Cnm zn

TA BL E OF CON TE N TS,

I .- E a.rly or H indu Period

A p p l eton — The Yaou n de]: Inscription ,

I I .— M uhammadan Period

I l l — French Period

1 0. Bezvéda Taluq

l l . Kendigi u e Taluq

A pu mm — Dr. H ayne’s Journey

The Pelnfid

Sattenapal le TaluqGuntur TeluqN arsm vupet Talnq

Vinukonda TalnqBépetla Taluq

Repelle Taluq

Bender Taluq

TABLE OF CON TENTS.

CH API‘ER X .~— Genealogies of the Principal Fami l ies

1 . The N svébs of M asu lipatam2 . Th e Zemi ndérs of N fizvtdu

3 . The Vasireddi Fami lyThe M alrdzn Fami ly

5 . The Man ika RaoFamily

6 . The M anuri Fami ly

7 . The Vellank i Family

8. The Zemindars of Dévarakota

pall e

9 . The Zemindars of Charmahal

1 0. The Zemin dars of Mai lavaram

1 1 . The Zemindars of Bezvéda .

1 2 . The Zemindérs of Mun agala

"

1 3 The Zemindérs of L ingfigir i

1 4. The Zemindars of Vissanapet

15 . The Zemindars of Vallur

CH APTER XI - Revenne A dmini stration

A PPENDIX.- Li8t of Ch ief s and Collectors

CH APTER XI I .- M isoel laneons

CH APTER XI II — Census Review

Su m mon . Tu m s

Inns :

KISTN A DISTR ICT M A N U A L .

CH A PT E R I .

E A RL Y OR H INDU PERIOD .

C — I - QO Q

Tnl Kistna District i s a District of the Madras Presidency, si tuatedon the coas t of the Bay of Bengal , at th e mouth of the great riverKrishna or Kistna, which gives it the name it bears . It is a tractof coun try square miles in area, somay be roughly said to beas large asWales or as Lancashire and Yorkshire combined . The

Coast Districts of Godavari and N el lore are on the north and south,

and inlan d it is bounded by the N izam’s terri tory and by the KarnfilDistr ict . The configuration of the District is not very symmetrical .A glance at the map shows that its l imits include the alluvial slopeon either side of the river Kistna , and the hilly country throughwhich the river flows after quitting the N izam

’s domin ions, but

above that point the D istrict has the river itself for a boundary and

extends to the south - west, along its right bank, as f ar as the

moun tainous Palnad , a Taluq adjoin ing and in every feature resembling the inland Karnul Distr ict.

The K istna District was formed in ’

December 1859, under the

orders of Sir Charles Trevelyan’s Government, and compr ises the

whole of the former Guntfir District and portion of the formerMasul ipatam Distr ict . There had been before that date three D istricts,th

'

e Guntfir,Masnl ipatam and Rajahmundry,and itwas con s ider

ed adv i sable to form them intotwoDistricts, Kistna and Godzivar i,

each con taining the extensive i rrigation system recently establ ishedin the Del ta of the mighty river that gave each District its name .

These i r rigation works, one of the greatest triumphs of British rule

in India, wi l l be described hereafter, along w ith other matters ofinterest connected with the Kistna District, but thi s open ing chapterwill be devoted toa sketch of what is known of the Distr ict’s ear lyhistory .

The mater ials are very scanty f or any history of Southern Indi ain ancien t times . Doubtless this land may have been inhabi tedeven before E uropean countries, for tropical A sia was the cradle of

4 men u nrs'rmcr I AN UAL ,

There is no doubt that the mass of the populace of this Presideney, speaking the cognate Dravidian languages (which includeTelugu, the vernacular of the KistnaDi strict) are Turan ian in theirorigin, and Bishop Caldwell maintains that their language showsthat they had attained to a high level of civi lization before the

advent of A ryan colonists, wi th Sanskr it addi tions to the Dravidiantongues. It is as possible to speak Telugu, using no words derivedfrom Sanskrit, as it is to speak E nglish, using nowords of Latinderivation, and Sanskrit may have been imported to Southern India

as recently as Latin was brought into E ngland . The Brahma-na,no doubt , say otherwise and claim a fabulous antiqui ty for theirpresence in thi s Pen insula, and some E uropean authors have beenw il l ing toconcede a remote date to their arrival here . Thus Prof essor Wilson l

places i t in the ten th century before the Christianera, and Bishop Caldwel l surmi ses that the present divisions of castemay have existed for twen ty - five centuries .

