A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India c14: Chapter V. Deva Râya I. (A.D. 1406 to 1419)
A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India c14
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Chapter V. Deva Râya I. (A.D. 1406 to 1419)
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The amorous monarch, Deva Râya I.—The farmer's beautiful daughter—The king's escapade—The city threatened—A Hindu princess wedded to a Muhammadan prince—Fîrûz Shâh's anger—Pertâl's marriage—King Vijaya—Probable date of accession of Deva Râya II.
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FIRISHTAH tells us of an event that must have taken place towards the end of the year A.D. 1406, in which the principal actor was the king of Vijayanagar. This king I believe to have been Bukka II.'s successor, his younger brother, Deva Râya I. The story relates to a mad adventure of the Râya which he undertook in order to secure for himself the person of a beautiful girl, the daughter of a farmer in Mudkal. His desire to possess her attained such a pitch, that he made an expedition into the debatable land north of the Tungabhadrâ for the sole purpose of capturing the girl and adding her to his harem. I have already shown reasons for supposing that Bukka II. was a middle-aged man at his accession, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that this hot-blooded monarch was his younger brother, who began to reign in November 1406 A.D. His escapade must be narrated in full as told by Firishtah, since it led to very important consequences.
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"There resided in the town of Mudkul a farmer, who was blessed with a daughter of such exquisite beauty, that the Creator seemed to have united all his powers in making her perfect."
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This attractive person was educated by an old Brahman, whose admiration of her led him to think that she would prove a desirable member of the Râya's household.
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"He proceeded to Beejanuggur, and being introduced to the roy, spoke in such praise of the beauty and accomplishments of the young maid, that he was fired with the desire of possessing her, and entreated the bramin to procure her for him of her parents in marriage. This request was what the bramin earnestly wished, and he immediately agreed to satisfy him; upon which the roy despatched him with rich gifts and great promises of favours to the parents, and the title of ranee, or princess, for their beautiful daughter. The bramin lost no time in his journey, and, upon his arrival at the farmer's house, delivered to him and his wife the roy's orders, that they should repair to Beejanuggur with their daughter. The parents were overjoyed at such unexpected good fortune, and calling for the young maid, laid before her the rich gifts of the roy, congratulated her on being soon to be united to a great prince, and attempted to throw upon her neck a golden collar set with jewels, as a token of immediate espousals, and which, if done, could not have been broken off.
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"The beautiful virgin, to their great astonishment, drawing her neck from compliance, refused to receive the collar, and observed, that whoever entered the haram of Beejanuggur, was afterwards not permitted to see even her nearest relations and friends; and though they might be happy to sell her for worldly riches, yet she was too fond of her parents to submit to eternal absence from them, even for all the splendour of the palace of Beejanuggur. This declaration was accompanied with affectionate tears, which melted her parents; who, rather than use force, dismissed the bramin with all his gifts, and he returned, chagrined and disappointed, to Beejanuggur. . .
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"When the bramin arrived at Beejanuggur, and related to the roy the failure of his scheme, the prince's love became outrageous, and he resolved to gratify it by force, though the object resided in the heart of Feroze Shaw's dominions.¹ For this purpose he quitted Beejanuggur with a great army, on pretence of going the tour of his countries; and upon his arrival on the banks of the River Tummedra, having selected five thousand of his best horse, and giving the reins of his conduct to love, commanded them, in spite of the remonstrances of his friends,¹ to march night and day with all expedition to Mudkul,¹ and, surrounding the village where Pertal² lived, to bring her prisoner to him, with her whole family, without injury.”
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¹ We must remember that the narrator is a loyal Muhammadan. Mudkal was in the tract always in dispute between the two kingdoms.
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¹ About forty miles north.
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² Briggs gives her name as “Nehal.”
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The unexpected, however, happened. The king neglected to send the Brahman to warn Pertâl’s family, and on the arrival of news at Mudkal that a large force of the Râya’s troops was approaching, the inhabitants fled, and amongst them the girl and her relatives. The troops therefore returned, but on the way looted the country. They were attacked by superior forces and 2000 of them were slain. This led to a war.
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“In the beginning of the winter of the year 809 (i.e. the winter of A.D. 1406),³ he (the Sultan) moved in great force, and arrived near Beejanuggur, in which Dewul Roy had shut himself up. An assault was made upon the city, and the Sultan got possession of some streets, which, however, he was obliged to quit, his army being repulsed by the Carnatickehs. Dewul Roy, encouraged by his success, now ventured to encamp his army under protection of the walls, and to molest the royal camp. As the mussulmauns could not make proper use of their cavalry in the rocky unevenness of ground round Beejanuggur, they were somewhat dispirited. During this, Sultan Feroze Shaw was wounded by an arrow in the hand, but he would not dismount; and drawing out the arrow, bound up the wound with a cloth.
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³ Briggs says, “In the beginning of the year 809.” This would be the month of June, and the months following would have been unfavourable for the march of armies. I prefer Scott’s rendering.
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“The enemy were at last driven off by the valour and activity of Ahmed Khan and Khankhanan, and the Sultan moved farther from the city to a convenient plain, where he halted till his wounded men were recovered.”
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He halted here for four months, holding the Râya a prisoner in his own capital, while bodies of troops harassed and wasted the country south of Vijayanagar, and attacked the fortress of Bankâpûr. The "convenient plain" was probably in the open and rich valley near the town of Hospett, south of the city; for the Sultan could not have ravaged the country to the south unless he had been master of the whole of this valley for many miles. Bankâpûr was taken, and the detached forces returned bringing with them 60,000 Hindu prisoners; on which the Sultan left Khânkhanân to hold Vijayanagar, while he himself attempted to reduce the fortress of Adoni, "the strongest in possession of the enemy."
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Deva Râya then began to treat for peace, and was compelled to submit to conditions to the last degree humiliating. He agreed to give the Sultan his daughter in marriage, to indemnify him with an immense treasure, and to cede for ever the fort of Bankâpûr.¹
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¹ Firishtah generally calls this place "Beekapore" (Scott, i. 47, 69, 85, 86, &c.), but on p. 301 he spells the name "Binkapore." Bankâpûr was one of the principal fortresses in the Carnatic. It is the "Bengapor" or "Vengapor" of our chronicles. (See below, p. 122.)
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"Though the roies of Carnatic had never yet married their daughters but to persons of their own cast, and giving them to strangers was highly disgraceful, yet Dewul Roy, out of necessity, complied, and preparations for celebrating the nuptials were made by both parties. For forty days communication was open between the city and the sultan's camp. Both sides of the road were lined with shops and booths, in which the jugglers, drolls, dancers, and mimics of Carnatic displayed their feats and skill to amuse passengers. Khankhanan and Meer Fuzzul Oollah, with the customary presents of a bridegroom, went to Beejanuggur, from whence at the expiration of seven days they brought the bride, with a rich portion and offerings from the roy, to the sultan's camp. Dewul Roy having expressed a strong desire to see the sultan, Feroze Shaw with great gallantry agreed to visit him with his bride, as his father-in-law.
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"A day being fixed, he with his bride proceeded to Beejanuggur, leaving the camp in charge of Khankhanan. On the way he was met by Dewul Roy in great pomp. From the gate of the city to the palace, being a distance of six miles,¹ the road was spread with cloth of gold, velvet, satin, and other rich stuffs. The two princes rode on horseback together, between ranks of beautiful boys and girls, who waved plates of gold and silver flowers² over their heads as they advanced, and then threw them to be gathered by the populace. After this the inhabitants of the city made offerings, both men and women, according to their rank. After passing through a square directly in the centre of the city,³ the relations of Dewul Roy, who had lined the streets in crowds, made their obeisance and offerings, and joined the cavalcade on foot, marching before the princes. Upon their arrival at the palace gate, the sultan and roy dismounted from their horses, and ascended a splendid palanquin, set with valuable jewels, in which they were carried together to the apartments prepared for the reception of the bride and bridegroom, when Dewul Roy took his leave, and retired to his own palace. The sultan, after being treated with royal magnificence for three days, took his leave of the roy, who pressed upon him richer presents than before given, and attended him four miles on his way, when he returned to the city.
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¹ This again points to the Muhammadan camp having been in the neighbourhood of Hospett, south of Vijayanagar.
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² "Plates of gold filled with incense and silver flowers."—Briggs (ii 386).
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³ This square is the open space mentioned by both Nunis and Paes. On the left of it, as the cortège advanced, was the palace.
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"Sultan Feroze Shaw was enraged at his not going with him to his camp, and said to Meer Fuzzul Oollah that he would one day have his revenge for the affront offered him by such neglect. This declaration being told to Dewul Roy, he made some insolent remarks, so that, notwithstanding the connection of family, their hatred was not calmed."
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Firûz returned after this to his capital and sent for the lovely Pertâl, and on her arrival, finding that her beauty surpassed all report, he gave her in marriage to his eldest son, Hasan Khân, when "the knot was tied amid great rejoicings and princely magnificence." The lady's husband is described by Firishtah as being "a weak and dissipated prince." He was heir to the throne, but was easily ousted by the valiant Ahmad Khânkhânân,” and lived privately at Fîrûzâbâd, “ entirely devoted to indolence and pleasure.” The last we hear of him is that his usurping uncle, Ahmad Shah I., treated him kindly, “ gave him the palace of Firozeabad for his residence, with an ample jaghire (estate), and permission to hunt or take his pleasure within eight miles round his palace, without restriction to time or form.” Hasan “ was more satisfied with this power of indulging his appetites than with the charge of empire. While his uncle lived he enjoyed his ease, and no difference ever happened between them ; but he was afterwards blinded and kept confined to the palace of Firozeabad.” This must have been after A.D. 1434.
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Deva Râya I. lived till at least 1412 A.D., and was succeeded by his son Vira-Vijaya, whom Nuniz calls “ Visaya,” and who, he says, reigned six years. The last extant inscription of Deva Râya I. is dated in A.D. 1412-13, the first of his successor Vijaya in 1413-14. Vijaya’s last known inscription is one of 1416-17, and the first yet known of his successor, his eldest son, Deva Râya II., is dated Monday, June 26, 1424-25. Nuniz gives Deva Râya II. a reign of twenty-five years.
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I am inclined to think that Deva Râya II. began to reign in 1419, for the following reason. The informants of Nuniz stated that during Vijaya’s reign he “ did nothing worth relating,” and the chronicle records that during the reign which followed, namely that of Deva Râya II., there was “ constant warfare.” Now we have it from Firishtah that in 1417 Fîrûz, Sultan of Kulbarga, commenced a war of aggression against the Hindus of Telingana. He besieged the fortress of Pangul,¹ seventy miles north-east of Adoni, for a period of two years, but the attempt to reduce it ended in failure owing to a pestilence breaking out amongst both men and horses.
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¹ Scott has it “ Mankul” (i. 90), but Briggs (ii. 389) corrects this into “ Pangul,” which is undoubtedly correct.
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"Many of the first nobility deserted the camp and fled with their followers to their jaghires. At this crisis Dewul Roy collected his army, and having obtained aid from the surrounding princes, even to the Raja of Telingana (Warangal), marched against the sultan with a vast host of horse and foot."
