to make out the origin of the remarkable family of Beejanugger. His statement is, that in 1344 Krishna Náik, son of the Ferishta's the family. accounts of Rajah of Wurungul, had fled to Bellál Déo, rajah of the Carnatic, and that they entered into a contract to oppose the Mahomedans. To this end, a stronghold was established on the frontier, and given to his son Beeja, or Vijya, after whom it was named Beejanugger or Vijyanugger, and the Mahomedan posts, after the death of Mahomed Toghluk, were expelled from their country. Whatever, therefore, be their exact origin, whether as an independent family, an offshoot from the Kála Bhúryas, from Wurungul, or from the Bellál dynasty of Dwára Sumoodra, there is no question that the kingdom of Beejanugger had risen to a high condition of power and prosperity at the period of of the king- the declaration of independence by Zuffur Khan in 1347. dom, in 1347. Assuming the line of the Tumboodra river to its junction with the Krishna, and afterwards the Krishna to the sea, as its northern boundary, it possessed the whole of the present Southern Mahratta country; and Mysore, as far as the boundary of the Chola dominions. It had extinguished, or at least subdued, the Bellál dynasty of Dwára Sumoodra and Tonoor, and held possession of the sea-coast from Goa to Calicut. The extent and consolidation of this dominion may favour the hypothesis that the Beejanugger State could not have attained its dimensions in the short period between 1294 and 1347, and that it must have grown out of the ruins of former dynasties. At the same time it must be considered that, under the rapid effects of Indian revolutions, much might have been accomplished by active and spirited princes in fifty, or even in twenty-five years, in the national consolidation of the Hindoo power of the south, which had become so seriously threatened. Of the founders of the dynasty, Bukka reigned from A.D. 1334 to 1367; Hárihárá from 1367 to 1391. The city which had been founded was, as to situation, one of the most remarkable in India. An irregular plain on the right bank of the Tumboodra, near the sacred ground of Kishkinda, celebrated in the Ramayana, was sufficient, but no more, for its enceinte. On the east and west it was bounded by rocky granite hills, through which were a few rugged passes. On the south the spurs of the lofty range of Ramanmullay, descended into it; on the north, the river Tumboodra, in a line of extremely deep pools and violent rapids, formed an almost impassable boundary; and immediately beyond, and rising out of its bed, a range of still more rugged and impassable granite hills, which has only one outlet, constituted an outer line of Probable boundaries Bukka reigned, 1334-67. Hárihára, 1367-91. Manuel emperor of the East. Description of Becjanugger. fortification, as it were, of great strength; and when the passes and hills had been fortified by bastions and curtains, the whole was rendered almost impregnable. The enceinte of the city comprised about ten square miles, and the ruins which everywhere fill it now, attest the great amount of its population, while the temples, monasteries, and receiving-houses for pilgrims to Kishkinda, are some of the finest in Southern India, many of them still in perfect preservation. Whether, therefore, from the sequestered situation of the city, the wild strange beauty of the river scenery, the temples and ruins of palaces, or its historical interest, there are few places in India more worthy of the attention of the traveller than Beejanugger. i It is not easy to determine what prince reigned in Beejanugger at the period of the accession of Mahomed Shah to the throne of Goolburgah, as none of the genealogical lists agree one with one another. The most probable is Déva or Déo Rái, who is termed Krishn Rái by Ferishta. It would be superfluous here to recapitulate the events of the war which ensued upon the wanton insult of Mahomed Shah Bahmuny, king of Goolburgah, or those of the war with Mahomed's successor, Mujahid Shah, which have been adverted to in Chapter XI. of this book. Unfortunately Beejanugger had no Hindoo historian, and had it not been for the Mahomedan records, this great Hindoo dynasty, like others, would have left no memorials except inscriptions. It is therefore impossible to follow the detail of its internal condition or successive conquests during the periods in which it was not engaged with the Mahomedans; but there is no question that