But recent authors have incl ined to cast aside the Brahmanicallegends of their occupation of Southern India, (

“ lyinggabble”is the

strong phrase used by General Cunn ingham), and to accept nothingexcept what is establ ished by some inscription on ancient monuments,or is mentioned by some ancient author . In this spir it Dr . Burnel lwrites There is not the least mention of any Telugu Kingdoms“ in the A soka inscriptions . (B. C . Probably that part ofIndiawas not then civi lized at al l but inhabited by wi ld hill tribes

and main tains that possibly even the Buddhists had not come hereat that epoch, and that the Brahmans did not arrive to supplant theBuddhi sts unti l some time after the Christian E ra.

’

I t is, however, probable that the Buddhists had penetrate d sof ar ,

i f not at the time of the A soka edicts, at least very soon after

l The Brahmanical writings ref er in very uncompl imeuh ry terms to th e races who

pro-occup ied the country, cal l ing themmonkeys, gobl ins or demons and thus describi ngtheir physical pecul iariti es Of the coui p lexion of a charred stake,with flattened {sett l es

and of dwarflsh stature , short arms and legs, black as a crow, with projecting ch in, broadand flat nose , red eyes and tawny hair .

”The Padm Puraua adds a wide mouth , large

ears and a protuberant bel ly .— (Wi lson

’s Pref ace tothe Catalogue of M ackenzie E BB.)

The Brahmani cal poems and legends are certainly of very l ittle h istorical value. A s

Dr . Burnell says : The local isation of the events of the M ahthh i n h and Rami yaua‘

n

endless : every f ew mil es in 8. India one can find the p lace where some battle or othe

event occurred. Such legends are absolutely worth less, for they p rove nomore than

that tha M ahtbharata and Bamtyana are or were f avourite etos'les over a large part of

the E ast. The real historyoi South India can hegsthered cnly f rom inscriptions.” In

ahort one ean nomote hase a hi stus'y ol the Kistna Dish-tot un such material , thau une

could base a hi story of Kent upon King Lost and the Morte d’Arthur.

EA RLY on H IN DU m inor) . 5

that date . The Buddhi st remains at Amravati on the ri ght bankof the Kistna, nearly seventy m i les from i ts mouth

,bear i nscr ip

ti ons in the Gupta character which are referred tothe second centuryafter Christ and may possibly be older than that, while th e

Buddhi st strip s , very recen tly discovered on the north bank of theri ver near Jaggayyapet and now being exam ined by Dr . Burgess,is said tobe of date soremote as B . C . 2 00, or on ly half a centurylater than the A soka edicts. we may therefore conclude that forsome time before and after the Chr istian E ra, Buddhi sm was firmly

establ ished on the banks of the Kistna .

Thi s religion gave way before the Brahman s and a sect of Buddhistdissente rs termed Jains . The Brahmans are said tohave been in vitedby the King of Dharan i Kota, M ukkanti l Pal lava, in the thi rd cen

tury A . D ., or by a King named Sudak shana, about the same date, toSrikaku lam , a shrine lower down the Kistna . Both legends are

curren t, but the history of this period is very obscure . The Pal lava

dynasty may be the lin e of Kings which is shown, by twocopperplates which Dr . Burnel l deciphered , tohave reigned in the fourthcentury A . D . over Vengi desha ;

”but this Kingdom is not men

tioned by Ptolemy or in the Periplus of the Red Sea .

2

In 64-0 A . D . we have an account written by the Chinese pi lgrim ,

H iouen Tsang, who travel led through Indi a to see the Buddhist

monasteries . H e speaks of the kingdom of A n ia - lo(A ndhra) w i th

its capital Ping- k i - lo (Vengi ) and in Dhanakacheka (Dharan i K6tadescribes twovery extensive Buddh ist monasteries, the E astern and

Western . M r . Robert Sewel l thought that the local i ty of these

monasteries could be fixed at Bezvfida on the Kistna, but M r .