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This then took place in 1419 A.D., and since this energetic action was not consonant with the character of Vijaya, the *fainéant* sovereign, "who did nothing worth recording" in all his career, we must suppose that it took place as soon as Deva Râya, his successor, was crowned; when the nobles surrounding him (he was, I believe, quite young when he began to reign),¹ filled with zeal and ambition, roused the Hindu troops and in the king's name plunged into war against their country's hereditary foe.
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¹ His grandfather, Deva Râya I., was young enough at the beginning of his reign (A.D. 1406) to plunge into amorous intrigues and adventures, and he reigned only seven years at most. His son and successor, Vijaya, reigned only six years. Vijaya's son, Deva Râya II., therefore, was probably a mere boy when he came to the throne in A.D. 1419.
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If this be correct, the reign of Deva Râya II., granting that it lasted as stated by Nuniz for twenty-five years, ended in A.D. 1444. Now the chronicle tells us a story of how this Deva Râya's son and successor, "Pina Rao,"² was attacked by his nephew with a poisoned dagger, and died from the effects of his wounds after a lapse of six months. Abdur Razzâk, more reliable because he was not only a contemporary but was at Vijayanagar at the time, relates the same anecdote of Deva Râya II. himself, making the would-be assassin the king's brother, and definitely fixing the date beyond a shadow of a doubt. The event occurred on some day between November 1442 and April 1443—the outside limits of Razzâk's visit to Calicut—during his stay at which place he says it happened. Abdur Razzâk does not mention the king's death, and this therefore had not supervened up to the time of the traveller leaving the capital in December 1443. On the assumption that we need not be too particular about Nuniz's "six months," we may conclude that the attack was made about the month of April 1443, and that Deva Râya II. died early in 1444 A.D. There is still, however, a difficulty, as will be noticed below, inscriptions giving us the name of a Deva Râya as late as 1449 A.D., but it is just possible that this was another king of the same name.
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² *Pina* = *Chinna* (Telugu) or *Chikka* (Kanarese), and means "little" or "young." (See the tale told by Barradas below, p. 222 ff., of the events of 1614 A.D.) The name is very common in Southern India, and was generally applied to the Crown Prince.
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Putting together the facts given above, we find that the twenty-five years of the reign of Deva Râya II. lay between 1419 and 1444 A.D.
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DEVA RÂYA II. (A.D. 1419 TO 1444 OR (?) 1449)
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A fresh war, 1419—Success of Vijayanagar—Death of Firûz—Sultan Ahmad attacks Deva Râya—The latter's adventure and narrow escape—Ahmad at the gates of the city—He nearly loses his life—Submission of Deva Râya—Fall of Warangal—Sultan Alâ-ud-din—Deva Râya's precautions—His attempted assassination, 1443—The story as told by Abdur Razzâk—Expedition against Kulbarga—Improvements at the capital—Probable date of the king's death—Was there a King Deva Râya III.?
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THERE was war then with Kulbarga in 1419, Deva Râya II. being king of Vijayanagar. The Sultan had been unsuccessful in his attack on the Warangal fortress, Pangul, and the troops of Vijayanagar marched against him with horse, foot, and elephants. Firûz Shâh gave battle forthwith, though he judged his forces to be inferior. Firishtah does not mention where the fight took place.
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"Meer Fuzzul Oollah, who commanded the troops of Islaam, charged the infidels with heroic vigour, and, routing their center, proceeded to attack their right wing. He was on the point of gathering the flowers of victory, when one of his own attendants, bribed for the purpose by Dewul Roy, gave him a mortal wound on the head, and he instantly quaffed the sherbet of martyrdom. This fatal event changed the fortune of the day; the sultan was defeated, and with the utmost difficulty, by the most surprising and gallant efforts, made his escape from the field. The Hindoos made a general massacre of the mussulmauns, and erected a platform with their heads on the field of battle. They followed the sultan into his own country, which they wasted with fire and sword, took many places, broke down many mosques and holy places, slaughtered the people without mercy, by their actions seeming to discharge the treasured malice and resentment of ages. Sultan Firoze Shaw, in the exigence of distress, requested aid of the sultan of Guzarat, who, having but just acceded to the throne, could afford none.
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At last fortune took a turn favourable to his affairs, and the enemy, after repeated battles, were expelled from his dominions by the Sultan's brother, Khankhanan; but these misfortunes dwelt on the mind of Firoze Shaw, now old, and he fell into a lingering disorder and lowness of spirits."
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The Sultan desired the throne for his son Hasan, husband of the beautiful Pertâl, but on Ahmad Khân-khânân taking up arms to support his intended usurpation and advancing, supported by most of the nobles, to the capital, Fîrûz gave way and nominated him Sultan in his stead.
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Fîrûz died on September 24, A.D. 1422,¹ and Khân-khânân became Sultan of Kulbarga under the title of Ahmad Shâh I.
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¹ 7th Shawwâl A.H. 825. Firishtah, (Scott) p. 95, gives the length of the reign, and his figures yield this result.
