Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v2.c19.s1.20

v2.c19.s1.20

This last remark, however, Paes himself will qualify in the other details he has given of the Brahmans. Nuniz, whose description of the priestly class, as we shall see, is the longest, says: "And in this kingdom of Bisnaga there is a class of men, native of the country, namely Brahmans, who the most part of them never kill or eat any live thing, and these are the best that are amongst them".¹ The same chronicler tells us in what manner the Vijayanagara king honoured the Brahman priest. ".... every day he (i.e., the Emperor) hears the preaching of a learned Brahman, who never married nor ever touched a woman. He urges in his preaching (obedience to) the commandments of God, that is to say, that one must not kill any living thing, nor take anything belonging to another, and as with these so with the rest of the commandments".² While repeating the legend of the building of the capital, Nuniz informs us that Harihara, whom he calls "King Deorāo", "...after that hermit (i.e., Vidyāraṇya) was dead the king raised a very grand temple in honour of him and gave much revenue to it".³