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Telugu Historyతెలుగు చరిత్ర

Bukkarayasamudram

Village at the eastern end of the great tank of Anantapur, named 'king Bukka's sea' after Bukka I of Vijayanagara. A Kanarese inscription of 1364 says that his minister Anantarasa dug the tank. The Anantapur chronicle names the builder Chikkappa Wadeyar, and makes Anantapur, at the western end, the village named after his wife. In the sixteenth century it became a seat of the Hande poligars (local chiefs) of Anantapur.

Bukkarayasamudram lies at the eastern end of the embankment of the great tank of Anantapur. The Anantapur gazetteer of 1905 follows the Mackenzie manuscripts that C. P. Brown translated as “The Wars of the Rajas”.1 It says that the tank “was constructed by Chikkappa Udaiyar, Diwan to king Bukka I of Vijayanagar”.1 He built a village at each end.1

The gazetteer goes on: “The village at the eastern end he called Bukkarayasamudram (‘king Bukka’s sea’) after his king”.1 He named “that at the western end Anantasagaram (‘Ananta’s ocean’) after his wife”.1 “Bukkarayasamudram is still in existence and still known by its original name.”1 “Anantasagaram was afterwards called Anantapuram and is the present town of Anantapur.”1 Brown’s chronicle dates the work to Saka 1286, Krodhi (1364; Saka is an Indian way of counting years).2 In Brown’s translation the builder is “Chikkappa Wadeyar”, Bukka’s “chief servant”.2 See the Bukkarayasamudram inscription and Bukka I.

Who built the tank

A Kanarese inscription on a stone at Bukkarayasamudram is dated Saka 1286, in the reign of Bukka Raya.3 In V. Rangacharya’s summary, it “records that his Minister Anantarasa Udayar excavated the tank and built a temple of Sankara on its banks”.3 Robert Sewell’s lists of 1882 give the builder as “Chikka Udayar, minister of the early Vijayanagar king Bukka Raya”.4

The chronicle tells how the girl Musalamma, daughter-in-law of Basi Reddi of Bukka Raya Samudram, was built into a breach of the embankment.5 The gazetteer saw three margosa trees and memorial stones still marking the spot.1

The Hande poligars

Brown’s chronicle goes on to tell of the Hande family:67

  • Rama Raya and Tirumala Raya rewarded Hande Hanumappa Nayudu with Nandela, Bucca Raya Samudram, Dharmavaram and other places.6
  • He took charge at Nandela in Saka 1491 (1569), then went on to Bucca Raya Samudram and built a royal residence before the fort in the village.6
  • He governed the country until his death in 1582.67
  • His son Immadi Hampa Nayudu ruled until 1595, “and he died at Bukka Raya Samudram”.67
  • Malacappa Nayudu fought the Muslims for Sri Ranga Raya, and then “built a town anew, at Bucca Raya Samudram”.67

See Aliya Rama Raya and Tirumala.

Footnotes

  1. W. Francis, Madras District Gazetteers: Anantapur (1905), p. 143 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  2. C. P. Brown (tr.), The Wars of the Rajas, being the History of Anantapuram (1853), p. 1 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  3. V. Rangacharya, A Topographical List of the Inscriptions of the Madras Presidency, Vol. I (1919), p. 1, Anantapur No. 1 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2

  4. Robert Sewell, Lists of the Antiquarian Remains in the Presidency of Madras, Vol. I (1882), p. 117 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  5. Brown, The Wars of the Rajas (1853), p. 2 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩

  6. Brown, The Wars of the Rajas (1853), p. 5 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6

  7. Brown, The Wars of the Rajas (1853), p. 6 (archive.org (opens in a new tab)). ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

Inscriptions

Bukkarayasamudram tank inscription (1364)

1364 CE

A Kanarese (Kannada) inscription on a stone at Bukkarayasamudram, the great tank at Anantapur. It is dated Saka 1286, Krodhin (1364), in the reign of Bukka Raya of Vijayanagar. As V. Rangacharya summarised it in 1919, it records that the minister Anantarasa Udayar dug the tank and built a temple of Sankara on its banks. The Telugu chronicle translated by C. P. Brown as 'The Wars of the Rajas' gives the same year but names the builder Chikkappa Wadeyar.

References

Sources (4)
  1. V. Rangacharya, A Topographical List of the Inscriptions of the Madras Presidency (collected till 1915), with Notes and References, Vol. I (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1919, pp. 1. [Public domain]
  2. Charles Philip Brown (tr.), The Wars of the Rajas, Being the History of Anantapuram (opens in a new tab), Christian Knowledge Society's Press, Madras, 1853, pp. 1–6. [Public domain]
  3. W. Francis, Madras District Gazetteers: Anantapur (opens in a new tab), Government of Madras (Addison & Co.), 1905, pp. 143. [Public domain]
  4. Robert Sewell, Lists of the Antiquarian Remains in the Presidency of Madras, Vol. I (opens in a new tab), Government Press, Madras, 1882, pp. 117. [Public domain]

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