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The first act of the new monarch, after "impressing the minds of his people with affection to his government"—probably, that is, after an interval of a few months—was to strengthen his army in order to take revenge for the invasions of the Râya; and having made all preparations he advanced to the attack. Deva Râya's generals collected their troops, sent for aid to Warangal, and marched to the Tungabhadrâ where they encamped. From this it appears that they had retired from the Doâb after their successful raid. The Sultan arrived on the north bank of the river opposite the Hindu camp, and *laagered*, if we may use the term now in fashion. Firishtah says that he "surrounded his camp with carriages (carts and waggons), after the usage of Room (Turkey in Europe), to prevent the enemy's foot from making night-attacks. Here he halted for forty days." We are now, therefore, probably in the dry season at the beginning of the year A.D. 1423, for if the river had been in flood there would have been no fear of the enemy's crossing it. In the early months of the Christian year that river is usually shallow in the open country east of the Hindu capital and away from the hills that surround it, having only thin streams running in its rocky bed. Indeed, Firishtah himself tells us that the river was at that time fordable.
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Then ensued a dramatic episode. The Muhammadan cavalry had crossed the river and devastated the country of the Râya, who remained inactive, and the Sultan determined on a direct frontal attack. The troops of Warangal deserted the Râya and withdrew.
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“Early in the morning Lodi Khan, Aulum Khan, and Dillawer Khan, who had marched during the night and forded the river at a distance, reached the environs of the enemy’s camp. It happened that the roy was sleeping, attended by only a few persons, in a garden, close to which was a thick plantation of sugar-cane.¹ A body of the mussulmauns entered the garden for plunder, and Dewul Roy, being alarmed, fled almost naked into the sugar-cane plantation. Here he was found by the soldiers, who thought him only a common person, and having loaded him with a bundle of canes, obliged him to run with it before them. Dewul Roy, rejoiced at his being undiscovered, held his peace, and took up the burden readily, hoping that he should be discharged as a poor person, or be able to make his escape.
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¹ The spot was therefore probably close to one of the old irrigation channels, supplied by dams constructed across this river under the Râyas.
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“They had not gone far when the alarm of Sultan Ahmed Shaw’s having crossed the river, and the loss of the roy, filled the camp, and the Hindoos began to disperse. The sultan entered the camp, and Dewul Roy’s masters, hoping now for more valuable plunder than sugar-cane, hastened to join their own friends, leaving him to shift for himself. Dewul Roy ran with his own troops, and about noon came up with some of his nobles, by whom he was recognised and received with great joy. His safety being made known, his army rallied into some order; but, as he regarded the late accident as an ill omen, he laid aside all thoughts of engaging in the field, and fled to Beejanuggur.² “Ahmad Shaw not stopping to besiege the city, overran the open country, and wherever he came, put to death men, women, and children, without mercy, contrary to the compact made by his ancestor Mahummud Shaw with the roies of Beejanuggur. Laying aside all humanity, whenever the number of the slain amounted to twenty thousand, he halted three days, and made a festival in celebration of the bloody work. He broke down the idol temples, and destroyed the colleges of the Bramins. During these operations a body of five thousand Hindoos, enraged to desperation at the destruction of their country and the insults of their gods, united in taking an oath to sacrifice their lives in attempting to kill the sultan, as the grand author of all their sufferings. For this purpose they employed spies to observe his motions, that they might seize the first opportunity of action.
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² It is difficult to reconcile this story with the fact of the Râya’s tender age at this date, for I think it is certain that he was then quite a boy. Is it possible that the Muhammadan chroniclers, from whom Firishtah obtained
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“It happened, that the sultan going to hunt, in the eagerness of chase separated from the body of his attendants, and advanced near twelve miles from his camp.¹ The devoted infidels, informed of the circumstance, immediately hastened to intercept him, and arrived in sight when even his personal attendants, about two hundred Moguls, were at some distance from him. The sultan alarmed, galloped on in hopes of gaining a small mud enclosure which stood on the plain as a fold for cattle, but was so hotly pursued, that some broken ground falling in his way, he was not able to cross it before his pursuers came up. Luckily some archers at this instant arrived to his aid, so that the enemy were delayed sufficiently to give the sultan time to reach the enclosure with his friends. The infidels attempted to enter, and a sharp conflict took place; all the faithful repeating the creed of testimony, and swearing to die, rather than submit. . . . Their little troop being mostly
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¹ There is no clue as to where this event took place, except that it was not very close to Vijayanagar. The Sultan must have been near some hills with a plain below, because he met with open ground difficult for a horse to cross, in his eagerness to reach a mud enclosure in a plain. The description is applicable to numberless places in the vicinity, and it is useless to speculate. As he was on horseback, it is possible that he was riding down antelope.
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the narrative, mistook for the king an adult member of the family who commanded the army? Such mistakes were certainly made in later years. The chroniclers seem to have taken little pains to ascertain the actual names of the Hindu kings. It must, however, be noted that a little later on Firishtah speaks of Deva Râya’s son.
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killed and wounded, the assailants advanced close to the wall, which they began to throw down with pickaxes and hatchets, so that the sultan was reduced to the extremity of distress. At this critical juncture arrived Abd-al-Kadir, first armour-bearer to the sultan, and a body of troops, with whom, fearful of some accident having happened to occasion his absence, he had left the camp in search of his master. The infidels had completed a wide breach, and were preparing to enter, when they found their rear suddenly attacked. The sultan with his remaining friends joined Abd-al-Kadir in attacking the enemy, who after a long struggle were driven off the field, with a loss of a thousand men, and about five hundred of the mussulmauns attained martyrdom. Thus the sultan, by the almost inspired caution of Abd-al-Kadir, acceded, as it were, a second time, from the depths of danger to the enjoyment of empire.¹ It deserves place among the records of time, as a remarkable event, that two sovereigns at the head of armies, should fall into such danger for want of numbers, and both escape uninjured. . .
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¹ Before Ahmad's accession, his brother, the late Sultan Fîrûz, had designed, in order to secure the throne for his own son Hasan, that Ahmad, should be blinded. Ahmad was warned of this and left Kulbarga in time to secure his safety.
