A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar by Robert Sewell (short story to read TXT) 📕

four hundred thousand cruzados of revenue and keeps up an army of twelve thousand men; and Maca Raya, who has a revenue of two hundred thousand cruzados and musters six thousand men. They swore never to do homage to the new King, but, on the contrary, to raise in his place the putative son of the dead King, the nephew of Jaga Raya,[360] who was the chief of this conspiracy. In a few days there occurred the following opportunity.

“The new King displeased three of his nobles; the first, the Dalavay, who is the commander of the army and pays a tribute of five hundred thousand cruzados, because he desired him to give up three fortresses which the King wished to confer on two of his own sons; the second, his minister, whom he asked to pay a hundred thousand cruzados, alleging that he had stolen them from the old King his uncle; the third, Narpa Raya, since he demanded the jewels which his sister, the wife of the old King, had given to Marpa. All these three answered the King that they would obey his commands within two days; but they secretly plotted with Jaga Raya to raise up the latter’s nephew to be King. And this they did in manner following: —

“Jaga Raya sent to tell the King that he wished to do homage to him, and so also did Tima Maique and Maca Raya. The poor King allowed them to enter. Jaga Raya selected five thousand men, and leaving the rest outside the city he entered the fortress with these chosen followers. The two other conspirators did the same, each of them bringing with them two thousand selected men. The fortress has two walls. Arrived at these, Jaga Raya left at the first gate a thousand men, and at the second a thousand. The Dalavay seized two other gates of the fortress, on the other side. There being some tumult, and a cry of treason being raised, the King ordered the palace gates to be closed, but the conspirators as soon as they reached them began to break them down. Maca Raya was the first to succeed, crying out that he would deliver up the King to them; and he did so, seeding the King a message that if he surrendered he would pledge his word to do him no ill, but that the nephew of Jaga Raya must be King, he being the son of the late King.

“The poor surrounded King, seeing himself without followers and without any remedy, accepted the promise, and with his wife and sons left the tower in which he was staying. He passed through the midst of the soldiers with a face grave and severe, and with eyes downcast. There was none to do him reverence with hands (as is the custom) joined over the head, nor did he salute any one.

“The King having left, Jaga Raya called his nephew and crowned him, causing all the nobles present to do him homage; and he, finding himself now crowned King, entered the palace and took possession of it and of all the riches and precious stones that he found there. If report says truly, he found in diamonds alone three large chests full of fine stones. After this (Jaga Raya) placed the deposed King under the strictest guard, and he was deserted by all save by one captain alone whose name was Echama Naique, who stopped outside the fortress with eight thousand men and refused to join Jaga Raya. Indeed, hearing of the treason, he struck his camp and shut himself up in his own fortress and began to collect more troops.

“Jaga Raya sent a message to this man bidding him come and do homage to his nephew, and saying that if he refused he would destroy him. Echama Naique made answer that he was not the man to do reverence to a boy who was the son of no one knew whom, nor even what his caste was; and, so far as destroying him went, would Jaga Raya come out and meet him? If so, he would wait for him with such troops as he possessed!

“When this reply was received Jaga Raya made use of a thousand gentle expressions, and promised honours and revenues, but nothing could turn him. Nay, Echama took the field with his forces and offered battle to Jaga Raya; saying that, since the latter had all the captains on his side, let him come and fight and beat him if he could, and then the nephew would become King unopposed. In the end Jaga Raya despaired of securing Echama Naique’s allegiance, but he won over many other nobles by gifts and promises.

“While Jaga Raya was so engaged, Echama Naique was attempting to obtain access to the imprisoned King by some way or other; but finding this not possible, he sought for a means of at least getting possession of one of his sons. And he did so in this manner. He sent and summoned the washerman who washed the imprisoned King’s clothes, and promised him great things if he would bring him the King’s middle son. The washerman gave his word that he would so do if the matter were kept secret. When the day arrived on which it was the custom for him to take the clean clothes to the King, he carried them (into the prison) and with them a palm-leaf letter from Echama Naique, who earnestly begged the King to send him one at least of the three sons whom he had with him, assuring him that the washerman could effect his escape. The King did so, giving up his second son aged twelve years, for the washerman did not dare take the eldest, who was eighteen years old. He handed over the boy, and put him in amongst the dirty clothes, warning him to have no fear and not to cry out even if he felt any pain. In order more safely to pass the guards, the washerman placed on top of all some very foul clothes, such as every one would avoid; and went out crying ‘TALLA! TALLA!’ which means ‘Keep at a distance! keep at a distance!’ All therefore gave place to him, and he went out of the fortress to his own house. Here he kept the prince in hiding for three days, and at the end of them delivered him up to Echama Naique, whose camp was a league distant from the city, and the boy was received by that chief and by all his army with great rejoicing.