Fergusson and Dr . Burgess do not agree with that opin ion and

consider that the site of the twomonasteries must be found else

where . The Chinese travel ler describes the monasteries as surrounded by trees and gushing fountains, wh ich may indicate a greatclearance of forest and lessen ing of rainfal l in the last twelvecentur ies. H e mourn s over the decay of Buddhi sm, decay caused

M ukkanti is Telugu for three- eyed ; in Sanskri t, Tri lochana. Dharani Kota immediate ly

adjoins Am rzi vati . There are coins tohe found there of th e A ndh ra Kings of M agadha of

the first cen tury A . D .

a Dr . Burnel l quotes Pliny VI , 67, Insula i n Gauge est magma amp l itudinis gentem

continens unam nomine M odogal ingam”and takes thi s tobe M udu Kal inga, th e th ree

Kal ingas. The name Kal inga i s used as late as a grant by King Yuddhamal la circa 940,

which says Vengi bhuvah patir abh ti t Tri kali nga Kotteh . See the question d iscussed

in Burnell’s E lementsof 8. Indian Palwography, p . 28.

6 KISTN A msrarcr m ust ,

perhaps as much by the opposition of the Js ins as by the advent ofthe Brahmans, for the Jains did not disappear from the KistnaDistrict until six centuries after H iouen Tsang

’a visit.

By this date, A . D . 64-0, it is certain that the Pal lava dynasty ofVengi had been conquered by the Chalukya Kings of Kalyanpur .

Some would place th is conquest as f ar back as the time of VishnuVardhana, great grand - father of Sattyasraya Val labhendra, in thefourth century, but, at al l events, the terr itory was divided aboutA . D . 605 and Vengi was given to Kubja Vishnuvardhana, the

younger brother of Sattyasraya Val labhendra, King of Kalyhnp li r .

This Kubja Vishnuvardhana founded a dynasty, known as the E ast

ern Chalukya Kings, whoreigned for four centuries . Dr . Burnellhas drawn up a li st of these kings f rom five copper plates which heread . Other plates have been given by M r . Fleet in the IndianA ntiquary and one of A mmarci ja II was recently discovered in

Repal le Taluq, sothe fol lowing li st of names and dates may haveto be corrected from time to time, as inscriptions come to light.

Kabja Vishnuvardhana IJayasimha Val labha IIndra BhattérakaRzi ja N arendra Vishnuvardhana

M angi Y uvarhjaJayasimha Val labha II

Vishnuvardhana IIIVijayédi tya Bhattaraka IVishnuvardhana IV

Vijayadi tya N arendra M rigarajaKal i Vishnuvardhana VGunanka Vijayaditya IIIChhlukya BhimaVikramadi tya

m m“ 7m ’

Kol labhiganda Vijayad itya

A mmarajaRaja BhimaAmmarzi jaInterregnumSaktivarma

Vimaladitya

E ARLY on H IN DU PERIOD. 7

RRja RAja N arendraRajendra CholaKulottunga Vishn uvardhana VIIVf ra Chola

There are grants by this dynasty in the Rajahmundry country downtoA . D . 1 1 82 , but long before that date the Chola Kings of theSouth had extended their power thus f ar, probably by some in termarriage, and in the Guntt

'

l r country there are grants by some mem

bers of the Gonks fami ly, who appear to have been hereditaryViceroys of the Chola Kings . They were

A . D .

Gouka Chola 1 1 09

Rajendra Chola 1 1 2 6 , 1 1 3 2 , 1 1 41

Gonka Rdja Prudh ivisvara down to 1 186

Other gran ts show that the Rajas of Orissa Cuttack had extendedtheir power as f ar south as this District .

Bala Bhaskara DevaGanapati DevaVisvfimbara Deva

These grants cannot easi ly be reconci led, but the history of anyperiod must necessari ly be obscure when our on ly materials f or i tare th e titles that “

rust on medals or on stones decay .

” The reci talsin royal gran ts may be utter ly m isleading. They may refer to

sovereign ty claimed but not en joyed, they may commemorate tempo

rary conquests or they may be entirely obsolete, as obsolete as the

ti tle of King of Jerusalem , borne by A madeus of Savoy , or the titleof King of France , borne by George III of E ngland.