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"After this event Ahmed Shaw, having laid waste the whole country, marched to Beejanuggur, which he kept so closely blocked up, that the inhabitants were reduced to the greatest distress; when Dewul Roy, to spare his people, sent ambassadors to the sultan entreating peace, to which he consented, on condition that he would send the tribute of as many years as he had neglected to pay,² laden on his best elephants, and conducted by his son, with his drums, trumpets, and all the other insignia of state, to his camp. Dewul Roy, unable to refuse compliance, agreed to the demands, and sent his son with thirty favourite elephants, loaded with treasure and valuable effects. The sultan sent some noblemen to meet him, and after being led in ceremony through the market and great streets of the camp, he was brought to the presence.¹ The sultan, after embracing, permitted him to sit at the foot of his throne, and putting on his shoulders a magnificent robe, and girding him with a sabre set with jewels, gave him twenty beautiful horses of various countries, a male elephant, dogs for the chase, and three hawks, which the Carnatickehs were till then strangers to the use of. He then marched from the environs of Beejanuggur, and on his arrival on the bank of the Kistnah dismissed the roy's son and returned to Koolburga."
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² This is the Muhammadan version. Nothing is said regarding this tribute by Firishtah in describing the terms of the peace of 1399 A.D. It is possible, however, that tribute was really paid. It had apparently been exacted by Muhammad Shaw Bâhmanî, and agreed to by Bukka Râya I. who confirmed the arrangement on the accession of Dâûd Shâh's brother Muhammad. (See above, p. 47.)
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¹ This looks as if he was really paraded with ignominy as a vanquished inferior, and so displayed to the Muhammadan troops. If he had desired to do him honour, the Sultan himself would have met the prince and personally escorted him, as representing his father. Moreover, the prince was only permitted to sit at the foot of the throne, and was taken, almost as a prisoner, for many days with the army till it reached the Krishnâ river.
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To form some idea of the date of this cessation of hostilities we must see what follows in Firishtah’s narrative. The historian states that during the year of the Sultan’s return to Kulbarga there was a grievous famine in the Dakhan, and "the next year also, no rain appearing, the people became seditious." These two years were probably A.H. 826, 827, extending from 15th December A.D. 1422 to 23rd November 1424. He continues, "In the year 828" the Sultan marched against Warangal. The last campaign began about December A.D. 1422; and since we must allow some months for Ahmad’s blockade of Vijayanagar, which resulted in his reducing the inhabitants to a state of starvation so that the Râya was compelled to capitulate, the date for the end of the war cannot be safely placed earlier than the winter of the year A.D. 1423. During these twelve months, however, there was a famine and failure of rain, so that the Sultan may have been able to traverse the cotton plains lying between Vijayanagar and Kulbarga, plains quite impassable for troops in wet weather, somewhat earlier than would otherwise have been the case.
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The Sultan’s next war took place in A.H. 828, when he advanced against Warangal over the undulating plains of the Dakhan, then rich in crop, and was completely successful. The Hindu kingdom was completely and for ever destroyed. The English date usually given for this event is A.D. 1424, but it is quite possible that a mistake has been made owing to the use of imperfect chronological tables by those who have written on the subject, and that Ahmad Shâh’s capture of Warangal may have taken place in A.D. 1425. Briggs, for instance, calls A.H. 828 “A.D. 1424,” but the year only began on November 23, 1424. The campaign, however, was very short, and may have been concluded before the end of December of that year.
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We hear nothing more from Firishtah regarding the affairs of Vijayanagar till the early part of the reign of Ahmad’s son and successor, Alâ-ud-dîn II., which began on Sunday, February 27, A.D. 1435,¹ the day of Sultan Ahmad’s death.
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¹ 8th Rajab A.H. 838 (Firishtah). The *Burhân-i Maâsir* says 22nd Rajab.
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Alâ-ud-dîn’s first act was to despatch his brother Muhammad Khân with a powerful army against Deva Râya of Vijayanagar—
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“who had withheld his tribute for five years and refused to pay the arrears. They laid waste the country in such a manner that the Roy in a short time was glad to procure peace by giving twenty elephants, a great sum of money, and two hundred female slaves skilled in music and dancing, besides a valuable present to Mahummud Khan.”
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Flushed with this victory, and in command of a large force, Prince Muhammad rebelled against his brother, and Firishtah states that in doing so he obtained aid from Deva Râya. The prince took Mudkal, Raichûr, Sholapûr, Bîjapûr, and Naldirak from the Sultan’s governors, but in a pitched battle with the royal forces was completely defeated and fled. Shortly afterwards, however, he was forgiven by his generous sovereign, and the fortress and territories of Raichûr were conferred on him.
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About the year 1442 Deva Râya began to consider more seriously his situation in relation to his powerful neighbour at Kulbarga.
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“He called¹ a general council of his nobility and principal bramins, observing to them that as his country of Carnatic in extent, population, and revenue far exceeded the territories of the house of Bahmenee; and in like manner his army was far more numerous, he wished therefore to explore the cause of the mussulmauns’ successes, and his being reduced to pay them tribute. Some said . . . that the superiority of the mussulmauns arose from two circumstances: one, all their horses being strong, and able to bear more fatigue than the weak, lean animals of Carnatic; the other, a great body of excellent archers always kept up by the sultans of the house of Bahmenee, and of whom the roy had but few in his army.
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¹ Firishtah (Scott), i. 118.
