1. religion and spirituality
2. hinduism

Written by
Prof. E. Siva Nagi Reddy
Historical Background of Kondaveedu
After the fall of Warangal and the capture of its
Kakatiya ruler, Prataparudra, in 1323 AD by Malik Kafur, a general of the Delhi Sultanate, the
entire Telugu Country came under the hegemony
of the Tughlaks. To carry on the administration
of the newly acquired territories, the Sultanate
appointed its representatives – Amirs and Maliks
who let lose a reign of terror and extortion. They
pillaged villages, confiscated the endowments of
religious institutions, levied unbearable taxes and
extracted them mercilessly. Vilasa copper plate
grants of Musunuru Prolaya Nayaka reveal some
of these inhuman deeds. The unbearable rule and
misconduct of the officers of the Sultanate made
the Telugu people realize the bitter truth that their
culture was at stake. This evoked a strong desire
among them to close their ranks, come together
to safeguard their way of living. Otherwise disunited local chieftains formed a confederacy on the
initiative of Musunuru Nayakas – Prolaya and Kapaya – to fight and rid themselves of the political
bondage.
The confederacy included some of the great generals and Nayakas of Kakatiyas, like Prolaya Vema
Reddy, Kolani Prataparudrudu and Bendapudi Annayamantri. In 1325 AD, the Nayakas established
their Kingdom at Rekapalle near Bhadrachalam,
the Reddys at Addanki and the Velamas at Ra-
chakonda; the Rayas of Vijayanagar started eleven
years later at Hampi in 1336. The common intent
of all the kingdoms was to regain their homeland
and restore their culture and tradition devastated
by the invaders. Of the four kingdoms, the Reddy
kingdoms lasted over 125 years where as the Nayakas and Velamas lasted 30 and 70 years respectively; only the Rayas in three dynasties lasted over
230 years and ruled most of South India.
Prolaya Nayaka who was unanimously chosen
to lead the confederacy, could gather enough
strength to assert his authority by 1325 AD in and
around Rekapalli. He quickly revived Vedic learning, restored lost endowments to the agraharas
and brought in some semblance of order. The
movement initiated by Prolaya Nayaka was continued by his cousin Kapaya Nayaka, who enlisted
the support of not only the chieftains of Warangal
but Bhallal Ill of Dwarasamudra. By 1336, he
could rid Warangal of the enemy, occupied it and
made it his capital. Harihara and Bukka, who were
generals in the service of the Kakatiyas, embraced
Ialsm after the fall of Warangal and were sent as
representatives of the Delhi Sultan to Kampili to
consolidate that part of the empire. There, inspired
by Vidyaranya of Sringeri they converted back to
Hinduism and set up a kingdom in 1336 AD and
established a new city called Vijayanagar on the
banks of the Tungabhadra as its capital. Ten year
later, in 1346 AD Harihara was coronated as the
jeeyam (a commentary on the plays of Kalidasa)
by Kataya Vema Reddy, a General of Kondaveedu,
Gathasaptasateesaram of Anavema Reddy and
Vemabhupalacharitam of Vamanabhattabana.
ruler of Vijayanagar.
About this time, in 1347 AD, Allauddin HasanShah,
a general of the Delhi Sultanate asserted independence and declared himself as the ruler of Gulbarga and started the Bahamani Kingdom. Initially,
he took the help of Kapaya Nayaka to establish
himself in parts of Telangana. Taking advantage
of the fact that Kapaya was constantly at war with
the Velamas of Rachakonda (later Devarakonda)
and needed his help, the Sultan reduced him to a
vassal and extracted tribute from him.
The Telugu country thus saw the emergence of four
new powers, the Bhahamani Kingdom, the Vijayanagar Kingdom of the Rayas, the Kondaveedu
Kingdom of the Reddys and the Rachakonda Kingdom of the Velamas by the second quarter of the
14th century AD.
Sources of the History of Kondaveedu:
The sources of the history of Kondaveedu include
many inscriptions, both stone and copper plate,
the latter being more numerous. Contemporary
Muslim historians mention Kondaveedu in their
Persian and Arabic chronicles. So do the European travelers. Apart from these, there is ample
evidence in literature of the period, both Sanscrit
and Telugu. Among the Sanskrit literary sources
are Sringaradeepika (a commentary on Amarusatakam) by Prolaya Vema Reddy, Kumaragirira-
Among the Telugu literary sources are Kasikhandam of Srinatha, Shivaleelavilasam of Kommana,
both court poets of Kondaveedu. Other contemporaneous literature, Haravilasam, Kreedabhiramam, Simhasanadwtrimsika also give us useful information about the dynasty. Velugotivari
Vamsavali, compiled by Vellala Sadashiva Sastri
and Avadhanam Sesha Sastri which chronicles a
branch of the Recherla chiefs also refers to Kondaveedu Reddys. Oral literature of the period,
known as Chatuvlu many of which are attributed
to Srinatha, a prominent Telugu poet of the times,
is also an important source.
