Kondavidu

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Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)
Guntur district map

Kondavidu (कोंडाविडु) is a historically significant ancient hill fortress located in Kondaveedu, a village in the Chilakaluripet constituency of Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Variants

  • Kondaveedu (कोंडाविडु) (जिला गंतूर, आ. प्र.) (AS,p.229)
  • Kondaveedu Fort (कोंडाविडु किला)

Location

The site is located 16 miles west of the city of Guntur. Apart from this main fort, there are two other forts (names not known) nearby. Efforts are in progress to classify Kondaveedu Fort as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[1][2]


History

Kondaveedu Fort was constructed during the time of Telugu Chodas and was occupied by Kakatiya Ganapati Deva during his campaign in the coastal Andhra. After the capture of Prataparudra by Tughlaq in 1323 AD, his subordinate Prolaya Vema Reddy became independent and shifted his capital from Addanki to Kondaveedu. Later it was taken over by Gajpathis of Orissa and ravaged by the Muslim rulers of the Bahmani kingdom (1458). The Vijayanagara emperor Krishnadevaraya captured it in 1516. The Golconda Sultans fought for the fort in 1531, 1536 and 1579, and Sultan Quli Qutb Shah finally captured it in 1579, renaming it Murtuzanagar. Later it was recaptured by Vijayanagarans[3][4][5][6]

The fort came under the control of the French colonists in 1752 when it was extensively fortified. It passed on to the English imperialists who got control of the fort in 1788 but abandoned it in the early 19th century in favour of Guntur. Now, the massive fortifications and battlements are seen in ruins only. The interior has extensive ruins of magazines and storehouses.[7][8] The main Kondaveedu Fort was built by the Telugu Chodas, strengthened by Kakatiyas and occupied by Prolaya Vemareddy who shifted his capital from Addanki to Kondaveedu in 1323 A.D. Later, the fort was under the control of Vijayanagar Kings, Gajapatis, Golkonda sultans and lastly under French and British. All who had divergent approaches to the administration of their province and the fort. While the Hindu rulers showed benevolence to its subjects and brought prosperity to the region, the Muslims subjected the province and its people to many depredations.[9][10][11]

In 1323, Warangal and the whole of Andhra Pradesh came under the reign of Tughlaqs, rulers of Delhi. Their depredations and despotic reign resulted in the formation of a confederation movement by the Hindu Musunuri Nayaks who ousted the Muslims from Warangal, and the Reddys were part of this movement.[12]

The Reddys of Kondaveedu were initially feudatories of the kings of Warangal. From inscriptions, it is inferred that their rule overlapped with that of the Korukonda Reddis and that they shifted from their earlier capital at Addanki in Guntur to Kondaveedu. The founder of the dynasty was Prolaya Vema Reddy, the son of Prola.[13]They ruled in the region around present-day Vijayawada and Guntur towns for nearly a hundred years (1328–1428). Their first ruler Prolaya Vema Reddy (followed by five other rulers till 1428) who ruled till 1353, strengthened the defenses of his kingdom by building a number of forts, which included the Kondaveedu Fort. He shifted his capital from Addanki in Guntur to Kondaveedu fort. Subsequently, the region was ruled by the Bahmanis (1458), the Vijayanagara Kings (1516), the Qutb Shahis, (1531,1537 & 1579), the Mughal army of Aurangzeb in 1687, the French (1752), the Asafjahi Kings, and finally the British (1766 and 1788).[14][15][16]

Early in 2019, remains of a Buddhist stupa were found under a dilapidated Hindu temple at Kondaveedu fort.[17] The remains date back to the later Satavahana period — 1st to 2nd century CE. This discovery pushes back of the history of Kondaveedu to the Satavahana period.[18]

कोंडाविडु

विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर[19] ने लेख किया है ...कोंडाविड्ड (AS, p.229), गंतूर ज़िला, आन्ध्र प्रदेश की रियासतों में से एक थी। 1335-36 में बहमनी राज्य के विघटन के पश्चात् आंध्र देश की कई रियासतें स्थापित हो गईं थीं। इनमें से एक रियासत 'रेड्ड' लोगों ने बसाई थी, जिसकी राजधानी पहले 'अड्डांकी' और फिर 'कोंडाविडु' में बनाई गई थी। इस रियासत की नींव 'प्रोलयबेम रेड्डी' ने डाली थी।

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Kondaveedu fort likely to get UNESCO heritage status". The New Indian Express. 11 December 2016.
  2. ↑ Burgess, James (1872). Indian antiquary, Volume 1. Popular Prakashan.
  3. ↑ "Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 15 1931". Kondaveedu. Digital South Asia Library. p. 393.
  4. ↑ Sewell, Robert (1884). Lists of inscriptions, and sketch of the dynasties of Southern India, Archaeological Survey of India. Kondaveedu Reddy Chiefs…. E. Keys at the Government Press. pp. 187–188.
  5. ↑ "Kondavid-durg near Guntur. 19 February 1804. Signed 'W.R.'". British on line Gallery.
  6. ↑ Burgess, James (1872). Indian antiquary, Volume 1. Popular Prakashan.
  7. ↑ "Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 15 1931". Kondaveedu. Digital South Asia Library. p. 393.
  8. ↑ "Kondavid-durg near Guntur. 19 February 1804. Signed 'W.R.'". British on line Gallery.
  9. ↑ Godavari (Volume 1). Political History: Kondavid. Electronic Library. pp. 25–26.
  10. ↑ "Hindu Temples". Government of Andhra Pradesh on Line.
  11. ↑ "History of the Andhras" (PDF). The Reddis of Kondavidu and rajamundry. P.G. Publishers. 1988. pp. 173–177 and 180–182. Archived from the original (pdf) on 13 March 2007.
  12. ↑ "History of the Andhras" (PDF). The Reddis of Kondavidu and rajamundry. P.G. Publishers. 1988. pp. 173–177 and 180–182. Archived from the original (pdf) on 13 March 2007.
  13. ↑ Godavari (Volume 1). Political History: Kondavid. Electronic Library. pp. 25–26
  14. ↑ Sewell, Robert (1884). Lists of inscriptions, and sketch of the dynasties of Southern India, Archaeological Survey of India. Kondaveedu Reddy Chiefs…. E. Keys at the Government Press. pp. 187–188.
  15. ↑ "Hindu Temples". Government of Andhra Pradesh on Line
  16. ↑ "History of the Andhras" (PDF). The Reddis of Kondavidu and rajamundry. P.G. Publishers. 1988. pp. 173–177 and 180–182. Archived from the original (pdf) on 13 March 2007.
  17. ↑ Jonathan, P. samuel (21 January 2019). "Buddhist remains found at Kondaveedu fort". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X.
  18. ↑ Rao, G. v r Subba (29 January 2019). "'Kondaveedu Buddhist remains date back to Satavahana period'". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X.
  19. ↑ Aitihasik Sthanavali by Vijayendra Kumar Mathur, p.229
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