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Kakatiya history

History of India-IV (c. 1206-1550) (University of Delhi)

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Q. EXAMINE THE IMPORTANCE OF INSCRIPTIONS TO STUDY THE KAKATIYA HISTORY.

INTRODUCTION
The period 700 – 1200 CE is considered as the Medieval period in Indian history.
Cynthia Talbot, in contrast to historians James Mill and Karl Marx who depicted Medieval India as
a stagnant era, opines that it was in fact a period of progressive change, characterised by the
expansion of commercial activity, and an evolution of political systems and networks. Her view is
also supported by historians such as B D Chattopadhyay who identifies the period 700 – 1200 CE
with horizontal and vertical expansion of state society, assimilation of tribals and integration of
local cults.
James Mill believed that non-Muslim India (the predecessors of the Muslim rulers in India) had
produced no historical records. Cynthia Talbot in her work ‘Precolonial India in practice’ disproves
his assumption. She mentions that the growth of regional societies in medieval India and their
territorial expansion between 500 and 1500 CE can be ascertained from the architecture and
written documents left behind by them.
TELANGANA IN INDIA
Hand drawn Maps 1 & 2

The prime problem with history of Telangana are scarce documents and sources – with the cause
being the destruction of records in the turbulent periods due to invasion and conquest. However,
the availability of epigraphical evidence is scattered in various publications of the central and state
agencies. These inscriptions constitute valuable historical evidence.
The leading work on Kakatiya history has been that of Cynthia Talbot’s “Pre-colonial India
in Practice: Society, Religion, and Identity in Medieval Andhra”. She has accessed almost all of the
published inscriptions and formed the basis of her scholarship on Telangana in the Kakatiya
period. In Cynthia Talbot's analysis, most of the inscriptions from the larger collection of 1000
inscriptions come from the Kakatiya period, of which 895 inscriptions have been studied.

The Epigraphia Telanganica compiles all the inscriptions in a chronological order from various
published and unpublished sources related to Telangana.
• Volume-II - “Imperial Kakatiyas” - comprises 589 inscriptions (425 inscriptions and 164
variants) starting from early Kakatiya chiefs to Kakatiya sovereign Ganapatideva.
• Volume-III - “Decline of Kakatiyas” - records the inscriptions of Rudradeva
Maharaja/Rudramadevi and Prataparuda (the last ruler of this dynasty). In this volume a
total 518 inscriptions are compiled (402 inscriptions and 116 variants)

LANGUAGE OF INSCRIPTIONS & WHAT IT TELLS US ABOUT REGIONAL IDENTITY OF

KAKATIYAS

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The language of inscriptions reveal the consolidation of regional societies and their culture.
Sheldon Pollock notes that regional languages took over the role played by Sanskrit. He notes
that the expanded use of regional language in inscriptions starting in the early centuries of second
millennium shows this displacement. The regional language, Telugu used by the Kakatiyas
appears in inscriptions recording religious endowments dating to the sixth century though
Sanskrit was still used for example to record genealogies. It was around mid-eleventh century
when literary texts started appearing in regional languages and Sanskrit was displaced.
The rising predominance of Telugu can also be seen in the table below, which categorizes over
5000 inscriptions found in Andhra between the 11th and 17th centuries.
TABLE

In addition to the increasing predominance of Telugu as an ofocial language and linguistic

homogenization at the ofocial level, the overall number of written records also expanded
considerably between these two periods.
This increase in record production went hand-in-hand with the process of state formation,
because many of the records deal with land transactions or gifts of various kinds to temples and
notables, which are indicative of the expanding economy that provided the material basis for
political development.

THE KAKATIYAS
The indigenous Kakatiya dynasty were the first rulers to politically unify the Andhra State which
can be defined as the territory inhabited by the Telugu-speaking people. The Kakatiyas
established themselves at Warangal and ruled for 150 years, 1175 CE to 1325 CE. They
consolidated the upland territories of Andhra with the coastal settlements. In the process of
establishing their control over much of Andhra Pradesh, they helped contribute significantly to
the development of regional Telugu identity and culture.

