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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[SEPTEMBER, 1914
harmful to the safety, of the empire. But it was easier to invite the Sultan than to expel him. The proud Musalman had seen with bis own eyes the splendour and glory of Vijayanagar, its noble streets, its magnificent palaces, its grand temples, its untold wealth, its busy trade, and the sight was not calculated to smother ambition or encourage sacrifice on his part. Ibrahim Adil Shah, however, was a wise opportunist. He had come to help the emperor against his subjects, and he now had no plausible reason for the continuance of his stay. He felt, moreover, that a permanent occupation of the Hindu capital was impossible. He therefore yielded to exigencies, but only after the receipt of about two million pounds (50 lakhs of huns) from the imperial treasury to compensate him for his troubles and expenses.
The different Epigraphical Version. Such is the commonly accepted version of Achyuta Raya's administration; but Mr. Krish na Sastri, the epigraphist of Madras, gives a different picture of the emperor. He points out from the incontrovertible evidences of epigraphy-and these evidences are singularly numerous in the case of Achyuta Raya, -and of contemporary literature, that, whether Achyuta Raya was a tyrant or not, he can, under no circumstances, be called a craven. He might have been wanting in the virtues of a statesman, but he was certainly not wanting in the talents of a soldier. In fact Mr. Krishna Sastri speaks of Achyuta Riya as not only an equal of his illustrious predecessor in prowess but also in popularity30. "The way in which people still speak of the happy days of Achyuta Raya Krishịa Râya sufficiently suggests the popularity and the greatness of that sovereign." Far from being the tool of Adil Shah, the inscriptions speak of him during the very first year of his succession, as "the terror to the Tuluk kars,"31 and "the conqueror of the Oddiya forces" and later records call him a universal conqueror and the conqueror of Ceylon. Mr. Krishna Sastıi believes that these titles were not idle panegyrics, that the early inscriptions really record an important victory which Achyuta Râya achieved over Bijapur and Warangal which had perhaps taken advantage of Krishna Dêva's death to make a joint attack on Vijayanagar. It is in the strong hold which Achyuta Raya had over the numerous feudatories in his empire, however, that his martial valour is conspicuous. He made his sovereignty a potent factor throughout South India. His magnificent donations to temples and Brahmans reminded men of the palmy days of his predecessor. 200 feudatory32 chiefs who maintained an aggregate army of 600,000 men saluted his standard and acknowledged his supremacy.
SECTION II, THE TINNEVELLY CAMPAIGN 1532.
Achyuta Rayas expedition to Tinnevelly. A remarkable campaign 38 which Achyuta Râya led to the basin of the Tambraparoi during the very second year of his accession serves to illustrate his martial capacity and his determination to retain at all costs his hold on the South. This campaign of Achyuta Raya deserves close scrutiny; for it had momentous effects on the history of South India and indirectly led to the establishment of the Naik dynasty in Madura. Historians or rather epigraphists have been puzzled to account satisfactorily for the expedition; but a careful
50 Madr. Ep. Rep. 1911 p. 85.
31 This is proved by an inscription at Tiruppanangadu dated 8. 1453. The emperor boasts of his victories over the Muhammadans and his erection of a pillar of victory in Orissa. See Madr. Ep. Rep. 1907 P. 85: Ibid, 1911(inso. 260 of 1910); and Ibid 1913, p. 123.
92 Nuniz: Chronicle. $3 The authorities for this are both literary and epigraphical. The chief literary work is Achyuta Rayabhyudaya. The inscriptions are at Conjeeveram, Tiruppaneigêdu, eto. All these have been summa. rised and commented on in Madr. Ep. Rep. 1899-1900; 1907; 1908; 1909; 1910; eto; Arch. Suru. Ind. 1908-06; and Trav. Arch. series. See also Taylor's Rais catal. III, 331. Regarding this important cam. paign Sewell wrote: "two inscriptions at Conjoeveram, dated respectively in 1632 and 1033, implied that at that period king Achyuta reduced the country about Tindeveily: but apparently he was not present in person, and nothing farther is known regarding this expedition." (Vory. Empe, p. 167). It will be seen that much information has been brought to light after Sewell wrote.
