Gunda III (died c. 895 CE), also known as Gundyana or Gundana, was a member of the

Kakatiya The Kakatiya dynasty (IAST: Kākatīya) was an Indian dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region comprising present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of eastern Karnataka and southern Odisha between 12th and 14th centuries. Th ...

dynasty of southern India. He served the Rashtrakuta king

Krishna II Krishna II (reigned 878–914 CE) was king of the Rashtrakuta empire. He throne after the demise of his father Amoghavarsha I Nrupatunga. His Kannada name was Kannara.Reu (1933), p75 His queen was a Haihaya princess of Chedi called Mahadevi. ...

, and died during Krishna's invasion of the Vengi Chalukya kingdom. He is the earliest known member of the Kakatiya family to have been in the Telugu-speaking region.

Career

Gunda III was a son of Gunda II, and a great-grandson of Venna, the earliest known ruler of the Kakatiya family which traced its lineage to

Durjaya Durjaya, now North Guwahati, was capital of Kamarupa kingdom under the Pala Dynasty for the period 900 to 1100 C.E. Pala rulers built their capital on the banks of the Brahmaputra and surrounded it with a rampart and a strong palisade, whence th ...

. Gunda III served as a Rashtrakuta commander in the Telugu-spe aking region, and is the earliest known member of the Kakatiya family to have been present in this region. The Mangallu inscription calls him "Gundyana Rashtrakuta" (or Gundana) and "''Samanta'' Votti" (a mistake for ''Vitti''). Gunda III finds a mention in the c. 956 CE Mangallu inscription (issued at the request of his great-grandson Gunda IV), and possibly the undated

Masulipatnam Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar, is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the mandal headquar ...

inscription (issued by the Vengi Chalukya king Bhima I). These inscriptions suggest that he was a vassal of the Rashtrakuta king

, and participated in the Rashtrakuta invasion of the Vengi Chalukya kingdom, around 895 CE. Gunda attacked Peruvanguru (a village near

Nidadavolu Nidadavolu is a town in East Godavari district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the mandal headquarters of Nidadavolu mandal in Kovvur revenue division. History The town was known as ''Niravadyaprolu'' or ''Nir ...

) in order to create a diversion and allow his master to enter the Chalukya capital Vata (Vijayawada). During this attack, he was killed by Irimartiganda, a son of the Chalukya king Bhima I. According to the Mangallu inscription, Gunda III died a heroic death during a Rashtrakuta invasion of the Vengi Chalukya kingdom. Gunda's Rashtrakuta overlord is called "Vallabhesha" in the inscription, and may be identified with Krishna II . The inscription states that Gundana's effort allowed the Rashtrakuta king to enter the town of Vata (Vijayawada). The Masulipatnam inscription states that Irimartiganda killed the Rashtrakuta general (dandena'') Gundyana, identified with Gunda III by modern historians, at Peruvanguru. Gunda III was succeeded by Erra, who ruled the Kurravadi region, possibly the area around present-day

Kuravi Kuravi is a village in Mahabubabad district of the Indian state of Telangana. It is located in Kuravi mandal. Geography Kuravi/Korvi is around 70 km away from Warangal by train and is around 11 km away from the Mahabubabad Mahabu ...

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...

References

Bibliography

* * {{Kakatiya dynasty Kakatiya dynasty 9th-century Indian people