గ్రామ కైఫియ్యత్తులు: గుంటూరు తాలూకా (మొదటి భాగము)/General Introduction

by ఆంధ్రప్రదేశ్ స్టేట్ ఆర్కైవ్స్

PART-I

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

MACKENZIE KAIFIYATS

OF

GUNTUR DISTRICT

In the fitness of things it is just to say something about the origin of these records. A brief account of Colonel Colin Mackenzie after whom-these voluminous records are called is furnished by Prof. T. V. Mahalingam in his introduction to Mackenzie Manuscripts, Vol. 1 (University of Madras, 1972). To this remarkable Englishman South Indians in general and Andhras in particular are much indebted. Mackenzie, he says, joined the Madras Engineers in 1783 in the service of the East India Company and toured throughout South India. In course of such tours he found several stones, particularly in temples, which contain writing in early scripts. In fact, at several places he noticed some unusual traces of ancient remains in the form of structures, mounds, and stray finds of sculpture etc., which excited his curiosity. As a consequence, an idea struck him to gather as much information as possible about these antiquarian remains which he considered to be of much value for the reconstruction of the history of the country. He succeeded in securing the services of a young talented man named Kavali Venkata Borraiah of Eluru in West Godavari district, who could decipher those old scripts preserved on stones in the temples all over the Andhra area. Mackenzie engaged him at his own expense. Borraiah, the first Andhra epigraphist, with the assistance of his brothers Lakshmaiah and Ramasvami could successfully copy some thousands of inscriptions in the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema areas. As an associate work in his project Colin Mackenzie arranged for the collection of local records from the Karanams all over the State. Mackenzie became the Surveyor General of Madras in 1810. But soon after, he was called away to command the Engineers in Jawa, where he stayed till 1815. Again he was appointed as Surveyor-General of India in 1816 and died in 1821 near Calcutta.

His collections included as many as 1,568 manuscripts, in several languages particularly Tamil, Telugu and Canarese and some thousands of local accounts, the largest number of which are in Telugu. These accounts are called Local Tracts pertaining to various topics like history, land, biography, legendary and literary accounts,

current and past. It also contained 8,076 inscriptions, 2,630 drawings, 6,218 coins, and several other antiquities. Most of these were sent to England. Mackenzie's collection was dominated by the series called Kaifiyats and inscriptions, the former being prepared mostly by the local Karanams at his instance and collected by his specially appointed surveyors whose names unfortunately are not available. The number of such records is said to be in several thousands. Most of them were compiled in the second decade of the nineteenth century. They were first lodged in the college library, Madras, in 1830, where they were entrusted to the Madras Literary Society and then handed over in 1836 to Rev. William Taylor to be edited for publication. But only a fraction of the entire collection, he could publish in the Madras Journal of Literature and Science, the bulk of the collection being subjected to the decay of ink and paper. After this stage, about forty years later they were transferred to the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library. This collection is what is now called Mackenzie Manuscripts. Some time later C. P. Brown who had done yeoman service to Telugu literature got some of the manuscripts recopied and bound in volumes which are now known as Local Records or Kaifiyats. These are the traditional accounts restored to writing by the Karanams to the extent they could gather.

It is to be admitted that exaggerated notions regarding the value of the Mackenzie manuscripts as containing authentic historical material are not justified. Several scholars in oriental research often admire Mackenzie as a pioneer in the field of South Indian historical research; still the authenticity of the information contained in these Kaifiyats has been equally doubted, however, not without reason. For these records are generally based on second hand traditions and unverified narrations. In spite of this fundamental defect, they have their own place in the field of historical research. Their testimony may be taken as circumstantial evidence calculated to supplement the results arrived at from other sources. The important part of the collection relating to inscriptions has been published in three volumes by the Oriental Manuscripts Library, Madras. But they are also based on the eye copies of inscriptions prepared by the surveyors of Col. Mackenzie and hence need verification from texts published by the Epigraphy Department. It is again our experience that considerable number of original inscriptional stones copied by those surveyors are not available at present owing to the frequent renovation works conducted by the temple authorities and the tank repairers, etc, Thus for those inscriptions which could not be copied by the Epigraphy Department we have necessarily to depend on the texts furnished in these Kaifiyats. And these eye copies of the lost inscriptions are of immense value to an experienced epigraphist who can cautiously make out some useful material from them. Apart from this the Kaifiyats furnish invaluable information regarding the administrative, social, religious and linguistic aspects of the village life of the period before the advent of the British rule, which are otherwise unknown.

