A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar
Page 28
And after some days and years had passed, Narsenaque, seeing the age of the king how young he was, determined to keep him in the city of Penagumdy, with large guards to make safe his person, and to give him 20,000 cruzados of gold every year for his food and expenses, and himself to govern the kingdom -- for it had been entrusted to him by the king his lord so to do. After this had been done he told the King that he desired to go to Bisnaga to do certain things that would tend to the benefit of the kingdom, and the King, pleased at that, told him that so it should be; thinking that now he himself would be more his own master and not be so liable to be checked by him. And after he had departed and arrived at Bisnaga, Narsenaque sent the King 20,000 men for his guard, as he had arranged, and he sent as their captain Timapanarque, a man in whom he much confided; (commanding him) that he should not allow the King to leave the city, and that he should carefully guard his person against treachery.
And after this was done Narsenaque began to make war on several places, taking them and demolishing them because they had revolted. At that time it was proposed by some captains that they should kill the King, as he was not a man fitted to govern, but to this Narsenaque would answer nothing. After some days had passed, however, Narsenaque, pondering on the treason about which they had spoken to him, how it would increase his greatness and more easily make him lord of the kingdom of which he was (only) minister, called one day those same captains who had often proposed it to him, and asked them by what means the King could be slain without its being known that he had had a hand in his death. Then one man[510] told him that a very good way would be that he (the minister) should appear to be annoyed with him and should send to command his presence, which mandate he would not obey, and on account of this act of disrespect he (the minister) should ordain that some punishment be inflicted, and at this aggravation he would leave the city and fly to Penagundy to stir up the King against the minister. He said that after he had gained the goodwill of the King he would so plot against him that he would render him disobedient; and that to give the King greater encouragement he would forge letters as if from captains which should contain the same counsel -- namely, that he should leave that city where he was more prisoner than free -- and would point out to him that he alone was king and lord, and yet that the land was under the power of Narasenaque his vassal, who had made himself very strong and powerful in the kingdom and held him (the King) prisoner, and had rebelled. He would urge the King to secretly quit the city and betake himself to a fortress belonging to the captain who had sent him that letter, and that there he should prepare himself, getting together a large following. And he would tell him that when the lords and captains came to know of his wish and determination they would act according to it, and would help him, and would come with him to fall upon Narsenayque, and would bestow upon him (Narsenaque) the prison in which he (the King) was now kept. So he would be king. (The captain further said) that after he had persuaded the King to this he would cause him to (leave the city), and while going out he would kill him, and that in this way Narsenaque should become king.
Narsenayque was well pleased to listen to this treason and to hear of the evil deed which this captain planned, and he showed him much favour. The captain disappeared after some days from where Narsenayque was, feigning to have fled; and he came to Penagumdy, where in a few days his arrival was known; and he set about and put in hand all those things that had been arranged. Every day he showed the King a letter, one day from a captain of one fortress, the next day another from another captain; and the King, understanding the plots contained in the letters so shown, replied that the counsel and advice seemed good, and yet how could he resist the power of Narsenayque, who, besides being minister of the kingdom, had (possession of) all the horses and elephants and treasure, so that he could at once make war against him? "True it is, Sire, that which thou sayest," answered the traitor, "and yet he is much misliked by all the captains who raised thee to be king, and as soon as they shall see thee in Chaodagary"[511] (which was a fortress whither he had advised him to flee, being one which up to that time was independent), "all will flock to thine aid, since they esteem it a just cause." Said the King, -- "Since this is so, how dost thou propose that I should leave this place, so that my going should not be known to the guards and to the 20,000 men who surround me in this city?" "Sire," he replied, "I will disclose to thee a very good plan; thou and I will go forth by this thy garden, and from thence by a postern gate which is in the city (wall), and which I know well; and the guards, seeing thee alone without any