempts to bridge the gulf between the Hindus, whose culture needed protection, and the Muhammadans, whose civilization craved for expansion. The means which they adopted to gain their ends concern the questions of promoting harmony between the royal houses of Vijayanagara and those of the Sultans, enlisting Muhammadans in Hindu service, and fostering the interests of their religion in the great Hindu Empire.

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The task of creating good will between the rival royal houses was beset with many difficulties. The Vijayanagara monarchs faced the problem as best they could. Payment of tribute and protecting the interests of members of the Muhammadan royal family against their own enemies—these were the two methods which they devised to bring about a better understanding between themselves and their inveterate enemies of the north. Firishtah adds two more to these—marriage-alliance, which was forced on the Hindus, and the singular method of adopting a Sultan as a son by a Hindu ruler.

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According to Sewell, the Rāja of Vijayanagara presented "Alā-ud-din with a ruby of inestimable price, and this, set in a bird of paradise composed of precious stones, the Sultan placed in the canopy over his throne; but some say that this was done by Muhammad, and that the ruby was placed above his umbrella of State".² The tribute which the Hindus paid to the Sultans sometimes was, in addition to gold and precious stones, made up of skilled musicians who were despatched to the Muhammadan court. Soon after the accession of 'Alā-ud-din Shāh Bahmani II in about A.D. 1425, the Vijayanagara forces were severely defeated by Imād-ul-mulk Ghūry, and "the Raja only obtained peace by giving up twenty elephants, a considerable sum of money, and two hundred females, skilled in music and dancing . . .".³

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² Sewell, ibid., p. 30.

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³ Firishtah, ibid., p. 422; Sewell, ibid., p. 71.

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The description of the matrimonial alliance between the Bahmani and Vijayanagara royal houses given above, as related by Firishtah, may incidentally be examined here. The Muhammadan historian starts his account with an eulogy of Firūz Shāh Bahmani. "From various historians we learn, that Firoze Shah excelled his predecessors in power and magnificence, and that in his reign the house of Bahmuny attained its greatest splendour. He compelled the Ray of Beejanuggur to give him his daughter in marriage, though contrary to the custom of the Hindoos, who marry only in their own cast".¹ This was obviously after the disastrous campaign of A.D. 1406, which Dēva Rāya II commenced with vigour but ended in ignominy.² Firishtah is the only authority for this piece of information.

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¹ Firishtah, Briggs, The Rise, II, p. 363.

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² Ibid., II., pp. 383, 385.

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Although he begins his account by saying that he had gathered materials "from various historians",³ yet another contemporary author, 'Ali-Bin 'Aziz-Ullāh Tabātaba, who wrote the Burhān-i Ma'āsir,⁴ never mentions a word of it in his account of Firūz Shāh. The Burhān-i Ma'āsir does not contain any detail about the wily Brahman, the beautiful daughter of the goldsmith of Mudkal, and the terrible consequences that followed Dēva Rāya's attempt to win the Mudkul beauty for himself. But, on the other hand, 'Ali Tabātaba narrates the consequences of a campaign which was led by Firūz Shāh, who used "his best endeavours in the suppression of infidelity and the strengthening of the Faith", and, therefore, "contemplated the conquest of Vijayanagar; so in a short time he marched an army in that direction and subdued and killed the infidels of those parts".⁵

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³ Firishtah consulted no less than thirty-five works and gives quotations from twenty others in the body of his work. King, I.A., XXVIII, p. 119, n. (1); Firishtah, ibid., I, pp. xlix-l.

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⁴ Firishtah wrote his history from about A.D. 1589 to A.D. 1626-7. 'Ali Bin 'Aziz Ullāh Tabātaba wrote his narrative from 1591 to A.D. 1595-6. King, ibid., pp. 119, n. (1), 120. But see Briggs, ibid., I, Author's Preface, p. xlviii., where Firishtah tells us that he presented his History in A.D. 1609 to his royal patron.

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⁵ Burhān-i Ma'āsir, I.A., XXVIII, p. 186.