The system of recording important events pertaining to the local political history and the accounts of the villages seems to have its origin from the times of the Gajapati rulers of Orissa from the middle of the 15th century. But these accounts called Dandakavile were not regularly maintained by all Karanams. In most cases they are vague with chronological discrepancies and inconsistent statements. However, it seems certain that at the time when the Karanams were asked by Mackenzie surveyors in about A. D. 1810 or even earlier to furnish all what they could, they have given knowingly or other-wise certain uniform information in more than one aspect. This clearly indicates that they had some sort of village accounts maintained in their families from generation to generation. For example, the most striking feature in almost all the Kaifiyats is the unanimous statement that certain Ganapatideva of the Gajapati throne came to power in about A. D. 1134 and his minister Goparāju Ramanna, having obtained from the king the karnikam mirasi of the entire kingdom, granted in his turn the village karinikams as mirasi (hereditary right) to several brahmanas of Niyogi as well as Vaidiki sects in A. D. 1145. Although this statement is historically absurd, a historian can least afford to ignore its unmistakable unanimity in all the Kaifiyats. It is very difficult to accommodate the said event in the well known history of the period. So, in some respects at least here must have been some truth in it. In the first place, it is true that the Chalukya-Chola king Kulottunga II came to power in about A. D. 1134. But his authority in Andhra was not worthy of such mention. He was not called Ganapati, nor his throne belonged to the Gajapatis. Then how can we account for this? It is to be assumed that when the Gajapati king conquered the region in about A. D. 1454, there occurred a major political change which brought in certain administrative reforms in the region under review, i. e. Kondaviti-sima or the present Guntur District. Certain minister of the Gajapati king might have appointed new Karanams and asked them to begin new Kaviles or account books with some introduction about the previous regime. Taking this hint from the minister the Karanams might have mentioned Gajapati king as the ruler, taking back the date to A. D. 1135 when the Velanati chief Gonka II became the virtual ruler of the land. This traditional account current in those days was linked with the Gajapati king whose name is again wrongly given as Ganapatideva.

It was during this period, i. e. A. D. 1134-5 the Western Chalukyas were driven away from the coastal Andhra. It seems that Goparaju Ramanna, a minister of the Gajapati king appointed new Karanams with hereditary rights (mirási) and asked them to begin new Kaviles or account books some time after A. D. 1454. Accordingly, the Karanams referring to the traditional past events of A.D. 1135-1145

attributing the same to the new set up of the Gajapati rule and Goparāju Ramanna's orders fabricated some account called Kavile which was maintained by the successive Karanams. The common usage of the three thrones, namely the Gajapati of Orissa, the Narapati of Vijayanagar and the Ašvapati of the Deccan Muslim rulers came into vogue when the respective imperial powers came into prominence after the fall of the Kākatiyas in A. D. 1323. The Gajapatis particularly dominated the arena of the Deccan politics only after the fall of the Reddis at Kondavidu, i. e. a century later. It was in about A. D. 1454 the actual conquest of Kondavidu, and other forts of coastal Andhra was effected by Kapileswara Gajapati. Thus we notice three clear stages in the recording of these accounts of the Guntur district.

1. In A. D. 1134-5 Velanați Gonka II driving out the Western Chalukyas started his system of administration, which event became the traditional starting point for claiming the hereditary Karinikams.

2. In A. D. 1454 the Gajapati king's minister, perhaps named Goparaju Ramanna actually introduced hereditary Karinikams with fresh records called Kaviles or dandakaviles.

3. Between A. D. 1802 and 1820 Mackenzie surveyors collected these accounts, summing up all the previous written and unwritten matter maintained by the Karanams.

In the second and third stages the authors of the accounts, that is, the Karanams tampered with the originals by making manipulations and even forgeries for their personal ends to retain the miräsis and ināms. We come across such forged copper plate charters with wrong dates prepared to get the grants renewed by the changing governments. In the present state of our knowledge it is difficult to assess the magnitude of the historical truth missed the pen of the Karanam, or that of the misleading manipulations that crept into his brain during this long period extending from A. D. 1134 to 1820, particularly when the records were renewed more than once. Consequently, the information supplied in these Kaifiyats apart from superstitious myths is full of chronological and genealogical discrepancies besides ambiguous and confusing statements. While giving the successive rule of the kings or Jamindars these compilers often fail to mention the mutual relationship between the members of a family and even if they give such relation, the statements are often inconsistent. This causes some difficulty in formulating an authentic account of the Jamindars.

Nevertheless, these records by way of certain uniform statements furnish us fairly reliable information regarding political, social and religious aspects particularly of the late medieval period beginning from A.D.1515 when Krishnadevaraya, the Vijayanagar emperor wrested the coastal districts from the Gajapati king Pratāparudra. The

information about the earlier period, contained in these records is of little use for the reconstruction of the history of that period. In any case, one must be very cautious in making use of these records.

There are 291 Kaifiyats in all taluks of the present Guntur District. Parts of I and II of Guntur taluka consist of 23 Kaifiyats each.

The region under review, that is the present Guntur district was called in the early medieval period as Velanādu in the east, Pallinādu in the west and Kammanādu in the south, which extended into the Prakasam district also. After the fall of the Kākatiyas in A.D. 1323, the Reddi kings succeeded to power in this region and made Kondavidu near Guntur, their capital where they built a strong hill fort. Subsequently the old three nädus merged into single administrative unit called Kondaviti-rājya which continued with the same set up till the British authorities made first Machilipatnam and then Guntur as the district headquarters Thus these Kaifiyats are mostly concerned with the local history of the old Kondavidu-rājya. Later it was called Kondavidu-sarkar or Murtujānnagar-sarkar after its Muslim Governor, Murtujāmkhān, the Faujdār of Kondavidu khilla. It is a coincidence that these Kaifiyats of the Guntur district form the local records of the Kondaviti-rājya itself.

