KAKATIYAS IN TELANGANA

KAKATIYAS

Kakatiyas were emerged in the 12th century and they were the first feudatories of the Western Chalukyas of Kalyana. They ruled over a small territory near Warangal. A ruler of this dynasty, Prola II, ruled from AD 1110 to 1158 extended his rule to the south and declared his independence.

His successor Rudra (AD 1158-1195) pushed the kingdom to the north to the Godavari delta. He built a fort at Warangal to serve as a second capital. He faced the invasions of the Yadavas of Devagiri. The next ruler Mahadeva extended the kingdom to the coastal area. Ganapati succeeded him in AD 1199. He was the greatest of the Kakatiyas and the first one after the Satavahanas to bring the entire Telugu area under one rule. He ended the rule of the Velanati Cholas in AD 1210. He forced the Telugu Cholas of Vikramasimhapura to accept his suzerainty. Ganapati Deva had no sons, so his daughter Rudramba succeeded him in AD 1262. Some generals rebelled, under her rule. She suppressed the internal rebellions and external invasions with the help of loyal subordinates. The Cholas and the Yadavas suffered set backs at her hands and they did not think of troubling her for the rest of her rule.

Prataparudra succeeded his grandmother Rudramamba in A.D.1295 and ruled till AD 1323. He extended the western border up to Raichur. He introduced many administrative reforms and he divided the kingdom into 75 Nayakships. In his time the territory had the first experience of a Muslim invasion. The Delhi Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji sent an army to plunder the kingdom in AD 1303. The Prataparudra defeated them at Upparapalli in Karimnagar district. When an army under Malik Kafur invaded Warangal, Prataparudra yielded and agreed to pay a large tribute AD 1310.

When Ala-ud-din Khilji died in AD 1318, Prataparudra withheld the tribute. It provoked another invasion from the Muslims. Ghiaz-ud-din Tughlaq sent a large army under Ulugh Khan to conquer the Telugu country then called Tilling in AD 1321.

He laid siege to Warangal, but owing to internal distensions he called off the siege, and then he came back with a much bigger army in a short period. Prataparudra fought bravely. For lack of supplies, he surrendered to the enemy, who sent him to Delhi as a prisoner, and he died on the way. Thus ended the Kakatiya rule, opening the gates of the Telugu land to anarchy and confusion yielding place to an alien ruler.

The Kakatiya period was rightly called the brightest period of the Telugu history. The entire Telugu speaking area was under the kings who spoke Telugu and the kings encouraged Telugu. They established order throughout the strife torn land and they built forts. They played a dominant role in the defense of the realm.

Anumakonda and Gandikota among the giridurgas, Kandur and Narayanavanam among the vanadurgas, Divi and Kolanu among the jaladurgas, and Warangal and Dharanikota among the sthaladurgas were reckoned as the most famous strongholds in the Kakatiya period.Though Saivism continued to be the religion of the masses, intellectuals favored revival of Vedic rituals.

They sought to reconcile the Vaishnavites and the Saivites through the worship of Harihara. Arts and literature found patrons in the Kakatiyas and their feudatories. Tikkana Somayaji, who adorned the court of the Telugu Chola ruler Manumasiddhi II, wrote the last 15 cantos of the Mahabharata. Sanskrit received encouragement at the hands of the Kakatiyas Prataparudra was a writer and he encouraged other literature.

Kakatiya art preserved the balance between architecture and sculpture. The Kakatiya temples, dedicated mostly to Siva, reveal in their construction a happy blending of the styles of North India and South India, which influenced the political life of the Deccan.

The most important of these temples are Palampeta, Hanamkonda The temple at Palampeta, described as the brightest gem in the galaxy of Medieval Deccan temple architecture. It was constructed by Recherla Rudra, a general of Kakatiya Ganapati, in AD 1213. The figures in the temple are of a heterogeneous character comprising gods, goddesses, warriors, acrobats, musicians, and mithuna pairs in abnormal attitudes and dancing girls.

The Thousand-Pillar Temple at Hanamkonda, built by the Kakatiya king Rudra in AD 1162, is similar in style and workmanship to the Ramappa temple. This temple dedicated to Siva, Vishnu and Surya, is star-shaped. The Nandi pavilion, in which a huge granite bull still stands at the beautiful entrances to the shrine. The pierced slabs used for screens and windows, and the elegant open work by which the bracket-shafts are attached to the pillars are the other most interesting features of this temple.

It was believed that the temple in the Warangal fort was built by Ganapati and it was constructed making use of large slabs. The floor of the shrine is beautifully polished and shines like a mirror. An interesting feature of this temple is the four gateways called Kirti Stambhas, which face the four cardinal points of the compass.

After the fall of Kakatiyas, uncertainty prevailed over the region. Several small kingdoms came into existence. Musunuri Nayakas occupied Warangal from Muslims and ruled between AD 1325-1368.