formerly a very large and powerful kingdom of Afa, comprehending the kingdoms of Kanara, Meflowr, Travankor, Madura, Marava, and Tanjour. It was called Bisnagar from its capital city, and took the name of Narisinga from one of its rajahs or kings. We know nothing certain concerning this kingdom before the year 1520, when Khrifna Rajah, king of Bisnagar, made war with Adel Khan king of Vijapur, from whom he resolved to take the city of Rachol, situated in the island of Salsette near Goa, which he said had belonged to his ancestors. The king of Bisnagar's army consisted of 733,000 foot, 35,000 horse, 586 elephants with towers on their backs, each of which had four men in it; besides these were 12,000 water-carriers, and the army was followed by 20,000 common women. The city, however, resisted this formidable army for three months; at the end of which, Adel Khan came to its relief with an army of 129,000 foot, 18,000 horse, 150 elephants, and many heavy cannon. In the engagement the king of Bisnagar proved victorious, and almost entirely destroyed the army of Adel Khan, taking from him 4000 horses, 100 elephants, 400 cannon, &c. Soon after he took the city by assault; but contented to restore the booty taken in the former battle, provided Adel Khan consented to come and kiss his foot as the sovereign lord of Kanara. This base condition was accepted, but accidentally prevented from being put in execution. From this time we hear of nothing remarkable till the year 1558, when a Portuguese of the city of Meliapur or St Thomas, on the coast of Coromandel, persuaded Ramah Rajah, then king of Bisnagar, to march against that place, telling him the plunder would be worth 2,000,000, and that the destruction of Meliapur would be of great service to the images in the pagods which were thrown down by the Christians. The king set out accordingly with an army of 500,000 men; but the inhabitants, instead of preparing for their defence, sent him a present of 4000 ducats. This somewhat appeased him; however, he would not enter the city, but ordered the inhabitants of both sexes, with all their valuable effects, to be brought into his presence; which being done, he found that the value of their whole substance did not exceed 80,000 ducats. On this he ordered the informer to be thrown to the elephants, who tore him in pieces; after which he dismissed the citizens, and restored all their goods so punctually, that only a silver spoon happening to be missing, it was sought for, and returned to the owner. In 1565, the happy state of this kingdom excited the envy of the kings of Dekan: who, having raised an army of 500,000 foot and 50,000 horse, defeated and killed the king of Bisnagar, though at the head of an army almost twice as numerous, and took the royal city itself. They are said to have spent five months in plundering it, although the inhabitants had before carried off 1550 elephants loaded with money and jewels to the amount of upwards of 100,000,000 of gold; besides the royal-chair for state days, whose price could not be estimated. The victors, however, found a diamond of the size of an ordinary egg, besides another of a size somewhat inferior, and several other jewels of immense value. Afterwards, however, they were forced to abandon the kingdom, as being too large for them to keep in their hands. From this time the kingdom of Bisnagar remained pretty much unmolested till about the year 1627, when it was subdued by Aurengzebe, second son to Shah Jehan, and hath ever since remained subject to the Great Mogul. In some places of this kingdom, it is said, the roads have great forests of bamboos on each side, which are so thick that it is impossible for a man to pass. These forests are full of monkeys; and what is singular, those on the one side seem to be enemies to those on the other; for if a basket of rice is set down on the road with a parcel of small sticks about it, the monkeys on each side will come out and fall a-fighting with the sticks till one of the parties retreats. This, it is said, is often done by travellers for diversion. They catch the wild elephants here in pitfalls, and then tame them by means of others already tamed; the latter seldom fail of beating the wild ones into a good behaviour. The town of Bisnagar is situated in E. Long. 78. O. N. Lat. 13. 20.