Warangal pillar inscription of Shitab Khan (1504)

The inscription stands in Warangal Fort.¹ It is on “a red sandstone pillar standing in front of the Sambhulinga temple, which is popularly known as Sambhuni-gudi”.¹ It is the chief evidence for Shitab Khan, whose name the nearby hall in the fort also bears.²

Hirananda Sastri describes the pillar as four-faced, “each face being marked by Telugu numerals”.¹ The inscribed part measures 3 feet 10 inches.¹ Some letters have worn away, but they “can be restored with confidence”.¹ See Shitab Khan of Warangal.

Edition

In September 1921 the Telugu scholar K. V. Lakshmana Rao offered to edit the inscription for the Hyderabad Archaeological Series.³⁴⁵ He planned to add a history of Shitab Khan “collected from various contemporary documents”.³⁴⁵ The Director of Archaeology gave him inked estampages (ink copies on paper).³⁴⁵ He died before his memoir could be printed.³⁴⁵

Hirananda Sastri, the Government Epigraphist for India, recast the memoir.³⁴⁵ The Nizam’s government published it in 1932 as No. 9 of the series.³⁴⁵ It has the text, a translation and four plates of the estampages.³⁴⁵

Robert Sewell’s list of inscriptions (1932) records it as No. 108 of 1902 in the Madras epigraphical collection.⁶ It notes that E. Hultzsch had commented on it in the epigraphical report for 1902.⁶

Script and language

The record “is written in the Telugu script of the fifteenth century”.¹⁷ This script “in several respects, differs from the modern alphabet and marks the period of transition”.¹⁷ Sastri wrote: “The language of the record is Sanskrit, but the lines 5 and 6 are written in Telugu prose”.¹⁷

The Sanskrit is verse, in “high flown Sanskrit, though not of any great merit”.¹⁷ It spells the hero’s name in different ways, such as Sittapa-khana.¹⁷ It runs to 143 lines and 36 verses, mostly in the sragdhara and sardulavikridita metres.⁷⁸

Contents

In Sastri’s words, “Its main object is to record the capture of Warangal and the restoration of the temples of a god and a goddess there by Chittapa-khana (Shitab Khan).”⁷ The first verse and the Telugu lines give the date.⁷⁹ It is Sunday, the fifth day of the bright fortnight of Magha, in the Saka year 1425, the cyclic year Rudhirodgarin.⁷⁹ Sastri reckoned this as 21 January 1504.⁷⁹

On that day, the record says, “Bhoge-Chittapa-khana, the ornament of the kings of the earth, who was equal to Vikramaditya”, took Warangal.⁷⁹ He “captured the beautiful capital called Ekopala, (i.e., Warangal) which had been taken by the Yavanas” (Muslims).⁷⁹

Next come prayers to Vishnu as the Boar, Siva and Ganesa.⁷¹⁰ Verses 5 to 8 give his ancestors.⁷¹⁰ His grandfather was Naga, a leader of the Bhoga family.⁷¹⁰ His father was Mana, a fine archer, and his mother was Gauramba.⁷¹⁰

Most of the rest is praise of his bravery and his gifts.¹¹ It says that he took “the important and impregnable hill forts of Rajadri and others”.¹¹

Verses 23 to 26 name his wives, Devambika and Anumamba, and his five sons.¹² Verse 27 says that he “captured for the worship of the gods and the Brahmans the beautiful city of Ekasilapuri”.¹² This city “was formerly ruled by a number of virtuous kings belonging to the family of Kakati”.¹²

Verse 33 says that he restored to its throne the image of Krishna as Panchalaraya.¹³ Verse 34 says that he set up again the goddess who “was the Lakshmi of the throne of the Kakati kingdom”.¹³ She “had been removed from her place by the wicked Turushkas” (Turks).¹³ The last verse names the composer, “Madhava, the son of Annarya, belonging to the Apastamba-(sutra) and Bharadvaja-(gotra)”.¹³ See the Kakatiyas.

Interpretation

Sastri concluded from the inscription that Shitab Khan “was a Hindu and not a Musalman”, whatever his title.⁸ He also concluded that Shitab Khan took Warangal “from the Musalmans” while it belonged to Sultan Quli.⁸ This was before Sultan Quli declared himself king.⁸

The record speaks of the Kakatiyas with respect.²¹⁴⁸ Sastri took this to mean that some member of their house “was alive and was, possibly, recognised to be the de jure owner of Warangal” (its lawful owner).²¹⁴⁸ He took the family name Bhogi to be perhaps a Sanskrit form of Boya, the caste that the kaifiyats (village records) give him.²¹⁴⁸ See Sultan Quli.

Footnotes

1. Hirananda Sastri, Shitab Khan of Warangal (Hyderabad Archaeological Series No. 9, 1932), p. 12 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰

2. Sastri, Shitab Khan of Warangal (1932), p. 2 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. Sastri, Shitab Khan of Warangal (1932), p. v, Government resolution of 7 November 1931 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

4. Sastri, Shitab Khan of Warangal (1932), p. vi (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

5. Sastri, Shitab Khan of Warangal (1932), preface (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

6. Robert Sewell, The Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (1932), p. 234 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

7. Sastri, Shitab Khan of Warangal (1932), p. 13 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶

8. Sastri, Shitab Khan of Warangal (1932), p. 15, with the list of metres (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

9. Sastri, Shitab Khan of Warangal (1932), p. 20, translation of verse 1 and lines 5–6 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

10. Sastri, Shitab Khan of Warangal (1932), p. 21, translation of verses 5–8 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

11. Sastri, Shitab Khan of Warangal (1932), p. 22, translation of verse 19 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩²

12. Sastri, Shitab Khan of Warangal (1932), p. 23, translation of verses 23–27 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³

13. Sastri, Shitab Khan of Warangal (1932), p. 24, translation of verses 33–36 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

14. Sastri, Shitab Khan of Warangal (1932), p. 14 (archive.org↗ (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩² ↩³