I Am Me - extended review

 Last weekend, I decided to read my brother Ram Sundaram's book “I Am Me” again. This book is a “flip book” that is a collection of ten pairs of short stories. The book is divided into two halves; once the reader reaches the middle, the book has to be flipped and the same set of ten short stories are repeated on the other side but, presented differently. One half focuses on reality and the other half on fantasy. The fantasy or the dreamscape represents the world as seen from the point of view of the individual nestled within the “atman” or the “collective” while the reality side represents the point of view of the collective or the “atman” within the individual. Whichever side a reader chooses to read the book from, it eventually meets in the middle, where one realises that the atman is within oneself while at the same time realising that one is but a part of the atman. 

Through this book, Ram has forged Western Symbolism with Eastern Philosophy. In the format of the book, we can sense hints of Daharavidhya. The collective inside the atman is taken from the Daharavidhya. In the city called Brahmapuram (Individual body), there is a palace which is like a lotus. Inside this palace is the small Akasam called “daharakasam”. The daharakasam is as large as the space on the outside. The daharakasam contains everything that is contained by the large akasam. It contains both the heaven and the Earth within it. It has both fire and air, both sun and moon, both lightning and stars; and whatever there is in the world, and whatever has been or will be, everything is contained within it. In other words, to the realised soul, the collective as represented by everything in this world, the Universe is within oneself; hence the realised soul doesn’t feel any deficiencies nor does it perceive any differences. 

The book's two sections can also be seen to silently explain the meaning of the name “Narayana”. The meaning of the name Narayana can be derived by using either tat purusha samasam or bahu brihi samasam. The meaning changes according to the samasam used but the meaning derived by using either of the samasam can only apply to Lord Narayana. In Bahubrihi samasam, the meaning changes to the one who has His ayanam in the narams (The individual in the collective). The importance is neither given to “naram” or “ayanam” in Bahubrihi but to omnipresence. Using Tat Purusha samasam one derives the meaning that He is the one in whom the narams or the jeevatmas rest (The collective in The individual). Once a person realises that Lord Narayana is their antaryami and at the same time they also understand that they are the sareeram of Lord Narayana, then one perceives correctly unity in diversity.

 All differences vanish. This vanishing point is the middle of the book where the individual blends into the collective and vice versa. The factual reality we perceive every day is but a dream of one who has not realised that they the individual is part of the collective and vice versa. We live inside a bubble that artificially segregates us the individual from the collective population. The reality that deals with the entire population is eventually a dream painted with the brushstroke of ego, lies and fantasies of an entire population. Neither the individual nor the collective population realises that the “atman” is inside the individual making the collective population, a part of the individual and that the individual is also part of the collective population because the individual is really a part of the “atman”. True harmony is achieved when the boundaries of false ego melt and the individual learns not to discriminate from the collective and vice versa. This concept is beautifully represented by the cover image. The Image shows a tree reflected in the water with the words “I Am Me”. If one were to rotate the image by 180 degrees such that the reflected tree is on top, one would now read the title as “I Am We”.

 This time when I read the book, I decided to start with the “fantasy” side. I chose to start with “The Hangman” because my mom had just finished reading it and wished to discuss it with me. This story on page 102 on the fantasy side of the book, starts with the narrator finding himself in the presence of death. He is in the realm between the living and the dead and is given a chance to return to the realm of the living if he can successfully play the game of “hangman”. The narrator finds himself between two walls; one behind him and the other in front of him while on either side of the narrator, he is enveloped by dark, open space. The wall behind the narrator represents the world of the living which he had just left behind and the wall facing him represents the possibility of returning to the world of the living and is the proverbial carrot dangling before him, the main motivation to answer correctly. The narrator’s fears are personified as death. The narrator finds himself enveloped on either side by the shapeless, wide-open dark space representing the narrator’s anxiety arising from the fear of the unknown world, in this case, his ignorance about life after death. 

