Krishnadevaraya, the King of Vijayanagara, was an early riser. Every day, he would wake up before sunrise and drink three-quarters of a pint of oil. Then, he would cover his loins with a small cloth, take great weights in his arms, pick up a sword, and exercise with it till he sweats it all out.

Then, he would anoint oil on his body and wrestle with one of his wrestlers. After this, he mounted a horse and galloped about the plain in one direction and another till dawn. After completing his exercise, at daybreak, his favourite Brahman, whom he considered sacred, would wash him. Then, he would go to his pagoda inside the palace and make his orisons and ceremonies, according to custom.

This was Krishnadevaraya’s daily morning routine five centuries ago – circa 1520.

A king “of medium height, and of fair complexion and good figure, rather fat than thin, he has on his face signs of small-pox.” He was a “great ruler,” “a man of justice,” “gallant and perfect in all things.” But he was given to “sudden fits of anger.”

Krishnadevaraya was also “a great military commander.” He won a decisive war with the Muhammedan kings of the Deccan and extended his kingdom over large parts of Karnataka, from its base in Hampi (later Penukonda and Chandragiri), a fortress town dotted with hills and canals. However, this victory made him haughty.



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