भारतीय इतिहास के ६ स्वर्णिम पृष्ठ (वीर सावरकर - विदेशी आक्रान्ताओं पर विजय गाथा)
Six Glorious Epochs of Indian History by Veer Savarkar
स्वातंत्र्यवीर विनायक दामोदर सावरकर द्वारा
- This battle was considered so unique and unparalleled in the Hindu
history of those days that in order to celebrate it, Rana Kumbha erected a
colossal and artistic pillar of victory at Chitod, which still stands to the
admiration of all visitors! In a like manner, did Rana Kumbha beat down
Sultan Kutbuddin of Gujarat when the latter attacked Kumbhalgad, and
Kutbuddin had ultimately to sue for peace and save his life. - Even after Rana Kumbha, Rajputana claims so many brave and
capable leaders of men that whole volumes ought really to be devoted to the
generations that produced each of them. But, our recent histories are so
much haunted by those of the Muslim and European nations, that they fight
shy of recording the glorious acts of the Hindus—it is, in fact, a clear proof
of the absence of any independent research made by them and of their
glaring ignorance! Fortunately, the contemporary Rasos, written honestly
and with a rare literary flavour, and inspired by the exceptional valour of the
Hindus of the times, are available here and there. Prithviraj Raso, Hameer
Raso, Chhatrasal Raso and many others—beautiful heroic ballads and
narrative poems of varied lengths—are to be had even today. But God
knows if these historians know them even by name! Again, modern
historical research has discovered many rock inscriptions not only in
Rajputana, but in the caves at various other places. They also are likely to
help a lot in re-writing the history of these Hindu heroes. But the present
doesn’t seem to be the proper time to undertake that work on a major
institutional basis! Till such a propitious time comes, smaller institutions or
individual scholars can start, if not the actual research work, at least, the
work of collection of this vast deal of source material. Such a fond hope can
safely be entertained, if we remember the celebrated name of Rajwade
alone!
Lodi Dynasty - After the end of the Sayyad Dynasty in A.D. 1450, some Lodis of
Afghan extraction ruled as Sultans at Delhi for some time. Of them all
Shikandar Lodi tried to consolidate his power during A.D. 1485 to 1517.
This Shikandar Lodi again was born of a Hindu mother, but like every other
Muslim ruler, he always had a stern eye upon the Hindus. He again
enforced the ban on the Hindu pilgrimages, which the Hindus had begun to
make in the meanwhile. He even forbade collective baths in holy rivers on
Parvani days. Nevertheless, as elsewhere, the Hindus resisted stubbornly
even at the cost of their lives. The following account of a great martyr
should suffice to illustrate the foregoing remarks.
845. At a certain town near Lakhnau (Lucknow) lived a Brahmin, named
Buddha, who preached that whatever just and virtuous religious code one
followed, so long as one followed it sincerely, was equally acceptable to
God. In spite of all the harassment caused to him by the Muslims on this
account, he propagated his views so very vigorously that even the Kazi of
Lakhnau had to give way. In the end, the authorities committed this
complaint to the Sultan, Shikandarkhan, thereupon, had a full-dress debate
between this Brahmin and nine other learned moulavis. But the Brahmin,
loyal as he was to his own religion and to truth, would not give in. So the
Sultan himself threatened him: “Be a Muslim or you will be put to instant
death.” And as the said Brahmin spurned his threat, he was killed forthwith.
Rana Sang
846. After the death of Shikandar Lodi in A.D. 1517 his son Ibrahim Lodi
ascended the tottering throne of the Sultan of Delhi. For the disintegrating
Muslim power at Delhi experienced excruciating death pangs at the hands
of the Rajputs of the time, who had in Rana Sang a very great, valiant
leader. Even the smaller Muslim rulers took great offence at the brave deeds
of Rana Sang. The ruler of Idar expressed his malice against Rana Sang by
naming a dog at his door Sangrana. In order to chastise this monkeying of
the Muslims, Rana Sang marched with a large army against Idar, and
vanquishing them completely at every place, he avenged in full the wrongs
done to the Hindus. This battle caused no harm to the Hindus round about.
On the contrary, they looked upon him with evident pride and pleasure as
their Godsend saviour and protector. Registering his conquests over the
Muslim foes at every place with triumphal marches amidst popular
applause, the loud beats of his war-drums and the gay fluttering of his
victorious flag, he returned to Chitod in A.D. 1519. He had, by this time,
liberated Ratanbhor, Gagrone, Walpi (Kalpi?), Bhilsa and Chanderi from
the Muslim domination and annexed them to his own kingdom.
Defeat of Sultan Ibrahim lodi by Rana Sang in the battle of Khanoli
846A. In order to improve the decaying condition of the Muslim power,
constantly harmed by the Rajputs, Sultan Ibrahim Lodi gathered all his
strength and invaded Rana Sang. The two parties joined battle at Khanoli,
where in a bloody action, Rana Sang put to rout the Sultan’s army and sent
him back to Delhi downcast and crestfallen.
Babar’s Invasion
847. Beset with such calamities, Subedar Daulatkhan Lodi of Lahore
became, along with other Muslim chieftains, quite pessimistic about their
own safe existence. As a last resort, they invited Babar, the then powerful
ruler of Afghanistan, to help them put down Rana Sang. Babar, too had
been waiting for such an opportunity, for as a descendant of Taimurlang, he
claimed a direct right to the sovereignty of India. So Babar hastened to help
Daulatkhan Lodi in A.D. 1526.