 Though the atmosphere created by Ram is tense and foreboding, the humorous conversation between the narrator and death helps to lighten the mood. The story proceeds with the narrator’s struggle to guess the ten letters in the word correctly. The answer is the highlight and contains the message for us to take away. Ram has used his imagination to forge together the philosophies of the West and the East. In his use of symbolism, we find the hints of Western Philosophies which end with the messages from the East which are an echo of the ancient Upanishads. The conclusion of this story resonates with the message from the “antaryami brahmanam” of the Upanishad. The Universe as we see it, with the array of creatures, planets, galaxies, etc, cannot exist without the support of God; the “Individual” we must strive to realise. The Universe cannot function independently of Him; it is forever dependent on Him. To emphasise this ceaseless reliance on Him, the Universe is viewed as His body. The body in the above sense doesn’t refer to the type of body we are familiar with which has eyes, nose, limbs, etc, but, the body here refers to that which is under the control of God. The reference made to God as the Soul and the Universe, encompassing the matter along with the hosts of souls as the body is but, an analogy. We know that our body is supported by the soul within. The moment the soul leaves the body, it is unable to function, falls down and is reduced to a corpse. Our body depends on our soul. It cannot exist independently of our soul. In this same manner, the Universe made up of souls and matter is incapable of functioning independently of God. In this sense, He is the Individual within all of us. Once, He the individual is realised, the individual soul learns to put the “collective” before his own selfish desires. All the individual souls are identical to each other. As a result of this equality arising from their similarity, there is no room for discrimination based on caste, colour, creed, gender, etc. This is the message conveyed by this story which concludes when the narrator sees that his face is also the face of death.

Foreign Invasion of Medieval India - Part 12

 

Continued From: The Forgotten Empires Of India: Foreign Invasion of Medieval India - Part 11

As he himself was an usurper who had become the Sultan after killing his uncle, he started suspecting that others may make an attempt on his life too. He understood the power of money since he had used wealth to attain his goal. He protected himself by confiscating the wealth of his nobles to prevent any uprisings against him. According to both Barani and Firishta, he issued orders that marriage alliances between his nobles shall not take place without his approval. He started confiscating property of both Muslims and Hindus alike. He often stated that “religion had no connection with the civil government , but was only the business , or rather amusement of private life; the will of a wise prince was better than the variable opinions of bodies of men”. Soon his personal treasury overflowed with the money of his nobles and the common people. He overtaxed his people that they were reduced to a deplorable state.  Fearing that his nobles may conspire against him over a glass of wine, he banned alcohol from the kingdom.

According to Firishta , in the year 1303 Allaudin Khilji sent a huge force under the command of his favourite slave Malik Kafur to once again plunder the Deccan Kingdoms of India. At that time when the army was absent from Delhi, the Mughals retaliated against Delhi. Allaudin scrambled to collect army to ward of the invasion. After a lengthy struggle he managed to make them retreat from Delhi. Fearing a third invasion from the Mughals, he frantically started to increase his military power. He had increased his forces so greatly that he realised that he would become bankrupt in six years. He needed his army to plunder Hindu Kingdoms and yet paying their salary would deplete his treasury. He decided to reduce the pay of his army , but in order to prevent a revolt, he lowered the price of every commodity.

In the year 1310, Allaudin once again sent an army under Malik Kafur to plunder Dwara Samudram and the Malabar Coast. It was during this invasion that the Srirangam temple was plundered. The loot from the first invasion paled next to that of the second invasion. Malik Kafur returned to Delhi with 312 elephants, 20,000 horses, 3,580,800 Kg of gold, several hundred kilograms of precious gems. Silver is not listed as one of the plundered items because during the time of the invasion, the people of South India were very wealthy and it is said that even their dinner plates and utensils were made of gold!

Only the citizens of Devagiri and Lasur had felt the evil effects of the first invasion. The second invasion terrorized the entire Deccan .The sultan had in his army some soldiers who were of Mughal origin. All of a sudden he started mistrusting these soldiers and discharged every one of them from his army. He not only dismissed them , but fearing an uprising had 15,000 Mughal soldiers who were all Muslims put to death. One day the streets of Delhi were filled with the bodies of these 15,000 soldiers and the women and children of these soldiers were enslaved.

He pillaged and plundered all of North India and faced problems in maintaining a large army. In order to maintain his soldiers, he started levying heavy taxes on all Hindus who lived in his kingdom. The tax rate was 50% for Hindus and if they were farmers or merchants, they had to give 50% of the goods produced to the tax collector on top of the 50% tax they paid. He arranged to drag the women and children of anyone who was unable to pay the taxes and sold them as slaves in the market. Often, these women and children were shipped outside of India to countries like Oman as slaves. The Hindu farmers and merchants lost everything they owned and were left with the agonizing screams of their wives and children ringing constantly in their ears.  This heavy taxation too eventually stopped generating revenue as farmers stopped farming their lands and the country faced a severe famine.