the extent of its dominions, as also its wealth, far exceeded those of the Mahomedans, who, as Ferishta observes, only maintained their superiority by their valour. Whether the third war with the Mahomedans occurred from the act of the same Déo Rái already mentioned or another, it is very difficult to determine; but the Déo Rái who reigned from 1391 to 1414, according to Mr. Ravenshaw's list, was on this occasion the aggressor, and invaded the Raichore Dooáb with 30,000 horse and a vast number of foot. Feroze Shah Bahmuny was now king of Goolburgah, who met the Hindoos on the bank of the Krishna river, and procured the assassination of the rajah's son by a fanatic, who disguised himself as a player, and performed in the rajah's presence. This tragical event dismayed Déo Rái, and he fled to his capital followed by Feroze Shah, who laid waste the country south-west of Beejanugger, occupied it in force, and was only stayed from further proceedings by the payment of eleven lacs of hoons-about half a million sterling. It might be supposed that so severe a lesson would have restrained the Hindoo In prince from further aggressions, but this was not the case. 1406 he heard of a very beautiful girl, the daughter of a goldsmith of Moodgul, then held by the Mahomedans, and sent a large body of cavalry to carry her off. She had, however, escaped, and the Beejanugger horse, in revenge, ravaged the country. Feroze Shah Bahmuny immediately resented the insult, and as has been related in the account of his reign, Chapter XII., Book III., obliged the rajah, not only to give him his daughter in marriage, but to cede Bunkapoor and other districts to the west as her dowry, and to give also ten lacs of hoons, 450,000l., five muns (120lbs. weight) of pearls, 50 elephants, and 2,000 slaves, and thus a third peace was concluded. Constance. After the accession of Ahmed Shah Wully Bahmuny I., war again broke out between Goolburgah and Beejapoor. Déo Rái, according to Mr. Ravenshaw's list, had been succeeded by Vijya Rái, in 1414, who was besieged in his Council of capital, but finding resistance fruitless, paid the arrear of tribute, and sent his son to escort the Mahomedan king to the frontier. In 1435, however, a fresh arrear of five years' tribute had occurred, and Mahomed Khan, the brother of Alla-ood-deen Bahmuny II., was sent to enforce payment. Vijya Vijya Rái Rái had reigned till 1424, and Pandára Déo Rái had dies, 1424. succeeded him. The campaign had a strange termination Pandára Déo in the rebellion of the Prince Mahomed Khan, already related in Chapter XII., Book III., but the event had excited in the mind of Pandára Déo Rái a desire to conquer the whole of the Bahmuny kingdom. He admitted Mahomedans into his army, allotted to them a quarter of the city, and even built a mosque for their use, allowing them free practice for the rites of their religion. These haughty Moslem warriors would not salute an infidel prince, even on his throne, and made their salutations to a copy of the Korán placed before him, and it is very doubtful whether they were ever perfectly faithful. Having made his preparations, the Hindoo prince, in 1443, crossed the Tumboodra, and overran the country as far as Sugger and Beejapoor. Rái suc ceeds, 1424. It is an interesting fact that this war, and the events that followed it, are confirmed by the journal of Abd-el-Ruzzak, an ambassador to India from the King of Khorassán in 1442-3, which has been translated for the Hakluyt Society by Mr. W. Major, and published under the title of India in the Fifteenth Century.' It is an extremely interesting record of events at Beejanugger, and full of quaint descriptions of the city, and of the ceremonies performed at the great Hindoo festivals. Three great battles were fought on the plain between Moodgul and the Tumboodra, in Vijya Rál, 1414. Pandára Déo 1430. Ramchunder Dies, 1473. Narsinha 1473. Dies, 1490. the course of this war, with no decisive result; but two of the Mahomedan officers having been taken prisoners, the king wrote to the rajah that he valued their lives at 100,000 Hindoos eacha grim but significant threat which brought him to terms. The arrears of tribute were paid, and peace ensued, which from 1442-3 up to 1489, a period of forty-six years, was not disturbed on either side. There are, however, no records of the local events of the Beejanugger kingdom during this long period, except that of its various successors. Pandára Déo Rái died in 