PRATAPARUDRA DEVA:
Prataparudra -II succeeded his grandmother Rudramba in A.D.1295 and ruled till A.D.1323. He was the grandson of Rani Rudramadevi, but adapted him as her son on the advise of her father as she was not having her own son. According to the kaifiats found in Rayalaseema Kakatiya Prataparudra was an important ruler. In some records he was mentioned as Prataparudra Maharaja. . He is one of the most important and notable rulers of the Kakatiya dynasty. He was the last ruler of Kakatiya dynasty. Prataparudra-II ( Virarudra ) is one among the three greatest rulers of Kakatiya dynasty rulers. The other two were Prataparudra - I (Rudradeva) and Rudramadevi.
Rudramadevi died in the month of November, 1289 CE., fighting battle against the rebel Kayastha chief Ambadeva. On the death of Rudrama, her grandson Prataparudra, who was adopted by her as son and as heir apparent on the advice of her father Ganapatideva, ascended the throne at the beginning of the year 1280 CE. Prataparudra had to fight battles throughout his reign against either the internal rebels or the external foes.
A number of accounts states that Prataparudra began his rule in Dharanikota, an ancient town in Guntur distrct, before moving to Warangal It clearly indicates that kakatiyas ruled coastal Andhra and Rayalseema region uniting the entire Telugu country. King Erikal Mutthuraju, who ruled parts of Rayalaseema around 575 A.D, could be from the same Erukala tribe to which Kakatiyas are said to belong. He pushed the western border of his kingdom up to Medak and Raichur. In the reign of Kakatiya Prataparudra II, the Nellore region became part and parcel of the Kakatiya empire and lost its political significance.
In the latter half of 13th century, the Cuddapah district fallen in to the hands of Ambadeva who had temporarily usurped the Kakatiya crown and ruled from Vallur, 15 Kms. from Cuddapah. Kakatiya King Prataparudra succeeded this throne after death of Ambadeva and ruled the district with Warrangal as the Capital during the opening of 14th century.
Administration
He introduced many administrative reforms. He divided the kingdom into 77 Nayakships. Some of these reforms were later adopted in the Vijayanagar empire. He was one of the first Telugu kings who defended the Telugu country from the onslaught of Muslim invaders. It was only after the death of Prataparudra that Muslims could enter into Telugu lands to rule the Telugu people.
Historians of the Southern Nayaks note that the Palaiyakkarar system might have originated from the Kakatiya dynasty's model by Prataparudra, who similarly divided his kingdom among 77 Padmanayakas. Palaiyakkarar is the head of Palayam (a fortified district) of the Madurai Nayak kingdom.
Fight against Muslim invaders
In A.D.1303, the Delhi Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji sent an army to plunder the kingdom. But Prataparudra defeated them at Upparapalli in Karimnagar district. In A.D. 1310, when another army under Malik Kafur invaded Warangal and indulged in murder and mayhem around the fort, it prompted King Prataparudra to make a pact and offer an enormous amount of tribute.In A.D.1318, when Ala-ud-din Khilji died, Prataparudra withheld the tribute and asserted his independence in 1320 CE. . It provoked another invasion of the Muslims. In A.D.1321, Ghiaz-ud-din Tughlaq sent a large army under Ulugh Khan to conquer the Telugu country then called Tilling. He laid siege to Warangal, but owing to internal dissensions he called off the siege and returned to Delhi. Within a short period, he came back with a much bigger army. In spite of unpreparedness, Prataparudra fought bravely. For want of supplies, he surrendered to the enemy who sent him to Delhi as a prisoner, and he died on the way. King Prataparudra, who was taken as prisoner committed suicide by drowning himself in the river Narmada while being taken to Delhi.Thus ended the Kakatiya rule, opening the gates of the Telugu land to anarchy and confusion yielding place to an alien ruler. After Prataparudra got defeated and committed suicide, Tughlak appointed some muslim governers to rule erst while Kakateeya ruled regions. This was the first appearance of Muslims in the Deccan.
Hakka & Bukka in the Royal court of Parataparudra
Harihara and Bukka had held important posts under Kakatiya Prataparudra, before they founded the Vijayanagar kingdom on the banks of Tungabhadra at hampi. According to some historians Harihara and Bukka were the guards of the treasury of the Kakatiya . Robert Sewell considered various such theories and concluded that Harihara and Bukka were treasury officers of kuruba caste.
Kurubas are a branch or variants of Kurumba Erukalas who specialised to handle the animal herds in royal courts. Racially, the Gaikwads, Kurubs and Yadavas are from bhils. They could be the same people as Gaikwads of Gujarat and Maharastra. The Kaikadi Erukalas were most probably the Gaikwads and the Kaikadi term seems to be a modification of the word Gaikwad. Gaikwads were originally the Erukala people who used to look after the cows (Gaai) of kings.