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Even in the details of this war, Tabātaba differs essentially from the imaginative Firishtah. According to the latter, Dēva Rāya was compelled to pay to Firūz Shāh, among other things, "ten lacs of hoons, and five muns of pearls".¹ But 'Ali Tabātaba writes "Deva-dār" (i.e., Dēva Rāya) "penitently asked for pardon", and agreed to pay "thirty-three laks of tanka and that each year a fixed sum should be sent to the foot of the royal throne . . .".² In the description of a second war waged by the Sultan "against the infidels of the country of Vijayanagar", too, the Burhān-i Ma'āsir is silent about the singular clause of the marriage mentioned by Firishtah.³ Tabātaba informs us that Firūz Shāh "every year exacted from the infidels of Vijayanagar the sum of thirty-three laks of tanka, as originally fixed";⁴ that "towards the end of his reign he was compelled once more to march against Vijayanagar; and was determined to take the fort of Pangal", but that in the course of this war, "fortune turned against the arms of the Muhammadans"; and that "the army of Islam being completely defeated the Sultan marched from that place (Pangal), halting nowhere till he reached the village of Ittakur . . .".⁵

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¹ Firishtah, Briggs, The Rise, II, p. 385.

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² Burhān-i Ma'āsir, I.A., XXVIII, p. 186.

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³ Ibid., p. 187.

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⁴ Ibid.

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⁵ Ibid., p. 188. Firishta also describes this campaign of A.D. 1417, but, as usual, gives it a colouring. Briggs, The Rise, II, pp. 389-90.

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The alleged matrimonial alliance, therefore, is not mentioned by a historian who was a contemporary of Firishtah.⁶ In the epigraphical records and Hindu literature there is no reference to it. In the light of all this it may reasonably be doubted whether Firishtah's statement can be given any credence at all.⁷ But a dynastic marriage especially between the Hindus and the Muhammadan royal families would, barring the taint of compulsion which was associated with conquest, have gone a long way towards softening the acrimonious differences which marked the relations between the two peoples in the mediaeval ages. That such an idea was not alien to the Hindu rulers is clear from the history of their dealings with the Christian princes of Europe. Dom Francisco de Almeida in A.D. 1505 on reaching Cannanore "assumed the title of Viceroy. He also received a visit from the minister of Narasimha Rao (Sāluva Narasimha) of Vijayanagar, who then ruled the chief portion of Southern India, who proposed an alliance of marriage between his master's daughter and the King of Portugal's son'.¹ How far this could be accepted as an historical fact cannot be determined for want of independent evidence.

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⁶ Firishtah "never mentions the Burhān-i Ma'āsir," King, I.A., XXVIII, p. 119, n. (1).

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⁷ Cf. Iswari Prasad, Med. Ind., p. 398, n (1); Rangaswami Saraswati, A Period of Transition in the History of Vijayanagara, p. 7.

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¹ Danvers, *The Portuguese in India*, I., pp. 120-1.

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We can imagine the abhorrence which such dynastic marriages might have evoked in a capital which was ruled by orthodox princes. But it must be said to their credit that they spared no pains to bring about a compromise between their own views and those of their northern neighbours. Firishtah has some interesting details about the manner in which the Muhammadan rulers treated a Hindu prince, which, if found trustworthy, would be of some value. After describing the disasters which Dēva Rāya suffered at the hands of Ahmad Shāh Walī of Bidar, the Muhammadan historian continues: 'Dew Ray, deeming it unsafe to refuse compliance, deputed his son with thirty elephants laden with the treasure. The King caused some chiefs to go forth to meet him; and after being led in ceremony through the market, and the principal streets of the camp, he was conducted to the presence. The King, after embracing, permitted him to sit at the foot of his throne, and throwing over his shoulders a magnificent mantle, and presenting him with a sabre set with jewels, gave him twenty beautiful horses of various countries, a male elephant, dogs for the chase, and a lease of hawks; to which last, the people of the Carnatic had been till then strangers'.² The Burhān-i Ma'āsir however does not mention these details.³

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² Firishtah, Briggs, *The Rise*, II., p. 405.

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³ *Burhān-i Ma'āsir*, I.A. XXVIII, pp. 210-11.

