Get complete information on the Early life of Deva Raya II

Deva Raya II ruled from 1422 to 1446. War with the Bahmani kingdom continued and Ahmad Shah massacred women and children of Viajayanagar mercilessly. He celebrated a carnival for three days when the number of Hindus who had been killed reached 20,000.

Deva Raya was so much impressed by the efficiency of the Muslim cavalry that he decided to recruit Muslim horsemen in his own army. While doing so, he did not care for his personal religious prejudices. War with the Bahmani kingdom started once again in 1443 and the Muslims inflicted heavy losses upon him. Ultimately, he has forced to pay tribute to the Bahmani rulers.

Deva Raya II made many reforms. He appointed Lakkanna or Lakshmana to the “Lordship of the Southern Sea”, i.e. in charge of overseas commerce. It was during his reign that Vijayanagar was visited by two foreigners. Nicolo Conti visited Vijayanagar about the year 1420 or J42;l. Abdur Razzaq, an envoy from Persia, visited Vijayanagar in 1442 and remained there till the beginning of April, 1443. Both of them have given an interesting account of what they saw.

According to Nicolo Conti, “The great city of Bizengalia is situated near very steep mountains. The circumference of the city is sixty miles; its walls are carried up to the mountains and enclosed the valleys at their foot, so that its extent is thereby increased. In this city there are estimated to be ninety thousand men fit to bear arms.

“The inhabitants of this region marry as many wives as they please, who are burn with their dead husbands. Their King is more powerful than all the other Kings of India. He takes to himself 12,000 wives of whom 4,000 follow him on foot wherever he may go and are employed solely in the service of the kitchen.

A like number, more handsomely equipped, ride on horseback. The remainder is carried by men in litters, of whom 2,000 or 3,000 are selected as his wives, on condition that at his death they should voluntarily burn themselves with him, which is considered to be great honour for them.”

“At a certain time of the year their idol is carried through the city, placed between two chariots, in which are young women richly adorned, who sing hymns to the god, and accompanied by a great concourse of people.

Many, carried away by the fervor of their faith, cast themselves on the ground before the wheels in order that they may be crushed to death-a mode of death which they say is very acceptable to their god; others, making an incision in their side and inserting a rope thus through their body, hang themselves to the chariot by way of ornament and thus suspended and half-dead accompany their idol. This kind of sacrifice they consider best and most acceptable of all.”

“Thrice in the year they keep festivals of special solemnity. On one of these occasions the males and females of all ages, having bathed in the rivers or the sea, clothe themselves in new garments and spend three entire days in singing, dancing and feasting. On another of these festivals they fix up within their temples and on the outside, on their roofs, an innumerable number of lamps of oil of suzerain, which are kept burning day and night.

On the third, which lasts nine days, they set up in all the highways large beams, like the masts of small ships, to the upper part of which are attached pieces of very beautiful cloth of various kinds interwoven with gold. On the summit of each of these beams is each day placed a Man of pious aspect, dedicated to religion, capable of enduring all things, with equanimity, who is to pray for the favour of God.

These men are assailed by the people, who pelt them with oranges, lemons and other odoriferous fruits, all of which they bear most patiently. There are also three other festival days during which they sprinkle all passers-by, even the King and queen themselves, with saffron water, placed for that purpose by the way-side. This is received by all with much laughter.”

According to Abdur Razzaq, “The city-Bijanagar is such that eye has not seen nor ever heard of any resembling it upon the whole earth. It is so built that it has seven fortified walls one within the other. Beyond the circuit of the outer walls there is an esplanade extending for about fifty yards, in which stones are fixed near one another to the height of a man; one half buried firmly in the earth, and the other half rises above it, so that neither foot nor horse, however, bold, can advance with facility near the outer wall.

If any one. Wishes to learn how this resembles the city of Hirat, let him understand that the outer fortification answers to that which extends from the hill of Mukhtar and the pass of ‘the Two Brothers’ to the banks of the river and the bridge of Malan, which lies to the east of the village of Ghizar and to the west of the village of Siban.

