A new site, built from published sources. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us
Telugu Historyతెలుగు చరిత్ర

Telugu Chodas of Pottapi and Nellore

A family of Telugu chiefs who called themselves Madhurantaka Pottapi-Cholas and Ganda-Gopalas and claimed descent from the Chola king Karikala. They ruled the Pakanadu country of Nellore and southern Kadapa (Cuddapah) from Pottapi and then Nellore, from the early 12th century to about 1316. First vassals of the Cholas, they took Kanchi under Tikka I and his successors. They then passed under the Kakatiyas, who restored Manumasiddhi II, the patron of the poet Tikkana. A related branch ruled Konidena in the Guntur country.

Swipe sideways to see the whole chart; tap a bar for details.

Each bar is a ruling power in its region; time runs left to right. Dashed = approximate dates. Select a bar for details.

1050110011501200125013001350Eastern Chalukyas & the Deccan powers (624–1163 CE)Eastern Chalukyas & the Deccan powersKakatiyas (1163–1323 CE)KakatiyasNayakas, Reddis & Bahmanis (1323–1518 CE)Nayakas, Reddis & BahmanisVijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis (1336–1687 CE)TelanganaChalukyas of MudigondaDelhi Sultanate (Tughluqs)Western Chalukyas of KalyaniMusunuri NayakasKakatiyasRecherla Velamas (Padmanayakas)Telugu Chodas of KanduruKakatiyasCoastal AndhraEastern Gangas of KalingaCholas of TanjoreKakatiyasReddis of KondaveeduKotas of DharanikotaHaihayas of Kona and PalnaduTelugu Chodas of Pottapi and NelloreMusunuri NayakasVelanati ChodasPandyasCholas of TanjoreRayalaseemaCholas of TanjorePandyasVijayanagara EmpireWestern Chalukyas of KalyaniKakatiyasTelugu Chodas of Pottapi and NelloreHoysalas1050110011501200125013001350
Show as a list

Eastern Chalukyas & the Deccan powers 624–1163 CE

Telangana
Chalukyas of Mudigonda (c. 890–1218 CE) · Western Chalukyas of Kalyani (c. 973–1163 CE) · Kakatiyas (c. 1052–1162 CE) · Telugu Chodas of Kanduru (c. 1060–1160 CE)
Coastal Andhra
Eastern Gangas of Kalinga (c. 537–1434 CE) · Cholas of Tanjore (c. 999–1135 CE) · Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi (c. 999–1077 CE) · Kotas of Dharanikota (c. 1100–1276 CE) · Haihayas of Kona and Palnadu (c. 1073–1364 CE) · Telugu Chodas of Pottapi and Nellore (c. 1106–1316 CE) · Velanati Chodas (c. 1118–1209 CE) · Western Chalukyas of Kalyani (c. 1118–1126 CE)
Rayalaseema
Cholas of Tanjore (c. 985–1268 CE) · Western Chalukyas of Kalyani (c. 1000–1190 CE) · Telugu Chodas of Pottapi and Nellore (c. 1120–1268 CE)

Kakatiyas 1163–1323 CE

Telangana
Chalukyas of Mudigonda (c. 890–1218 CE) · Kakatiyas (c. 1163–1323 CE)
Coastal Andhra
Eastern Gangas of Kalinga (c. 537–1434 CE) · Kakatiyas (c. 1185–1323 CE) · Kotas of Dharanikota (c. 1100–1276 CE) · Haihayas of Kona and Palnadu (c. 1073–1364 CE) · Telugu Chodas of Pottapi and Nellore (c. 1106–1316 CE) · Velanati Chodas (c. 1118–1209 CE) · Pandyas (c. 1260–1264 CE) · Cholas of Tanjore (c. 1135–1264 CE)
Rayalaseema
Cholas of Tanjore (c. 985–1268 CE) · Pandyas (1285–1293 CE) · Western Chalukyas of Kalyani (c. 1000–1190 CE) · Kakatiyas (c. 1250–1323 CE) · Telugu Chodas of Pottapi and Nellore (c. 1120–1268 CE) · Hoysalas (c. 1178–1342 CE)

