Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c15.s2.t2: II. Cavalry
Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c15.s2.t2
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II. Cavalry
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It may be doubted whether any other part of the Vijayanagara was so important as the cavalry. The foreign policy of the rulers was to a large extent governed by the necessity of securing for themselves a continuous supply of horses from Ormuz, and they were thus brought into close contact with the Portuguese in Goa. This was, as remarked elsewhere, due to a dearth of good horses in the Empire.¹ The Hindu rulers were so obsessed with the idea of controlling a monopoly of horses for their State that they were blind to the fact that their endeavours in this direction only aided a foreign power to settle down permanently on the west coast of their Empire.² This had an abiding effect on the history of the land. But, for the moment, the Vijayanagara monarchs allowed principles of profit to over-ride the greater question of the stability of their Empire.
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¹ Sewell, *For. Emp.*, p. 72.
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² Ibid., pp. 176-7.
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They spent enormous sums on horses imported from Ormuz. Nuniz tells us that the Emperor bought every year 13,000 horses from Ormuz. "The King every year buys thirteen thousand horses of Ormuz, and country-breds, of which he chooses the best for his own stables, and he gives the rest to his captains, and gains much money by them; because after taking out the good Persian horses, he sells those which are country-bred, and gives five for a thousand *pardaos*, and they are obliged to pay him the money for them within the month of September; and with the money so obtained he pays for the Arabs that he buys of the Portuguese, in such a way that his captains pay the cost of the whole without anything going out of the Treasury".³ Whatever may be the principle underlying such a policy of economizing the revenues of the State, it is clear that the Vijayanagara monarchs were in dire need of horses. Nuniz writes thus about Sāḷuva Nṛsiṁha: "He caused horses to be brought from Oromuz and Adeem (Aden) into his kingdom and thereby gave great profit to the merchants, paying them for the horses just as they asked. He took them dead or alive at three for a thousand *pardaos*, and of those that died at sea they brought him the tail only, and he paid for it just as if it had been alive".⁴ The idea which lay behind the system of paying for a dead horse is also inexplicable.
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³ Ibid., pp. 381-2.
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⁴ Ibid., p. 307.
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The actual price of a horse, which the reader must have noted from the observations we made while describing the country in general, varied, as can be seen by comparing the account given above with that relating to Kṛṣṇa Dēva Rāya the Great. On his way to meet 'Ali Ādil Shāh, the monarch "bought six hundred horses from the Portuguese at the rate of 4½ for 1,000 *paradaos*".¹ Nuniz, who gives us these details, was himself a trader in horses in Vijayanagara. He tells us that the king bought twelve or fifteen country-bred horses for a thousand *paradaos*.² Under ordinary circumstances, therefore, the Vijayanagara monarchs were not constrained to resort to measures which Tirumala adopted when he attempted to recover from the effects of the great battle of Rākshasa-Taṅgaḍi. We may here note that one of the centres which contained a number of superior saddlers was Baṅkāpur.³
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¹ Sewell, For. Emp., p. 361, n. (2).
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² Ibid., p. 381.
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³ Commentaries of Albuquerque, III, pp. 246-7.
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Nuniz further tells us the following about the manner in which the king maintained the horses: ". . . he has sixteen hundred grooms who attend to the horses, and has also three hundred horse trainers. . . To the six thousand horsemen the King gives horses free and gives provision for them every month, and all these horses are marked with the King's mark; when they die they are obliged to take the piece of skin containing the mark to Madanarque, the chief master of the horse, so that he may give them another, and these horses which he gives are mostly country-breds. . ."⁴
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⁴ Sewell, ibid., p. 381.
