Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v2.c20.s4.10

v2.c20.s4.10

This evidence of Barbosa cannot be reconciled with that given by Paes as regards the discord between the wives of the king, and especially as regards the question of appointing an heir to the kingdom. Paes discreetly observes the difference between the principal queens, the lawful wives, and the other inmates of the harem. "This king (i.e., Kṛṣṇa Dēva Rāya)," says Paes, "has twelve lawful wives, of whom there are three principal ones, the sons of each of these three being heirs of the kingdom, but not those of the others; this is (the case) when there are sons to all of them, but when there is only one son, whosoever he may be, he is heir."[1] It is this last assertion of Paes which we meet with in the statement of Barbosa given above, that "the first son born, whether of one woman or another, is heir to the kingdom".