The present head of the Brahmanical establishment at the Hampe temple informed me that Krishna Deva Raya celebrated his accession by erecting the great tower at the entrance of the temple, and the next largest tower shortly afterwards. Nuniz tells us that immediately on attaining power, the king, making Saluva Timma his minister, sent his nephew, the son of the last sovereign, and his own three brothers, to the fortress of Chandragiri, 250 miles to the south-east, for his greater security, and himself remained for some time at the capital. This accords well with the writings of the other Portuguese, who relate that at least on two occasions, when missions were sent from Calicut and Goa, viz., those of Fr. Luis and Chanoca, the envoys saw the king in person at Vijayanagar.

At the beginning of Krishna's reign, Almeida, as stated above, was viceroy of the Portuguese settlements on the coast, but at the end of the year 1509 Albuquerque succeeded him under the title of governor. The latter suffered a severe reverse at Calicut, and from thence despatched Fr. Luis, of the Order of St. Francis, as ambassador to Vijayanagar, begging the Raya to come by land and reduce the Samuri of Calicut, promising himself to assault simultaneously by sea.[192] The governor declared that he had orders from his master, the king of Portugal, to war against the Moors, but not against the Hindus; that Calicut had been destroyed by the governor, and its king had fled into the interior; that he (the governor) offered his fleet to assist the king of Vijayanagar in his conquest of the place; that as soon as Calicut was captured the Moors would be driven therefrom, and that afterwards the Portuguese would assist the king of Vijayanagar against his enemies, the "Moors" of the Dakhan. He promised in future to supply Vijayanagar alone with Arab and Persian horses, and not to send any to Bijapur. No answer was returned.

Albuquerque next attacked Goa, then under the Adil Shah, and captured the place, making his triumphal entry into it on March 1, A.D. 1510. Immediately afterwards he despatched Gaspar Chanoca on a mission to Vijayanagar, renewing Almeida's request for a fort at Bhatkal for the protection of Portuguese trade. Barros[193] states that Chanoca reported that, though he was received "solemnly," Krishna Deva Raya only made a general answer in courteous terms, and did not specifically grant the governor's request; the reason being that the king had then made peace with the Adil Shah. Presumably this peace was made in order to enable the Adil Shah to retake Goa.[194]

Upon this a message was sent from Vijayanagar to Albuquerque congratulating the Portuguese on their conquest of Goa, and promising to aid them against the Adil Shah. This aid, however, does not appear to have been given. The Muhammadan troops attacked Goa in May and after a severe struggle were successful, Albuquerque evacuating the place after decapitating a hundred and fifty of the principal Muhammadans there, and slaughtering their wives and children.[195]

In November of the same year, Ismail Adil's attention being called off by internal dissension at Bijapur, Albuquerque attacked Rasul Khan, Ismail's deputy at Goa, and the eight thousand men under his command, defeated them, retook the place on December 1, and slew six thousand men, women, and children of the Muhammadans. Firishtah states that the young Adil Shah's minister, Kummal Khan, after this made peace with the Europeans, and left them securely established at Goa. This, however, is not quite correct, for Rasul Khan made a desperate attempt in 1512 to retake the place, but failed after severe fighting.[196]

As soon as the news reached Vijayanagar of Albuquerque's success in December 1510, Krishna Deva Raya sent ambassadors to Goa, and by them Fr. Luis sent letters to Albuquerque detailing the result of his mission. He "had been well received by all except the king," but the king had nevertheless granted permission for the Portuguese to build a fort at Bhatkal. Poor Fr. Luis never returned from his embassy. History is silent as to what happened or what led to the tragedy, but he was one day murdered in the city of Vijayanagar.[197]

His despatch is interesting as containing information regarding Vijayanagar and the Sultan of Bijapur, part of which is certainly accurate, while part tells us of Krishna Deva Raya's proceedings at this period, regarding which we know nothing from any other source. Fr. Luis wrote to Albuquerque that the Adil Shah had attacked Bijapur, and had taken it after a siege of two months, while four lords had risen against him "since the latter had carried off the king of Decan as a prisoner." This king was the Bahmani king, while the Adil Shah and the "four lords" were the revolting Muhammadan princes. He added that the people of Belgaum had revolted from the Adil Shah and submitted to the Hindu sovereign. As to Vijayanagar, he said that the king was getting ready a small expedition of seven thousand men to send against one of his vassals, who had risen up in rebellion and seized the city of Pergunda (? Pennakonda), saying that it belonged to himself by right; and that after he had taken the rebel the king would proceed to certain places on the sea-coast. Fr. Luis professed himself unable to understand the drift of this latter design, but warned Albuquerque to be careful. He advised him to keep up friendly communications with the king, and by no means to place any reliance on the man on whom, of all others, the Portuguese had pinned their faith -- one Timoja,[198] a Hindu who had befriended the new-comers. The priest declared that Timoja was a traitor to them, and had, in conjunction with the king of Garsopa, promised Krishna Deva Raya that he would deliver Goa to him before the Portuguese could fortify their possessions therein, if he should send a fully equipped army to seize the place.

After Albuquerque's second capture of Goa the chief of Bankapur also sent messages of congratulation to the Portuguese, and asked for permission to import three hundred horses a year. The request was granted, as the place was on the road to Vijayanagar, and it was important that its chief should be on friendly terms with the Europeans. Moreover, Bankapur contained a number of superior saddlers.[199]