In the distracted times when the Vijayanagar dynasty was tottering towards its fall, Ikkeri was considered unsafe as a capital, so the chiefs headquarters were moved in 1640 by Sivappa Náyak to Bednúr, or Bidurúrú, i. e. the town of bamboos. This was a central position in a difficult hilly country, surrounded by thick forests, whilst the Náyak fortified the town with strong outposts extending several miles, which made it, if not impregnable, at any rate sufficiently strong to defy all attacks by undisciplined troops. Horses were rarely found in the country, while no forage could be procured for them without great difficulty. The rough tracks were traversed by pack-bullocks, which, at the risk of fractured limbs, descended the rugged passes leading to the coast, laden with rice and betel-nut, and bringing back cloths and salt, while in every pass and gorge was a guard of soldiers, who not only stopped all hostile invaders, but acted as custom-house officers, and levied toll on all imports and exports.
Sivappa Náyak was an able administrator, who took practical steps to test the real value of land by
during his absence from his native land. He carried her remains however to Rome, and deposited them in the family vault in the church of Ara Coeli, erecting a large cross, on the foot of which was inscribed the following epitaph in 1626: – Maani Gieroidae, Heroinae Praestantissimae Petri De Valle Perini uxoris Mortales exuviae, See Notes in Goethe's 'West-Oestlicher Divan' on Pietro della Valle.
