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Aggalayya Gutta Jain Temple

Aggalayya gutta is located in Hanamakonda, Padmakshi temple road, Hanumakonda district,Telangana state, India. It was also a jain ayurvedic medicine center around 11th century

This Jain site on the Aggalayya gutta has a 30-feet-tall engraved statue of the 16th Jain Tirthankar Shantinatha and a 13-feet-tall statue of 23rd Tirthankar Parshvanatha on a huge boulderstone on a hillock.

The Shantinatha statue is the second tallest Tirthankaras statue in South India after Karnataka’s Bahubali Tirthankara, and the plan is to make it a Jain Vanam. Statue of the Mahavira is also there in a cave on the hillock.

The hillocok was named after, Aggalayya, who constructed a ‘Jinalaya’ that served as a research centre for teaching doctrines of religion, medicine, and surgery.

Aggalayya who was an ayurvedic doctor and researcher of 11th century taught Ayurveda to students at this center. He worked extensively on teaching and propagation of doctrines of religion, medicine, surgery, etc. The Sirur inscription of Medak mentions Aggaalaih as the Chalukya King Jagadekas physician.

Though its is popular as Jain site, none could discover the fact that the hillock was a hub of ayurvedic treatment during 11th century. Some parts of the Gokarnam which is used to store ayurvedic potions and pour into the mouth of the patient, were also found at the site. The hillock was a place of medicinal plants. “I have seen may mortars at various locations, but mortars made on the rock on the Aggalayya Gutta are unique amon them” said Ratnakar Reddy.

Aggalayya gutta also has a lot trees and plants which makes the place breathable

Near Hanumakonda bus station and Chowrastha. Around half Kms. Around 600 steps are there to reach top of the hill . Opens at 9 A.M and closes at 6 P.M

This site is developed under National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) scheme by KUDA (Kakatiya Urban Development Authority) in 2017.






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Aggalayya

Name : Aggalayya (1034 AD - 1074 AD)
Spouse : Vallikambe
Born : c. 1000 AD 
Died : c. 1080 AD
Profession : Royal Physician (Ayurveda), Mahasamantha 
Titles : Vaidyaratnakara Pranacharya, Mahasamanta and Vaidyasikhamani 
Religion : Jainism
Inscriptions : Yadadri Bhuvanagiri (Saidapur or Saidapuram), Sangareddy (Sirur, Singuru in Narayankhed Mandal) from 1034 AD to 1074 AD

Aggalayya who is stated to have been specialist in Sastra (surgery) and Sastra (Science) and was capable of curing even the severe diseases that cannot be cured by other physicians.

The records describe the proficiency of Aggalayya in Ayurveda with particular reference to his skill in Sastra-vaidya or treatment of diseases by surgical methods.
 
It is interesting to note that surgery in the system of Ayurveda was practised with efficiency in those days. Aggalayya is stated to be the royal physician.

Aggalayya has not only been praised as an efficient physician or surgeon but has also been mentioned as a religious person, a devout Jaina who was always helpful to good people and he looked after the healthy well being of all. He always stood for the welfare of his friends and for the satisfaction of gurus . The inscription mentions that he was devoted to teach (the art of Surgery or Ayurveda to) the Jainas and was always ready for clearing the doubts of other physicians.

The inscription mentions that if any treatment by surgery was done anywhere and life was saved, i.e. it refers to critical cases, then, it was surely a good deed of Naravaidya Aggalayya and king Jagadekamalla.

It is interesting to note that the merit of the saving the life of a critical patient by treating him with surgical expertise, was shared between the physician and his employer or patron in whose service Aggalayya
was employed. 

The inscription further eulogizes Aggalayya by saying that he could even cure the diseases in their advanced stage or serious stage {prakarsa) declared by other physicians as incurable. For this reason his fame had spread in all regions. 

The inscription mentions Aggalayya as verily the god Brahma himself or Brahma personified. Aggalayya being a devout Jaina and surgeon by profession, his association and assimilation with Brahma
shows the process of integration or appropriation of the Brahma cult in the Jaina religious tradition. 

Brahma being the deity par excellence for surgery mentioned in the pro-brahrhanical Ayurvedic texts like the Susruta Samhita his incorporation into the Jaina tradition to glorify a surgeon is explicable as the basic knowledge was taken from the common texts like the Susruta Samhita which again claims the Atharva
Veda as its principal source. 

These texts were not restricted to the followers of the bratimanical religion alone but were universally used. But the question that arises here is that why did the Jainas require a different system of medicine and surgery and why this Jaina medical school had its own texts on medicine and surgery which were highly
modified versions of the well known medical texts.

Chalukyan king Jayasimha II, this stone inscription records the gift of the village Muppanappali in Kollipaka 7000 for the maintenance of two Jaina Basatis built by certain Aggalayya who bears the titles Vaidya- ratnakara, Pranacharyya and Naravaidya. 

The inscription registers the gift of garden lands and house plots for residence and feeding the students and (rishis) by maha samanta Aggalayya, at the instance of his brother. In this, Aggalarasa is praised for his proficiency in medicine. The said gift was placed in the custody of Dharmasagara Siddhanta Deva of Sri Yapaniya samgha and Maduvagana. The donor himself was an ardent worshipper of Jaina Sasanadevi and Bahubali. The verses extol the heroic qualities of Aggalarasa and philanthropic qualities of Vallikambe, his wife.