848. Seeing this allied Muslim army come menacingly, the scared Sultan
Ibrahim Lodi sought the help of the valiant Hindu King of Chitod, Rana
Sang, in spite of the fact that the latter had very recently inflicted a crushing
defeat on him. But the Muslims were never ashamed of eating the humble
pie before the Hindus on such occasions. Again, it has been already shown
and will, hereafter, be shown, how foolish and baseless are our popular
notions that the Muslims never fought amongst themselves, or that they
never sought help from the Hindus to fight with their fellow Muslims,
should such an eventuality arise! Sultan Ibrahim’s is a glaring instance in
point. With the help of Rana Sang, Sultan Ibrahim fought with the invading
Babar at Panipat in A.D. 1526. But as Ibrahim himself was killed on the
battlefield and his army took to flight, Rana Sang too had to retreat. While
wandering through forest-after-forest, organising a strong army to meet
Babar again on the battlefield, this high-minded Maharana Sang succumbed
to incurable diseases in A.D. 1530, and the Hindus lost a precious diadem.
Moghul Dynasty founded at Delhi
849. After this signal victory, Babar grasped the Sultanate of Delhi for
himself in A.D. 1526, setting aside the original aspirant to that place,
Subedar Daulatkhan Lodi of Punjab. This was the beginning of the Moghul
Empire of Delhi.
Notable Events in the Remaining Provinces of North India at the
Time
850. SINDH: The reconquest of Sindh from the Arab hands by the Hindus
has already been noted (cf. Paragraphs 655 to 656). Those Sumer Rajputs
retained Sindh in their hands till A.D. 1336. In A.D. 1336, a Rajput King
named Jam Afra, was ruling there as an independent potentate. There were
constant wars between this Hindu monarchy and the Sultans of Delhi. From
A.D. 1367 to 1380, a Hindu monarch was succeeded to the throne by
another Rajput Prince, who, however, because of many maladies, lost his
balance of mind and voluntarily became a Muslim.
851. BENGAL: When ultimately in A.D. 1192, Mohammad Ghori
subjugated the Sultanate of Delhi for ever, he sent many valorous chieftains
under him to subdue the Hindu states round about. One of them, Bakhtyar
Khilji, overcame the Hindu rule in Bihar and Bengal in A.D. 1195 and
founded the Muslim rule there for the first time. Of his persecution of the
Hindus and especially of the Buddhists and their wholesale conversion to
Islam, we have already said enough in Paragraph Nos. 342 to 356. On this
very occasion, this wild fiendish commander of the Muslim forces razed to
the ground the world famous University of Nalanda, which had a glorious
tradition of over five centuries to its credit. The Muslims set fire to the vast
and invaluable collection of innumerable books, which had kept burning, it
is said, for six months. But the Muslims never allowed anybody to put the
fire down before it quenched of itself, and every written record was reduced
to ashes!
Want of armed might renders the power of Science as also the power
of Religion Miserably Helpless—one more illustration!
852. In that vast burning library, there were innumerable valuable books
of the Vedic, Buddha, Jain and other religions. But to protect them from fire
came neither the Vedic Gods, nor Lord Buddha, no, not even Lord Jain! The
actual armed might of the devotees is the only armed strength the Gods
seem to have!
853. In the end, Bakhtyar Khilji conquered the last of the Sen Kings and
after annexing Bengal, started his campaign of the wholesale conversion of
the Hindus to Islam.
854. The Muslim Subedars themselves rebelled from time-to-time against
the paramount power of Delhi and calling themselves the Sultans of Bengal,
ruled the province independently. Fakruddin was the first of them to
announce his independent sway over Bengal in A.D. 1347. Since then, these
Afghan Sultans had ruled the province till A.D. 1576. Once in the meantime
in A.D. 1386, a Hindu Jamindar named Kans overthrew this Afghan rule
and established Hindu power in Bengal. When this King Kans died in A.D.
1392, his son Jitmalla came to the throne of Bengal. But to the greater
discredit of the Hindus there, this Hindu King Jitmalla once had the wanton
caprice to court Islam, and he changed his name to Jalaluddin! And to the
greater shame of the Hindus, be it said that not a single Hindu throughout
the whole of Bengal came forward to chastise Jalaluddin for this national
crime. They acquiesced in the Muslim domination without a murmur!
855. One more capable Hindu Jamindar, who was a proud adherent of
Hinduism, had nearly managed to do as much. But his efforts too ended in
disaster. Of the few brave Hindu warriors who rose in rebellion against the
Muslims and fought tooth and nail, the only one who can be ranked along
with Rana Pratap and Baba Banda was Maharaja Pratapaditya of Jashodhar.
Although his sphere of activity was not very large and although for want of
active and potent support from the Hindu community, he was in the end
defeated, his name will ever be remembered in the history of Hindu
independence movement!
856. KASHMIR: For want of space, it is enough to say here that while the
Muslims were wantonly subjugating Gujarat, Malwa and other provinces of
north India, Kashmir was completely immune from the Muslim influence
till the fourteenth century of the Christian era, being governed by the Hindu
Kings, sometimes vigorously and potently enough, at others mildly but
always independently! The last of its Hindu Kings was Sendev. The history
of Kashmir is written by Pandit Kalhan under the name ‘Rajtarangini’. This
Sendev had appointed one Muslim, named Shahmir or Mirza, to be some
official of the state and later on raised him from post-to-post, until he was
made the Chief Minister of the State. What happened elsewhere in the
history of many Hindu States also happened here, and after the death of
Sendev, this very Muslim Minister treacherously destroyed this Hindu State
on the strength of a very cleverly preconceived plan, and usurped the throne
of Kashmir under the title ‘Shamsuddin’.
857. Of course, just as the Hindus ultimately liberated the whole of India
from the Muslim hands, similarly our Hindu Sikhs and Dogras not only
freed Kashmir from the Muslim bondage, but they also marched
victoriously to Laddakh, on one side, and to Gilgit, on the other, and
proudly planted the Hindu standard there—but after fighting many grim
battles and in course of time—some centuries afterwards!
