A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India c17.s4: Comparison of Accounts
A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India c17.s4
- Language
- English
Comparison of Accounts
c17.s4.1
Comparing this account with that given by Nuniz, there can, I think, be little doubt that both stories refer to the same event, though there are of course several discrepancies. The origin of the war is related differently. Firishtah states that on the arrival of the Sultan at the river-bank he found the Hindu army encamped on the opposite side; he crossed, after a few days’ delay, with a small force, and was driven into the river. Nuniz says that Krishna Deva Râya heard of Ismâil Âdil’s arrival on the river-bank while he himself was in camp at Raichûr, fifteen miles away; and that he advanced and gave battle nine miles from the river, in the end driving the enemy across. But taking the two narratives as a whole, there are too many points of coincidence to leave any doubt in the mind that each chronicler is writing of the same event.
c17.s4.2
As to which of the two is more accurate it is impossible now to decide. But considering that Nuniz wrote only fifteen years afterwards, and that there were Portuguese present at the battle, some of whom Nuniz may have personally consulted as to what took place, it would seem more reasonable to trust in him rather than in a Muhammadan historian who did not compile his work till after an interval of sixty years. Moreover, there are some inherent improbabilities in Firishtah’s narrative.
c17.s4.3
It is worthy of notice, too, that throughout the story of Nuniz at this part of his chronicle there is much that impels the belief that either himself or his informant was present at the Hindu camp while these events were taking place. The narrative of the campaign, in complete contrast to that of the remainder of the history, reads like the account of an eye-witness; especially in the passages describing the fortress of Raichûr¹ and the camp—where the supplies were so great that “you could find everything that you wanted,”² where “you saw”³ the goldsmiths and artisans at work as if in a city, where “you will find”⁴ all kinds of precious stones offered for sale, and where “no one who did not understand the meaning of what he saw would ever dream that a war was going on, but would think that he was in a prosperous city.” Note also the description given of the extraordinary noise made by the drums, trumpets, and shouts of the men; so that even the birds fell down into the soldiers' hands stricken with terror and "it seemed as if the sky would fall to the earth," and "if you asked anything, you could not hear yourself speak, and you had to ask by signs." Many such instances might be given, but not to be tedious I will invite attention to only three more, viz., the account given by Nuniz of how, when receiving the men of the city after its surrender, the king, "casting his eye on Christovão de Figueiredo, nodded his head, and turned to the people telling them to observe what great things could be effected by one good man;"¹ his description of the behaviour of the defeated citizens when Krishna Deva made his triumphant entry into the city; and his narrative of the ambassador's reception at Vijayanagar by the king after the conclusion of the campaign.² It may be remembered that our other chronicler, Domingo Paes, was at Vijayanagar with Christovão de Figueiredo some months after the battle, even if he were not personally present in the fighting at Raichûr.
c17.s4.4
¹ Below, p. 333.
c17.s4.5
² “Omde achaveis . . . ho que avieis mister.”
c17.s4.6
³ “Verieis.”
c17.s4.7
⁴ “Achareis.”
c17.s4.8
¹ Below, pp. 346, 347.
c17.s4.9
² Below, p. 351.
c17.s4.10
The great interest of Nuniz's narrative lies in the fact that it is the only detailed account extant. Barros related the events in historical fashion, taking his facts from this very chronicle; but he was never in India, and his brief summary is altogether wanting in the power and force contained in the graphic story of Nuniz. The other Portuguese writers pass over the war very lightly. It appears as if it hardly concerned them, further than that at its close Ruy de Mello seized the mainlands near Goa.