While the king Someswara II (1068 - 1076 AD) was camping at Vankapura, his subordinate chief mahasamanta and Vaidyasikhamani Aggalarasa (Aggalayya) made gifts of grandson lands for the maintenance of the feeding house (dnasala). The gift was entrusted to a jaina preceptor Dharmasagara Siddhantadeva at the request of one Bahubali.

Saidapur Jaina Inscription of Jagadekamalla I, Saka 956 by Dr. G. Jawaharlal
The inscription contains the Chalukya prasasti of the king Jagadeka Malla I (i.e., Jayasimha II) and records the gift of lands in the gramas of Mucchnapalli, Tenkanamaddi and Juvvipakavādi and cash (drammas) for the daily rites and repairs (11.19,20) of the two basadis namely, the Buddhasena Jinalaya in Baliya Mucchanapalli and Vaidyaratnakara jinalaya in lkkuriki by Aggalayya, the Naravaidyaratnakara and Pranacharya who is also the Gavunda of Mucchanapalli.

Evidently the Vaidyaratnakara Jinalaya under reference is named after the physician Aggalayya himself, as he bore the title Vaidyaratnakara.

We are further told that the above forms part of the gift for the daily rites of the Jakabbeya and Rekabbeya basadis situated in Juvvipakavadi.

The third side of the inscription extols the greatness of the royal physician Aggalayya who is said to have been the wizard of Ayurveda Sastra and sastra (surgery). 

He is praised as the specialist in curing the diseases, pronounced as incurable ones by other physicians of the day (cf. asakya byadhepi pariah=bhishagbhir vyudhi prabhedhe tadupakamechatim Agglaram punaruhadaksham kathayamti chitrant||11.72-75). 

The king, stunned with the expertise of Aggalayya in the field of Ayurveda and Sastra chikista, is pleased to pronounce him as Aggalamge Gaggalah. The pointed reference made to the sastra chikitsa (surgery) in the Ayurveda methods reveals that the use of sastra by then was in a well developed stage and practised by the experts in Ayurveda.

The most interesting aspect about this inscription is that it brings to light (for the first- time perhaps) the use of sasta chikitsa (surgery) as a branch of the Ayurveda sastra (ayurveda vidam) being practised during the 11th century A.D.

No epigraphic source of the period sheds light either on the proficiency or practice of surgery in the Ayurvedic methods of treatment. Hitherto, several instances of general praise of the learning of Jaina teachers in some of the branches of knowledge are found in the inscriptions, but no specific reference to the Ayurvedic form of practice.

For instance, a record of the Saka year 1024 from Marol describes the learning of the Jaina teacher Ananta viramuni as having composed all Vyakarana (Grammar), Nighantu (Lexicon), Ganita (Mathematics). Vatsyayana (Erotics), Jyothisha (Astrology), Sakuna(Augury), Chhandas (Prosody), Manu (Law), Gandharva (Music), Alamkara (Rhetoric), Mahakavyanaka (Poetic/drama), Adhyamika (Philosophy), Arthasastra, Siddhanta and Pramanas. Secondly in one inscription of 11th century A.D. from Sudi, we are told that the world renowned Saiva teacher and scholar Somesvarapanditadeva was great not only in Tapas- charitra but also in learning which included mastery of Vaisesika, Nyaya, Samkhya, Sabdajnana and Mimamsa. Further, an inscription of the 11th century A.D. from Mulgund mentions the two Jaina grammarians, Narendrasena and his pupil Nyayasena who are said to have been proficient in many systems like Chandra, Katantra, Jainendra, Sabdanusasana of Saktayana, Paniniya, Aindra and Kaumara. Thus, it becomes clear that no recorded evidence so far makes a reference to the Ayurvedic sastra and sastra as a branch of learning.

Unfortunately this inscription sheds no light about Aggalavya's native place, his parentage, family and also the habitat of his ancestors. It is the first Jinakasana of the king Jagadekamalla I (the sole wrestler of the world) found in these parts of the Chalukyan empire.

It is also interesting to note that the king Jayasimha II after knowing the proficiency of the royal physician Aggalayya in the Ayurvedic 'sastra and 'sastra (surgery) conferred on him the pratipatti of Mahasamanta and made him the Gavunda of the grama Mucchanapalli. By this, it is known that persons of eminence are entrusted with positions of importance in the administration of the kingdom by the king.

The places mentioned in the record are Pottalakere, Kollipake-7000, Aleru-40, Ikkuriki, Mucchanapalli, Juvvipakevadi and Tenkanamaddi.

Of these Pottalakere may be identified with the modern Patancheru located at a distance of 26 Kms. away towards West of Hyderabad, the capital city of Telangana.

The place is mentioned as the capital of Jayasimha i.e. Jagadekamalla I, Kollipaka-7000 is the administrative division and the headquarters Kollipaka may be identified with the modern Kulpak in the Nalgonda district of Telangana. It is at this very Kulpak, several Jaina records big and small, pertaining to different dynasties have been found. Even today this place is being considered as a Jaina pilgrim centre. Aleru-40 is the numerical unit within the division of Kollipaka-7000. The headquarter of this unit namely Aleru is the same modern place Aleru situated a few miles away from Kolanpak.

Ikkuriki, the grama where Vaidhyaratnakara Jinalaya is situated, may be identified with the modern village Ikkuriki in the Motakondur circle of the Bhongir. Other places are not identifiable satisfactorily.

Jaina philosopher and medical practioner Samantabhadra is said to have founded a new school of medicine or his own lineage known as Samantabhadra sampradaya. This tradition was further developed by Pujyapada with his contributions to every branch of medical science.