Th erefore I hesi tate to put forward the fol low ing l ist of JainKings of Dharan ikota compi led f rom several inscr iptions , of which

the most important is on a stone in the street of Yanamadala vi llage,Guntfir Taluq .

A . D .

Kota Bh ima rai jaKota Kéta raja

Kota Bhima rajaKota Keta rajaKota Rudra réjaKota Béta rfija

8 11 1e 11 Di srRIcr H ANUAL ,

Thi s last King Kota Béta raja married Ganapamba, daughter ofGanapati Déva, King of Varangal , and his w ife Rudramma. Thi saccount di f f ers from that given at page cxxxi of Wi lson’s M ackenz ie Catalogue which makes Ganapati Déva

’s on ly daughter marry a

Chalukya prince of Rajahmundry . M r . Taylor on page 2 3 1 of vol .xxxix of Selections f rom M adras Records makes this princess marryVirabhadra and on the fol lowing page gives an interesting accountof how the of f spring of this marriage, the great Prattpa Rudra ofVarangal , went to

* Dharan ikota and drove out the Jains . Thisnarrative, how ever, is legendary . The title M ukkanti (three- eyed)which was given toTrinetra Pal lava, a monarch supposed to havereigned at Dharan ikota a thousand years prev iously, is now transferred to thi s Pratapa Rudra and evidently historical accuracy is

not tobe expected in the deductions by M essrs . Wilson and Taylorfrom the M ackenzie M SS. But undoubtedly at this period, theclose of the thirteenth cen tury, we hear the last of the Js ins .

Ganapati Deva, who reigned at Varangal A . D . 1 1 90— 1 2 58, and

bui lt round Varangal the single stone wal l , which gave i t the name

of E ka sila nagaram , or, in its Tam i l form , Oruk kal , whence Varan

gal , was eu active persecutor of the Jams and throughout his widedominions, which included the sea coast from Divi to N el lore,erected Brahman ical temples. Possibly he may have married h is

on ly daughter to the Jain kinglet of Dharanikéta for pol iticalreasons, toabsorb in hi s kingdom the terr itory of this petty ruler ,

and Pratapa Rudra, the son born of this m ixed marriage, wouldnaturally follow h i s mother’s faith . It seems to have been underPratApa Rudra that the Jains finally disappeared and the Brahmanswere w ithout a rival . M r . Taylor on page 2 36 quotes from a Jainauthor who saw in the carrying captive Pratapa Rudra to Delhionly a righteous retribution befal len him for h is treatment of theJains .

Toreturn toGanapati Déva, the grandfather of Pratépa Rudra,whocrushed Jains in oil mi l ls . U pon h is death in A . D . 1 2 48or

1 2 58, the governmen t was as sumed by h i s w idow,Rudramma

, one

of the many women in Indian history whohave left a reputation as

skil f ul rulers . It was during the regency of this widowed queenthat the Venetian travell er, M arcoPolo, v isited this country, about

the year 1 2 90. H e seems to have landed at M étupalle, now an

obscure fishing vi l lage in the Bi patla Taluq. The fol lowing passageis taken f rom Col. Yule

’s M arcoPolo II, 2 95 When you leave

EARL! on H IN DU PERIOD. 9

Maabar and goabout a thousand (some copies have five hundred)mi les in a northerly direction, you come to the kingdom of M ut

fil i . This was formerly under the rule of a king, and since his

death, some forty years past, it has been under hi s queen , a ladyof much distinction , who, for the love she bore h im never wouldmarry another husband. A nd I can assure you that during al l

the space of forty years, she admin istered her realm as wel l as

ever her husband di d, or better ; and as she was the lover of

justice, of equi ty and of peace, she was more beloved by those of

her kingdom than ever was lord or lady of theirs before .

In this k ingdom also are made the best and most del icate buckrams and those of the highest pr ice ; in sooth they look l ike thetissue of a spider’s web . There is no king or queen in the worldbut m ight be glad towear them .

”

This Queen Rudramma transferred the royal author ity to her

daughter’s 3 0 1 1

, Pratapa Rudra, in the year 1 2 92 or 1 2 95. Traditionand some inscriptions have doubtless exaggerated the extent of this

prince’s territories in saying that they extended from the Godavari

toCape Comorin , but Professor Wi lson thinks that h is dom inions

probably included al l between the fifteenth and eighteenth parall elsof latitude. There are numerous grants of PratApa Rudra in thisDistrict, even in the Palnz

'td ,

l and they com e down as late as 1 3 1 9 .