❑
19.
The Establishment of the Glorious new
Hindu Empire of Vijaynagar
- For the better convenience of the reader, it is advisable to recall at the
very outset, the chronology of certain events. The first foreign—especially
non-Hindu—large-scale aggression on the Deccan was the one by
Allauddin on Devgiri in A.D. 1294. It was followed with precipitate haste
by three or four such tremendous military expeditions up to A.D. 1318
under the intrepid yet cruel Muslim commanders like Maliq Kafur and
Khushrukhan, who ruthlessly forced conversion upon thousands of Hindus.
During these twenty-five years or so, the Muslims overran practically the
whole of the Deccan and wiped out of existence, five or six ancient, famous
and strong Hindu Kingdoms from Devgiri to Malabar.
858A. Howsoever shameful and stigmatic this historical fact might be to
the prestige and self-respect of the Hindu Nation, the Deccanese Hindu
heroes, too, swallowed up, as it were, in one draught, as their ancient
ancestor, Agasti Rishi, did of yore, the doomsday flood of the Muslim
warriors and hardly within a decade or so, shattered the Sultanate of Delhi
to pieces! They raised in its place, at least in the Deccan, a grand victorious
Hindu Empire of Vijaynagar. The lightning-like speed, with which they
achieved all this, is also so creditable to the Hindu Nation, that we should
for ever, be proud of them and grateful to them. - For, even before the whole of the Deccan was subjugated in A.D.
1318, some of the indefatigable Hindu leaders, highly ambitious of re-
establishing Hindu sway over the Deccan without delay, had already begun
establishing secret contacts with Khushrukhan himself. The Khan cherished
in his mind daring plans of dispatching Sultan Mubarik after reaching Delhi
and crowning himself as Sultan in his stead. But he knew full well that in
this courageous bid for power, even the bitterest of the Muslim enemies of
the ruling Sultan would not have helped him in the least. But he could
expect passive, even active, support from the Hindu chiefs or sirdars. For,
Khushrukhan himself had become most impatient to tear off his tawdry
guise of Mohammadanism, which was forced upon him, very much against
his will, and to appear in his original Hindu form. Naturally, secret reports
and slanderous complaints constantly reached the court of Sultan Mubarik
at Delhi, that Khushrukhan was in collusion with the recently overpowered
Hindu chiefs and leaders of Hindu Society, and that some deep-laid
mysterious plan was afoot. The reader should refer to a connected and
plausible account of this whole affair, so far as it can he deduced from these
various scattered bits of information, that are so far available to us
(Paragraphs 754 to 782).
860. The founders of the Empire of Vijaynagar, Harihar and Bukka, were
the two sons of Sangam of the ancient Yadav family. They were employed
at the court of Anagondi. During the turbulent times following the Muslim
conquests of Devgiri and Warangal in the reign of Allauddin, the Kingdom
of Anagondi, too, was overpowered by the Muslims. Anagondi itself or
some place nearby was the former city of Kishkindha of Wali, as the
folklore goes. After the downfall of Anagondi, Harihar and Bukka were
taken as captives to Delhi in A.D. 1327 and were converted there to Islam.
Later on, being pleased with their behaviour and exceptional ability, the
Sultan sent them both with a new expedition to fight with the Hindus in
A.D. 1331, with higher authority and responsible posts. But as soon as they
came to the Deccan—
Most probably as per a pre-conceived plan
861. They paid a visit to the then chief preceptor of Sankeshwar Math,
Shree Shankaracharya Vidyaranyaswami, who was a skilled politician too.
Immediately, the Shankaracharya himself re-converted these two converted
Hindus who promptly raised a Hindu army and defeated the Muslim host,
which they themselves had led a short time ago. Soon in consultation with
Shankaracharya, Vidyaranyaswami and many other brave Hindu leaders, it
was decided to found an independent sovereign state on the banks of the
river Tungbhadra. The Capital was established at the newly-founded city of
Vijyanagar, which bespoke of Hindu victory. The reins of this kingdom
were placed in the hands of Shree Harihar in A.D. 1336, while Shri
Vidyaranya himself became his chief minister.
862. At this very stage, it is advisable to explain one enigmatic episode,
which is not yet so explained by historians. The event in question is the
transfer of the capital from Delhi to Devgiri by Mohammad Tughlak, who
is considered ‘crazy’, but who was, in fact, a learned fool, without any
practical sense. His decision to shift the Capital of his Empire from Delhi to
Devgiri is considered to be his wayward caprice. But it was not a pure
whim of his. It was to consolidate his victories in the Deccan that were
gained by his generals and to rule that region effectively, that he thought of
having his capital in its very midst. Again, his precipitate decision to shift
his Capital back to Delhi, which resulted in untold sufferings for the people
was also not his pure caprice. In fact, it was for the last ten years or so that
the Muslim rule seemed to have stabilized itself in the Deccan, but it was
most humiliating and so most hateful and unbearable to the Hindus. So, all
the Hindu kings, all the Hindu religious preachers and lawgivers and Hindu
people at large, were preparing feverishly though secretly to overthrow that
alien rule, and the Muslim army had also grown panicky about such an
armed rising. The Sultan realized the grave danger of his being involved in
the meshes of this Hindu revolt and the possibility of his being destroyed
completely. That is why he hurriedly shifted his Capital back to Delhi, far to
the north—not simply because his caprice dictated it! As a matter of fact, it
was the panic about this growing armed strength of the Hindus that caused
all these crazy and contradictory moves of his!
