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238
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[OCTOBER, 1912.
AN ACCOUNT OF THE EXPEDITION TO THE TEMPLES OF SOUTHERN INDIA UNDERTAKEN BY MARTIM AFONSO DE SOUZA, THE 12TH GOVERNOR OF PORTUGUESE INDIA.
BY W. R. VARDE-VALAVLIKAR; BOMBAY.
GASPAR CORREA, the author of the Lendas da India, in his narration of events that took place during the administration of Martim Afonso de Souza, gives an account of the expedition undertaken by him to some of the rich temples of Southern India. Among other things, the said narration contains a graphic description of one of the festivals of the Temple of Tremelle, which is very amusing and reads like a romance.
Martim Afonso assumed the reins of government in May 1542. He had already made himself famous as Captain-in-chief of the sea (Capitão mór do mar) on account of his bravery and warlike qualities, before he was appointed Governor of Goa. He was a great favourite with the clergy, and the Jesuit author of the Oriente Conquistado showers high encomiums on him. His administration shows that he did not hesitate to perpetrate any atrocity under the pretence of religion. He was, therefore, quite an apt man to undertake a predatory expedition to the pagodas of the Gentoos of the South.
Martim Afonso had received special orders to fit out this expedition from king Dom João III, sarnamed the Pious, who had received reports from some of the Portuguese residents in India of great wealth to be found in a certain temple in Southern India. On assuming the reins of office, his first care was to fit out a fleet for the projected expedition, and he carried out the preparations for the same with the greatest secrecy. As soon as the fleet was ready for sail on the 27th of August 1543, he sent ahead four vessels under the command of four captains, under sealed orders, with special injunction that the said orders were not to be opened until the vessels were twenty leagues away from the bar of Goa. This proceeding excited the curiosity of some of the fi lalgos with the result that they importuned him to be admitted into the secret of the expedition. He thereupon gave them to understand that he was going to Pegu to assist the king of the place against the Bramas (Burmese) and that he was promised a great treasure for the king of Portugal in return for his services.
On the 1st September, the Governor left the city of Goa for Pangim, and the next day he started with a fleet of 45 sail, 300 cavalry, 3,000 seamen and soldiers and a lot of musketry. The fleet went to Cochin, where the object of the expedition, so far kept secret, leaked out. There it came to be known that the Governor was going to rob the very rich Temple of Tremelle situate in the port of Paleacate (Palicat), in the dominions of Bisnega (Vijayanagar); that further, in order not to leave anything belonging to the Portuguese exposed on the whole coast of Paleacate, the Governor had already sent orders to the inhabitants of São Thomè (near Madras), to raze to the ground the church of the apostle, to take steps to save the holy relics, and after palling down all other habitations, to embark with their goods in the big vessels that lay there at anchor for that purpose. The object of these orders was plain enough in as much as after the committal of the contemplated robbery, retaliation was certain; in which case, nothing would escape the vengeance of the people of the land.
It will be sufficient to give an idea of the great wealth of the Temple of Tremelle to state that at the time of the civil war in the kingdom of Bisnega (about 1535), the legitimate heir to the throne, on applying to the mangers of this temple for help, when he desired to take
1 Oriente Conquistado a Jesus Christo, Conquista 1, divisão 1, paragraphos 28, 29, 30.
2 King of Portugal, 1521-1557.
Lendas da India, Vol. IV, Lenda de Martim Afonso de Sour", chap. XXX. 1bid. char. XXXIII.
3. Portuguese grandees.