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“Deo Roy upon this gave orders for the entertainment of mussulmauns in his service, allotted them jaghires,² erected a mosque for their use in the city of Beejanuggur, and commanded that no one should molest them in the exercise of their religion. He also ordered a koraun to be placed before his throne, on a rich desk, that the mussulmauns might perform the ceremony of obeisance in his presence, without sinning against their laws. He also made all the Hindoo soldiers learn the discipline of the bow; in which he and his officers used such exertions, that he had at length two thousand mussulmauns and sixty thousand Hindoos, well skilled in archery, besides eighty thousand horse and two hundred thousand foot, armed in the usual manner with pikes and lances.”
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² Estates.
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On a day which must have been between November 1442 and April 1443 a desperate attempt was made on the life of King Deva Râya by one of his closest relatives—a brother, according to Abdur Razzâk, a nephew, according to Nuniz. Abdur Razzâk’s story is without doubt the more reliable of the two, since he is a contemporary witness. The story as told by Nuniz is given in the chronicle at the end of this volume.¹ Abdur Razzâk was ambassador from Persia to Calicut and Vijayanagar, and his account is particularly important as it definitely fixes the date.
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¹ Below, p. 303
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“During the time that the author of this narrative was still sojourning at Calicut (November 1442 to April 1443) there happened in the city of Bidjanagar an extraordinary and most singular occurrence. . .
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“The king’s brother, who had had a new house built for himself, invited thither the monarch and the principal personages of the empire. Now it is an established usage of the infidels never to eat in presence of each other. The men who were invited were assembled together in one grand hall. At short intervals the prince either came in person or sent some messenger to say that such or such great personage should come and eat his part of the banquet. Care had been taken to bring together all the drums, kettledrums, trumpets, and flutes that could be found in the city, and these instruments playing all at the same time, made a tremendous uproar. As soon as the individual who had been sent for entered the above-mentioned house, two assassins, placed in ambush, sprang out upon him, pierced him with a poignard, and cut him in pieces. After having removed his limbs, or rather the fragments of his body, they sent for another guest, who, once having entered this place of carnage, disappeared. . . In consequence of the noise of the drums, the clamour, and the tumult, no one was aware of what was going on. In this manner all those who had any name or rank in the state were slaughtered. The prince, leaving his house all reeking with the blood of his victims, betook himself to the king’s palace, and addressing himself to the guards who were stationed at that royal residence, invited them with flattering words to go to his house, and caused them to follow the steps of the other victims. So that the palace was thus deprived of all its defenders. This villain then entered into the king’s presence, holding in his hand a dish covered with betel-nut, under which was concealed a brilliant poignard. He said to the monarch, ‘The hall is ready and they only wait your august presence.’
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“The king, following the maxim which declares that eminent men receive an inspiration from heaven, said to him, ‘I am not in good health to-day.’
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“This unnatural brother, thus losing the hope of enticing the king to his house, drew his poignard, and struck him therewith with several violent blows, so that the prince fell at the back of his throne. The traitor, thus believing that the king was dead, left there one of his confidants to cut off the monarch’s head; then going out of the hall he ascended the portico of the palace, and thus addressed the people: ‘I have slain the king, his brothers, and such and such emirs, Brahmins, and viziers; now I am king.’
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“Meanwhile his emissary had approached the throne with the intention of cutting off the king’s head, but that prince, seizing the seat behind which he had fallen, struck the wretch with it with so much violence on the chest that he fell upon his back. The king then, with the help of one of his guards, who at the sight of this horrible transaction had hidden himself in a corner, slew this assassin, and went out of the palace by way of the harem.
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“His brother, still standing on the steps of the hall of council, invited the multitude to recognise him as their king. At that moment the monarch cried out, ‘I am alive. I am well and safe. Seize that wretch.’
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“The whole crowd assembled together threw themselves upon the guilty prince and put him to death.
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“The only one who escaped was Danaik, the vizier, who previously to this sad event had gone on a voyage to the frontier of Ceylon. The king sent a courier to him to invite him to return, and informed him of what had just occurred. All those who had in any way aided in the conspiracy were put to death. Men in great numbers were slain, flayed, burnt alive, and their families entirely exterminated. The man who had brought the letters of invitation was put to the last degree of torture. . .”
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Nuniz states that the king died six months later and was succeeded by his son, but Abdur Razzâk declares that he was presented in person to Deva Râya about the month of December 1443. The name of Deva Râya’s son is not given by Nuniz, nor yet the length of his reign; he only states that he did nothing worth relating except to give enormous charities to temples. This king again was succeeded by a son called "Verupaca Rao," who must be identical with Virûpâksha, and Nuniz dates from his reign the commencement of the troubles that led to the usurpation of Narasimha and the downfall of the first dynasty.
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But before putting together the confusing records of this period I must revert to the events of the year A.D. 1443.
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"At this period," says Abdur Razzâk, referring to the second half of the year 1443, "Danaik¹ the vizier set out on an expedition into the kingdom of Kalbarga." The reasons which had led to this invasion were as follows: Sultan Alâ-ud-dîn had heard of the treacherous attempt to kill the king of Vijayanagar and the murder of the nobles and principal people, and he had sent a message to the king demanding payment of "seven lakhs of varâhas," as he thought the moment auspicious for an attempt to crush the kingdom. "Diou-rai, the king of Bidjanagar, was equally troubled and irritated by the receipt of such a message," but he sent a brave answer and prepared for war.
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¹ Danaik, a word which the traveller apparently took for a proper name, is simply "the commander"—*Dhannâyaka*.
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"Troops were sent out on both sides, which made great ravages on the frontiers of the two kingdoms. . . . Danaik, after having made an invasion upon the frontiers of the country of Kalbarga, and taken several unfortunate prisoners, had retraced his steps. . ."