863. One more important event of this time has equally baffled the
historians, but it is far too strange to be set aside. It is this Sangam, whose
young sons, Harihar and Bukka, were taken captives by the Muslims, was
in fact, closely related to the Kings of Anagondi and Warangal. Naturally,
these two sons were also fairly well connected with these royal families. It
was for this particular reason that Mohammad Tughlak took them to Delhi
and converted them to Islam. On many Hindu kings and princes had fallen
this calamity of being forcibly converted to Islam, but even if they escaped
afterwards from such a calamity, they had, unfortunately, no hope of being
absorbed in the Hindu Society. The stumbling block was that of the ban on
reconversion to Hinduism (Paras 379 to 403). How then and from what
source, did this inspiration arise, which actuated the two young warriors,
Harihar and Bukka, to seek reconversion to Hinduism, which again
emboldened Shankaracharya Vidyaranyaswami to preside over and effect
this reconversion, totally disregarding the staunch public opposition and all
the rules and regulations laid down in the interpolated chapter on Kalivarjya
Prakarna, and which finally made many other Hindu men of action to
follow up this new movement?
864. The answer to this riddling question is to be found in the
unprecedented politico-religious revolution brought about some ten or
twelve years ago by the Hindu Samrat Dharmarakshak (Nasir-ud-din) at
Delhi. For, Sultan Nasir-ud-din himself was originally a Hindu, who was
forcibly converted to Islam. But because of the fondness and infatuation of
Alauddin and his son, he was given the title of Khushrukhan and was
gradually raised to be the commander of a huge Muslim army to invade the
South. Till the moment he became sufficiently powerful, Khushrukhan
outwardly maintained his Muslim garb; but as soon as he returned from his
southern campaign, he cut off the Muslim Sultan, Mubarik, and crowned
himself as Hindu Emperor, proudly proclaiming that he was originally a
Hindu and that he was re-embracing that religion once again. Not content
with this, he reconverted hundreds of such unhappy converts to Hinduism,
and changed the Muslim masjids into Hindu temples! The exciting news of
this unheard of but successful attack of Hindutwa (हिंदुत्व) upon the
Muslim empire and Muslim religion had already reached the farthest
corners of India. Naturally, when Harihar and Bukka were stationed at
Delhi as captive Muslim converts at the orders of the Muslim Sultan, they
must have heard the excited discussions about this very recent happening,
which must have egged them on to attempt some such seemingly
impossible feat of escaping to the Deccan with a large army. So, they must
have simulated to Mohammed Tughlak that they were staunch Muslims and
as such deserved his fullest confidence, and that is why Mohammed
Tughlak appointed Harihar and Bukka at the head of Muslim army in that
region. When Mohammed Tughlak shifted his capital from Devgiri to
Delhi, he could not keep sufficient army in the South to protect the imperial
territory in the Deccan. So, when the news of the probable rising of the
Hindus came to his ears, he decided to send these two warriors to strengthen
the imperial position in the south, because in the first place, they were
closely connected with the royal Hindu families of the Deccan and
secondly, because they were now trustworthy Muslims. Harihar and Bukka,
too, got the wishes for opportunity and showed all the eagerness to execute
the tasks set to them. It was an established practice of the Sultans of Delhi
to send the converted Hindus to extend the imperial boundaries and such
attempts bore rich fruit, as can be seen in the case of Maliq Kafur and
others. With the apparent determination to destroy the Hindu revolts in the
Deccan, Harihar and Bukka took leave of the Sultan and with the Muslim
army, went straight to their own States of Anagondi and Warangal.
865. In all probability, they must have passed on to Shree Swami
Vidyaranya and the rest of the Hindu kings in unmistakable terms, the
information as to their secret plans and their real intention, long before they
reached the Deccan. They had given Sultan Mohammed Tughlak the slip
and were now to embrace Hinduism openly. Hindu Samrat Nasir-ud-din's
successful military coup in Delhi had already given the impetus to the
Deccanese Princes and the priests like Shankaracharya. Naturally, with the
approval of Harihar and Bukka, Vidyaranyaswami and other Hindu leaders
decided to reconvert them to Hinduism with the ceremonial rites.
866. Our observation at the end of the Seventeenth Chapter that the
political revolution, which Shree Dharmarakshak (Nasir-ud-din) effected at
Delhi, had far-reaching consequences can also be proved by the influence
that great event exerted on the establishment of the Empire of Vijaynagar.
Even then, that great event has been so far referred to with contempt and in
insulting terms! It only shows that modern historical textbooks lack the
Hindu point of view, and hence they are merely blind to some such events!
867. The proud achievement of the Hindu generation which established
the new Hindu Empire of Vijaynagar has not been sufficiently glorified in
Hindu histories. The case of Madhavacharya, the Shankaracharya of
Sankeshwar, Vidyaranyaswami is the one in point. It has already been
pointed out how great a political revolutionary this exceptional personality
was! But the fact that he was an equally great revolutionary in matters of
religion, can be proved by his repudiation of the old traditions by re-
converting the two princes, Harihar and Bukka. In a similar way, he was the
synacure of the then learned-world. He wrote several treatises on several
subjects, of which ‘Sarwadarshan Sangrah’ and ‘Panchadashi’ are the most
renowned. No other abler Shankaracharya seems to have ascended the seat
of Shringeri or any other monastery after the First Shankaracharya!
Especially, his arch diplomacy and political wisdom seen in the rapid
growth of the Hindu Empire of Vijaynagar in the teeth of Muslim
opposition, bears no comparison!
