Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c15.s3.t2.5

v1.c15.s3.t2.5

We are again unable to ascertain the powers of the daṇḍanāyaka. From Chennamarāju's *Chāruchandrōdaya* we learn something about the insignia of a Vijayanagara general. 'Abdur Razzāq's information regarding this point is interesting, but the seven coloured umbrellas, the mace-bearers and the penegyrists³ are all associated with a court of law rather than with the office of a general. Chennamarāju, however, tells us that the following were the insignia of a general: a triumphal banner of Garuḍa-Nārāyaṇa, a costly red cloth with golden flowers worked upon it, a turāyi or tiara, an elephant, a costly horse, a necklace called *vīra malahāri*, a square-piece pendant on the breast known as *tāḷichaukaṭṭu* (?), pearl-bangles, an anklet called *gaṇḍapeṇḍāram*, and a sword ornamented with a tassel at the hilt.⁴