Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c8.s4.41

v1.c8.s4.41

That the praise which the Hindu composers gave to these cities filled with good buildings and intelligent people was not exaggerated is shown by the account of another important city on the hills, Bidrūr (Bednore), which 'Abdur Razzāq saw on his way to the great Hindu capital. On leaving a huge mountain, "the base of which cast a shadow on the sun", says he, "and whose sword (peak) sheathed itself in the neck of Mars", and crossing a forest, he arrived at "the city of Bidrūr, of which the houses were like palaces and its beauties like houries. In Bidrūr there is a temple so high that you can see it at a distance of several parasangs. It is impossible to describe it without fear of being charged with exaggeration. In brief, in the middle of the city, there is an open space extending for about ten jaribs, charming as the garden of Iram. In it there are flowers of every kind, like leaves. In the middle of the garden there is a terrace (kursi), composed of stones, raised to the height of a man; so exquisitely cut are they and joined together with so much nicety, that you would say it was one slab of stone, or a piece of blue firmament which had fallen upon the earth. In the middle of this terrace there is a lofty building comprising a cupola of blue stone, on which are cut figures, arranged in three rows, tier above tier. Such reliefs and pictures could not have been represented upon it by the sharp style and deceptive pencil. From the top to the bottom there was not a space of the palm of a hand on that lofty building which was not adorned with paintings of Europe and Khatā (China). The building was constructed on four terraces of the length of thirty yards, and of the breadth of twenty yards, and its height was about fifty yards. All the other edifices, small and great, are carved and painted with exceeding delicacy. In that temple, night and day, after prayers unaccepted by God, they sing and play musical instruments, enjoy concerts, and give feasts. All the people of the village enjoy pensions and allowances from the building; for offerings are presented to it from distant cities. In the opinion of these irreligious men, it is the ka'ba of the infidels".¹