S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar

"It seems likely there were other settlements of these Muhammadans even in the interior of the country. In the course of his description of the campaign of Malik Kafur in the Tamil country, Amir Khusru says ‘ Thither (to Kandur) the Malik pursued the ‘ yellow-faced Bir’, and at Kandur was joined by some Mussalmans who had been subjects of the Hindus, now no longer able to offer them protection. They were half Hindus, and were not strict in their religious observ- ance, but, ‘as they could repeat the Kalima (the Confession of Faith of the Muhammadans), the Malik of Islam spared their lives. Though they were worthy of death, yet as they were Mussalmans, they were pardoned.’’ This shows that at Kandur, which I have identified with Kannanir, near Srirangam, there was a settlement of Muhammadans quite different from the northern Mussalmans, who came along with the invaders."

"Here he heard that in Brahmastpuri there was a golden idol, round which many elephants were stabled. Malik Kafur started on a night expedition against this place and in the morning seized no less than 250 elephants. He then determined on razing the beautiful temple to the ground — you might say that it was the Paradise of Shaddad, which, after being lost, those " hellites " had found, and that it was the golden Lanka of Ram — in short, it was the holy place of the Hindus, which the Malik dug up from its foundations with the greatest care, and the heads of the Brahmans and idolaters danced from their necks and fell to the ground at their feet, and blood flowed in torrents. The stone idols called Ling Mahadeo, which had been a long time established at that place, up to this time, the kick of the horse of Islam had not attempted to break. The Musalmans destroyed all the Lings, and Deo Narain fell down, and the other gods who had fixed their seats there raised their feet, and jumped so high, that at one leap they reached the fort of Lanka, and in that affright the Lings themselves would have fled had they had any legs to stand on. Much gold and many valuable jewels fell into the hands of the Musalmans, who returned to the royal canopy, after executing their holy project, on the 13th of Zi-1-kada A.H. 710 (A.D. April 1311). They destroyed all the temples at Birdhul, and placed the plunder in the public treasury."

"I was another time with the Sultan Ghiyath-eddin (Ghiyazu- d-din) when a Hindu was brought into his presence. He uttered words I did not understand, and immediately several of his followers drew their daggers. I rose hurriedly, and he said to me ; Where are you going ? I replied : I am going to say my afternoon (4 oclock) prayers. He understood my reason, smiled, and ordered the hands and feet of the idolater to be cut off. On my return I found the unfortunate swimming in his blood."

"The country we had to traverse was a wood formed of trees and reeds, so overgrown, that nobody could penetrate it. The Sultan ordered every army man, great or small, to carry a hatchet and cut down these obstacles. When the camp had been arranged, he set out on horseback to the forest, accompanied by soldiers. They cut down trees from morning till midday. Then food was served for everybody ; after that they began hewing till evening. Every infidel found in the forest was taken prisoner. They sharpened stakes at both ends and made their captives carry them on their shoulders. Each was accompanied by his wife and children and they were thus led to the camp. It is the custom of these people to surround their camp with a palisade having four gates. They call it catcar round the habitation of the king. Outside the principal boundary, they erected a platform about a half brasse high and lighted a fire on it during the night. Slaves and sentinels spent the night there holding a fagot of very slender reeds in their hands. When infidels approached to attack the camp during the night, they lighted the fagots. The brightness of the flames converted night into day, and the horsemen set out in pursuit of the infidel."