Musunuri Nayaks

The Musunuri Nayakas were a prominent Telugu Hindu warrior dynasty that rose to power in the 14th century in the Deccan region following the fall of the Kakatiya Empire to the Delhi Sultanate in 1323 CE. They originated from the region of Musunuru in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. Their emergence marked a significant phase of resistance against northern Muslim forces, in response to the devastation inflicted upon the Telugu country, and represented a resurgence aimed at re-establishing indigenous Hindu rule in the region.

Musunuri Prolaya Nayaka initiated the revolt by uniting various local chieftains to challenge the dominance of the Delhi Sultanate and reclaim Orugallu (Warangal). He first expelled Muslims from Rajahmundry and took control of the region between the Krishna and Godavari rivers. Aware of the numerical disadvantage, he began ruling from Rekapalle in the Bhadrachalam forest, an area with difficult terrain, and launched guerrilla attacks against Muslim armies. His successor, Musunuri Kapaya Nayaka, continued this mission by leading the confederation of Andhra chieftains and successfully driving the Delhi Sultanate out of Warangal.

The growing power of the Bahmani Sultanate in the Deccan posed a significant threat to the Musunuri domain. The situation was further complicated when the Recherla Nayakas, who had initially been allies in the resistance, shifted their allegiance to the Bahmani rulers. This political shift contributed to the defeat of Kapaya Nayaka, along with the forces of the Vijayanagara Empire, at the Battle of the Bahmani–Vijayanagara War. In 1368, the Recherla Nayakas subsequently annexed the territories that had once been under Musunuri control.

Origins

Little is known about the Musunuri family. The founding ruler, Musunuri Prolaya Nayaka, suddenly appeared as a new ruler at Rekapalle, near Bhadrachalam, around 1330. Prolaya Nayaka was son of Musunuri Pochaya Nayaka.

Telugu historians state that the Musunuri Nayakas belonged to the Kamma caste. However, according to Cynthia Talbot, the modern castes of Andhra region did not originate until the late stages of the Vijayanagara Empire. The Musunuri Nayakas were staunch Shaivites, hence Kapaya Nayaka claimed he was divinely appointed by Shiva to protect the dharma of the kingdom.

Opposition to the Delhi Sultanate's Invasion

The Kakatiya Empire was annexed by the Delhi Sultanate. Ulugh Khan (or Muhammad bin Tughluq), the general that conquered its capital Orugallu (Warangal), renamed it "Sultanpur" and remained as the governor of the region for a short period. In 1324, he was recalled to Delhi to succeed the Khaljis as Muhammad bin Tughluq. A former Kakatiya commander, Nagaya Ganna Vibhudu, now renamed Malik Maqbul, was appointed as the governor of the region. However, the Tughluq occupation of Kakatiya Empire was tenuous, so a numerous local chieftains seized effective power.

Prolaya Nayaka

According to the Vilasa Grant'','' Prolaya Nayaka ruled from Rekapalle, located at the edge of the Papikondalu hills of the Eastern Ghats. Rekapalle held a strategic control of the narrow Sabari River Valley in between the Bhadrachalam the Papikondalu forests. Konda Reddis, who populated the hill forests would have facilitated Prolaya Nayaka's rebellion against the Sultanate. Rekapalle was also a strategic location to control or obstruct communications on the Godavari river passing through the hills.

Prolaya Vema Reddi of the Panta Reddi clan, who seems to have established his own independent rule in Addanki by 1325, is believed to have taken control of the region between the Krishna and Godavari rivers, perhaps up to Rajahmundry. Historian M. Rama Rao states that Prolayavema Reddi and Prolaya Nayaka must have made a "joint effort" to drive the Muslim rule out from the area.

In 1330, Prolaya Nayaka published the Vilasa grant, a copper-plate grant near Pithapuram, in which he bemoaned the devastation of the Telugu country brought about by northern Muslim armies, and attempted to legitimise himself as the rightful restorer of order.; ; Prolaya Nayaka left no children and was succeeded by a cousin, Kapaya Nayaka, who governed until 1368 and attempted to further expand his rule.

Kapaya Nayaka

Rebellion

Kapaya Nayaka (1333–1368) led a larger rebellion against the Tughluq rule, driving it out of Warangal in 1336. According to the Kaluvacheru grant of Anithalli, a female member of the Panta Reddi clan in 1423, Kapaya Nayaka was assisted by 75 Nayakas. The grant also states that Prolaya Vema Reddi was one among these 75 Nayakas.

Muhammad bin Tughluq, who became the Sultan of Delhi in 1324, witnessed numerous rebellions starting in 1330, first in the immediate vicinity in the Ganga-Yamuna doab, which caused a famine in Delhi, and rebellions within ranks in Ma'bar (Madurai) and Bengal. It is possible that Kapaya Nayaka advanced in the direction of Warangal in this period, acquiring some of its territory. Consequently, Telangana was also counted among the rebellious territories. In 1334–35, the Sultan marched on Deccan in an attempt to quell the rebellions, but his army was struck by some kind of epidemic and the Sultan himself fell gravely ill. He was forced to retreat to Delhi via Daulatabad. It is said that about a third of his army perished due to the epidemic.

Ferishta narrates that, around this time, Kapaya Nayaka approached the Hoysala ruler Veera Ballala III for assistance in evicting the Sultanate from Warangal. After consideration, assistance was offered.

Historian R. C. Majumdar characterizes it as a 'national revolt' backed up by a regular army. Governor Malik Maqbul found himself unable to withstand the rebellion and fled to Delhi. Ferishta states that Kapaya Nayaka and Ballala III then jointly marched on the newly declared Madurai Sultanate and divested it of its outlying territories, in particular Tondaimandalam.

Rule

Kapaya Nayaka took control of Warangal from Malik Maqbul in 1336 and thus also of a wider swathe of eastern Telangana that was governed from there. He also tried to support other rebels in the surrounding areas, although in the case of aid given to Alauddin Bahman Shah, the outcome was that his fellow rebel turned on him. Several military engagements with Bahman Shah followed over a period of years, during which Kapaya Nayaka had to cede various forts and territories, including Golconda (near modern Hyderabad). His weakened position was exploited by the Reddis of Kondavidu and the Recherla Nayakas, the latter of whom killed him in battle at Bhimavaram near Warangal in 1368.

Despite his supposed opposition to the Dehlavi Sultans, Kapaya Nayaka continued using the Kush Mahal built by the Sultans in Warangal and adopted the Persianised title "Sultan of the Andhra country" ('). In 1361, he gifted to the Bahmani Sultan Mohammed Shah I the Turquoise throne of Warangal, made during the Delhi rule, as part of a treaty agreement.

After the death of Kapaya Nayaka, his allied Nayakas are said to have returned to their own towns, and the period of the Musunuri family ended. The Recherla Nayakas became the dominant power in the Telangana that lasted till 1435.

See also

* Recherla Nayakas
* Reddy kingdom
* Turquoise Throne
* Bahmani Sultanate
* Vijayanagara Empire
* History of Andhra Pradesh
* History of Telangana
* List of Nayaka dynasties

Notes

References

Indian military leaders
Indian military personnel
Year of birth unknown
Kakatiya dynasty

Bibliography

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Further reading

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* ''A history of South India from prehistoric times to the fall of Vijayanagar'', K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, Oxford Univ. Press, 1955.

{{Telangana

States and territories established in the 13th century
States and territories disestablished in 1368
Nayak dynasties
Telugu monarchs