Gaai = Gai = Cow
Gai + Kavala => Gaikavala => Gaikvala => Gaikwada => Gaikwad
Gaikawad => Gaikwadi => Gaikadi => Kaikadi
Kaapala => Kaavala => Kavala => Kavali = To protect or To look after
Kavalgar = kapu = Village protector ( Village Police)
Hence, this proves that
Erukalas = Kaikadis = Korwas = Kurumbas = Kurubas
This proves that Harihara & Bukka too belonged to the same Bhil Erukala community to which Kakatiyas belonged. The difference might be in the profession of their community people for day-to-day survival according to their geographical locations. Other wise, the Eruklas, Pardhis, Korwas, Kaikadis, Kuruvars, Kurumbars, Kurubrs and Gaikwads are all one and the same people. According to Pardhis of Rajastan, the are the descendants of Rana Pratap Singh and Pridhviraj Chauhan.
Harihara & Bukka, two of the five(according to Ibn-Batuta-eleven)sons of Sangama,originally from the Kakatiya kingdom of Warangal. The two brothers, Harihara and Bukka, the treasury officers of Kampila, were taken by Muhammad -bin- Tughluq as prisoners to Delhi where they appear to have embraced Islam. According to another historian who based his research on evidence culled from inscriptions such as Gozalavidu record, "the founders of Vijayanagara were at first in the service of the last Kakatiya king Prataparudra of Warangal, and that when that monarch was defeated by Muhammad bin Tughluq in 1323 A.D and taken prisoner, they fled to Kampili and took refuge in the court of Kampilideva. Nuniz also recorded that the brothers were serving the King Prataparudra and were made captive after the fall of Warangal.
Forts
The Bhongir fort was associated with the herioc queen Rudramadevi and her grandson Prataparudra's rule. The fort is located upon a single hill at an altitude of 500 feet. Built is the 12th century the fort spreads over an area of 40 acres. Bhongir fort was built on an isolated rock by the western Chalukya uler Tribhuvanamalla Vikramaditya VI and was thus named after him as Tribhuvanagiri. This name gradually became Bhuvanagiri and subsequently Bhongir.
Kakatiya emperor Prataparudra built Medak fort on a hillock around 12th century, it was called the Methukudurgam (and Methukuseema), from the telugu word Methuku - meaning cooked rich grain. This fort provided as a vantage point for the Kakatiyan rulers in ancient India. The main entrance proudly displays the double-headed bird "Gandabherundam" of the Kakatiyas. The Medak fort stands as an epitome of architectural excellence of the Kakatiya Empire. Medak District is located in Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh, India. Medak Fort is known as a landmark left behind by the mighty Kakatiyans. The fort is famous for its architectural brilliance. Strategically located, the fort provided pre emptive advantage over invaders.
Temples
Kakatiya Ruler 'Prataparudra' used to worship Lord Swayambhu in the historic temple every day during his life time. The presiding Diety is Lord Siva called as swayambhu (Lieterally means self incarnated God). The temple is very adjacent to the ruins of Kakatiya Capital at Fort Warangal.
Prataparudra of Kakatiya Dynasty strived a lot for the improvements of Srisaila Jyotirlinga Kshetram and granted Paraganas for its maintenance. Ganapathideva has spent 12000 Golden Nanyas for the maintenance of the temple. Prataparudra and his wife worshipped Srisaila Mallikarjuna and offered Tulabhara. It means with their physical weight they given offerings to God. The records preserved in the Srisaila temple, however, do not take us back earlier than the 14th century AD. The inscription engraved during the reign of Prataparudra, the Kakatiya king who ruled from Warangal, is the earliest found inside the temple. Inscriptions of the Kakatiya king Prola II and Prataparudra found at Karimnagar and Srisailam.
The eight-and-half centuries-old historical Dhyananjaneya temple located at Karmanghat village in Saroornagar mandal near Hyderabad was built by Kakatiya ruler Prataparudra II in 1143 AD. It was then in the midst of a thick forest and the temple was built near a village called Lakshmigudem, now known as Karmanghat village. The Kakatiya king Prataparudra donated utsava vigraha made of gold to the shrine of Malola Narasimha near ahobilam. Prataparudra constructed Suchigiri temple for Sri Venkateswara Swamy, when he happened to visit the place, during his voyage enroute to kanigiri fort.
Kakatiya inscriptions of 14th century mention that the paulastheswara temple at Polasa was built during the reign of Prataparudra (1295-1323). Polasa is a small village near Jagatyala in Karimnagar District of Andhra Pradesh, India.
Panagal (3 km from Nalgonda town) has temples dating to the 12th century Kakatiya period.
