South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

The statement in the inscription that Vêma restored the agrahâras wrested by the Muḥammadans from Pratâparudra is, so far as I am aware, the only epigraphical reference as yet discovered to the Muḥammadan conquest of Warangal. It also shows, as has been already pointed out by Mr. V. Venkayya in his Report on Epigraphy for 1899-1900, that the Reḍḍis were the political successors of the Kâkatîyas. There is, however, on satisfactory evidence for determining exactly when the Reḍḍis came into power. The account of the Kâkatîya dynasty compiled for Colonel Colin Mackenzie and deposited in the Madras Library of Oriental Manuscripts says that Pratâparudra’s generals were all Padmanâyakas or Velamas, and this is confirmed by the poem entitled Velugôṭivâri Vaṁśâvaḷi, i e. ‘ Genealogy of the Velugôṭi family (of Veṅkaṭagiri).’ The only reference made by the former book to the Reḍḍis is a short passage in which one Têrâla-Bûchâ-Reḍḍi is said to have fought for Pratâparudra in his final battle against the Muḥammadans. It is not known whether this Bûchâ-Reḍḍi had anything to do with the Reḍḍis of Koṇḍavîḍu.

According to the traditional history of Koṇḍavîḍu preserved in the Koṇḍavîṭi Daṇḍakavili, the Reḍḍis become suddenly rich in the time of one Donti-Allâḍa-Reḍḍi, who robbed a man named Vêma of the Kômaṭi caste, who was his guest, of piece of philosopher’s stone (sparśavêdi). When the stone, in securing which he had spent the best part of his life, was stolen, the Kômaṭi, the book says, died of broken heart, and on his death-bed he enjoined that his name should be perpetuated in the family of the Reḍḍis, and that the wealth obtained through the stone should be spent on charity. The account proceeds to state that, with the money thus obtained, Pôlaya-Vêma raised troops, seized Dharaṇikôṭa and the neighbouring country from the officers of Pratâparudra, and subsequently established himself at Koṇḍavîḍu. It is difficult to say what truth there is in this story. It may have been suggested by the fact that Kômaṭi was a recognised name of several members of the family. From Śrînâtha’s Haravilâsam we learn that a Kômaṭi named Avâchi-Dêvaya, son of Pâvâṇi, a great merchant of Siṁhavikramapaṭṭaṇa (Nellore), was the chief source of support (prâpu) to Vêma. Avâchi-Dêvaya’s son Tippa, to whom the book was dedicated, was also a great merchant and was purveyor to Kumâragiri-Reḍḍi. It would seem that Avâchi-Dêva supplied Vêma with the sinews of was and thereby enabled him to found and extend his kingdom, and that his descendants rendered similar assistance to the descendants of Vêma.

The original sphere of influence of the Reḍḍis was Pâkanâḍu or Pûṅgidêśa. It may be that they originally governed this province subject to the authority of the kings of Warangal, though no proof of it exists. When the power of the Kâkatîyas began to decline, the Reḍḍis become independent and made Addaṅki their capital. It seems to have been the fashion with the Reḍḍis to have a surname for each. Vêma signed as Pallavatrinêtra, Kumâragiri was Vasantarâja, and Kômaṭi-Vêma was Vîranârâyaṇa.

According to the Daṇḍakavili, Vêma was the first independent Reḍḍi chief, and there is no evidence that any of his predecessors was such. The present inscription shows that Vêma himself extended his dominions at least up to the northern bank of the Kṛishṇâ, while the Amarâvatî inscription shows that his territories extended up to the banks of the Gôdâvarî.^[1] There are no means of knowing when the capital was removed from Addaṅki to Koṇḍavîḍu. That this was not done prior to the Śaka year 1283 is clear from the Amarâvatî inscription of that year,^[2] which refers to Addaṅki as the capital. This inscription also shows that Vêma son of Malla, was at that time governor of Dharaṇikôṭa or Dhânyavâṭi under Anapôtâ-Reḍḍi. I
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^[1] He is described as having granted to Brâhmaṇas villages on both sides of the Brahmakuṇḍi, the Kṛishṇâ and the Gôdâvarî, and also in the country between these rivers (Brakmakuṇḍi-Kṛishṇâveṇṇâ-Gôdâvarî-mahanadî-taṭadvaya-tanmadhyadêśa-datt-ânêk-âgrahâra).
^[2][ No. 253 of the Government Epigraphist’s collection for 1897.