Pujyapada authored texts like Nidanaratnavali, Vaidyakagrantha, Madanakamaratna, Ratnakaradyutasadha and Yogagrantha. Another work of Pujyapada is the text Vaidyamrita which is again not yet discovered. 
This is also known through a secondary source i.e. the work of another Jaina physician Gomatadeva. 
Pujyapada might have flourished around the 5th or 6th century CE. Pujyapada's medical
literature has been often praised in the works of both contemporary and later physicians and is often credited for driving away ill health by his teachings. 

Ugraditya another Jaina physician composed the work Kalyanakaraka in two parts containing 20 and 5 chapters respectively, consisting of 8000 verses. 

This was mainly a compilation of the previously known texts of the Jaina Vaidya sastra and to this text was added by Ugraditya two more new chapters as annexure named Rista and Hitahita . 

Scholars or adherents of this Jaina Vaidya shastra were against the use of animal substances and practice complete non-violence. They not only abstained from animal substances for any kind of cure but also condemned non-vegetarian diet. 

Ugraditya had given at the court of Amoghavarsa long discourse on the uselessness of flesh diet in an assembly where many learned men and doctors had assembled.

Ugraditya was a staunch Jaina and believed in complete abstinence so much so that he even did not prescribe honey which is one of the most frequently used elements in Ayurvedic system of medcine, instead he prescribed the use of jaggery which according to him gave the same results.

The inscription further mentions that centres for preparation of medicine both herbal and chemical-mineral or herbal-mercurial were there. These were Jakabbe and Marakabbeya basadis and for their maintenance lands were separately granted in Buddhipaka along with Muppanapalli as devabhoga by the king. 

The inscription is quite corroded yet the legible portions reveal that a flower garden, a residential place, certain measurement of black soil and along with these a water wheel were donated to the Kajali(ka)sthana attached to the two basadis mentioned above. These were functioning under the
Vaidyaratnakara Jinalaya. 

A sculpture of Aggalayya has been found at Hanumankonda the old capital city of the Kakatiyas. Like the Buddhist monasteries had arogyasala for the monks and also extended their services for the people staying in the locality similarly Jaina medical practitioner also extended their welfare services to the society at large.

Aggalayya gutta Jain Temple and Caves
Aggalayya gutta is located in Hanamakonda, Padmakshi temple road, Hanumakonda district,Telangana state, India. It was also a jain ayurvedic medicine center around 11th century

This Jain site on the Aggalayya gutta has a 30-feet-tall engraved statue of the 16th Jain Tirthankar Shantinatha and a 13-feet-tall statue of 23rd Tirthankar Parshvanatha on a huge boulderstone on a hillock.

The Shantinatha statue is the second tallest Tirthankaras statue in South India after Karnataka’s Bahubali Tirthankara, and the plan is to make it a Jain Vanam. Statue of the Mahavira is also there in a cave on the hillock.

The hillocok was named after, Aggalayya, who constructed a ‘Jinalaya’ that served as a research centre for teaching doctrines of religion, medicine, and surgery.

Aggalayya gutta also has a lot trees and plants which makes the place breathable

Near Hanumakonda bus station and Chowrastha. Around half Kms. Around 600 steps are there to reach top of the hill . Opens at 9 A.M and closes at 6 P.M

This site is developed under National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) scheme by KUDA (Kakatiya Urban Development Authority) in 2017.


References
Epigraphia Telanganica Volume1 Pre-Kakatiya Telangana
Majumdar, Susmita Basu. “AGGALYYA- A 11 th CENTURY JAIN SURGEON.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol. 73, 2012, pp. 175–79. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44156204. Accessed 3 Jan. 2024.
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Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi

624 AD -1189 AD : Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi
Capitals : Pistapuram, Vengi, Rajamahendravaram
Religion : Hinduism
Languages : Telugu, Kannada, Sanskrit

Mudigonda Chalukyas are the vassals ruling in Mudigonda in current Khammam district and Koravi in Mahabubabad district of Telangana.

The Chalukyas of Vengi branched off from the Chalukyas of Badami. The Badami ruler Pulakeshin II (610–642 CE) conquered the Vengi region in eastern Deccan, after defeating the remnants of the Vishnukundina dynasty. He appointed his brother Kubja Vishnuvardhana the governor of this newly acquired territory in 624 A.D

624 - 641 AD : Kubja Vishnuvardhana I

641 - 673 AD : Jayasimha I 

673 AD, seven days : Indra Bhattaraka

673 - 682 AD - Vishnuvardhana II

682 - 706 AD : Mangi Yuvaraja

706 - 718 AD : Jayasimha II

718 - 719 AD, six months : Kokkili 

719 - 755 AD : Vishnuvardhana III

755 - 772 AD : Vijayaditya I Bhattaraka

The Alluvalu Grant of Vijayaditya I
The find spot of the inscription is not known. It is now deposited in the State Museum, Hyderabad
Palli-nandu-vishaya, in which the gift village Alluvalu and its boundaries Chuvikandhi, Juvikalu, Chintapali, and Muparu are situated, is roughly identical with the present Palnad taluk of the Guntur district. There are two villages in the Palnad taluk named Chintapalli and Zukallu. It is not possible to state whether these are adjacent, and if so they are identical with Chintapali and Juvikalu mentioned in the inscription respectively. The situation neither of the gift village Alluvalu, nor the other two boundary villages Chuvi -kandhi and Muparu is known. Paranthuru, the residence of the donee Golasarman is probably identical with Parachuru in the Bapatla taluk.