Nayakas, Reddis & Bahmanis 1323–1518 CE

Telangana
Delhi Sultanate (Tughluqs) (c. 1323–1336 CE) · Bahmani Sultanate (c. 1347–1518 CE) · Musunuri Nayakas (c. 1336–1368 CE) · Recherla Velamas (Padmanayakas) (c. 1361–1475 CE)
Coastal Andhra
Eastern Gangas of Kalinga (c. 537–1434 CE) · Reddis of Kondaveedu (c. 1325–1424 CE) · Delhi Sultanate (Tughluqs) (c. 1323–1326 CE) · Vijayanagara Empire (c. 1350–1579 CE) · Haihayas of Kona and Palnadu (c. 1073–1364 CE) · Reddis of Rajahmundry (c. 1386–1448 CE) · Musunuri Nayakas (c. 1325–1346 CE)
Rayalaseema
Vijayanagara Empire (c. 1336–1646 CE) · Reddis of Kondaveedu (c. 1346–1386 CE) · Hoysalas (c. 1178–1342 CE)

Vijayanagara & the Qutb Shahis 1336–1687 CE

Telangana
Bahmani Sultanate (c. 1347–1518 CE) · Musunuri Nayakas (c. 1336–1368 CE) · Recherla Velamas (Padmanayakas) (c. 1361–1475 CE)
Coastal Andhra
Eastern Gangas of Kalinga (c. 537–1434 CE) · Reddis of Kondaveedu (c. 1325–1424 CE) · Vijayanagara Empire (c. 1350–1579 CE) · Haihayas of Kona and Palnadu (c. 1073–1364 CE) · Reddis of Rajahmundry (c. 1386–1448 CE) · Musunuri Nayakas (c. 1325–1346 CE)
Rayalaseema
Vijayanagara Empire (c. 1336–1646 CE) · Reddis of Kondaveedu (c. 1346–1386 CE) · Hoysalas (c. 1178–1342 CE)
Kingdoms and empires Sultanates Uncertain or debated dates Held another region first This page

Reigns

Each bar is one ruler’s reign; time runs left to right. c. = approximate date.

11751200122512501275130013251350Tammusiddhi · c. 1205–1209 CE · c. 4 yrsTammusiddhic. 1205–1209 CE · c. 4 yrsTikka I (Telugu Choda of Nellore) · c. 1209–1248 CE · c. 39 yrsTikka I (Telugu Choda of Nellore)c. 1209–1248 CE · c. 39 yrsManumasiddhi II · c. 1248–1290 CE · c. 42 yrsManumasiddhi IIc. 1248–1290 CE · c. 42 yrsManmasiddhi III · c. 1290–1316 CE · c. 26 yrsManmasiddhi IIIc. 1290–1316 CE · c. 26 yrs
  1. Tammusiddhic. 1205–1209 CE · c. 4 yrs
  2. Tikka I (Telugu Choda of Nellore)c. 1209–1248 CE · c. 39 yrs
  3. Manumasiddhi IIc. 1248–1290 CE · c. 42 yrs
  4. Manmasiddhi IIIc. 1290–1316 CE · c. 26 yrs
Reign · c. = approximate date

Approximate. Tammusiddhi was anointed at Nellore in 1205–06 (Arulala-Perumal inscription) and his last dates are of 1207–08. Sewell (1932) dates Tikka I's records from March 1209, counts his reign from after May 1223 and puts his death in 1250–51; Parabrahma Sastry (1978) puts his death in 1248. Sewell gives Manmasiddhi II a reign of 1250–1291 by counting the regnal years of Vijaya-Gandagopala, whom he takes to be the same man; Brackenbury (1915) and Parabrahma Sastry treat Vijaya-Gandagopala as a rival. Manmasiddhi III's last date in Sewell is 4 March 1316, his 27th year; the Nellore gazetteer (1942) found no Telugu Choda record in Nellore after 1305.

