About the year 1512 Krishna Deva Raya, who had, taken advantage of the times to invade the Sultan's dominions, attacked the fortress of Raichur, which at last was given up to him by the garrison; Ismail Adil being too much employed in attending to the internal affairs of his government to afford it timely relief. So says Firishtah.[200] This event is not noticed by Nuniz, who writes as if the Raya's first campaign against the Adil Shah took place in 1520, when he advanced to attack Raichur, it being then in the Shah's possession; and here we see a difference between the story of Nuniz and the story of Firishtah, for the latter, writing of the same event, viz., the campaign of 1520, states that "Ismail Adil Shaw made preparations for marching to recover Mudkal and Roijore from the Roy of Beejanuggar," he having taken these cities about 1512, as narrated. Which account is correct I cannot say.
It appears[201] that in 1514 A.D. Krishna Deva offered Albuquerque [pound sterling] 20,000 for the exclusive right to trade in horses, but the Portuguese governor, with a keen eye to business, refused. A little later the Hindu king renewed his proposal, declaring his intention of making war against the Adil Shah; and the Adil Shah, hearing of this message, himself sent an embassy to Goa. Albuquerque was now placed in a position of some political importance, and he wrote first to Vijayanagar saying that he would give the Raya the refusal of all his horses if he would pay him 30,000 cruzados per annum for the supply, and send his own servants to Goa to fetch away the animals, and also that he would aid the king in his war if he was paid the expense of the troops; and he wrote afterwards to Bijapur promising the Sultan the refusal of all horses that came to Goa if he would surrender to the king of Portugal a certain portion of the mainland opposite the island. Before this matter was settled, however, Albuquerque died.
We learn from this narrative the Krishna Deva Raya was meditating a grand attack on the Muhammadans at least five years before his advance to Raichur — a year even before his expedition against Udayagiri and the fortresses on the east, the story of which campaign is given in our chronicle.
We have an account of what Vijayanagar was like in A.D. 1504 — 14 in the narrative of Duarte Barbosa, a cousin of Magellan, who visited the city during that period.
Speaking of the "kingdom of Narsinga," by which name the Vijayanagar territories were always known to the Portuguese, Barbosa writes:[202] "It is very rich, and well supplied with provisions, and is very full of cities and large townships."
He describes the large trade of the seaport of Bhatkal on its western coast, the exports from which consisted of iron, spices, drugs, myrabolans, and the imports of horses and pearls; but as regards he last two items he says, "They now go to Goa, on account of the Portuguese." The governor of Bhatkal was a nephew of King Krishna Deva. "He lives in great state and calls himself king, but is in obedience to the king, his uncle."
Leaving the sea-coast and going inland, Barbosa passed upwards through the ghats.
"Forty-five leagues from these mountains there is a very large city which is called BIJANAGUER, very populous, and surrounded on one side by a very good wall, and on another by a river, and on the other by a mountain. This city is on level ground; the king of Narsinga always resides in it. He is a gentile, and is called Raheni.[203] He has in this place very large and handsome palaces, with numerous courts…. There are also in this city many other palaces of great lords, who live there. And all the other houses of the place are covered with thatch, and the streets and squares are very wide. They are constantly filled with an innumerable crowd of all nations and creeds…. There is an infinite trade in this city…. In this city there are many jewels which are brought from Pegu and Celani (Ceylon), and in the country itself many diamonds are found, because there is a mine of them in the kingdom of Narsinga and another in the kingdom of Decani. There are also many pearls and seed-pearls to be found there, which are brought from Ormuz and Cael … also silk-brocades, scarlet cloth, and coral….
"The king constantly resides in the before-mentioned palaces, and very seldom goes out of them….
"All the attendance on the king is done by women, who wait upon him within doors; and amongst them are all the employments of the king's household; and all these women live and find room within these palaces, which contain apartments for all….