Literature
Kakatiya Prataparudrudu was a great patron of letters. He was himself a writer and he encouraged other literature.The Prataparudrayasobha of Vidyanatha is the earliest of the Alankara treatises from Andhradesa. The work was produced about 1323 A.D. The author devoted the netire work to eulogize Prataparudra of the Kakatiya dynasty who was his benevolent patron.Vidyanatha was the scholar poet in Sanskrit. Prathaparudriya was the work wrote by Vidyanatha. It was an Alankara (poetics) work of 14th AD. This work describes the merits and exploits of king Virarudra or Prataparudra of the Kakatiya Dynasty, who ruled Warrangal between 1268 and 1325 AD. This work gives the account of king Virarudra (Prataparudra) and his dynasty.Sanskrit received encouragement at the hands of the Kakatiyas. The treatise on Rhetoric in Sanskrit was named after the king as 'Pratapa Rudra Yaso Bhushana'. One Mallinatha, a sanskrit scholar received kanakabhisheka from Prataparudra.
A passage from Prataparudra Caritramu (early sixteenth century) : " With all these people of various skills serving him, and surrounded by five thousand attendants who showered him with gold and riches and sprinkled him with scented water from golden bottles, Prataparudra sat in the great assembly and ruled the kingdom, considering the petitions of the local lords and entertaining the requests of ambassadors."
Narasimha, who wrote The Kadambarinataka, most likely lived during the reign of the Kakatiya king Prataparudra II (1295-1326) in Andhra, and he most likely composed this play after the death of the king, so, in the "second or third quarter of the fourteenth century".
During the Kakatiya empire, there was a great deal of literary activity in Telugu, but there was no Muslim connection within the empire till the very last, under Prataparudra. Since the North was firmly under the Delhi Sultanate at that time, the argument that fleeing northern brahmin pandits contributed to the Sanskrit element of Telugu would make some sense, on the face of it.
Dance
The most well-known court dancer of Kakatiya times was Machaladevi, and associated with Kakateeya emperor Prataparudra (1291-1323). A legend in her own lifetime, her life history was dramatised and enacted in her own natyashalas.
Coins
Prataparudra also minted and issued coins. The silver and gold coins in Andhra Pradesh Government museum with the titles Rayagajakesari and Dayagajakesari without any name of the king or his dynasty seem to belong to Ganapati Deva and his daughter Rudrama Devi based on epigraphical evidence Terala inscription of Pratapa Rudra. Silver and gold coins with the name 'Rudra' have been described from 1840's onwards and they may belong to Kakatiyas.
Generals of Kakatiyas
Musunuri Prolaya Nayaka (a kamma) and Vema (a Reddy) and Recharla (a Velama) served as chieftains in Kakateeya dynasty. One of the most famous commanders during the time of Rudrama Devi and Prataparudra II was Saagi Nagadeva ( Daadi Nagadeva ? ) who played a prominent role in warding off the attack of the Yadava king of Devagiri. During the rule of the Kakatiya emperor Prataparudra II, one Boppana Kamaya was ruling Kammanadu with Katyadona (Konidena) as the capital. After decline of Kakatiya dynasty, two dynasties of Reddyrajus founded by Prolaya Vemareddy and Vijayanagara kingdom. Prolaya Vemareddy occupied Srisailam. Kammas grew to prominence during the Kakatiya dynasty's reign (1083-1323 CE) by also holding important positions in their army.
Mudiraju Bantus were foot soldiers in Kakatiya Kingdom :
Among the war bands that were closely associated with Kakatiyas, the retinue of Gundaya Nayaka figuresin three different inscriptions from Magatala town in Mahabubnagar district, where it was apperently garrisoned. Gundaya Nayaka, a subordinate of Kakatiya Prataparudra who held the position of "Gaja Sahini" (commander of elephant troops), had nayakas under him who acted as officers (pradhani). The bulk of his soldiers, however, were divided into the two basic ranks of rautu and bantu. On two occassions when tithes were assessed, Gundaya Nayaka's rautus were assigned a far higher rate of contribution than were the bantus. Since a second war band associated with another Kakatiya nayaka in Warangal district followed the same practice in their donation, the division of men into a higher class of rautu and a lower-ranking category of bantu must have been widespread . Rautu invariably meant "horse riding warrior" , so in these contexts bantu may have signified "foot soldier".
Some Kakatiya bantus were not members of organised war bands but instead seem to have been stationed in small numbers in the country side. The reality of an overlord's dependence on his subordinate has been noted in an analysis of the relationship between the Vijayanagara emperor and Vishvanatha nayaka, the lord of Madhurai. Elsewhere bantu may have just meant a warrior or soldier who had sworn a personnel oath of allegiance to some one, since several nayakas attached to non-Kakatiya rulers call themselves their lord's bantu.
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