772 - 808 AD : Vishnuvardhana IV Vishnuraja

808 - 847 AD : Vijayaditya II

Varppomgu Plates of Vijayaditya II
These plates were discovered in the village of Maddar in the Madira taluk of the Khammam district, and are now deposited in the State Museum, Hyderabad. 

The seal is quite interesting. The image of the boar, the lanchhana of the Eastern Chalukyas and other emblems of the royal insignia usually found on the seals of the copper- plate records, do not find a place here. On the upper part of the seal is an engraved emblem of the crescent moon with a knob on either side and a lotus with open petals at the bottom. In between the two right in the middle of the seal is embossed the Eastern Chalukya sign manual Tribhuvanam Kusa. The crescent is probably intended to indicate the affiliation of the E. Chalukya family to the lunar race.

The language of the inscription is Sanskrit.  The inscription records that, the Eastern Chalukya king Samasta-bhuvanasraya Sri Vijayaditya Maharajadhiraja Paramesvara Bhatara, dear son of Sarva-lokesraya Sri Vishnuvardhana Maharaja and grandson of Sri Vijayaditya Maharaja, on the occasion of a lunar eclipse (Chandra-grahana) in the temple Trikoteswara, granted to the brahmana Chandasarman Chaturvedi, son of Potasarman, and grandson of Reva Sarman of Kasyapa- gotra, and a resident of Intupurevu the village of Varppomgu in the Pishtapura -vishaya, Vijayaditya, the donor of this grant is the second Eastern Chalukya king of that name, usually referred in the inscriptions of his successors as Narendramrigaraja or the lion to the deer viz., the enemy kings. The title maharajadhiraja, paramesvara and bhatara and the statement samasta-samantachakra chakravarti-lakshan=opatah seem to indicate that he was a paramount sovereign who aspired to the status of an emperor, the overlord of a circle of a feudatory chiefs. Nothing is, however, said of his achievements, although his reign as can be seen from the other, recorded in this collection, was quite eventful. The donee Chandasarman was a chatur-Vedi, a scholar proficient in the four Vedas; but his ancestors appear to be ordinary brahmanas without any distinction.

847 - 849 AD : Kali Vishnuvardhana V

849 - 892 AD : Gunaga Vijayaditya III
 with his two brothers : Yuvaraja Vikramaditya I and Yuddhamalla I

892 - 921 AD : Bhima I Dronarjuna

921 AD, six months : Vijayaditya IV Kollabiganda

921 - 927 AD : Amma I Vishnuvardhana VI

927 AD, fifteen days : Vijayaditya V Beta

927 AD, one month : Tadapa

927 - 928 AD, eleven months : Vikramaditya II

928 - 929 AD, eight months : Bhima II

929 - 935 AD : Yuddhamalla II

935 - 947 AD : Bhima III Vishnuvardhana VII

947 - 970 AD : Amma II Vijayaditya VI

970 - 973 AD : Danarnava

973 - 999 AD : Jata Choda Bhima (usurp.)

999 - 1011 AD : Shaktivarman I Chalukyacandra

1011 - 1018 AD : Vimaladitya

1018 - 1061 AD : Rajaraja Narendra I Vishnuvardhana VIII 

1061 - 1063 AD : Shaktivarman II

1063 - 1068 AD, 1072–1075 AD : Vijayaditya VII

1075 - 1079 AD : Rajaraja II

1079 -1102 AD : Virachola Vishnuvardhana IX


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Pudur

The village Pudur is located in Gadwal Mandal of Jogulamba Gadwal District in the State of Telangana in India.

Pudur was part of Kandurnadu and later Gadwal Samsthan and now part of Jogulamba Gadwal district, Telangana State and called Pundur or Punduru in olden times.

1048 AD : Telugu Cholas played a significant part in the Chola-Chalukya wars during the reign of Somesvara I and it was their territory that formed the battlefield. Sometime before A.D. 1048 the 30th year of Rajadhiraja, there was a battle between the Cholas and the Chalukyas on the Vengi-Karnataka border. The record mentions that Chakravarti Vikramanaranan took an active part in the battle at Pundur, called the 'Katakama-nagar (the great capital city) on the banks of the Perar (big river) by persuading his huge army to attack Ahavamalla. In the battle that ensued, it is stated, the two younger brothers of Niduvadi Telunga Vichhayyan, Silai Kaivattarajan, Akkappayyan, Pidaikal Cholan, Kondaiya-rajan, Kunisil Munjan, Dandanayakan Dananjayan, Vira Martandran, Vagai Vichchayyan, and his mother and son were all made captives (6 of 1890, SII. IV-329).

1089 AD : Mahamandalesvara Vallabarasa
1089 AD : This Pūndur is situated in the Jogulamba Gadwal district and in A.D. 1089 (C.V. Prabhava, Telangana Ins. No. cha.28) we find a record of Chalukya Vikramaditya VI, mentioning a subordinate called Mahamandalesvara Vallabarasa, granting lands. The Perar is identified with the river Krishna by Sri C.R.K. Charlu (Dept. of Epigraphy, Madras), (the Kannada Inscriptions of Kopbal p.5 Hyderabad Archaeological series).

The records of the 33rd year (A.D. 1050-51) of Rajadhiraja (E.C. IX Dv. 76, S.I.I. VII 1046-1048) mentions his victory, again at Pundur, over "Niduval Vichchayyan'. No doubt this Niduvadi and Niduval Telunga Vichchayyan are identical (probably the Niḍugal Chōlas are meant). Pidaikai Chōla is suggestive of the Cholas of Pedakallu.

