Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v2.c25.s2.84

v2.c25.s2.84

There were also beast-fights and gladiators in Vijayanagara. An inscription dated about A. D. 1434 tells us that Gōpa Rāja directed his minister to rebuild the inner and outer forts of Tēkal, originally erected in the time of Ballāḷa Rāya but which had been overturned and gone to ruin. On the completion of the bastion called *rājagambhīra*, Gōpa Rāja and his son called Tippaya had tigers brought there and hunted them at this indispensable bastion. In this their hound called Sampige distinguished itself by its courage. This was a remarkable hound. The epigraph which gives us this information contains a dog holding a tiger by the throat. It tells us that the hound Sampige seizing the tail of tigers dragged them along so as to frighten them.¹