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

pearls. Foreign travellers have written that thousands of citizens were to be seen adorned with ornaments of gold, jewels and pearls, Portuguese traveller Paes asserts that the area of Vijaynagar was as extensive as that of Rome. 898. Even before the reign of Maharajadhiraj Krishnadevrai, the Hindu Empire of Vijaynagar had been renowned as the most powerful in the whole of Deccan. The five fragments of the former Bahamani Kingdom were beset with internal dissensions and fratricidal wars, to the immense advantage of Vijaynagar Empire, and the then Hindu political leaders did have the sense to utilize this opportunity for the extension of its boundaries and for teaching a lesson to the Muslims. The Muslim Sultans could do nothing independently without the help or consent of the ‘Rais’ of Vijaynagar! Every one of the Muslim cliques laboured hard to secure the support of the Hindu rulers of Vijaynagar. As has already been said above, the absurd patronization by the Hindus and their indulgence of the Muslim soldiers, as in the times of the weak and imbecile King Devrai, had been abandoned. Those of the Hindu Kings, who built masjids for the Muslims in their own capital, did so in order to win them over and to parade their religious tolerance. But now that ‘cowardly’ religious tolerance had given place to valiant aggression on the Muslim States and the retaliatory demolition of the Muslim mosques and masjids. Forbearance, due to the perverted sense of virtues, began to give the palm of honour of the real virtue of retaliation! 899. Maharaja Krishnadevrai died in A.D. 1530; just four years before it, Babar had captured Delhi. Rana Sang was his contemporary. He was succeeded by his brother, Achyutdev with Salur Timma as his Chief Minister, who for all practical purposes ran the administration. Achyutdev died in A.D. 1542 and then after an insignificant King Sadashivrai, the nephew of Achyutdev, ascended the throne. But Ramrai, the son of the Chief Minister, Timma had done so much in helping Sadashivrai become the king that within a very short time, all the real power passed into his hands. This Ramrai himself is called Ramrajah. Ramrai, the valiant defender of Religion! 900. All the five Muslim States in Maharashtra tried to obtain help from the powerful army of Ramrai to fight their fratricidal wars. Although these five Muslim rulers knew well enough that Shree Ramrai was a strict adherent of Hinduism and hated all Muslims alike as equally treacherous