Sirpur Fort

Sirpur Tandur or Sarbar or Sirbar, formerly known as Suryapuram, is a town and a mandal in Komaram Bheem district of the Indian state of Telangana.

In very early days, a great Hindu city Bhadravati, dedicated to Bhadra (a name for the god Shiva), the capital of the Vakataka kings.

Hiuen Tsang a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim thought fit to give of it when writing in A.D. 639. One hundred monasteries are here and ten thousand Buddhist priests are among its inhabitants and in due course Kosala, and its Buddhist rulers, faded away, to be replaced by the Manas or Nagvansi (snake worshippers) kings of Wairagarh.

1199 AD : Kakatiya king Ganapatideva granted land to a certain Brahmin named Manchibhattopadhyaya for establishing Sirpur taluk in Adilabad district by Chennur Allumprola Raja.

The Gonds of Chanda originated from Sirpur in what is now northern Telangana and were said to have overthrown the previous rulers of the country, called the Mana dynasty

According to Gond legends, a Gond chief, Bhim Ballal Singh, organized the Gonds and established his rule in Sirpur in 870 AD. The legend also names 19 Gond rulers.

1310 AD : Ananir (or Ananur)

The same day Malik Kafur reached Bavagarh, he led a cavalry unit to besiege Sabar, a fort located within the Kakatiya frontier region. Historian Kishori Saran Lal identifies Sabar with modern Sirpur. Khusrau's account suggests that this was a surprise attack for the defenders: faced with a certain defeat, some of them committed suicide with their wives and children in a jauhar fire. Some others, probably including the fort's commander, were killed after Kafur's soldiers entered the fort. The surviving defenders were ready to fight to death, but then a truce was negotiated because of intervention by Khwaja Haji. Ananir (or Ananur), a brother of the fort's commander, was found hiding in a field. He surrendered to the invaders, and was appointed as the fort's new governor by Malik Kafur. Some of the refugees from Sabar fled to Warangal

c. 1330 AD - 1751 A.D: Sirpur-Chanda Gond Dynasty of Gondwana Kingdom

Founder : Kol Bhill or Kol Bheel or Kolkhil

Capitals : Sirpur (modern Komaram Bheem Asifabad district, Telangana), Ballarsha, Chanda (Chandrapur district, Maharashtra)
Languages : Gondi language is known as ‘Koyator’ among Gonds. Southern Gondi, Adilabad Gondi, Northern Gondi, Aheri Gondi are variants of the language.
Religion : Brahmanical Hinduism or Cult of the Persa Pen (clan deities); ancestor spirit worship
Royal Emblem : Lion and Elephant
Family Name: Singh, Shah

Bhim Ballal Singh
Contemporary of Kakatiya Ganapatideva Bhim Ballal Singh actually started the Sirpur-Chanda Gond Kingdom. His capital was at Sirpur, on the right bank of the Wardha river, and his chief stronghold was the fortress of Manikgarh, in the hills behind Sirpur. For the first eight generations these Gond kings reigned at Sirpur, in the modern State of Telangana.

The Gond King, Bhim Ballal Sing built Sirpur Fort

Kharja Bhallal Singh
Son of Bhim Ballal Singh

Hira or Heera Singh

Andia Bhallal Singh

Talwar Singh

Kesar Singh

Dinkar or Dinakar Singh

Ram Singh

1405 AD - 1437 AD - Surja Ballal Singh alis Ser Shah

1472 AD - 1497 AD : Khandkia or Khandkya Ballal Shah

Changed Capital from Sirpur to first Ballarsha and later to Chanda.

1497 AD - 1522 AD: Heer Shah
Hira or Heera Singh Conspicuous amongst these rulers was Hir Singh the grandson of Bhim Ballal Singh. Brave in war and wise in administration he was the first to persuade his wild fellow-countrymen to cultivate the land. To him is attributed some- thing like a rudimentary land-revenue system. First to levy tax on occupied lands.

1522 AD - 1542 AD : Bhuma and Lokba

1542 AD - 1572 AD : Kam Shah

1572 AD - 1597 AD : Babaji Ballal Shah

Babji Ballal Shah, the Ain-i-Akbari records the kingdom as being fully independent, and it even conquered some territory from nearby sultanates. 
Seldom is any mention made of these jungle kingdoms in the annals of the Imperial Court at Delhi but so prosperous and important had Southern Gondwana become at this period that in the Ain-i-Akbari or Chronicles of Akbar it is recorded of Babaji Ballal Shah Kam Shah's son that he paid no tribute to Delhi and possessed an army of 10,000 cavaliy and 40,000 infantry." In his reign the city of Wairagarh— the capital of their hereditary foes was added to the kingdom of Chanda.

However, during Akbar's rule, Babji Shah began paying tribute after the Mughals incorporated territory to their south into the Berar Subah

1597 AD - 1622 AD : Dhundia Ram Shah
it was during his reign that the city - walls surrounding Chanda were completed and , as such , inaugurated by him with due ceremonies , which included , among other things .

1611 AD : Govind Rao
1611 AD: During the reign of emperor Jahangir grants to Govind Rao sardeshmukh of the domain of Raja Birshah and Raja Ballashah zamindari and jagir rights that is the rights of revenue collection and local administration in the five villages of Sirpur, Pangri, Kanchapalli, Jainur and Chorpalli.

1622 AD - 1640 AD : Krishna Shah
Son. Extended territory to Nagpur.
The custom of sacrificing cows to the gond god pharsa pen was abolished by him and it was substituted with goat.
1637 A.D - In January of 1637, Deogarh was invaded by Khan-i-Dauran joined by Krishna Shah of Chanda, who had an enmity with the Deogarh kings since the reign of Jatba. Kok Shah was defeated in the siege of the Nagpur fort and submitted to Khan-i-Dauran on 16 January 1637.

1640 AD - 1691 AD : Bir ShahBir Shah discontinues tribute to the Moghuls following the house arrest of Shah Jahan, but Aurangzeb sends an army under the command of Diler Khan to attack the Gonds, forcing them to sue for peace.

1691 AD - 1735 A.D - Ram Shah
Famous for wisdom and uprightness was Ram Shah, one of the last kings of Chanda, that it is reported of him that when Raghuji Bhonsla, the Maratha leader, visited Chanda, with a view to seeking a pretext for a quarrel, he ended his visit by almost worshipping him as a god. " Well would it have been, so Canon Wood writes in his article on Chanda, 'if the fast failing thread of the Gond rule had been severed at Ram Shah's death."

Mubariz Khan

1724 AD : Nizam-e-Mulk
In 1724 AD, Nizam-e-Mulk defeated Mubariz Khan and took possession of the Deccan and began to rule.

1735 AD - 1751 A.D - Neelkanth Shah
For Ram Shah's son and successor, Nilkanth Shah, was an evil and cruel ruler, who dismissed his father's most trustworthy councillors, ground down his subjects, and interfered foolishly and needlessly in the political disputes of Deogarh. And all the time the Maratha foe was but waiting for his opportunity, and when he again approached the gates of the royal city of Chanda, it was not by force of arms, but by the treachery of a discontented people, that he triumphed.

1751 AD : The last Gond Raja Nilkanth Shah was defeated and imprisoned by Raghoji Bhonsla of Nagpur in 1751 AD and merged into Nagpur.

1751 AD - Bhonsale dynasty

1751 AD - 14 Feb, 1755 AD : Raghoji I Bhonsle (1739 – 14 Feb 1755)

14 Feb, 1755 AD - 21 May 1772 AD : Janoji Bhonsle

21 May 1772 AD - 19 May 1788 AD : Mudhoji Bhonsle

1773 AD : Entered into an agreement with Nizam Ali Khan, Nizam of Hyderabad by which he agreed to cede Manikgarh (Rajura of Chandrapur) with surrounding territories south of Penganga to the Nizam, in return for the forts of Gavilgarh and Narnala of Amaravati district - Berar.

19 May 1788 AD - 1803 AD : Raghoji II Bhonsle (19 May 1788 AD - 22 Mar 1816 AD)

1795 AD : Jukut Rao

In 1795 the nizams of Hyderabad were at war with Marathas, who’s power reached Zenith in 18th C.AD Gond chief, Jukut Rao, held the district a djoining the maratha territory a s Jagir from the Bhonsles ( Marathas).

1803 AD : Marathas occupied Adilabad district till Nirmal from Nizam. In 1803 AD as a result of war between the British and Raghoji Bhonsle II, under the treaty of Deogaon, the latter ceded the territory of Berar to the British who in turn passed it on to their ally, the Nizam under treaty obligations for his co-operation in the war. Consequently, Sirpur, the ancient seat of the Gond rulers, passed into the hands of the Asaf Jahi rulers till the state of Hyderabad joined the Indian Union

9th April 1860 AD : Ramji Gond

1864 AD : When from 1864 onwards the ryotwari system was implemented in Hyderabad state by its prime minister Salarjung I (1853-1883), the Gond Rajas and chiefs all lost their jagirs (land grants) and watan (revenue collectiion) rights.

Only the Raja of Sirpur was honoured with a jagirdari right and Raja of Utnur with maqta (estate) right over five villages

1867 AD : Yadav Shah

1869 AD : The tutelary Rajas (zamindars) who hitherto had symbolic rights of land were given proprietary rights to their estates in a settlement in 1869. In this way 20 zamindaris were created in the Chanda of which 17 were Gonds, two were Hindus and one muslim.

1872 AD : Under Asaf jahis a sub district by name Sirpur-tandur was created in 1872 with three talukas namely Edulapuram (Adilabad), Rajura and Sirpur.

1905 AD : Ram Shah

By 1905 full-fledged district was created by name Adilabad, with Adilabad town as its head quarters by including Nirmal, Nasspur talukas from Nizamabad (Indur) and C hennur, Luxetipet talukas from Elagandla ( Karimnagar) districts. By bifurcating Nasspur taluka a new Kinwat taluka was created and remaining villages of the Nasspur taluka were added to Nirmal taluka. 

1907 AD : In 1906 Janagaon taluka was created. 1907 it was renamed as Asifabad, in this few villages of Sirpur and Luxetipet talukas w ere a dded. Thus A dilabad district was formed with eight talukas ( Rajura, 

Sirpur, Asifabad, Adilabad, Luxetipet, Chinoor, Nirmal, and Kinwat)

1905 AD - 1906 AD : Deo Shah uncle of Ram Shah

1906 AD : Govind Shah brother of Ram Shah

1906 AD - 1918 AD : Dinker Shah son of Govind Shah

In 1913-14 AD headquarter was shifted to Asifabad from Adilabad and was once again shifted back
to Adilabad by 1940-41

1918 AD - 1947 AD : Yadav Shah

As late as the 1940 the Raja Akbar Shah of Chanda, who was of Atram clan, occupied the highest position within the traditional feudal system

Atram Rajas of Sirpur

Rajas of Atram clan whose descendants possess still the original sanad- documents granted by the Emperor Aurangzeb in 1611 AD.

