RACHAKONDA KINGDOM OF PADMANAYAKA VELAMAS

The Recharla chiefs came to political prominence only in the reign of the Kakatiyas, and they ruled an independent kingdom only after the fall of the Kakatiyas. They ruled from Rachakonda in Nalgonda district. It is one of the historically famous forts from Telengana.

                                                          RACHAKONDA FORT.

The sasanas describe the founder of the kingdom as Dachanaya also known as Eradachanaya. Velugotivari Vamsavali however, describes the earlier three generations and terms Bethala Reddy also known as Chevi Reddy as the founder of this dynasty. It appears unlikely as none of the kings who ruled Rachakonda had the name Reddy. It appears that this is a mistake which happened as the Vamsavali was compiled subsequently. During the time of Chevi Reddy, Pillalamarri was ruled by Reddi Mannis who are also of Recharla Gotra out of whom he was prominent. Even the Velamas are from Pillalamarri and Anumagallu area only.  

The first known Velamas of this line are Dama, Prasaditya and Rudranayakas. All these were in the service of the Kakatiyas under Ganapati Deva and of them Prasadityanayaka was the most prominent. After Ganapatideva’s death some Kakatiya senanis and samantas tried to prevent Rudrama Devi from coming to the throne. Prasaditynayaka then defeated them and made her ascend the throne. For this he is given the title “Kakatiyarajya Sthapanacharya” by Rudrama Devi.

Nothing is known about his brothers Damanayaka and Rudranayaka. Nothing is also known about Damanayakas sons Vennamanayaka and Sabbinayaka. In the Vamsavali it is mentioned that Vennamnayaka defeated a Muslim army.

Vennamanayakas son is Dachanayaka or Eradachanayaka with whom the Rachakonda kingdom begins. Dachanayaka had three sons Singama, Vennama and Yechama Nayakas. Dachanayaka and his son Singamanayaka were senanis of Prataparudra. When Prataparudra attacked the Pandyas at Kanchi in 1316 AD, Dachanayaka and Singamanayaka have shown great valor and helped the king in winning the battle. Prataparudra gave the title of “Panchpandyadala Vibhala” to Dachanayaka. He probably died in the battle of Orugallu with the Muslims in 1323 AD.    

When the various Andhra Kings united under Musunuri Kapayanayaka in 1335 AD to fight the Muslims, Singamanayaka was also subservient to him but when the Muslim danger was stemmed, as everyone else had done, he had also started building a kingdom for himself. 

When Kapanayaka was fighting the Bahamanis Singama defeated all the nayakas of the Southern Andhra and extended his kingdom upto river Krishna. He also wanted to extend his kingdom in the North and hence attacked Kapayanaka. As per the Vamsavali he defeated Kapayanaka. This, however did not appear to have yielded him much benefit because as per the Pillalamarri sasanam of Kapayanaka in 1357 AD, Kapayas kingdom stretched right upto Pillalmarri. Singamanayaka attacked Jallipalli fort with an intention to increase his kingdom further but was killed by the ruling Somavamsa Kshatriyas by treachery.

Singamanayaka had two sons Anapotanayaka and Madanayaka. When they heard about the death of their father, they marshalled their forces and attacked Jallipalli fort in 1361 AD., and killed the Somavamsa Kshatriyas as well as their supporters. At that time their capital appears to have been Anumagallu. Anapotanayaka shifted the capital from Anumagallu to Rachakonda and built a strong fort there.

Anapotanayaka and Madanayaka did not stop with the killing of the Somakula Kshatriyas and went after the remaining kingdoms like Reddimannis and Telugunayakas which supported them.

The Vamsavali mentions various victories obtained by the brothers. Many of these places are on the Southern bank of the Krishna in the Guntur, Kurnool and Nellore areas. There is evidence that they came to the southern side of the Krishna, won the battle with the local kings and obtained control of the Srisailam area. In a book called Rasarnava Sudhakaramu it is mentioned that  Anapotanayaka constructed steps for Sriparvata  and is described as ruling the area between the Vindhyas and Srisailam. While occupying the Srisailam area only they had a conflict with the Kondaveeti Reddy chiefs. At that time Srisailam was under the Reddimannis. As per the Vamsavali Madanayaka and his uncles son Naganayaka defeated Anapota Reddy near Dharanikota. Although victorious Dharanikota did not fall into Anapotanayakas hands. This is the first conflict between the Velama chiefs and the Reddy chiefs. From this time onwards uptill the end of the Kondaveedu Reddy kingdom, this rivalry did not abate.

