- E.]

SECTION VIII.

_Of the City of Bijanagur._

In the year 1565, the city of Bijanagur was sacked by four Moorish kings of great power: Adel-Khan, Nizam-al-Mulk, Cotub-al-Mulk, and Viriday-Khan; yet with all their power they were unable to overcome this city and its king but by means of treachery. The king of Bijanagur was a Gentile, and among the captains of his numerous army had two famous Moors, each of whom commanded over seventy or eighty thousand men. These two captains being of the same religion with the four Moorish kings, treacherously combined with them to betray their own sovereign. Accordingly, when the king of Bijanagur, despising the power of his enemies, boldly faced them in the field, the battle had scarcely lasted four hours, when the two treacherous captains, in the very heat of the battle, turned with their followers against their own sovereign, and threw his army into such disorder that it broke and fled in the utmost confusion.

This kingdom of Bijanagur had been governed for thirty years by the usurpation of three brothers, keeping the lawful king a state prisoner, and ruling according to their own pleasure, shewing the king only once a year to his subjects. They had been principal officers under the father of the king whom they now held a prisoner, who was very young when his father died, and they assumed the government. The eldest brother was called _Ram rajah_, who sat in the royal throne and was called king; the second was named _Temi rajah_, who held charge of the civil government of the country; and the third, _Bengatre_, was general in chief of the army. In the great battle against the four Mahometan kings all the three brothers were present, but the first and the last were never heard of more, neither dead nor alive. Temi rajah alone escaped from the battle, with the loss of one eye. On the news of this great defeat coming to the city of Bijanagur, the wives and children of the three tyrants fled with the imprisoned king, and the four Mahometan kings entered the city in great triumph, where they remained for six months, searching everywhere for money and valuable effects that had been hidden. After this they departed, being unable to retain possession of so extensive a dominion at such a distance from their own territory[135].

[Footnote 135: The reason in the text for evacuating the kingdom of Narsinga, or Bijanagur, is very unsatisfactory, as it in fact bordered on their dominions. More probably they could not agree on the partition, each being afraid of the others acquiring an ascendancy, and they satisfied themselves with the enormous spoils of the capital. This event has been before mentioned from De Faria. - E.]

After the retreat of the four kings, Temi rajah returned to Bijanagur, which he repeopled, and sent word to the merchants of Goa to bring all the horses to him that they had for sale, promising good prices; and it was on this occasion that the two merchants went up with their horses, whom I accompanied.

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