The Atram Rajas of Sirpur in Utnur taluk were related and subordinate to Atram Rajas of Chanda.

Raja Atram Jangu Bapu

Atram Jangu Bapu, the raja of Kanchanpalli who set up the village Kanchanpalli dug up the well for the villagers. 

Narsing Rao

Recognized as Deshmukh. Lived in Mamidpalli at the end of his life and not in Sirpur.

Sitagondi rajas ruled also over part of the present Asifabad taluk and gave to the ancestor of the Maravi rajas the village of Borda (Borjam) near Dorli between Asifabad and Tilani.

Govind Rao

Rajesh Rao

Accepted the offer of Bhim Rao of Kanchanpalli to help him in the administration of Sirpur Patti.

1942 AD : Bheemrao Senior

It was in 1942 that Ethnographer Haimendorf and his wife Elizabeth had first come to Kanchanpalli, situated in Sirpur (U) mandal about 12 km from Jainoor mandal headquarters village, seeking help from Bheem Rao senior for their research work.

Ethnographer is a person who studies and describes the culture of a particular society or group

Bhagwant Rao 

As late as the 1950s the Gonds of Sirpur occasionally approached the Zamindar of Ahiri for the settlement of disputes , and he fulfilled certain functions of a tribal head

Atram Bheemrao
Atram Bheemrao, of the present 6th generation of the family, told Decan Chronicle that Raja Jangu Bapu belonged to the family’s first generation.

Atram Bheem Rao, inheritor of the Gond Raja of Kanchanpalli title, remembers Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf and his contributions to improving the lives of the Raj Gond and other Adivasi tribes of the Adilabad region. When he does, he visits a 250-metre high hill near his village, atop which is a small platform made of stones, to pay his respects to the memory of the legendary Austrian ethnographer.

Sitagondi Branch

Israi Jangu Babu

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Kingri

The Kingri, also known as Khikri, is a unique string instrument as its three strings and the bowstring are made of horse hair. 

The Kingri is mentioned in the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata, in many Ancient Indian Brahmin's tales. and in Punjab's folk music. The kingri is also used in traditional death ceremonies, marriages and religious festivals in Telangana and Maharashtra.

The most important possession of a Pardhan is his kingri, and a square wooden sound box covered by a skin membrane. On this fiddle Pardhans play during the Persa Pen rites and accompany themselves while singing hymns or reciting epics. The two instruments they play are the kingri, a three stringed violin and a small harp called a bana.

Like Raj gonds, Pardhans principle deity is also Persapen. They worship the same gods as the Gonds and attend most of their religious ceremonies. At Festivals it is usually the most prominent Prardhan who plays the Kingri (a musical instrument like crude form of veena or lute generally with three cords/strings), while younger men blow trumpets and beat drums. 

Among the aboriginal tribes of Adilabad district, Pardhans occupy important place. But t he census of 1921 gives very contradictory data and figure 416 as total pardhans population in the di strict. Generally, t his community is known for their priestly activities. They are the helots of the gonds and serve as geneologists and bards to the Raj Gonds, singing the exploits and great deeds of their rajas by producing m usic from a kind of violin called ‘Kingri’. They a re even known as craftsmen of the Gonds. The songs and stories that they preserve by oral transmission are the most important depositories o f Gond history, culture and tradition. But it is also said t hat they acted more as musicians rather than priest. 

Anthropologist Haimendorf in his study found that no marriage ceremony of a Raj Gond is celebrated, nor the death rites performed, unless Pardhan is present to receive the marriage presents or to claim the remainents of the dead and all rites in honor of each Persa Pen. Where a s R .V. R ussel perception on pa rdhans as priest of gonds in Adilabad contradicts and he says pardhans acted a s only musicians and never as priests as most of the rituals were obligatory in nature.

Pardhan (bard) Mesram Tukdoji sings Nagoba Bhidi or the legend of the Nagoba using the traditional string instrument called kingri, every night for four days before the Mahapuja.

When Mesram Tukdoji and his team begin their chorus “Aska ad ghat rai’t ropo....” to the accompaniment of music from his Kingri, listeners are transported to a different world. No, the latter is not required to be versed in Gondi to experience the magic of the Adivasi folk tradition which was in full flow during the recently-concluded Nagoba jatara at Keslapur in Indervelli mandal.

The younger generation of Pardhan Adivasis, who function as bards of the Gonds preserving their myths and stories through singing, are moving away from tradition

Since ages, the Pardhan Adivasis have functioned as bards of the Gonds preserving their myths and stories through oral tradition. In many instances, they even serve as priests and are an integral part of most of the important religious-cum-cultural affairs like the ongoing Nagoba jatara, the annual pilgrimage of the Mesram clan of Gonds.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/simply-out-of-this-world/article6828565.ece

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Nirmal District History

The Nirmal district is etched out of erstwhile Adilabad District. The district is located in northern Telangana and borders Maharashtra and the Telangana districts of Asifabad

(Komuram Bheem) Adilabad Mancherial Jagtial and Nizamabad. The district has two revenue divisions Nirmal and Bhainsa and 19 mandals while the district headquarters is located at Nirmal town.

Nirmal District derives its name from the king Nimma Rayudu, who played a pivotal role in the development of the region.

700 BC - 300 BC : Asmaka (One of the 16 Mahajanapadas)
Founder : Unknown (Believed to be Asmaka)
Capitals : Potana or Potali or Paudanya of Mahabharata or today's Bodhan.
Languages : Prakrit
Religion : Budhism, Jainism, Hinduism

c.300 BC - 232 BC : Mauryan Empire (322 BC –185 BC)
Founder : Chandragupta Maurya (320 BC - 298 BC)
Capital : Pataliputra
Languages : Prakrit
Religion : Budhism, Jainism, Brahmanism

c. 232 BC - c. 208 AD : Pre-Satavahana and Satavahana Dynasty
Excavations in kotilingala found punch marked coins of Pre Satavahana rulers
Rano Gobhadasa, Siri Kama, Sirivaya, Siri Naransa, Rano Sama Govasa
Siri Satavhanasa, Rano Siri Sataka Rinisa, Rano Siri Simukha Satavahanasa, Rano Siri Satakanasa, Rano Siri Pulomavisa, Mahatalavarasa, Maha Senapthi Sagamanasa, Salakasa, Mahatalavara Sivakhada, Maharathi Sivakanasa

c.208 AD - c. 280 AD : Abhiras / Abheeras (c. 208 - c. 375 AD)
Founder : Isvarasena
Language : Sanskrit
Religion : Hinduism (Saivism)

c. 208 AD - 320 AD : Mahisha Saka Chutu Dynasty
Capital : Banavasi or Vanavasi in present-day Karnataka state.
Founder : Rano Chutukulanda
Langauges : Prakrit
Religion : BudhismEmblem : Chutu inscriptions contain the emblem of the cobra hood implying Chutu meant the "cobra crest"

c. 320 AD - 340 AD : Pallava Dynasty (275 AD - 897 AD)
Pallavas were initially feudatories of Satavahanas and later ruled independently from Kanchipuram.

c. 340 - 477 A.D : Vakataka Dynasty (250 AD - 500 AD)
Founder : Vindhyashakti (250 AD - 270 AD)
Capitals : Vatsagulma, the present day Washim in Maharashtra.
Languages : Maharashtri Prakrit, Sanskrit
Religion : Budhism, Hinduism

c. 477 AD -  611 AD : Vishnukundins (c.380 AD - c.611 AD)
Founder : Indravarma/Maharajendrvarma (380 AD - 394 AD)
Capitals : Amrabad in Mahaboonagar and extended it to Bhuvanagiri, Ramannapeta in Nalgonda and Keesaragutta in Rangareddy. Built Indrapala in Nalgonda. Eluru, Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh
Languages : Telugu, Sanskrit
Religion : Hinduism (Vaisnavism)

611 AD - 753 AD : Badami Chalukyas (543 AD - 753 AD)
Founder : Pulakeshin I
Capitals : Badami
Languages : Kannada, Sanskrit
Religion : Jainism, Hinduism

753 AD - 973 AD : Rashtrakuta Dynasty
Founder : Dantidurga Capitals : Manyakheta
Languages : Kannada, Sanskrit
Religion : Jainism, Hinduism

c.753 AD to 973 AD : Vemulavada Chalukyas (vassals to Rashtrakuta Dynasty) ruled Karimnagar and Nizamabad. One of the famous chalukya dynasties, who ruled the North-Western part of Telangana region as feudatory kings of the Rashtrakutas, were the vemulawada chalukyas. Pulakesin-II, the Badami Chalukya king was the originator of this dynasty. Ten generations of this dynasty ruled the region with vemulawada of Karimnagar district as their capital. Their kingdom began with the Rashtra kutas and ended also with Rashtrakutas.

973 AD - 1158 AD : Western Chalukyas / Kalyani Chalukyas (973 AD - 1189 AD)
Founder : Tailapa II Capitals : Manyakheta, Kalyani (Basavakalyan in Bidar , Karnataka)
Languages : Kannada, Sanskrit
Religion : Jainism, Hinduism

Bhasia, Mudhol Taluk, Adilabad District.
Reign of : Mahamandalesvara Ranaka Devapala.
Language : Sanskrit and Nagari : This inscription is on a slab fixed on a pillar in the temple of Mahadeva. Records the dharmakarya of [Na]gama-ravuta, a subordinate of Devapala. 

1158 AD - 1323 AD : Kakatiya Dynasty
Founder : Venna
Capitals : Anumakonda(Hanumakonda), Orugallu / Ekasilanagara (Warangal)
Languages : Telugu, Sanskrit, Kannada
Religion : Jainism, Hinduism (Saivism)

1323 AD - 1336 AD : Tughlaq Dynasty
Ulugh Khan (also known as Muhammad bin Tughluq), the general that conquered Warangal, renamed it "Sultanpur" and remained as the governor of the region for a short period, thus ending the Kakatiya dynasty.

1350 AD – 1518 AD : Bahmani Sultanate (1347 AD - 1527 AD)
Founder : Ala-ud-Din Bahman Shah
Capital : Daulatabad, Gulbarga

1518 AD – 1687 AD : Qutbshahis / Golconda Sultanate
1636 AD : In 1636 AD Shah Jahan appointed Aurangzeb as the Viceroy of the Deccan and forced the Qutb Shahis to recognize Mughal suzerainty, which lasted until 1687 when the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb conquered the Golcondan sultanate.

