Ganapati (Kakatiya dynasty)
Ganapati-deva was the longest reigning monarch of the Kakatiya dynasty of southern India. He brought most of the Telugu-speaking region in present-day Andhra Pradesh and Telangana under the Kakatiya influence by war or diplomacy.
Ganapati's father Mahadeva was killed in a conflict against the Seuna kingdom in 1198–1199, and Ganapati remained in Yadava captivity for some time. The Kakatiya commander Recherla Rudra administered the kingdom in Ganapati's name during this period, protecting it against invaders and rebels.
After his release in 1199, Ganapati consolidated his rule over the kingdom, and conquered the Coastal Andhra region in a series of campaigns. He also fought with the Eastern Gangas for the control of the southern Kalinga and Vengi regions: these campaigns had mixed results, with Kakatiya control limited to the south of the Godavari River. Ganapati supported the Nellore Choda chiefs Tikka and his son Manuma-siddhi II against rival claimants to the throne of Nellore. Towards the end of his reign, he suffered setbacks against the Pandyas, and retired after appointing his daughter Rudrama as his successor.
Early life
Ganapati was a son of his predecessor Mahadeva, who died during an invasion of the Seuna kingdom. The Yadavas captured Ganapati, and during his captivity, the Kakatiya kingdom suffered from revolts and invasions.During Ganapati's captivity, Rudra of Recherla family – the commander-in-chief of the Kakatiya army – appears to have handled the administration in Ganapati's name, as suggested by his titles Kakatiya-rajya-bhara-dhaureya and Kakati-rajya-samartha. Epigraphic evidence suggests that Rudra suppressed rebellions by feudatories, and repulsed invasion by an obscure king named Nagati. According to some scholars, such as M. Somasekhara Sarma, Rudra also repulsed an invasion by the Chola king Kulottunga III. Others, such as P.V.P. Sastry dispute this in absence of concrete evidence.
Release from Yadava captivity
The 26 December 1199 Manthena inscription describes the Ganapati-deva as "the establisher of all the kingdom", which suggests that he had been released from the Yadava captivity by this time and had consolidated his control over his ancestral kingdom. It is not clear why the Yadavas released him. The Yadava inscriptions claim that king Jaitrapala released him out of compassion. It is possible that the Yadavas wanted to secure their eastern border by mainitaning good relations with the Kakatiyas, since they were involved in a conflict with the Hoysalas at their southern border.The later text Pratapa-charita states that Ganapati was offered in marriage to the daughter of the Yadava king. Historian P.V.P. Sastry doubts this, because according to the contemporary Bayyaram tank inscription, Mahadeva had arranged the marriage of his children Ganapati and Mailamba, and this event must have happened before the military campaign that resulted in Mahadeva's death. According to Chintaluru copper plates Ganapatideva married Seuna princess Somaladevi, a daughter of Jaitugi.
Reign
After being released from the Yadava captivity, Ganapati consolidated his rule with support of loyal commanders, such as the Recherla chief Rudra and the Malyala chief Chaunda. The political chaos that followed the decline of the Kalyani Chalukya and the Chola empires worked in his favour.Coastal Andhra campaign
The inscriptions of Ganapati's uncle Rudra-deva have been found at Draksharamam and Tripurantakam in the coastal Andhra region, but the Kakatiyas had lost control of this region by the time of Ganapati's ascension. In the early years of Ganapati's reign, the Kakatiya army invaded coastal Andhra.The Velanati Chodas controlled the Vela-nadu area in the coastal Andhra region, although their power had declined considerably after the death of Choda II around 1181. Prithvishvara, the grandson of Choda II, moved his capital from Chandavolu to Pithapuram, and started re-asserting the Velanti Choda power in the Krishna delta region. The Kakatiyas conquered this region by 1201, as attested by the 1201 CE Kanaka-durga temple inscription issued by Ganapati's brother-in-law, the Natavadi chief Vakkadi-malla Rudra.
The Kota chiefs of Dharanikota re-affirmed their acceptance of the Kakatiya suzerainty.
The Kakatiya army led by the Malayala chief Chaunda marched to the Divi island in the Krishna River delta. Pinni Chodi, a chief of the Ayya family, controlled this island, probably as a subordinates of Prithvishvara. The 1203 CE Kondaparti inscription and another 1241 CE inscription, issued by Chaunda and his son Kata respectively, provide some information about this campaign. According to these inscriptions, the father-son duo enriched Ganapati's treasury with diamonds plundered from the island. Ganapati conferred the title Dvipi-luntaka on Chaunda, and Dvipi-churakara on Kata. The Ayya chiefs accepted Ganapati's suzerainty, and Ganapati allowed them to retain control of the island. Naramba and Peramba, the two daughters of Pinni Chodi married Ganapati. Their brother Jayapa entered Ganapati's service as a commander, as attested by his 1231 CE Ganapeshvaram inscription.
Epigraphic evidence suggests that Prithvishvara's authority was limited to a small part of Kalinga, as suggested by his inscriptions from Draksharamam and Srikurmam. He probably fought against the Kakatiya subordinates in an attempt to re-establish his control over the Vela-nadu region, and died during this campaign. This event probably happened sometime in 1206 CE, the date of the Srikurmam inscription of his chief treasurer Ananta, which is the last surviving inscription from his reign. Some inscriptions describe Ganapati as Prithvishvara-shirah-kanduka-krida-vinoda. Multiple chiefs, who were probably Kakatiya subordinates or allies, also claimed this title. These include the Nellore Choda chief Tikka-bhupala, the Seuna Yadava chief Vishvanatha, and the Maha-mandaleshvara Ballaya of Chola family. All these chiefs probably participated in the battle that resulted in the death of Prithvishvara.
By 1209, Ganapati had annexed the Vela-nadu and the Karmma-rashtra regions to his kingdom, as attested by the 1209 CE Chenna-keshava temple inscription. Ganapati appointed Jayapa as the governor of the Vela-nadu region, as attested by his 1213 CE Chebrolu inscription. The appointment possibly happened earlier, but this is not certain, as Jayapa's Chandavolu inscription is partially built in a wall, rendering its date unreadable.
The chiefs of Kamma-nadu region, most probably the Telugu Chodas of Koni-dena appear to have asserted independence. Ganapati's loyal subordinate – Opili Siddhi – a member of the Potapi branch of the Telugu Chodas, subjugated the rebels. Ganapati made him the governor of the former rebel territory as a reward. Epigraphic evidence suggests that the Chakra-narayana chiefs of Addanki accepted Ganapati's suzerainty around the same time, before 1217–1218.
First southern campaign
The 1213 CE Chebrolu inscription of Jayapa refers to Ganapati's military campaign against the southern kings. It states that upon his return from this campaign, Ganapati conferred the lordship of the southern region to Jayapa.These southern kings were most probably the Nellore Choda chiefs, who were Chola vassals. Earlier, around 1180 CE, the Chola king Kulottunga III had defeated the Choda ruler Manuma-siddhi I and installed the latter's brother Nalla-siddhi on the throne. Nalla-siddhi and his younger brother Tammu-siddhi ruled as Chola vassals till 1207–1208. Manuma-siddhi I's son Tikka, who had earlier helped Ganapati against Prithvishvara, sought Ganapati's help to claim the throne of Nellore. Ganapati marched to Nellore, forced Tammu-siddhi to flee, and installed Tikka on the throne as Tikka-bhupala. Tikka later also appeased Kulottunga III by acknowledging his suzerainty.
Ganapati's 1228 CE Mattevada inscription states that he plundered the Chola capital. The 1231 CE Ganapeshvaram inscription of Jayapa states that he subdued several countries including Chola, Kalinga, Seuna, Brihat-Karnata, and Lata; he also annexed Vela-nadu and Dvipa. It appears that Tikka faced invasion from rulers or chiefs belonging to these countries, and Ganapati helped Tikka repulse their invasion.
Tikka appointed Gangaya-sahini, who eventually entered Ganapati's service, as the governor of Upper Paka-nadu region within his kingdom. Tikka later repulsed Hoysala invasions: since Tikka was a minor chief, historian M. Somasekhara Sarma speculates that Ganapati assisted him in this conflict; however, there is no direct evidence of this.
Kalinga and Vengi
After the death of Prithvishvara, Ganapati sent his armies, led by Soma and Raja-nayaka, to the Kalinga region to consolidate his control over Prithvishvara's former territories. Soma, who held the position of pradhani or mantri belonged to the Induluri family. Raja-nayaka was a subordinate to Rudra of Recherla family.Raja-nayaka appears to have achieved successes in the area to the north-east of the core Kakatiya territory, sometime before 1212 CE. His 1236 CE Upparapalli inscription credits him with the following victories:
- Subjugated the rulers of the Manniyas
- Achieved a victory at Bokkera, where he killed a famous warrior chief titled Godhumarati: this chief may be same as Vairi-Godhu-magharatta, who was killed by Japa senapati according to the latter's Ganapeshvaram inscription
- Captured Udayagiri and forced Padiya-raya to flee