The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v2.c15.s3.t1: Sources

v2.c15.s3.t1.1

MUCH valuable information, though not of a precise character, is available about the Kākatīya administration and military institutions. Beside the inscriptions of the Kākatīya monarchs, and of their feudatories and subordinates, a few works on the *rājanīti* deserve consideration, since they throw some interesting light on the subject. Although the works on the *rājanīti* are generally based on the Sanskrit text-books on polity, they embody information on several topics not found elsewhere. Of these, two books, the *Nītiśāstramuktāvali* of Baddena, and the *Sakalanītisammatamu* of Maḍiki Siṅgana demand special attention. Baddena was a feudatory of Gaṇapati and Rudrāmbā; and as for Siṅgana, though he flourished in the post-Kākatīya period, and composed his *Sakalanītisammatamu* very probably in the first quarter of the fifteenth century A.D., yet his work is of inestimable value to the student of Kākatīya history. The *Sakalanītisammatamu* is not a single original composition but rather a collection of extracts culled from earlier books on polity such as Baddena’s *Nītiśāstramuktāvali*, Śivadēvayya’s *Puruṣārthasāram*, Pratāparudra’s *Nītisāram*, etc., all of which were written during the Kākatīya period. It may be noted that the authors of these works were not scholars indulging in mere speculation, but statesmen devoting most of their time to the practical administration of the kingdom. Though they seem to lay emphasis on the theoretical side, their works call for serious notice, because their views must have exercised a profound influence on the political and administrative institutions of the period and have brought theory nearer to practice.