Prataparudra was the last great ruler of the Kakatiyas, his reign however would end in ignominy, with the capture and sacking of Orugallu, and annexation to the Delhi Sultanate, effectively ending the great empire. The grandson of Rudramadevi, he spent the initial years of his reign subjugating the insubordinate chieftains and a series of battles with the Yadavas, Pandyas and Kampili.However his reign ended in ignominy, when he was twice defeated by the Delhi Sultanate, first by Malik Kafur in 1310 and later by Ghiyas-Ud-Din Tughlaq in 1323 that effectively ended the Kakatiya dynasty and resulted in the annexation of the kingdom to the Sultanate.
His mother Mummadamma was Rudramadevi’s eldest daughter, and his father Mahadeva a Kakatiya prince. His active participation in his grandmother’s military campaigns and administration, saw most nobles backing him to be the next ruler.His first campaign was against Ambadeva, who had broken away from the Kakatiyas, and set up his own kingdom with the help of the Yadavas and Pandyas. He first sent an army to Vikramasimhapuri, current day Nellore, ruled by Ambadeva’s appointee Manuma Gandagopala, which was headed by Adidamu Mallu, an officer under the sakala senadhipati,Pottapi Choda Ranganatha. He sent another army to Tripuranthakam, now in Prakasam dt, under Manuma Gannaya and Annayadeva, his cousin. The assault made Ambadeva retreat further down South, and the entire region was annexed to the Kakatiya kingdom.
He sent another expedition against the Yadava rulers who backed Ambadeva, in which Manuma Gandagopala, the Telugu Chola chieftain participated. His feudatory Gona Vithala, captured the Adoni and Tumbala forts, Manuva and Haluva in the Raichur Doab, and finally capturing Raichur city, he erected a strong fort there. When Raja Gandagopala betrayed him and joined hands with the Pandyas, he sent a large army under Manuma, and routed the alliance.
However trouble was brewing, as the Deccan which so far had shielded the South from the Muslim invasions that devastated the North, began to fall under the assault. Devagiri, the Yadava capital was raided by Allauddin Khilji in 1296, as he forced it’s last ruler Ramachandra to pay tribute and looted the city. The huge plunder motivated Khilji to attack Orugallu in 1301, fabled for it’s wealth then, but untimely death of his general Ulugh Khan put an end to his plans.
The first invasion of Orugallu under Malik Juna in 1302, ended in disaster, as the Khilji army had to retreat with considerable loss of men and material. When Ramachandra stopped paying tribute to Khilji, he sent his general Malik Kafur, in 1308, who defeated the Yadava ruler. Prataparudra built up a huge army of 900,000 archers, 20,000 horses and 100 elephants to defend against Kafur who had now set his sights on Orugallu.
Kafur laid siege to Orugallu in 1310, and after 3 days, the fort fell, in the face of some determined resistance by the Kakatiyas. It’s believed that cutting off the food stocks and supplies to the fort, resulted in Prataparudra’s decision to surrender. Kafur looted Orugallu of it’s immense wealth, that included the precious Kohinoor diamond too, while Prataparudra promised to pay tribute to the Delhi Sultanate.
Taking advantage of the chaos following the Khilji invasion, most of the Kakatiya vassals began to assert their independence. Malideva, the Vaidumba chief of Gandikota, was one of them, who was ultimately subdued by Gomkya Reddi. Another insubordinate chieftain Ranganatha, the Telugu Chola ruler of Nellore revolted in 1311, but was defeated by Prataparudra himself. The Pandya kingdom in the meanwhile was hit by a civil war between the brothers Sundara and Vira Pandya, leading to the Hoyasala ruler Ballala attacking the Pandyas. However Prataparudra sent an army under Peda Rudra, who defeated Ballala and occupied Kanchi.
When the Pandyas tried to evict the Kakatiyas from Kanchi, Prataparudra himself led an army, supported by his generals Muppidinayaka, Recherla Era Dacha, Manavira, and Devarinayaka, forcing the Pandyas to retreat. Devarinayaka advanced further South, defeated Vira Pandya, and placed his brother Sundara Pandya on the throne. The Hoysala ruler Ballala, had invaded Kampili kingdom near Bellary, whose prince Kumara Rama, requested Pratapa Rudra’s assistance that was rejected. This led to a rivalry between the two kingdoms, with the Kampili kingdom occupying Western part of the Kakatiyas, who were defeated by Prolaya Annaya, the Kakatiya commander.
There was another siege of Warangal in 1318, after the passing away of Allauddin Khilji, when his son Mubarak Shah, got Malik Kafur killed and became the Sultan. Ramachandra’s son in law Harapaladeva rebelled at Devagiri, while Prataparudra too stopped paying tribute. Mubarak Shah suppressed the Devagiri revolt, and sent his general Khusrau Khan to Orugallu in 1318, who after another siege, defeated Prataparudra.
Khusrau Khan in the meanwhile murdered Mubarak Shah and usurped the throne of Delhi in 1320, and in turn was dethroned by a group of nobles, with Ghiyas-Ud-Din Tuqhlag becoming the Sultan and starting the Tuqhlaq dynasty. He sent his son Ulugh Khan, later more famous as Mohd Bin Tuqhlag to attack Orugallu after Prataparudra had stopped paying tribute. His first siege in 1323, failed as a false rumor of Ghiyas-Ud-Din’s death was circulated, leading to a revolt in his army, and forcing him to retreat.
Believing that he had won a decisive victory, Prataparudra let his guard down, and became complacent, to the extent that he let his soldiers take a break. However Ulugh Khan once again launched a massive attack on Orugallu, and after a five month long siege, the fort fell in November 1323. Orugallu was ransacked and looted, the fort burnt down and destroyed. The Swayambhudeva Temple, that housed the Chaturmukha Lingam of Shiva was razed to the ground, after plundering it’s wealth. Many were enslaved and taken to Delhi.
Prataparudra and his family were captured, and sent to Delhi, and it’s believed he commited suicide on the banks of the Narmada river out of shame and ignominy. It was the end of one of the great empires of the South, and one of the richest cities Orugallu was devastated and razed to the ground, it’s immense riches looted. The fall and destruction of Orugallu is as tragic a chapter of Indian history, as the fall of Hampi, as it would lead to a collapse of most other Hindu kingdoms down South. It was from this debris, chaos and anarchy, one of the greatest empires of Indian history, Vijayanagara, that would stand proud for four centuries, would emerge.
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