1687 AD - 1724 AD : Mughal Empire
1713 : Mir Qamaruddin Siddiqi was appointed governor by the Mughals.
1724 : Mir Qamaruddin Siddiqi was granted the control of Hyderabad by the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah with the title Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah after defeating the rival from Maratha Empire.

1724 AD - 1948 AD : Asaf Jahis
1798 : Hyderabad became the first Indian royal state to accede to British protection under the policy of Subsidiary Alliance instituted by Arthur Wellesley.

Nirmal: A.D. 1771-72.
Language : Arabic and Persian.
Of the five guns found at different places, two mention the name of their manufacturer Muhammad (son of) Qasim and the rest mention the name Zafaru'd-Daula, the companion of Ruknu'd-Daula and the date A.H 1185 (AD 1771-72). According to an inscription from the same place, a mosque was constructed in A.H 1195 (AD 1780-81).

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Palvancha Samasthanam and Fort

Palvancha or Palwancha or Paloncha Samsthanam 

Founder : Annappa or Appanna Aswarao

Capitals : Polancha, Bhadrachalam, Ashwaraopet were the capitals of Ashwarao’s descendants.

Palvancha is located in  Bhadradri Kothagudem district, Telangana State, India and was part of Warangal district in Hyderabad during Nizam reign.

This Samasthan was about 800 Sq.Miles is placed next to the samsthan of Gadwal. It was also known as the Hasanabad - Sankaragiri zamindari including the present Bhadrachalam taluk which is made up of the old Bhadrachalam and Rekapalle estates .

One of the most well-known princes of the family in olden days was the recipient of the title of Aswa Rao from Maharajjah Pratapa Rudra who held sway over Warangal before the Mahomedans conquered Southern India. It would appear that the Maharajah had a horse of the best mettle, and it was ungovernable; but in spite of this defect in the animal, the Maharajah on account of the excellence of the breed conceived a great liking for it. The Prince tried the horse and rode it so well that the Maharajah was agreeably surprised and conferred on him the title of Aswa Rao (aswa meaning a horse, and Rao meaning king). From that time forward the titles has became hereditary.

This is the capital of a large zemindary tributary to theNizam, situated in the north-western quarter of the Hyderabad province, 88 miles N. W. Rajamundry, lat. 17° 56' N. long. 81° 2' E. The town is situated in a rich and luxuriant valley, about four miles wide, surrounded on all sides by lofty ranges of mountains, the passes through which are the only accesses to Paloonshah. 

The fort of Palvancha is 150 yards square, built of stone with octagon bastions, but is a post of no strength, being completely commanded by a high hill to the eastward. The rampart may be ridden up and down on any side, and resembles the bank of a tank. The faces are irregular, but on two of them the ditch is dug deep. 

1324 A. D : Anapa Aswa Rao

Anapa Ashwa Rao, who received Bahdrachalam in free jhagir from the emperor of delhi in 1324.

Annappa Aswarao who is now reckoned as the progenitor of the family was the ruling chief of the estate. The Emperor however established his suzerainty over Annappa Aswarao, and granted him a free perpetual sunnud on feudal tenure under the condition of supplying the Imperial army with five hundred soldiers whenever called upon. The Zamindari had been enjoyed by eighteen descendants of the family in succession with independent right free of any kind of assessment.

Palwancha samsthan consisted of six sub - taluqas with an annual income of only Rs 70,000. The tribute paid to the Nizam was Rs 45,875.

The leaders of Polancha Samasthan who were the descendants of Recherla Nayaks worked under Kakatiya Pratapa Rudra as Armed force Chief and Calvary heads. 

Palvancha Estate was originally obtained in 1324. During 1324, Appanna was the leader of Shankaragiri and Hasanabad.

The state was owned in the beginning by the Mutyala Family and Mutyala Aswa Rao is reckoned as the first line of Rajahs. The Zamindari was then taken possession of by the force and successively held by the Jalgam, Tandra, Settipalli, Kandimandla and Damara families.

1574 AD : Kumalapa Aswa Rao 

In 1574 Kumalapa Aswa Rao the 14th zamindar leased out Rekapalle Estate in 1574 to a family in Korukonda Venayek Razoo in lease for an annual payment of ₹600 and and condition of his keeping up a small body of armed men for service. 

1769 AD : Raja Narasimha Aswa Rao

19th Zamindar of the family.

The ruling Zamindar in 1796 was Rajah Narasimha Aswa Rao. Just then, there were many changes in the Supreme Government at Delhi, and the Zamindar, whose assistance was sought by the Moghul Emperor, asserted his right and refused to comply with his request. 

When visited by Captain Blunt in 1794, the town was populous, ajid two miles in circumference, but consisted mostly of poor Telinghy huts. It had also a manufactory of matchlocks, jinjalls, spears, sabres, and other weapons; but it has since greatly decayed, for when captured by a Madras de- tachment, in 1813, it presented a very miserable appearance. 

Palcondah, where the zemindar resides, is a common mud gurry or native fort in the plain, not different from those at almost all the large villages in the Nizam's country, besides which he possesses five or six other gurries in the neighbourhood. The country is naturally strong, and the climate sickly and unhealthy.

1769 AD - 1778 AD : Zafrad-daulah, also known as Zabid Jung

Zafrad-daulah, also known as Zabid Jung, who was on hostile terms with Rajah Narasimha Aswa Rao foully murdered him and carried away immense treasure, and also the old sunnuds and other important papers connected with the estate. To the titles of the Aswara Rao family were added the distinguished epithets of Rifuth va avail panaha. H. H. The Nizam took possession of the estate which under his management was called Parganai Hasanbad va Senharagiri Sarhar Kammamet Suhai Phiralmnd Buniyad Hyderabad Deccan.

1778 AD - 1779 AD : Ramachendra Aswa Rao

After the death of Zafarudowla, Ramachendra Aswa Rao, one of the descendants of Narasimha Aswa Rao, regained his estate and enjoyed it for a year.

1779 AD - 1812 AD : Damera Venkata Rama Aswarao

 Later on, Rajah Venkatarama Narasimha Aswa Rao, the twenty-first in succession from Annappa Aswarao, who originally obtained a sunnud from Tamerlane, was granted a fresh one by Meer Nizam Ali Khan Bahadur in the year 1798, 1240, Hezree with the titles of Rajah, Bahadur, Savai, and Munsubdar. He was further permitted to maintain an army of two thousand horse, and three thousand foot and carry an Alam, and Nagara, and sunnuds were issued by His Highness the Nizam accordingly.

1809 AD : Adoption, first in the family caused great deal of disturbance and even bloodshed.The adopting zamindar belong to the Damara Ashwa Rao family and selected as his heir a boy of the Kundemulla family. This choice was resented and resisted by other family. The Setpilly Ash Rao family who thought one of their members are to have been selected. The struggle between the members of this families went on for more than 40 years and Setpilly family was at first victorious, but the representative made a raid into British territory, and was taken prisoner and carried up to Hyderabad in 1811. 

1811 AD - 1850 AD : Rajah Narasimha Aswarao

After him, Rajah Narasimha Aswarao, who was commonly known as Savanna Aswarao, ascended the  Palavancha

1811 AD : The Damara adoptee was now appointed zamindar of Nizam, but he was so harassed by the Setpilly, 1819 a European officer Mr. Ralph was sent with the body of local troops to Palwancha where he remain to keep order for three years

In 1812, Ashwa Row, the zamindar of Palvancha, became notorious as the instigator and protector of a band of robbers that infested the British territories, who sought an asylum on his estates, and shared with him the booty of their marauding expeditions. His ordinary force was estimated at from 2 to 3000 irregular foot, armed with matchlocks and pikes, and probably as many more could be mustered, if any adequate prospect of plunder were held out. In con- sequence of these depredations, a detachment was marched against Paloonshah in 1813, but the place was found entirely deserted except by a few peons left in charge of the fort, Ashwa Row having retired to the village of Badrachellum, on the left bank of the Godavery, where an attempt was made to surprize and take him prisoner, but he escaped. There was found here a country iron 12- pounder in front of the gate outside, and on the bastions a few one and two- pounders, and some jinjalls. Although on this occasion the zemindar saved his person, he was not equally fortunate in preserving his purse, for he was the same year condemned to pay the sum of 50,000 Hyderabad rupees, as a com- pensation for depredations committed by his followers in the Masulipatam dis- trict, which sum, after many delays and evasion, was at last realized in 1816, and paid over to the sufferers.

The Nizam soon intervened again, this time, granting a small portion of the estate to the settipalli's, and one village to the Damaras and taking the rest under his own management.

1844 AD - 1851 AD : The Setpillys defied the local authorities in 1844 and seized the greater part of the estate, but the representative died in 1851

In 1848 some of the Rohillas in the Setpilly Zamindars Service became so troublesome that for companies of the Hyderabad contingent with some irregular Cavaleri under the command of Captain Hall, and another officer was dispatched against them from Warangal, The Rohillas having shut themselves up in the Zamindars house, which was surrounded by Highwall, assisted the troops, and there was a shot engagement which ended in the defeat of the Rohillas. Captain, Howell died of sunstroke from the exposure, and the other officer, who was with him, was wounded in the foot

Raja Narasimha Aswarao died leaving three minor sons and two daughters; one of the latter died unmarried. 

1851 AD - 1859 AD : Seeta Ramachendra Savai Aswarao Bahadur

After a little disturbance and some negotiation, the property was handed over finally to the Damaras on a decision being passed in their favor in 1852 AD by an influential  zamindars 

1852 AD : Captain Bullock, with the force of six companies under command marched from Warangal on sixth April 1852, and engaged a party of Rohilla's at Palooncha and took 200 prisoners

During the minority of these children, the Settipalli family disputed with them for the estate, and the Government having referred the matter to arbitration decided the dispute in favour of the minor princes. The eldest of these princes having died a bachelor, the second one succeeded to the estate and held it for sometime, and was again succeeded by his brother Seeta Ramachendra Savai Aswarao Bahadur, who again obtained a permanent sunnud from the Nizam's Government. But during the reign of this Rajah the estate ran into debt and was mortgaged to a greedy sowcar. About this time, the Nizam made over to the British Government the territory lying along the left bank of the Godavari, which included a portion of the estate of the Aswaraos called Sri Bhadrachalam.

