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Updated: May 20, 2025
I have seen many kings courts, yet have never seen any thing to compare with the greatness of the royal palace of Bijanagur, which hath nine gates. First, when you go into that part where the king lodged, there are five great gates kept by captains and soldiers: Within these are four lesser gates, which are kept by porters.
At Bijanagur, according to the state and condition of the wearers, the apparel is of velvet, satin, damask, scarlet cloth, or white cotton; and they wear long hats on their heads, called colae, made of similar materials; having girdles round their bodies of fine cotton cloth. They wear breeches made like those used by the Turks; having on their feet plain high things called aspergh.
Likewise, as we came almost every day into the country of a new governor, though all tributary to the king of Bijanagur, we found that every one of them had their own copper coin, so that the money we got in change one day was not current on the next. At length, by the mercy of God, we got safe to Ancola, which is in the country of the queen of Gargopam , a tributary to the king of Bijanagur.
This tyrant also issued a proclamation, that if any merchant happened to have any of the horses which were taken in the late battle, even although they happened to have the Bijanagur mark upon them, that he would pay for them their full values, and give safe conduct for all who had such to come to his capital.
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.
The castle of Penegonde is not now to be found in the maps of Indostan; but indeed the names of this ingenious traveller an often unintelligible, and almost always extremely corrupt. The city of Bijanagur is not altogether destroyed, as the houses are said to be still standing, but entirely void of population, and become the dwellings of tigers, and other wild beasts.
There are many other abominable customs among these people, but of which I have no desire to write. In consideration of the injury done to Bijanagur by the four Mahometan kings, the king with his court removed from that city in 1567, and went to dwell in a castle named Penegonde, eight days journey inland from Bijanagur.
In that country they ride upon bullocks, having pannels fastened with girths, and guide them with bridles. In summer, the journey from Bijanagur to Goa takes only eight days; but we went in July, which is the middle of winter in that country, and were fifteen days in going to Ancola, on the sea coast. On the eighth day of the journey I lost both my bullocks.
The first sort, which are round, are named aia of Portugal, as they are bought by the Portuguese: The second, which are not round, are named aia of Bengal: The third, which are inferior to the second, are called aia of Canara, which is the name of the kingdom of Bijanagur or Narsinga, into which they are sold: And the fourth, or lowest kind, is called aia of Cambaia, being sold into that country . Thus sorted, and prices affixed to each, there are merchants from all countries ready with their money, so that in a few days all the pearls are bought up, according to their goodness and weight.
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.
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