A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India c17.s1.5

c17.s1.5

Paes describes two grand festivals at the capital of which he was an eye-witness, and at which Christovão de Figueiredo was present. He fixes definitely the days on which these occurred. The first was the nine-days *Mahânavamî* festival, and the second was the festival of the New Year's Day. Paes states that on the occasion when he was present the *Mahânavamî* began on September 12 ("*estas festas se começao a doze dias de setêbro* *e durâo nove dias*¹), and the latter began on October 12 (*"entramdo o mes d outubro a omze dias amdados d ele . . . neste dia começo o anno, e dia d anno bom . . . começo o anno neste mes com a lua nova, e elles não contão o mes se não de lua a lua"*)². Previously to this, when writing about Raichûr, Paes has described that place as a city "that formerly belonged to the king of Narsymga (*i.e.* Vijayanagar): there has been much war over it, and *this king* took it from the Y'dalleão" (Âdil Shâh). The chronicler, therefore, was present at these feasts on an occasion subsequent to the date of Krishna Deva's conquest of Raichûr.