“The news then spread abroad and came to the ears of Jaga Raya, who commanded the palace to be searched, and found that it was true. He was so greatly affected that he kept to his house for several days; but he doubled the guards on the King, his prisoner, closed the gates, and commanded that no one should give aught to the King to eat but rice and coarse vegetables.[361]

“As soon as it was known that Echama Naique had possession of the King’s son, there went over to him four of Jaga Raya’s captains with eight thousand men; so that he had in all sixteen thousand, and now had good hope of defending the rightful King. He took, therefore, measures for effecting the latter’s escape. He selected from amongst all his soldiers twenty men, who promised to attempt to dig an underground passage which should reach to where the King lay in prison. In pursuance of this resolve they went to the fortress, offered themselves to the Dalavay as entering into his service, received pay, and after some days began to dig the passage so as to gain entrance to the King’s prison. The King, seeing soldiers enter thus into his apartment, was amazed, and even more so when he saw them prostrate themselves on the ground and deliver him a palm-leaf letter from Echama Naique, in which he begged the King to trust himself to these men, as they would escort him out of the fortress. The King consented. He took off his robes hastily and covered himself with a single cloth; and bidding farewell to his wife, his sons, and his daughters, told them to have no fear, for that he, when free, would save them all.

“But it so happened that at this very moment one of the soldiers who were guarding the palace by night with torches fell into a hole, and at his cries the rest ran up, and on digging they discovered the underground passage. They entered it and got as far as the palace, arriving there just when the unhappy King was descending into it in order to escape. He was seized and the alarm given to Jaga Raya, who sent the King to another place more confined and narrower, and with more guards, so that the poor prisoner despaired of ever escaping.

“Echama Naique, seeing that this stratagem had failed, bribed heavily a captain of five hundred men who were in the fortress to slay the guards as soon as some good occasion offered, and to rescue the King. This man, who was called Iteobleza,[362] finding one day that Jaga Raya was leaving the palace with all his men in order to receive a certain chief who had proffered his submission, and that there only remained in the fortress about five thousand men, in less than an hour slew the guards, seized three gates, and sent a message to Echama Naique telling him to come at once and seize the fortress. But Jaga Raya was the more expeditious; he returned with all his forces, entered by a postern gate, of the existence of which Iteobleza had not been warned, and put to death the captain and his five hundred followers.

“Enraged at this attempt, Jaga Raya, to strengthen the party of his nephew, resolved to slay the King and all his family. He entrusted this business to a brother of his named Chinaobraya,[363] ordering him to go to the palace and tell the poor King that he must slay himself, and that if he would not he himself would kill him with stabs of his dagger.

“The prisoner attempted to excuse himself, saying that he knew nothing of the attempted revolt. But seeing the determination of Chinaobraya, who told him that he must necessarily die, either by his own hand or by that of another — a most pitiful case, and one that I relate full of sorrow! — the poor King called his wife, and after he had spoken to her awhile he beheaded her. Then he sent for his youngest son and did the same to him. He put to death similarly his little daughter. Afterwards he sent for his eldest son, who was already married, and commanded him to slay his wife, which he did by beheading her. This done, the King took a long sword of four fingers’ breadth, and, throwing himself upon it, breathed his last; and his son, heir to the throne, did the same to himself in imitation of his father. There remained only a little daughter whom the King could not bring himself to slay; but Chinaobraya killed her, so that none of the family should remain alive of the blood royal, and the throne should be secured for his nephew.

“Some of the chiefs were struck with horror at this dreadful deed, and were so enraged at its cruelty that they went over to Echama Naique, resolved to defend the prince who had been rescued by the washerman, and who alone remained of all the royal family. Echama Naique, furious at this shameful barbarity and confident in the justice of his cause, selected ten thousand of his best soldiers, and with them offered battle to Jaga Raya, who had more than sixty thousand men and a number of elephants and horses. Echama sent him a