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This late sixteenth-century Telugu text offers insights into life at the capital and into cultural understandings after its fall.
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Tidings ofthe KING A Translation and Ethnohistorical Analysis of the Rdyavdcakamu P h i l l i p B. W a g o n e r
U N I V E R S I T Y OF H A W A II PRESS HONOLULU
© 1993 University o f Hawaii Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States o f America 93 9 4 9S 96 97 9 *
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Library of Congress CataJoging-in-Publication Data Rayavacakamu. English. Tidings of the king: a translation and ethnohistorical analysis o f the Rayavacakamu 1 Phillip B. Wagoner, p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-82+8-1+95-9 1. Krishnadeva Raya, King o f Vijayanagar, d. 1529 or 30. 2, Vijayanagar (Empire)—Kings and rulers—Biography, I. Wagoner. Phillip B., 1955■ II. Title. DS+60.K71+R391; 1993 954-O2:j2 - d c 2 0
93-1*879
CIP
Dtsiypud by Paula Neuvomb University o f Hawaii Press books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guide lines for permanence and durability o f the Council on Library Resources
CONTENTS
ILLU STRA TIO N S
vii
PREFA CE ■ viii
Part One AN ETH N O H ISTO RICAL PERSPECTIVE • i The Rayavacakamu: A Source ofVijayanagara History? * Text and Context • The Bayavacakamu and the Use o f the Past ■ The “ City of Victory” as Talisman o f Authority • “ Demons of the Kali Age” A Note on the Translation * 71
Part Two T ID IN G S OF TH E KIN G - 75 Introduction • 75 1: The Founding o f Vijayanagara ■ 77 s: The Coronation and Education o f Krishnaraya • 87 y Krishnaraya and Timmarasu • 98 4: Reports ofthe Turks • 109 5: Account ofthe Gajapati Kingdom • 125 6: The Battle with the Turks • 136 7: The Gajapati Campaign • 142 A BBREV IA TIO N S ■ 161
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vi • Contents A PP EN D IX ES . 163 A. Rdyamtakamu Fragments Translated or Paraphrased in Sources o f Vijayanagam History (SVH) and Further Sources of Vijayanagara History (FSVH) ■ 163 B. The Vidyaranya-krti on the Founding ofVijayanagara • 165 NO TES TO P A R T ONE • 171 NO TES TO P A R T TWO ■ 181 WORKS C IT ED ■ 221 IN D E X ■ 231
ILLUSTRATIONS
MAPS i. Sixteenth-century India according to the Bdyamcakamu • x 2 . Krishnadevaraya’s pilgrimage to the Madurai country as narrated in the Jtdyavdcakamu • 21 3. Route o f Vidyaranya’s journey - 36 FIGURES 1. Life-size portrait sculptures o f Krishnadevaraya and his queens Tirumaladevi and Chinnadevi • 4 2. The battle o f Rakshasa-Tangadi showing the slaying of Aliya Rama Raya * 29 3. Vidyaranya in his palanquin • 34 4. Mount Matanga, Vijayanagara • 39 j. Schematic representation of the Raytmkakamu\ political geography * 62 6. The slaying ofthe Demons ofthe Three Cities • 65 A ll maps and illustrations by the author unless otherwise noted.
• vii •
PREFACE
The inception o f the present book can be traced back to a warm moonlit night in February io?u. when I was a guest of John M. Fritz and George Michell, co-directors o f the V ljayam g^ 'fiS'e^cfl^rui5—■ ect, at their archaeological camp in the midst o f th‘eTSins“5 f'Vipyariagara, They were"then inthelfflfftf^ S g i r g f fieldwork devotecUn documenting and interpretingLtM.feim o f this jruinctUiiY that was Ofi£eTKe Hjpital of South India’s greatest empire, and inthe course of the evening our discussion tttftiedlcTthe question o f TeluguTTterary sources1ld er aiTttgnff^slHrdy oTtKe^Tty ’ 1 mentioned the BafltViicakamu, a work with which I had only a slight acquaintance at the Trme;imtf‘TOld t h ^ T te jt JT ^ e y e ^ account of-she • founding o f the city as well as many tje^ils of the reign of Krishnarfevarayyruler Their curiosjtv led to a com mission for a translation of several passages that promised to shed light on the nature o f the cit