There are three localities of interest in this place the Kesavaswami temple, the shrine known as the Mallikarjuna gudi and most important of all, the temple of Virabhadra. 

The Kesava temple is situated in a small compound towards the North-Eastern end of the village and looks comparitvely recent. It consists of a rectangular pillared and the main shrine behind it. One notable feature is that this temple has no Sikhara at the top but has instead a low parapet wall around. The deity in this temple is mentioned frequently in the Telugu literature of the 15th and 16th centuries produced under the patronage of the rulers of Gadwal.

About two furlongs to the North of this temple is a low mud-wall about 8 feet thick, encircling the village
the railway station. A little farther is a small shrine known as Mallikarjuna gudi. The most important of the antiquities of this shrine are a number of broken sculptures laid against a wall to the right side of the gudi. Among them are to be found the idols of a female and a male deity, a Jina sitting in the dhydna posture with a seven-hooded cobra above his head, a broken Jina figure exquisitely carved and a third Jina image without the cobra-hood above the head. There are besides, the images of dwarapdlakas and Ndgis in plenty. 

About two are three fur- longs away from this place is the Virabhadra temple which is the centre of our interest at Pudur. The temple consists of an entrance porch, a small pillared hall and the main shrine behind it. Above this structure is a stepped conical sikharci with an inverted kalasa at the top. The main shrine contains a Sivalinga while to the Southern wall of the hall is set up an image of Virabhadra. 

To the North of this temple is a small shrine containing a slab on which is carved in relief a figure with folded hands and the tail curving above the head, resembling the figure of Hanuman. 

Parallel to these structures and to the further North is a choultry of recent construction, with a Northern wing. A mud-wall recently built starts before the entrance to the Virabhadra temple and joins the Eastern wall of the choultry. This wall and the exterior of the Western wdll of the choultry are important from the sculptural point of view. Being recent erections they contain a number of beautifully sculptured slabs and beams. Below is a list of some of the important slabs built into the former.
  1. Four figures of Nagis each with a sword and a shield in the hand. 
  2. A man and a woman on horseback below a seated Jina figure with a woman holding chamara on either side.
  3. Two men on horseback one piercing the other.
  4. A seated Jina with two warriors fighting with swords below
  5. Many slabs with single and many-hooded cobras.
On the exterior of the Western wall of the choultry are found the following sculptures
  1. The cross-beam of a doorway with Qajalakshmi in the centre,
  2. Another beam containing Siva in the dancing posture,
  3. A pillar on which are carved in relief the scenes of Rama and Sita going to the forest and Rama cutting the nose of Surpariakha
  4. A peculiar slab containing a Jina with chamara-bearers on either side and a Linga on a pedastal in the first row; a horseman below the Jina fighting with a sword and an infantry man piercing the former's horse with a spear, in the second row; a man in the falling posture and below him a dead body, both in the centre of the slab below the second row
Besides the temples and sculptures described above, Pudur contains no less than six inscriptions which belong to three successive centuries, and throw much light on the religious history of this part of the country during early medieval times.

1088 AD : Hallakarasa
On a slab by the road side near the Mallikarjuna gudi, a canarese inscription dated 12th year of the Chalukyavikrama era, recordsthat in the time of Tribhuvanamalla his subordinate Pundura Hallakarasa made several gifts of land in and round Pudur to his guru Kanakasena- bhattaraka of the Pallavajinalaya, which belonged to the Dravila samgha. 

Mahamandalesvara Rajasekhara
A canarese fragment on a broken slab in the road very near the above which chief with the usual dynastic titles. This vikrama era though the actual figure is mentions Mahamandalesvara Rajasekhara a telugu choda chief 

In the Kesavasvami temple a workout record of chieftain who calls himself Kandura-pura-vara-dhisvara

On the cross-beam bearing Gajalakhmi, carved in the upper and lower margins are “Sri Poravana gavunda madisida” and Svasti Saka-varisa Sarvajit Samvatsara

On a pillar in the interior of the Northern wing of the choultry and 'half built into the wall is a Telugu record on which the words and are prominent Prajapathi Samvatsara Jagadala

Towards the Southern end of the village on a slab near the Hanuman shrine, is a long canarese inscription dated Chalukya Vikrama Era 13 which registers a gift of Pundura Hallakarasa.

These inscriptions reveals many interesting facts. The Sanskrit verse tells us that the ancient name of Pudur was Pundurapura and that it had a fortress. Evidently the low mud wall to the North of the Kesava temple to which we have already referred formed part of the ancient fortress of Pudur. At the beginning of inscription No. i there is a figure of a Jina sitting in dhyana posture. The inscription records a gift to the Pallavajinalaya whose prosperity is hailed in the first two lines thereof. The second and third sides of the record are descriptions of the temple which the Sanskrit verse tells us, was situated in a beautiful mango grove. 

Pudur seems to have been ruled over by Hallakarasa in the last quarter of the 12th century. Later on probably the Telugu cholas held this place as inscription no. 2 above indicates. The letters in inscription No, are distinctly Telugu characters of the early 13th century and resemble those of the Kakatiya inscriptions. The occurence of the word "Jagadala’" and the mention of the erection of a Siva temple in the visible part of this record afford the clue for determining the date of this inscription. JagadaJa a subordinate of Kakatiya Ganapatideva appears in the Pakhal inscription. Further the reign of that monarch also witnessed a strong Saivite reaction against the Jainas. Hence I would ascribe this inscription to Jagadala a general of Ganapatideva and assign it to the cyclic year Prajapati ’corresponding to 1211A. D. This fragment indicates how Pudur became a part of the Kakatiya empire and a Saivite centre. 

