History Timeline of (kingdom/empire) rulers of Penukonda area (and so Puttaparthi for most part) from 1121 CE (Western Chalukya dynasty days) based on Wikipedia
Last updated on 24th Dec. 2022
Note: Readers may want to view my related post: Some info. about (kingdom/empire) rulers of Puttaparthi area from 250 BCE (Mauryan empire?) till 1121 CE (Western Chalukya empire) based on Wikipedia:, https://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2022/09/some-info-about-kingdomempire-rulers-of.html .
[On PC desktop, to open pic in larger resolution (if available), right-click on pic followed by open link (NOT image) in new tab/window. In new tab/window you may have to click on pic to zoom in.]
Google Sheet associated with above chart (force copy option): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xIUj7OKYDhc76MUQbErd6V4Lj4ZWDYDKvcFIwksXOd4/copy .
Above pic: Single stacked bar chart history timeline of Penukonda (and Puttaparthi) Area Rulers from 1000 AD to 2000 AD (2nd millennium AD)
For some years now, I have been curious about early history of Puttaparthi area going back at least one millennium. As I have been living in Puttaparthi for close to twenty years now, I felt that knowing this history will enable me to get a better understanding of the native people of Puttaparthi and surrounding areas.
Searching on the Internet for ancient history of Puttaparthi provided Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba related history but not other regular historian written/provided history accounts. I think that's because Puttaparthi seems to have been a small village in the past, and was quite unknown prior to Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba's advent. So there may have been limited interest among historians to study ancient history of Puttaparthi and surrounding areas.
But there was some info. available on history going back many centuries about Penukonda town/city which is near to Puttaparthi. Penukonda is only around 33 kms by road from Puttaparthi today. Penukonda has a few centuries old fort. As there don't seem to be any such forts in other nearby (to Puttaparthi) towns like Dharmvaram, whichever dynasty or its vassal was ruling in Penukonda and had military power stationed in the fort there, in all probability, would have been the power ruling over Puttaparthi for most of its past after the fort was built.
My on-going reading of Romila Thapar's History of Early India has given me the initial base to better understand the dynasties before 1300 CE/AD and their rule. I follow-up such reading with readings on the Internet like wikipedia pages of these dynasties and later dynasties to form a more improved understanding of them.
Now I think I have a decent overview/summary idea of history of kingdom/empire level rulers of Penukonda area from the Western Chaulakya dynasty rule days. The period prior to that is still somewhat grey but I have much more info. about it than earlier. In this post, I want to focus on the history from Western Chalukya dynasty days. I repeat that I think that whichever kingdom/empire ruled Penukonda would have ruled over Puttaparthi too, for most of the past few centuries, specifically during period when Penukonda fort was being used to project military power. So understanding history of kingdom/empire level rulers of Penukonda gives us a good idea of similar Puttaparthi area history.
First let me share what Penukonda wiki page says in this regard. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penukonda :
This region was controlled at different points in history by the Hoysalas, Chalukyas, Vijayanagar, Nawabs, Maratha chieftain Murari Rao, Tipu Sultan, Nizam and eventually came under British rule after it was ceded to the British by the Nizam of Hyderabad.[3] It was a melting pot of different religions but the town and fort were established by early Hoysala kings, who were practitioners of Jainism.
After Krishna Deva Raya, Venkatapathi Rayalu, the Emperor of Vijayanagar, took over. He made Raya Dalavayi Koneti Naidu (son of Kasturi Naidu, grandson of Akkappa Naidu, great-grandson of Kanaka Naidu of Chandragiri), as the governor of Penukonda and conferred him the title with Maha-Raja-Raja-Sri and celebrated Koneti Naidu's marriage with Swarna. Koneti Naidu ruled Penukonda, Rayadurga and Kundurpi Forts for about 17 years (1635-1652 AD). After the ruling of Koneti Nayudu his descendants Raya Dalavayi Sri Venkatapathi Nayudu, Peda Timmappa Nayudu, Venkatapathi Nayudu, Koneti Nayudu, Rajagopala Nayudu and Timmappa Nayudu ruled this Penukonda.
Because of its ancient Jain history and presence of many temples it is one of the most revered places for Jains. In the Tamil Jain tradition, this is counted as one of the four Jain centers of learning (Vidystahana) i.e. a Bhattaraka matha which are Delhi, Kolhapur, Jina Kanchi and Penukonda.[4] The famous Pache Parsvanath Swamy Temple, with idol of Parsvanath containing a single green coloured stone (Pacha) is located here.[5][6] According to the inscription on the image, it was consecrated in A.D. 1359, by a disciple of Mula Sangh Nandisangha's Balatkara Gana, Saraswathi Gachha, Kondakundanvaya's Priyarajaguru Mandalacharya Maghanandi Siddantha Deva. It was once the seat of a Jain Bhattaraka, established in A.D. 1359. The seat became extinct and the local Jain population declined. However the temple is well preserved. Also located here is the historic Ajitnath temple from the same period. After renovation by the Gowdanakunte family of Amarapura, it was preserved by Muni 108 Sri Ajithakeerthi Maharaj. After his samdhi in 1966, the temple was in poor condition byt has recently been renovated by the Dharmasthala institution.[7]
[References:]
3. http://www.anantapur.com/travel/penu.html
4. Jain Monuments of Andhra, G. Jawaharlal, Sharada Publishing Houe, 2002, p. 74
5. A speed-breaker called Penukonda, The Hindu, Jul 10, 2004[dead link]
6. Penukonda http://www.jainheritagecentres.com/jainism-in-india/andhra-pradesh/penukonda/
7. "Sri Ajithanatha Digambar Jain Temple Penkonda, 2019". Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
--- end wiki extracts ---
The above wiki page gives us names of dynasties/kingdoms/empires who ruled in Penukonda area but without any chrological order and with limited info. about most of these dynasties/kingdoms/empires. What I wanted is dates associated with the dynasties listed in above extracts, and chronological order. So I dug up that info. mainly from Wikipedia. I have given below a summary of that info. as I thought it may be of interest to some readers.
Penukonda is to the south-west of Puttaparthi. See below Google Map screenshot which also shows Bellary (Ballari) which is an important historical centre with a fort. Puttaparthi and Penukonda are below Anantapur and are towards the bottom middle-to-right of the map.
[On PC desktop, to open pic in larger resolution (if available), right-click on pic followed by open link (NOT image) in new tab/window. In new tab/window you may have to click on pic to zoom in.]
To know whether Puttaparthi and Penukonda fall within a kingdom/empire's territory in maps in Wikipedia pages, I had to understand where Puttaparthi falls within an India map without current Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka state borders. Penukonda would be a little to the south-west of where Puttaparthi would be on the map. See pics below which shows Puttaparthi in wikipedia map, followed by Google Map screenshots of India map with Puttaparthi marked by a red balloon, with one of the pics being a satellite pic. I have also attached a few other Google Map pics with horizontal line or red balloon marking Puttaparthi towards the end of this post.
Puttaparthi is shown as red balloon in (most of) India map
1) From 1121 to 1187: Western Chalukyas, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Chalukya_Empire . In the wiki page, we have a map titled, "Extent of Western Chalukya Empire, 1121 CE.[2]" [2: Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 147, map XIV.3 (e). ISBN 0226742210.]. Both Puttaparthi and Penukonda fall within the Western Chalukya empire shown in this map.
An extract from the wiki page: "The Western Chalukya Empire ruled most of the western Deccan, South India, between the 10th and 12th centuries." The religion column states Jainism and Hinduism.
So in 1121, if not earlier, Penukonda and Puttaparthi were part of Western Chalukya empire.
