Mandadam town and its link with Kakatiya rule - Andhra

Amaravati, where Andhra's new capital is going to emerge in the near future, is an important historical place dating back to several centuries.  Mandadam is a neighborhood and a part of Urban Notified Area of Amaravati.  It is a village in Thullur Mandal (Tazil) of Guntur district.

 According to Dr E. Sivanagi Reddy, renowned archaeologist of  The Cultural Center of Vijayawada and Amaravati (CCVA) many of the villages of the capital region have  numerous Buddhist and Jain remains, temples, sculptures and inscriptions  where past history is frozen in rocks - a veritable place for history and monuments freaks.

.. At Mandadam, where the Chief Minister broke ground for the capital city,  Frontline

Mandadam village, once part of the Kakatiya kingdom is of particular interest and it  was the venue of Rudramadevi’s birthday celebrations in 1261 AD. Here there is a  dilapidated temple dedicated to Lord Visveswara (Shiva)  with a huge stone inscription dated 1261 AD issued jointly by the Kakatiya emperor Ganapatideva and his crown princess and designated empress of the Andhra County. 

 There are 182 lines in Sanskrit and 18 lines in Telugu, both in Telugu script, carved on all three sides on a granite slab of 14 feet and 2 feet 10 inches square, The inscriptions reveal such information as  the Kakatiya family, pontifical succession of the Golakimatha of the Saiva sect and  the gift  of Mandaram in the Velanadu Kandravati made by the ruler Ganapathideva   to his Guru Visveswara Sivacharya.

Rudramadevi, Ganapathideva’s daughter made a formal gift of that village along with the village of Velagapundi (Velagapudi). Visweswara Siva, founded  a new village  and named it Rudradevipura and he was instrumental in bringing to one place people of different caste with various skills  from  various parts of the country.

Rudramadevi’s birthday was celebrated recently in August, 2016 on the banks of Krishna river in the present Amaravati capital region.

 Rudramadevi or Rudrama Devi (died 1289 or 1295), was a ruler of the Kakatiya dynasty in the Deccan Plateau. She was one of the very few women to rule a kingdom  in Indian history and promoted a male image in order to do so.

Rudrama Devi married Virabhadra, a member of a minor branch of the Chalukya dynasty, probably in 1240. This was almost certainly a political marriage designed by her father to forge alliances.

The dilapidated temple constructed by Ganapatideva of Kakatiya dynasty in Mandadam, Deccan Chronicle

  As for Virabhadra  his activities are undocumented and it implies that  he played no  major part in her administration. So, Rudrama ran the various branches of administration on her own with some reliable people around her. The couple had two daughters. Incidentally Rudrama Devi learned archery in Mandadam and gained mastery over this weapon. The nearby Vijayawada city, that has produced well-known  modern archers, has historical link with archery and Kakatiya dynasty.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/280816/relics-of-kakatiya-rule-in-state-of-utter-ruin.html