Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c8.s3.68

v1.c8.s3.68

From the account given by Nuniz we suppose there must have been almost an army of palanquin-bearers under the immediate control of the king. Moreover, from the number of palanquins given it is evident that they must have been designed for different purposes. This is confirmed by the History of the Carnalaca Governors which says that in the palace of Tirumala Nāyaka "Further to the east, the palanquin of ceremony, common palanquins, and other conveyances, are kept'.¹ And our assumption about the great number of palanquin-bearers is likewise attested by Paes, who informs us that litters were used to convey the royal ladies, and that "When they wish to go out they are carried in litters shut up and closed, so that they cannot be seen, and all the eunuchs with them, fully three or four hundred; and all other people keep a long distance from them".² The manner in which the royal ladies travelled is also described by Nuniz. "When he (the king) journeys to any place he takes twenty-five or thirty of his most favourite wives, who go with him, each one in her palanqueen with poles. The palanqueen of the principal wife is all covered with scarlet cloth, tasselled with large and heavy work in seed-pearls and pearls, and the pole itself is ornamented with gold. The palanqueens of the other wives are ornamented only with silver, but another palanqueen, which is for his own person, always goes on the right side, and is in the same way decorated with gold. For a son or a daughter, if such an one goes with him, he takes another bedstead of ivory inlaid with gold . . .".³