867A. Indeed, the names of Vidyaranyaswami, of the warrior kings,
Harihar and Bukka, Harihar the second, who took the proud title of
Maharajadhiraj, and his Chief Minister Sayanacharya—the brother of
Vidayaranyaswami, whose critique of the Vedas is still accepted as an
authority, Maharajadhiraj Krishnadevray and the last but not the least,
Maharajadhiraja Ramrai also, who had inflicted crushing defeats in rapid
succession on all the five Muslim States in Maharashtra viz., Adilshahi,
Nizamshahi and others, but who was in the end, killed in the forefront of
the bloody battle against the combined Muslim forces, should really be
honoured in every home and be remembered by everybody as are those of
Rana Pratap, Raja Chhatrasal, Govind Singh, Chaitanya, Banda Bairagi and
other great men of those times. But today, North-Indian Hindus seem to
have never heard of them, while in the South, hardly one in a thousand
seems to know them but faintly. This is most shameful for the Hindus and
this state of things must be changed forthwith.
The establishment of the Bahamani Kingdom
868. Seeing the disintegration of the sovereign power of the Sultan of
Delhi, set afoot by the Hindu State of Vijaynagar in the South, Hassan
Gangu, the Muslim Governor of the Southern Muslim possessions, revolted
against the Delhi Sultanate and proclaimed himself Sultan of the so-called
Bahamani Kingdom in A.D. 1346. His domain spread from the Narmada in
the north to the Krishna in the south. The rulers of Delhi completely lost
their hold on the south, which was now to be ruled by two prominent
powers. The Bahamani Kings and the Hindu Princes of Vijaynagar. The
name Bahamani, which Hassan Gangu adopted for his kingdom, is
explained away by the historians in two different ways. It seems that this
Hassan Gangu was a domestic servant with a Hindu Brahmin, named
Gangu, when the former was but a slave. Pleased with his loyal service, the
Brahmin looked into his horoscope and prophesied that the slave Hassan
would, sometime in the future, become a king. Mad with joy to hear this
prophesy, Hassan began to style himself as Hassan Gangu and when he
actually got the sovereign power over the Deccanese sector of the Muslim
empire, he designated it as the Bahamani kingdom, thinking it to be the fruit
of the blessings of his former Brahmin master. Some other historians
suggest another derivation for the name Bahamani Kingdom. They say that
perhaps Hassan Gangu might have felt that he belonged to the Bahamani
stock, a princely lineage from Persia. If it be so, why did Hassan continue
till the end to call himself Hassan Gangu which clearly referred to his
Brahmin master? Moreover, what proofs are there to show his descent from
the Persian Bahamani royal family? There is none forthcoming so far!
869. This Bahamani Kingdom and the Vijaynagar Empire had a common
boundary, the Tungabhadra river. Naturally, intermittent warfare between
these two rival states was the result. Those who want to read a more
detailed account of the Vijaynagar Empire and its wars with the Bahamani
Kingdom should read with profit two books viz.: (i) ‘The Forgotten Empire’
by Robert Swell and (ii) ‘The Never To Be Forgotten Empire’ by Dr. S.
Krishnaswami Aiyangar. The second book, so to say is an answer, at least to
a certain extent, to the first one by an English scholar.
870. As this one, far from being a book of history, is in fact an
interpretation of history (as we have been saying from the beginning), we
shall restrict ourselves to those events only, which are relevant to our
purpose. For, there is no room here for any detailed historical account.
Foundation—the building of the City of Vijaynagar
871. The site selected on the banks of the Tungabhadra for the capital city
of Vijaynagar by the great Hindu leaders of the day, such as
Vidyaranyaswami and others, was from the architectural and military points
of views so beautiful and well fortified, surrounded as it was by hills on the
three sides and a deep river on the fourth, that the architectural and military
acumen in the selection of this site has been highly praised by several
foreign travellers, well-versed in these two sciences. There were as it were a
natural fortification for this vast city, seven strong enclosures, one within
the other, round this city of Vijaynagar. In every one of these enclosures,
there were majestic buildings, beautifully carved temples, and rich palaces
and pleasant lakes. On all these buildings, temples and royal palaces, flew
the saffron-coloured flag masked with a golden cup. For the authorized
standard of Vijaynagar was the same traditional flag of the Hindu Nation,
the saffron-coloured banner!
872. Of all these temples, the grandest, most magnificent and spacious
was that of Shree Nursingh, for he was the presiding deity of the royal
family of Vijaynagar. Inasmuch as very few temples are found to be
dedicated to this God. Nursingh, throughout the length and breadth of India,
represents the genius and practical sense of those kings of Vijaynagar who
chose for their daily worship, this incarnation of Nursingh from amongst
many others of the Hindu pantheon, which is undoubtedly praiseworthy.
873. For, in those days of bitter warfare between the most cruel and
diabolic Muslim invaders on the one hand, and on the other, the tolerant
Hindu Society emasculated to suffer persecution and indignities to the last
limits of endurance from the days of Gautam Buddha himself, it was this
incarnation of Nursingh that could inspire in the spineless Hindus of the
day, instinctive and effective reaction to retaliate every wrong done to them
and also violent valour, which could strike terror in the hearts of the enemy.
- व्रजन्ति ते मूढधियः पराभवन। भवन्ति मायाविषु वे न
मायिना॥:।
साध्वाचारः साधुना प्रत्युपेय। मायाचारो मायया बाधितव्यः॥
(Those dull-witted, who do not behave knavishly with base and crafty
rogues invariably court failure! A polite person should be treated politely
while a crafty scoundrel should be destroyed by super-craft.)
[THE SELF-SAME STORY OF NURSINGH ITSELF TELLS] that not
with the perverted virtues of Prahlad but with the cruel, crafty measures
alone could that demon, Hiranayakashipu, be killed. - Shree Shankar had blessed Hiranyakashipu with a boon that he
would not be killed by any man or beast, with any weapon or missile,
ordinary or charmed with magic power, on the earth or in the skies, neither
by day nor by night, neither in nor out! But mysteriously enough, an
effective expedient was found for every one of these thoughtless terms of
the equally thoughtless boon and the enemy of the Gods, the invincible
demon, Hiranyakashipu, was killed by an incarnation, which was neither
purely human nor purely beastly, but a mixture of both, at twilight, on the
threshold, taking him on the lap and by cutting open his stomach with his
sharp talons!
