Rudradeva
Rudra-deva was a Kakatiya king, who ruled parts of the present-day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in southern India. He was the first sovereign ruler of his dynasty.
Like his father Prola II, Rudra was initially a vassal to the Chalukyas of Kalyani. Amid the decline of the Chalukya power, he subjugated several other Chalukya subordinates who had rebelled against the Chalukya authority. These included the Choda chief Bhima II, Domma-raja of Nagunuru, and Meda II of Polavasa. He also appears to have fought against the Kalachuris of Kalyani, who had usurped the power from the Chalukyas.
Rudra proclaimed sovereignty around 1163 CE, and conquered the coastal Andhra region by defeating several local chiefs, amid the decline of the Velanati Choda power. He moved the Kakatiya capital from Anumakomda to Orugallu, and started the construction of a fort there. He commissioned the Rudreshvara temple, popularly known as the Thousand Pillar Temple, at Anumakomda.
Early life
Rudradeva was the eldest son of the Kakatiya ruler Prola II, a vassal of the Chalukyas of Kalyani. The earliest extant record from Rudradeva's reign is the 1158 CE Daksharamam inscription issued by his minister Inangala Brammireddi. This inscription describes the death of his father, possibly during an invasion of the Vengi area in the coastal Andhra region.The Daksharamam inscription dates itself to the Shaka year 1080 and to the 13th regnal year of the "Chalukya-Chola" king Rajaraja II. It is possible that the inscription mentions Rajaraja II's regnal years, simply because it was customary to do so in the Daksharamam area: the Cholas were traditionally regarded as the overlords of the Vengi kingdom, although their power was not completely effective in this region. According to another theory, Rudra probably entered into an alliance with Rajaraja II, obtained the Godavari delta region as a fief from him, and invaded the region to avenge his father's death. Yet another possibility is that Prola II, accompanied by Inangala Brammireddi, had allied with Rajaraja II in an attempt to suppress a revolt by Kota and Haihaya chiefs; after his death in the resulting battle, his minister mentioned Rudradeva as the Kakatiaya ruler.
Early military career
The Thousand Pillar Temple inscription credits Rudra with several victories that ultimately led to the establishment of Kakatiyas as a sovereign power. Many of these victories were against his father's enemies or their relatives. He appears to have achieved these victories sometime before 1163 CE, when he proclaimed sovereignty.Tailapa and Bhima of Vardhamana
During the time of Rudra's father Prola II, Kumara Tailapa, a younger brother the Chalukya king Someshvara III, governed the Kanduru-nadu province, with the Choda chiefs as his subordinates. Prola II helped Someshvara's successor Jagadeka-malla II suppress a rebellion by Tailapa and the Choda chiefs. Because he was a member of the Chalukya royal family, Tailapa was released and probably allowed to retain his royal privileges.After the death of Prola II, Tailapa probably again tried to assert his independence. According to the Thousand Pillar Temple inscription, Tailapa "died of dysentery caused by the terror of Rudra", and subsequently, the Choda chief Bhima II declared himself the king. It appears that Bhima owed allegiance to Kumara Tailapa, and after his death, declared himself the king of Kanduru-nadu, possibly during the reign of the Chalukya king Tailapa III.
According to the Thousand Pillar Temple inscription, Rudra invaded Bhima's town of Vardhamana. This invasion was likely not ordered by the Chalukya king, but was a result of Rudra's desire to check Bhima's influence in the area.
Burning of Chododaya's city
According to the Thousand Pillar Temple inscription, Rudra burnt the town of Chododaya. Chododaya likely refers to Udaya II, the Choda ruler of Panugallu. Historian M. Somasekhara Sarma theorizes that at the time of Rudra's attack, the town of Chododaya was a part of Bhima's territories. If the town was still under the control of Udaya II, this conflict likely happened after the reign of the Chalukya king Jagadeka-malla II, since both Rudra and Udaya II recognized him as their overlord. Udaya II's 1148-1149 CE Emdabetta and Sirikonda inscriptions mention him as a subordinate of Jagadeka-malla. Since both Bhima II and Udaya II belonged to the Choda family, it is possible that Rudra defeated both of them in a single campaign. This campaign may have taken place between 1157 CE and 1162 CE, as Bhima and Udaya are attested by their 1157 CE Kishtapuram and Rachuru inscriptions, and Rudra's victory is mentioned in his 1163 CE Thousand Pillar Temple inscription.The Thousand Pillar Temple inscription states that Rudra became "the resort of the shining lotus born of the milky ocean of the dynasty" of Chododaya. This probably refers to his construction of a large tank at the site of the destroyed city. E. Hultzsch suggests that Padma was the name of Udaya's daughter. Probably as part of a peace treaty, Rudra allowed Udaya II to hold his fief, and married his daughter.