Family tree

The rulers and the relatives who explain the succession. Every line rests on a cited statement on a person page; the sources are listed below the tree. Select a card to open that page.

  • parent and child
  • marriage
  • adoption
  • the sources disagree (see below)
  • brother or sister
  • order of succession
Family tree: Telugu Chodas of Pottapi and NelloreErasiddhi(Ganda-Gopala)Father of TammusiddhiSrideviQueen of ErasiddhiNallasiddhiHis place in the familyis disputedManmasiddhi IEldest son of Erasiddhi;reigned beforeTammusiddhiBetta IIGave up the throne forausteritiesTammusiddhic. 1205–1209 CE1Tikka Ic. 1209–1248 CE2Manumasiddhi IIc. 1248–1290 CE3Tikka II (ImmadiTikka)Son of Manumasiddhi II;records of 1278 and 1280Nallasiddha IISon of Manumasiddhi II;records of 1256 and 1267Manmasiddhi IIIc. 1290–1316 CE4

  1. Generation 1

    • SrideviQueen of ErasiddhiWife of Erasiddhi (Ganda-Gopala)
    • Erasiddhi (Ganda-Gopala)Father of TammusiddhiHusband of Sridevi
    • NallasiddhiHis place in the family is disputedsources disagree

  2. Generation 2

    • Manmasiddhi IEldest son of Erasiddhi; reigned before TammusiddhiSon of Erasiddhi (Ganda-Gopala) and Sridevi
    • Betta IIGave up the throne for austeritiesSon of Erasiddhi (Ganda-Gopala) and Sridevi
    • 1Tammusiddhic. 1205–1209 CESon of Erasiddhi (Ganda-Gopala) and Sridevi

  3. Generation 3

    • 2Tikka Ic. 1209–1248 CESon of Manmasiddhi I

  4. Generation 4

  5. Generation 5

    • Tikka II (Immadi Tikka)Son of Manumasiddhi II; records of 1278 and 1280Son of Manumasiddhi II
    • Nallasiddha IISon of Manumasiddhi II; records of 1256 and 1267Son of Manumasiddhi II

  6. Generation 6

    • 4Manmasiddhi IIIc. 1290–1316 CESon of Nallasiddha II

Where the sources disagree

Who was Nallasiddhi?

Lüders (1903) and Hultzsch: a brother of Erasiddhi, so an uncle of Tammusiddhi.

  • Lüders, using a third inscription at Tiruvorriyur, showed that Nallasiddhi and Dayabhima were two different persons. →
    1. Lüders, "Two Inscriptions of Tammusiddhi" (1903), p. 122 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)).
    2. H. Lüders, "Two Further Inscriptions of Tammusiddhi", Epigraphia Indica VII (1903), pp. 148–149 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)).

The Kavali inscription of 1207–08 (Butterworth and Venugopaul Chetty, 1905): the eldest son of Erasiddhi, the anointed king, by whose favour Tammusiddhi ruled.

  • The Kavali inscription of 1207–08 calls Nalla Siddha the eldest son of Erasiddhi and Sridevi. →
    1. Alan Butterworth and V. Venugopaul Chetty, A Collection of the Inscriptions on Copper-Plates and Stones in the Nellore District, Part II (1905), Kavali No. 39, pp. 735–736 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)).

Sewell (1932): another name of Betta II. His editor S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar: another name of the eldest brother, Manmasiddhi I.

