Kakatiya Royal Killed Vengi Chalukya Usurper
According to Dr K. Muniratnam Reddy, epigraphy director, ASI, “The inscription, dating from early medieval South India.
Hyderabad: The sixth set of 10th-century Vengi Chalukya copper plate inscriptions, found recently in Kodad, records that Gundayya, one of the earlier Kakatiya rulers, killed usurper Thalapa in a battle and helped Vengi Chalukya king Vikramaditya II regain the throne, for which he was granted villages. One of these villages was gifted to Gundayya’s wife.
According to Dr K. Muniratnam Reddy, epigraphy director, ASI, “The inscription, dating from early medieval South India, was issued under the aegis of Eastern Chalukya king Vikramaditya II and documents a royal grant in the Telugu-speaking region of the Vengi kingdom.” The inscription is written in Sanskrit and displays the stylistic conventions of royal epigraphy in eastern Deccan during the 10th century CE. The royals from the Chalukya dynasty who ruled from Vengi are also called the Eastern Chalukyas.
The inscription begins with praise of the dynasty, tracing its lineage from Kubja Vishnuvardhana, the founder of the Vengi line of royals and the younger brother of the Badami Chalukya emperor Pulakesin II.
This inscription states that King Vikramaditya II granted two villages — Yenvuru and Loceruvulu— located within the Pennatavadi Visaya, as a reward for Gundayya’s loyal service and valour, to Lokanavva of the Haridra vamsa, the first wife of Gundayya, who had killed Talapa in battle and helped the king regain his ancestral throne.
Further, it records the heroic deeds of Gundayya, ruling from the Kondapalli Visaya, portrayed as a loyal feudatory under the Chalukyas — one who upheld dharma and defeated enemies in battle.
Muniratnam Reddy added that the inscription also mentions Vijayaditya, son of Chalukya Bhima I, who ruled for six months and defeated the ruler of Kalinga, Vajrahasta III, at Viraja (now in Odisha), and erected a victory pillar. The inscription says Vijayaditya achieved victory with just one elephant, whereas the Kalinga ruler had many elephants. “Based on this, the ASI team will visit Odisha to study the site,” he said.