875A. It is this frightful incarnation of God, whose whole body has been
besmeared with the spouts of blood emanating from the dying body of the
wicked demon, rending the whole universe with his horrible war-cries, and
at whose furious visage, made ten-times more terrible by his beard standing
erect, even the Gods themselves were alarmed and began to request him to
calm down, that a Nation wishing to keep itself alive in this diabolic
warring world, should worship as the emblem of the high peak of national
valour! - This story also implies another noble principle that although the
outward appearance of this violent incarnation of Nursingh was fierce and
repellant, its heart was that of a human being made of the ‘milk of human
kindness’. Its merciless valour also is most essential, even unavoidable, to
the development of ‘human kindness’! For this violent act of tearing open
the entrails of Hiranayakashipu, a reckless tyrant, a terror to Gods and
demons alike, was performed solely to protect a devotee of the Gods,
Prahlad, and that too as the last remedy! It is for the sake of free
development of human virtues that the principle of अहिंसा (non-violence),
which emasculates human beings with the curse of weakness, should at
times be killed by cruel violence! It itself becomes a truly righteous, a truly
religious act, leading to the development of human culture! At a particular
stage of development of the human society throughout the world, and in the
tumultuous times when it was surrounded by different warring nations, fired
with the inordinate selfish ambition and diabolic violence, the Hindu nation,
too, ought to have chosen Nursingh as its God of worship, if it wanted to
preserve its free existence or even its invincibility!
877. The magnificent temple of this Nursingh, whom the kings of
Vijaynagar had offered their devout hearts, does not stand there today in its
original form. When the Muslim invaders attacked and devastated
Vijaynagar in A.D. 1565, they also demolished and razed to rubble this royal
temple of Nursingh. However, whatever ruins are left over of that old idol of
Nursingh in that temple, are even now sufficiently clear to signify the
originally huge, magnificent, furious figure of that Godhead, and we can
easily imagine how very majestic and awe-inspiring the temple in its original
form and glory might have been, distinguishing itself from the other huge,
magnificent temples all over India by its inimitableness.
Bahamani Sultan defeated by the King of Vijaynagar
878. After the death of the valiant Harihar, the brave Bukkarai ascended
the throne of Vijaynagar. This Bukkarai too was of a daring and aggressive
nature. He not only saved his own kingdom but also waged counter-
offensives on the Muslims round about the year A.D. 1374 and defeated
Majahid Shah, the great Sultan of the Bahamani kingdom. There is proof to
show that this King Bukka had sent a friendly mission to the King of China.
879. In A.D. 1379, this brave monarch of Vijaynagar, Bukkarai, died and
was succeeded to this ancestral throne by his son Harihar II, born
posthumously to his queen Gowri. During his reign, the Hindus inflicted
frequent and crushing defeats on the Muslims and extended the boundaries
of Vijaynagar empire, whereupon Harihar took for himself the title of
Maharajadhiraj with a grand ceremony to grace the occasion with the
brother of Madhavacharya (Vidyaranyaswami) Shree Sayanacharya himself
as the Chief Minister of his and Sudha, Isag and Gund, the well-known
commanders in his army. Maharajadhiraj Harihar ruled prosperously and
extended the boundaries of his Empire to include Goa, as is borne out by a
copper plate inscription dated A.D. 1391.
[गोवाभिदां (भिदानाम्) कोकण राजधानीम्]
880-881. It is impossible and unnecessary to give the lineages of the
Vijaynagar or any other royal families in this volume. It is enough to say
that the kings who succeeded Harihar II also added to the glory of
Vijaynagar. There was only one unhappy exception of a weak and imbecile
king named Devrai, who came to the throne in A.D. 1406. He did hate the
Muslims, but he found a strange expedient for destroying the Muslim
powers, that of employing Muslim warriors in his army, as the Muslim
rulers employed the Hindus! But seeing his weak and vacillating nature,
those Muslim warriors in his employ became so very conceited, that they
refused to bow down to him in his very courtly assembly, as they never
bowed their heads before any mortal! So, for their satisfaction, Devrai had
the Book of the Koran placed on a high pedestal beside him, so that when
they bowed, the Muslims were satisfied that they did so to the Koran and
not to the King, whereas the King was satisfied that the decorum of the
assembly was not violated! He even went to the length of building a masjid
in Vijaynagar in order to please those Muslims. It is needless to say that
these pampered Muslim soldiers did not fail to betray Devrai in the very
thick of the battle, and Devrai was defeated at last by the Bahamani Sultan,
Phiroz Khan, who faithful to the demonic Muslim tradition, asked for the
daughter of Devrai at the signing of the treaty and the latter had to concede
the demand most shamefully and helplessly! Fortunately, during those two
or three hundred years of Muslim ascendancy, hardly five or six kings
followed this tradition of abject surrender of the Rajputs. Of course, it must
be remembered that no Hindu conqueror even laid down this condition for
the vanquished Muslims in the great victories that the Hindus gained in
those days over the Muslims! The reason is plain enough! For, whoever
thought of marrying Muslim girl, would himself have been converted to
Islam! The evil effects of this perverted virtue of the Hindus have been
dealt with in the chapters on the ban on reconversion (Paragraphs: 413 to
473).
Retaliation by the Hindus
882. However, after the death of Devrai, the kings of Vijaynagar began to
avenge this ignoble defeat on various battlefields and once again, the
Muslim powers were overawed. Especially in A.D. 1417, when Phiroz
Khan invaded Telengan, the Hindus routed the Muslim forces killing their
very Vazir.
