Dr.R. Ganapathi as a native of the area once ruled by the Subordinates of Kakatiyas and Kakatiyas, has rightly choosen the topic, His love towards his native soil might inspired him to work on the Subordinate rulers in order to present a detailed account which will be useful to the research scholars and professionals working in history Departments. Earlier, P.V.P. Sastry has worked on the Kakatiyas of Warangal wherein a brief account on the place of subordinate rulers was presented.
The present work deals with the Political relations of the Subordinate families with the overlords i.e., the Kakatiyas who left an indelible mark in the annals of the Medieval Deccan History. The author is successful in his attempts in putting forth all the available materials in one volume by collecting data from inscriptions and literature of the period, he made a thorough survey based on epigraphs and analysed the Policies of taxation and revenue. His arguments about the rule of the Subordinates under the royal sanctions and thought provoking.
The contributions made by Dr. R. Ganapathi are command-able in gleaming information and offering interpretations pertaining to the aspects of economic prosperity, social solidarity, literature, sculpture and temple building activity of the Subordinate rulers under the Kakatiyas of Warangal. His study also reveals that even the Subordinate rulers also possessed titles like their overlords, and the systems of both military and civil administration.
I feel that the book is indispensable for all Scholars engaged in medieval studies particularly of South India. I congratulate Dr. R. Ganapathi for his indepth study and analysis on the topic.
The Kakatiyas were one of the major rulers of Andhra desa for about three hundred and twenty three years from A.D. 1000 to A.D. 1323. During the period of their rule, they creditably shaped the political and cultural destinies of the Andhra people. In the beginning they were the feudatories of the Rashtrakjas and later shifted their loyalty to the Western Chalukyas of Kalyani. Taking advantage of the political turmoil in the 11th century, the Kakatlyas established their power at Orugallu by about A.D. 1000. Gradually they brought the present Andhra Pradesh, parts of Orissa and Tamilnadu under their sway.
The origin of the Kakatiyas has been highly debated. Several theories are put forward regarding the early chiefs, the derivation of the name Kakatiya and the caste of the Kakatiyas.
The Kakatlya chiefs in their early records are represented as Samartas or feudatory chiefs as Samanta vishti vamsa or Samanta Voddi Sarnjnam Kulam. Samantas governed feudal estates or fiefs and enjoyed certain rights. They lead armies in wars along with their overlords. The Kakatiya chiefs were not mere Rashtrakuja officers as some scholars believed. On the other hand it was also mentioned that these Samantas "ruled the earth from the town Kakati". They also possessed the Garuda banner befitting their status of Samantas. Garuda is the divine vehicle of lord Vishnu.
"Garuda which means the mythical eagle or the divine vehicle of god Vishnu, was adopted as a royal insignia by the Rashtra-kutas and some other allied dynasties of the Deccan, who generally trace their descent from a puranic Vrisluni- Vamsa of lord Krishna. It is not improbable that the Kakatiyas who were called Rashtrakutas in the Mangallu grant, bore the family name like Raya-Garuda-Kula after their royal insignia".
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