<!--QuoteBegin-Bharatvarsh+May 22 2007, 08:39 AM-->QUOTE(Bharatvarsh @ May 22 2007, 08:39 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Bodhi I cannot say for sure if he drank that much ghee or not but he certainly was very physically fit and kept it up through regular exercise as the following description shows:
"Krishna Raya seems to have possessed a very striking personality, to judge from the glowing description given us by Paes, who saw him about the year 1520. The account given by him is all the more interesting and valuable because without it the world would have remained justly in doubt as to whether this king really reigned at all, in the usual acceptation of the word -- whether he was not a mere puppet, entirely in the hands of his minister, perhaps even an actual prisoner. For Firishtah never mentions him by name, and the inscriptions which relate his conquests prove nothing beyond the fact that they took place during a reign which, for all we know, might have been a reign only in name, the real power being in the hands of the nobles. But with the description of Paes in our hands there can be no longer a shadow of doubt. Krishna Deva was not only monarch DE JURE, but was in very practical fact an absolute sovereign, of extensive power and strong personal influence. He was the real ruler. He was physically strong in his best days, and kept his strength up to the highest pitch by hard bodily exercise. He rose early, and developed all his muscles by the use of Indian clubs and the use of the sword; he was a fine rider, and was blessed with a noble presence which favourably impressed all who came in contact with him. He commanded his immense armies in person, was able, brave, and statesmanlike, and was withal a man of much gentleness and generosity of character. He was beloved by all and respected by all. Paes writes of him that he was "gallant and perfect in all things."
http://www.nalanda.nitc.ac.in/resources/en...ry/vijayanagar/ "
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Krishna Deva was indeed a strong ruler very much in control of his affairs. The following extract from Robert Sewell's "A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar)" on the Battle of Raichur is an excellent example of Krishna Deva's generalship. The book is available free on Gutenberg
"Krishna Deva Raya, having determine to attack the Adil Shah
and once for all to capture the disputed fortress of Raichur,
collected all his forces, and marched with an immense host from
Vijayanagar in a north-easterly direction. It was the dry season,
and he probably set out in February or March. The weather must have
been intensely hot during his advance, and still more so during
the campaign; but the cotton plains that lay on his route out and
home were then in the best condition for the passage of his troops,
guns, and baggage. His enormous army consisted of about a million of
men, if the camp-followers be included; for the fighting men alone,
according to Nuniz, numbered about 736,000, with 550 elephants. The
troops advanced in eleven great divisions or army corps, and other
troops joined him before Raichur.
He pitched his camp on the eastern side of that citadel, invested
the place, and began a regular siege. After an interval he received
intelligence of the arrival of the Adil Shah from Bijapur, on the
north side of the Krishna, with an army of 140,000 horse and foot to
oppose him.
Having for a few days rested his troops, the Sultan crossed the river,
advanced (according to Nuniz) to within nine miles of Raichur, and
there entrenched himself, leaving the river about five miles in his
rear.[215] Firishtah, however, differs, and says that the Muhammadan
forces crossed directly in face of the Hindu army encamped on the
opposite bank.
On Saturday morning, May 19, in the year A.D. 1520, according to
my deductions, the forces became engaged, and a decisive pitched
battle was fought. Krishna Deva, making no attempt to outflank
his adversary, ordered an advance to his immediate front of his two
forward divisions. Their attack was so far successful that they drove
the Muhammadans back to their trenches. The Sultan had apparently
deployed his force over too wide an area, expecting that the Raya
would do the same; but finding himself weak in the centre he opened
fire from the guns that he had previously held in reserve, and by this
means caused great loss in the close ranks of the Hindus. <b>The Raya's
troops fell back in face of this formidable bombardment, and at once
their enemies charged them. The retreat was changed to a rout, and for
a mile and a half to their direct front the Mussulman cavalry chased
the flying forces belonging to Krishna Deva's first line. The king
himself, who commanded the second line, began to despair of victory,
but rallied his troops, collected about him a number of his nobles, and
determined to face death with the bravery that had always characterised
him. Mounting his horse, he ordered a forward movement of the whole
of his remaining divisions, and charged the now disordered ranks of
the Mussulmans. This resulted in complete success, for the enemy,
scattered and unable to form, fled before his impetuous onslaught. He
drove them the whole way back to, and into, the river, where terrific
slaughter took place, and their entire army was put to flight.</b>
The Raya then crossed the river and seized the Shah's camp, while
the Shah himself, by the counsel and help of Asada Khan, a man who
afterwards became very famous, escaped only with his life, and fled
from the field on an elephant.
While being driven back towards the river, Salabat Khan, the Shah's
general, made a valiant attempt to retrieve the fortunes of the day. He
had for his bodyguard 500 Portuguese "renegades," and with him these
men threw themselves into the advancing ranks of the Hindus, where they
"did such wonderful deeds" that ever after they were remembered. They
penetrated the king's host, and cut their way forwards till they
almost reached his person. Here Salabat Khan lost his horse, but at
once mounted another and pressed on. The little force was, however,
surrounded and annihilated, and the general, being a second time
overthrown, horse and all, was made prisoner.
The spoil was great and the result decisive. For years afterwards the
"Moors" cherished a wholesome dread of Krishna Raya and his valiant
troops, and the Sultan, panic-stricken, never again during his enemy's
lifetime ventured to attack the dominions of Vijayanagar. Krishna
Deva, flushed with victory, returned at once to the attack of Raichur,
and the fortress was after a short time captured.
Its fall was due in great measure to the assistance rendered by
some Portuguese, headed by Christovao de Figueiredo, who with their
arquebusses picked off the defenders from the walls, and thus enabled
the besiegers to approach close to the lines of fortification and
pull down the stones of which they were formed. Driven to desperation,
and their governor being slain, the garrison surrendered."
This has been derived from Fernao Nuniz's account of the battle. Though Firishta has also written on the battle more from Adil Shah's point of view, Sewell considers Nuniz's account to be more accurate. This because Nuniz had written this just some 15 years after the event, while Firishta wrote his Tarikh only 60 years after the Battle of Raichur. It is also very well possible that Nuniz had a first hand account of this story as there were many Portuguese present at the battle including the redoubtable Cristovao de Figuiredo, who was very useful to Krishna Deva during this campaign due to his sniping skills. Sewell even feels that Nuniz may have been actually present at the battle due to the graphic descriptions of the battle. I think this is a must read for any history, especially military enthusiast for there are very few medieval Indian battles that are so well documented and with so graphic a narrative. It also proves beyond a shadow of doubt the generalship of Krishna Deva besides his courage for there are few men, nay few generals who can turn a rout into a victory. I think this more than anything else this account defines the strong control he had on his army and government.
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