The subject matter contained in the Kaifiyats can be conveniently divided into three parts.

I. Mythical narrations with traditional sthala-purānas and superstitious myths. This part is somewhat useful for the study of place names and for locating some ancient Buddhist and Jaina sites.

II. Semi-historical part from A D. 1134 to 1514. There is much confusion in the narration of the historical points in this part. As said before, it begins with the Himalayan blunder, namely, the unanimous statement that certain Ganapatideva of the Gajapati throne conquered the country in saka 1056(A.D.1134) and his minister Goparaju Ramanna, having obtained the King's permission on the occasion of a solar eclipse that occurred on the new moon day of the Bhādrapada month in saka 1067, Raktakshi (A.D. 1145), appointed the village Karanams with hereditary right (mirāsi). The former part of this statement about the conquest of the region by the Gajapati king Ganapatideva in saka 1056 (A.D. 1134) is nowhere traceable in the known history of the Andhra country. But the unanimity in this regard in a large number of records forces us to connect the event with the known history. Kulottunga I (Rajendra Choda II), son of the Eastern Chalukya king Rājarājanarendra by his queen Ammangādevi, a Chola princess, ruled the Andhra country from A.D. 1070 to A.D. 1118, appointing his sons as viceroys in the Vengi kingdom, himself being on the Chola throne in the South. Thus he made the Vengi

country a province of the Chola empire. His contemporary and rival Tribhuvanamalla Vikramāditya VI, the powerful Western Chālukya emperor of Kalyani (A.D. 1076-1126) was not happy with the merger of the age-long sovereign Chalukya State of Vengi with the Chola empire and tried more than once to capture the Vengi kingdom. As long as Kulottunga Chola I was alive, Tribhuvanamalla could not achieve any substantial benefit in the Vengi affairs. But when Kulottunga died in about A.D. 1118, the Chālukya king renewed his attack on Vengi and defeating all the Chola subordinates annexed the kingdom from Dākshāramam to Nellore to the Chālukyan empire. Vengi continued to be under the Western Chalukyas till A.D. 1134. The māndalika rulers of the coastal Andhra unitedly fought a decessive battle under the Chola banner with the Chalukya viceroys and drove them away from Vengi. The Velanati Chola chief Kulottunga Rajendra I and his son Gonka II were the most powerful participants in that battle and subsequently they became the virtual masters of the Vengi country. The new Chola king Kulottunga II who succeeded Vikrama Chola (A.D. 1118 to 1133) could not exercise any effective authority over the Velanāți ruler Gonka II who came to power simultaneously in Vengi. It was a major political change that took place in the coastal Andhra in A.D. 1134-5, the date of the famous Godavari battle, when the Chālukyan authority in Vengi came to an end and the Velanāți chief Gonka II became the ruler.

There is a vague reference to this event in the Chilumuru Kaifiyat (Tenali-19) which states that Ganapatideva of the Gajapati throne having conquered the country gave the Velanadu region to his general Kulottunga Chola. The China Makkena Kaifiyat (Sattenapalli-16) states that in śaka 1056 Tribhuvana Chakravarti Rajadhirajadeva on the occasion of a lunar eclipse on Mägha śu. 15, Monday, in Pramādi granted the village to Ambaḍipudi Peda Rāmabhadra Somayaji as agrahāra. Therefore the ruling king on the said date was Chola Kulottunga II, who bears the title Tribhuvanachakravarti. This is a clear indication that Kulottunga Chola, that is the powerful Velanāti Chief Kulottunga Choda Gonkarāja became the subordinate ruler of the country not under any Gajapati king, but under the Chola king Kulottunga II (A.D. 1133 to 1145), that too a nominal subordination. Therefore, the śaka 1056 (A.D. 1134) uniformly referred to in the Kaifiyats signifies this major political change in Vengi. But we have to reject the names Ganapati and Gajapati.

The second part of the statement that his minister Goparāju Rämanna gave Karinikam mirāsis to several Niyogis is also partly acceptable to the extent that it took place during the reign of some Gajapati king in the latter half of the 15th century A. D. and not in A. D. 1145 as stated in these records.

Similarly there are certain confusing statements regarding the order of the Kākatiya rulers, which in view of the more reliable data now available in the inscriptions can be safely rejected. But most of the Kaifiyats say that the Kǎkatiya rule ended in about śaka 1242, A. D. 1320, which is very near to the correct date A. D. 1323, known from other sources.

The Reddis succeeded to power according to the Kaifiyats in A. D. 1320. The founder of the family of these rulers was certain Ankǎreddi who is said to have acquired enormous wealth by means of a miracle stone ParSavedi from a merchant named Vema after whom the Reddi kings are said to have been named as Prolaya Vemareddi, Anavema, Komativema etc, Six kings Prolayavema, Anapota, Anavema, Komaragiri, Komati Vema and Racha Vema ruled the country with Kondavidu as their capital for 100 years from A. D. 1320-1420. With some minor adjustments the account of the Reddi kings is useful for the reconstruction of their history. They are said to have granted 44 villages as agraharas to several brahmanas.

The Kondavidu Kaifiyat refers to Srinǎtha's visit to the Vijayanagara court and describes the single-pillared building. The celebrated poet extolls the greatness of Kondavidu fort before the Vijayanagara king in the following verse.