882A. Round about A.D. 1460, there was a bitter struggle for power in the
royal family of Vijaynagar in the reign of Virupaksha. Availing himself of
this opportunity, a mighty Vijaynagar Chieftain, Shalva Narsingh by name,
dethroned Virupaksha and thus ended the original Sangam dynasty by
assuming sovereignty and establishing order throughout the kingdom.
Advent of Western Nations in India
883. During this very period, the European, Portuguese discovered a sea
route to India and entered the Indian political arena. Their first entry was
not effected in Vijaynagar; it was the coastal Prince Samudrin (Zamorin), to
the southern corner of India who was their first host. This seemingly
insignificant event is recorded here merely for keeping up the time-
sequence. The new locust-like aggression of the western powers that
followed it, will have to be reviewed in a separate chapter.
Maharaja Naresh
884. Following the thread of the history of Vijaynagar, it must be said that
during one or two generations, this second royal dynasty of Shalva
Narsingh was in its turn overthrown when another military commander,
Naresh by name, assassinated the then ruling monarch, and established the
third ruling dynasty of Vijaynagar in A.D. 1507. In all these three political
revolutions, one remarkable thing is noticeable that even when the Muslim
States were waiting most anxiously to destroy this Hindu Empire, and even
when these Hindu-Muslim states were constantly at war, these political
revolutions took place amongst the Hindus themselves. The surrounding
Muslim states got no opportunity to lend a helping hand to one contending
Hindu side against the other and thus force their grip on it, nor had they the
courage to do it.
The Break-up of the Bahamani Kingdom
885. Before the third political revolution in Vijaynagar was effected, the
Bahamani Kingdom of the Muslim was broken up into five. The Bahamani
Sultans first of all extended their boundaries from the Narmada to the
Tungabhadra, but as its boundaries reached those of Vijaynagar, there was
constant warfare between the Hindu-Muslim States. The many victories that
the Vijaynagar kings won over the Muslims effected the annexation of
Gomantak to the Hindu Kingdom and the extension of its boundaries right
up to Orissa. As a natural consequence of these Hindu victories, the
Bahamani power weakened considerably. Moreover, the last of its monarchs
were absolutely worthless. Mohammed Gawan, the last Bahamani Vazir,
however, was able and warlike in spirit. Because of his honest and diligent
service, his valour and prudence, that Muslim state managed to exist
somehow between A.D. 1484 and 1526. But some Muslim noblemen, who
were Mohammed Gawan’s enemies at the court, contrived to have him
killed by royal order. It must be remembered that, however great
Mohammed Gawan might be, like practically every other Muslim ruler, he
never left anything undone to persecute the Hindus in the Bahamani
Kingdom. Yet he met his doom, not at the hands of the Hindus, but at those
of his own Muslim colleagues.
886. Even before the death of Mohammed Gawan, the Sultan’s capital had
been shifted to Bidar, and after his death, that feeble Muslim power was
broken up into the following five parts:
- Adilshahi of Vijapur.
- Imadshahi of Berar (Varhad or Vidarbha (1484-1503).
- Kut-b-Shahi of Gowalkonda.
- Nizamshahi of Ahmednagar (1489 to 1637).
- Baridshahi of Bidar.
- Two remarkable things about this break-up of the Bahamani
Kingdom should well be remembered, especially by the Hindus. The first is
that the founder of Imadshahi of Berar (second in the above list) was
originally a Telangi Brahmin. His father lived in Vijaynagar. In one of the
battles with Vijaynagar, this son of a Telangi Brahmin was captured by the
Bahamani Muslims, who, true to their wicked custom, converted him to
Islam. He was, thereafter, raised to a higher status by the kindness of
Gawan. At last in A.D. 1484, he divorced himself from the Bahamani
Kingdom and as a Muslim, took for himself the proud title of Imadshah and
proclaimed himself an independent ruler of the Province of Berar, relegated
to his charge. - The second remarkable fact is that of the foundation of the
Nizamshahi of Ahmednagar, the fourth fragment of the Bahamani
Kingdom. At Vijaynagar, there was a Brahmin named Timmappa Bahiru
(Bhairao?), whose son was taken captive and converted to Islam, when
Ahmedshah was at war with Viaynagar. He was renamed Ahmed. When
this convert Ahmed was posted at the command of a big Muslim army, he
utilized his authority to break loose from the Bahamani domination and
established his own Sultanate in A.D. 1489. Because of his title of the
Nizam, his Sultanate came to be known as Nizamshahi. In his domain was
situated the famous fort of Shivneri. Somewhere between Daulatabad and
Junner, there was a small village called ‘Binkar’. Finding it suitable for his
capital, he named it as Ahmednagar after his own name Ahmed in A.D.
1494.
889. This break-up of the Bahamani Kingdom was mainly due to the
internal dissensions of the Muslims. The original Bahamani Kingdom had
vowed to destroy Vijaynagar. But the latter survived to see the break-up of
the Bahamani Kingdom into five fragments and continued to fight
adamantly with all those five Muslim states, and proved to be more than a
match to all of them for at least seventy-five years to come!
890. The claim that the Muslims never fought amongst themselves is once
again belied by this five-fold fragmentation of the Bahamani kingdom,
which was caused by their internal rivalries. That the Muslim Sultans
looked for help at the mighty Hindu empire of Vijaynagar in order to put
down their Muslim rivals, gives the lie to their second boast that they never
sought help from the Hindus!
