The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v2.c15.s2.t3.59

Language: English

v2.c15.s2.t3.59.1

Gaṇapati’s Southern Expedition. The state of affairs in the south underwent a sudden change with the death of Tikka in A.D. 1248. The kingdom of Nellore was plunged into anarchy. Gaṇapati was soon called upon to intervene and to restore peace and order. On the death of Tikka the succession to the throne of Nellore was in dispute. The principal claimants were Tikka’s son Manuma Siddhi II and a certain Vijaya or Vijaya-Gaṇḍagōpāla, a prince whose relationship with the Nellore branch of the Telugu Chōḷa royal family is uncertain. On the death of Tikka, Vijaya seized the Chingleput and North Arcot districts then included in the kingdom of Nellore, leaving only the northern parts of it, comprising the present Nellore and Cuddapah districts, in the possession of his rival. To strengthen his position he then entered into an alliance with the kings of Drāviḍa and Karṇāṭaka. The former was no doubt the Chōḷa monarch, Rājarāja III or his co-regent Rājēndra III, who had been recognized as heir apparent to the Chōḷa throne in A.D. 1246 and had since then been virtual ruler of all the Chōḷa dominions. The Karṇāṭaka was certainly Vīra Sōmēśvara (A.D. 1234-5-60). Though he was assisted in the administration of his Karṇāṭaka and Tamil possessions by his two sons Narasimha III and Vīra Rāmanātha respectively, he yet wielded supreme power over his entire kingdom until the very end of his reign.

v2.c15.s2.t3.59.2

Sōmēśvara must have welcomed the proferred alliance with Vijaya-Gaṇḍagōpāla, since it gave him an opportunity to re-establish his hegemony over Conjeevaram and its neighbourhood. Having thus strengthened himself, Vijaya-Gaṇḍagōpāla appears to have made an attempt to extend his authority northwards into the Nellore district.¹ At the same time a rebellion, headed by Padihāris Bayyana and Tikkana, broke out in Nellore against Manuma Siddhi II, who was, as a consequence, driven from his capital.² Takkarasa Gaṅga, better known by his title Rakkasa Gaṅga, a scion of the Kalukaḍa branch of the Vaidumba family, attacked Manuma Siddhi’s territory in the Cuddapah district and having defeated Gaṅgaya Sāhiṇi, the commander of Manuma’s forces, and ousted him from his governorship, annexed his territories.³ Manuma Siddhi II thus became, as a consequence of a combination of circumstances which he could not control, a king without a kingdom; he therefore appealed to Gaṇapati for help. In his loyal minister, the famous Telugu poet, Tikkana, he had an able advocate. Tikkana’s fame as the greatest Telugu poet of the age had already spread to the most remote corners of the Āndhra country. When, therefore, he visited Warangal, he was warmly received by Gaṇapati, who on hearing the errand on which the poet came, readily agreed to help his master Manuma Siddhi and sent a powerful army under his general Sāmanta Bhōja to the south to implement his promise.

v2.c15.s2.t3.59.3

The outstanding events of the campaign are briefly described in an undated epigraph at Nāyanipalli in the Guntur district. The Kākatīya army set out, according to this record, on an expedition charged with the conquest of the southern countries.⁴ It reduced Nellore to ashes, played a game of ball with the heads of all its opponents who had joined the Padihāris Bayyana and Tikkana, and having entered Draviḷa-maṇḍala captured Kulōttuṅga Rājēndra Chōḍa and received a gift of elephants from the king of Nellore. The Kulōttuṅga Rājēndra Chōḍa referred to in this inscription is believed by some to have been identical with the Chōḷa king, Rājēndra Chōḷa III, and if so, he must have been a different person from the prince of the same name whom Malyāla Hemādri Reḍḍi defeated in Kaliṅga in A.D. 1237.⁵ However this may be, it must have been during the course of this expedition that Manuma Siddhi II defeated at Prāyēṟu, i.e. Palaiyāṟu in the Tanjore district, the combined armies of the kings of Drāviḍa and Karṇāṭaka and of Vijaya-Gaṇḍagōpala.⁶ Although Tikkana claims entire credit for this victory for his master, the part played by the Kākatīya army cannot justly be overlooked. If it was Rājēndra Chōḷa III who was taken prisoner by Gaṇapati, as contended by some, it is more likely that he fell into the hands of the enemy after his defeat at Palaiyāṟu than at any other time or place.

v2.c15.s2.t3.59.4

The enemy’s forces having been shattered on the battlefield of Palaiyāṟu, Sāmanta Bhōja turned back, and marching towards Kāñchī captured that city without difficulty.