Indian Antiquary Vol 58

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 67

MARCH, 1929]
would be difficult to overestimate. He has not only added enormously to our information concerning the history of the period, but has thrown fresh light upon many hitherto obscure points; and he has corrected many mistakes in facts and in dates, all of which it is not possible to notice in a short review.
BOOK-NOTICES
Father Heras commences with a description of the conditions at Vijayanagara during the reigns of the last three Tuluva monarchs, explaining how the Aravidu family, in the persons of Rama Raya and his brothers Tirumala and Venkata, gradually attained supreme power. Rama Raya became regent of the empire and de facto king till his death at the battle of Raksas-Tagdi in 1565. His brother Tirumala then succeeded as regent, and de facto king, Sadasiva still remaining the nominal, fainéant king -"a king of the type of those who closed the Mero. vingian dynasty of France "-till his murder in 1569, when Tirumala was formally anointed as king at Penukonda, and so became the first king de jure of the fourth or Aravidu dynasty. The administration of the empire, the campaigns in the Karnatic and Ceylon and the relations with foreign powers under Rama Raya's regency are then dealt with. Much light is thrown upon the diplomacy followed by the regent in his dealings with the Muhammadan kingdoms of Bijapur, Ahmednagar, Bidar and Golconda, which explains perhaps the ultimate combination between at least four of these powers that dealt the heavy blow to the empire of Vijayanagara from which it never quite recovered. A full account is then given of the decisive engagement, hitherto generally known as 'the battle of Talikota,' which the author names, more correctly, the battle of Raksas-Tagdi, as it was fought near the villages Raksasji and Tagdiji to the south of the Kistna river, not far from Mudgal, whereas Talikota is nearly 25 miles to the north of the river. The author devotes the next chapter to the effects of that battle and the sack of the capital that ensued upon the history of the Dekkan and South India generally. "The battle of Raksas-Tagdi," he writes, "is the milestone that separates the era of Hindu splendour in the South of India from the age of Muhammadan expansion. Impartial history acknowledges its influence centuries after, since it paved the way for the Maratha cavalry of Sivaji and his successors, fostered the ambitious ideals of Aurangzeb and his Nawabs, and attracted the ambitious Haidar Ali to overthrow the old Hindu dynasty of Mysore. The glorious Empire of Vijayanagara, faithful trustee of the inheritance of the Hoysalas for two centuries and a half, was now seriously menaced by its secular opponents, the Muslim powers of central India. Perhaps this action would mark the end of its existence, but for a new family of fresh and vigorous blood, that succeeded in saving the imperial crown from the midst of that turmoil of death. The Empire of Vijayanagara thus lasted another century. Such was the destiny of the Aravidu family." And in the history of this Aravidu family that hereafter fills the throne we have,
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as it is expressed in the Introduction, "the history of the Telugu domination over the Tamil and Kanarese people."
Father Heras justly regards the death of Rama Raya, whose "indisputable qualities as a statesman, combined with his victorious campaigns as a warrior, place him among the great Hindu rulers of India as an irreparable loss to the empire. Incidentally he adduces evidence from contemporary and other sources indicating that the actual damage to the buildings in Vijayanagara wrought by the Muhammadans and their followers has hitherto been much exaggerated; in fact he characterizes Sewell's picture of the conditions as a misdescription. He also shows that Tirumala must have remained at Vijayanagara for some two years thereafter, and then, probably in the latter part of 1567, moved his court to the strong hill fort of Penukonda: 64 the transfer of the capital to Penukonda was the cause of the abandonment and destruction of Vijayanagara." Here, again, Father Heras corrects a previous error of interpretation. He points out that Cesare de Federici in his account of Vijayanagara, where he spent seven months, clearly states that Tirumala returned there after the departure of the Muhammadan kings, and "then beganne for to repopulate it," and that it was from there, and not from Penukonda, as Sewell seems to have thought, that he sent to the Portuguese traders at Goa for horses. This traveller states specifically that it was in 1587 that Tirumala moved with his court to Penukonda. The reliability of his narrative has been accepted on more points than one, e.g., in regard to the murderer of Sadasiva.
The short remaining period of Tirumala's reign and the reigns of Sri Ranga I and Venkata II are then dealt with. For reasons fully set forth, the author regards the reign of Sri Ranga as "one of the most fatal periods in the history of Vijayanagara." Venkata II, who had so many difficulties to contend with from the very start, is styled by Father Heras the most illustrious sovereign of the dynasty, "who checked the Muslim raids in the North, subdued the turbulent Nayaks in the South, caused the Rajas of Mysore to be firmly established in their realm, strengthened his power by an alliance with the Portuguese and fostered literature and the fine. arts throughout his vast dominions. The civil war that followed his death hastened the decay of the Empire."
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Interspersed with the accounts of the reigns of the kings are chapters containing some of the most valuable information in the volume. There are chapters, for instance, on the Early Telugu Invasions into the South, the Nayaks of Madura and Tanjore, the rulers of Mysore and other smaller states, and the Kanarese Viceroyalty. Interesting chapters are devoted to the relations of Venkata II with the Portuguese, Dutch and English; to the subject of the Jesuits at his court; and to his noteworthy encouragement of painting and the patronage shown to artists, both European and Indian. A chapter