Shivaji and His Times c13.s1.3

c13.s1.3

But there was an outlying province of this kingdom which had enjoyed many years of peace and prosperity and whose wealth was fabulous. The Karnatak plain or the Madras coast was known in that age as the land of gold. It was an extremely fertile tract, rich in agricultural produce, with a population that led a life of primitive simplicity and consumed very little in food and clothing. The many ports on the long sea-board had fostered a brisk foreign trade from remote antiquity, while the rich mines of the hinterland brought wealth into the plains. Thus the annual addition to the national wealth was very large. A part of it was spent on the grand temples for which the land is still famous; but most of it was hoarded underground. (Dil. 113a.) From very early times the Karnatak has been famous for its buried treasure and attracted foreign plunderers.