 సీ. పరరాజ్య పరదుర్గ పరవై భవ శ్రీలఁగొనకొని విడనాడు కొండవీడు
పరిపంథి రాజన్య బలముల బంధించు కొమరుమించినబోడు కొండవీడు
ముగురు రాజులకును మోహంబు పుట్టించు గుఱుతైన యుఱిత్రాడు కొండవీడు
చటుల విక్రమ కళాసాహసంబొనరించు కుటిలాత్ములకు గాడు కొండవీడు
జవన ఘోటక సామంత సరసవీర
భటసటానేక హాటక ప్రకటగంధ
సింధురారవమోహనశ్రీలఁదనరు
కూర్మినమరావతికి జోడు కొండవీడు.

Kondavidu really enjoyed such glory under the Reddi Kings.

After the fall of the Reddis, the Kondavidu Kaifiyat states that Lāngūla Gajapati, the lord of Gajapati throne conquered all the hill and land forts from Cuttack to Udaygiri. He ruled for a period of 12 years from śaka 1342 to 1353 (A.D. 1420-1431) when he repaired the old fort and constructed the new ones called Pedamālem-Kota and Chinamālem Kota. This event though not borne out by epigraphs is noticed in several Kaifiyats. The powers that ruled over the region after the fall of the Reddis in A.D. 1420 and before its conquest by Praudha Devaraya II in A.D. 1432, are not known. But the Kaifiyats unanimously mention Voddi-Reddi-Karnatakas in succession, which is to be taken in the order of Reddi-Voddi-Karnātakas.

Then the country passed under the sway of the Narapati king of Anegondi. Pratapadevarǎya, says the Kaifiyat, ruled for 7 years and Harihara for 17 years, both 24 years between ś. 1354 and 1376.

III. Now we enter into a more reliable account. The Narapatis were expelled by the Gajapati king Kapileśvara in ś. 1377 (A.D. 1454) and he ruled for 7 years upto ś. 1383. He was succeeded by his valient son Purushottama Gajapati who subdued many countriesincluding the kingdom of Narasimhadevarāya of Vijayanagara and ruled upto ś. 1418 (A. D. 1496). Purushottama was very much liked by the people. His son Pratǎparudra Gajapati succeeded to the throne in A. D. 1497 who placed his son Virabhadra Gajapati in charge of Kondavidu-rǎjya with Kondavidu fort as his capital. During his reign the Vijayanagara Emperor, Krishnadevarǎya invaded the country and seized in a single campaign the forts of Udayagiri, Addanki, Vinukonda, Bellamkonda, Nāgarjunakonda, Tangeda, Ketavaram and other forts. He then advanced upon the fort of Kondavidu in ś. 1437 (A D. 1515) and captured it by scaling the walls. He captured Virabhadra Gajapati, son of Prātaparudra Gajapati along with his nobles and commanders alive and took possession of the fort. He gave Virabhadra and his followers an assurance of security. Krishnarāya subjugated the country as far as Simhādri. Returning to Kondavidu, he conferred its governorship upon Nadendla Gopanna- mantri, a nephew of śaluva Timmarasa and went to Vijayanagara.

Thus the Gajapati rule at Kondavidu came to an end in A. D. 1515.

Having annexed the Kondavidu-rājya to the Vijayanagara empire, Krishnadevarāya appointed Nadendla Gopanna as its Governor. This minister is stated to have built the temple of Pattabhirāma svāmi at Kondavidu in śaka 1443, Vrisha (A.D. 1521). Krishnadevarāya, as the Kaifiyat says, was succeeded by Achyutarāya in A.D.1534 (The latter was coronated actually in A. D. 1530, but this record seems to take into consideration the appointment of his Governor in A. D. 1534, ignoring the change of the emperors). Achyutarāya, the Kaifiyat states, appointed Rāmaya Bhāskara as the Governor of Kondavidu, who built a fort called Māvulakoṭa at the foot of the hill fort on the west with the material of the ruined palaces and temples of the time of the Reddis. He also built within the fort a town and a beautiful shrine dedicated to the God Gopinātha. At that time the seventy-two pālegars who held the district, rose up in rebellion and created much confusion in defiance of the government. Rāmaya Bhāskara is said to have killed all the rebellious pālegars by throwing them in a secret well which he dug for the purpose in the premises of the Gopinatha temple. Having thus restored peace in the country Rayana Bhaskara named the new town Gopinathapura after the deity. He also con-structed temples for Navanita Krishna, Mulasthāneśvara and Angadi

Virabhadra. He inflicted a defeat on a large Mussalman force and ruled the Andhramandala in a great glory.

Sadāsiva Raya who succeeded Achyutarāya to the throne of Vijayanagara is stated to have appointed Mahāmandaleśvara Rāmarāja as Governor of Kondavidu. Sadāśiva Raya ruled for 26 years. The combined forces of the Pādshāhs assassinated Aliya Rāmaraja in ś. 1483. But in other records the event is said to have taken place in ś. 1486 (A. D. 1564).