Allaudin Khalji rule was doted with many internal revolts. Notable amongst these revolts was the revolt in Gujarat started by those who had recently converted to Islam. To quell the revolt, Allaudin Khalji ordered all those people who had recently converted to Islam to be slaughtered outside his palace. It is reported that around 30,000 people were slaughtered each day outside his palace and the streets of Delhi were covered with blood. He gave orders to his officers to show utmost cruelty towards his people and to plunder them to such an extent that they should be left with nothing. He impoverished his people so that they would lack the funds to start any revolts.

Foreign Invasion of Medieval India - Part 11

 

Continued From: The Forgotten Empires Of India: Foreign Invasion of Medieval India - Part 10

After the raid on Gujarat, the army returned to Delhi. Enroute to Delhi, Nusrat Khan and Ulugh Khan camped at a place to examine the loot. They scrutinized the spoils in the possession of the soldiers. They inflicted various punishments and penalties on the soldires forcing them to part with everything in their possession. Unable to endure the punishments, the soldiers revolted. They killed the brother of Nusrat Khan. Allaudin quickly sent relief and quelled the revolt. As soon as the troops reached Delhi, the women and children of the mutineers were seized by the government. The women were dishonoured on the streets of Delhi and they were forced to witness their children being cut into pieces! For weeks the streets of Delhi was drowned by the cry of these innocent women and children!

 By this time Allaudin had come to suspect even his brothers Ulugh Khan and Zafar Khan. A conspirator can never live in peace because he is constantly worried about a plot being woven around him. Allaudin  heaved a sigh of relief when his brother Zafar Khan fell fighting the Mughals.  According to both Barani and Firishta, Allaudin terrorized the Mughals and captured their women and children to be sold as slaves in the market. With one brother down, Allaudin kept a close watch on his other brother. Later, when Ulugh Khan’s son made an attempt on Allaudin’s life, the Sultan used it as an excuse to murder his brother Ulugh Khan as well. With the murder of his brother, Allaudin kicked the ladder he had used to ascend the throne of Delhi!     

                                                                                                               

The nobles were unaware that the gifts bestowed on them by Allaudin to cover up the murder of Jalal-ud-din was only temporary.They did not realise that by accepting bribes from Allaudin the nobles had signed their own death warrants. In the second year of the reign, Allaudin demanded the amount he had given to the nobility and the common people.  He made many changes to the offices held by the nobles in his assembly. He murdered all those nobles of Jalal-ud-din who had accepted bribes from Allaudin during his ascension.

Continued On: The Forgotten Empires Of India: Foreign Invasion of Medieval India - Part 12

Foreign Invasion of Medieval India - Part 10

 

Continued From: The Forgotten Empires Of India: Foreign Invasion of Medieval India - Part 9

 

Allaudin granted the title of Ulugh Khan on his brother Almas Beg and the title of Zafar Khan on his other brother. He conferred upon his general Malik Nusrat Jalesari the title “Nusrat Khan”. Allaudin started for Delhi on his elephant followed by a band of Amirs and Maliks whom he had won over with bribes. When they arrived at Baran in the present day state of Rajasthan, Nusrat Khan recruited the people of Baran into military service. Allaudin deputed Zafar Khan to intercept the Maliks and Amirs of the late Sultan who had been deputed to stop the advance of Allaudin’s march. Zafar Khan was able to buy the allegiance of the late Sultan’s Maliks and Amirs who now joined Allaudin at Baran. Hearing of the defection of the nobles, the late Sultan’s wife sent an urgent message to the Sultan’s son who was at Multan to come to their aid in Delhi, but the Sultan’s son refused to come to her aid. Zia-Ud -Din Barani states that , ‘Alauddin entered into the city with a most wonderful retinue and a countless multitude, and took his seat on the throne of Delhi in the Daulat Khanah, after which he repaired to the Koshak i la’l, (crimson palace) and made that the royal residence.’[ Note: The crimson palace is the Red Fort at Delhi. How many red coloured palaces are there in Delhi? The Red Fort has been the royal residence of Delhi Sultans and features on the biography of these Sultans, Ghazni, Balban and so on; this is proof that the red fort was not constructed by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. The Mughal Emperor may have renovated the red fort , but the fort itself had existed in Delhi even before the time of Prithviraj Chauhan.]

He deputed his brothers to Multan to take care of the late Sultan’s sons. At the end of a seige, the avaricious troops of Multan betrayed their princes and surrendered Multan to the Khilji brothers. At the order of Allaudin Khilji, the two princes were tortured first and then assasinated while the female family members of the late Sultan including his young wife were taken into the harem (zenana) of Allauding Khilji. What can one expect from such a despot who readily tortured and  murdered his kins in cold blood? Alas, everyone turned a blind eye as they were blinded by the glitter from the gold and silver bestowed on them by the vile Sultan!