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Firishtah also describes this war of A.D. 1443. He states that Deva Râya wantonly attacked the Bâhmanî princes—
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"crossed the Tummedra suddenly, took the fortress of Mudkul, sent his sons to besiege Roijore and Beekapore, encamped himself along the bank of the Kistnah, and sent out detachments, who plundered the country as far as Saugher and Beejapore, laying waste by fire and sword.
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“Sultan Alla ud Dien, upon intelligence of this invasion, prepared to repel it, and commanded all his forces from Telingana, Dowlutabad, and Berar to repair to the capital of Ahmedabad without delay. Upon their arrival he reviewed the whole, and found his army composed of fifty thousand horse, sixty thousand foot, and a considerable train of artillery. With this force he began to march against the enemy; and Deo Roy, upon his approach, shifted his ground, and encamped under the walls of the fortress of Mudkul, detaching a large body to harass the sultan.
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“The sultan halted at the distance of twelve miles from Mudkul, and despatched Mallek al Tijar with the troops of Dowlutabad against the sons of Deo Roy;¹ also Khan Zummaun, governor of Beejapore, and Khan Azim, commander of the forces of Berar and Telingana, against the main body of the enemy. Mallek-al-Tijar, going first to Roijore, gave battle to the eldest son of Deo Roy, who was wounded in the action, and fled towards Beekapore, from whence he was joined by his younger brother, who quitted the siege of that fortress.
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¹ As to Deva Râya’s age see above, p. 63. He had now been on the throne for twenty-four years.
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“In the space of two months, three actions happened near Mudkul between the two grand armies; in the first of which multitudes were slain on both sides, and the Hindoos having the advantage, the mussulmauns experienced great difficulties.² The sultan was successful in the others; and in the last, the eldest son of Deo Roy was killed by a spear thrown at him by Khan Zummaun, which event struck the Hindoos with a panic, and they fled with the greatest precipitation into the fortress of Mudkul.”
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² These words appear to confirm Abdur Razzâk’s statement.
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Two chief Muhammadan officers, in the ardour of pursuit, entered the city with the fugitives, and were captured by the Hindus.
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Deo Roy then sent a message to the Sultan that if he would promise never again to molest his territories he would pay the stipulated tribute annually, and return the two prisoners. This was accepted, a treaty was executed, and the prisoners returned with the tribute and added presents; and till the end of Deva Râya’s reign both parties observed their agreement.
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From the terms of the agreement we gather that, though Firishtah does not expressly mention it, tribute had been demanded by the Sultan, and this confirms the account given by Abdur Razzâk. It also shows why the “Danaik” in Abdur Razzâk’s narrative had not returned covered with glory, but merely, having “taken several unfortunate prisoners, had retraced his steps.”
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The campaign must have been of short duration, since, while it began in A.H. 847 (May 1, A.D. 1443, to April 19, 1444) according to Firishtah, it was over before December 1443 when Abdur Razzâk left Vijanagar.
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The narrative being thus brought down to the close of the year 1443, let us, before passing on, turn to other records and see what they tell us about the reign of Deva Râya II. I have already stated that he appears to have been very young at his accession in A.D. 1419. In 1443 he had already reigned twenty-four years. Now the Hakluyt translation of Abdur Razzâk’s chronicle states that Razzâk saw King Deva Râya II. in 1443, and the India Office copy contains the additional information that the king was then “exceedingly young.” I am not aware which version is the more accurate. But even if these added words be accepted as part of the original, the difficulty is capable of being explained away by the supposition that perhaps the ambassador was presented to one of the princes and not to the king himself. The king appears to have been in doubt as to whether the traveller was not an impostor in representing himself as an envoy from Persia, and may have refrained from granting a personal interview.
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Several inscriptions of the reign are extant. One records a proclamation made in the king's name in A.D. 1426.¹ According to another bearing a date corresponding to Wednesday, October 16, in the same year,² he caused a Jain temple to be erected in the capital, in a street called the "Pân Supâri Bazaar." This temple is situated south-west of the temple marked as No. 35 on the Government map. It is within the enclosure of the royal palace, and close to the rear of the elephant stables still standing. The king is honoured in this inscription with the full imperial title of *Mahârâjâdhirâja Râjapara-mesvara*. The site of this bazaar is thus definitely established. It lay on either side of the road which ran along the level dry ground direct from the palace gate, near the temple of *Hazâra Ramasvâmi*, in a north-easterly direction, to join the road which now runs to the Tungabhadra ferry through the fortified gate on the south side of the river immediately opposite Ânegundi. It passed along the north side of the Kallamma and Rangasvâmi temples, leaving the imperial office enclosure with its lofty walls and watch-towers, and the elephant stables, on the left, skirted the Jain temple and the temple numbered "35" on the plan, and passed along under the rocky hills that bound this plain on the north till it debouched on the main road above mentioned. This street would be the direct approach from the old city of Ânegundi to the king's palace.
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¹ Saka 1348 current, year Visvâvasu ("Asiatic Researches," xx. p. 22; Hultzsch's "South Indian Inscriptions," i. 82).
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² *Op. cit.*, p. 160. Saka 1349 current, cyclic year Parâbhava, on the full moon day of the month Kârttika.
