|
The Indian Analyst
|
|
South Indian Inscriptions |
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA finds mention in the Naḍupūru grant of Anavēmā-reḍḍi,[1] and in the Tottaramāḍi plates of Kāṭayavēma.[2] This territorial division retains its name even today and the whole territory between the Vasishṭha and the Gautamī branches of the Gōdāvari is known as Kōna-sīma at the present day. Ḍhilli is the well-known city of that name, the capital of the Indian Republic, which was the capital of the Slave kings, the Paṭhāns and the Tughluqs in the medieval period. Ēkaśilanagara is the present Warangai, the headquarters of the district of the same name in the Andhra State. Rēkapalli is identical with the village of the same name in the Bhadrachalam Taluk of the East Godavari District. Of the villages mentioned in the grant only Vilasa, the village granted and its boundary village of Śirupalle and Māṁgāṁ are identifiable. They are in the Amalapur Taluk. Śirupalle is the present Śiripalle, and Māṁgām, the present village of Māgām. Vilasa, which is a few miles distant from Amalāpuram, retains its old name to the present day. The rest of the boundary villages are not to be found now.
It is stated that the grant was made on the occasion of a lunar eclipse ; but neither the Śaka-year or the cyclic year nor the month in which the lunar eclipse occurred is specified. Hence the precise date of the grant cannot be definitely ascertained. However, the period in which it was given, can be approximately calculated. The grant was certainly subsequent to 1325 A.D. (Śaka 1247), the earliest date known for the establishment of Hindu independence in the costal region. It is unfortunate that none of the records of Prōlaya-nāyaka with the exception of this grant has come to light. In this respect his brother, Kāpaya-nāyaka was really more fortunate. Besides his Prōlavaram grant[3] already adverted to, dated in Śaka 1267, Pārthiva there are two of his lithic records, the Gaṇapēśvaram inscrrption[4] dated in Śaka 1268, Vyaya, and the Pillalamarri inscription[5] dated in Śaka 1279, Hēmaḷaṁbi. Of these, his Prōlavaram grant is the earliest as is evident from its date. But the country of Tiling, in fact the whole of Southern Hyderabad to the south of Warangal, was already in the possession of the Hindus by 1339 A.D., the date of the Bādāmi record of Harihara I,[6] the founder of the kingdom of Vijayanagara. Hence, Kāpaya-nāyaka was surely in possession of Warangal before 1339 A.D. He conquered it probably by about 1336-37 A.D. from the Mussalmans.[7] As the Muslim historians mention Kāpa, Kabā-nand, or Kabā-Nāyand, who is no other than Prōlaya-nāyaka’s brother Kāpa Nīḍu or Kāpaya-nāyaka, as the leader of the rebellion of the Hindus of Warrangal in Telaṅgāna, it seems likely that his brother Prōlaya-nāyaka was already dead, by that time. If not so, he must himself have been mentioned as the leader of the rebellion. If this supposition is accepted, the record under review must have been granted between 1325 and 1336-37 A.D., possibly about 1330 A.D. The editors of the present record take this opportunity of expressing their gratitude to Sri N. Lakshminarayana Rao, for lending for consultation the impressions of the following unpublished inscriptions : (1) the Śrīśailam epigraph of Kācheya-reḍḍi, (2) the Mallavaram inscriptions of Prōlaya Vēmā-reḍḍi, and (3) the Peṇṭāpāḍu grant of Chōḍa Bhaktirāja. They also offer thanks to Dr. V. Raghavan, Professor of Sanskrit, University of Madras for revising the Romanised text of the inscription. ________________________________________________
[1] Above, Vol. III. p. 2.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
