Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v2.c20.s4.13

v2.c20.s4.13

Paes continues to give details of the harem thus: "One of these principal wives is the daughter of the King of Orya (i.e., the Gajapati king, evidently), and others, daughters of a king his vassal who is king of Serimgapatao; another wife is a courtezan whom in his youth he had for mistress before he became king, and she made him promise that if he came to be king he would take her to wife, and thus it came to pass that this courtezan became his wife. For love of her he built this new city,[2] and its name was ... Each one of these wives has her house to herself, with her maidens and women of the chamber, and women guards and all other women servants necessary; all these are women, and no man enters where they are, save only the eunuchs, who guard them. These women are never seen by any man, except perhaps by some old man of high rank by favour of the king".[3]