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Political necessity compelled the Hindus and Muhammadans to be on terms of mutual friendship. The latter sometimes sought the aid of the former to regain political supremacy in the Deccan. Thus in A.D. 1435 Muhammad Khān, the younger brother of Sultan 'Alā-ud-dīn Shāh Bāhmani II, rebelled against his brother, instigated, as Firishtah relates, by some discontented officers of 'Alā-ud-din. Prince Muhammad Khān "procured a considerable army from the Ray of Beejanuggur to aid him, he seized upon Moodkul and Rachore, as well as Sholapoor, Beejapoor and Nuldroog".⁴ Tabātaba also describes the rebellion of Muhammad Khān, but does not say that the king assisted him.¹

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⁴ Firishtah, ibid., p. 423; Sewell, *For. Emp.*, p. 71.

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¹ Burhān-i Ma'āsir, I.A., XXVIII, p. 238.

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Firishtah speaks of the alliance between Qāsim Barīd and the Emperor of Vijayanagara in about A.D. 1490. "Kasim Bereed, envious of the increasing power of Yoosoof Adil Khan at Beejapoor, wrote to the Ray of Beejanuggur, that Yoosoof Adil Khan, having rebelled against the King, had assumed royal titles. Kasim Bereed promised the Ray if he would invade Beejapoor he should be rewarded by the restoration of the forts of Moodkul and Rachore. The Ray, being a child, deputed his minister Timraj, with a powerful army against Yoosoof Adil Khan, and having committed great devastation obtained possession of the fort".² Tabā-ṭaba is again silent about the assistance given to Qāsim Barīd by the Vijayanagara king.³

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² Firishtah, Briggs, The Rise, II, pp. 537-8; Sewell, For. Emp., pp. 111, 113.

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³ Burhān-i Ma'āsir, ibid., p. 308.

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But the most substantial contribution to the establishment of frienship between the two peoples was made by the great Regent Rāma Rāja. The cruelties perpetrated by Jamashid Qutb Shāh drove his brothers from his capital. "His cruelty now excited the terror of his subjects; and his two brothers fled to Bidur, where Heidur Khan, the eldest, shortly afterwards died, and his younger brother Ibrahim fled to Beejanuggur". "When Ibrahim Kootb Shah, during his brother's lifetime, was at Beejanuggur, Ramaraj shewed him every attention and assigned for his support an estate which was at that time possessed by Ambur Khan, the Abyssinian, an officer in Ramraj's pay".⁴ This event took place when the Muhammadans had not as yet formed a coalition against their southern rivals.

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⁴ Firishtah, Briggs, ibid., III, pp. 327-8. See also pp. 379-81; Sewell, ibid., pp. 188-9; A.S.R. for 1908-9 pp. 197-8; Heras, Aravidu, p. 82.

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In about A.D. 1549 "the sovereigns of Beejanaggur, and others, acknowledged his (i.e., Assud Khān's) great abilities and influence, by frequently honouring him with letters, and propitiating him with valuable presents".⁵ When Rāma Rāja joined in a league with Būrhan Nizām Sāh, who had sent him "presents and professions of regard",⁶ Ibrāhim 'Ādil Shāh I broke off all relations with the Hindu court, and in an engagement compelled the Hindus and Muham-madans to suffer in company. He ordered a blockade, and his orders "were so implicitly obeyed, that a famine soon prevailed in the camp of Boorhan Nizam Shah, so that in the month of Ramzan, the King and his army, true believers and Hindoos, all fasted, alike from absolute necessity".¹ This disaster discouraged neither the Muhamadans nor the Hindus. And in the following year (A.D. 1551) Rāma Rāja "with a considerable force" assisted Būrhan Nizām Shāh to take the forts of Raichur and Mudkul, and "having left his younger brother, Venkatadry with an army, to assist Boorhan Nizam Shah, returned to Beejanuggur".² In a series of complications which followed soon after, Rāma Rāja, on receiving 1,200,000 hoons as a present from Ibrahim 'Adil Shāh, "despatched his brother Venkatadry with a considerable force, to expel the enemy" (i.e., Saif Ain ul-Mulk, who had besieged Bijapur.)³ Veṅkaṭādri's success was complete.

