a forgotten empire-vijayanagar-第24章

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rises　high　with　a　ravine　below；　the　town　is　impregnable。

〃The　enemy　besieged　it　for　a　month　and　lost　many　people；　owing　to　the　walls　of　water　and　food。　Plenty　of　water　was　in　sight　but　could　not　be　got　at。

〃This　Indian　stronghold　was　ultimately　taken　by　Melikh　Khan　Khoda；　who　stormed　it；　and　fought　day　and　night　to　reduce　it。　The　army　that　made　the　siege　with　heavy　guns　had　neither　eaten　nor　drunk　for　twenty　days。　He　lost　5000　of　his　best　soldiers。　On　the　capture　of　the　town　20；000　inhabitants　men　and　women；　had　their　heads　cut　off；　20；000　young　and　old　were　made　prisoners　and　sold。。。。　The　treasury；　however；　having　been　found　empty；　the　town　was　abandoned。〃

It　is　impossible　to　decide　to　what　this　refers；　as　we　have　no　other　information　of　any　capture　of　Vijayanagar　by　the　Sultan's　forces　at　this　period。　But　the　traveller　may　have　confused　the　place　with　Rajahmundry　or　one　of　the　eastern　cities　of　Telingana。

In　1482　A。D。；　as　before　stated；　Mahmud　Shah　II。　succeeded　to　the　throne　of　Kulbarga；　being　then　a　boy　of　twelve；　but　his　sovereignty　was　only　nominal。　Constant　disturbances　took　place；　the　nobles　in　many　tracts　rose　against　the　sovereign；　and　amongst　others　the　governor　of　Goa　attempted　to　assert　his　independence；　seizing　many　important　places　on　the　coast；　civil　war　raged　at　the　capital；　and　before　long　the　great　chiefs　threw　off　all　semblance　of　obedience　to　the　authority　of　the　Bahmanis；　and　at　length　divided　the　kingdom　amongst　themselves。

At　Vijayanagar；　too；　there　seems　to　have　been　chaos；　and　about　the　time　when　the　Dakhani　nobles　finally　revolted；　Narasimha　Raya　had　placed　himself　on　the　throne　and　established　a　new　and　powerful　dynasty。

The　five　separate　kingdoms　which　arose　in　the　Dakhan　were　those　of　the　Adil　Shahs　of　Bijapur；　with　whom　we　have　most　to　do；　the　Barid　Shahs　of　Bidr　or　Ahmadabad；　the　Imad　Shahs　of　Birar；　the　Nizam　Shahs　of　Ahmadnagar；　and　the　Qutb　Shahs　of　Golkonda。

Adil　Shah　was　the　first　of　his　line　at　Bijapur；　and　he　proclaimed　his　independence　in　A。D。　1489。　The　unhappy　king　Mahmud　II。　lived　in　inglorious　seclusion　till　December　18；　A。D。　1517；　and　was　nominally　succeeded　by　his　eldest　son；　Ahmad。　Ahmad　died　after　two　years'　reign；　and　was　followed　in　rapid　succession　by　his　two　brothers；　Ala…ud…din　III。　（deposed）　and　Wali　（murdered）；　after　whom　Kalim　Ullah；　son　of　Ahmad　II。；　was　nominally　placed　on　the　throne　but　was　kept　a　close　prisoner；　and　with　his　death　the　Bahmani　dynasty　fell　for　ever。



CHAPTER　9

The　First　Kings　of　the　Second　Dynasty　（A。D。　1490　to　1509）

Narasimha　usurps　the　throne　　Flight　of　the　late　king　　Saluva　Timma　　Vira　Narasimha　　Bijapur　again　attacks　Vijayanagar　　The　Portuguese　in　India　　They　seize　Goa　　Varthema's　record　　Albuquerque。

In　my　〃Sketch　of　the　Dynasties　of　Southern　India；〃　published　in　1883　（p。　106）；　the　following　passage　occurs：　

〃We　now　come　to　the　second　or　Narasimha　dynasty；　whose　scions　became　more　powerful　than　any　monarchs　who　had　ever　reigned　over　the　south　of　India。　Dr。　Burnell　fixes　A。D。　1490　as　the　initial　date　of　Narasimha's　reign；　and　at　present　no　inscription　that　I　can　be　sure　of　appears　to　overthrow　that　statement。　I　observe；　however；　that　Bishop　Caldwell；　in　his　'History　of　Tinnevelly'　（p。　48）；　fixes　the　date　of　the　beginning　of　Narasimha's　。。。　reign　as　A。D。　1487。。。。　WE　HAVE　YET　TO　LEARN　THE　HISTORY　OF　HIS　ACQUIRING　THE　SOVEREIGNTY　OF　VIJAYANAGAR　AND　OUSTING　THE　OLDER　DYNASTY。〃