In 1 3 2 3 he was taken captive by the M uhammadan s and carr ied toDelh i and this was an irretr ievable disaster , f or although h is son

Vi ra Bhadraya asserted his independence in 1 34-4 he failed to regainthe lost domin ions of h is father and the M ussulman kingdom of

Kulbarga steadily advanced unti l in 1 42 5 Varangal was includedwi thin its l imits .

The captivi ty of Pratapa Rudra in 1 3 2 3 left his kingdom wi thou ta ruler . The northern provinces probably fel l un der the sway of

the Orissa Ri jas but this portion of h is dom in ion s acknow ledgedthe authority of the Reddi kings of Kondavidu . The founder of thi sf am ily was Donti Al iya Reddi , a cultivator of A numakonda

, who

amassed enormous wealth,tra dition says by discovering the

alchym ists’secret of the process of transmuting metals into gold,

and migrated to Kondavi du . On the downfal l of Pratftpa Rudra1 The early history of the Palnad is unknown . M r . R . Sewel l has translated popular

legends of nohistorical value. A t page 804of the M ackenzie Catalogue re f erence i s made

toa war in . the thi rteenth cen tury between Ketama Reja of Yerragada and Padma N ayak

of Palu6d on the one hand and Siddh i Rt ja of N ellore on th e oth er . The quarre l arose

about pasture for cattle. The army of Siddhirsja was commanded by Tikkana M autr i ,nephew of the poet Tikhana Somayaji .

1 0 me A Dre-rarer w on ,

the eldest son Pulayya Vema Reddi found himself independent and

establ ished himself in the hil l fort of Kondavidu, which had doubtless been a stronghold for some centuries previous to this date . H e

also possessed himself of the fortresses of Bel lamkonda, Vinukonda,and N agarjunakonda in the Palnad . H is brother A nuvéma Reddi

extended h is dominions to Rfijahmundry on the north, Kanchi on thesouth and Srisélam on the west. Kondapal le hi ll fort is said tohave been bui lt in his reign. A n inscr iption at A marésvaram

dated 1 36 1 states that A nuvéma Reddi was in possession of Kondavi du, A ddanki and Raichur (i ), that be repaired the temple at

Amravati and the causeway at Srisélam and that be def eatedvarious RAjas including the kings of Varangal . This last boastprobably relates to the unsuccessful ef f orts of Virabhadraya in 1 344and later to regain his father

’s territories from the M uhammadans

on the one hand and the Orissa R cijas and Kondav i du Redd is onthe other . This A nuvéma Reddi was succeeded by his brotherA l iya Vema Reddi whowas succeeded by the fourth brother Komarragiri Reddi , a ruler of bad reputation , who was fol lowed by h issons Komati Venka Reddi , and Racha Véma Reddi , the last of theline

,whoafter an evi l reign of four years was assassinated by a

peon named Choudar i Yel lappa m 1 42 8. The dates of these six

Reddi kings are as followsA D .

Pulayya Véma Reddi 1 3 2 8

A nuvéma Reddi 1 340

A liyaVema Reddi 1 370

Komaragiri Reddi 1 382

Komati Vouka Reddi 1 396

Racha Vema Reddi 1 42 4

These Kondavidu Reddis were great patrons of Telugu l iterature .

The poet Srin i dha w ith his brother - in - law Bommara Pota rajaflouri shed at their Court and sang the ir praises.

On the extinction of the Reddi dynasty the Gajapati kingsof Orissa extended their power over this District. The name of

Kapilésvara Gajapati i s preserved by the v illage Kap ilésvarapuram

in N uzvidu . H e was succeeded by Vidyadhara Gajapati , whobuil tVidyadharapuram and constructed a reservoir at Kondapal le . H is

wife Bhavanamma and h is twodaughters M uttiyi lamma and Paidamma gave their names to Bhav i n ipuram,

M uttiyalammapadu and

Paidurpadu in Bezvada Taluq . H e was fol lowed by H amvira,

Langula, Purushottama and Pratapa Rudra.