Sources for every line of the tree
  • Erasiddhi (Ganda-Gopala) · Sridevi (marriage)
    • Tammusiddhi was a son of Erasiddhi and his queen Sridevi. →
      1. H. Lüders, "Two Inscriptions of Tammusiddhi, Saka-Samvat 1129", Epigraphia Indica VII (1903), pp. 120–121 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)).
  • Erasiddhi (Ganda-Gopala) and Sridevi → Manmasiddhi I, Betta II and Tammusiddhi (parent and child)
    • The Tiruvalangadu inscription names three sons of Erasiddhi and Sridevi: Manmasiddhi, Betta II and Tammusiddhi. →
      1. H. Lüders, "Two Inscriptions of Tammusiddhi, Saka-Samvat 1129", Epigraphia Indica VII (1903), pp. 120–121 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)).
  • Nallasiddhi · Erasiddhi (Ganda-Gopala) (brother or sister) · sources disagree
    • Lüders, using a third inscription at Tiruvorriyur, showed that Nallasiddhi and Dayabhima were two different persons. →
      1. Lüders, "Two Inscriptions of Tammusiddhi" (1903), p. 122 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)).
      2. H. Lüders, "Two Further Inscriptions of Tammusiddhi", Epigraphia Indica VII (1903), pp. 148–149 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)).
  • Manmasiddhi I → Tikka I (parent and child)
  • Tikka I → Manumasiddhi II (parent and child)
    • Manumasiddhi II was the son and successor of Tikka I, and like his father he ruled the Pakanadu from Nellore. →
      1. C. F. Brackenbury, Madras District Gazetteers: Cuddapah (1915), p. 32 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)).
  • Manumasiddhi II → Tikka II (Immadi Tikka) and Nallasiddha II (parent and child)
    • Sewell's table gives him three sons, Tikka II (called Immadi Tikka), Nallasiddha II of Kanchi and Gopinatha. →
      1. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 396, genealogical table (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased.
  • Nallasiddha II → Manmasiddhi III (parent and child)
    • Sewell made Manmasiddhi III, the last of the line, a son of Nallasiddha II who succeeded his grandfather. →
      1. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 167 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased.

A line from one parent only means that the cited sources name no other parent.

The dynasty in brief

A family of Telugu chiefs who called themselves Choda, the Telugu form of Chola, ruled the Pakanadu country. This was the present Nellore district and the eastern side of the old Kadapa (then Cuddapah) district. Brackenbury’s Cuddapah gazetteer (1915) found them governing Nellore and the Pullampet and Sidhout taluks “at the beginning of the 11th century”.12 Their dated records in Sewell’s chronicle begin about 1120.3

They claimed descent from the Chola king Karikala.45 They carried the titles Madhurantaka Pottapi-Chola, from their early seat at Pottapi on the Cheyyeru, and Ganda-Gopala.45 Robert Sewell drew up a table of the family in 1932.5 He called it tentative, because the relationships of its many branches were still confused.5

They were vassals of the Chola emperors until the Chola empire broke up in the 13th century. Tikka I’s records reach Kanchi.67 Under his son Manumasiddhi II they lost Nellore to rivals.67

The Kakatiya king Ganapatideva restored them, after an embassy by the poet Tikkana.67 The last king of the line, Manmasiddhi III, ruled at Nellore and Kanchi as a subordinate of the Kakatiya Prataparudra.8 Telugu Choda records end in the early 14th century.9

This page covers the Pottapi and Nellore family and the related Konidena chiefs.10 The early Telugu Cholas of Renandu are on a separate page.10 The Velanati Chodas and the Kandur Chodas were other families of the same name.10

Names and titles

Brackenbury’s Cuddapah gazetteer (1915) wrote that “the word Chōda is really only a variant of Chōla”.1 It added that the Telugu Chodas “claim the same ancestry and possess the same family titles as the Chōlas”.1

Sewell described the family as ruling part of the Nellore district and the Kalahasti country in Chittoor.5 Some of its records claim Pallava origin, others call its members descendants of the Chalukyas with the title Sasikula-Chalukki, and others make Karikala their ancestor.5 Sewell derived their titles Pottapi-Chola and Tirukalatti from the city of Pottapi and the old name of Kalahasti.5

The title Madhurantaka has been explained in two ways. In the Tiruvalangadu inscription of Tammusiddhi, an ancestor “after his conquest of Madhura”, the Pandya capital, became “renowned by the name of Madhurantaka”.11 Then, “after having founded in (the country of) the Andhras the town called Pottapi”, he “bore the title of Chola preceded by that (name)”.11

