Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v2.c23.s3.15

v2.c23.s3.15

In addition to fruits and vegetables the people were fond of oil. According to Paes, "The oil which it (the country) produces comes from seeds sown and afterwards reaped, and they obtain it by means of machines which they make."⁴ We are unable to determine the kind of oil which is mentioned here; and it cannot be said that this was the only kind of oil that was in popular use in Vijayanagara. The same traveller speaks of the gingelly oil in connection with the daily habits of Kṛṣṇa Dēva Rāya. "This king is accustomed every day to drink a *quartilho* (three-quarter pint) of oil of gingelly before daylight, and anoints himself all over with the said oil" before he begins his military exercise.¹