After this southern conquest Anapotanayaka attacked the Orugallu kingdom of Kapayanaka which was already weakened by the attacks of the Bahamani kingdom. The battle took place at Bhimavaram in Warangal district and the Recharla chiefs emerged victorious. Kapayanayaka was killed in the battle and Anapotanayaka got the control of the kingdom. This must be around 1369 AD in which the Ainavolu sasanam of Anapotanayaka describes him in possession of  Tribhuvanagiri(Bhongir), Orugallu and Singavaram forts. With this victory his kingdom stretched upto Godavari in the North, Srisailam in the South, Bahamani kingdom in the West, and Kondaveedu in the East.

Looking to the excellent relations these kings had with the Bahamani Empire, it is possible that the Bahamanis have helped them in their war against Kapayanayaka. After sometime Anapotanayaka made his brother king at Devarakonda and divided the kingdom for administrative convenience. Devarakonda was subservient to Rachakonda. Anapotanayaka attacked the Kalinga kingdom in 1380 AD. This is known by his Simhachalam sasanam. The Vamsavali however is silent on this. Anapotanayaka ruled upto around 1384 AD.

After Anapotanayaka his son Singamanedu II ascended the throne of Rachakonda. He is also known as Kumara Singabhupaludu. Before coming to the throne he captured the fort of Kalyani in Gulbarga district. It appears that he went to Karnataka to help the Bahamani kings and took this fort during the campaign.

In the early days of Sighabhupala’s reign, the Vijayanagara kings took Srisailam and marched against Rachakonda. The Vijayanagara sasanam in Tumkur district dated 1384 AD states that the king of Vijayanagara Harihara Devaraya II, sent his son Vira Bukkaraya against Orugallu. The Bahamani sultan then laid siege to Kottakonda in Mahabubnagar district (possibly taken earlier by the Vijayanagara forces) and one of the Vijayanagara commanders Saluva Ramadevaraya died in the battle. As per the sasana the sultan has done this to protect his samantas who owed allegiance to him. It appears from the sasana that the Vijayanagara forces were defeated.

The reason for this aggression by Vijayanagara is unknown but Ziauddin Barani mentions that Kapayanaka and Harihararaya (the founder of the Vijayanagara kingdom) are related. Although this may not be certain they may have been closely associated with each other and Kapayanayakas defeat, coupled with the leanings the Rachakonda kings had shown towards the Bahamani kings precipitated the attack.

In 1387 AD, Kumara Singha Bhupala has attacked the Gowtami banks area via Southern Kalinga which was in his possession. As per his Simhachala sasanam he scored a number of victories in the area which was lying in the Kondaveedu kingdom at that time. With this campaign the authority of the Reddys was extinguished in the southern Kalinga.

The Vijayanagara king Hariharadevaraya did not forget his defeat at the hands of the Rachakonda kingdom and the Bahamanis. In 1397 he declared a war against the Bahamani kingdom and as per his Vijayanagara sasana, one of the Vijayanagara senanis, Gunda Dandadhinadha inflicted a defeat on Siaf Khan and Fateh Khan.

To reduce the pressure on the Bahamani forces Singhabhupala sent Ramachandranayaka, the son of Vedagirinayaka to attack the area of the Vijayanagara kingdom on the banks of river Krishna. Ramachandranayaka crossed the Krishna river, entered Kurnool and started plundering it whereupon he was attacked by the Vijayanagara armies near Bandikanuma. Ramachndranayaka emerged victorious in this battle.

Now Harihara II sent his son Bukkaraya to attack Ramachndranayaka. Bukka then defeated Ramachandranayaka and drove him out of the Vijayanagara kingdom. He then entered the Rachakonda kingdom and plundered it. It appears that the victories enumerated in the Vamsavali attributed to  Anapotanayaka son of  Singhabhupala and Ramachandranayaka and Madanayaka the sons of Pedavedagirinayaka seem to have taken place during this campaign. Although both sides claimed victory in this campaign, it appears that Vijayanagara kingdom had been victorious in this battle.

Bukkaraya took his armies crossed the Krishna and attacked the Panugallu fort in Devarakonda kingdom. The Bahamani armies immediately came to the rescue of Panugallu. In this campaign, Pedavadagirinayaka’s son Kumaramadanayaka has defeated Era Krishnaraya and Pandadadhisa as per the Vamsavali. In this Era Krishnaraya besieged Devarakonda. Although he was defeated, Bukkaraya scored a victory and secured the Panugallu fort in 1397 AD. In this campaign the son of Bukkaraya Anantabhupala had shown great valor. A few days after the Panuganti war Kumara Singhabhupala died.

After Singhabhupala his son Immadi Anapotanayaka came to the throne in 1399 AD. He is also known as Kumara Anapotanayaka and Pinnamanayaka. He is a contemporary of the Bahamani sultan Firoz Shah. The burden of saving his kingdom from Bukkaraya fell on him. As per Velugotivari Vamsavali he saved 10,000 people from Metuku (Medak) Fort. It is possible that Bukkaraya went up to Medak fort victorious and laid seize to it and Anapotanayaka relieved and saved the garrison during this campaign.

A number of victories were attributed to him by the Vamsavali. It appears that on the side of Bahamani sultan Anapotanayaka scored a number of victories against the Kondaveedu and Rajahmundry reddy kings and also Vijayanagara kings. It is probable that the Raya supposed to have been stopped by him is Devaraya I.

Contemporary to Anapotanayaka Devarakonda was ruled by Kumara Madanayaka and Ramachandranayaka, the sons of Pedavedagirinayaka. Annadevachoda took refuge in Devarakonda during Pedavedagirinayaka’s reign. Kumara Madanayaka gave him an army and sent him via Kalinga to regain his kingdom. However, this army was defeated by Chalukya Vishveshwara Bhupati a tributory king of the Gangas in 1402 AD. After this Kumara Madanayaka proceeded with an army to help Annadevachoda. It is possible that the victory attributed to him over the Rajahmundry Reddy kings took place during this campaign.

Anapotanayaka mounted a successful campaign in 1417 AD against Panugallu. During the campaign the Bahamani sultan Tajuddin Ferozshah laid siege to Panugallu. At that time Panugallu was under the Vijayanagara kings. The Velamanayakas also went along with their armies to help Ferozshah, but during the campaign their relations soured. Seeing the opportunity Devaraya I negotiated with the Velamanayakas and turned them into his favor. During a fierce battle at Panagallu fort the Velamanayakas like Anapotanayaka came over to the side of Devaraya along with their armies. Due to this Ferozshah ‘s assumed victory turned into defeat and he could barely escape and reach his capital Gulbarga.  Anapotanayaka died during this battle in 1421 AD.

After Anapotanayaka, his brother Madanayaka came to the throne in 1421 AD.,probably because Anapotanayaka’s eldest son Singamanayaka was too young to assume charge. Madanayaka and his relations maintained a rivalry with the Bahamani kings and tried to destroy their kingdom. In the war of 1424 AD.between Devaraya II and sultan Ahmedshah who ruled the Bahamani kingdom with Bidar as his capital, Madanayaka helped the Vijayanagara kings. Due to this after signing a truce with Devaraya II, sultan Ahmedshah declared a war on Telengana in 1425 AD. and sent Azimkhan to besiege Orugallu. Azim Khan was victorious in the war. After this Azim Khan also attacked a number of forts under the Velama Kings and emerged victorious. The Rachakonda kings finally had to sign a truce with Ahmad Shah, the ruler of the Bahamani kingdom. When Ahmad Shah was immersed in a war with the Sultan of Gujarat, the Rachakonda kings recovered all their lost forts.

After Madanayaka his brother Anapotanayaka’s son  Mummadi Singamanayaka came to the throne. He ruled from 1430 AD. onwards. From his time, the Rachakonda and Devarakonda kingdoms fell into decline and  by 1433 AD., the forts of Rachakonda and Orugallu were taken over by the Bahamani Sultan. Only Devarakonda remained in the Padmanayaka’s hands.  

After his war with the Sultan’s of Malwa and Gujarat, Ahmad Shah again attacked the Rachakonda kingdom in 1433 AD. and emerged victorious. In Devarakonda, the contemporary of Mummadi Singhabhupala was the son of Kumara Madanayaka, known as Lingamanayaka. Lingamanedu was very valiant in battle and at the age of 12 years itself, he led the forces and fought a battle. The Vamsavali attributes a lot of victories to him, but many of them could not be confirmed. However, it is certain that Lingamanedu’s attack on the Rajamahendravaram Reddy kingdom weakened and destroyed it. The Padmanayakas of Rachakonda and Devarakonda supported the Bahamani Sultan’s for sometime, the Vijayanagara kings for sometime and the Gajapati’s of Orissa for sometime and fought with their respective enemies.

After 1433 AD., the Rachakonda and Devarakonda kingdoms disappeared and only some forts remained in the Padmanayaka’s control. They then sought the help of the Gajapati’s of Orissa for regaining their kingdom. Kapileswara Gajapati of Orissa attacked the Telengana areas of the Bahamani kingdom, but was defeated by the Bahamani Sultan, Allauddin. In 1435 AD, the Rachakonda area was given by the Sultan to his brother Mohammed Khan. The Padmanayakas then supported Sikander Khan in his rebellion against the Bahamani Sultan Humayun Shah.

Humayun Shah marched against Sikander Khan and killed him in battle. To punish the Padmanayakas who supported Sikander khan, he sent Kwaza Jahan and Nizam Ul Mulk. They raised an army of 20,000 cavalry, 40 elephants and innumerable foot soldiers and laid seize to Devarakonda fort, which was under the Padmanayakas.

The Padmanayakas then sent a message to Kapileswara Gajapati of Orissa appealing for his help and also promising him a large amount of money. The Gajapati then sent his son Hamviradeva (known to Muslims as Ambar Roy) along with a huge force to help the Padmanayakas and also to release Telengana from the control of the Bahamani Sultan. When Hamviradeva’s forces attacked the Bahamani forces from the rear, Singamanayaka and Lingamanayaka came out from the fort and attacked the Bahamani forces from the front. The Bahamani forces were caught in between and suffered a humiliating defeat. Kwaja Jahan and Nizam Ul Mulk somehow escaped from the battlefield. When Humayun Shah came to know of the defeat, he becme enraged and killed Nizam Ul Mulk and imprisoned Kwaja Jahan.

The Bahamani Sultan then assigned the work to Mohammed Gawan, his minister. This was beyond Mohammed Gawan and the Muslim forces suffered one defeat after another in the hands of Hamviradeva and the Padmanayakas. One fort after another fell to them. They took Rachakonda, Bhuvanagiri and finally Orugallu around 1461 AD. Mummadi Singamanayaka’s brother Rao Dharmanayaka became the king of Orugallu. However, now Padmanayakas lost their independence and became the tributaries of the Gajapatis of Orissa.

After the death of the Bahamani Sultan Humayun Shah, Nizam Shah became the Bahamani Sultan. He again tried to recover the Telengana areas from the Padmanayakas, but again Kapileswara Gajapti sent his armies which inflicted a defeat on the Bahamani forces and came near the capital Bidar. Then one Amirzada Muhibullah scored a tactical victory over the Gajapati forces, as a result of which Bidar could be saved. This is however, not a complete victory and the Orugallu kingdom remained under the Padmanayakas.

As long as Kapileswara Gajapati was alive, the Bahamanis could not conquer the Orugallu kingdom and it remained with the Padmanayakas. He died around 1470 AD. The Bahamani Sultan, then sent Malik Nizam Ul Mulk Bahri to conquer Telengana. This man not only took the forts in Telengana, but also Kondaveedu and Rajamahendravaram forts and occupied all of Telengana. The Orugallu kingdom was given by the Sultan to Azim Khan. This happened around 1475 AD. The Recherla kingdom is thus over and the Padmanayakas joined the court of Hampi Viajayanagar.