The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v2.c15.s2.t3.53

v2.c15.s2.t3.53

The Eastern Gaṅga attacks on the Kākatīya dominions did not, however, cease with Anaṅga Bhīma’s death; for his son and successor, Narasimha I, who ascended the throne in A.D. 1238, followed his father’s aggressive policy. In the *Vallabhābhyudayam*, a late Telugu rendering of the Sanskrit *Śrīkākula-Māhātmyam*, the *sthala-purāṇam* of Śrīkākulam in the Krishna district, it is stated that Narasimha sent a military expedition against Kāñchī under the command of his foster brother, Daṇḍanāyaka Anantapāla, and that the latter halted at Śrīkākolanu during his march to erect a temple to the god Telugu Vallabha (Āndhra Viṣṇu), and thence proceeded to Kāñchī, where after defeating his enemies and exacting tribute from them he set up a pillar of victory describing his exploits and then returned home in triumph.⁵ No record of Anantapāla has so far been discovered; therefore, the information furnished by the *sthala-purāṇam* cannot be verified at present.