Brackenbury thought it might instead be the title of a viceroy of a Chola province reaching “from Madurantakam … on the south to Pottapi on the north”.2 He noted that inscriptions of Madurantaka Pottapi-Cholas are found as far south as the Chengalpattu (then Chingleput) district.2

Pottapi and the Pakanadu

Pottapi is the village of that name on the Cheyyeru river in the old Pullampet taluk of Kadapa. Brackenbury held that it had been identified “with absolute certainty”.1 E. Hultzsch had earlier pointed to a village “Potapi” near “Tongootoor” in the same taluk.4 The Chola province was called Pakanadu.2 Its Kadapa part, governed from Pottapi, was the Merpakanadu or “west Paka country”.2

The family’s beginnings are dated differently.

  • Brackenbury recorded that one Dasavarman, grandfather of a Choda chief, “conquered the Pâka-Rāshtra and ruled at Pottapi”.1 He thought this “must have been about A.D. 1000”.1
  • The Nellore gazetteer of 1942 placed a Dasavarman who boasted of conquering Pakanadu about 1100.12 It made him the founder of the Konidena and Kandukur branch, an early offshoot of the Pottapi family.12
  • In Sewell’s chronicle the first dated chiefs of Pottapi are a Betta ruling the Pottapinadu in 1120–21, and Vimaladitya Madhurantaka Pottapi-Chola.313 Vimaladitya, son of Siddha, was a vassal of Vikrama Chola about 1125.313

The gazetteer divided the descendants of a chief called Bijjana or Tilungavidya, who bore the titles Gandagopala and Jaganobbaganda, into at least three branches:1012

  • a line descended from Mallideva I that ruled the Pakanadu two thousand1012
  • a line descended from Dayabhima, with its capital first at Pottapi and then at Nellore1012
  • the Konidena line1012

Sewell’s table gives Mallideva I the dates 1139–1167 and places Tilungavidya at the head of both lines.14

Tammusiddhi and the problem of Nallasiddhi

The best-documented early king is Tammusiddhi. Three Sanskrit inscriptions of his at Tiruvalangadu, Tiruppasur and Tiruvorriyur are all of Saka 1129 (1207–08; Saka is an Indian way of counting years).154 They give a genealogy running from Karikala through Madhurantaka Pottapi-Chola and Tilungavidya to Tammusiddhi’s father Erasiddhi and mother Sridevi.154

A fourth inscription is in the Arulala-Perumal temple at Kanchipuram.16 It records that in Saka 1127 (1205–06) Tammusiddhi, “the son of Gaṇḍagôpâla and Śrîdêvî, the younger brother of the great king Manmasiddhi”, gave a village to the god.16 It adds that he did so after “having performed his anointment in the town of Nellûr”.16

The family’s internal history is disputed, chiefly over a king called Nallasiddhi, as the Tammusiddhi page explains. The sources place him in four ways:1718519

  • H. Lüders made him a brother of Erasiddhi.17
  • The Kavali inscription of 1207–08 calls him Erasiddhi’s eldest son, the anointed king, by whose favour Tammusiddhi ruled.18
  • Sewell made him the same person as Betta II.5
  • Sewell’s editor took him to be the eldest brother, Manmasiddhi I.19

Parabrahma Sastry, a modern historian, wrote that the Chola Kulottunga III had removed Manmasiddhi I and set up his younger brother Nallasiddhi.20 He wrote that Nallasiddhi and Tammusiddhi ruled Nellore until 1207–08 under the Chola king.20

Tikka I

Tammusiddhi’s successor at Nellore was his nephew Tikka I, son of Manmasiddhi I, also called Tirukalatti. Parabrahma Sastry held that Tikka claimed the throne as rightful heir and won the help of the Kakatiya Ganapatideva.20 In his account, Ganapatideva drove out Tammusiddhi and restored Nellore to Tikka.20