Until the Bhadrachalam was handed over to the British government by the Nizam in 1860 the zamindar always kept a troop of Rohillas, who received very little pay for their services and lived chiefly by looting. The country around the Taluq was divided into 10 samutus, each of which theoretically contain 25, Koya villages, and each of which had to supply for a month without pay or batta 100 Koyas to carry burdens, fetch supplies, etc. for the rulers and 100 Madigas to act as horse keepers. The whole country appears to have been at the mercy of this undisciplined Rohilla's.

All was grist, right Mr. Cain that came to their mill, even the clothes of the poor Koya woman who are frequently stripped and then regarded as subjects of ridicule. The Koyas has frequently told me that they never could lie down to rest at night without feeling that before morning, the slumbers might be rudely disturbed that house is burnt and the property carried off. As a rule, they hid their grain in caves and holes of large trees. The last great plundering took place in 1859 not far from but Parnsala

Seetha Ramachendra Savai Aswarao soon after died a bachelor, leaving after him an aged mother, and a married sister. 

1859 AD - 1874 AD : Kanee Lakshmi Narasamma Rao

1860 AD : Rekapalle Estate was part of Palvancha estate of Aswa Raos, after Bhadrachalam and Rekapalle were transferred from Nizam dominions to Central Provinces. Bhadrachalam Zamindars were called superior proprietors, while Rekapalle Zamindars were called Inferior Proprietors.

The estate was therefore registered in the name of his mother Kanee Lakshmi Narasamma Rao. While matters stood thus, the mortgagee sowcar who managed the estate for twelve years instituted a suit for the recovery of a very large amount, the principal having multiplied itself half a dozen times under the most complicated system of compound interest. The defendant Ranee, being unable to contest the suit ably, the sowcar gained his case and obtained a decree for six lakhs of rupees, whereby for only a half of the amount decreed, he carried off the best portion of the estate—the two patties of Mulluru and Ramanujavaram; and had the remaining three lakhs paid out of the Nizam's exchequer. 

Dispossessed of her ancient estate thus, Ranee Lakshmeenarasamma Rao died in disappointment and despair, leaving a daughter and a daughter's son, Sree Rajah Parthasarathy Appa Rao Savai Aswarao Bahadur in whose veins runs the blood of both Aswarao and Appa Rao families. 

Followed before her death in 1874 by her daughter son Parthasarathy, Apparao who is that

1874 AD - 1910 AD : Raja Parthasarathi Appa rao

The young prince proceeded early in his life to Hyderabad and instituted a suit for the recovery of his maternal estate.

Sri Rajah Parthasaradhi Appa Rao Savai Aswa Rao Bahadur is most respectably connected also on the paternal side. He is the eighteenth in descent from the first member of the family, of which Venkayya Appa Rao, generally known as Vijaya Appa Rao, had obtained two sunnuds on the 30th January 1763 from Asaf Jah, whereby he was granted the large Zemindari of Nuzvid.

Srinathuni Venkata Rama Kavi composed the books “Sri Rama Pattabishekam” or “Ashwaraya Chatitra”. Raja Parthasarathi Appa rao had a title Sahitya Visharada. Sri Kottapalli Venkatarama Lakshmi Narayana Sharma was his court poet.

Narashima Appa Rao was succeeded by his son Venkatadri Appa Rao, who died on 18th May 1891, leaving his son and successor, Sree Rajah Parthasaradhi Appa Rao, the present Rajah and Badshahee Munsubdar ot Palavancha and Bhadrachelam estates. He is as already described the grandson (Dawhitra) of Ranee Lakshmi Narasamma Rao, and the British Government recognising his heirship to that Ranee, registered the Bhadrachalam portion of the Palavancha estate in his name in 1896.

Sri Raja Vijaya Apparao  II

Sri Raja Vijaya Apparao was patron of Andhra Vangmaya Samithi established in Burgampadu and Paloncha. Sri Kottapali Venkataramalakshmi Narayana Sharma composed Paloncha Samasthan Charitra.

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Siege of Golconda 1656 AD and 1687 AD

The siege of Golconda in 1656 AD and again in 1687 AD between the Qutb Shahi dynasty and the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, occurring in January 1687 and ended on September 22, 1687.

1652 AD - 1655 AD : Mir Jumla Governor of Golconda and Aurangzeb Viceroy of Deccan

1636 AD : In 1636 AD Shah Jahan appointed Aurangzeb as the Viceroy of the Deccan and forced the Qutb Shahis to recognize Mughal suzerainty, which lasted until 1687 when the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb conquered the Golcondan sultanate.

Mir Jumla was actually a Persin, the son of an Ispahan oil merchant,

1638 AD : In 1638 rose Mir Jumla to the chief minister of the Golconda Kingdom and received the title of Mir Jumla. In his handling of the Karnataka invasioin the early 1640s Mir Jumla proved to be talented military strategist and diplomat. For ten years from 1642 - 1652 his armies were engaged against Nayaks. 

1655 AD : Golconda’s ruler began to worry that Mir Jumla was coming more of a dangerous rival than a loyal subject. A quarrel followed about booty and the sly vizer was summoned to Hyderabad, but escaped  when he found a plot underway to seize and blind him. 

Mir Jumlas son Mohamad Amin who acted as his father's deputy in hyderabad came to court staggeringly drink, fell asleep and drooled vomit on the imperial carpet. It was the last straw. He and his family found themselves clapped into prison, their property confiscated.

First Seize January 7, 1656 AD - April 13, 1656 AD

Shah Jahan sent a robe of honor and a royal decree to Mir Jumla, appointing him commander of five thousand horse and making his son a peer as well and an imperial dispatch to the sultan of Golconda requested him not to detain the Jumla family or their property, Both the imperial letters reached Aurangabad on January 7, 1656 AD.

Appointing his sixteen year old son Mohammed Sultan, to lead the Moguls across Golconda’s frontier, Aurangzeb opted for a cavalry dash to Hyderabad. 

According to the plan it was only after Aurangazebs troops had entered Golconda territory that the Sultan of Golconda received Shah Jahan’s second letter. Fearfully and instantly, Qutb Shah released Mr Jumlas son and family who meets Mohammad Sultan 24 miles from Hyderabad and found a reason to continue his father’s invasion as Jumla family property not restored yet. 

Mogul cavalry swept on to hyderabad, the sultan retreated to Golconda fortress with his children and as much treasure he could gather. From his Golconda fortress Abdul Shah sent Mohammed Sultan not one but fifty doves with olive branches. Daily envoys carried presents (two hinders caskets of jewels, two elephants with silver howdahs and four horses with gold trappings) and all of Mir Jumlas property was restored.  But, nothing could be done until Aurangazeb arrived on February 6, 1656 AD.

Golconda’s official envoy now approached Dara Shikoh where emperors sense of justice was corroded by Prime Minister Sadullah Khan working in conjunction with Aurangazebs belligerent persuasions. Shah Jahan reflected and wrote Qutb Shah an imperial pardon at the price of indemnity, dispatching with robe of honor. But, the letter was sent via Aurangzeb, who with held communication. Sultanated queen mother soliciting peace, proposed heavy compensation and even a marriage arrangement between princess of Golconda house and Aurangazebs eldest son. But before this could proceed orders came from Shah Jahan’s himself to stop the siege of Golconda and withdraw immediately. Aurangzeb left Golconda on April 13, 1656 he remitted emperors pardon with robe of honor and an agreement stamped with impression of Shah Jahan’s hand dripped in vermilion. By way of consolation, Mohammad Sultan did marry Golconda princess and a grateful Mir Jumla offered gifts to Aurangzeb and presented Shahjahan Kohinoor diamond

1687 AD Second Seize : The Deccan viceroy Shajahan proposed to Mir Jumla that he hand over the Hyderabad and Karnatak to Mughal rule and then attack golconda from the south while Aurangzeb’s armies invaded  from the northwest. Mir Jumla accepted Aurangzeb offer and became  a collborator in a plan to invade Golconda.

In January 1687, After conquering two Muslim kingdoms, the Nizamshahis of Ahmednagar and the Adilshahis of Bijapur, Aurangzeb led his Mughal army against the Deccan Qutb Shahi ruler taking refuge in Golconda Fort. Aurangzeb had surrounded Golconda Fort and alongside about 100 cannons began siege operations.

General Dilir Khan was assigned to command the Matchlock Sepoys that tried to penetrate the defenses of Golconda Fort. In order to breach the granite walls of Golconda Fort, Firuz Jang was appointed to utilize the massive Rahban, Fateh Rahberand the cannon known as the Azhdaha-Paikar (python body). It had the ability to shoot cannonballs weighing over 50 kg. In response to the Mughal bombardment, Abul Hasan Qutb Shah fired from his high-vicinity mortar called the Pata Burj. According to Saqi Mustad Khan, bamboo rockets were also utilized day and night on Mughal encampments.

Ghaziuddin Khan Siddiqi Firuz Jang, son of Khwaja Abid Siddiqi Kilich Khan and father of Nizam I of Hyderabad, Qamaruddin Khan Siddiqi, was assigned to bombard the walls of the fort using almost 100 cannons.While Shaista Khan, Murshid Quli Khan and Ibrahim Khan commanded the rest of the army and it's reserves around Golconda Fort and throughout all the Qutb Shahi territory.

Death of Kilich Khan Khwaja Abid Siddiqi Mughal Commander

The intense cannon fire from Golconda Fort against the approaching Mughals eventually caused the death of the experienced Mughal commander Kilich Khan Khwaja Abid Siddiqi. Aurangzeb was furthermore grieved by the death of his long-time commander Gaziuddin Khan Siddiqi Bahadur Firuz Jang, who died of natural causes.

At night, the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb and his infantry of assembled and erected scaffolding that allowed them to scale the high walls. Aurangzeb also ordered his men to throw huqqa (grenades) while scaling the fortified wall and were reinforced by matchlocks and composite bows. While most of these attacks remained largely unsuccessful, they managed to demoralize the defenders of Golconda Fort.

Munnawar Khan Mughal Admiral

Assigned to deliver food and weapons to the besieging Mughal army. During the eight-month siege the Mughals faced small-scale famines, often for weeks at a time. Whenever the Mughal Admiral Munnawar Khan arrived with supplies and weapons with his river fleet, Aurangzeb would intensify the siege

Meanwhile, due to heavy rains, the Manjera River overflooded and the scarcity of food supplies became a severe complication, leading to the deaths of many animals and caused malnourished troops to get ill. Fearing a possible counterattack organized from the fort, Aurangzeb ordered the construction of a fortified position made of wood and mud, which would house and organize Mughal attacking parties.

