46 
SCENES IN INDIA. 
ment, and, putting the fort of Madura in the best pos- 
sible state of defence, determined to withstand the 
siege that was threatened by the Raya, upon his re- 
fusing to give up to their lawful prince the territories 
he had usurped. When this perfidious determination 
was made known to the Raya, summoning his nobles, 
he asked which of them was willing to take the com- 
mand of an army to be employed against his refrac- 
tory officer. As none of the nobles seemed ambi- 
tious of being raised to the dignity of so dangerous a 
command, Viswanat’ha, who had already rendered 
his master such signal service by vanquishing the se- 
ditious feudatories, offered to head the troops ap- 
pointed to march against his rebellious parent. The 
sovereign, though he at first appeared to doubt the 
sincerity of this proposal, finally gave his consent, and 
the brave son marched with a powerful force against 
the usurper. When Viswanat’ha reached the fron- 
tiers of Madura, he sent to apprise his father of his 
presence, and that he was come in his master’s name 
to force him to return to his allegiance. Nagama, 
surprised and enraged at finding his own son had 
come to him upon such a hostile errand, bitterly 
cursed the hour that he had offered up a prayer for a 
boon, which, as he now averred in his rage, had turn- 
ed out in the issue to be a bane. 
Under the influence of ungovernable exasperation 
at the foul revolt, as he chose to consider it, of his 
own flesh and blood, he hastily collected his forces, 
and, sallying from the fort, attacked the invading 
army. Several desperate encounters took place, which 
terminated in the entire defeat of the rebel, who was 