EARLY OR H INDU PERIOD. 1 1

A bout the year 1 51 6 the great Karnataka king of Vijayanagar,Kr i shna H i ya, conquered the whole of this country and left many

inscripti ons to perpetuate the memory of his vi ctories . The farthest

north is the one at Simhachel lam ,near Vizagapatam , which is given

in Telugu and E ngl ish in M r . Carm ichael’s M anual . H e restoredKondapalle tothe Orissa Raja but retained Kondavidu .

H e was succeeded byA chuta Bayalu

Sadasiva BayaluRRmadéva BayaluTi rumaladéva Rhyalu

Sriranga Bayalu

Venkatapati Rayalu

A s w i l l be recoun ted in the following chapter Kondavi du fortress

was in 1 579 finally taken by the M uhammadans and the H indu rule

in the Ki stna District came to an end .

1 543 to 1 579 .

The above is the chronology of the H indu period before theM ussalman absorption of this District . Chronology alone, for no

materials exist for a history of the people. The only twoglimpseswe get from wi thout are the visits of the Chinese and Venetiantravel lers in 640 and 1 2 90, and , wi th that exception , al l our informa

tion has come f rom in scriptions on stone and copper or fromBrahman ical wr itings and these throw l ittle l ight on the state of

the country .

The Brahmans’ books are singul arly valueless in this regard .

A fter perusing pages of puerile legend we come on some such factas that Pulayya Vema Reddi dedicated 1 08temples to the worshipof Siva, but we look in vain for any account of how Pulayya VemaReddi founded his ki ngdom on the ruins of the Varangal power orfor any description of the people over whom Pulayya Vema Reddiruled . It must be said, however, that the H indus change verylittle and that their customs now are probably the same that theywere five hundred or a thousand years ago, the same vil lages, the

same cul tivation , the same arts and industries .

It woul d nodoubt be in teresting to fin d any indication of changeof climate, for it is supposed that in former centuries, before theforests were cleared

,there was a much heavier rainfal l . H iouen

Tsang’s descr iption of Dhanakacheka wi th trees and gushing foun

tains supports this idea, butwe have seen that even in the thirteenth

1 2 KISTNA DIsrRIc'r MA N UAL,

century there were quarrels about pasture land, bitter e nough tocause war, and we shal l see in the fol lowing chapter that theM uhammadan historians described fam ines in 1 42 3 and 1 474, in

language that might have appl ied to the Guntur famine of 1 832 .

We cannot say, therefore , that there is hi storical evidence that thecl imate has become worse .

M ention has been made of the poet Srin i dha at the Court of theKondavidu Reddi s . Other Telugu poets were N annaya Bhattu whof louri shed at Rai jahmundry in the eleventh century,Tikkana Somayéj i,a native of Guntur

,whodied at N ellore in the thirteenth century,

and the famous company of eight poets whoadorned the Court ofthe conqueror Kri shna Rays

1 . A lasan i Peddanna. 5 . Kavi Dhayet i .2 . M ukka Timmanna . 6 . Pingal i Suranna.

3 . Tenal i Ramal ingam . 7. Pi l laramarri China Viranna.

4 . Bhattu M urti . 8. R i mabhadra Kavi .

I n these old Telugu wr itings the country near A mravati is cal ledKrornad or the new country which indicates that the Telugu peoplecame from inland . The Répa

‘

l le coun try is cal led VéInAd or outercountry and Pelnéd appears to be Pal lenad or country of hamlets.

The foregoing sketch indi cates all that is as yet known of the ear lyhistory of this District but much more may be brought to l ight bythe investigations of the A rchaeological Survey or of private indi viduals, f or there is hardly a vi l lage in the District that has not

inscriptions on stone, some of them ancient and i l legible,”sothe

field that awaits the explorer is vast . A s a specimen is given portionof the inscription on the stone in the street of Yanamadala, but parti s now worn away by the vi llagers gri nding l ime on the stone.

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1 4 men u DISTRICT MAN UAL ,

1 6. For the sp iritual wel f are of her husband the queen again consecrated a temp le

with golden ornaments on the p innacle and surrounded by wel ls, wherein is a l ingam

named Bétésvari .