Tikka remained a loyal Chola vassal.6 Brackenbury credited him with helping the weak Rajaraja III to drive back the Pandyas and the Hoysala Somesvara.6 He quoted the boast that Tikka “played ball with the head of Prithviswara”.6

Sewell lists his records at Kanchi from about 1230.21 The Nellore gazetteer says he earned the title of restorer of the Chola kingdom.22

Manumasiddhi II, Tikkana and the Kakatiyas

Manumasiddhi II, Tikka’s son, ruled from Nellore.6 He was the patron of the poet Tikkana Somayaji, translator of the Telugu Mahabharata.6 Early in his reign he was driven out of Nellore. Who drove him out is told differently:

  • Brackenbury names “a cousin, Vijaya Gandagōpāla”, of the branch that had ruled the east of the province from Kandukur or Nellore.7
  • Chenchiah and Bhujanga Rao (1928) name “his relatives, Akkana and Bayyana”.23
  • The Nayanapalle inscription of Ganapatideva, edited in 1956, says that the Kakatiya king killed Bayyana and Tikkana, who had burnt Nellore.2425 Its editor took this Tikkana to be the Akkana of the literary sources, not the poet.2425

All agree that Ganapatideva restored Manumasiddhi, and that the poet went to the Kakatiya court as his envoy.72325 Sewell, on the other hand, identified Manumasiddhi II with Vijaya-Gandagopala himself.2614 Vijaya-Gandagopala’s records at Kanchi and in the North Arcot country begin in 1250, and Sewell’s table extends his reign to 1291.2614

Parabrahma Sastry treated Vijaya-Gandagopala as a separate claimant who held Kanchi while Manumasiddhi held Nellore.27 The Kakatiya side of these events is told on the pages of Ganapatideva and the Kakatiyas.

About 1258–60 the Pandya Jatavarman Sundara Pandya I claimed to have marched north through Vijaya-Gandagopala’s country as far as Nellore.282930 He claimed to have had himself crowned there.282930 Sewell recorded the claim but doubted that such a march was possible.2829 The Nellore gazetteer accepted it.30

The last kings

Sewell’s table makes Manmasiddhi III, called Ranganatha and Raya-Gandagopala, a grandson of Manumasiddhi II, and his records run to 1316.1431 In 1297–98 a record at Narasaraopet called Manma-Gandagopala, eldest son of Nallasiddhi, “a subordinate of Pratâparudra”.8 It says he had taken possession of Kanchipura.8

The Kerala king Ravivarman Kulasekhara was crowned at Kanchi in 1312–13.32 In June 1316 the Kakatiya general Muppidi installed a governor called Manavira at Kanchi.32 Hultzsch thought it probable that Manavira was a member of the same family.32 He pointed out that the standard coin of Kanchi was then “the mâḍai of Gaṇḍagôpâla”.32

The Nellore gazetteer found no Telugu Choda record in Nellore after 1305.9 In its account, from then on the Kakatiyas appear to rule the district directly.9

The Konidena Chodas

A branch of the family ruled Konidena, in the Guntur country south of the Krishna, in the first half of the 12th century. Sewell lists Pottapi-Kamadeva, a Konidena chief, as the local ruler under Kulottunga I at Tripurantakam about 1106.3334 He lists Kama or Kamadeva Choda in the Kurnool country in the 43rd year of Kulottunga I.3334

A Choda Ballaya of the Konidena branch may be the “Choda-deva Maharaja” who ruled the Kommanadu tract at the end of 1118.3353637 Kama-Choda-Maharaja, whose wife was Sriyadevi, ruled under Kulottunga II.3353637 Their son Tribhuvanamalla Pottapi-Choda and his son Nanni-Choda made grants at Konidena in the 1140s.3353637

The Nellore gazetteer named Ballaya Choda as founder of the Ballesvara temple at Konidena.12 It counted at least five generations of the line.12 It thought the line short-lived, and succeeded after the middle of the 12th century by the Kondapadumati chiefs.12

