300 
value in those countries, from three hundred ducats, to one thou- 
sand ducats a horse. 
“ I rested in Bezenegur seven months, until the ways were clear 
of thieves, which at that time ranged up and down: and in the 
time I rested there, I saw many strange and beastly deeds done 
by the gentiles/ 5 Those particularly described are the cremation 
of Hindoo widows, voluntary penances, and rigid austerities already 
mentioned in these volumes. 
Bezenegur is now generally written Vijeyanuggur , or more pro- 
perly, Vijaya-nagara; in ancient days it was one of the most splen- 
did cities in the east: and the capital of an empire, which nominally 
comprised under its jurisdiction the greater part of the southern 
peninsula: the dominions of Travancore, and some of the countries 
near Cape Comorin, are the only districts which preserved their 
independence, and by their distance were protected from the 
powerful sovereigns of Vijaya-nagara. 
Many countries in the vicinity of Goa have at different limes 
been almost depopulated by the mistaken policj 7 , bigotry, and 
oppressions of the Portuguese government; especially the district 
of Kankana; from whence, Dr. Buchanan says, the inhabitants 
fled to Tulava, near Mangulore, to avoid a persecution in their 
native country, and are still called Kankanies. An order arrived 
from the King of Portugal to convert all the natives: the vice-roy 
being a lenient man, on the receipt of the order, permitted those 
who chose to retire to carry away their effects, and allowed them 
fifteen days to arrange their affairs : accordingly all the rich 
brahmins and Sudras retired to Tulava, with such of their property 