Malik Ibrahim Padshah, the Nawab of Golconda sent his general Murtuja Khan to seize the fort of Kondavidu. Aaccordingly the general captured the fort and demolished all the temples and renamed the town Gopina hapura as Murtujāmnagar. But shortly Virapratāpa Tirumaladeva Mahārāya driving out all the Muslim forces beyond the river Krishna recaptured the Kondavidu fort. His son Sri Rangarāyadeva Mahārāja came to power; during his reign the village Morampudi was granted to the god Gangādhara Rāmasvāmi in ś. 1494 (A. D. 1572).

Ibrahim Padshah again captured Kondavidu and the rājya to the south of Krishna including the forts of Bellamkonda and Vinukonda through a Hindu general named Rāyarao. He further proceeded to Kochcherlakota and driving out the Velama chiefs captured that fort and also Addanki, Ammanabrolu Kandukuru, Podili, Darsi, Kambam, Kakarla, Dupādu, Tamgeda, Gurijala, Ketavaram and Kodepǔdi. Finally he captured Kondavidu in śaka 1502 (A. D. 1580). Megotti Timma, its governor, having received some bribe of brass varāhas handed over the fort to Rāyarao, the general of the Pādshah. Thus the country became part of the Golkonda kingdom.

The Padshah arranged for the administration of this region with Murtujamnagar as its capital and Bellamkonda and Vinukonda as dependent parganas, naming it as Murtujamnagar Sarkar. The Sarkar was divided into 14 samuts; viz. Paladugu, Pulivarru, Prattipādu, Samtarāvǔru, Nǔtakki, Chebrolu, Pānyam, Mangalagiri, Munugodu, Nãdenḍla, Rāvipãḍu, Kuchipudi, Guntur and Tadikonda. The Samuts were administered by the officers called Choudaris, Deshmukhsand Deshpandes.

The Dāvulūru Kaifiyat (Tenali-27) mentions a different list of samuts and the number of villages in each Samut included in the Kondavidu Sarkar.

1. Addanki sima .....55 illages

2. Ammanabrolu ......55 "

3. Kandukuru ........65 "

4. Nelluru sima ....150 "

5. Udayagiri sima .. 80 "

6. Chundi 44 illages

7. Podili 66 "

8. Märedla 58 "

9. Kotasima 60 "

10. Dūpādu sima 360 "

11. Nāgārjunakonda 150 "

12. (a) Macherla samtu 64 "

(b) Kārempudi 14 "

(c) Gurijala 16 "

(d) Tummugodu 12 "

(e) Tamgeḍa 44 "

12 (a) to (e) Total 150 "

13. Vinukonda sima 225 "

14. Chilamukonda sima 100 "

15. Kondavidu Haveli 580 "

14 simas total 2048 "

(excluding 5 samuts) in item 12

The Guntur Kaifiyat gives a different list adding Kuredle sima-58 Kottisima-60, Bellamkonda-100.

In most of the Kaifiyats we notice a gap of nearly one century between A. D. 1618 and 1711 with a general statement that the arrangement continued till Alamgir Mogalayi occupied the country; with the Killedars, Deshmukhs, Deshpandes and Chaudaris and Śamut Amins as administrative officers. Some information during this period is furnished in the Guntupalli Kaifiyat (Vinukonda taluk-8) which states that certain Rāyani Bhāskara, a minister and governor of Kondapalli under the Vijayanagar kings got the mirāsi of Vinukonda sima. His descendants continued for a long time even during the period of Golkonda Padshahs. Certain Mutturāju, a son-in-law of certain Rāmalinga Bhāskara of that family won the favour of Mahamad Kulli Padshah and obtained from him the governorship of Kondapalli, Bellamkonda, Vinukonda, and Kondavidu forts with the dependent simas of Addanki, Palnāḍu, Kandukūru, Nellūru, Udayagiri, Chundi, Podili, Māredla, Dūpaḍu, Dharani, Kambhammeṭṭu, Nandigāma, and Nallagonda etc., with 12,000 horses, 40,000 soldiers and other royal insignia. (The truthfulness of this statement is to be throughly examined) Mutturāju was a great general who ruled the country to the full satisfaction of one and all. He is said to have ruled for 66 years till A.D. 1668 in Guntupalli record whereas the Annavaram Kaifiyat gives his last date to be A.D. 1617 which seems to be correct. His son by Timmadevi, named Bhāskarayya succeeded to power. But this over ambitious young man could not live long, because of the treachery of his wife (?). He was succeeded by his

younger brother Ramalinganna Mummadi Muttarāju, a good and noble ruler who won the favour of the Padshah. Bhaskarayya's son became the ruler of only Vinukonda Pargana. His sons were Guntupalli Yallappa and Bhāskaruni Bachanna. Then the local history of the Pargana only is given.

When Mahammad Padshah succeeded to the throne of Golconda some trouble arose owing to the powerful Mannevāndlu who used to rob the people on the ways. The Padshah posted one Amin Muluk in the fort of Kondavidu making it thāne with certain forces in the śaka 1513, (A D.1591). In the following year he proceeded to Mullaguru which he destructed and renamed it as Aminābād after himself. He also constructed a tank named Muluk Cheruvu, and a palace Muluk Mahal. The lands of Mullaguru were transferred to the village Yabaluru in the neighbourhood. Thus he transformed the Hindu village Mullaguru into Aminabad and governed it from A.D. 1591 to A.D. 1599, (9 years.) During that period certain Sigilis Khān came here and constructed a village named Kutubshahpur after Mahammad Kutub Shah. Then Sultan Abdulla Tanisha Alamgir Pādshah succeeded to power. The following Amins successively governed this fort during his reign.

