A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India c12.109

c12.109

⁴ Meadows Taylor, in his “History of India,” relates (p. 163) that on one occasion Mujâhid, during his attack on Vijayanagar, penetrated into the second line of works, where there was a celebrated image of the monkey-god, Hanumân. The Sultan dispersed the Brahmans who tried to protect it, and struck the image in the face, mutilating its features. “A dying Brahman lying at the foot of the image cursed the king. ‘For this act,’ he said, ‘thou wilt die ere thou reachest thy kingdom.’ A prophecy which was literally fulfilled. The image, hewn out of a large boulder of