How this King, during his own lifetime, raised to be King his son,
being of the age of six years.
After the King had made an end of this, and had obtained so great a
victory over his enemies, perceiving that he was already advanced in
years, desiring to rest in his old age and wishing his son to become
King when he died, he determined to make him King during his lifetime,
the boy being six years old and the King not knowing what would happen
after his death. Wherefore he abdicated his throne and all his power
and name, and gave it all to his son, and himself became his minister,
and Salvatinica[575] who had held that office became his counsellor,
and he made one of the latter's sons a great lord among them. And so
far did King Crisnarao go that after he had given the kingdom to his
son, he himself did obeisance to him. With these changes the King
made great festivals which lasted eight months, during which time
the son of the King fell sick of a disease of which he died.
After his death Crisnarao learned that his son had died by poison given
him by the son of Sallvatinica, and in his anger, being certain that
this was so, he sent to call Salvatinica and his son and Guandaja,
brother of Ssallvatinica, and many other captains relatives of
Ssallvatinica, and made them a speech at the time of the salaam,
there being present many chiefs and principal persons of the kingdom,
and relations of Ssallvatinica; he addressed him thus: -- "I held thee
always as my great friend, and now for these forty years thou hast
been governor in this kingdom, which thou gavest me; yet I am under
no obligation to thee for that, because in doing so thou didst act
in a way contrary to thy duty. Thou wert bound, since thy lord the
King my brother commanded so, to put out mine eyes; yet thou didst
not carry out his will nor obey him, but instead thou didst cheat
him and the eyes of a goat were put out, wherefore, since thou didst
not fulfil his command, thou wert a traitor, and thy sons with thee
for whom I have done so much. Now I have learnt that my son died of
poison given to him by thee and thy sons, and for that ye are all here
made prisoners." With these words he arose and laid hands on them and
seized them, and in doing so called for aid from many Portuguese who
were then in the country with horses, asking them to come to his aid;
and after he had seized the men, father and sons, they remained three
years in prison. And he made minister a son of Codemerade, the same
who had killed the son of King Narsymga in the city of Penagundy in
the garden by treachery, by command of the King his father, as has
already been told in this history.[576]
And soon afterwards Danayque, son of Salvatinica, escaped from prison
and betook himself to a mountain range in which dwelt nobody but
robbers and highwaymen, and in this there was a fortress where dwelt
a captain, his relative, who received him and helped him in all that
he could, and from there he made such war on the King Crisnarao that
he was driven to send against him much people, and as captain of the
army he sent his minister Ajaboissa, who invested the place on all
sides and took him therein and brought him prisoner to the King. After
he had so come the King commanded him to be brought before him, with
Sallvatinica his father and another brother of his who was kept in
the prison, and he sent them to the place of executions and there had
their eyes put out, for in this country they do not put Brahmans to
death but only inflict some punishment so that they remain alive. So he
put them in prison again, and there Timadanayque died, and Salvatinica
his father remained in the prison with his other son Gamdarja.[577]