1 7. Bénadévi , a vil lage f ul l of produce, was granted by Queen Ganapamba for the

maintenance of thi s temp le.

1 8. The benevolen t Uanapamba granted 1 2 excel lent landed estates and 1 2 houses to

1 2 holy Brahmans at Dhanyakataka and th ereby obtained great merit.

1 9. In the name of her f ather Ganapati Raja, she consecrated a temple of Siva cal led

2 0. For the maintenance of that temp le a vil lage cal led Chintapad was granted by the

Queen .

2 1 . H er hands were constantly emp loyed in th e service of Siva ; her f ai th was in the

Vedas ; sh e loved the hymns that told of the f estivals of Siva ; possessi ng w idespread

domin ions she nevertheless thus happ il y spent her time. Therefore noman can sum.

ciently praise th e greatness of this second Parvati .

TE L UGU Pnoea.

These are the Royal titles of Kota Ganapamba Devi . Rulers of six thousand vi l lages

tothe south of the Kistna, wh ich were obtained by the favour of the Three- eyed Pal lava,

monarch of the country f rom sea tosea In whom f ear of enemies or avarice finds no

abode Conquerors of the Chola and th e Chalukya dynasties : Rivals of Indra in pros

peri ty Worshi ppers of Sri - amarésvara Dévi Destroyers of armies of enem ies Lordsof

Dhanyakatakapuri : H eroes of renown ; The sole Rulers ; Glorious as fire and as the

sun .

Whi le sh e was rul ing over the earth in the year Saumya s. s. 1 1 72 , Queen Ganapamba

consecrated golden vases at the temp le of Amarésvara and newly buil t a vil l age

cal led Ganapavarapad wi th 1 2 houses and 2 4 putties of land whi ch was granted to

Brahmans and again 1 2 landed estates tothem for their own sp i ritual benefit.

She consecrated Bétésvara for her husband’s sake and endowed i t wi th a v i l lage cal led

Bénadévi giving for the dancingwomen in the service of the temple 2 4 p lots of land and

one putti of land toN arasimul u Bhut, the wri ter of this inscription .

She erected a temple Ganapésvara in h er f ather’s name and for its maintenance she

granted a vi llage cal led Ch intapall e.

The tax charged on the YanamandalaDivi sion , which contained 60 vi llages, incl udingYanamandala, is aboli shed .

unnam mm PE RIOD. 1 5

CH APTER II .

M U H A MM A DA N PERI OD .

The first appearance of M uhammadans in the Deccan was in 1 2 94when Pr ince ’A la- ud - d in made a singularly bold in cursion againstthe H in du Rfija of Deogiri . l The M uhammadan H istor ians statethat ’A_l <i - ud - din diverted suspicion from the real object of h is ex

pedi tion by spreading a rumour that he had quarrel led w ith hisuncle the E mperor at Delhi , and was on h is way totake serv ice

under the H indu Raja of Rajahmundry . This is cur ious, for bythat date the Rai jahmundry l ine of kings had disappeared and

Pratapa Rfidra of Varangal held unbroken sway from sea to sea

b ut the explanation probably is that the M uhammadan H istoriansd id not at that time know enough of the infidel kings in the

Deccan toenable them tow ri te about them w i th accuracy. N earlye ighty years passed from this date before the M uhammadan troopsentered the Kistna District but a brief sketch may be given here ofthei r advance across the Deccan .

I n 1 309 an army was despatched from Delhi again st Varangal .Pratépa E ndre summoned the neighbouring Rajas to the assi stance of their Suzerain but in vain . The M uhammadan Gene

ral,M al ik Kafir, took the city by assaul t and Pratapa Rudra, be

sieged in the citadel , purchased peace by a paymen t of 300 ele

phants and horses, and a promise of an annual tr ibute . Thi str ibute was paid regularly until 1 3 1 2

,but the con fusion in the fol

lowing years at Delhi emboldened Praté pa Rudra tow ithhold it,wh idh was the reason why the E mperor Gh iyhs- ud - din Togh luk on

his accession in 1 3 2 1 lost notime in sending against Varangal an

army u

'

nder command of h is eldest son Prince A laf or Jonah Khan .