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From the inscriptions we can gather a few facts about the system by which the Government secured fodder for their horses. A copper-plate grant dated A.D. 1447 contains a *nirūpa* or written order of a *sēvaka mānya* or service *mānya*. "The following *nirūpa* of a service *mānya* was granted by the *Mahāmaṇḍalēśvara* Pratāpa Rāya to Pedda Cheppappa Reḍḍi, the *dēśāyi* of Māyikollāpura. For their service of supplying grass to our horses, we have ordered that the lands now in the enjoyment of your people of the Samudra-kulāchāra, wherever they may reside, should be free from imposts (specified) and. . . (*kirti varṇādulu naḍapukōṇi*). You are at liberty to cultivate the lands in your places well and to enjoy in succession whatever crops you may grow, with all rights (specified) and without any molestation".⁵ Another inscription dated Saka 1451, Virōdhi, Māgha (A.D. 1530, January) narrates that a certain Timmarasa built a choultry and made provision for feeding twelve Brahmans at Yalape (Bellary district) which was a mukāsa village given to him by Kṛṣṇa Dēva Rāya to maintain horses.¹
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⁵ E.C., XII, Tm. 52. The meaning of the expression *kirti-varṇādulu* is not clear. Ibid., p. 14, n. (2), text, p. 49.
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¹ 216 of 1913. The date Saka 1451 (Virōdhi, Māgha) is evidently meant for expired Saka 1451. Swamikannu, Ind. Eph., V. p. 262. "Mukhasa—a village or land assigned to an individual either rent free or at a low quit rent condition of service." Wilson, Glossary, p. 352.
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Some powerful viceroys, however, resorted to force in procuring the necessary supplies. Tirumala Nāyaka, on hearing of the invasion of Diṇḍigul by the Mysoreans, called together the Pāleyagāras and addressed himself to Raṅgaṇa Nāyaka the Pāleyagāra of Diṇḍigul, thus: "As we are going to fight against the capital of the Mysore country, and as for many years past you have acquired a great extent of territory, having had the full proceeds of all revenues from the privilege of being an adopted child of Madura, (heretofore accorded to your ancestors) it is now fit that you contribute sixteen thousand (gold) chakra-pons towards the expense of the army." But when he pleaded that he was unable to pay such a huge amount, it was reduced to 7,000 pons.²
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² Taylor, O.H. MSS. II, p. 171.
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The remarks of Nuniz that the king gave the horsemen provisions every month may be set side by side with those of Barbosa, who, as we saw while dealing with the royal kitchens, speaks of the monthly allowance of four or five paradaos given to the knights, with a groom and a slave girl for personal service, and daily provisions supplied from the great royal kitchens.³
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³ Barbosa, Dames, I, p. 210, op. cit.
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Paes gives us the following particulars about the dress of the Hindu cavalry: "Now I should like to describe to you how they were armed and their decorations. The cavalry were mounted on horses fully caparisoned, and on their foreheads plates, some of silver but most of them gilded, with fringes of twisted silk of all colours, and reins of the same; others had trappings of Mecca velvet, which is velvet of many colours with fringes and ornaments; others had them of other silks, such as satins and damask, and others of brocade from China and Persia. Some of the men with the gilded plates had them set with many large precious stones, and on the borders lace-work of small stones. Some of these horses had on their foreheads heads of serpents and of other large animals of various kinds, made in such a strange manner that they were a sight to see for the perfection of their make. The horsemen were dressed in quilted tunics, also of brocade and velvet and every kind of silk. These tunics are made of layers of very strong raw leather, and furnished with other iron (plates) that make them strong; some have these plates gilded both inside and out, and some are made of silver. Their headpieces are in the manner of helmets with borders covering the neck, and each has its piece to protect the face; they are of the same fashion as the tunics. They wore on the neck gorgets (cofos) all gilded, others made of silk with plates of gold and silver, others of steel as bright as a mirror. At the waists they have swords and small battle-axes, and in their hands javelins with the shafts covered with gold and silver. All have their umbrellas of state made of embroidered velvet and damask, with many coloured silks on the horses. They wave many (standards with) white and coloured tails, and hold them in much esteem—which tails are horses' tails".¹
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¹ Sewell, *For. Emp.*, pp. 275, 276, n. (2), 277. Sewell on p. 276, n. (2) refers to the description of the dress of the Hindu cavalry by Barros. For a description of the horse during festival times, see ibid., p. 377. Infra Volume II, Chap. IX. Festivals, Games and Amusements.