Traitor Sarandaz Khan

September 22 1687 AD : The Siege of Golconda, ordered by Emperor Aurangzeb of India's Mughal Empire against the capital of the Golconda sultanate, ends after nine months when a traitor inside the walled city, Sarandaz Khan, opens the first of several entrances into the fortress. 

Surrender

The Sultan Abul Hasan Qutb Shah is taken prisoner by General Mir Shahabud-Din, and Golconda (now part of Hyderabad in the Telangana state) and Nur-Ul-Ain Diamond, Great Stone Diamond, Kara Diamond, Darya-e-Nur, the Hope Diamond, the Wittelsbach Diamond and the Regent Diamond.

The Golconda Sultanate was incorporated as a subah, or province of the Mughal Empire, called Hyderabad Subah.

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Tummalagudem Inscription

566 AD : Tummalagudem Inscription of Vikramendra Varman II (555 AD - 569 AD) in Nalgonda

Sanskrit and Southern Characters.

These records are present in Navodaya Samiti, Hyderabad. Both the Tumulaguda sets, written in Sanskrit language and Southern characters belong to the Vishnu Kundin dynasty. One of them, in characters of about the fourth-fifth centuries A.D., was issued in the thirty- seventh year of the reign of Maharaja Govindavarman, son of Maharaja Madhavavarman, and grandson of Maharaja Indra-varman. It records that the king granted two villages called Embudala and Penkapara to the vihara of the senior-queen (agra-mahishi) Parama-mahadevi. The other set refers itself to the reign of Vikramendra-bhattaraka Varman alias Uttamasraya and is dated in his eleventh regnal year and in Saka 488 (A.D. 566-67). It records the grant of the village Irundoro, by the king, to the same vihara built at Indrapura. It also refers to the defeat of the Pallava ruler Simha by Uttamasraya.

At the outset, many observed that in almost all the known records of the family where the name of royal house occurs outside the compounds, including the Sets under study, the dynasty is spelt only as Vishnukundinam which denotes the i-ending of the name. However, the respective editors of records have corrected into reading, into ondinam with n-ending, evidently to fall in line with "very incorrect" text of the Chikkulla plates. So herein after let us spell the name only Vishnukundi and not Vishnu Kundin, has been usually done.

Here he is referred to by his title Uttamasraya and is described as the son of Satyasraya which is apparently a title of Vikramendrabhatta rakavarman's father Indrabhattarakavarman. Then after praising the Vishnukundis to have got the authority to rule on account of their devotion to the god Sriparvatasvamin and to have the brilliance of both the Brahman (i.e., Brahmana) and Kshatra (i.e., Kshtriya), the section gives the royal genealogy. It is said that in the above family there was the Maharaja Govindavarman, a believer in the Sugatasasana (teachings of the Buddha) and a builder of many viharas (lines 3-6). His son Maharaja Madhavavarman was the performer of eleven Asvamedhas and other srauta sacrifices. He was also a ruler of all the land surrounded by the seas in the east, south and west and by the river Reva (i.e., Narmada) in the north (lines 6-9). This land is nothing but the Southern Chakravarti Kshetra. His son, through a Vakaṭaka princess, was the Maharaja Vikramendra (I), a mahakavi and Paramasaugata (follower of Buddhism lines 9-10). His son was Indrabhattarakavarman, the conqueror of the whole (of the Southern) Chakravartikshetra in many chaturdanta (four-tusked elephants) battles and the terror to all his dayadas or kinsmen (lines 10-13). His son was Vikramendrabhattarakavarman, the ruling monarch. He was enthroned by the prakriti-mandala (the council of ministers) even when he was a boy (saisava eva) (lines 13-16).

The second grant section records the following declaration monarch addressed to the future kings: It is stated here that on the Karttika ba. 8th his eleventh regnal year, while being in the Parama Bhattaraka-mahavihara, built by Paramabhattarikamahadevi, in Indrapura the king gifted away the village Irundora, evidently to the above vihara, for the enjoyment of the Buddhist monks. The above Paramabhattarika-mahadevi is described as the mother of Madhavaraja, noted for his aggressive conquests (lines 18-21); as a princess of the family of Prithvi Maharaja, the foremost among the feudatory families on account of its marital tie with the Vishnukundis (lines 21-24); and as the wife of Govindaraja, who had beautified the Deccan by building great stupas and viharas built in every-district, and who was the foremost among the past and future kings of the Sriparvata family (lines 24-29). The above is followed by the usual imprecatory passages (lines 34-41).

The last or the third section contains two verses. Of them the first tells us that the king Uttamasreva i.e., Vikramendrabhattarakavarman II issued the present edict in Saka year 488, when he came returning first to Sakrapura after crippling the Pallava king named Simha. In the second verse a certain Srimularaja, claiming to have restored the fallen fortunes of the family of the overlord i.e., Vikramendrabhaṭṭarakavarman, figures as the ajnapana or the executor of the charter.

There cannot be any doubt regarding the identity of the issues of the charter II. He was no other than the Vishnukundi king Vikramendravarman II, who issued the Chikkulla and Kandulapalem plates. As has been pointed out elsewhere, the above contents of these two charters show that the king Govindavarman, his queen Paramamahadevi, and the vihara built by her, all mentioned in Set I, were respectively identical with their respective counterparts mentioned in the grant portion of the Set II. Again the identity of the description and praise of Govindaraja in grant portion with that of Govindavarman in the genealogical account in the same Set II indicates that both the persons were identical. Then it would follow that Madhavaraja of the grant portion was also identical with Madhavavarman of the introductory part. 

It may be seen now that the king No. 4 viz., Madhavavarman II, the performer of 11 Asvamedhas etc., who was the grandfather of Indrabhattarakavarman (i.e. of the Ramathirtham plates) and the great-grandfather of No.7 Vikramendravarman II name (of the set II etc.,) had his grandfather in No. 2 by Madhavavarman. At the same time according to the list of the Vishnukundi kings given by the Polamuru plates Set I, the donor of that charter, viz., the king Madhavavarman Janasraya, who was also a performer of 11 Asvamedhas etc., had his grandfather whose name was Vikram Mahendra- (i.e., Vikramendra) Varman and not Madhavavarman. So, the king Madhavavarman the great grandfather of Vikramendra- Varman II was altogether different from his name sake of the Polamuru Set I though both claim to be the sons of their respective fathers both named Govindavarmans and to have performed equal number of same sacrifices, i.e., eleven Asvamedhas, thousand Agnishtomas etc. Thus, these present charters help us, to a considerable extent, in answering the vexed question of the Vishnukundi genealogy.

Similarly, by equating the Saka year 488 or 566-67 A.D., with the 11th regnal year of Vikramendra Varman II, the charter II helps us also in solving the much discussed problem of the Vishnu Kundi chronology. For, it assigns the accession of the above king to 555-56 A.D., and the reign of his father Indrabhattarakavarman to 526-56 A.D. So the reign periods of other earlier kings of the family can also be fixed now with certainty. Again, it is needless to point out that king Vikramendravarman II, ruling about 566 A.D., could not have been the adversary of the Chalukyas when they invaded and conquered the Vengi country about half a century later.

Moreover, by calling the Vishnukundi kings as Sriparvateyas of the kings belonging to the Sri Parvata, Set II gives us a clue to investigate the origin of the family. On the basis of this one may not be wrong to connect the Vishnukundis with the Sriparvatiya Andhras of the Puranas, though one need not enter now into the question whether the said Sriparvatiya Andhras were the Chutus or the Ikshvakus. Again, the reference to the Vishnukundis as having the qualities of both the Brahma and Kshatra throws light on the social status of the dynasty. The term Brahmakshatra is variously interpreted. However, it would be sufficient for us to bear in mind that Parasurama, who was a product of an intercaste marriage of the Brahmana sage, Jamadagni with a Kshatriya woman, Renuka is described by Kalidasa as having the qualities of both the castes. On the other hand, the Puranas give the name Brahmakshatra or Brahmanakshatriya to the descendants of a person who was born in a Brahmana family but was adopted subsequently to a family of the Kshatriyas.

Moreover, the description of Madhavavarman II and his grandson Indrabhattarakavarman as the suzerains of the Southern Chakravarttikshetra or the entire Deccan, though conventional to some extent, is no doubt interesting. For, after the Satavahanas it was only Madhavavarman II who seems to be the first king to claim such suzerainty.

Similarly, the titles Satyasraya of Indrabhattarakavarman and Uttamasraya of Vikramendravarman II are significant, though the Vishnukundi kings Govindavarman and Madhavavarman of the Polamuru plates (Set I) are already known to have had similar titles viz., Vikramasraya and Janasraya respectively. Perhaps Indrabhattarakavarman (526-56 AD) was the first known ruler to bear the title Satyairava. Another Sarvatraya viz., Pulakesi-I (535- 66 AD) was his younger contemporary. The other Satyasrayas like Pulakesi -II. Satyasraya Dhruvaraja Indravarman of the Goa plates, and others belonged to subsequent times.

Feudatory Prithivimula family
The reference to the chiefs of the Prithivimula family as the feudatories of the Vishnukundis is an important one. There can hardly be any doubt that the executor of the Set II viz., Srimularaja and Prithvi Mula or Prithivisrimula who issued the Godavari plates Set I and II, belonged to this family though one cannot be sure now, whether both of these chiefs were identical or not. However, it is certain that Prithivimula's adversary Indrabhatraraka referred to in the former's Godavari Set I was the Vishnukundi Indrabbattarakavarman. as Prof. Kielhorn suggested and not the Eastern Chalukya of that name, as Dr. Fleet thought earlier. The description of Indrabhattarakavarman's great grandmother as a princess of the Prithivimula family suggests that this family had a history much older than what we know at present.

The Buddhist nature of both the records under study and the description of Govindavarman and Vikramendravarman I as Buddhists seem to shed welcome light on the religious policy of the Vishnu Kundi monarchs, who are hitherto known only as Saivites and as the followers of the Vedic religion.

This suggestion seems to get some support from the unusually long chain of epithets of Govindavarman, running over ten lines, the complete silence about Sriparvatasvamin, the god of the king's family, the stress on the king's leaning towards the Buddhist religion, the glorification of the Buddha and the Buddhist clergy, and the excessive use of the Buddhist technical terms in this context.

Indrapura also called Sakrapura
Of the geographical units mentioned in the records the city Indrapura also called Sakrapura where Govindavarman's queen had built a monastery is to be identified with Indrapala Gutta area near Tummalagudem the findspot of the charter about five miles from Ramannapeta (17° 15' Lat. 79° 15' Long.). May be, the city was founded by and named after Govindavarman's grandfather Indravarman. Of the two gift villages of the Set I viz., Ermbadala and Prenkapara, the former may be identified with the modern Yerra Baliguda (17° 35' Lat., 79° 40' Long.) and the latter with Pankabanda (17° 25' Lat., 79°45' Long.) or Pankara (17° 45' Lat., 79° 45' Long). The gift village Irundoga of Set II is difficult to identify.

