The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v2.c15.s2.t3.19

v2.c15.s2.t3.19

Kākatīyas in the South. Gaṇapati began to interest himself in the affairs of the southern kingdoms very early in his reign. The Chēbrōlu inscription of Jāya-sēnāpati dated Ś. 1135 (A.D. 1213) alludes to an expedition against the kings of the southern region which Gaṇapati had undertaken on an earlier occasion.³ The conquest of the southern kings and the expansion of the Kākatīya power in that direction were the direct outcome of his alliance with the Telugu Chōḷas of Nellore, who had established themselves there during the first half of the twelfth century A.D. Nalla Siddhi had become the master of a compact state comprising the modern Nellore, Cuddapah, and Chingleput districts together with the prosperous cities of Nellore or Vikramasiṃhapura and Kāñchi which served him as alternate capitals. The successors of Nalla Siddhi, taking advantage of the weakness of Rājādhirāja II, seem to have asserted their independence. Very little is known about the events of the reigns of Bēta I and Erra Siddhi who succeeded him on the throne. The latter had three sons, Manuma Siddhi I, Bēta II, and Tammu Siddhi. Of these the eldest, Manuma Siddhi I, followed him on the throne. During the reign of Manuma Siddhi I, father of Chōḍa Tikka I, Kulōttuṅga III invaded the Telugu Chōḷa kingdom in order to bring it back under his suzerainty. As the inscriptions dated in his third regnal year (A.D. 1180) are found in Kāñchi, Kālahasti, and Nandalūr,⁴ all then included in the kingdom of Nellore, the campaign against the kings of the North and the entry into the city of Kāñchī must have taken place at this time. It was obviously directed against Manuma Siddhi I, who seems to have forfeited his throne as a consequence of his defeat. The victorious Chōḷa monarch entrusted the kingdom to Manuma Siddhi’s younger brother Nalla Siddhi and returned home in triumph. Inscriptions of Nalla Siddhi ranging in date from A.D. 1187 to 1204, found scattered in various localities within the Nellore kingdom, show that he remained loyal to his suzerain.¹ Subsequently government passed into the hands of his younger brother Tammu Siddhi, who seems to have usurped the throne and held it until A.D. 1207-8. Tikka, the son of Manuma Siddhi I, who considered himself to be the rightful heir to the throne, solicited Gaṇapati’s help to regain his patrimony. As already mentioned, he joined forces with Gaṇapati who was then waging war on the Velanāṭi king Pṛthvīśvara, and helped him to slay the latter in battle. In return for this help, Gaṇapati, after reducing Velanāṇḍu to submission, marched against Nellore, and having put Tammu Siddhi and his supporters to flight,² installed Tikka on the throne of his ancestral kingdom and returned home, as stated in the Chēbrōlu inscription cited above, by way of Tāmrapuri.