Firoj Khan...A.D. 1599 to 1602

Akhini Siddiqi Muluk Khan/Apsaras Khan A.D. 1602 to 1605

Ikhilis Khan and Guntupalli Muttarajayya A.D.1606 to 1655(1612?)

Mukut Khān A.D. 1613 to 1615

Jupalli Rangapatirāju A.D. 1616 to 1618

Till the period of Tanisha Alamgir, Killedars were posted in the fort and the Haveli villages were administered by those Killedars. Other Samuts were administred by the Amins, generally Hindus, under the Hyderabad Suba, as the place of Amāni māmliyat. This arrangement continued till A D. 1711.

In the year Sn 1122 Fasli (A.D. 1712), the Nawab Mubarak Khān Bahadar, of Dekkan suba, called for the Hindu chiefs and allotted the Murtujāmnagar Sarkar to three Jamindars, with 18 villages under the fort Kasba samut. The Jamindars were granted Sävaras (towards their personal maintenance.) When Asaf Jã hi Nizam-ul-Mulk Bahaddar became the head of the Suba, Balakrishna and others were appointed as Amins and they regularized the State income by giving the lands to the tenants on lease basis. During the time of Nasarjung Bahaodar, in the year A.D. 1750 the region of Kondavidu was given to the Faras (French). They ruled it for 7 years till A.D. 1757. Again when Nasarjung's younger brother Nizam Ali Khan became the Subedar (of Golconda), he appointed Raveba Khān as the Killedar

of Kondavidu, granting him the Haveli 18 villages as Jagir. At the same time Nizam Ali's younger brother Basālat Jung became the Subedar of Adoni, and sent Musafar Jung to capture Kondaviti sarkar, he defeated the Nizam Ali Khan's Amins and captured the fort.

Certain Yatidaula Khān is stated to be the next Killedar and Jagirdar of the 18 Haveli villages and also the chief administrator of the three forts (Vinukonda, Bellamkonda and Kondavidu). Basalat Jung, the Nawab of Adoni deputed his minister Raja Balvant Indrajit Bahaddar to take charge of the three forts, appointing Saiyed Matulla khän as the Killedar. Subsequently the Sarkar of Kondavidu (including the other two forts) was ceded to the French. They appointed Petluri Ramayya as diwan of the Sarkar and administered the forts and the dependent region through the Jamindars. Again the fort of Kondavidu was taken over by Asamulla Khan Arab Saheb during whose governorship certain Taddis Khan Amin and Minister Divetan, (?) perhaps the collector from Arcot arranged the administration through the Jamindars. Then on behalf of Tippu Sultan, certain general named Mir Saheb from Gandikota invaded the fort with 6,000 cavalry, plundered the whole country and captured the Jamindars. But soon, certain Saiyed Futulla Khān Bahaddar was deputed from Golconda by Nizam Ali Kan Bahaddar as Amin of the three forts. He fought with Asamulla Khän, the then fauzdar of Basālat Jung, the Subedar of Adoni and the younger brother of Nizam Ali Khān who formerly took over the fort, and again took back the fort and ruled it for one year. Subsequently the fort was placed under the charge of certain Saif Jung on whose behalf Yakhra Khan became Amin of the Sarkar, having his seat of administration at Guntur and ruled the province for 7 years through the Jamindars.

In the year Sn. 1187 Fasli (A. D. 1777) Mahārāja Sri, the Company took over the charge of this Sarkar, and ruled it till 1199 Fasli (A. D. 1789) for three years. They divided the Sarkar into Taluks in A. D. 1790 and conducted the administration through the Taluk Jamindars. This village (of Kondavidu) was included in the Jamindari of Mänuri Narasannā Rao garu who ruled it till 1219 Fasli (A.D. 1809) for 20 years. His nephew, younger brother's son Venkat Krishna was ruling in 1221 Fasli (A. D. 1811), perhaps the date of the Kaifiyat of Kondavidu.

The details of the Kondavidu Sarkār under the successive governors of the Kutub Shāhis of Golkonda after A. D. 1618 are not found in these records.

Another land mark in the political history of the Sarkar is the change of its administrative set up in A.D. 1711, i.e. subsequent to the fall of Kutub Shahis and the occupation of the country by the Mogalayis and the succession of the Asafjahis. The Sarkar of Kondavidu was divided into three parts and allotted to the Jamindars of the families of, (1) Tirumala Mānikyārāya, (2) Mãnūrivāru and (3) Vāsireddivāru. These Kaifiyats furnish considerable information about these Jamindar families. Their genealogical tables are given below. The Jamindars of the Malrājuväri family seem to be of a later origin after A. D. 1712.

I. Repalle Jamindars

The founder of this family was Krishnaveni Tirumalarāya who was originally the viceroy of Kondavidu, under Aliya Rāmarāja. The later was killed in the Rakshasa-Tangadi battle by the combined forces of the Deccan Padshahs. But being pleased with the valour displayed by Tirumalarāya, the Padshah appointed his son Manikyarāya as Mannevāru of the Kondavidu fort. Krishnaveni Tirumalarāya (A. D. 1564) 18 Tirumala Manikyārāya Chandravanka Bhavanna Māņikyāraya Son Venkata Raya No sons His brother Venkaṭaraya Apparāya (A. D. 1661-1685 = 25 years) During the time of Sultan Hasan Tanisha he became the Deshmukh Manneväru of Kondaviḍu Sarkar. Janganna Manikyārao (A.D. 1645-1660 = 15 years) He constructed fort at Repalle son Tirupatiraya Manikya Rao (A. D. 1686-1706 = 21 years) He was authorized by the Padshah to collect the tributes from the other two jamindärs He governed upto A. D. 1716 Raja Gopalaraya got from Basalat Jung of Adoni, Peteru and Repalle and ruled for 8 years 1758 Ramanayya Māņikyārao (A. D. 1707. As he was unable to pay the tribute, Mubaraz Khan divided brothers Mallana and Sitanna both ruled from 1717 to 1750 = 33 years (at Rachuru) (at Repalle) the Sarkar into 3 parts in A. D. 1712 1. Chilakaluripādu Jamindari with Manūrivāru as Mujumdárs 2. Repalle to Ramanayya Māņikya raya 3. Chintapalli to Vasired divaru Son Raja Bhavayya Mánikyarao (A.D. 1792-1803) Son Janganna Manikyärao (A. D. 1759-1772-1791 33 years) when his brother Tirumalayya partitioned half of the taluk and ruled till 1791 at Rachuru Son Apparaya till 1794 brother Sitayya 4 years till 1798 After him the taluk was auctioned by the Comp- any when it was purcha- sed by Malraju Venkata Gundaraya and Vasi red divaru in parts Note: The dates and successive relationship are further to be examined. No sons 19 II. The Jamindars of the Vásired di Family of Chintapalli, Guntur Kaifiyat (Guntur - 11) Certain Vasireddi Virappanedu of the Kamma caste, entered the service of Raya and having won the favour of the Nawab obtained the Jamindari of Nandigama sima. Virappanedu's son was Vasireddi Pedda Ramanna. He again obtained from the Raya, Penuganchiprolu and Chebrolu simas in the Bandar Sarkar. When the country was occupied by the Muslims, Peda Ramanna's son Vásireddi Padmanabha accepted the sovereignty of the Golconda Nawab Shah Alam Padshah who conferred upon him the Jamindari of Kondavidu, Bellamkonda and Vinukondḍa simas. He ruled for 20 years. His adopted son was Buchchi Raghavayya. As his elder brother Chandramouli was unable to maintain the entire Kondaviḍu-rajya, the Nawab divided the region into three parts, among (1) Manikyārao varu (2) Manūrivaru and (3) Vasireddi Chandramouli. He ruled upto A. D. 1718, when his brother Ramalinganna succeeded. He constructed a locality called Ramachandrapuram agraharam to the west of Guntur. He governed upto $. 1660, A. D. 1738. Afterwards his elder brother Suranna gover- ned the Jamindari. His brother China Narsanna governed for 7 years. His younger brother China Ramalinganna ruled for 12 years. His adopted son Janganna governed for some years and his son Reddi Venkatádri näyuḍu after his minority took over the Jamindari in s. 1704 (A. D. 1782). He obtained the title Manne Sultan and awards from the Nawab. He again won the favour of the Company authorities. He ruled for 35 years. There are different versions in different Kaifiyats with regard to the successive rulers and their regnal periods of this family also. Väsireddi Padmanabhayya's son or brother Chandramouli seems to be one of the three original Jamfndars of Kondavidu i.e. Chitapalli division. Chandramouli his brother Peda Rāmalinganna his brothers Suranna, Narasanna his younger brother China Ramalinganna his adopted son Janganna his son Venkaṭādri Nāyuḍu his son Jagannatha Bābu This is only a tentative arrangement. DUE