Set-I Translation

(Line 1): Success! Hail: Victory is achieved by that most enlightened Bhagavat, the very embodiment of pity, by whom the path for attaining salvation is shown to the pious.

(Line 13): On the Full-moon day of the month Vaisakha in the thirty seventh year of the increasingly victorious rule of his own, by the illustrious Maharaja Govindavarman;

(Lines 2-3): Who was the ornament to the whole of the spotless great family of the Vishnu Kundi kings who had the treasure of multitude of virtues like energy, truthfulness, sacrifice, noble descent, wisdom, discipline, perseverance; who got (their) kingdom by their own effort; who had then displayed their excellent great fame by properly governing (their) subjects;

(Line 4): (by Govindavarman) who was an excellent grandson of the illustrious Maharaja Indravarman, and an excellent son of the illustrious Maharaja Madhavavarman;

(Lines 5-12): (by Govindavarman) who carved out his own kingdom by dint of his own wisdom, power of arms, perseverance, might and affection; who had penetrated into the heart of the kingdoms of other chiefs by means of (his) heroism, intelligence and strength, whom all the castes, asramas, kinsmen and servants loved, because of (his) gifts and honour etc; who had gifted away thousands of villages, cultivable lands, gold, elephants, horses, cows, bulls, beds, seats, vehicles, drink, food, habitations, clothes, ornaments, virgin girls, and maid and male servants; who had embellished all the quarters by constructing afresh many temples, monasteries, halls, drinking (water) houses, ponds, wells and gardens and by keeping (the old ones) in good repair; whose collection of rich wealth, lawfully acquired was being enjoyed well by the monks, the Brahmanas, the helpless, the beggars, the sick, the depressed and the wretched; who had sacrificed over and again all his wealth; who had an unique eye (for the perception of things both) in this world as well as in the other on account of his learning and through knowledge of the important of all the scriptures; who was a good asylum of the scholars, warriors and persons of noble birth; and who had developed, in his mind, the thoughts of great enlightenment for saving all the creatures.

(Line 20); who was desirous of creating a material thing (i.e. a gift) as a token of meritorious action (i.e. a gift) which could be gifted away and enjoyed, in favour the assembly of the noble ones the four quarters;

(Line 18-19) that travels by three vehicles (or paths) that very unsurpassed (rich) field of merits because of the group of virtues, such absence of likes and dislikes, moral principles principles, discipline, the practice of asceticism the study and hearing and application of, and meditating upon, the Buddhist preaching, the meditation the intense Self-contemplation, and the attainment (of all the stages of the samadhi); and that has entered into the path of the Budha,

(Line 13-18) who had perfect enlightenment through the uninterrupted and faultless knowledge of all things; who had desire, hatred, delusion and the miseries of birth and death; accumulated loads of innumerable equipments of merit and wisdom, gathered during many ages of the world for uplift of all creatures drowned the multifarious miseries like birth, old age, death, sorrow etc., (resulting from) the continued process of transmigration; who was distinguished by the thirty-two characteristic signs of great men (indicating perfection) and was adorned by the eighteen-fold special characteristics of the enlightened; and who mastered the four subjects of confidence and had ten-fold forces;

(Lines 21-23) for alleviating all miseries of poverty of all beings and of his own father. and mother and for (maintaining) the continuity of the roots of merits like (supplying) lamps, incenses, sandals, flowers, flags, drinks, food, beds, seats, medicines for the sick and for repairing the dilapidations and the decay of the monastery of Paramamahadevi, his own queen:

(Lines 23-24) were gifted away (by Govindavarman), by pouring water, the two villages named Ermadala and Penkaparu together with their treasures on and under the ground together with the right to punish (culprits), to collect taxes, to get free labour and with (right for) the payment of the bhaga and bhoga abandoned by himself (i.e. the king).

(Lines 25-26) (These villages are free from the entry of the officers) like charas, bhatas, dutas, vallabhas and rajapurushas; and are liberated with all exemptions (from taxes) and they are to be protected and augmented by the kings born of the Vishnukundi family.

(Lines 26-28) The (original) decree is restored. The five great sins (fall on one's head) if the decree is violated. And on the transgression of (this) decree, one would consume the result of (one's own) evil deeds both in the hell full of endless miseries and also in the births of the animals and ghosts.

(Lines 28-32) On this subject there are (the following) verses sung by Manu. (Here occur three customary imprecatory verses).

(Line 32) May the order of the Vishnukundis govern the earth as long as the Meru and the sea exist on the earth and the moon, the sun and the god of wind in heaven!

Set-2 Translation

(Line 1): That glorious Uttamasraya son of Satyasraya is victorious, by the splendour of whom-as brilliant as the young sun-the circle of quarter is pervaded.

(Line 2): Prosperity!

(Lines 13-16): The glorious Vikramendrabhaṭṭarakavarman, the pair of whose excellent feet is illuminated by the rays of the gems on the diadems of many bowing chiefs; who is extremely righteous and is a righteous conqueror; on whom the burden of the kingdom is imposed, even at the time of childhood, by the council of ministers on account of his wealth of all virtues of royal saints and the unique valour worthy of him (i.e. his father Indrabhattarakavarman); and who is the beloved son.

(Lines 10-13): of the glorious Indrabhattarakavarman, who completely destroyed the veil of the dense darkness in the form of all (his) kinsmen by means of the lustre of the sun which his own hand surrounded by rows of hands that held (and rows of the rays in the form of) glittering swords who acquired the rulership of all the Chakravartikshetra by means of victories over innumerable four-tuskes (elephants in the battles) and who was the son.

(Lines 9-10): of the glorious Vikramendra who was a great poet and was a devout worshipper of Sugata (the Buddha); who was the son of the great queen of (the family of) the Vakataka; and who was the beloved son.

(Line 9.6) of the Maharaja glorious Madhavavarman, who was the lord of the earth adorned with the circle (and, bracelet) of the waters of the Reva as well as of the oceans of the east, south and west, who carried out the performance of all difficult desire-fulfilling rites (like) eleven Asvamedhas, Bahusuvarna. Rajasaya. Purushamedha, etc., which he performed well every day and which are ordained in the Sruti; and who was the son.

(Lines 3-6): of the Maharaja glorious Govindavarman who acquired a lot of inexhaustible best merit by establishing big monasteries whose great and varied beauties vied with (those of) the mansions of gods; who had faith in Sugatsa`s (Buddha`s) instruction born out of compassion of Shadabhijna (the Buddha) in (delivering) sermons with the miracle of mind-reading; (and who belonged to the family).

(Lime 2-3): of the Vishnukundis, who, like Vishnu, have got the wealth of valour and political wisdom; who bear the brilliance of (both) the Brahman and Kshatra; and who have acquired the right of protecting subjects, through (their) meditation on the feet of the glorious holy Lord of the Sri Parvata;

(Lines 16-18); Inferius as follows - after duly honouring all the future saint-kings, the ornaments of the families of his own and of others:-

(Lines 29-30): “In the glorious Paramabhattarikamahavihara bounded by Paramabhaṭṭārika-mahadevi as if she was desirous of highly beautifying the glorious Indrapura;

(Lines 18-21): "who gave birth under the pretext of a son, to the (very) heap of virtue (like) political wisdom, endowed with charming personality, bearing the glorious name Madhavaraja and having an unsurpassed might manifest in forcibly seizing the royal seats (i.e. cities) that had been completely beneficial to other royal families reputed might;

(Lines 21-24): "who (Parama Bhattaraka Mahadevi), taking birth, adorned the Sri- Prithivimula family-just Sri (Lakshmi) (did) the ocean-which, abundance of rays lights causes extensive quarters space to shine; whose greatness manifest in (its) honourable and unique marriage-relationship the Vishnukundi family; and (therefore) whose noble descent stands in the foremost the families all feudatories;

(Lines 24-29): "on account whom (Parama Bhattaraka Mahadevi) the glorious Govindaraja resembling Govinda (Vishnu) by virtues, beauty and wealth, did not crave for Sri (goddess Lakshmi) having corporeal body (Govindaraja), who gave rise to the fame that resembled kaustubha gem that shines uniquely centre at the centre of the necklace in form of the row kings of the past and future of the family (sprung) from Sri Parvata; and who beautified the whole of the Dakshinapatha by the highly varied attractive and sublime works viz., the wonderful stupas and monasteries (built) in every district;

(Line 30-33): "on eleventh year of the increasingly victorious reign, on the eighth lunar day of the dark fortnight of the month of Kartika, village named Irundora gifted by us with the exemption from all obstacles and with the constituents of the gift (or with custom-duties) the enjoyment the universal congregation best (Buddhist) monks.

(Lines 34-36): “(this gift) may also be well protected by all the sage-kings following (the path) of the sruti, smriti and sadachara. Whosever, being victim of greed, carelessness, or the wickedness of his mean servants, proceeds on (gift) with a view to destroy the charity, to him will accrue these sins enjoined smritis".

(Lines 36-41): [Here there are three the usual imprecatory verses].

(Lines 41-44) : "Having made the Pallava named Simha as weak as a fragment of the sprout and having returned back and come first to Sakrapura, the king widely known as Uttamasraya, issued this edict when four hundred and eighty-eight years of the lord of the Sakas have elapsed.

(Lines 44-45): The ajnapana (of this charter) is that Srimularaja who is born of a reputed family; who is the foremost among the kings; and by whom the down-fallen fortune of the family of the overlord is restored by means of political wisdom and valour".

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Penjerla Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple

Penjerla Swayambhu Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy is a Hindu Temple is located in Penjerla village, Kothur Mandal, Ranaga Reddy district, Telangana State, India.

Svayambhu or Swayambhu is a Sanskrit word that means "self-born", "self-manifested", "self-existing", or "that that is created by its own accord". 

Timings : 7 AM to 1 PM and 4 PM to 7 P

Address
4836+VJG, Penjerla, Shamshabad, Hyderabad

Contact
+91 90106 14354
penjerlasriananthapadmanabha@gmail.com

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Sirnapalli Samsthanam

Sirnapalli Samsthanam is located in Nizamad district.

Sirnapally Waterfalls, Janaki Bai Waterfalls or Telangana Niagara Waterfalls are located at Sirnapally village in Indalwai Mandal. It is 20 kilometres from Nizamabad, Telangana.

Seelam/Sheelam Raja Ramalinga Reddy 

Seelam Janaki Bai 

Wife of Raja Ramalinga Reddy and Rani of Sirnapalli
Seelam Janaki built a pond that flows into Ramadugu Project. She constructed multiple ponds, including Manchippa Cheruvu (Pond) for drinking water.

Raja Narsa Goud (1866-1948) was a philanthropist known for his significant contributions to charities, especially those caring for people with leprosy. Raja Narsa Goud paid for the construction of the first water tank in Nizamabad and for further plumbing works with Cheelam Janakibai, head of Sirnapalli. Goud accepted the title of Raja, bestowed by Mir Osman Ali Khan. King George V gave a medal to Goud during a 1930 visit, in recognition of his service to his community. Raja Narsa Goud died on 4 April 1948 at the age of 82. His death occurred during the Standstill Agreement when Razakars paramilitaries were active. Goud's family were nervous of taking his body to the crematorium for fear of encountering violence, but Muslims that they met along the way helped to carry Narsa Goud's body with them, in respect for Goud's support of people of different castes and creeds.

Seelam Ram Boopal Reddy was a retired IAS officer.

Son of Raja Ramalinga Reddy 

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Medak or Papannapet Samsthanam

Papannapet Samsthanam was vassal of Nizam of Hyderabad. It was part of undivided Medak district of Telangana state. The rulers of this Samsthanam had marital relations with famous Gadwal Samsthanam. Popular rulers of Samsthanam were Rai Bagan Maharani Shankaramma and Raja Sadashiva Reddy.

Erstwhile Papannapet Samsthanam covered almost entire undivided Medak district. In the history it was said as part of Andhol Rajyam with 24 paraganas.

Ramayampet is the only biggest village in the erstwhile taluk and is a good business centre . It is famous for the manufacture of brass and silver - ware , wooden furniture and statues .It is famous for the manufacture of brass and silver ware , wooden furniture and for carving statues.

Raminayudu 

1547 AD : Allamreddy Chowdari

1632 AD - 1650 AD : Sadashiva Reddy 

Andole was the capital and Sadashiva Reddy was the 5th ruler in the hierarchy of Raminedu. 

1680 AD -1692 AD : Rani Lingayamma daughter of Sadashiva Reddy

Sadasivapet, a town in Sangareddy district of Telangana, was planned on the basis of ‘Sarvatobhadra’ town design. Sarvatobhadra is typically suited for big towns and villages, where the site selected for planning a town/village is a square

This town conceived and founded by Rani Lingayamma daughter of Sadashiva Reddy (1632-1650) during her regime between 1680-1692. Raminedu, one of the ancestors of Sadashiva Reddy was gifted Kalpagooru Pargana by Sultan Ferosah of Bahmani Sultanate during 1400 – 1450 AD after the downfall of Padmanayaka Kings, who ruled the present Medak area.

1720 AD - 1760 AD : Ramadurga Venkata Narasimha Reddy

1760 AD - 1764 AD : Rani Lingayamma II

After the demise of Raja Narasimha Reddy in 1760, the power of Samsthanam went to in to the hands of Rani Lingayamma II (1760-64) with the prevailing political situations. 

1764 AD - 1774 AD : Rai Bagan Maharani Shankaramma (1702 - 1774)

When Peshwa of Maratha Empire invaded Nizam's territory, Rani Shankaramma countered them, for which she was honoured with Rai Bagan (Royal Tigress) title and was restored to power as Rani of Samsthanam in 1764. She then built Sangareddi, named after her father Sanga Reddy Rajampet, named after her mother Rajamma.

Daughter of Sanga Reddy and Rajamma. She was born in 1702 at Gaudicherla Village. The ruler of Papannapet Samsthanam Ramadurga Venkata Narasimha Reddy (1720-1760) married her for her bravery. She then built Sangareddi, named after her father Sanga Reddy Rajampet, named after her mother Rajamma. She was also credited with the building of Shankarampet after her name and Papannapet named after Merelli Papanna. 

In the history Rani Shankaramma was compared with Rani Ahilya Bai and Rani Rudrama Devi by historians for her administrative skills and valour. She was credited with agricultural development such as constructing ponds and was regarded as a social reformer for her acts of making Neerudi Papanna, a dalit as commander. Many folkloric stories were sung describing her valour.

She adopted Sadashiva Reddy who married Parvathi Devi, daughter of Gadwal Samsthanam ruler Somanatha Bhupala. Sadashivapet was named after her adopted son Raja Sadashiva Reddy. Rani Shankaramma died in 1774. 

1774 AD - 1795 AD : Raja Sadashiva Reddy

1780 AD : Went to see Bhagyanagar (Hyderabad)

1795 AD : Ali Jah rose in revolt against his father Nizam Ali Khan, the second Asaf Jah, with the help of Sadasiva Reddy the Medak Jagirdar. Nizam Ali Khan despatched Raymond, a french Commander to proceed against the rebels and subdue them. The Nizam’s army came and pitched their tents at the village of `Chickrin’ and Sadasiva Reddy also went to that place at the head of an army not to fight but to offer his submission. He was, however, suspected and captured while attending the durbar., In the meanwhile, Ali Jah died and Medak was granted to Raymond. Though there was a protest by the British against this grant, no attention was paid to this protest and Raymond took possession of Medak and other areas held by Sadasiva Reddy and he had to pay sixteen lakhs of rupees annually as rent for these areas. This arrangement continued until the death of Raymond in 1798.

Raja Durga Reddy 

Narayana Reddy

Raja Ramachandra Reddy Bahadur

merged into Hyderabad State in 1948, during the rule of Raja Ramachandra Reddy Bahadur.

The history of Samsthanam is in circulation under the names "Andhol Rajula Charitra", "Medak Rajula Charitra", and "Rangampeta Charitra"

https://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Telangana/2017-03-18/Sadasivpet-A-unique-ancient-town/287741#

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Bonalu

Bonalu is a folk festival for Mother Goddess, which is very famous and people love to celebrate this festival during rainy season month of Ashada around July/August and goes on usually for twenty-two days. A minimum of twenty days is conceptually required to fulfil the promises given to mother goddess by carrying out pooja on the very first day and last day.

Bonalu derived from Bhojanalu meaning food, which is offered to mother goddess. Bonalu involves the worship of Mother Goddess in regional forms like Gangalamma, Ellamma/Yellamma, Mutyalamma, Mallanna, Maisamma, Peddhamma, Dokkalamma, Ankalamma, Poleramma, Maremma, Nookalamma and Samakka and Pochamma.

Women carrying Bonalu are believed to possess the spirit of Mother Goddess, and when they go towards the temple, people pour water on their feet to pacify the spirit, who is believed to be aggressive. Every group of devotees offer a Thottelu (a small colorful, paper structure supported by sticks), as a mark of respect to the goddess.

According to mythology, Potharaju the brother of the Mother Goddess. His role is played in the procession by a well-built, bare-bodied man, wearing a small tightly draped red dhoti, bells on his ankles, and anointed with turmeric on his body and vermilion on his forehead. He dances to resounding drums in the procession. Potharaju always dances in front of the Palaharam Bandi, i.e., the procession. He is considered the initiator of the festivities and the protector of the community. He leads the female dancers who are under the spell of the Mother Goddess (known as shigam) to the temple, with lashing whips and emerald neem leaves (margosa) tied around their waists, accompanied by trumpets and drums.

A non-vegetarian family feast follows after the great offering. The meat used to prepare the meal is the meat of a goat or a rooster, that has been ceremonially slaughtered, and later partaken as a meal. Peasants take whatever food they can as a display of affection to the earth goddess and eat it later. Toddy (palm wine) workers also offer toddy which they tap for their livelihood. There is no special scriptural mandate on what has to be offered. As per tradition, offerings are made to the goddess which consists of toddy, along with fowls, sheep and goat. Animals killed for community meals are not considered sacrifices.

Rangam (or Performing the Oracle), is held the next morning of the festival. A woman standing atop of an earthen pot invokes Goddess Mahakali onto her and performs the custom. She foretells the year ahead for the devotees asking about the future. This takes place before the procession is started

The prominent temples in the Secunderabad "Lashkar Bonalu" include Sri Ujjaini Mahakali Devasthanam, Sri Gandimaissamma Temple, Sri Devi Pochamma Temple, Sri Muthyalamma Temple, Sri Peddamma Temple, Sri Dokkalamma Temple, Sri Muthyalamma Temple, and Sri Peenugula Mallanna Temple, among others. Out of these temples, Sri Ujjaini Mahakali Temple, and Sri Devi Pochamma Temple are government temples, government officials and legislators also visit and take part in the festivities.

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Kinnera

Kinnera is a two-stringed instrument made using indigenous materials like bamboo, dried outer shell of round bottle gourd, honeycomb, bull horn, beads, mirrors and peacock feathers.

Scholar and poet Jayadhir Thirumala Rao says that the origins of the kinnera can be traced back to “around the 4th century AD, in and around the Deccan plateau”. “The Chenchu tribe [also known as Chenchus or Chenchulu], who were part of the Nallamalla forest, used to play the instrument while singing and narrating ballads or stories of heroes,” said Rao. “The Dakkali tribe of Mahbubnagar district in Telangana [in the area near the Nallamalla forest] was performing it at least from the 12th century. The Dakkalis are a sub-caste of the Madiga caste, once considered outcastes.”

The kinnera has several variations – it comes with seven, nine, 12 or 13 frets. The larger-sized ones have three resonators, while the smaller ones have only two. Much like the Saraswati veena, the instrument is made with organic materials. Its neck is crafted of bamboo, and the resonators from sun-dried and hollowed-out bottle gourds. Pangolin scales are used for the frets, and honey wax for binding. The strings were once fashioned out of women’s hair, horse-tail hair and even animal nerves, but have long been replaced with thin metallic strings.

The ballads accompanying the music are usually drawn from historical incidents, the lives of local heroes, and sometimes songs from the Jamba Puranam. The Jamba Puranam is one of around 40 Puranas in Telugu that differ from the Sanskrit Puranas, in that their content is specific to a local community. The ballads are often interspersed with simple and short, often dramatic, monologues. The tone of voice, facial expressions and body language change with the song’s mood.

Padma Shri Darshanam Mogilaiah (born in 1951) also known as Kinnera Mogulaiah, is an artist from Ausalikunta, Lingal mandal, Nagarkurnool district, Telangana State, India is one among a few surviving performers of a tribal musical instrument known by the name Kinnera. Mogulaiah learned the art of playing kinnera from his father Yellaiah.