In the Kesavasvami temple a worn out record of a chieftain Rajasekhara a Telugu Chola gives us the political history of Pudur in subsequent times. The “Yatha- sldk-tatparya-Raraayapamu’ dedicated to Raja China Somabhupal of Gadwal mentions that about the middle of the 17th century a certain Virareddi was the ruler of Pudur and that his only daughter Bakkamma was married to Raja Peda Somabhupal the Nadagaud of leeza. Later this chieftain founded the fortress of Gadwal and transferred his head quarters to it. Since then Pudur formed part of the Gadwal sainasthan. Continued neglect reduced the fort and other fortifications into ruins. Only the mud-wall remains today as the pitiable survivor of the past glory of Pudur.

In Telangana both Jainism and Brahminism flourished without any hitch till the close of the nth century. With the advent of Virasaiva in the middle of the next century the situation changed. A strong movement of merciless persecution was started by the Vira Saivas against the Jainas. Telugu and Kanarese literatures of this period contain harrowing tales of the wholesale destruction of the Jainas, their books and temples. This wave of destruction swept the nooks and corners of the Western Chalukyan empire. The Jaina settlement at Pudur also seems to have suffered in this connection. But for the images of Virabhadra and the linga in the main shrine, the Virabhadra temple is a compact little Jaina shrine.

 Of the broken sculptures in the Mallikarjuna gudi the male and the female deity and the Jina figure with the cobra-hood above its head may be taken to constitute a triad representing ParSvanatha and his attendant Yaksha and Yakshipi. I believe that the Virabhadra temple of today enshrined this triad besides a number of allied deities and went by the name of “Sri Pallava Jinalaya’’ in the 12th century as inscription No. i mentioned in this paper would indicate. It is likely that in the middle of the 13th century, when Pudur was conquered by the Kakatiyas, the champions of Saivism, set in the reaction against the local Jainas. Sculpture on the exterior of the Western wall of the choultry is symbolic of this reaction. The representation of a Jina over one and of a Lingaover another of the two fighters on this slab indicates that of these two warriors each championed one of the two rival faiths and fought out the issue. The result, as the presence of the Saivite idols in what was origi" nally a Jaina temple would indicate, was victory to the 6aivas* As a further consequence of the victory, the Saivas must have set up many temples here of their own type. Probably the cross-beam contain- ing the image of ^iva in the dancing posture adorned one of the main temples of the Saivas. On questioning the old men of the place, I came to know that all the sculptured pieces in the Virabhadra temple were recovered from the ground while ploughing or sinking wells. It is likely therefore that the neighbourhood of the temple contains many temples and inscriptions in its bosom.

Thus Pudur and its antiquities are of very great interest to the archaeologist and the student of history. In the broken sculptures andthe half-buried inscriptions of this place we find the echos of the general progress of the political and religious history of the Deccan.



THE ANTIQUITIES OF PUDUR* M. RAMA RAO, M. A., B, Kd.
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Raja Narsa Goud

Raja Narsa Goud (1866-1948) was a philanthropist known for his significant contributions to charities, especially those caring for people with leprosy. Raja Narsa Goud paid for the construction of the first water tank in Nizamabad and for further plumbing works with Cheelam Janakibai, head of Sirnapalli. 

Goud accepted the title of Raja, bestowed by Mir Osman Ali Khan. 
King George V gave a medal to Goud during a 1930 visit, in recognition of his service to his community. 

The legendary fame of the late Raja Narsagoud of Nizamabad as a friend of the poor was such that people inneed would land up in front of his house seeking him out even 30 years after his death. Narsagoud became alegend in his lifetime and itinerant bards who had composed and sang songs in his praise, citing his innumerable good deeds and sang them in village after village, had spread far and wide, even beyond Hyderabad State, his name.

Narsagoud was one of the richest men of the then princely state of Hyderabad, Deccan. He was one of the three leading excise contractors in the Hyderabad Dominion with business interests in Karimnagar, Nizamabad and Adilabad districts. His fame as a friend of the poor and as a giver was not just limited to Hyderabad but spread as far as Benaras. According to a well-know story, the then Rani of Sirnapalli, JanakiBai went in a special train to Benaras with a huge entourage. As the story goes, when awed on lookerswanted to know who this VIP was, the answer they got was “Rani of Sirnapalli.” But where is Sirnapalli, the onlookers asked. The answer came : In Narsa Goud’s Nizamabad! Narsagoud’s business office in PeddaBazar of Mancherial in Adilabad district, was as big and as busy as a Tehsil Office, according to an old-time resident of Mancherial, Jaganmohan Reddy.

Born in 1866 in Nizamabad district, Narsagoud was the youngest of three children. While his elder brothers, Ramagoud and Lakshmagoud managed the excise business of the family and were constantly on the move, Narsagoud managed the administration and finances of the business, based in Nizamabad town. The triostrengthened the family’s considerable fortunes vastly, making them one of the wealthiest in the state.