During this time, the Mughals raided the territories of Multan and Punjab. Taking advantage of the change in the Delhi administration, the Mughals raided Multan and Punjab with a troop of 100,000 soldiers. The Sultan’s brother Zafar Khan was successful in pushing back the Mughals. At the same time, Allaudin deputed Nusrat Khan and Ulugh Khan to raid Gujarat. The Vaghela King Karan Rai was no match for the invading army. He tried to effect an escape to the nearby Yadava Kingdom , but his wife Kamala Devi fell into the hands of the invaders. Karan Rai escaped to Devagiri with his daughter Dewal Devi. Kamala Devi was sent as a gift to Delhi and Allaudin took her into his harem. Nusrat Khan and Ulugh Khan meanwhile ruthlessly sacked Gujarat. They fell upon Somnath Temple in Gujarat and once again the temple was sacked by the foreign army. This was a famous temple and the linga worshipped in the temple was one of the twelve jyotirlingas of India. According to Barani, the sacred linga was taken to Delhi where it was shattered and scattered upon the streets of Delhi to be trampled by the masses. Such was the fanatism displayed by Allaudin’s army! The invaders also fell upon the port city Khambat and it was here that they saw a fetching lad called “Hazar Dinari”. A slave trader had in his charge a fetching young lad. The young man had such fine features that the slave trader had purchased him from Baghdad and had paid one thousand dinars for him; hence the name “Hazar Dinari” given to the lad. This young man too fell into the hands of Nusrat Khan and Ulugh Khan. Hazar Dinari was presented to Allaudin. The young man was so handsome, that Allaudin who by that time was already married to Jallaudin’s daughter, Jhatyapali, Kamala Devi and many more, became infatuated with Hazar Dinari. The Sultan named Hazar Dinari as Malik Kafur who stole the Sultan’s heart. Allaudin was so infatuated with Malik Kafur that the later controlled him to a great extent.

Continued On: The Forgotten Empires Of India: Foreign Invasion of Medieval India - Part 11

Foreign Invasion of Medieval India - Part 9

 

Continued From: The Forgotten Empires Of India: Foreign Invasion of Medieval India - Part 8

 

It was in the year 1296, that Ali plundered Devagiri without informing his father-in-law/uncle. The Sultan however, learnt of Ali's success and proceeded towards Gwalior from Delhi to confiscate the loot in person. Learning of the Sultan’s move, Ali proceeded directly to Kara in Uttar Pradesh without stopping at Gwalior and the Sultan was forced to return empty-handed to Delhi. Ali and his brother Almas carefully planned their next move. They knew that it would be a folly to openly attack the Sultan. Almas Beg used his persuasive powers to convince the Sultan that Ali only meant well and was a loyal servant of the Sultan. Almas informed the Sultan that Ali was afraid of meeting the Sultan in person as he had raided Devagiri without obtaining permission from the Sultan. He persuaded the Sultan to propose his peaceful intentions by going to Ali instead. The Sultan pleased with the success of Ali and lured by the loot, assured Almas that he could never be upset with Ali. Almas who was also Ali's co-conspirator thus convinced the Sultan to meet Ali at Khara. (See map )

 

Jalal-ud-din  fell into the trap laid by Almas Beg and Ali.  He foolishly agreed to meet Ali with just a few of his followers and that too unarmoured. Jalal-ud-din  traveled down the Ganges to meet Ali, but to his shock, as soon as he disembarked from his boat, Ali's soldiers fell upon him and severed his head in cold blood! Confusion ensued amongst the Sultan’s followers as they were slaughtered to death by their host. The Sultan’s severed head was on display as proof of Ali’s victory over the Sultan. The historian Zia-Ud -Din Barani says in his book Tarik-I-Firuz-Shahi that for the purpose of glossing over the murder of Jalal-Ud-Din, an act condemned by men and God, Ali threw open the door of liberality and munificence. (A translation of Tarrik-I-Firuz-Shahi by A.R.Fuller). Zia-Ud -Din Barani was a contemporary of Ali and his uncle was later appointed as the Kotwal of Delhi by the Usurper. Those whose silence could be bought was purchased with the loot from Devagiri and those who opposed were put to death. In this manner, the gruesome murder of Sultan Jalal-ud-din  was covered up.