Traditional accounts of the villages and the local
rulers are also preserved for us in Kondaveedu
Kaifiyat, Dandakavile and Mackenzie manuscripts.
The Kondaveedu Dynasty:
The Kondaveedu dynasty comprises six rulers i.e.,
Prolaya Vema Reddy, Anavota Reddy, Anavema
Reddy, Kumaragiri Reddy, Pedakomati vema Reddy and Racha Vema Reddy and the total span of
their rule is about 100 years. The Kaifiyat and the
Dandakavile of Kondaveedu and Chatuvulu (oral
literature) give the periods of reign of each ruler
which largely corresponds to the available inscriptional evidence. According to them Prolaya Vema
ruled for 12 years, Anvota for 30 years, Anavema
for 15 years, Kumaragiri for 14 years, Pedakomati
Vema for 20 years and the last king Rachavema
for 4 years.
Prolaya Vema:- (His rule is attested by Mallavaram
inscription of 1325 AD, Santamagulur inscription
of 1326 AD, the Nakirekal inscription 1327 AD
and the Manikeswaram (near Ongole) inscription
of 1353 AD).
The Puvvada grant provides information on the origins of the Kondaveedu line of the Reddy Kings.
According to it, a Vema is their Vamsakarta and
to him was born Prolaya. Prolaya was married to
Annamamba and by her had five sons – Macha,
Vema, Anna, Dodda and Malla. The second son
Vema is Prolaya Vema Reddy who is the founder
of the Kondaveedu dynasty and the first ruler of
the Kingdom. The Kaluvapalli grant of Anitalli
of 1423 AD (?) describes him as one of the 75
Nayakas who collaborated with Kapaya Nayaka
and became an independent ruler after his death
(?). Prolaya ruled from Addanki and his territories
comprised the land between the Gundlakamma in
the south, the Krishna in the north, Tripurantakam
in the west and Purvasamudra or Bay of Bengal
in the east. Harivamsa of Yerra Pragada, one of
the three translators of Mahabharta and the court
poet of the cognate Kingdom of Kandukur, hails
Prolaya as an expert archer. He was a patron of
many Sanscrit and Telugu Poets and gave liberal
endowments to the agraharas, excavated irrigation
facilities, built temples, and ran feeding houses and
drinking water facilities for the poor and ordered
way – side planting of trees.
Anavota:(His rule is attested by Tripurantakam inscription
of 1353 AD and the Kolluru copper plat grant of
1364).
Prolaya Vema Reddy had three sons, Anamacha,
Anavota and Anavema and a daughter, Doddamba. Prolaya anointed Anavota as his successor.
Anavota Reddy continued his father’s passion for
annexing the neighbouring territories and in this
he was ably helped by Choda Bhakti Raja of (?).
He conquered the coastal tracts including Diviseema and was hailed as Dveepajeta. He ably resisted
the expansionist designs of the Rayas of Vijayanagar on the western boarders though he lost some
territory to them in the west and the south. He repulsed their armies at Udayagiri and captured the
fort. It is during his rule the capital was shifted to
Kondaveedu for strategic reasons in (?).
Anavema (His rule is attested by Tadiparru inscription of 1364 and Manyamapuram inscription of
1382 AD and the Srisailam Inscription).
Anavema came to the throne as Kumaragiri, son of
Anavota Reddy was too young to succeed his father. He set out to recover the territories lost to the
Rayas and was successful in his campaigns. His
Srisailam inscription records that in his campaign
to the north-east he captured many sthaladurgams
like Rajamahendranagara and Niravadyapura
(modern Nidadavole). Pithapuram, Yelamanchili
and all the territories upto Simhachalam. Carrying his campaign to the north of the Krishna, he
succeeded in annexing a part of the territories of
the Recharla chiefs as recorded in the Vadapalli inscription. It is during his time, the steps to Patalaganga at Srisailam were built for the convenience
of piligrims. He also built Veera Siro Mantapam at
Srisailam (?).