Initially Kakatiyas were the feudatories of Western Chalukyas of Kalyana and ruled Telangana as
their subordinates. Notable Kakatiya chiefs were Gundyana, Beta-I, Prola-I, Beta-II/Betrarasa and
Prolarasa/Prola-II. Kakatiya sovereignty begins with Rudra/Prataparudra-I and continues to

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Mahadeva, Ganapatideva, Rudradeva Maharaja/Rudramadevi and Prataparudra. After becoming

independent rulers, Kakatiyas adopted the titles of Western Chalukyas, using terms/ titles like
Mahamandaleswara, Pattodathi, Sri Pada Padmopajivi etc in their inscriptions. The rule of
Rudradeva Maharaja continues till the Visala grant of Prola-Nayaka in A.D.1325 which mentions
the Muslim invasion of Kakatiya dynasty and capture of Prataparudra. The last inscription about
Prataparudra is from Santamaguluru, Narasaraopeta Taluk, Guntur District and is dated 3rd April,
A.D. 1326.
GANAPATIDEVA & INSCRIPTIONS UNDER HIS RULE
Ganapatideva’s was the greatest ruler of this dynasty who ruled for over 60 years. Under his rule
the Kakatiya domains achieved imperial status. These inscriptions are made on behalf of himself
and his subordinates. These inscriptions mainly record the expansion of his territory, his marriage
to Ayya Princesses and land donations to the various temples.
The Bahal inscription of the Devagiri Yadava King Singhana mentions the capture of Prince
Ganapatideva in the war between Kakatiya Rudra and Yadava Jayatugi. Ganapatideva was made
king of ‘Trikalinga’ after his release. But how much time he was in the captivity of Yadavas is not
known. During the period of Ganapatideva’s captivity Racherla Rudri Reddy suppressed the
rebellions in Kakatiya territory and successfully negotiated the release of Ganapatideva from the
captivity. This is one of the most prominent events in the history of Kakatiyas. After his release,
the friendly relation between Kakatiya and Yadava kingdoms continued till his reign.
Inscriptions of Kakatiya Nayakas like Racherla, Viriyala, Malyala, Natavadi, Cheraku, Kota and
Kayastha also provide significant information about the dynasty.
The Chebrolu Inscription of Jaya mentions about the expedition of Divi or Island (Diviseema) by
Ganapatideva, his marriage to Ayya princesses Naramba and Peramba, entry of the Ayya Prince
Jaya in his service as a Gajasenapati (chief of elephant troops) and Ganapatideva’s grant to Jaya of
the city of Shanmukha (Chebrolu). This inscription gives the earliest authenticated date of
Ganapatideva’s reign.
Another notable inscription from this volume is the Bayyaram tank inscription of Ganapatideva's
sister Mailambika. This inscription gives the genealogy of Kakatiya`s and her marriage to Natavadi
Rudra.
The inscription of Ganapambika/Ganapamba (Ganapatideva’s daughter) reveals the marriage
relations with the Kota family.
Yenamandala inscription and Mogalutla Grant of Ganapamba records the marriage of Ganapamba
to Kota chief, Beta, and his death, because of disease, her rule in the Amaravati region.
Inscriptions indicate that after the death of her husband Ganapamba ruled his share of the
territory with the help of her father. Not only royal women, women employees of the king also
donated cows for the perpetual lamps in various temples.
Yeitasani who called herself Sri Pada Padmopajivi (subordinate) of Ganapatideva in her Vadapuru
inscription mentioned the donation of cows to the temple of Ramesvara in the merit of
Ganapatideva. From this one notices that many aristocratic women occupied prominent positions