1450, and was succeeded by Ramchunder Rái, who died in 1473, Rai dies, and was succeeded by Narsinha Rajah, who died in 1490. The last prince is authenticated by his inscrip- Rai, 1450. tions, and left three sons, Achootya, Suda Seeva, and Trimala. The Bahmuny Mahomedan monarchy had now broken up, and the State of Beejapoor was declared succeeds, independent by Yoosuf Adil Shah in 1489. Immediately after that event, Kassim Bereed, minister of Mahmood Shah Bahmuny, incited the Rajah of Beejanugger to attack Yoosuf Adil Shah, promising him Beejapoor if he could take it. The danger to Yoosuf Adil Shah was imminent: but local quarrels between the rajah and his minister delayed the projects for some time, and when the Beejanugger army advanced in 1493, it was defeated with immense slaughter by the Beejapoor monarch, and the rajah died of wounds received in the action. Between 1493 and 1524 some confusion exists as to the successions, and by Ferishta's account, it would appear that there had been several local revolutions in this period. In 1524, however, Krishn Rái Maharaya was the reigning Krishn Rál, sovereign, and it is for many reasons doubtful whether 1524. he belonged to the original Beejanugger family, or was the illegitimate son of Rajah Narsinha of Telingana, who had usurped the throne. In either case, he proved to be a man of vigour and ability. He was the only ruler of Beejanugger who ever competed evenly with the Mahomedans in the field; he carried his arms into Orissa, and married the daughter of its Hindoo king; and it was under him that the kingdom attained its greatest eminence and extent. During the long peace with the Mahomedans, its conquests had progressed; and at the period under notice, A.D. 1524, the localities recorded in inscriptions as being subject to the kingdom are as follows: Kanchy and Chôldesh, the country of the Cholas; Pandoodesh or Madura, the original dynasties of both kingdoms having long since entirely disappeared; the whole of Mysore and the country eastwards to the sea; the midland dominions of the ancient State of Chéra, which had been conquered by the Belláls, and the Raichore Dooáb, and other western provinces. At this stage of its history, and when, in its modern condition, it had existed from 1322 to 1524, or 202 years the record of Beejapoor is, for the present, discontinued, and will be resumed and concluded in connection with the details of the Adil Shahy dynasty of Beejapoor. Pope Innocent VIII., 1484. FUTTEH OOLLA IMÁD SHAH was the first of the great military commanders of the Bahmuny kings to declare his independence. He was a native of the Carnatic, was originally a Hindoo, and having been taken prisoner in one of the wars with Beejanugger, was brought up as a Mahomedan by Khan Jehán, governor and viceroy of Berar, in whose service, and afterwards in that of Mahmood Shah of Beeder, he much distinguished himself. At the recommendation of Mahmood Gáwan, he received the title of Imád-ool-Moolk, and succeeded his patron as viceroy of Berar. In 1482 he was summoned with his forces to join King Mahmood in his campaign against Bahadur Khan Geelany; but he obeyed sullenly, and at Futteh Oolla the close of the field service, when the king remained at Ferozabad, proceeded direct to Berar, and declared his independence. This event occurred in 1484, and he soon after died, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Alla-ood-deen. Imád Shah becomes king, 1484. Dies, 1484. Origin of CHAPTER XVII. OF THE IMÁD SHAHY DYNASTY OF BERAR, Imád Shah 1484. Alla-ood-deen continued the dynastic title of Imád chosen by Alla-ood-deen his father, and was crowned king at Gawilgurh, then succeeds, the capital of Berar, where he continued to reside. Gawilgurh is a noble mountain, rising 2,400 feet above the valley of Berar; and projecting from the Sátpoora gurb. range, to which it is joined by a narrow neck, or isthmus, and from its rugged and precipitous sides a natural stronghold almost impregnable. The summit was an extensive undulating area, then closely covered with dwellings, which extended to another elevation to the north, communicating with the level tableland of the range. Gawil was a grand and most picturesque position; and was fortified with great care by a wall and bastions all round the crest of the exterior precipice. A mosque, and part of the king's palace, are all that remain of the fort buildings; and the dynasty was probably never rich enough Description of Gawil |