Book Title: Indian Antiquary Vol 61
Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications
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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[ DECEMBER, 1932
the Vishņuvardhana gôtra, Vommâyamma's sons Lakkanna Daņnayaka and Mâdanna.56 Another inscription of the same year repeats the same information, but gives to Madanna the rank of a dannayaka.57 In 1433 A.D. Lakkann Odeyar was placed over Teka!,'8 which in the next year he made over, by order of Deva Raya, to Saļuva Gôpa Raya. In 1435 A.D. both Lakkanna and Madanna appear in their capacity of odeyars.co From 1416 A.D. till 1435 A.D., therefore, Lakkanna is mentioned only as a great minister, 61 odeyar, and dannayaka.
Now he has been identified with the 'Danaik' mentioned by Abdur-Razzaq solely because he was in charge of the southern division as the Lord of the Southern Ocean. It seems this is enough to prove that the conjectures of the late Mr. Venkayya were correct in the main. But I do not believe that such an identification is tenable. The point to be noted is whether Lakkanna could ever have been in the Vijayanagara court in 1442-1443 A.D., when the" guilty princo" was almost on the point of assassinating the emperor. This brings us to the history of Lakkanna as the Lord of the Southern Ocean' (dakshina-samudrådhipati). The earliest date given to him as the Lord of the Southern Oceanis Saka 1360 (1438-9 A.D.), when a gift was made for the merit of his brother Madanna Odeyar. He is given the rank of a minister in this record. From that date till Saka 1366 (A.D. 1444-5) he was 'Lord of tho Southern Ocean,'63
The question that may bo asked is whether Lakkanna was the vizier whom the emperor summoned when his life was in danger. 'Abdur-Razzaq is our main authority in this matter. He gives us an account of the malicious attempts made by certain Hormuzians to bring him under the displeasure of the emperor, and then speaks of an expedition that was sent against Gulbarga : " About this time the Danaik, or minister, who had treated me with the greatest consideration, departed on an expedition to the kingdom of Kulbarga, of which the cause was, that the king of Kulbarga, Sultån Alâu-d-din Ahmad Shah, upon learning the attempted assassination of Deo Rai, and the murder of the principal officers of State, was exceedingly rejoiced, and sent an eloquent deputy to deliver this message......" (which was a demand for 700,000 varáhas, with war as an inevitable alternative).
Some more information is given about this 'Danaik' in a later passage: "The king had appointed as a temporary substitute of the Brahman Dandik a person named Hambah Nurir, who considered himself equal to the wazir."64
When did this plot to assassinate the emperor take place! This can be determined by ascertaining where 'Abdur-Razzaq was when he narrated the story. He was then at Calicut. He had set out on the 21st of May 1441,65 and eight days after touching at the port of Saur,66 he reached Caliout. He was in Calicut from the close of Jumada-l-akhir till the beginning of Zi-hijja67-that is to say, from Sunday, 4th November 1442, till 2nd April 1443.68 That he was not at the Hindu capital when the dastardly incident took place is clear from what he says: "At the time that the writer of this history was detained at the city of Kalikot, an extraordinary and singular transaction occurred in the city of Bijanagar."69 The date of his
56 Ep. Car., Mb. 96, p. 100. 57 Ibid., Mb. 2, p. 71. 58 Ibid., Bp. 87, p. 154. 69 Ibid., Mr. 1, p. 154, n. (1). 60 Ibid., Mr. 4, p. 156. 61 No. 666 of Mad.Ep.R. for 1905. 69 No. 141 of M.E.R. for 1903 ; M.E.R. for 1904, p. 18.
68 No. 26 of M.E.R. for 1913; No. 566 of M.E.R. for 1914, dated Saka 136 (2) expirod, Raudra; M.E.R. for 1905, pp. 22, 50'; No. 100 of M.E.R. for 1911, datod Šaka 1366, Rudhirðdgørin.
64 Elliot, op. cit., IV, pp. 121-122. 65 Ibid., p. 95. 66 Ibid., p. 98. 67 Ibid., p. 102. 68 Swamikannu Pillai, The Indian Ephemeris, V, pp. 87-88. 69 Elliot, ibid., p. 115.