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⁵ Firishtah, Briggs, ibid., III, p. 101.

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⁶ Ibid., p. 102.

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¹ Firishtah, Briggs, *The Rise*, III, p. 103. ² Ibid., pp. 104-5. ³ Ibid., p. 110, See also pp. 395-97. ⁴ Ibid., p. 398.

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The Hindus and Muhammadans continued to work in harmony, as is proved by the aid which the latter gave the former about this time. The reason of the alliance between the two people is told by Firishtah. "During the absence of Ramaraj from his capital, his two brothers, Timraj and Govindraj, who were placed in the government of Adony, took advantage of his absence, usurped the control not only of Adony, but collecting a force, compelled several other districts to submit to their authority". Rāma Rāja remonstrated in vain, and "unable to subdue them, was induced to send ambassadors to the court of Golconda to solict assistance. Ibrahim Kootb Shah immediately despatched Kubool Khan, at the head of six thousand cavalry and ten thousand infantry, to join Ramraj. On reaching Beejanuggur, Ramaraj ordered his own troops into the field; and having directed Sidraj Timapa, Noor Khan, and Bijly Khan, with their different corps, to join the subsidiary force, he ordered them to march against the rebels . . ." The rebel brothers were defeated but magnanimously pardoned by Rāma Rāja, who, after recalling the forces to the capital, handsomely rewarded Kubūl Khān and sent him back to Golkonda.⁴

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Soon after there occurred an event which is unique in the history of southern India. Rāma Rāja lost one of his sons, and this sad occasion was taken by his wife to adopt the Sultan 'Ali Ādil Shāh as her son. Both Firishtah and the anonymous author of the Bakhair confirm this. The former relates: "Ally Adil Shah, intent on adding to his dominions, and repairing the losses sustained by his father, entered into a close alliance with Ramraj; and on the occasion of the death of a son of that Prince, he had the boldness, attended only by one hundred horse, to go to Beejanuggur, to offer his condolence in person on that melancholy occasion. Ramraj received him with the greatest respect, and the King, with the kindest persuasions, prevailed upon him to lay aside his mourning. The wife of Ramraj, on this occasion, adopted the King as her son, and at the end of three days, which were spent in an interchange of friendly professions and presents, Ally Adil Shah took his leave. . . ."¹

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¹ Firishtah, Briggs, The Rise, III.

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But just then once again occurred one of those trifles which did more than religious bigotry to breed ill will between the Hindus and Muhammadans. "Ali Adil Shah took his leave; but as Ramraj did not attend him out of the city he was offended, and treasured up the affront in his mind, though too prudent, for the present, to evince any signs of his displeasure".² The Bijapur ruler did not realize that his host was a Hindu; the Vijayanagara ruler may have been more prudent when he knew so well that 'Ali Ādil Shāh was an orthodox Shiah. Like Firūz Shāh Bāhmani, who had sworn "to take revenge for the affront offered him" by Dēva Rāya I,³ the Bijapur Sultan allowed a trifling detail of etiquette to get the better of his discretion; and generous and great as he undoubtedly was, he repaid the uncommon liberality of the Hindu ruler by what seemed to be calculated treachery on the battlefield.

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² Ibid., p. 118, and (n).; Sewell, For. Emp. p. 193; Heras, Aravidu, p. 87.

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³ Ibid., II, p. 387, op. cit.

