भारतीय इतिहास के ६ स्वर्णिम पृष्ठ (वीर सावरकर - विदेशी आक्रान्ताओं पर विजय गाथा)

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