Gadwal Samsthanam was a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

of the

Nizam of Hyderabad The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

. It was once part of

Raichur district Raichur District is an administrative district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located in the northeast part of the state and is bounded by Yadgir district in the north, Bijapur and Bagalkot district in the northwest, Koppal district ...

(though it is now

Gadwal Gadwal is a City and the district headquarters of Jogulamba Gadwal district in the Indian state of Telangana. It is located from the state capital Hyderabad And 59 km From Kurnool and is a state assembly constituency. Gadwal historicall ...

Jogulamba Gadwal district Jogulamba district is a district in the Indian state of Telangana. The administrative headquarters of the district is located at Gadwal. The district shares boundaries with Narayanpet, Wanaparthy districts and with the state boundary of Andhra P ...

). It was one of the three important samsthanams, the other two being Wanaparthy Samsthanam and Jatprole Samsthanam.

Historical Places

The Samsthanam has a fort called as Gadwal Fort or Nalla somanadri fort. The fort is in a dilapidated state today. Lingamma Bavi and Chokkamma Bavi are two wells constructed by Somanadri. The wells were named based on the names of his wives Lingamma and Chokkamma.

The Feudatory

It was once ruled by a

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

lord, Maha Raja Sri Somashekar Ananda bhoopal Reddy, called

Somanadri Gadwal Samsthanam was a vassal of the Nizam of Hyderabad. It was once part of Raichur district (though it is now Gadwal in Jogulamba Gadwal district). It was one of the three important samsthanams, the other two being Wanaparthy Samsthanam a ...

hails from Poodoor village. Gadwal has developed around a fort built by the Gadwal ruler Somanadri. This Gadwal Samsthanam was protected by Mallichetti vamshiyulu. The Nagi Reddy we fondly know Nagappa was an Ayngarashakulu of Gadwal samsthanam (Raja somanadri was a minor). He died in a war with fanatic sultans. Then Narsappa succeeded his father Nagappa as Gadwal Samsthanam Ayngarashakulu, but unfortunately for some reason he had to leave the palace. In 1947, Adi Lakshmidevamma was the feudatory queen of Gadwal Samsthanam during

Nizam The Nizams were the rulers of Hyderabad from the 18th through the 20th century. Nizam of Hyderabad (Niẓām ul-Mulk, also known as Asaf Jah) was the title of the monarch of the Hyderabad State ( divided between the state of Telangana, Mar ...

rule. She aided forces led by

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar, was an Indian lawyer, influential political leader, barrister and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of I ...

to annex Hyderabad state into independent India and let those forces to enter Hyderabad state through Gadwal.

List of Rulers

According to the family history, Pedda Veera Reddy, Peddanna Bhupaludu, Sarga Reddy, Veera Reddy and Kumara Veera Reddy ruled Gadwal between 1553 and 1704.

Asthana Purohit

The last known feudal lord in Gadwal Samsthanam was Maharani Adhilakshmi Devamma who lived in the hereditary fort appointed S.P. Ananda murthy who was in time in-charge of the Agraharam with Ramachandra swamy temple in Gadwal along with the lands in and around it. When the Maharani Adhilaxmi Devamma moved to Hyderabad with her children, S.P.Anandamurthy had appointed S.P. Narashima murthy as the Asthan Purohit to move along with the Asthanam to Hyderabad to perform the Daily rituals at the Palace. S.P. Narashima murthy along with his wife S.P. Subbamma and the adopted child (S. P. Subrahmanyam) moved to Hyderabad

Popular culture

The Samsthanam was the main feature in a hit 2009 Telugu movie, Arundhati and

Kondaveeti Raja ''Kondaveeti Raja'' is a 1986 Telugu film starring Chiranjeevi, Vijayashanti, Radha and Rao Gopal Rao. This film was directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. The film released on 31 January 1986. Plot The film begins with Raja coming to a historic villa ...

Gallery

File:Chennakeshava swamy temple in Gadwal Fort.jpg, Chennakeshava swamy temple in Gadwal Fort File:Maharani Adhilaxmi Devamma.jpg, Maharani Adhilaxmi Devamma File:Chenna Keshava Temple.jpg, Chenna Keshava Temple

References

{{reflist People from Hyderabad State People from Mahbubnagar district