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

Kakatiya The Kakatiya dynasty (IAST: Kākatīya) was a Telugu dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan region in present-day India between 12th and 14th centuries. Their territory comprised much of the present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and p ...

dynasty of southern India. He served the

Rashtrakuta The Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal Indian polity ruling large parts of the Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 10th centuries. The earliest known Rashtrakuta inscription is a 7th-century copper plate grant detailing their rule from Manapu ...

king

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

, and died during Krishna's invasion of the

Vengi Chalukya Eastern Chalukyas, also known as the Chalukyas of Vengi, were a dynasty that ruled parts of South India between the 7th and 12th centuries. They started out as governors of the Chalukyas of Badami in the Deccan region. Subsequently, they became ...

kingdom. He is the earliest known member of the Kakatiya family to have been in the

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

-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 ...

, a descendant of

Karikala Chola Karikala (), often referred to as Karikala the Great, was a Tamil Emperor of the Early Cholas of the Chola dynasty who ruled ancient Tamilakam (Modern day Tamil Nadu in Southern India) from Uraiyur. He is credited with the construction of ...

. Gunda III served as a

commander in the

-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 headqua ...

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

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 Nidadavole 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 in

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

References

Bibliography

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