Inscriptions

Records of the family drafted for this site:161824

Footnotes

  1. C. F. Brackenbury, Madras District Gazetteers: Cuddapah (1915), p. 30 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  2. Brackenbury, Cuddapah (1915), p. 31 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  3. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 97 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  4. Lüders, “Two Inscriptions of Tammusiddhi” (1903), p. 121 and note 5 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  5. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 395, “Telugu-Choda Chiefs” (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  6. Brackenbury, Cuddapah (1915), p. 32 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  7. Brackenbury, Cuddapah (1915), p. 34 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  8. E. Hultzsch, “Arulala-Perumal Inscription of Prataparudra; Saka-Samvat 1238”, Epigraphia Indica VII (1903), p. 129 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  9. Johns, Nellore District Gazetteer (1942), p. 47 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  10. W. E. Johns, Gazetteer of the Nellore District, brought up to 1938 (1942), p. 40 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7

  11. Lüders, “Two Inscriptions of Tammusiddhi” (1903), p. 125, translation, vv. 10–11 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  12. Johns, Nellore District Gazetteer (1942), p. 41 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  13. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 99 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  14. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 396, genealogical table (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  15. H. Lüders, “Two Inscriptions of Tammusiddhi, Saka-Samvat 1129”, Epigraphia Indica VII (1903), p. 120 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  16. H. Lüders, “Two Further Inscriptions of Tammusiddhi”, Epigraphia Indica VII (1903), p. 152 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  17. Lüders, “Two Inscriptions of Tammusiddhi” (1903), p. 122 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  18. Alan Butterworth and V. Venugopaul Chetty, A Collection of the Inscriptions on Copper-Plates and Stones in the Nellore District, Part II (1905), Kavali No. 39, pp. 735–736 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  19. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 130 and editor’s note (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  20. P. V. Parabrahma Sastry, The Kakatiyas of Warangal (1978), p. 109. Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  21. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 140 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩

  22. Johns, Nellore District Gazetteer (1942), p. 44 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩

  23. P. Chenchiah and Raja M. Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (1928), p. 46 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  24. V. Venkatasubba Ayyar, “Nayanapalle Inscription of Ganapatideva”, Epigraphia Indica XXVII (1956), p. 193 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  25. Venkatasubba Ayyar, “Nayanapalle Inscription” (1956), p. 194 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  26. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 148 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  27. Parabrahma Sastry, The Kakatiyas of Warangal (1978), p. 113. Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩

  28. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 154 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  29. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 155 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  30. Johns, Nellore District Gazetteer (1942), p. 45 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  31. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 177 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩

  32. Hultzsch, “Arulala-Perumal Inscription of Prataparudra” (1903), p. 130 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  33. Robert Sewell, The Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (1932), p. 92 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  34. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 94 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  35. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 102 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  36. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 105 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  37. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), pp. 107–108 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

Photos

People

Tammusiddhi

c. 1205–1208 CE

Telugu Choda king of the Pottapi and Nellore family, and a vassal of the Chola king Kulottunga III. He was anointed at Nellore in 1205–06 and made grants at Kanchipuram, Tiruvalangadu, Tiruppasur, Tiruvorriyur, Nellore and Kavali. His inscriptions give the fullest early family tree of the family, but they disagree about who his brother or uncle Nallasiddhi was.

Tikka I (Telugu Choda of Nellore)

c. 1209–1248 CE

Telugu Choda king of Nellore, also called Tirukalatti and Ganda-Gopala, who ruled from about 1209 to 1248 or 1250. He was a loyal vassal of the Chola Rajaraja III, fought the Hoysalas and held Kanchi. In one modern account he owed his throne at Nellore to the Kakatiya Ganapatideva. He was the father of Manumasiddhi II.

