A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India c18.9

c18.9

Another great work of his was the construction of an enormous tank or dammed-up lake at the capital, which he carried out with the aid of João de la Ponte, a Portuguese engineer, whose services were lent to him by the governor-general of Goa. Both Paes and Nuniz mention this lake, and as the former actually saw it under construction it may have been begun in A.D. 1520. I think that this is the large lake, now dry, to be seen at the north-western mouth of the valley entering into the Sandûr hills south-west of Hospett, the huge bank of which has been utilised for the conveyance of the highroad from Hospett to the southern taluqs. If so, the fact of its original failure is interesting to us, because for many years past this vast work has been entirely useless. The description given by Nuniz accords with the position of this tank, which was doubtless intended partly for irrigation purposes, and partly for the supply of water to the "new city," Nâgalâpura, the king's favourite residence, now known as Hospett. The chronicler mentions the existence of lofty ridges on each side, strong gates and towers guarding the entrance, and states that this was the principal approach to the capital from the south; all which data coincide with the position of the tank and road in question. It is through these gates that the Portuguese travellers entered Vijayanagar. This view is supported by the account given by Paes.