following, will not know that it is thou, the King, and thus we shall pass to the outside of the city, where I will have horses ready that will take us whithersoever it seemeth good to thee." All this pleased the King well, and he placed everything in his hands; and, seeing fulfilled all his desire, the captain spoke with those men who guarded that part of the garden by which he wished that the King should fly, and which was near the King's own houses, (for into this garden the King often went to amuse himself with his wives, which garden was at that part guarded by a matter of 300 armed men) and to these men he spoke thus, saying to them: -- "If ye shall happen to see me pass by here on such a night and at such an hour, and if ye shall see a man coming with me, slay him, for he well deserves it of me, and I will reward ye;" and they all said that that would be a very small service to do for him. When that day had passed the traitor went to the King and said to him: -- "Sire, do not put off till to-morrow that which thou hast to do to-day; for I have the horses ready for thy escape, and have planned so to escort thee forth that even thy ladies shall not be aware of thy departure, nor any other person. Come, Sire, to the garden, where I will await thee." The King replied that his words were good and so he would do, and as soon as night was come and the hour arrived, the King went carefully out, and still more careful was he who for some time had awaited him; and he gave signal to the armed men, and as soon as he was come to the garden he passed between two of them who were the guards, and they threw themselves on the King and slew him, and forthwith buried him at the foot of a tree in the same garden. And this being accomplished without their knowing whom they had slain, the traitor gave them his thanks, and returned to his inn to make ready to leave the city, and also so as not to give cause for talk therein. And the next morning it was found that the King was missing; and though searched for throughout all the city no news of him could be heard, all the people thinking that he had fled somewhere, whence he would make war on Narsenayque. And to Narsenayque the news was straightway brought, and he, feigning much sorrow at it, yet made ready all his horses and elephants in case the kingdom should be plunged into some revolution by the death of the king; although as yet he knew not for certain how the matter stood, save that the King had disappeared. And afterwards the man came who had killed the King, and told him how it had been done and how secretly he had been slain, so that even the very men who had killed him knew not who it was; and Narsenayque bestowed upon him rich reward. And since there was no news of the King, and he holding everything now under his hand, he was raised to be king over all the land of Narsymga.
And this king left at his death five sons, one was called Busbalrao, and another Crismarao, and another Tetarao, and another Ramygupa and another Ouamysyuaya.[512]
And this Busbalrao inherited the kingdom at the death of his father Narsenayque and reigned six years, during which he was always at war, for as soon as his father was dead the whole land revolted under its captains; who in a short time were destroyed by that King, and their lands taken and reduced under his rule. During these six years the King spent, in restoring the country to its former condition, eight million gold parados. This King died of his sickness in the city of Bisnaga; and before he died he sent for Salvatimya, his minister,[513] and commanded to be brought to him his (the King's) son, eight years old, and said to Sallvatina that as soon as he was dead he must raise up this son to be king (though he was not of an age for that, and though the kingdom ought perhaps to belong to his brother
Crisnarao) and that he must put out the eyes of the latter and must bring them to show him; in order that after his death there should be no differences in the kingdom. Salvatina said that he would do so and departed, and sent to call for Crisnarao, and took him aside to a stable, and told him how his brother had bade him put out his eyes and make his son king. When he heard this, Crisnarao said that he did not seek to be king, nor to be anything in the kingdom, even though it should come to him by right; that his desire was to pass through this world as a JOGI (ascetic, recluse), and that he should not put his eyes out, seeing that he had not deserved that of his brother. Sallvatina, hearing this, and seeing that Crisnarao was a man of over twenty years and therefore more fit to be king, as you will see farther on, than the son of Busbalrao who was only eight years old, commanded to bring a she-goat, and he put out its eyes, and took them to show the King, for already he was at the last hour of his life; and he presented them to him, and as soon as the King was dead his brother Crisnarao was raised to be king, whose eyes the late King had ordered to be torn out.
Chapter 5.
Chapter 5.
Of the things done by King Crisnarao after he was raised to the throne.