Maharajadhiraj Krishnadevrai
891. To the above-mentioned Tuluv dynasty of Naresh of Vijaynagar,
belonged the mighty emperor Krishnadevrai, who ruled from A.D. 1509 to
1530. He was well-educated and his address was clever and pleasing. He
impressed even the greatest of scholars of the time. The learned scholars of
Sanskrit, Telugu, Tamil and Kannad literatures were generously patronized
by his court. In his court were eight great poets, whom he called
अष्टदिग्गज (‘Elephants of the Eight Directions’). He himself was a great
writer. His Telugu book named अमुक्ता माल्यदा is very well-known.
Maharaja Krishnadevrai was equally fond of architecture and sculpture. It
was he who got the famous Ram Mandir of Vijaynagar built, besides the
many forts, ramparts, temples, courtyards, monasteries and caravan sarais
throughout his empire. He made munificent grants to the Brahmins and
temples. His career shines with his various virtues such as courteous
behaviour, dexterity in discourse, prudence in politics, his long-range view
in chalking out plans and formulating policies, and last but not least, his
sternness and valour in respect of the enemies. Western and other foreign
historians have unanimously praised him as an unrivalled great ruler!
892. If Maharajadhiraj was most civil with the gentle folks, he was
unrelenting and merciless when he fought bravely with the enemies of his
religion or those of his nation! Victory graced him in his bitter war with
Adilshah, whereupon, the treaty he effected with the Adilshahi Sultan, laid
down such acid terms as completely crushed down the Muslim swaggering
claims of invincibility, established the superiority of the Hindus, and were
accepted by the abject Muslim rulers with great reluctance.
893. His army was vast and powerful. It comprised seven hundred
thousand foot, twenty-two thousand cavalry and five hundred and fifty-one
elephants, ever prepared for war.
894. The glory of Vijaynagar reached its zenith in the times of Maharaja
Krishnadevrai, which can be proved beyond doubt by the various detailed
accounts written by many foreign travellers, who visited his court. Many of
them have even described his appearance. He was very handsome to look
at, a man of action and a very powerful personality to impress at first sight
any visitor.
895. He was a Vaishnav himself, yet he gave the same sympathetic and
tolerant treatment to the Vedic Hindus, who were in a majority, and to the
other minorities like the Jains, Lingayats, Mahanubhavas and other Hindu,
sects, avoiding every sort of clash of dissentient opinions and thus tried to
cultivate amongst the Hindus the feeling of oneness by means of his
compromising attitude. From the inception of the Empire of Vijaynagar, the
great Hindu leaders like the Shankaracharya Vidyaranyaswami and
Sayanacharya and others had adopted a wise policy of assimilation, equality
and tolerance that precluded every sort of clash between any two religious
sects, while their religious preaching fostered high respect for their Hindu
religion and their Hindu national sentiment. Foreign travellers refer most
admiringly to this religious tolerance and the sense of equality that the
Vijaynagar kings always showed.
Prosperity and Glory of Hindu Empire of Vijaynagar
896. Foreign travellers have very highly praised not only the civic and
religious liberties that the people of Vijaynagar enjoyed, but also its overall
prosperity and glory and the powerful influence that it wielded far and
wide. For instance, when the Portuguese traveller, Duarte Barbose, visited
Vijaynagar and stayed there for a while, he was very much astonished to
see its exceptional wealth and glory.
897. The ambassador from the Shah of Persia has clearly said, “The like
of this city is nowhere to be found on the face of this earth.” Adjoining the
royal palace, there were four-fold extensive market places for jewellery and
pearls. Foreign travellers have written that thousands of citizens were to be
seen adorned with ornaments of gold, jewels and pearls, Portuguese
traveller Paes asserts that the area of Vijaynagar was as extensive as that of
Rome.
898. Even before the reign of Maharajadhiraj Krishnadevrai, the Hindu
Empire of Vijaynagar had been renowned as the most powerful in the
whole of Deccan. The five fragments of the former Bahamani Kingdom
were beset with internal dissensions and fratricidal wars, to the immense
advantage of Vijaynagar Empire, and the then Hindu political leaders did
have the sense to utilize this opportunity for the extension of its boundaries
and for teaching a lesson to the Muslims. The Muslim Sultans could do
nothing independently without the help or consent of the ‘Rais’ of
Vijaynagar! Every one of the Muslim cliques laboured hard to secure the
support of the Hindu rulers of Vijaynagar. As has already been said above,
the absurd patronization by the Hindus and their indulgence of the Muslim
soldiers, as in the times of the weak and imbecile King Devrai, had been
abandoned. Those of the Hindu Kings, who built masjids for the Muslims
in their own capital, did so in order to win them over and to parade their
religious tolerance. But now that ‘cowardly’ religious tolerance had given
place to valiant aggression on the Muslim States and the retaliatory
demolition of the Muslim mosques and masjids. Forbearance, due to the
perverted sense of virtues, began to give the palm of honour of the real
virtue of retaliation!
899. Maharaja Krishnadevrai died in A.D. 1530; just four years before it,
Babar had captured Delhi. Rana Sang was his contemporary. He was
succeeded by his brother, Achyutdev with Salur Timma as his Chief
Minister, who for all practical purposes ran the administration. Achyutdev
died in A.D. 1542 and then after an insignificant King Sadashivrai, the
nephew of Achyutdev, ascended the throne. But Ramrai, the son of the
Chief Minister, Timma had done so much in helping Sadashivrai become
the king that within a very short time, all the real power passed into his
hands. This Ramrai himself is called Ramrajah.
Ramrai, the valiant defender of Religion!
900. All the five Muslim States in Maharashtra tried to obtain help from
the powerful army of Ramrai to fight their fratricidal wars. Although these
five Muslim rulers knew well enough that Shree Ramrai was a strict
adherent of Hinduism and hated all Muslims alike as equally treacherous