[44] — Firishtah (Scott, i. 23).
[45] — Adoni as now called; Adhvani as properly spelt. This is a fine hill-fortress with extensive lines of walls, a few miles south of the River Tungabhadra and on the line of railway between Madras and Bombay.
[46] — We must never forget that the narrative of Firishtah is necessarily tinged with bias in favour of the Musalmans, and that it was not compiled till the end of the sixteenth or beginning of the seventeenth century A.D. The "infidels" are, of course, the Hindus, the "faithful" the followers of Muhammad the Prophet.
[47] — The country in question is a plain composed of a deep alluvial deposit, generally overlying gravel, and known as "black cotton soil." After heavy rain it is practically impassable for traffic for some days.
[48] — The expression of Firishtah last quoted is deserving of note, as it implies that, according to tradition in his time, the Raya of Vijayanagar had by the year 1366 A.D. become a great and important sovereign.
[49] — Briggs (ii. 312, n.) considers it unlikely that the armies could have possessed artillery at so early a date.
[50] — Scott's edit., i. 27.
[51] — Briggs gives the name as Bhoj-Mul. He MAY be the Mallayya or Mallinatha mentioned above (p. 31, note).
[52] — Sacred animals to the Hindus.
[53] — About forty-two miles.