Nothing　has　since　transpired　to　throw　light　on　this　subject；　and　the　whole　matter　has　remained　up　to　the　present　in　its　primeval　darkness；　but　this　newly…found　chronicle　of　Nuniz　gives　us　the　entire　story　in　most　interesting　form　though　I　can　by　no　means　vouch　for　its　accuracy。　It　is；　nevertheless；　a　RESUME　of　the　traditional　history　of　the　early　sixteenth　century；　written　within　fifty　or　sixty　years　of　the　events　with　which　it　deals。　He　tells　us　that　Virupaksha　Raya　（〃Verupacarao〃）　was　a　weak　and　unworthy　sovereign；　in　whose　days　large　tracts　of　land　were　lost　to　the　Muhammadans；　including　Goa；　Chaul；　and　Dabhol；　and　this　statement；　at　least；　is　historically　accurate。　Virupaksha　was　despotic；　cruel；　and　sensuous；　〃caring　for　nothing　but　women　and　to　fuddle　himself　with　drink；〃　so　that　the　whole　country　was　roused　to　indignation　and　rebellion。　Eventually　he　was　murdered　by　his　eldest　son；　who　in　his　turn　was　slain　by　his　brother　〃Padearao；〃　in　whom　the　nation　merely　found　repeated　the　crimes　and　follies　of　his　dead　sire。　Disgusted　with　this　line　of　sovereigns；　the　nobles　rose；　deposed　their　king；　and　placed　on　the　throne　one　of　their　own　number；　Narasimha　　〃Narsymgua；　WHO　WAS　IN　SOME　MANNER　AKIN　TO　HIM。〃

Nuniz　gives　us　a　graphic　account　of　the　last　scenes；　how　Narasimha's　captain　arrived　at　the　city　gates　and　found　them　undefended；　how　he　penetrated　the　palace　and　found　no　one　to　oppose　him；　how　he　even　went　as　far　as　the　harem；　〃slaying　some　of　the　women；〃　and　how　at　last　the　craven　king　fled。

〃After　that；　Narasymgua　was　raised　to　be　king。。。。　And　as　he　had　much　power　and　was　beloved　by　the　people；　thence…forward　this　kingdom　of　Bisnaga　was　called　the　kingdom　of　Narsymga。〃

The　problem　of　Narasimha's　relationship　to　the　old　royal　line　has　never　yet　been　satisfactorily　solved。　He　belonged　to　a　family　called　SALUVA；　and　we　constantly　hear；　in　the　inscriptions　and　literary　works　of　the　time；　of　powerful　lords　who　were　relations　or　descendants　of　his。　Thus　our　chronicle　has　much　to　say　about　the　Saluva　Timma；　whom　Nuniz　calls　〃Salvatinea；〃　who　was　minister　to　King　Krishna　Deva　Raya。　An　inscription　of　the　Saka　year　1395；　which　corresponds　to　A。D。　1472　　73；　speaks　of　Narasimha　as　a　great　lord；　but　a　great　lord　ONLY；＇168＇　and　so　does　another　of　A。D。　1482　　83。＇169＇　In　one　of　A。D。　1495　　96；　however；＇170＇　he　is　called　〃MAHA…RAYA；〃　or　the　〃king。〃　But　although　the　exact　date　of　the　usurpation　and　the　exact　relationship　of　the　usurper　to　the　deposed　king　may　be　difficult　to　ascertain；　the　fact　remains　that　Narasimha　actually　became　sovereign　about　this　time；　that　Muhammadan　aggression　was　stayed　by　his　power　and　the　force　of　his　arms；　and　that　the　empire　of　Vijayanagar　was　under　him　once　more　consolidated。

The　account　of　this　period　as　given　by　Firishtah　differs　altogether　from　that　of　Nuniz；　and　gives　rise　to　much　confusion　and　difficulty。　And　as　to　the　relationship　of　the　succeeding　sovereigns；　Narasa；　Vira　Narasimha；　Krishna　Deva　Raya；　Achyuta；　and　Sadasiva；　the　native　inscriptions　themselves　are　totally　at　variance　with　one　another。　Some　few　points；　however；　in　the　general　scheme　of　history　of　the　second　dynasty　are　quite　certain；　and　these　may　be　shortly　summarised。　The　last　kings　of　the　first　dynasty　were　recognised　down　to　ABOUT　the　year　1490　A。D。　Narasimha　and　Vira　Narasimha　ruled　till　the　accession　of　Krishna　Deva　Raya　in　1509；　Achyuta　succeeded　Krishna　in　1530；　and　Sadasiva　succeeded　Achyuta　in　1542。　The　latter　was　virtually　a　prisoner　in　the　hands　of　Rama　Raya；　the　eldest　of　three　brothers；　at　first　nominally　his　minister；　but　afterwards　independent。　The　names　of　the　other　brothers　were　Tirumala　and　Venkatadri。　These　three　men　held　the　government　of　the　kingdom　till　1565；　when　the　empire　was　utterly　overthrown　by　a　confederation　of　the　five　Muhammadan　kings　of　the　Dakhan；　already　mentioned；　at　the　battle　of　Talikota　　so…called　　and　the　magnificent　capital　was　almost　wiped　out　of　existence。

With　these　few　facts　to　guide　us；　we　turn　to　the　chronicles　of　Nuniz　and　Firishtah；　trying　in　vain　to　obtain　some　points　of　contact　between　them　as　to　the　origin　of　the　second　dynasty　　some　clue　which　will　enable　us　to　reconcile　differences　and　arrive　at　the　real　truth。　If　we　are　to　be　guided　purely　by　probabilities；　it　would　seem　that　the　history　given　by　Nuniz　is　likely　to　be　the　more　accurate　of　the　two。　His　chronicle　was　written　about　the　year　1535；　during　the　reign　of　Achyuta；　he　lived　at　the　Hindu　capital　itself；　and　he　gained　his　information　from　Hindu　sources　not　long　subsequent　to　the　events　related。　Firishtah　did　not　write　till　about　A。D。　1607；　was　not　in　any　sense　a　contemporary　recorder；　and　did　not　live　amongst　the　Hindus；　but　at　the　court　of　Nizam　Shah　at　Ahmadnagar。　The　lengths　of　reigns；　however；　as　given　by　Nuniz　do　not　tally　with　th