Narsagoud not only had a highly developed business sense but was driven by a passion to contribute tosociety. He made no distinction of religion and caste when he gave. He generously donated for theconstruction of temples, masjids and dargahs. He built homes or dharamsalas for the poor and ‘satrams’ forBrahmins, among others in Kotgalli and another in Kantheshwar in the town. When a Christian priest inPeddapalli, now in Karimnagar district, brought to his notice that he had no dwelling, Narsa Goud promptlygot a house built for him. Such was his social concern that Narsa Goud had wells dug every few km on theroad from Nizamabad to Mancharial for the benefit of travellers. He set up homes for the homeless in Vimrivillage and in Kantheshwar. Every year, before the onset of winter he would distribute a pair of chappals anda ‘gongali’ or blanket to the poor to keep them warm. During summer, he would organise mass feeding ofpoor with ‘ambali’ or porridge and jaggery ‘pakam’ to fight the searing heat.

The Kantheshwar and Pahadi Dargahs in Nizamabad were constructed by him. As a great worshipper of LordShiva, Narsagoud retrieved and re-constructed the ancient Shiva temple of Kantheshwar in Nizamabad andconstructed the Shambhuni Gudi in Nizambad and the Shiva temple at Sarangapur, among others. Hedonated large sums of money to the Mecca Masjid and had the Gurudwara for Sikhs constructed inNizamabad.

Impressed by the work of Dr. Isabel Kerr, a missionary of the Methodist Church, among lepers in the villages of Nizamabad from 1907 onwards, he supported the idea of a permanent treatment centre for them and donated 60 acres of land at Dichpally and an unspecified amount to set it up. The Leper Home was started in1915 which was later converted into a hospital and rechristened as Victoria Hospital in 1928. Narsagoud canbe thus credited with enabling the setting up of one of the earliest leprosy treatment centres in India. Narsagoud was also responsible for the setting up of the district’s first ever maternity hospital or Jajgikhana, as it was then called. He had the building constructed and handed it over to the government to run it. Whenthe district administration could not find funds to introduce piped water supply in Nizamabad town, it turned toNarsa Goud who funded it.

Narsagoud was a great believer in education and nursed talent in the poor by financing the education of bright youngsters. Those whom he supported belonged to all castes and they went on to become topengineers, judges and even an MP in Lok Sabha. He was responsible for starting the first girls school inNizamabad. He donated the building for it. Narsagoud was the founder of the Goud Hostel in Hyderabadwhere the young boys of the community were given free board and lodge as they studied. He regularly visitedthe hostel and took care of the special needs of the hostellers. Every Christmas, Narsagoud would distributeclothes and other essentials to the inmates of the Dichpalli Leprosy Hospital. In the 1930’s, Narsagoud hosted the Andhra Maha Sabha Conference in Nizamabad.

A unique characteristic of Narsagoud was that he did not believe in having any record of his contribution tothe society. So much so when his only son Ramagoud installed a plaque without his father’s knowledge, inthe Maternity Hospital stating it was constructed by Narsagoud, the latter had the plaque removed when hecame to know about it. He however gracefully accepted the title of “Raja” bestowed on him by “His ExaltedHighness,” Fath Jang Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan Asif Jah, VII Nizam of Hyderabad State in recognition ofhis contribution to society and especially to improve the quality of life of the poor. Such was Narsagoud’sstanding with “His Exalted Highness” The Nizam of Hyderabad that he was allowed the privilege of sittingnext to him.

Narsagoud encouraged his son Ramagoud’s entrepreneurial zeal who introduced the silent film to Nizamabad and later, the talkies, too. Ramagoud set up Nizamabad district’s first-ever rice and oil mill and Narsagoud later on financed the secondrice and oil mill of the district, set up by Ranga Reddy in Bodhan.

Raja Narsa Goud died on 4 April 1948 at the age of 82. His death occurred during the Standstill Agreement when Razakars paramilitaries were active. Goud's family were nervous of taking his body to the crematorium for fear of encountering violence, but Muslims that they met along the way helped to carry Narsa Goud's body with them, in respect for Goud's support of people of different castes and creeds.

Muslim men from almost every house thus helped the passage of body on its final journey, with love, respectand dignity. The homage paid by the Muslims to Narsagoud was perhaps the most touching and anappropriate recognition of his contribution to humanity. Narsagoud, both in his lifetime and in his death, showed that ties of love and respect were more enduring than those of hate. As a Muslim poet wrote in his honour, Hyderabad State did not have a more generous man than Narsagoud and that his generositysurpassed even that of Hatim Tai, the legendary Arab king whose name is synonymous with wisdom, courage, generosity and selflessness.


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Balmuri Kondal Rayudu

Balmuri Kondal Rayudu and his acolyte/lieutenant Bhogam Sani had been from Manal fort in Karimnagar where they lived between AD 1690 and 1720, ultimately ruling surrounding regions for around 27 years. 

They had been resentful of the Mughal empire’s rule and had declared a war against Aurangzeb, who was alive till 1707, and even captured several forts, such as Induru Fort in Nizamabad, from the empire’s control. Belonging to the Velama community, they had wished to protect the local culture and traditions and were afraid that Muslim rule would jeopardise it.

They ruled these areas up until, in 1720, they were defeated by the Nizam, who had declared independence from the Mughal empire, in Pallikonda near present-day Bheemghal town. They had lost their lives and their ‘tale of sacrifice’ has been a part of oral tradition in the area ever since.

After the two men passed away, their bravery went on to inspire other rulers in nearby areas. Seelam Janaki Bai, the only woman ruler of the Sirnapally dynasty in Nizamabad, installed idols of these leaders in her fort. Since then, Rayudu and Sani became inspirational figures with a demigod status.