 

Ali purchased the allegiance of Jalal-ud-din's nobles and boldly marched to Delhi where he easily took over the throne by bribing the nobles and proclaimed himself as Allaudin Khilji, the second sultan of the Khilji Dynasty. He donated large amounts of gold to the common people and ascended the throne of Delhi amidst great pomp and celebration. The people were only too happy to get gifts from the new Sultan and no one grieved for Jalal-ud-din.Thus was born Allaudin Khilji, a cruel despot!

 

Continued On: The Forgotten Empires Of India: Foreign Invasion of Medieval India - Part 10

Foreign Invasion of Medieval India - Part 8

 Continued From: The Forgotten Empires Of India: Foreign Invasion of Medieval India - Part 7

Coming back to the fate of the Yadava Kingdom, faced with a shortage of food, the Raya was forced to sue for peace. He had no recourse and was forced to pay a ransom. As his son with the Yadava Military was waging a battle elsewhere in the Deccan, the Raya was left without any help.  The Raya paid a huge ransom to save his Kingdom. Ali made off with 223.8 Kg gold, 261 Kg of pearls, 74.6 Kg of emeralds, rubies, diamonds and other precious gems. 37,300 Kg of silver, 146,320 metres of pure silk, elephants, horses and beasts of burden to carry the ransom to his residence Khara! As the crowning glory of the ransom, the Raya was also humiliated when he was forced to give his daughter famed for her beauty in marriage to Ali. As per today’s financial pages, cost of 1 Kilo of gold is 60,829.21 USD. The average cost of 1 pearl today is $300 to $1500 USD, average weight of one pearl is 0.6grams. Likewise, 1 carat the measure used for rubies, diamonds and precious stones is equal to 0.2g. 1 carat of precious gems today costs between $1800 and $12,000 USD. Cost of 1kg silver is $1125 USD.

 

Estimate of the ransom in present day value is given below in the table. The total excludes the animals taken by Ali as we do not the number of carts and animals taken by him. We have used the lower range of the item’s cost in our calculation , but in all probability the items taken by Ali were of the best quality and hence would have fetched more than the amount shown in the table. Ali got a minimum of

Eight Hundred Sixty Million Eight Hundred Forty-One Thousand Four Hundred Thirty-Seven dollars and twenty cents US.

Item	Unit	Unit Price in USD	Total	Total Amount in USD
Gold	1Kg	$60,829.21	223.8 Kg	$13,613,577.20
Pearl	0.6 g	$300.00 to $1500	261 Kg	$130,500,000.00
	1kg	$500,000.00
Precious Stones	0.2 g	$1,800.00 to $12,000	74.6 Kg	$671,400,000.00
	1kg	$9,000,000.00
Silver	1Kg	$1,125.00	37,300 Kg	$41,962,500.00
Pure Silk	1m	$23	146,320 m	$3,365,360
			Total:	$860,841,437.20

 

The most humiliating factor for the Raya was not paying the ransom, but being forced to give his daughter in marriage to Ali. The historian Isami identifies this princess as Jhatyapali and that she was the mother of Shihab-ud-din Omar. The historian Ferishta adds that Malik Kafur married her after the death of Ali. To a woman of Medieval Indian upbringing, being forced to take a second husband must have been a degrading ordeal. The grandson Shihab-ud-din Omar , a child of six years was blinded and imprisoned in the Gwalior Fort and the princess was cruelly put to death by Qutb-ud-din Mubarak Shah after he had disposed off Malik Kafur. Giving the princess to Ali must have been a big blow to the Raya. Princesses like princes held a key position in the society of India.  The honourable position given to Princess Kundavai the cherished daughter of the Chola Emperor Sri Parantaka II of tenth century is well documented. Sri Ganapathi Deva Raya of the Kakatiya dynasty who was quite older than Sri Ramachandra Raya had crowned his daughter Rudramma as his successor.  Queen Rudramma was an adept ruler and we find that Marco Polo was all in praise of this able queen who often took to battle. The monarch Pratappa Rudra II of the Kalatiya dynasty who ruled during the time of Ali’s invasion was the grandson and successor of Queen Rudramma. A daughter in the Hindu family was considered the very image of Goddess Mahalakshmi.  Handing over mundane wealth is not hurtful ,but forced to give away the light of one's family to be dishonorably treated and eventually murdered must have been gut wrenching.

