The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v2.c15.s2.t3.111

Language: English

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The names of several generals in the service of Gaṇapati are recorded in the inscriptions of his reign, but since no information is available about their careers or the part they played in the wars of their master, most of them do not call for special notice; exception, however, must be made in the cases of a few. Sāmanta Bhōja of the Dōchi family led the Kākatīya armies during Gaṇapati's expedition to the South in A.D. 1249. He defeated the southern rulers and captured the city of Kāñchi, where he re-established the authority of the Telugu Chōḷa king of Nellore.⁴ It is not unlikely that he also assisted Manuma Siddhi II and Gaṅgaya Sāhiṇi in overthrowing the Kalukaḍa chief Rakkasa Gaṅga. Bhāskara or Bhāskaradēva and Prōlu Rautu also deserve mention. The former was the commander of the elephant force, and the latter held the office of *tantrapāla* or war minister.⁵ Among the ministers of the king, Sōmaya of the Indulūri family was the most eminent. Though a brāhman by birth and ranking as a *mahāpradhāna* at the court, he, like several others of his community, followed the profession of arms and by sheer merit rose to the position of one of the foremost generals in the service of his master. If we can trust the evidence of the *Śivayōgasāra*, he commanded the Kākatīya expeditionary force against Kaliṅga in A.D. 1212, when he overran that country, and having destroyed the authority of the Kolanu chiefs, reduced Vēṅgi to subjection.

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In recognition of his meritorious services, Gaṇapati seems to have conferred on him the title of Kolani-Sōma. Another *mahāpradhāna* of this king was Prōla-Bhīma Nāyaka, who bore several distinguished titles, the most important of which was *Aruvēla-dūshaka* (destroyer of the Aruvēlu, i.e. the Velanāḍu Six-thousand Country), *Sūryavamśa-pratishṭhāchārya* (the establisher of the Solar family of kings), and Kāñchī-chūrakāra (the plunderer of Kāñchī). As this mahāpradhāna is said to have died in A.D. 1213, it may be presumed that he served in Gaṇapati’s last war on Pṛthvīśvara of Velaṉāḍu, in which he restored Chōḍa Tikka of Nellore to his ancestral kingdom, and helped this prince to reconquer the city of Kāñchī.¹ Muche-Nāyaka of the Musuṇḍuri-anvaya, and Penuṅgula vaṃśa and Manuma-kula, an aṅkakāra of Kōṭageluva and Kāñchīpura-nirjita-jayāṅgnā-vallabha, i.e. the lord of the lady victory won by conquering the city of Kāñchī² appears to have assisted Prōla-Bhīma Nāyaka in recapturing Kāñchī. Pōtana, Kuchena Preggeḍa, and Koṇḍaya Preggaḍa all held office as pradhānas.³ The position of Gaṅgaya Sāhiṇi who held office as bāhattara-niyōg-ādhipati in the official hierarchy of the State is not easy to determine.

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He would seem to have been, according to the literal interpretation of his official designation, president of the seventy-two categories of royal services, in which the sēnādhyakshas, mahā-pradhānas, pradhānas, &c., were included, but whether he actually occupied such an exalted place at Gaṇapati’s court cannot be ascertained definitely, since the evidence on the subject is so meagre and fragmentary. Apart from his position as a bāhattara niyōg-ādhipati, Gaṅgaya Sāhiṇi was a distinguished military officer; he was probably in charge of the Kākatīya cavalry, for he is spoken of, in one of the Tripurāntakam inscriptions, as a turaga-sādhanika.⁴ The early history of Gaṅgaya Sāhiṇi is obscure. He was originally, according to the Kaifiyat of Ōgūru, in the service of Chōḍa Tikka of Nellore, who appointed him as the governor of his territories above the Eastern Ghats.⁵ On the death of his master in A.D. 1248, he was attacked by the Kalukaḍa chief Rakkasa Gaṅga who deprived him of his authority and drove him into exile. Thereupon he entered the service of Gaṇapati about A.D. 1250, probably with the help of his brother-in-law Ambadēva, and succeeded some time before A.D. 1253 in winning back his territory.

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Gaṇapati appointed him to the office of the bāhattara-niyōg-ādhipati, as we have just mentioned, and conferred on him an extensive tract of territory extending from Pānugal in the Nalgoṇḍa district of the old Hyderabad State to the fort of Kaivāram in the Kolar district of the Mysore State, which he ruled from Vullūru-paṭṭana in the Cuddapah district of the Āndhra State as his capital.⁶ It may be noted here that this territory granted by Gaṇapati to Gaṅgaya Sāhiṇi as his fief became the nucleus of the short-lived Kāyastha kingdom of Vallūr which rose to such power under his successors. Gaṅgaya Sāhiṇi is said in his inscriptions to have won victories over several enemies of whom, however, nothing more than their names is now known to us.