Manumasiddhi II

c. 1248 CE

Telugu Choda king of Nellore from about 1248 or 1250, son of Tikka I and patron of the poet Tikkana Somayaji. He was driven out of Nellore early in his reign. The Kakatiya king Ganapatideva restored him after Tikkana went to the Kakatiya court as his envoy, and he later fought for Ganapati against Kalinga on the Godavari. Whether he was the same king as Vijaya-Gandagopala of Kanchi is disputed.

Tikkana Somayaji

Telugu poet of the 13th century at the court of the Telugu Choda king Manumasiddhi II of Nellore. He translated fifteen books of the Mahabharata into Telugu, completing the work Nannaya had begun two centuries earlier, and wrote the Nirvachanottara Ramayana. He went as his patron's envoy to the Kakatiya Ganapatideva, whose help restored Manumasiddhi to Nellore.

Inscriptions

Arulala-Perumal inscription of Tammusiddhi, 1205–06

1205 CE

A Sanskrit inscription in Grantha letters on the base of the platform called 'the mountain' in the Arulala-Perumal (Varadaraja) temple at Kanchipuram. It records that in Saka 1127 (1205–06) the Telugu Choda king Tammusiddhi, having been anointed at Nellore, gave the village of Muttiyampakka to the god. It names his father's surname, Ganda-Gopala, and the place of his anointment.

Kavali inscription of Tammusiddhi, 1207–08

1207 CE

Stone by the tank at Kavali in the Nellore district, in Sanskrit verse in Telugu letters, with the boundaries in Telugu. It records that in Saka 1129 (1207–08) the Telugu Choda king Tammusiddhi founded an agrahara (Brahmin village) named Sripura after his mother Sridevi and gave it to a hundred Brahmana shareholders. It calls his brother Nalla Siddha the eldest son and anointed king, by whose favour Tammusiddhi ruled.

References

Sources (8)
  1. E. Hultzsch (ed.), Epigraphia Indica, Vol. VII (1902–03), with Kielhorn's List of Inscriptions of Southern India (opens in a new tab), Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta (scan of the ASI 1981 facsimile reprint), 1903, pp. 119–122, 128–130, 148–152. H. Lüders, Two Inscriptions of Tammusiddhi (No. 17) and Two Further Inscriptions of Tammusiddhi (No. 21); E. Hultzsch, Arulala-Perumal Inscription of Prataparudra (No. 18). [Public domain]
  2. C. F. Brackenbury, Madras District Gazetteers: Cuddapah, Vol. I (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1915, pp. 30–34. [Public domain]
  3. Alan Butterworth and V. Venugopaul Chetty, A Collections of the Inscriptions on Copper-Plates and Stones in the Nellore District, Madras, in Three Parts, Part II (opens in a new tab), 1905, pp. 734–736, 739–740. Kavali Nos. 38 and 39. [Public domain]
  4. Robert Sewell (ed. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar), The Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (Collected till 1923) and Outlines of Political History (opens in a new tab), University of Madras, 1932, pp. 92–108, 128–177, 395–396. Paraphrased; the genealogical table of Telugu-Choda chiefs is on p. 396. [Public domain in India]
  5. W. E. Johns, Gazetteer of the Nellore District, brought up to 1938, Vol. A (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1942, pp. 38–47. Paraphrased. [Public domain in India]
  6. B. Ch. Chhabra and N. Lakshminarayan Rao (eds.), Epigraphia Indica, Vol. XXVII (1947–48) (opens in a new tab), Archaeological Survey of India, 1956, pp. 193–195. V. Venkatasubba Ayyar, Nayanapalle Inscription of Ganapatideva (No. 35). Paraphrased. [Public domain in India]
  7. P. Chenchiah and Raja M. Bhujanga Rao, A History of Telugu Literature (The Heritage of India Series) (opens in a new tab), Association Press (Y.M.C.A.), Calcutta / Oxford University Press, London, 1928, pp. 46. [Public domain]
  8. P. V. Parabrahma Sastry, The Kakatiyas of Warangal, Government of Andhra Pradesh, 1978, pp. 108–109, 112–114. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]

Spotted an error on this page? Tell us

Last updated: