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

Tripurantakam inscription of Anantapala

A Kannada inscription of June 1126 in the Tripurantakesvara temple at Tripurantakam, in the old Kurnool district, of the reign of the Western Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI. It says that his general Anantapala was ruling the Vengi twelve-thousand and the Emmedale six-thousand. It also says that Anantapala's nephew Govinda, ruler of the Kondapalli three-hundred, conquered the Chola country. Robert Sewell took it as evidence that the Cholas had lost Vengi to the Western Chalukyas.

The record

The inscription is on the fifth slab set up to the east of the dark room in the Tripurantakesvara temple at Tripurantakam.1 The place was then in the Markapur taluk of the Kurnool district.1 The inscription was published in 1939 in South-Indian Inscriptions IX, part I, as No. 213.1 The editor called it a record “of excellent poetical merit”, but unfortunately damaged.1

It is dated Chalukya-Vikrama year 51, Parabhava, on a solar eclipse.1 The editor equated this with Tuesday, 22 June 1126, “the only solar eclipse of the year”.1

It refers itself to the reign of the Chalukya king Tribhuvanamalladeva, Vikramaditya VI.1 His general (dandanayaka) Anantapalarasa was then ruling over the “Bengi twelve-thousand” and the Emmedale six-thousand.1 Anantapala was the son of a general Mahesvara, who bore the title “root-pillar of the Chalukya family”.1 He was the grandson of Bhima-Dandanayaka.1

The record says that Anantapala had the pleasure of seeing his sister’s son, Govinda-Dandanayaka, conquer the Chola country.1 It says that Govinda carried off the elephants, army and treasure of the Chola king.1 Govindarasa, who was ruling the Kondapalli three-hundred, made a gift of land to the god Tripurantakesvara.1

Another record in the same temple, of the day before, records Anantapala’s gift of a village to the god.2 It is dated in the reign of Tribhuvanamalladeva “ruling from Jayantipura”.2

Anantapala and Vengi

Other Kannada records put Anantapala in Vengi earlier. An inscription at Kollur in the Tenali taluk, of the fortieth year of Tribhuvanamalladeva (1115–16), refers to “the brave Brahman general Anantapalayya”.3 One at Kommuru in the Bapatla taluk, dated in December 1118, says that he was then ruling “Vengi fourteen-thousand”.4

An undated inscription of the reign at Burugugadda in the Nalgonda district introduces the general Anantapalayya.56 It says that he was ruling the province of Vengi twelve-thousand and another region whose name is lost.56 It goes on to describe the exploits of the general Govindarasa and his family.56

Robert Sewell cited this Tripurantakam record as showing that Govinda ruled the Kondapalli district, “close to Bezwada on the Krishna river”.7 He also took it as confirming that the Chola crown had by this time lost Vengi and the neighbouring territories to the Western Chalukyas.7 Sewell dated the Chalukya hold on Vengi from the departure of the Chola viceroy Vikrama Chola in 1118.8

P. V. Parabrahma Sastry identified this Govinda, Anantapala’s nephew, with the Chalukya general Govinda-dandesa.910 This was the general whom the Kakatiya Prola II drove out of the Panugallu country.910 See the Western Chalukyas of Kalyani.

Footnotes

  1. South-Indian Inscriptions IX, pt. I (1939), p. 214, No. 213 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased except for the short phrases quoted. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12 ↩13

  2. South-Indian Inscriptions IX, pt. I (1939), p. 213 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased except for the short phrase quoted. ↩ ↩2

  3. R. Shama Sastry (ed.), South-Indian Inscriptions IX, pt. I (1939), p. 188 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased except for the short phrase quoted. ↩

  4. South-Indian Inscriptions IX, pt. I (1939), p. 191 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased except for the short phrase quoted. ↩

  5. P. B. Desai, introduction to P. Sreenivasachar, Kannada Inscriptions of Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Pradesh Government Archaeological Series 3, 1961), p. 15, No. 43 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  6. Desai, Kannada Inscriptions of Andhra Pradesh (1961), p. 16, No. 43 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  7. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), p. 99 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased except for the short phrase quoted. ↩ ↩2

  8. Robert Sewell, The Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (1932), p. 96 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩

  9. P. V. Parabrahma Sastry, The Kakatiyas of Warangal (1978), p. 79. ↩ ↩2

  10. Parabrahma Sastry, The Kakatiyas of Warangal (1978), p. 80. ↩ ↩2

References

Sources (4)
  1. R. Shama Sastry (ed.), South-Indian Inscriptions (Texts), Vol. IX, Part I: Kannada Inscriptions from the Madras Presidency (opens in a new tab), Manager of Publications, Delhi, 1939, pp. 188, 191, 213–214. South-Indian Inscriptions IX, pt. I (1939), No. 213 and related records; English headnotes paraphrased. [Public domain in India]
  2. 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. 96, 99. Paraphrased. [Public domain in India]
  3. Dr. P. SREENIVASACHAR, M.A., Ph. D. (London) & Prof. P. B. DESAI, M.A., Andhra Pradesh Government Archaeological Series No. 3. KANNADA INSCRIPTIONS OF ANDHRA PRADESH (opens in a new tab), 1961, pp. 15–16. P. B. Desai's summary of the Burugugadda inscription (No. 43). Paraphrased. [Public domain in India]
  4. P. V. Parabrahma Sastry, The Kakatiyas of Warangal, Government of Andhra Pradesh, 1978, pp. 79–80. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]

Spotted an error on this page? Tell us

Last updated: