The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v2.c15.s2.t3.12

v2.c15.s2.t3.12

*Gaṇapati and Pṛthvīśvara.* The policy which he had to follow in dealing with these states had already been marked out by his predecessors. Both Prōla II and Rudra had cherished imperial designs; they desired, as we have pointed out above, to bring under their rule not only Teliṅgāṇa but also the coastal districts, and to establish their hegemony over the whole of the Āndhra country. Though they were completely successful in reducing Teliṅgāṇa, yet their attempts to expand their dominion towards the south and the east met with failure, owing largely to the opposition of the Velanāṭi chiefs who were then ruling the maritime tracts as the nominal representatives of the Cāḷukya-Cōḷa emperors in the south. The power of the Velanāṭi chiefs, however, declined after the death of Cōḍa II about A.D. 1181, and Pṛthvīśvara, Cōḍa II's grandson, appears at that time to have exercised some sort of authority over his ancestral kingdom; but he was not strong enough to check the turbulence of the nobility or to stem the forces of disintegration. Gaṇapati seized his opportunity and invaded the coastal districts with strong forces in the year A.D. 1201, accompanied by all the subordinate chiefs whom he could muster, such as the Kōṭas, Nāṭavāḍis, and Malyālas. He first attacked Bezwada which stood on the eastern frontier of the Kākatīya kingdom. An inscription of the Nāṭavāḍi prince, Vakkaḍimalla Rudra, found in the Kanadurga-maṇṭapa at the foot of the Indrakila hill and dated A.D. 1201, indicates the presence of Nāṭavāḍi troops, and presumably also those of the Kākatīyas, in the city at that time.¹ Bezwada was soon captured, and the invaders proceeded eastwards to the island of Dīvi, near the mouth of the Kṛṣṇā, then the headquarters of the Ayya chiefs, who held sway over the fertile tracts of the delta. These Ayya chiefs did not submit without stubborn resistance. Trusting to the strong fortifications of their island fortress, they stoutly opposed the advance of the invaders but were finally obliged to surrender and to see their rich and beautiful capital plundered by the enemy. In recognition of the meritorious services rendered by the Malyāla chief Chauṇḍa, Gaṇapati conferred on him, as stated in the Koṇḍiparti inscription dated Śaka 1125 (A.D. 1203), the title of Dvīpi-luṇṭāka, or Divi-chūrakāra, that is ‘the plunderer of the island of Dvīpi or Dīvi’.² Gaṇapati, however, did not annex the conquered territory to his kingdom, for he was an astute politician, and understood that by adopting a policy of conciliation he would be able to build up his power on permanent foundations. He therefore dealt leniently with the vanquished Ayya chiefs; he not only restored their possessions but contracted marital relations with them by marrying Nārāmbā and Pērāmbā, the two daughters of Ayya Pina Cōḍi, and took their brother Jāya or Jāyapa into his service. It is not improbable that as a consequence of these victories not only Dīvi but also the whole of Velanāḍu, as is in fact stated in the Gaṇapēśvaram inscription dated A.D. 1211, fell into the hands of Gaṇapati at this time.³