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in his rule; they were allowed to rule, construct and donate lands, cows to temples in the name of
their loved ones and their sovereign.
Last inscription of Ganapatideva along with Rudradeva maharaja is in A.D. 1267 from Upputuru.
According to this inscription Ganapatideva was still alive during this inscription period. During
Ganapatideva`s rule the Kakatiya kingdom reached its imperial zenith. His subordinates were
loyal and there are marital alliances involving tributaries and ruling family.
DECLINE OF KAKATIYAS
After Ganapatideva's death, the majority of the inscriptions were in the name of Rudradeva
Maharaja. Only a few inscriptions mentioned the name of Rudrama/ Rudramahadevi/
Rudramadevi. During this period, we can notice Yadava inscriptions from Rahamantapur,
Nalgonda district. These are individual inscriptions of Yadava chieftains. With this historians
assume that during Rudradeva Maharaja’s rule he maintained friendly relations with Yadavas and
some of the Kakatiya territory was under their rule.
Prataparudra is mentioned in the inscriptions starting from A.D. 1289. In these inscriptions he is
referred to as Kumara Rudra and, abecoming king, he was known as Prataparudradeva Maharaja.
An interesting inscription from Tumkur from Karnataka mentioned Prataparudra's father as
Mahadeva; the original inscription is not found; only a copy has been taken into the record. Other
than this inscription there was no mention about the father of Prataparudra.

DISTRIBUTION OF INSCRIPTiONS AND THE EXTENT OF KAKATIYA KINGDOM

Accompanying this growth of political and economic power was the territorial expansion of
inscriptions documenting religious endowments; such records occurred in only thirty taluks
(subdistricts) between 1175 and 1199, but spread to forty- nine taluks during the years 1300 to
1325, including several on the southern and western borders of the modern state. In many
localities where donative inscriptions were scarcely to be found formerly, the thirteenth century
witnessed a sharply accelerated rate in their creation. This is certainly true of Karimnagar,
Warangal, and Cuddapah districts (the extent of which was under Kakatiya rule). Their analysis
reveals that most taluks in these inland districts experienced increasing rates of inscriptional
production during the thirteenth century. Hence, during this period, donative activity was
becoming more widespread and spreading from the eastern and central portion of the state to the
peripheries as inhabitants of the interior acquired sufocient resources (and motivation) to engage
in gift-giving to religious institutions.

The geographically limited scope of the Kakatiya confederation during the later 12th century can
be seen in the distribution of extant Kakatiya records from 1175-1198, which are found only in
central Telangana and a part of northern Prakasam district, with a small outlying presence in East
Godavari district (a result of Rudradeva's expedition into coastal Andhra):
Map 1

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While previous Kakatiya records are found almost exclusively in Telangana, Kakatiya records from
the time of Ganapatideva are found increasingly from coastal Andhra (especially the rich deltaic
region of the lower Krishna valley), as seen in the map below:
Map 2

The extent of the Kakatiya sphere of influence stagnated under Rudramadevi's reign, which can
be discerned from comparing the geographic distribution of Kakatiya records from 1263-1289:
Historians cite the following pressures
(1) military reversals in the 1260s at the hands of the Pandyas in the south and the Eastern Gangas
of Kalinga in the northeast, and
(2) the rebellion of leading nobles against the Kakatiya monarch, especially Ambadeva in
Rayalaseema after 1272.
Map 3

The geographic distribution of Kakatiya inscriptions became wider than it ever had been under
the rule of Rudramadevi’s successor Prataparudra, as seen in the map below:
Map 4

CONCLUSION
As historical sources, inscriptions have their own limitations. For example, as time marched on,
and as a result of warfare, damage and time, inscriptions did not provide total data and
sometimes were misleading. However, inscriptions, knowing their limitations, may provide
information not accessible through other literary sources. According to these inscriptions, the
society under the Kakatiyas had an economic structure dominated by agriculture. The inscriptions
also relate to the importance of temples and depict the social and economic differences of the
different temple areas (major/minor).

REFERENCES
1. Cynthia Talbot; Patterns of patronage in the thirteenth century south India
2. Cynthia Talbot; Precolonial India in practice: Society, region and Identity in Medieval India
3. Epigraphia Telanganica : VOLUME 2 Imperial Kakatiyas, First Edition: September, 2023
4. https://historum.com/t/telugu-expansion-and-political-centralization-the-kakatiya-
transformation-1175-1324.123692/

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