2) From 1187 to 1346: Hoysala empire, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoysala_Empire with part of period from 1311 to 1346 as vassal of Delhi Sultanate, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delhi_Sultanate . The map titled, "Hoysala kingdom, c. 1050 - c. 1355" with additional info., "(Subordinate to the Western Chalukya Empire until 1187)" shows that Penukonda and perhaps also Puttaparthi were part of Hoysala kingdom then. But the Hoysalas were independently ruling this area only from 1187.
Note that under Alauddin Khalji, the Sultan of Delhi, in 1311 Malik Kafur beseiged Dwarasamudra after which the "Hoysala king, Ballala, surrendered vast wealth as part of a truce negotiation, and agreed to pay an annual tribute to the Delhi Sultanate.", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malik_Kafur#Military_career .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Dwarasamudra says that the Hoysala king Veera Ballala III visited Delhi Sultan Khalji in Delhi and returned back in 1313. This implies that at least from 1311 to 1313, Hoysala kingdom paid tribute to and was subordinate to Delhi Sultanate.
Route of Malik Kafur in 1310-11 from Delhi to Dwarasamudra to Madurai: https://wbpscupsc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/history10.jpg in https://www.wbpscupsc.com/delhi-sultanate/ .
This implies that Veera Ballala III stopped paying tribute around 1318. Note that the Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khalji, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alauddin_Khalji , had died in 1316 and there was a succession struggle in which Malik Kafur who had invaded Halebidu (Dorasamudra) in 1311, was killed (in 1316 itself).
So one can presume that Hoysala kingdom paid tribute to Delhi Sultanate from 1311 to 1317/1318 or at least till Alauddin Khilji was alive (1316).
Perhaps tribute was not paid from 1318 to 1327 due to which in 1327 Delhi Sultanate then ruled by Tughlak sacked Halebidu (Dorasamudra) and Hoysala king Veera Ballala III had to "find refuge in Tiruvannamalai".
By 1336, major parts of South India had come under Delhi Sultanate or its vassals' rule (Madurai, Warangal etc.) It seems that whole of Hoysala kingdom did not come under their direct rule then and the Hoysala ruler Veera Ballala III fought against Delhi Sultanate and its vassal(s) and was killed in the battle of Madurai in 1343. Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoysala_Empire .
So Penukonda and Puttaparthi area which were part of Hoysala empire, at a top level were under Delhi Sultanate from 1311 to around 1316-1318, as Hoysala empire was paying tribute to Delhi Sultanate.
From 1318 to 1327, Hoysala empire seems to have once again become independent as they did not pay tribute to Delhi Sultanate.
After 1327 sack of Halebidu (Dorasamudra), the capital of Hoysalas, and its king taking refuge in Tiruvannamalai, it is possible that top level ruler of Penukonda & Puttaparthi area would have been Delhi Sultanate with the immediate level ruler of these areas (chieftains perhaps) paying tribute to Delhi Sultanate. But it is not clear if this was the case. Perhaps there was no top-level ruler for these areas during this period. This lack of clarity of who was the top-level ruler of Penukonda & Puttaparthi area seems to be from 1327 to around 1346 when Vijayanagara empire started its rule over Penukonda.
https://www.britannica.com/place/India/The-Vijayanagar-empire-1336-1646 states, "within two years after Ballala [Hoysala king] was killed by the sultan in 1343–44, his kingdom had been conquered by Bukka, Harihara’s brother, and annexed to Vijayanagar."
So Hoysala kingdom got annexed to Vijaynagar empire around 1346. Thus Penukonda and Puttaparthi would have come under Vijayanagar empire rule from 1346.
3) From 1346 to 1639?, Vijayanagar empire, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vijayanagara_Empire .
Not only was Penukonda part of Vijaynagar empire from 1346 till at least 1592, but it was the capital of shrunken Vijayanagar empire from 1565 to 1592.
Some extracts from above wiki page
The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom,[3] was based in the Deccan Plateau region of South India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, members of a pastoralist cowherd community that claimed Yadava lineage.[4][5][note 1] The empire rose to prominence as a culmination of attempts by the southern powers to ward off Turkic Islamic invasions by the end of the 13th century. At its peak, it subjugated almost all of South India's ruling families and pushed the sultans of the Deccan beyond the Tungabhadra-Krishna river doab region, in addition to annexing modern day Odisha (ancient Kalinga) from the Gajapati Kingdom thus becoming a notable power.[6] It lasted until 1646, although its power declined after a major military defeat in the Battle of Talikota in 1565 by the combined armies of the Deccan sultanates. The empire is named after its capital city of Vijayanagara, whose ruins surround present day Hampi, now a World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India. The wealth and fame of the empire inspired visits by and writings of medieval European travelers such as Domingo Paes, Fernão Nunes, and Niccolò de' Conti. These travelogues, contemporary literature and epigraphy in the local languages and modern archeological excavations at Vijayanagara has provided ample information about the history and power of the empire.
[References:]
3. Stein 1989, p. 1.
4. Dhere 2011, p. 243.
5. Sewell 2011, p. 22, 23, 420.
6. Stein 1989, p. xi
--- end wiki extracts ---
When did Penukonda fort go out of Vijayanagara empire's hands? Getting a clear year for this question from easily accessible Internet sources was difficult. In 1592, the capital of Vijayanagar empire was shifted from Penukonda to deeper South-east city/town of Chandragiri. But Penukonda may still have been ruled by Vijayanagar empire for some years/decades before it finally fell to Bijapur sultanate.
1605 map, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:JoppenSouthIndia1605max.jpg shows Penukonda under "Polygars" and not under Bijapur Sultanate. So I think Vijayanagar empire would still have had control of Penukonda in 1605.
Extracts from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_history_of_Mysore_and_Coorg_(1565%E2%80%931760)#Bijapur,_Marathas,_Mughals,_1636%E2%80%931687 :
In 1636, nearly 60 years after their defeat at Penukonda, the Sultans of Bijapur regrouped and invaded the kingdoms to their south.[15] They did so with the blessing of the Mughal empire of northern India whose tributary states they had newly become.[15][16] They had the help also of a chieftain of the Maratha uplands of western India, Shahaji Bhonsle, who was on the lookout for rewards of jagir land in the conquered territories the taxes on which he could collect as an annuity.[15].
[Ravi: At the end of their victorious campaign perhaps around 1639 (as "the Bijapur-Shahji forces took the gold-rich Kolar district in 1639, and Bangalore—a city founded a century earlier by Kempe Gowda I"), the wiki page states, end-Ravi:] A new province, Caranatic-Bijapur-Balaghat, incorporating Kolar, Hoskote, Bangalore, and Sira, and situated above (or westwards of) the Eastern Ghats range, was added to the Sultanate of Bijapur and granted to Shahji as a jagir.[20] The possessions below the Ghats, such as Gingee and Vellore became part of another province, Carnatic-Bijapur-Payanghat, and Shahji was appointed its first governor.[20]
[References:]
15. Robb 2011, pp. 103–104.
16. Subrahmanyam 2002, p. 33–35.
...
20. Roy 2015, p. 74.
--- end wiki extracts with Ravi comment inserted ---
Did Penukonda fall within the above mentioned Carnatic-Bijapur-Balaghat province? Perhaps. But the info. does not say it clearly. https://historicalindia.org/article/shahaji-raje-bhonsle states, in the context of above mentioned campaign, "This campaign was against smaller states in Karnataka like Penukonda, Basavapattan, Hospet, Bednur, Shrirangapattan, Kaveripattan etc. Raje started his campaigns in the south." However I don't know how accurate this website is. So I have put the end date of Penukonda fort being under Vijayanagara rulers as 1639 with a question mark. The Penukonda wiki page mentions Koneti Nayudu and his descendents ruling Penukonda fort for many years after 1639 but perhaps they were tributaries of Bijapur Sultanate/Mughals after 1639.
