Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c9.s2.7

v1.c9.s2.7

"A fifth mentioned by Couto,² who fixes the date as 1220, states that while Mādhava was living his ascetic life amongst the mountains he was supported by meals brought to him by a poor shepherd called Bukka, and one day the Brahman said to him, 'Thou shalt be king and emperor of all Industan'. The other shepherds learned this, and began to treat this shepherd with veneration, and made him their head; and he acquired the name of 'king', and began to conquer his neighbours who were five in number, viz., Canara, Taligas, Canguivarao, Negapatao, and he of the Badagas, and he at last became lord of all and called himself 'Boca Rao'. He was attacked by the king of Delhi, but the latter was defeated and retired, whereupon Bukka established a city and called it Visaja Nagar, which we corruptly called Bisnaga; and we call all the kingdom by that name, but the natives amongst themselves always call it the 'kingdom of Canara'. Couto's narrative seems to be a mixture of several stories. His wrong date points to his having partly depended upon the original chronicle of Nuniz, or the summary of it published by Barros; while the rest of the tale savours more of Hindu romance than of historical accuracy. He retains, however, the tradition of an attack by the king of Delhi and the latter's subsequent retirement.