“The fortress is in the form of a circle, situated on the summit of a hill and is made of stone and mortar, with strong gates, where guards are always posted, who are very diligent in the collection of taxes (jiyat). The second fortress represents the space which extends from the bridge of the New River to the bridge of the pass of Kara, to the east of the bridge of Rangina and Jakan and to the west of the garden of Zibanda and the village of Jasan. The third fortress would contain the space which lies between the tombs of the Imam Fakhr-ud-Din Razi to the vaulted tomb of Muhammad Sultan Shah.

The fourth would represent the space which lies between the bridge of Anjil and the bridge of Karad. The fifth may be reckoned equivalent to the space which lies between the garden of Zaghan and the bridge of the river Jakan. The sixth fortification would comprehend the distance between the gate of the King and that of Firozabad.

The seventh fortress is placed in the centre of the others and occupies ground ten times greater than the chief market of Hirat. In that is situated the palace of the King. From the northern gate of the outer fortress to the southern is a distance of two statute parasangs and the same with respect to the distance between the eastern and western gates.

Between the first, second and third walls, there are cultivated fields, gardens and houses. From the third to the seventh fortress, shops and bazars are closely crowded together. By the palace of the King, there are four bazars, situated opposite to one another. That which lies to the north is the imperial palace or abode of the Rai. At the head of each bazar, there is lofty arcade and magnificent gallery, but the palace of the King, is loftier than all of them.

The bazars are very broad and long, so that the sellers of flowers, not with standing that they place high stands before their shops, are yet able to sell flowers from both sides. Sweet scented flowers are always procurable fresh in that city and they are considered as even necessary sustenance, seeing that without them they could not exist.

The tradesmen of each separate guild or craft have their shops close to one another. The jewellers sell their rubies and pearls and diamonds and emeralds openly in the bazar.”

“In this charming area, in which the palace of the King is contained, there are many rivulets and streams flowing through channels of cut stone, polished and even. On the right hand of the palace of the Sultan, there is the diwan-khana, or minister’s office, which is extremely large and presents the appearance of a Chihalsutun, or forty-pillared hall and in front of it, there runs a raised-gallery, higher than the stature of a man, thirty yards long and six yards broad, where the records are kept and the scribes are seated.”

“Each class of men belonging to each profession has shops contiguous the one to the other; the jewellers sell publicly in the bazar pearls, rubies, emeralds and diamonds. In this agreeable locality, as well as in the King’s palace, one sees numerous running streams and canals formed of chiseled stone, polished and smooth.

On the left of the Sultan’s portico, arises the diwan-khana (the council-house) which is extremely large and looks like a palace. In front of it is a hall, the height of which is above the stature of a man, its length thirty ghez and its breadth ten. In it is placed the daftar-khana (the archives), and here sit the scribes. In the middle of this palace, upon an high Estrada, is seated a eunuch called Daiang who alone presides over the Divan. At the end of the hall stand chobdars (hussars) drawn up in line.

Every man who comes upon any business, passes between the chobdars, officers a small present, prostrates himself with his face to the ground, then rising up explains the business which brought him there and the Daiang pronounces his opinion, according to the principles of justice adopted in this kingdom and no one thereafter is allowed to make appeal.”

“In this country, they have three kinds of money, made of gold mixed with alloy: one called varahab, weights about one mithkal, equivalent to two dinars; kopeki, the second, which is called pertab, is the half of the first; the third called fanam, is equivalent in value to the tenth part of the last mentioned coin.

Of these different coins the fanam is the most useful. They cast in pure silver a coin which is the sixth of the fanam, which they call tar. This latter is also a very useful coin in currency. A copper coin with the third of a tar is called digital.

According to the practice adopted in this empire, all the provinces at a fixed period bring their gold to the mint. If any man receives from the divan an allowance in gol|l, he has to be paid by the darabkhana.”