There were three important celebrations during the year. In the first, women, men and children bathe in the river or sea, put on new clothes and ornaments, sing and dance for three days and nights and participate in the celebration. Secondly, oil lamp was kept in the temple courtyard day and night. The third celebration, which lasts for nine days, takes place on all major thoroughfares. Decorated pillars are placed on several places in the city. These pillars are decorated with garlands and cloths of various colors including gold . A person who is willing to endure anything and completely pious will be carried to the top of each pillar every day. Fruits like oranges and lemons are thrown at them by passers-by and they endure it patiently. In another festival, people will celebrate by pouring saffron-mixed water on each other's bodies. It is customary for everyone, even the king and queen, to take part in it.
The first of these celebrations is thought to have been the "New Year's Eve" that historian and traveler Domingo Paes saw when he visited Vijayanagar. The second should be "Diwali", which is celebrated by lighting lamps in houses and temples. Mahanavami celebrated on September 12 in Vijayanagar can be considered as the third festival. Holi is the other festival with colors.
There is also a reference by Nicola Conte to a collection of diamonds found in the mountains that is located north of Vijayanagar. The diamond lies in the inaccessible canyons and valleys, to extract it, pieces of flesh are thrown on top of it. The eagles carve the precious stones that cling to the flesh and take them to the top of the mountain, where they eat the flesh and leave the precious stones there. Its direction is likely to be east rather than north, indicating the Golconda diamond mines on the banks of the Krishna River.
The city of Vijayanagar had divided a year into twelve months and each was named after the signs of the zodiac.
While rest of the people in India used leaves to write, only the people of Vijayanagar used paper to write. There were a lot of slaves there. If the borrower could not repay the loan, the borrower would have to work as a slave to the lender. Such slaves were considered the property of the lender. Vijayanagar was a land inhabited by a large number of people. Their number of soldiers was over one million.
At the beginning of a winter of 1406, the Sultan's army approached Vijayanagar. They attacked the city, looted houses and occupied the streets. Firuz Shah was then forced to give up everything and retreat as the city dwellers chased away the Islamic militants. That victory prompted Devaraya to defend his army within the walls. At the same time, he set out to retaliate against the Sultan's camp. In the rocky area of Vijayanagar, the Islamic militants were unable to use their cavalry properly and lost confidence. At the same time, Firuz Shah's hand was wounded by an arrow. Eventually, the king’s army retreated, kneeling before the might of Ahmed Khan and Khan Khan, and the Sultan withdrew from the city and stayed elsewhere for four months, waiting for the wounds of him and other wounded soldiers to heal. Devaraya, who was defeated in the war, was imprisoned in the capital. At the same time, the corpses of the slain Vijayanagara soldiers were desecrated and mutilat
Comments
Post a Comment