A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): A Contribution to the History of India c21.s3.t17.37

c21.s3.t17.37

This King has also within his gates more than four thousand women, all of whom live in the palace; some are dancing-girls, and others are bearers¹ who carry the King's wives on their shoulders, and the King also in the interior of the palace, for the king's houses are large and there are great intervals between one house and another. He has also women who wrestle, and others who are astrologers and soothsayers; and he has women who write all the accounts of expenses that are incurred inside the gates, and others whose duty it is to write all the affairs of the kingdom and compare their books with those of the writers outside; he has women also for music, who play instruments and sing. Even the wives of the King are well versed in music.