Given to scholarly interests, he authored a Sanscrit
commentary on Hala’s Gatha Saptasati by name,
Gatha Saptasateesaram.
Kumaragiri: (His Rule is attested by Anaparti grant
dated: 1390 AD, Katayavema’s Simhachalam grant
of 1386 AD; Talluru copper plate grant of 1402).
Kumaragiri Reddy, succeeded his uncle, Anavema
Reddy in 1386. He was ably assisted by his brother-in-law, Kataya Vema Reddy, a capable general
and administrator. Kumaragiri fought several battles with recherla (Velama) chiefs across the Krishna and the Rayas of Vijayanagar. Harihara II of
Vijayanagar marched across the western borders
and seized the fort at Tripurantakam and tried to
march forward to Vinukonda when they were confronted by the Kondaveedu forces led by Kataya
Vema, in a bitter fight Kataya Vema won the battle
near Tripurantakam forcing the Vijayanagara ruler
to sue for peace. Harihara forged a relationship
with the Reddys by giving his daughter, Hariharamba, in marriage to Kataya vema and ensuring
peace on the western frontiers of Kondaveedu.
Kumaragiri was firmly established on the throne
of Kondaveedu by 1390 and conducted a number
of successful campaigns to the east in which he
conquered Mulleti and Kimmuru durgams, and the
forts at Bendapudi, Vajrakutam, Ramagiri and Virakutam., Kumaragiri Reddy constituted the newly
conquered terrotiries into a new province called
Purvarajyam with Rajamahendravaram as its capital.
Kataya Vema was not only an able administrator and a competent general but an outstanding
scholar known for his learned commentary, kumaragiri Rajeeyam, on the plays of Kalidasa which
is perhaps the first work of its kind.
Kumaragiri is an aesthete and is known for his
scholarly interest in dance and music. He was fond
of his court dancer, Lakuma, and authored a book
on dance, Vasanta Rajeeyam, for which there are
many references, the manuscript, however, is yet
to be traced.
Pedakomati Vema : (His rule is attested by Tangeda
inscription of 1402 AD; Inkollu inscription of 1412
Ponnupalli and Rudravaram grant of 1419 AD)
In what appears to be an internecine battle, Kumaragiri, lost out ot a cousin, Peda Komati Vema,
a grandson of Macha Reddy , elder brother of
Prolaya Vema Reddy, the founder of the dynasty.
Kataya vema who fought many battles for Kumaragiri could not save him in this. Both Kumaragiri and
Kataya vema fled from Kondaveedu to Rajamundry where they spent their last days. Vijayanagara
Kingdom was going through a civil war about this
time. Soon after they recovered from it, Devaraya
resumed his incursions into the Kondaveedu territories which Pedakomati Vema not only beat back,
but receovered whatever territories were lost to
them towards the end of Kumaragiri’s rule.
Pedakomati Vema was a talemted scholar and is
the author of sanscrit works, Sringaradeepika, a
commentary on Amaru Shatakam, Sahitya Chintamani and Sangeeta Chintamani, commentaries
on dance and music.
Among his court poets were Vamana Bhattabana
and Srinatha, the latter was also in charge of education and was designated as Vidhyadhikari.
Racha Vema : The last of the six rulers, Rachavema
ruled between 1420-1424 AD and his is the shortest reign of of all. He was not a popular ruler; he
estranged his subjects by levying heavy taxes. Kondaveedu Dandakavile and Kondaveedu Kaifiat testify to his misrule. Soon after he came to power, his
rivals, both the Gajapatis of Puri and the Rayas of
Vijayanagar, intensified their attacks on the kingdom on the eastern and western fronts. The unpopular ruler that he was, he could not garner the
support of his people and fight back the enemies.
Under the strain of internal disaffection and external aggression, the kingdom collapsed bringing
the kingdom to an inglorious end.
Kondaveedu rulers were not only men of letters, they patronized many writers and scholars.
Among them : Erra Pragada (Aranyaparvam of
Mahabharatam, Harivamsam etc), Sirigi Jakkana
(Vikramarka Charita), Ananta (Bhojarajeeyam,
Chandodarpanam, Rasaabharanam) ; Peddana
(Kavyalankara Chudamani); Shivalenka Komman
a(Veeramaheswaram,Shivaleela Vilasam); Annaiah
(Shodasakumara Charita); Tripurantaka (Chandra Taravali, Ambika Shataka) Vallabhamatya
(Kreedabhiramam)
Singana
(Padmapurana,
Sakalaneetisammatam); Srinatha (Sringara Nai-
the main fort on the hill slopes on the two sides
of the hill range. The circumference of the fortified
area is about 32 kms with 54 bastions- each with
a vantage view-dotting the fort wall. Within are
the ruins of the township, water sources, temples,
stables garrisons and public utilities and the township. One can see the extensive remains of the fort.