As soon as Crisnarao was raised to be King and was obeyed throughout all his kingdom, -- Salvatine being his minister, who had been the same for his brother Busbalrao,[514] -- he without delay sent his nephew, son of Busbalrao his brother, together with his own three brothers, to a fortress called Chaodegary; the nephew remained there till he died. And after the King had done this for his own safety he stayed in the city of Bisnaga for a year and a half without going outside of it, learning the affairs of the kingdom and looking at the testaments of past kings. Amongst these he found one of king Narsymga, whose minister his father Narsenayque had been, in which that King desired that his sons, or whoever should inherit this kingdom of Narsymga which he had gained by force of arms, should capture three fortresses that at his death remained in revolt against him, the which he had not himself taken because time failed him; one of them was called Rracholl,[515] and another Medegulla.[516]
Crisnarao, seeing this testament and seeing how badly the kings his predecessors had acted in what had been enjoined on them, determined at once to prepare armies and to go against these places; and one of these fortresses was called Odigair, and it belonged to the King of Orya. And, determining to go first against this, he collected (an army of) thirty-four thousand foot and eight hundred elephants, and arrived with this force at the city of Digary,[517] in which there were ten thousand foot soldiers and four hundred horse; for the fortress had no necessity for more by reason of its great strength, because it could not be taken except by being starved out.
And the King laid siege to it for a year and a half, in which time he made many paths across rocky hills, breaking up many great boulders in order to make a road for his soldiers to approach the towers of the fortress. The place at this time was so strong that they could not approach it except by one way which was so narrow that men could only pass along it one at a time; and in this place he made a broad road, and many others also, so that he could come close to the fortress.
And he took it by force of arms, and in it captured an aunt[518] of the King of Orya, who was taken captive and carried off with all the courtesy that he could show her, having her liberty; and he took her along with himself.
And after this was done he called Salvatinya and bade him see how well he had performed that which king Narsymga had by his testament enjoined on him, and yet he said he was not content with such a trivial victory, for[519] he desired to go forward a hundred leagues into the kingdom of Orya; and he ordered him to make ready provisions and pay fully the salaries of the forces.
And after this fortress was taken he departed and went against Comdovy,[520] which was one of the principal cities of the kingdom of Orya, and besieged it; and, learning this, the King of Orya came against him to defend his territories, and brought with him one thousand three hundred elephants, and twenty thousand horsemen, and he brought five hundred thousand foot-soldiers. Crisnarao, being aware of the approach of the king of Orya, left the city without assaulting it, saying that he preferred to fight the King in person and his army rather than to attack the city, and that there would be plenty of time afterwards to take it; and he went forward four leagues from it, leaving a force to prevent the escape of the people from the city if they should seek to flee to the coast. And he arrived at a large river of salt water crossed by a ford,[521] and on the other side of the river was the King of Orya with his army. King Crisnarao halted his army on this side of the river, and sent the King a message that if he desired to fight with him he would retire from the river two leagues, so that he (the king of Orya) might pass the river unmolested, and as soon as he had passed he would join battle; to which message the King of Orya gave no reply, but on the contrary made ready to give battle. And King Crisnarao, seeing his determination, crossed the river with all his forces and elephants, and in the crossing of the river there were heavy encounters on both sides, and many were slain. Notwithstanding this, King Crisnarao crossed the river, and on the bank fought so bravely that he defeated the King of Oria and put him to flight, in which defeat he took many horses and elephants.
And after the King had done this he told Salvatinea his minister that he purposed to turn back to the fortress, which had not yet experienced his strength, and he went against it, and stopped there two months besieging it; and he took it.
And he gave the command of it to Salvatinea, who left in it, from his army, for captain one of his brothers, in order that he himself might go forward with the King through the kingdom of Orya. And the King, passing the river once more in pursuit of the King of Orya, and taking and ravaging all the country which had no reason for expecting him, arrived at a city called Comdepallyr,[522] where were all the chiefs of the kingdom, it being the chief city in that kingdom. And he laid siege to it, and remained there three months without being able to capture it, and in the end he took it more by reason of his numbers than by force of arms; in which fortress he found many people of high rank whom he made captive, amongst whom was a wife of the King, and one of his sons who was a prince, and seven principal captains of the kingdom, all of whom he sent by road to Bysnaga.
