Mahadeva (r. c. 1195-1199) was a ruler of the Kakatiya dynasty which ruled in the present-day

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 ...

and

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

regions of India. He died in battle during an invasion of the neighbouring Seuna (Yadava) kingdom. The Yadavas captured his son

Ganapati Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is found throughout India. Hindu ...

, but later reinstated him on the Kakatiya throne.

Early life

Mahadeva was a son of the Kakatiya king

Prola II Prola II (r. c. 1116-1157 CE) was a Kakatiya chief who ruled the area around Anumakomda (modern Hanamkonda) as a vassal of the Kalyani Chalukyas. He was the father of Rudra-deva, the first sovereign ruler of the Kakatiya family. Prola II was a s ...

, and a younger brother of his predecessor Rudra-deva. He had three other brothers: Harihara, Ganapati (not to be confused with his son), and Durggaraja (not to be confused with his uncle). Rudra-deva did not have any children, and appointed Mahadeva as his successor, as attested by the Khamdavalli inscription of

Prataparudra Pratāparudra (r. c. 1289–1323), also known as Rudradeva II, was the last ruler of the Kakatiya dynasty of India. He ruled the eastern part of Deccan, with his capital at Warangal. Prataparudra succeeded his grandmother Rudramadevi as the Kak ...

. Mahadeva succeeded him on the throne in 1195-1196 CE.

Reign

Only two inscriptions from Mahadeva's reign are available: the 1197 CE Sundella (near Peddapalli) inscription and an undated, broken inscription found at the

Warangal Fort Warangal Fort is located in Warangal District, Telangana, India. It was the capital city of Kakatiya dynasty and Musunuri Nayakas. It appears to have existed since at least the 12th century when it was the capital of the Kakatiyas. The fort has ...

. Like his predecessors, Mahadeva was a Shaivite; Dhruveshvara was his spiritual guru. Epigraphic and literary evidence suggests that Mahadeva invaded the neighbouring Seuna (Yadava) kingdom during the reign of the Yadava king

Jaitugi Jaitugi (r. c. 1191-1200), also known as Jaitrapala, was a ruler of the Seuna (Yadava) dynasty of Deccan region in India. Early life Jaitugi was the son of his predecessor Bhillama V, who overthrew the Chalukya suzerainty to become independent ...

(r. c. 1192-1200) alias Jaitrapala. He was killed in a battle, while seated on an elephant at night, in 1198-1199 CE. This account is also supported by the literary texts such as ''Pratapa-charita'' and ''Soma-deva-rajiya''. The ''Pratapa-charita'' (or ''Pratapa-charitamu'') states that Mahadeva was a brave warrior who died during an attack on the Yadava capital Devagiri, while fighting seated on a elephant. According to the Khamdavalli inscription and the 1249-1250 CE Yenamadala inscriptions of the Kakatiyas, while plundering the enemy's town, Mahadeva fell asleep on the two temples of a female elephant, "stained with blood as if smeared with the red sandal of the breasts of the goddess of victory in the night." When he woke, he found himself "reclining on the bosom of a celestial nymph." According to the Patna inscription of the Yadava king Simhana II, the earlier Yadava king Jaitrapala (Jaitugi) defeated the king of Andhra. The Paithan inscription of the Yadava king

Ramachandra Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...

states that Jaitrapala defeated the king of "Trikalinga" (a mistake for "Tilinga", that is,

). The Bayyaram tank inscription names ''Kataka-chura-kara'' as a title of Mahadeva, which suggests that he plundered the Kalachuri capital Kalyana (Kataka). This probably happened during his expedition to the Yadava kingdom.

Succession

Mahadeva and his queen Bayyamamba had a son -

, and two daughters: Mailamba (also Mailama or Melambika) and Kundamamba. Epigraphic evidence suggests that the Yadava king Jaitugi rescued Ganapati during the battle that resulted in Mahadeva's death, and appointed him as Mahadeva's successor. According to the Paithan inscription of Ramachandra, Jaitrapala rescued Ganapati from prison, and made him the king. The Bahal (or Bhawal) inscription of Simhana also states that a compassionate Jaitugi saved Ganapati's life in the battle, and made him the lord of the Andhra country. Both Mailamba and Kundamamba married Rudra of Natavadi family, which held a fief in the Inugurti region since the

Kalyani Chalukya The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries. This Kannadiga dynasty is sometimes called the ''Kalyani Chalukya'' after its regal capital at Kalyani, today's Basavakalyan in the ...

rule. This Rudra was a son of Rudra, and a grandson of Mahadeva's maternal uncle Durga.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{Kakatiya dynasty Kakatiya dynasty 12th-century Indian monarchs