Centuries passed but the two men remained revered as minor deities. However, things changed in 1953 when Nizamabad town was battered by floods and plagues of Cholera. The town’s people got together and formed a committee consisting of people from all castes. They called it the Sarvasamaj Committee.

They decided to pray to the nine gods of the town and added two more - Balmuri Kondal Rayudu and Bhogam Sani. The committee overlooks the Urapandaga festival in which the idols of these gods, which are freshly made each year, are prayed to. Thriveni revealed these details at a programme held by the Sarvasamaj Committee on Sunday during the Urapandaga celebrations.


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Haihaya Chiefs

Heheya Kingdom (also known as Haihaya, Haiheya, Heiheya, etc.) is one of the kingdoms ruled by Chandravanshi (Yadava) kings in central and western India. The Puranas style the Haihayas as the first ruling dynasty of Avanti.

Mahishmati was an ancient city and the capital of Haihayas in the present-day central India on the banks of Narmada River, although its exact location is uncertain. 

A number of early medieval dynasties, which include the Kalachuris and the Mushakavamsha Mushika Kingdom of Kerala, claimed their descent from the Haihayas.

Kartavirya Arjuna

Niladhwaja in Mahismati

Suradeva of Ratanpur conquered Telingana

Haihayas were subdued in the seventh century by Vinayaditya, the Western Chalukya king Vinayaditya, and Mahishmati was incorporated in his kingdom. The Haihaya chiefs then served as governors under the Chalukyas.

Aralu Branch(Sedam, Chitpur in Kalaburagi district in Karnataka)
Aralu 300 region

Chanda, Nimba, Allapuli, Chanda bhupalaka II, Ayyana, Muvadi ganda, Revarasa

1038 AD  - 1054 AD: Revarasa
Wife : Maliyabbarasi
1042 AD : One of them , belonging to Yewur and dated 1042 , states that he was the subordinate of Jayasimha II and that he was the son of Chanda .

24 Dec 1054 AD : Kembhavi Inscription Chanda, Nimba, Allapuli, Chanda bhupalaka II, Ayyana, Muvadi ganda, Revarasa

1035 AD - 1058 AD : Anemarasa I  or Yanemarasa I

1035 - 1038 : Kanduru Anemarasa : Record from Mallesvaram Saka 955 and Saka 960 

1058 AD An inscription found at Nagai in Gulbarga dated 1058 AD, Ayyarasa of Haihaya family was ruling Kandurnadu under Somesvara I.


1058 AD - 1071 AD Bacharasa
Queen Kalabbarasi
Bacharasa issued an inscription in his own name- without mentioning his overlords , the Chalukyas of Kalyana . This inscription from Ingalgi in Chitpur has a date corresponding to 1071 A.D.


1096 AD - 1104 AD : Anemarasa II  or Yanemarasa II
Mahamandelesvara Anemarasa was the successor of Bacharasa. He appears in 1096 AD as the subordinate of Chalukya Vikramaditya VI

Kammaravadi Inscription, the reign of Tribhuvanamalla (Vikramditya VI) mentions Yanemarasa of the Haihaya Vamsa with the title of ' Lord of Mahishmati ' . He was ruling in 1104 A.D. , the territory in the neighbourhood of Kammaravadi in the old Hyderabad State

Sankarasa

Bijjarasa II (Son Lokaditya)
Lokadityarasa (Bijja ankakara)

1129 AD : Mallidevarasa
As per Hirebudanur inscription, ruling Mahishmati

1142 AD : Rayaparaja
25th June 1142 AD : Peddavuru, Nalgonda.
This inscription is in Telugu prose and dated Saka 1064, Dundubhi Ashadha Sukla 1, Thursday (A.D. 1142, June 25). It records a grant of two mattars of land to the god Kamisvara of the village Uriya (Peddavuru) for the daily worship etc., by Mahamandalesvara Rayapa Raju of the Haihaya dynasty. The donor is attributed with all the prasasti commonly met with in the epigraphs of the Haihaya dynasty.

2nd July 1142 AD : This inscription is set up in front of Vishnu Kameswara temple. The inscription begins with the usual prasasti of the Haihaya kings and introduces Mahamandalesvara Rayaparaja who is stated to have made a gift of sixty puttis and two marturs vritti for the worship and offerings to the god Kamesvaradeva of Uriya in Gidvaka of the kings of his family.

1158 AD : Anemarasa III younger brother of lokaditya
Anemarasa II succeeded Lokaditya and he was a Mahamandaleshvara under Chalukya king Taila II in 1158 AD
Sons Bijjarasa, Yecharasa


ViraBijjarasa (Bijjarasa III,Anegadeva) (1209, 1221AD)(Queen Slriyadevi)
Yecharasa (Son Kacharasa)
Kacharasa (1212AD)

Suriyaraja
Battuvariguda, Miryalaguda Taluk. : Haihaya Chiefs
This inscription is on a slab in front of the Kameswara temple. The inscription begins with the prasasti of the Haihayas and seems to record the gift of some gold gadyas to the god of Uriya (i.e. Pedda uru) by Suriyaraja. Other details are not known and the last portion is unintelligible.

The Gonas or Konas (1190 AD - 1294 AD), of Haihaya descent, are the feudatories of Kakatiyas.




A Kona Rajendra choda Vennachodaya bearing the Kona Haihaya prasasti and his wife Nimmale Devi, daughter of Premkanti Virappa Reddi are mentioned in a record from Draksharama dated A.D. 1237. Vennachoda’s relationship to the main line is not known. A Kona Betaraja figures in a record from Kumaradevam dated A.D. 1247.

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