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The year A.D. 1557, however, marked the zenith of the good will between the Hindus and the Muhammadans. 'Ali 'Ādil Shāh, it must be said to his credit, remained for some time true to his promise even when confronted by the united demands of the Muhammadan Sultans to join them. It was a sad moment in the history of the land, indeed, when, on the battlefield of Rākshasa-Tangadi, 'Ali 'Ādil Shāh yielded to the claims of religious animosity and political rivalry, and turned the tide of battle against the Hindu ruler by joining in the affray at the nick of time. When Rāma Rāja was brought as a captive before 'Ali 'Ādil Shāh, the gallant old Hindu Regent, according to the Bakhair, addressed the Sultan thus: "You have been hitherto considered and called my son, is it then honourable to deceive me at last? It is said that you are a charitable and religious (holy) man! Does this become that reputation? Doth a truly great man deceive the father who had adopted and reared him? Is it thus you shall obtain reputation and fame in the world? As for me what remains to be done now that my subjects and army have fallen by treachery? I had trusted in you as in my child who would not deceive me; but though you have rewarded my kindness with ingratitude, yet as my son I ask you this favour—that you cut off my head instantly with my own sword and not permit my enemies to have their pleasure. So (thus) may you enjoy lasting prosperity and all so descend in the world from son to son!"

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And the Bakhair continues to narrate that 'Ali 'Ādil Shāh with his own hand struck off the head of Rāma Rāja; and after dismissing the Sultans, "sent the body of Rajad-bhuvar to Kasi (renowned among the Hindus by the name of Varanasi)".¹ Thus did 'Ali 'Ādil Shāh atone the crime he had committed of killing his adopted Hindu father.

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¹ Rama Raja Charitre.

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There is nothing which indicates to us the sincerity of purpose which lay behind the foreign policy of the Vijayanagara rulers towards the Muhammadans so much as the readiness with which they enlisted the latter in their service, and the patronage they gave to the cause of Islām in and outside their great capital. The Muhammadan kings of course reciprocated this by an equally liberal policy towards the Hindus. Foreign travellers like Paes and Nuniz inform us that the Vijayanagara monarchs publicly acknowledged their broad-minded policy of recruiting Muhammadans in their service by providing quarters for them in the capital. Paes says: "At the end of this street is the Moorish quarter, which is at the very end of the city, and of these Moors there are many who are natives of the country and who are paid by the king and belong to his guard".¹ Nuniz adds to this: "Then he (the Emperor) sent the Moors in the royal service to lead the van, and Camanayque, the chief of the guard, pitched the camp very near the ditches of the city of Rachol, and every captain halted his people according to the commands given".²

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² Ibid. This is contrary to what we said in Chapter III supra, where Husain Shāh is said to have killed Rāma Rāja with his own hands. B.A.S.

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¹ Sewell, For. Emp., p. 256.

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² Ibid., p. 329.

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The first monarch who established the precedent of admitting Muhammadans into the Hindu service was Dēva Rāya II. Epigraphic evidence definitely proves that a large number of Turkish cavalry was enlisted in the Vijayanagara army. In A.D. 1430 he had ten thousand Turushka horsemen in his service.³ An inscription dated only in the cyclic year Siddhārthin (Saka 1362 = A.D. 1440-41) records the building of a well by Ahmad Khān, a servant of the king Vīra Prātāpa Dēva Rāya II.⁴ The presence of a large body of Muhammadan cavalry explains the attitude of the Hindu rulers towards the Muhammadans ever since the days of that monarch.

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³ E.C., III, Intr., p. 23, Sr. 15, p. 11. See also infra, p. 422.

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⁴ 18 of 1904, I; Rangachari, Top. List., I, By. 356, p. 307.

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The patronage which the Hindu kings gave to Islām by building mosques and entertaining Muhammadans in their service must have been also responsible for the marked courtesy which was shown to the heads of the Hindu religious institutions by the Muhammadan rulers. One notable example of a Hindu institution which received great favours from the Muhammadan kings is the Vyāsarāya Maṭha. This famous institution is said to have received presents from the Muhammadans as well as from the foreigners who came from overseas. It was privileged to carry a green umbrella on a camel on great occasions. Sōmanātha, who gives us these details, writes about the presents given to it by foreign sovereigns.⁵

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⁵ Vyasayōgicharita, Intr, pp. lxvi, cxxx-cxxxi; 65, 83-4; Venkōba Rao, Q.J.M.S., XV., p. 45. Another institution which also secured great privileges and presents, although from later Muhammadan rulers, was the Sringēri Maṭha. See My. Arch, Report for 1916, p. 73, seq.; I.A. XLVI, p. 136; I.A., XLVIII., pp. 102-3.