He has had not much formal education and has had no steady job with an assured income. He has seen much hardships and his life had been very difficult eking out a living doing odd jobs like a daily wager in construction sites. He had worked as a laborer for 14 years in Adilabad, Karimnagar and Warangal. He had also worked at a construction site in Mumbai.

Mogilaiah's forefathers were pioneers in making and playing kinneras having different numbers of stairs. His father had made a nine-stair kinnera. Mogilaiah was the first person to create a 12-stair kinnera and he is the only artist who makes and plays the 12-step kinnera. In the year 2022, Govt of India honoured him with the Padma Shri award for his contributions as a kinnera musician.

He received the state’s highest honours, the Ugadi Puraskaram, in 2015. There is even a chapter on him in a social studies school textbook. Another member of the Dakkali tribe, Pochayya, who hails from the Mahabubnagar district, was honoured by the University of Hyderabad in 2015.

But such honours and awards have failed to make a difference in the lives of these artists. Their performances are few and far between – at the occasional academic meet or art festivals – and remuneration has been dwindling. Most of them are forced to live off the doles from the Madigas.

Dakkali Balamma, the only woman perfomer of the kinnera, is 95 years old. The only proof of the umbilical connection between the Chenchu tribal. When Balamma was younger, the residents of her village said, she would ride around on a horse, much to the awe of her Dakkali tribe. Her voice, at the time, was more powerful, and her impressive performances with the kinnera in the district’s villages were rewarded with money, food and clothes by the Madigas, the patron class. Fortunes changed with time. By the time Balamma died in December 2018, she was penniless. The villagers had to pool in money for her last rites.

Balamma was among the dozen or so people in India still playing the instrument. The kinnera is a stringed instrument native to the nomadic tribes in the Deccan plateau, such as the Dakkali and the Chenchu. A kinnera performance involves vocals and music, and the ballads are sung primarily in rustic Telugu. But today, it is an all but forgotten practice.

Panduga Sayanna-The Robinhood of Telangana

Even after 125 years, when Dakkali Folk artists narrate the heroic tale of Pandugolla Sayanna still reverberates and echoes in the villages in Wanaparthy and one can visualize Sayanna before them when the Dakkali folk artist narrates the story using a Kinnara instrument.

Panduga Sayanna was a hero of the poor who fought against the feudal society and atrocious rule of the Deshmukhs, Patels and Zamindars, who fleeced the poor and tortured the Dalits and downtrodden classes during the period of Nizam rule between 1980 and 1900.

A few Scholars called Pandugolla Sayanna a Social Bandit. Others called him as Robinhood of Telangana. Few others went to the extent of calling him a Revolutionary Hero.

Common people opined that Pandugolla Sayanna was neither a thief nor a bandit. He was the “Hero” of the poor people. He was a brave and heroic man who saved and reinstated poor people’s health, wealth, and lives. They considered him as their own “blood relative”.

Pandugolla Sayanna was born in a Meruginipalle village in Palamoor (Mahaboobnagar). He was born into a “Tenuga” family. (Tenuga meaning person engaging in maintaining gardens, gardening work, and related works) on Muharram day. His parents could not afford to send him to school due to acute poverty. He was thus engaged in the family occupation.

As per the Dakhali folk artists' narration, it is believed that Sayanna was 6” feet and had a strong build physique. He had a long and sharp nose and a dark bushy mustache that he used to curl and extend to both ears. In due course, Sayanna built up relationships with Telugu Narasamma, a beautiful woman who became his companion too. She fell for his “Pedikadu nadumu” meaning, his waist measured one fist- to say, he had a slender waist and broad built-up shoulders measuring three fists. To say, Pandugolla Sayanna was well-built and handsome.

Just the mention of his name sent cold shivers to Nizam rulers and district officials. In order to capture Pandugolla Sayanna red handed “qufiya police” became shadow followers. Jamindar Venkata Reddy built up enmity with Pandugolla Sayanna and also intended to take revenge for his actions.

However, one fine day Pandugolla Sayanna was captured by Qufiya police with great difficulty with the support of landlords, and other wealthy people who intended Sayana’s captivity and remanded him in an Iron cage. Even after capturing and deploying him in an iron cage, police feared touching or going near Pandugolla Sayanna.

Rani Shankarama (1840-1912) of Vanaparthi Samasthana with soft corner was ready to pay a sum of Rs 10, 000/- (amount equivalent to the looted amount by Sayanna) to the police.

https://scroll.in/magazine/905049/fading-sounds-an-indian-musical-instrument-with-a-rich-history-is-on-the-cusp-of-extinction

https://sphoorthi-theatre.blogspot.com/2012/09/telangana-robin-hood-pandugolla-sayanna.html

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Natavati or Natavadi Chiefs

1104 AD - 1269 AD : Natavadi Chiefs

Capital : Madapalle / Madhira (Khammam district, Telangana), Nandigama (NTR district, AP)

Madapalle, Madhira (Khammam, Telangana) is part of Natavadi Vishaya and extended until Nidikonda, Raghunathpalle, Jangoan district at some time.

The Natavadi records are at Nidikonda, Tripurantakam, Draksharama and Simhachalam.

Beta Kshanipalaka

Inigurthi Inscription

Muppabhupa
Kakatiya Prola II (1116-1157 CE) married Muppmamba daughter of Natavadi King Muppa Bhopal

1104 AD - 1157 AD : Durga or Duggabhupa or Natavadi Duggaraja
Durga was the founder of the kingdom of the Natavadis and its first ruler. He issued records of him own. His earliest inscription is from Nidikonda in Raghunathpalle, Jangaon district dated in the cyclic year Tarana and the 29th year of C.V. era. Corresponding to December 24, 1104 A.D. Durga is mentioned as Dugga and Duggarasa in the record and as Duggabhupathi in the Inugurti record of his son Buddha. He bore the epithets—Mandalika and Nathavatidhatnnatha. 

1117 AD : Feudatory of Vikramaditya VI

The Nidikonda inscription definitely shows that Dugga was a subordinate of Vikramaditya VI of the Chalukyas of Kalyani, spoken of, as a greater warrior and conqueror of many fortresses, Durga must have served Tribhuvanamallavikramaditya VI in his wars faithfully and was bestowed with the rulership over Natavadivishaya with its capital at Madapalle. It has been said that “this (Nidikonda) inscription is the only definite evidence of the actual extent of the Western chalukya kingdom about this time. “Durgaraja’s loyalty to the Chalukyas might have continued throughout the reigns of Vikramaditya VI and Somesvara III till about AD. 1140 as the chalukyan power prevailed in Vengi up to that date.

In A.D. 1157 as seen from a record at Navepotavaram (Bezvada taluq) Prodamadevi made grants for the merit of her deceased husband—Durgaraja. This Durgaraja, was probably Natavadi Durga and consequently his reign lasted up to A.D. 1157.

1157 AD - 1201 AD : Buddharaja

Buddha was the son and successor of Durga and had a reign of forty-six years from A.D. 1157 to 1201 when he was succeeded by his second son Rudra, which suggests that his eldest son predeceased him. Buddha is known from the records of his successors. His only record is from Inugurti, removed from the wall in the old fort and now preserved in the local Vishnu temple, mentioning Betakshompalaka, Durgabhupati and Buddha kshompati.

Buddha acknowledged the supremacy of the Kakatiyas under Rudradeva which is attested by his Inugurti stone inscription mentioning Rudradeva and his general Sikhmayaka ruling over Natavadi simha.

The Kundavaram inscription says that Mahadeva married his daughter Kundamika to Rudradeva son of Buddha As for the date, the cyclic year Pramadi is given. This measure of alliance speaks for the political wisdom of Buddha and Mahadeva, for it eliminated any fear for the Natavadis from the Kakatiyas.

Buddha maintained amicable relations with Ganapati, the son and successor of Mahadeva. We may note that Natavadi Buddha cannot have had any relationship with Buddha, the author of Ranganatharamayana, for chronology is against it, as Gona Buddha lived fifty year after the Natavadi Buddha,

The Chagis claim lordship over Natavadivishaya, as is evidenced from their inscriptions. Buddha must have been on friendly terms with the Chagis, and the Kona kandravadis.

1201 AD - 1248 AD : Natavadi Rudra

Natavadi Rudra also known as Vakkadimalla Rudra , the son of Buddharaja

1201 AD : Natavadi prince , Vakkadimalla Rudra found in the Kanakadurga mantapa at the foot of the Indrakila hill and dated A.D. 1201 , indicates the presence of Natavadi troops and presumably also those of the Kakatiyas in the city at that time

The Kundavaram inscription says that Mahadeva married his daughter Kundamika to Rudradeva son of Buddha. Rudra’s earliest inscription is from Bezwada dated A.D. 1201 mentioning him as the brother-in-law (marundi) of Ganapati of the Kakatiyas. 

Rudra I was the greatest of the Natavadis. His prasasti is imperialistic and indicative of independent rule. His reign lasted for a period of forty seven years from A.D. 1201 to 1248 when he was succeeded by his son and successor Rudradeva II.

His next inscription also from Bezwada dated A.D. 1205 mentions him as Natavadi Rudra, and his father Budhaaraja. 

Rudra’s inscription from Tripurantakam dated A.D. 1209 is issued in the reign of Ganapati of the Kakatiyas. It mentions the king as Vakkadimalla Rudra the second son of Buddha and his queen as Melambika / Mailamba, the sister of Ganapati of the Kakatiyas. 

No doubt Vakkadimalla Rudra and Rudra I are identical. Rudra’s Amaravati record dated A D.1234 mentions Bayyalamahadevi, the queen of Kota Keta III and daughter of Natavadi Rudra. 

Rudra’s last inscription is from Tripurantakam dated A.D. 1242. Two inscriptions of the reign, one incomplete and the other undated from Tripurantakam and Nudurupadu respectively mention Vakkadimallarudra devamaharaja, queen Mailala mahadevi and Bayyaladevi Yammangaru and her daughter. A record at Mudunur mentions kma Rudra, lord of Nathavati, his queen Kundamba, daughter of Mahadeva of the Kakatiyas, their son king Mahadeva and his queen Mahadevi. Though no records of Rudra after A.D. 1242 are available, his reign may have extended up to A.D. 1248—the earliest date of his sons.

Natavadi Rudra had founded the Village Buddhapura after his name by clearing the forest and furnished it with a tank

1248 AD - 1269 AD - Rudradeva II

Natavadi Dorapanayaka was ruling in Bezawada



https://www.wisdomlib.org/south-asia/book/the-history-of-andhra-country/d/doc219781.html

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