4) From 1639? to 1799, a rather confusing picture with Mughals, Bijapur Sultanate (as vassals of Mughals), Marathas, Mysore and Hyderabad kingdoms being rulers. I have split this period into multiple periods below.
4a) From 1639 to 1686, Mughal empire, Bijapur Sultanate as Vassal.
4b) From 1686 to 1757?, Mughal empire as province of Sira, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sira_Subah
Extract from above wiki page:
The Province of Sira, also known as Carnatic-Balaghat, was a subah (imperial first-level province) of the Mughal empire in south India that was established in 1687 by conquering emperor Aurangzeb (like Bijapur in 1686 and Golkonda in 1687) and lasted until 1757. The province, which comprised the Carnatic region south of the Tungabhadra river,[1] had its capital in the town of Sira.[2] It was composed of seven parganas (districts): Basavapatna, Budihal, Sira, Penukonda, Dod-Ballapur, Hoskote and Kolar; in addition, Harpanahalli, Kondarpi, Anegundi, Bednur, Chitaldroog and Mysore were considered by the Mughals to be tributary states of the province.[3]
[References:]
1. Imperial Gazetteer of India: Provincial Series 1908, pp. 175–176
2. Imperial Gazetteer of India: Provincial Series 1908, p. 166
3. Imperial Gazetteer of India: Provincial Series 1908, p. 19
--- end wiki extract ---
4c) 1757? to 1776?, Maratha chieftain Murari Rao Ghorpade, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penukonda
From https://karnatakahistory.blogspot.com/2021/01/ :
Later in 1776 Madakari Nayaka helped Hyder Ali when the latter besieged Gooty and captured its ruler Murari Rao Ghorpade. Hyder Ali then directed Madakari to annex Murari Rao’s possession of Pagonda, Madakshira, Penukonda and Kodikonda.
--- end extract ---
4d) 1776? to 1789 Mysore kingdom, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Mysore
1780 map, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HyderAliDominions1780max.jpg , shows Penukonda & Puttaparthi area under Mysore kingdom then ruled by Hyder Ali.
1784 map, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_Mysore_Kingdom_1784_map.svg , shows Penukonda & Puttaparthi area under Mysore kingdom then ruled by Tipu Sultan.
4e) From 1789 to 1800, Nizam of Hyderabad.
Gooty fort was a stronghold of the Marathas, but was taken from them by Hyder Ali. In 1789 it was ceded by his son Tipu Sultan to the Nizam of Hyderabad, and in 1800 the nizam ceded the surrounding districts to the British in payment for a subsidiary British force.[7] In 1882, Anantapuram district was formed by carving out from Bellary district.[8]
--- end wiki extract ---
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Map_of_Peninsular_India_to_Illustrate_the_History_of_Mysore.jpg is an interesting map showing Kingdom of Mysore borders in 1617, 1704, 1782 and 1799 (after treaty of Srirangapatnam).
5) From 1800 to 1947, British empire, Madras Presidency, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madras_Presidency . I think from 1800 Penukonda fort may have lost its significance as the British would have projected military power from their earlier, setup prior to 1800, bases in Madras Presidency. So Penukonda town/city may have stopped being an influential power centre for Puttaparthi from 1800 onwards. Note that both Penukonda and Puttaparthi came under Madras Presidency of British empire.
6) From 1947 to now, democracy as part of Republic of India though India formally became a republic only in 1950. The state within which Penukonda & Puttaparthi fall within Republic of India have changed over the years: Madras state from (1947)1950-53 and Andhra Pradesh from 1953 onwards, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madras_State , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andhra_Pradesh .
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Some pics of Puttaparthi in Google Map of South India which I found useful to check whether Puttaparthi fell into a past kingdom/empire's region as shown in some maps.
Puttaparthi marked as X in South India map
Puttaparthi marked as red balloon with horizontal line crossing it in South India map - satellite version.
Puttaparthi with horizontal line across it in detailed South India map
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