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The Hindus and the Muhammadans were brought into closer touch with each other in the days of Rāma Rāja, when the political situation in the Deccan drove the followers of Islām to the Hindu court. That remarkable administrator gave further proof of his honest intentions to adjust the difference between the two peoples, by ordering the Koran to be placed by his side out of consideration for the faith of his Muhammadan followers. Firishtah narrates that Ibrāhīm 'Ādil Shāh, on his accession to the throne of Bijapur, "having rejected the names of the Imams from the Khootba, restored the exercise of the Soony rites, and commanded that no person should in future wear the scarlet cap of twelve points, which had been adopted by all the troops of his father in imitation of the Persians. Instead of foreign troops he enlisted Deccanis in his service and permitted only four hundred foreigners to remain in his body-guard. . . ." And degrading the senior officers, he promoted the Deccanis and the Abyssinians in their stead. "All the foreign troops which were thus dismissed entered into the service of different princes. Ramraj, the Hindoo Prince of Beejanuggur, entertained three thousand of them; and in order to reconcile them to the act of making obeisance to him, caused a Koran to be placed before him when they came to pay their respects; which enabled them to do so without a breach of the ordinances of their religion".¹

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¹ Firishtah, Briggs, *The Rise*, III, pp. 78-9.

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One of these Abyssinians was Ambur Khān, for whose maintenance, as mentioned above, Rāma Rāja assigned an estate.² Another Muhammadan officer of Rāma Rāja was Ainana Malukka ('Ain-ul-Mulk Gilāni), who, as related in an inscription dated Saka 1473 (A.D. 1551-2), was a great patron of Brahmans. It was at the request of this officer that the Regent granted the village of Bēvinahaḷḷi to some Brahmans.³ This Muhammadan subordinate of Rama Rāja, "having offended Ibrahim Adil Shah left his service and entered that of Ramraj, with a force consisting of four thousand cavalry. Ein-ool-Moolk had on many occasions so distinguished himself by his bravery that the Raja used to call brother".⁴ A third prominent Muhammadan official under the Hindu government was Dilāvar Khān. He is said to have been the Agent (*kāryakarta*) of Rāma Rāja in A.D. 1558. The epigraph which gives us this information also records a singular curse on both Hindu and Muhammadan kings who might violate the grant of a village given by the agent of Dilāvar Khān, Sitappa . . . to Virayya, as a *baḷa-agrahāra*. "If kings of the Turuka race fail in this, they have eaten hog's flesh. If kings of Karṇāṭaka fail in it, they will incur the guilt of murdering father and mother in Kāśī'.¹ The fact of the Muhammadans having entered the service of Vijayanagara is further borne out by a copper-plate dated A.D. 1577, which says: "The Turush-khas bowed down with the weight of their fears, did service in the courtyard of his (Sadāśiva's) great minister Rāma Rāja; and various ministers sent as envoys besought of him as a favour to admit them to his army".²

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² Ibid., p. 328; Sewell, *For. Emp.*, p. 189, op. cit.

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³ Venkatēśvara-Viśvanatha, *Ep. Ind.*, XIV, p. 210.

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⁴ Firishtah, *ibid.*, p. 381.

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¹ E.C., X, Kl. 147, p. 52. The meaning of baṭa-agrahāra is however not clear. It may refer to the bhaṭs or bards, The word may simply mean free land granted to a learned Brahmana by the king. B.A.S.

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² E.C., VIII, Tl. 5, p. 162.

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It is not surprising, therefore, when such amicable relations existed between the Hindus and Muhammadans that a famous general of the northern Sultans should have been invited to Vijayanagara to witness the great Mahānavami festival. On his arrival villages were granted for his maintenance by the Hindu court. Assud Khān, who had reduced Ādōni, was invited to the capital, and was awarded a grant of two villages "Tunge and Turugel" by the Government.³