 

Continued On: The Forgotten Empires Of India: Foreign Invasion of Medieval India - Part 9

Foreign Invasion of Medieval India - Part 7

 Continued From: The Forgotten Empires Of India: Foreign Invasion of Medieval India - Part 6

Most of the destrution associated with war waged with other Indian kingdoms was self-destructive in nature when the monarch ordered the people into the forts with supplies and destroyed water sources and food stores outside the forts to make it difficult for the besieging army. The occupying force usually treated the enemy’s subjects with clemancy except in cases when the subjects assumed the offensive. The subjects of the conquered lands were allowed to follow their customs and traditions as the new monarch wished to avoid large scale rebellions; hence the subjects of the Deccan Kingdoms were unawares of the danger about to descend upon them. For instance, it is said of Udayaaditya, the brother of Vira Narasimha II the Hoysala Monarch  that in the year 1223 after defeting the Cholas, he did not overturn the existing governmental machinery of the Cholas, but collected the revenue from the late Chola districts with the least possible disturbance.  They had not seen battles in which the common people were slaughtered and temples were razed to ground. The monarchs too were not used to anything but dharmayuddha. They were not mentally preparred to meet the ruthless invaders from the North who did not believe in a fair-fight. Thus, it was upon a highly civilized and tolerant society that Ali descended like a swarm of locust ravaging a field.

 

 

A small colony of Arabs  had settled along in the Deccan Kingdoms from Thana to Bhatkal under the secular rule of the Maharajas. Many had even obtained prestigious posts in the government offices. It should also be noted that in the year 1223 the Yadava Kingdom employed some Arabs in their battle against the Hoysalas. This proves that Foreign Muslims were employed in the military and the government even before the Turk-Afghan Invasion.  It was hence easy for the spies of Ali to infiltrate the Deccan. The stories about the treassure troves present in these kingdoms spread through to Ali from his many spies. Devagiri was verily a treassure trove during 13^th century.

 Ali obtained permission from the Sultan to march against Chanderi in the Paramara Kingdom. While waging a battle at Chanderi, he managed to slip away with a small troop towards his secret mission in Devagiri. The Sultan was deceived by the ongoing campaign in Chanderi and failed to notice the move of Ali towards Devagiri. Ali was absent from Chanderi for 63 days. He spent 25 days in Devagiri. 38 of the 63 days were spent in travelling to and from Chanderi. The timing was perfect as Ali  had learnt that the army of Devagiri was deployed elsewhere, probably on a campaign against the Hoysalas.

 

Ali did not take the main route to the Deccan Kingdom. He travelled via Elichpur. Ali had cleverly disguised his real intentions that officials at Elichpur did not feel it was necessary to inform Ramachandra Raya, but Ali’s intentions were found out by an official at Lasur. An official called Kanha and two Maratha women bravely tried to hold-off the invading army, but were eventually taken prisoners. Before being imprisoned, Kanha managed to send a warning to Ramachandra Raya at Devagiri. Thus, when Ali descended upon Devagiri with 8000 horsemen, Ramachandra Raya had managed to gather an army of 4000 to defend the capital. Ramachandra Raya entered the famed fort at Devagiri which was an impregnable fortress with his army of 4000. The fort was built on top of a rock which was surrounded by hills. The rocky walls surrounding the  fort was smooth and it was impossible for the enemy to climb over the steep hillock. Ramachandra Raya was ready for a lengthy seige. He decided to wait inside the fort till the return of his army from the Hoysala Campaign. His plan would have worked, but he fell prey to treachery and was forced to surrender.  Ramachandra Raya had ordered large amounts of grains and other necessities to be stored inside the fortress, but to his dismay, a week into the seige it was discovered that the sacks of grains were filled with salt! We can’t even imgine the plight of Ramachandra Raya and his people when they found out that the sacks were filled with salt! A mole in the department responsible for provisions had deceitfully swapped sacks of grain with sacks of salt! How easily the King had been tricked by the spies of Ali! The spies of Ali had done their job! It was feasible for the spies to substitute grain with salt because many Muslims held key posts in the empire making it easier for a mole to be planted in the government! Ramachandra Raya of the Yadava Kingdom fell prey to a mole and many decades later Aliya Rama Raya of the Vijayanagar Empire faced the same fate when he employed foreign muslim (soldiers previously employed by the sultanates) archers in his army. Alas! Aliya Rama Raya had not learnt from the history of Ramachandra Raya!

Continued On: The Forgotten Empires Of India: Foreign Invasion of Medieval India - Part 8