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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
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DECEMBER, 1928
of Vijayanagara by the king of Orissa 10 Another inscription in the South Arcot District records that in 1464-65 the village of Munnur was actually in the occupation of Kumara Maha. pátra Kapilêśvara, son of Ambîradeva. We have therefore to admit that from 1464 till the date of his death in 1470 Kapilêsvara was in possession of the whole of the Eastern Coast of the Indian Peninsula from the Balasore District of Orissa to the extreme south of the Trichinopoly District. We have no means so far of deducing the exact chronology of events in the process of these conquests, but we obtain some help from Musalman histories. The best of these are no doubt Firishta and the Burhan-s-Ma'asir. Kapilêndradeva was the contemporary of Sultân 'Alauddin Ahmad II, who ascended the throne on the 21st February 1435. One of the earliest events connected with the king of Orissa, in the Burhan-i-Ma'asir, is a statement of the condition of western part of the Telugu country. It is stated in this work that the leader of the Hindu chiefs of the country above the Ghats was an Oriya. Kapi. lêśvara is not mentioned by name, but the statement made about the number of elephants which this Oriya chief possessed proves that the king of Orissa himself had come to occupy the most prominent position among the Hindu chiefs of the Telugu speaking country. It is stated that at that time & chief named Sanjar Khan was occupied in the delightful pastime of capturing innocent Hindu villagers of the plains of Telingana and transporting them as slaves into the interior of Deccan.11 At this time Sultan 'Alauddin Ahmad Shah Bahmani is stated to have said that it was dangerous to meddle with a man who possessed more than two hundred thousand elephants, while the Bahmanî monarch did not possess more than one hundred and fifty. This is just the beginning of Kapilêndra's interferences in affairs outside Orissa proper. The next mention of Telingana in the Burhan-i-Ma'asir is in connection with the rebel chief Muhammad Khân, to whom the district of R&yachal in that locality was assigned 13 Gradually Kapiléndra came to be regarded as the suzerain of Telingana, and the occasion soon rose to put him to the test. Though Varangal had been occupied in 1423, the districts of Telingana both above and below the Ghâts still remained to be conquered. According to Firishta, Humayun Shah Bahmani determined to conquer Devårkonda and sent Khwajah-iJahân with a large army, and the fort was besieged. He sent an appeal for help to Kapilêndra, who marched 80.swiftly with his army that he caught the Muhammadan general unawares. The besieged also sallied out and attacked the Musalmans from the other side. Caught between two armies, Khwajah-i-Jahan was defeated and compelled to fly.13 The Muhammadans never attempted to rally, and Musalman historians had to find some other excuse for Humayun Shah Bahmani, as he never attempted to cross swords with Kapilêndra, so long as he was alive.14 It is probable that on this occasion Kapilêndra wiped out the Keddi sovereigns of Kondavidu and other places.
A drama named Gangaddsa-Pratápavilásam by Gangadhara mentions that Kapilêndra had united with the Bahmani king and invaded the territories of the Vodeyar or Yadava dynasty of Vijayanagara. In view of his hostile relations with the Sultans of Bidar, it is not possible to believe that he had invaded Vijayanagara in alliance with any Musalman power. The subsequent reference to his wars with the Bahmani Sultans prove definitely that he, at least, was at no time in amicable relation with any Musalman king. The GangadásaPratá pavilasam says that immediately after the death of Devaraya II of Vijayanagara in 1446, Kapilêndra allied himself with Alauddin Ahmad II Bahmani and advanced as far as Vijayanagara, but had to retire after a defeat in the hands of Mallikarjuna 16 This story was
10 Report of the Asstt. Archl. Supdt., s.o., 1906-7, p. 84. 11 Ind. Ant., vol. XXVIII, p. 237. 19 Ibid., p. 238.
18 This is known as the hattle o: Devårkondâ and its date is approximately 864 A...=1459 A.D. according to Firishta
14 Brigg's The Rise of the Muhammadan Power in India, vol. III, pp. 456-58: I. A., vol. XXVIII, p. 244
16 S. K. Ayyangar, Sources of Vijayanagar History, Madras, 1919, pp. 66-68. The author omits to identify PAvAchala with PAvAgadh near Champaner in the Panch Mahals District of Bombay. It is the Pavangadh of Maratha chronicles,