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³ Barros, Dec., IV, 1, vii, cap. 6; Sewell. For. Emp., pp. 174-5. On Assud Khan, see Firishtah, Briggs, The Rise, III, pp. 83, 85. There is a copper plate of the times of Sriranga Rāya, dated Saka 1569, Sarvajit (A.D. 1647-8) which says that for the merit of Hazrati Khāna Sāhēbulavāru, the nādigaru, the sthalapaṭṭana-reḍḍis and the karaṇams of Peda-Nandyālasime, included in the Peda-Kaṇṭi-sime, granted to a certain Timmayya (descent stated) specified contribution of fees from the several professional communities of Nandyāla (Kurnool district) and from about seventy villages of the same sime for conducting the chappara-service of the god Venkaṭēśa. C.P. No. 1 of 1915-6. We know that Sriranga Rāya took shelter at the court of Bednore in A.D. 1646. If his authority in A.D. 1646 and after was in any sense real, the evidence of this copper-plate grant would be interesting. B.A.S.

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The attitude of the Hindus towards the Muhammadans is also seen in the encouragement they gave to the cause of Islām in their Empire. A copper-plate grant dated Śaka 1560, Pramāthin (A.D. 1639-40), tells us that the Vijayanagara monarchs gave substantial aid to a Muhammadan institution. Sāḷuva Narasinga Rāya had granted, at the end of the fifteenth century, the hōrā villages⁴ of Jilōcharla, Pulla-sānivoḍḍu, Tōṭi and Tuṅgōḍu to the daraga of a famous Muhammadan saint called Bābayya in Penugoṇḍa.

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⁴ These mean donative villages for encouraging the study of hōrā (or horoscope). Ep. Report for 1911, p. 88.

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To these villages Sadāśiva Rāya added those of Biḍupalle and Velidaḍakala in the Penugoṇḍa-rājya. Veṅkaṭapati Rāya I, towards the end of the sixteenth century, granted to the same *daraga* the lands below the Roddam tank, the Kottacheruvu tank and those near the Vuppuvāgu. All these were confirmed and restored with the additions of a paddy field and a garden at Jagadēvupālayam by Veṅkaṭapati Rāya II, who further gave to the *daraga* the right of taking water from the channel Kayyam kāluva together with a flower garden with a well, at the northern entrance to the *daraga*. There were grave reasons why Veṅkaṭapati Rāya II renewed and restored the original grant. The copper-plate says that it was done because "of the loss of original documents, on the occasion when Immaḍi Hāvali-Baire Gauḍa of Peḍḍa Baḷḷāpura seized the fortress of Penugoṇḍa then in the possession of Haḍapa Komārayya".¹ It is clear from this that the Hindu rulers were sincere in their desire to afford shelter to the followers of Islām in their Empire.

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¹ *Ep. Report* for 1911, p. 88. Cf. The protection given to the Śriṅgēri Maṭha by Tipu Sultan against the depredations of the Maharattas. *My. Arch. Report* for 1916, op. cit.

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Their example was followed by the provincial rulers. An inscription dated Śaka 1477 (A.D. 1555-6) informs us that a *dēvadāna* village was granted to a mosque (*Tuluk-kan-paḷḷi*) in the reign of Jaṭilavarma-Kulaśēkhara Pāṇḍya.² We have already remarked in connection with the Provincial Administration of Vijayanagara, that even the Nāyakas of Ikkēri maintained the early traditions of fostering the interests of the Muhammadans in their territories.³

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² 538 of 1917.

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³ Supra, Ch. VI, Section I.

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This liberal policy of the Hindus has left some marks in the architecture and literature of the people. "The history of the mutual relations between Hindu and Musulmān is plainly told in the remains of the buildings of the 'Moorish' quarter of Vijayanagar".⁴ Prince Ibrāhim of Golkonda became a patron of Hindu literature, and permitted Telugu poets to dedicate their works to him.⁵

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⁴ Havell, *Indian Architecture*, p. 183 (1913 ed.).

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⁵ A.S.R. for 1908-9, p. 198, n (1). The Telugu poet Gaṅgādhara Mantri dedicated his work called *Tapatīsaṃvaraṇa Upākhyanamu* to Ibrāhim Malik of Golkonda who reigned from A.D. 1560 to A.D. 1581. See also Virēśaliṅgam Pantulu, *Andhra Kavula Charitramu*, p. 253, seq.

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