Administration and Social Life under Vijayanagar c14.11

c14.11

The Muhammadan occupation of South India was a regular tyranny. Ibn Baṭūṭa found his brother-in-law Ghiyās-ud-din to be a cruel tyrant and observes that he was "a fiend in human shape." The temples were the objects of Muhammadan attack, and the renowned shrines of Śrīraṅgam and Cidambaram suffered worst. As soon as the Muhammadans had reached near Śrīraṅgam, the image of Śrīraṅganātha was taken away from the place by Vēdānta Dēśika. The Pāṇḍyan Chronicle says: "The proper tutelary deity of Madura went into the Malayalam country. Then the wall of the temple, the fourteen towers on it and the streets inside were destroyed."⁴ An epigraph describes the rule of the Muhammadans at Madura in the following terms: "The times were Tulukkan (Muhammadan) times; the devadāna lands of the Gods were taxed with kuḍimai; the temple worship, however, had to be done without any reduction; the uḷavu or cultivation of the temple lands was done by turns by the tenants of the village."⁵ The Madhurāvijayam of Gaṅgādēvī also gives a vivid but somewhat poetic description of the character and effects of the Muhammadan occupation of Madura. It says: "The place now known as Vyāghrapuri (Cidambaram) has been continuously so, for tigers inhabit it now where men once dwelt, the Vimāna (the dome of the central shrine) of Śrīraṅgam is so dilapidated that now it is the hood of Ādiśēṣa alone that is protecting the image of Ranganātha from the falling debris. The Lord of Gajāraṇya (Tiruvāṇaikkāval, Jambukēśvaram near Śrīraṅgam), who once killed an elephant to obtain its skin for his garment, has now again been reduced to this condition, because he is stripped bare of all the clothing; while the garbhagṛha (central shrine) of many another temple is crumbling, its maṇṭapa overgrown with vegetation and the wooden doors of the temple eaten up by white ants. Where there resounded once the joyous music of the mṛdaṅgam (a kind of drum) there is heard at present the howl of the jackal that has made it its abode. The river Kāvēri that was curbed by proper dams and flowed in regular channels has begun to run in all directions. In the agrahāras where the smoke issuing from the fire offerings (Yāgadhūma) was largely visible, and in which the chant of the Vedas was everywhere audible, we have now the offensive smelling smoke issuing from the roasting of flesh by the Muhammadans and the harsh voice of these ruffians alone is heard there. The beautiful cocoanut trees which were gracing the gardens surrounding the city of Madura have been cut down by these intruders, and in place of these we see plenty of śūlas (stakes for impaling persons) with garlands made by stringing human heads together, resembling and recalling in a remote manner the cocoanut trees. The water of the river Tāmraparṇī which used to be rendered white by the sandal paste rubbed away from the breasts of the youthful maidens who were bathing in it is now flowing red with the blood of cows slaughtered by these monstrous sinners.”⁶