upto A.D. 1718 1738 1746 1758 1782 1817 (35 years) ور 99

99 }" 99 III. Jamindårs of Manuri Family, of Chilakaluripāḍu Taluk (Madhvas) Majumdär Mánuri Venkanna Pantulu Appaji Pantulu Venkatarayanimgaru Venkata Krishnu nimgāru (A.D 1755-1774) Son 20 Venkatesam quarrelled and took (A.D. 1734 to1754= 21 years) some villages included in Satte- napalli taluk. He ruled upto A. D. 1795 Venkata Ramanayya Rao 1 (A. D. 1712-1730 = 20 years) Venkata Narasimha Rao minor at the time (A. D. 1731-1733 = 3 years) Venkata Narasimharao (1775-1809) Venkatesam of the collateral branch took away some villages Son Venkata Ramanayya In the Mayidavolu Kaifiyat (Narasaraopet. 30) it is stated that Manuri Venkanna Pantulu had no issues and therefore his younger brother's son Venkatarayuḍu succeeded him. As Venkataraya had also no sons his brother's son Venkata Krishna succeeded. He had a son Venkata Narasanna. After some time some 9 villages called Veluru- mutha were sold to Väsireddi Padmanabhunimgaru of Chintapalli owing to financial difficulties. Genealogical relationship is not certain. IV. Jamindars of Malraju Family of Bellamkonda Pargana. KUNKALAKUNTA KAIFIYAT (Narasaraopet. 6) Vinukonda pargana was originally granted to Ramarāju perhaps of the Rayanibhāskara's family, But later it was taken away by the Jamindar of Bellamkonda. The Malraju family of Jamindars seems to have come into being after A.D. 1712, when the Kondavidu Sarkar was originally allotted to three Jamindars Manikyaraya, Mānūrivāru and Väsired di varu. This family does not appear in many records. Niladri Raya Malraju Janganna Rāyanimgāru (Chimalamarri Kaifiyat Narsaraopet 10) T Peda Sūranna defeated Rämarāju and took away Vinukonda pargana Malraju Peda Ramarayanimgāru 21 Kondala Rayanimgāru China Ramarāya 1 China Suranna Venkata Narasimha son Venkata Gundaraya Venkat Raya China Suranna brother ! Peda Gundaraya Ramaraya Venkata Narasimha Venkata Gunda (some of the names appear in the other branch also). Only 3/4 of the Jamindari was under them the remaining 1/4 being sold away to Vasireddi Chandramouli for 2000 varahas by Mālrāju Peda Rāmaraya. The mutual relationship of these members and their respective periods are not clearly known. Some Important Features A. Jain vestiges are stated in the Kaifiyats at the following places. But some of them seem to be Buddhist sites. (Brackets indicate Taluk and number indicates serial number of Kaifiyat in the particular taluk) 1. Pedavadlapudi (Guntur - 14) 22 to the south west of the village 1 k. m. 2. Tenali (Tenali - 26) 3. Chunduru (Tenali - 20) 4. Pedagadelaparru (Tenali - 32) 5. Kattamuru (Sattenapalli - 7) 6. Ganapavaram (Sattenapalli – 14) 7. Merugapudi (Sattenapalli - 44) 8. Yinamedigandla (Sattenapalli - 49) 9. Paragaticherla (Vinukonda - 14) 10. Kanaparru (Narasaraopet - 3) 11. Karasala (Narasaraopet - 4) 12. Bhatla Annavaram (Narasaraopet - 26) 13. Karlapádu- near Appikatla (Bapatla - 4) 14. Returu (Bapatla-35) 15. Yabuti (Sattenapalli - 48) 16. Buddham (near Chandavolu, Bapatla - 30) 17. Kolluru (Tenali - 7) Buddhist vestiges 1. Yābuti (Sattenapalli - 48) 2. Buddham (Bapatla - 30) (near Chandavolu) B. NATURAL RESOURCES 1. Penukubadu (Sattenapalli -37)- Potassium Nitrate (KN03) 'Sure- kāram' is said to have been produced since ancient times 6. Chimalamarri (Narasaraopet-10) 2. Agnigundala (Vinukonda -2) - copper mines 3. Gandi ganumala (Vinukonda - 7) - Iron ores 4. Ravulapuram (Vinukonda - 21) - copper ores 5. Kunkalakunta- (Narasaraopet - 6) Potassium Nitrate with an annual yield of 4 puttis. 1. చౌడుప్పు Sodium carbonate Nag Co8 is taken for washing purpose by the Kondaviti washermen 2. Yo (KNO) is also prepared here; 2 puttis produced annually. C. Desi paper is manufactured in the village Vemavaram (Palnadu tq-6). The record is fragmentary. The latter part of the process is available. It seems that some pulp is pasted on a smooth wall and when it dries up, it is slowly removed from the wall; a thin sheet of paper comes out. They are again put on ropes and gruel of wheat and rice is applied and the sheets are allowed to dry for one night. They apply the same gruel on the second side likewise. The sheets are rubbed with conch and smooth stone perhaps to make the surface smooth. Three quires of paper sheets are daily manufactured. They are cut into size. These papers were exported to Bandar, Challapalli, Guntur, Amaravati, Palnadu, Vinukonda, Narasaraopet, Kadakuduru and other places.

D. OTHER POINTS

1. Sarpavaidya (physician for serpent bite) is mentioned in Appapuram Kaifiyat (Bapatla-I) Vogeți Bucchaiah a sarpāvaidya was granted some inam in the village.

2. Another Sarpavaidya, Aluri Ramaswami was granted inam in Returu (Bapatla-35)

3. Certain Kondaraju of Kaunḍinya gotra, Yajus-Sakha and Aruvela Niyogi sect who was given the Karinikam mirasi of Nadimipalli (Repalle-4) is stated in the that Kaifiyat to have been an ancestor of the famous Telugu poet Bammera Potana, the author of Andhra Mahabhagavata. In the genealogy known from Potana's works the name Konḍarāju does not appear, though other details agree. Only seven generations of Potana's ancestors are known from his work 'Virabhadra Vijayam'. He flourished in the latter half of the 15th century A. D., and this Konḍarāju is stated in the Kaifiyat to have obtained the Karinikam-mirasi in about A. D. 1145.