It fulfills all the requirements of an impregnable
fort. Kondaveedu village was originally in valley
between the ridges and not where it is now.
shadha, Salivahana Saptasati, Maruttaratcharitra,
Kasheekhandam, Bheemeswara Purana); Vamana
Bana Bhatta (Vema Bhupala Charitam).
During the reign of Kondaveedu Kings, people
were generally happy, but for the last four years.
Trade and commerce fiourished and there was a
sense of well-being among the people. The rulers
succeeded in defending their territories from the
expansionist activities of both the Recherla chiefs
north of Krishna and the Rayas of Vijayanagar with
whom they were periodically at war. Their reign
was a glorious era for both Telugu and Sanscrit
literatures and performing arts. For over a hundered years, the dynasty safeguarded our way of
life, built or renovated many temples, patronized
arts and letters and contributed much to enrich our
culture.
Kondaveedu Fort :
Kondaveedu fort is located about 26 km away
from Guntur close to Phirangipuram, it is a hillfort chosen obviously for its strategic value. Strategically built on a low hill range (average altitude
1700 ft). the fort belongs to the giridurgam category ; the hills are joined by massive stone walls to
form an unbroken fortification. The outer defense
is provided by a mud fortification at the foot hills
on the northern and western sides from where the
threat was expected ; two flights of steps lead to
There are 50 bastions by various names – Miriyalachattuburj, Yedukondal Burj, Chukkalkonda
Burj etc and at least 15 temples dedicated to
Narasimhaswamy, Siva, Vishnu, Ganesa, milaradeva, Gangadhara, Rameswara, Nagareswara,
Visweswara, Mulasthana, Bolamuri Venkateswara,
Raghavadeva, Lakshminarasimha, Anjaneya, Mulaguramma and Poleramma as per 47 inscriptions
available. Apart from these, there are 16,24,36 Pillared mantapas, wells, water bodies and natural
caves.
The Kondaveedu Kaifiat gives an outline history of
the fort from the time it was established by the
Reddy Kings till it came to be occupied by the East
India Company. After the fall of the Reddy Kingdom, the fort was occupied by kapileshwar Gajapati of Puri in 1455 AD. Ten years later, the fort was
seized by the Bahamani Sultan, Mohammed Shah
III in 1465. pratapa Rudra Gajapati in one of his
campaigns recaptured it in 1500 and was in possession of it till 1535 AD when the famous, Krishna
Deva Raya conquered in 1515 ; it was in the possession of th Rayas of Vijayanagar till 1530 AD. The
Qutb-shahis of Golconda seized the fort from the
Rayas for a short while in 1530 when it was recaptured by the Rayas and remained with them till the
fall of Vijayanagar in 1565 AD, when it came to
be occupied by the Qutb Shahis of Golconda who
renamed it Murtuzanagar after their governor who
ruled from there and retained it till 1689 AD. After
the Qutb Shahis came the Asaf jahis who gained
control of the fort. In 1752, Salabat jung handed
over the fort to the French who occupied it for six
years. Finally, in the fight between the French and
the British, the the latter was victorious and got
control of the fort. Today it remains in ruins. The
Government of Andhra Pradesh has now taken up
development of Kondaveedu as a place of interest to culture tourism. Excacations are yet to be
taken up and restoration of the monuments is yet
to start. Once the place is fully excavated, the fort
may throw up important information of histrorical
interest.
ISCKCON Golden Temple Project
at Kondaveedu
Isckon society has come up with a magnificent
project with a spacious Krishna Temple depicting
architectural grandeur in an extent of 2 hectares
at a cost of Rs 500cr. The project also envisages
highlighting the cultural heritage of the locality of
Kondaveedu region through translites, dioramas of
scale models of temples, paintings and recreating
mythological fields centering around Lord Krishna. The surroundings will be enriched with echo
friendly landscapes and flowering meadows.
The project also ensures conservation and preservation of Vennamudha Venugopala Temple enshrined a unique Balakrishna image (No other of
its kind in any part of the country).
No doubt ISCKON project will definitely draw a
large tourist influx from India and abroad.