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Gonka III (Velanati)

Gonka III, also called Kulottunga Manma-Gonka, was a Velanati Choda ruler of the late 12th century. He was the son of Rajendra Choda II, and his queen Jayambika came from the Kondapadumati chiefs of Nadendla. M. Rama Rao placed his short reign between 1181 and 1186, and their son Prithvisvara was the last ruler of the family. Scholars long disagreed even about whether he existed, and they still disagree about how his reign ended.

Gonka III was a ruler of the Velanati Chodas, the family that ruled much of the coastal Telugu country from Tsandavolu in the 12th century.12 He reigned for only a few years, and M. Rama Rao placed his rule between 1181 and 1186.3 He matters because his son Prithvisvara was the last ruler of the family, and because the sources disagree about how his reign ended.34

Family

Gonka III was the son of Rajendra Choda II and his queen Akkambika.53 The Pithapuram pillar inscription of 1186 calls him, in Telugu, Kulottunga-Manma-Gonkaraja.2 It says that he married Jayambika, from the family of the chiefs of the country “to the west of the hill”, the Kondapadumatis of Nadendla.2 Rama Rao found the name of a second queen, Kamambika or Kamidevi, in another record.3

Jayambika and Gonka III were the parents of Prithvisvara.15 In 1186 Jayambika granted a village to the Kunti-Madhava temple at Pithapuram, and her son announced the grant to the people of the district.1 See the Pithapuram pillar inscription.

Tsandavolu, the capital

An inscription at Draksharama says that Gonka III lived at Sanadavrolu in Velanadu.1 E. Hultzsch saw that this name closely resembles the modern Tsandavolu, so he identified Chandavolu as the old capital of the Velanati chiefs.1

His reign

Rama Rao found records that he thought proved Gonka III existed. One names a Choda Gonka maharaja, son of Akkama Mahadevi.3 Another, of 1170, names a Kulottunga Gonka.3 So Rama Rao concluded that Gonka ruled jointly with his father from 1170 to 1181, and alone from 1181 to 1186.3

V. Yashoda Devi, in a thesis written in the 1940s and printed in 1993, listed his records.64 The earliest comes from Tsandavolu, and another from Moparru.6 A record at Rajahmundry dated 1176 belongs to him, she argued, and not to Prithvisvara.6 A damaged record at Draksharama calls him lord of the “Six-thousand” country.4 His records run from Bapatla to Rajahmundry, so she held that the kingdom kept its full size under him.64

Relatives and neighbours

The Kota chiefs of Amaravati–Dharanikota were bound to the Velanati family by marriage. The Annual Report on Epigraphy for 1916 and Robert Sewell’s table (1932) both make Sabbambika, mother of the Kota chief Keta II, a sister of Gonka III.78 P. V. Parabrahma Sastry’s family table (1978) does the same.9 See the Kotas.

The Kona chiefs of the Godavari delta also looked to Velanadu. In 1195 they put two verses praising Gonka’s queen Jayambika into their own inscription at Pithapuram.10 See the Haihayas of Kona.

Where the sources disagree

  • Did he exist? The poem Keyurabahucharitramu makes Prithvisvara a son of Choda, but the Pithapuram inscription puts a Gonka between them.113 Rama Rao argued from three inscriptions that Gonka III was real.3 Yashoda Devi agreed, and thought the poet left him out because his reign was short and quiet.6
  • Which records are his? Hultzsch (1897) gave Gonka III the records of 1138–1157.12 The Godavari District Gazetteer followed him and dated Gonka III 1137–56.13 In 1917 H. Krishna Sastri gave those dates to Gonka II and Rajendra Choda II instead.14 Sewell’s table (1932) gives Gonka III no dates of his own.15
  • How did his reign end? Rama Rao called the reign “brief but eventful and disastrous”, and noted that Prithvisvara afterwards ruled from Pithapuram, across the Godavari.3 Yashoda Devi noted a view that Gonka died opposing the Kakatiya Rudradeva, whose inscription of 1186 stands at Draksharama.4 She rejected it, arguing that Rudradeva would have boasted of such a victory.416 In her view Gonka stopped the Kakatiya army at Draksharama.16
  • Whose sister was Sabbambika? The 1916 Annual Report, Sewell and Parabrahma Sastry make her a sister of Gonka III.789 Yashoda Devi held that she was a sister of Gonka II.16

Footnotes

  1. E. Hultzsch, “Pithapuram Pillar Inscription of Prithvisvara; Saka-Samvat 1108”, Epigraphia Indica IV (1897), p. 33 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  2. Hultzsch, “Pithapuram Inscription of Prithvisvara” (1897), p. 36 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. Rama Rao, “History of the Velnadu Chiefs” (1930), p. 72 and note 34 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  4. Yashoda Devi, History of Andhra Country (1993), p. 57 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  5. Hultzsch, “Pithapuram Inscription of Prithvisvara” (1897), p. 35, table of the chiefs of Velanandu (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  6. V. Yashoda Devi, The History of Andhra Country, 1000 A.D.–1500 A.D. (1993), p. 56 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  7. Annual Report on Epigraphy, Madras, for 1915–16 (G.O. No. 99, Home (Miscellaneous), 29 August 1916), Part II, para. 55, p. 138, genealogy of the Kotas (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  8. Robert Sewell, The Historical Inscriptions of Southern India (1932), p. 363, “Kota Chiefs of Amaravati” (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩ ↩2

  9. P. V. Parabrahma Sastry, The Kakatiyas of Warangal (1978), p. 156, table of the Kota chiefs. ↩ ↩2

  10. E. Hultzsch, “Pithapuram Inscription of Mallideva and Manma-Satya II; Saka-Samvat 1117”, Epigraphia Indica IV (1897), p. 86 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  11. M. Rama Rao, “History of the Velnadu Chiefs”, Journal of the Andhra Historical Research Society V, pt. 2 (October 1930), p. 71 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  12. Hultzsch, “Pithapuram Inscription of Prithvisvara” (1897), p. 38 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  13. F. R. Hemingway, Madras District Gazetteers: Godavari, Vol. I (1907), p. 23 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  14. Annual Report on Epigraphy, Madras, for 1916–17 (G.O. No. 1035, Home (Education), 10 August 1917), Part II, paras. 27–28, p. 120 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  15. Sewell, Historical Inscriptions (1932), pp. 398–399, “Velanandu Chiefs” (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Paraphrased. ↩

  16. Yashoda Devi, History of Andhra Country (1993), p. 58 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). Cite-only; paraphrased. ↩ ↩2 ↩3

Dynasties

Velanati Chodas

c. 1076–1209 CE

The Velanati Chodas ruled Velanadu, the Chandavolu (Tsandavolu) country in the western Krishna delta. They rose as officers of the Eastern Chalukya and Chola kings. From Kulottunga I's reign, they governed Vengi for the Chola emperors. Their records begin at Chebrolu in 1076 and continue to 1206. Gonka II claimed to rule from Kalahasti to the Mahendra mountain, and Rajendra Choda II was the strongest ruler on the coast in the 1170s. The Kakatiya Ganapatideva defeated their last ruler, Prithvisvara, and had taken over Velanadu by 1209.

References

Sources (7)
  1. F. Kielhorn (articles); E. Hultzsch (ed.), Epigraphia Indica, Vol. IV (1896–97) (opens in a new tab), Archaeological Survey of India, 1897, pp. 33, 35–36, 38. E. Hultzsch, Pithapuram inscription of Prithvisvara (No. 4). [Public domain]
  2. M. Rama Rao, History of the Velnadu Chiefs, Journal of the Andhra Historical Research Society, Vol. V, pt. 2 (October 1930) (opens in a new tab), Andhra Historical Research Society, 1930, pp. 71–72. [Public domain]
  3. Madras Government (Assistant Archaeological Superintendent for Epigraphy), Annual Reports on Epigraphy, Southern Circle, for 1915-16 to 1919-20 (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1920, pp. 120 (report for 1916–17), 137–138 (report for 1915–16). [Public domain]
  4. F. R. Hemingway, Madras District Gazetteers: Godavari, Vol. I (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1907, pp. 23. [Public domain]
  5. 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. 363, 398–399. Paraphrased. [Public domain in India]
  6. P. V. Parabrahma Sastry, The Kakatiyas of Warangal, Government of Andhra Pradesh, 1978, pp. 156. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]
  7. V. Yashoda Devi, The History of Andhra Country, 1000 A.D.-1500 A.D. (opens in a new tab), Gyan Publishing House, New Delhi, 1993, pp. 56–58. Cite-only; paraphrased. [All rights reserved (cited, not reproduced)]

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