Rudra assigned the name "Panugamti-vada" to a locality in Orugallu to commemorate his capture of Panugallu. He granted the upper tract of the Srisailam forest as a fief to the Charaku chiefs, who assisted him in his campaign against the Chodas, as attested by a 1202 CE inscription of the Charaku chief Bollaya.
Domma-raja
According to the Thousand Pillar Temple inscription, Rudra defeated Domma-raja and captured his town. The inscription states that Rudra forced him to flee "by hundreds of his shining arrows as Arjuna did Karna".Domma-raja was the chief of Nagunuru, where his inscriptions have been found. Rudra likely defeated him in 1159 CE, the approximate date of his last extant inscription found at Nagunuru. The 1159 CE Nagunuru inscription of Domma-raja states that an 80,000-strong army of he, Medaraja and Jaga-deva defeated an unnamed enemy. It is possible that this enemy was Rudra, who later defeated these chiefs. The inscription records the death of Jaga-deva, who probably died fighting Rudra's army.
Meda
According to the Thousand Pillar Temple inscription, Rudra subdued the prowess of Meda, defeated the confederacy of the rival kings, and acquired the wealth of Poalvasa-desha. This refers to his subjugation of Meda II, the ruler of Polavasa. Earlier, Rudra's father Prola II had killed Meda's brother Gumda.According to a fragmentary inscription of Rudra's minister Gangadhara, found at Anumakomda, Meda-raja refused to establish peace by offering his daughter to Rudra. Consequently, he lost his wealth, pride and family reputation.
Mailigi and Kalachuris of Kalyani
According to the Thousand Pillar Temple inscription, Rudra destroyed the pride that arose during the meeting with Mailigi-deva. This statement occurs in the inscription after the narration of his victory over the neighbouring chiefs Domma-raja and Meda, and before the narration of his acquisition of wealth of Polavasa. Thus, it is likely that Rudra defeated all these chiefs in the same campaign.The identity of Mailigi-deva is uncertain, but he was most probably a member of the Kalyani Kalachuri dynasty that supplanted the Kalyani Chalukyas. Since Rudra was a former Kalyani Chalukya vassal, the Kalachuris may have tried to make him accept their own suzerainty. The brother and the son of the Kalachuri king Bijjala II were both named Mailigi, and either of these may have led an army against Rudra. Domma-raja and Meda II may have sided with the Kalachuris in this campaign.
E. Hultzsch identified Mailigi with Mallugi, the predecessor of the Yadava king Bhillama V, but this can be dismissed on phonological grounds.
According to the 1161 CE Lakshmeshwara inscription of Bijjala II, he repulsed an invasion by the king of Andhra. Since Rudra was the most prominent king of the Andhra region, it appears that he made an unsuccessful attempt to capture the Kalachuri capital Kalyani, probably as an extension of the campaign against Mailigi and other chiefs. An inscription of Rudra claims that his kingdom extended up to Kataka in the west. This may be a reference to his march up to Kalyana-Kataka, another name for Bijjala's capital Kalyani.
Proclamation of sovereignty
Rudra proclaimed sovereignty in 1163 CE. According to one theory, he allied with the Kalachuri king Bijjala II, who overthrew his overlords - the Chalukyas of Kalyani. However, this is unlikely as epigraphic evidence suggests that he fought against Mailigi of the Kalachuri family. Moreover, in his inscriptions as a sovereign, he continues to bear the feudatory title Maha-mandaleshvara, although he does not mention an overlord. His other sovereign titles were also modest, for example, Pati-hita-charita and Vinaya-Vibhushana. This suggests that he remained loyal to the Chalukyas till the end of that dynasty, and stopped mentioning an overlord only when no claimant to the Chalukya throne remained.According to Rudra's inscription, at this time, his kingdom extended from Godavari River in the north to Srisailam area in the south, and from Kataka in the west to the ocean in the east. The claim about the western boundary probably refers to his march up to Kalyani in the west during his campaign against the Kalachuri general Mailigi. The claim about the eastern boundary is supported by the 1158 CE Daksharamam inscription of Rudra's minister Inangala Brammireddi. However, it is an exaggeration, as much of the coastal Andhra region was under the control of Velanati Chodas and other chiefs, and Rudra's control over Daksharamam was temporary.
As a sovereign
Victrory over Chakrakuta
A fragmentary inscription of Rudra's minister Gangadhara states that Rudra defeated the king of Chakurakuta, who had seized the title Manaya-khetaka-kara from Meda-raja. The identity of the defeated king or the date of his defeat are not certain.Historian P.V.P. Sastry theorizes that Rudra may have participated in a campaign of the Chola king Rajaraja II.