And he went forward a hundred leagues into the kingdom, finding no one to bar his progress till he got to Symamdary,[523] which was a very large city, in which he halted for six months, waiting for the King of Orya. He sent many messages to say that he was waiting for him in the field, but he never came. And in this city he did many works, and gave alms to the temples, and erected therein a very grand temple to which he gave much revenue. And he commanded to engrave on it an inscription which says: -- "Perhaps when these letters are decayed, the king of Orya will give battle to the King of Bisnaga. If the King of Orya erases them, his wife shall be given to the smiths who shoe the horses of the King of Bisnaga."
And after this was done he returned, leaving the greater part of those lands to the temples, and came to Bisnaga where he rested some days. And he sent to call the son of the king of Orya who was taken captive in the first fortress, and told him that as people said that he was a very active man and was very dexterous with both sword and dagger, he would be pleased to see him fence.
The young man said that since His Highness summoned him he would do what he could, and asked that this might be put off till next day. And when the next day came the King sent to call him, and also sent for one of his own men who at that time was very expert in the art,[524] that he should fence with him. And when the son of the King of Orya saw him, being offended with the King for sending a man to fight with him who was not the son of a King but only a man of humble birth, he cried out to the King: -- "God forbid that I should soil my hands by touching a man not of the blood royal," and saying this he slew himself. And his father, hearing how his son was dead, wrote to Salvatinea (asking) by what means he could ransom his wife who remained in the power of the King, since
his son was dead; to which he made answer that he should arrange the marriage of his daughter with the King, and that afterwards the King would restore him his wife and lands (or, would take only his lands).[525] This counsel he accepted, and he sent ambassadors to Bisnaga to arrange a marriage with his daughter, with which King Crisnarao was well content; and when the King of Orya knew his will (in the matter) he sent him his daughter; and with the coming of her they were friends. And Crisnarao restored the lands on the other side of the river, and kept those on the hither side for himself.
Chapter 6,
Chapter 6,
How Crisnarao, after he had made peace with the King of Oria, determined to go against the land of Catuir.
After Crisnarao had made peace, and had married the daughter of the King of Oria, and had restored to him his wife and the lands beyond the river, as has been narrated above, he made ready a large army and prepared to attack Catuir,[526] which is the land of a lord who had been in revolt for fifty years; this land is on the Charamaodel side. And he went against it, and laid siege to one of the principal cities where the lord of the land was; and it is called ...[527]and is surrounded with water.
Now at the time when Crisnarao attacked this city it was winter, for which cause the river that surrounded it was so swollen, and carried down so much water, that the king could do no harm to the place. And King Crisnarao, seeing this, and seeing that time was passing away without his attaining his desire, commanded his men to cut many new channels in order to be able to attack that principal (river) which had opposed itself to the fulfilment of his wishes. And this was done in a short time, since he had many soldiers; and after the (new) watercourses were finished and brought to where the water should go he opened mouths in the river, the water of which very soon flowed out so that the bottom could be seen, and it was left so shallow that it enabled him to reach the walls of the city; and the river was thus diverted into fifty different beds. Inside the city were one hundred thousand foot-soldiers and three thousand cavalry, who defended themselves and fought very bravely, but this availed little to prevent Crisnarao from entering in a few days and slaughtering all of them. He found large treasures in this city, amongst others in ready money a million and six hundred thousand golden parados, besides jewels, and horses, which were numerous, and elephants. And after he had finished the capture of this land Crisnarao divided it amongst many of his captains, giving to each one what was necessary for him; and the chief who lived in the city and who was lord of the land was taken away captive and carried to Bisnaga, where he died in the King's prison.