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In A.D. 1430 the king made a grant to a temple far in the south in the Tanjore district.³ There are two inscriptions of his reign dated respectively in 1433-34 and 1434-35 A.D. at Padavêdu in North Arcot.¹ If, as stated by Nuniz, King Deva Râya II. died a few months after his attempted assassination, and if Abdur Razzâk saw him in December 1443, we are led to the belief that he died early in 1444. Definite proof is, however, wanting. Other inscriptions must be carefully examined before we can arrive at any certain conclusion. Thus an inscription at Srâvana Belgola, of date corresponding to Tuesday, May 24 A.D. 1446, published by Professor Kielhorn,² relates to the death on that day of "Pratâpa Deva Râya;" and as it is couched in very curious and interesting terms, I give the translation in full :—
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³ Hultzsch's "South Indian Inscriptions," i. p. 79. Fifth Karkataka Sukla, Saka 1353 current, year Sâdhârana. The donor's name is given as Vîra Pratâpa Deva Râya Mahârâya and he is styled *Mahâmandalesvara*, "Lord of the four oceans."
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¹ *Op. cit.*, p. 109. They both give the king full royal titles.
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² *Ind. Ant.*, xxv. 346.
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"In the evil year Kshaya, in the wretched (month) second Vaisâkha, on a miserable Tuesday, in a fortnight which was the reverse of bright,³ on the fourteenth day, the unequalled store of valour (*pratâpa*) Deva Râya, alas! met with death."
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³ *I.e.* the second or dark half (*Krishna paksha*) of the month.
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But since royal titles are not given to the deceased, he may have been only a prince of the blood. An inscription at Tanjore, also dated in A.D. 1446, mentions the name Deva Râya, but gives no further royal titles than the *biruda*—"Lord of the four oceans."⁴ An inscription bearing date corresponding to Saturday, August 2 A.D. 1449, at Conjeeveram,⁵ records a grant by a king called Vîra Pratâpa Praudha-Immadi-Deva Râya, to whom full royal titles are given.
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⁴ Hultzsch's "South Indian Inscriptions," ii. 339. The date is Saka 1863 expired, year Kshaya, Wednesday the fifth day of the bright half of the month, on the day of the Nakshatra Pûrva Phalgunî.
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⁵ Hultzsch's "South Indian Inscriptions," i. 110. Saka 1371 expired, year Sukla, Saturday 13th Sukla of the month of Simha, on the day of the Nakshatra Uttarâshâdhâ.
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It is provoking that Nuniz omits the name of the successor of Deva Râya II., as known to tradition in the sixteenth century, for this might have helped us to a decision. At present it looks as though there had been a Deva Râya III. reigning from A.D. 1444 to 1449; but this point cannot as yet be settled.
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Mr. Rice has shown that one of the ministers of Deva Râya II. was named Nâganna; he had the title “Dhannâyaka,” implying command of the army.
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THE CITY OF VIJAYANAGAR IN THE REIGN OF DEVA RÂYA II. (A.D. 1420 (?), 1443)
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Description given by Nicolo to Bracciolini—The capital—Festivals—Immense population—Abdur Razzâk’s description—His journey—The city walls—Palaces—The Mint—Bazaars—The great Mahânavamî festival.
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IT will be well to suspend our historical narrative for a time in order to acquire some idea of the appearance and condition of the great city of Vijayanagar in these days. We have already noticed that as early as 1375 A.D. Sultan Mujâhid of Kulbarga had heard so much of the beauty of this capital that he desired to see it, and it had grown in importance and grandeur during the succeeding half-century. About the year 1420 or 1421 A.D. there visited Vijayanagar one Nicolo, an Italian, commonly called Nicolo Conti or Nicolo dei Conti, and if he was not the earliest European visitor, he was at least the earliest that we know of whose description of the place has survived to this day. His visit must have taken place shortly after the accession of Deva Râya II. Nicolo never apparently wrote anything himself. His stories were recorded in Latin by Poggio Bracciolini, the Pope’s secretary, for his master’s information. Translated into Portuguese, they were re-translated from the Portuguese into Italian by Ramusio, who searched for but failed to obtain a copy of the original in Latin. This original was first published in 1723 by the Abbé Oliva of Paris under the title *P. Bracciolini, De Varietate Fortunæ, Liber quatuor*.
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Nicolo, on reaching India, visited first the city of Cambaya in Gujarât. After twenty days' sojourn there he passed down the coast to "Pacamuria," probably Barkûr, and "Helly," which is the "Mount d'Ely" or "Cabo d'Eli" of later writers. Thence he travelled inland and reached the Râya's capital, Vijayanagar, which he calls "Bizenegalia."¹ He begins his description thus:—
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¹ The termination *ia* is appended to many Indian names by Bracciolini; thus "Pacamuria" for Bacanor, the Portuguese way of spelling Barkûr, "Cenderghiria" for Chandragiri, "Odeschiria" for Udayagiri, and so on.
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"The great city of Bizenegalia is situated near very steep mountains. The circumference of the city is sixty miles; its walls are carried up to the mountains and enclose the valleys at their foot, so that its extent is thereby increased. In this city there are estimated to be ninety thousand men fit to bear arms."
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I must here interpose a correction. There were no "mountains" properly so called at Vijayanagar; only a confused and tumbled mass of rocky hills, some rising to considerable altitude. The extent of its lines of defences was extraordinary. Lofty and massive stone walls everywhere crossed the valleys, and led up to and mounted over the hillsides. The outer lines stretched unbroken across the level country for several miles. The hollowows and valleys between the boulder-covered heights were filled with habitations, poor and squalid doubtless, in most instances, but interspersed with the stone-built dwellings of the nobles, merchants, and upper classes of the vast community; except where the elaborately constructed water-channels of the Râyas enabled the land to be irrigated; and in these parts rich gardens and woods, and luxurious crops of rice and sugar-cane, abounded. Here and there were wonderfully carved temples and fanes to Hindu deities, with Brahmanical colleges and schools attached to the more important amongst their number.
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