The H indus fought with desperate valour and drove the M uham

madans back as f ar as Deogi ri , but reinforcements were obtainedf rom Delhi , an d in 1 3 2 3 Varangal was taken w ith great slaughter

and the il l - fated Pratapa Rudra was carried as a captive to Delhi .

In 1 344 the capricious cruelty of Pr ince A laf Kh in ,now M uhammad

I, had sodisgusted h is subjects that Vi rabhadraya , son of Prati pa

N ow Daulatabad .

l 6 men u DISTRICT I ANUAL ,

Rudra, seized the opportun ity toassert his independence at Varan

gal and, aided by the Karnataka Raja of Vij ianagar, made a suc

cessf ul stand against the M uhammadans . This was fol lowed bythe revol t in 1 347 of the M uhammadan officers in the Deccan an d

Virabhadraya made common cause with them against Delhi and

sent infantry whotook part in the great battle near Bidi r

which enabled H asan Shah Gangu to assume the Regal style and

tofound the dynasty at Kulburga known as the Bahman i kings of

the Deccan .1

This al liance against the Emperor of Delhi as a common enemy

was not of long duration . No sooner had H asan Shah Gangu

establ ished h is independence than the M ussulman instinct revived

and the history of his dynasty is the recital of unceasing encroach

ments on the territory of h is H indu neighbours . In h is reign

Kaulas was the western outpostof the Varangal power ; in the reignof his successor Golconda was wrested from the H indu Ra

'

ja, whohad the further hum i l iation of yielding up toM uhammad Shah I thefamous Takta- i - Fairozee or A zure Throne which had been preparedas a gift to the Delhi E mperor toobtain his interference on behal fof the tottering kingdom of Varangal . For fif ty years longer theconflict continued until in the reign of A hmad I, ’ in

Varangal was taken and the last R i ja slain .

The next King A la- ud - din Shah II who came tothe throne in1 435 had the advan tage of the services of an able general and

mini ster in KhajaM ahmud Gavan, who extended the M ussulman

territory beyond Nallakonda almost in to this District . On the k ing’s

death in 1 457 he commended this faithful servant to his successorA . D . A . D.

1 A l aL ud - din H asan Shah Gangu 1 347 Firoz 1 397M uh ftmmad Shhh I 1 359 A hmad I 1 42 2

1 375 A la- ud - d inDaud 1 378 H umayun the Cruel 1 467M ahmud I 1 378 N izzim 1 46 1Gh iyas

- ud - diu 1 397 M uh amm d I I 1 463Shams - ud - di u 1 397 M ahmud I I 1 482

“ The coins of th e Bahmani dynasty were of a square f orm, bearing on one side the

creed of th e f ai thf ul and th e names of the first four cal iphs, while on th e oth er side was

the King’s ti tle and th e year of his reign .

”Brigg

’s Feri shta, I I . 300.

Surnamed Wal i or Sai nt because h is prayers obta ined rain af ter the f amine of 1 42 3 .

3 Th is date is wrongly given in E lph instone as 1 42 1 . I t was H i j ira 82 8— A . D . 1 42 6

By thi s time there were many M uhammadans in the service of the H indu p ri nces. Deva

Keys of Vij ianagar first en l isted them and bui lt them a mosque in h is own cap ital . The

Kondav idu Beddia appear tohave fol lowed h is examme for they had M ussulman ofi cersin their emp loy at Kondavidu and I imagine that it was at this date that the firstmosquewas buil t at M asul i patam.

H UM ADAN rmuon. 1 7

H umayun, surnamed the Cruel , but H umayfin gave the preference

to another general, Mal ik Shéh , known as Khajfi. Jehan . Thi sKhajzi Jehan proceeded in 1 459 to reduce the revolted Teluguf ortress of Devarakonda but was severely defeated by the Raja ofO rissa whereupon he was superseded by KhajaM ahmud Gavén .

A t length the A lmi ghty took pi ty on the suf f erings of h is peopleand li stened to the complaints of the wretched . The tyrant was

taken i ll , and, judging he should die, appointed hi s eldest son

Nizam Shah, then on ly eight years of age, his successor and

having summoned Khwaja Jeban Toork from Behar and KhwajaM ahmud Gavan from Telingana, made hisWi l l consti tuting thema council of regency and guardi ans tohis son duri ng h is minority,comman ding them strictly at the same time totransact nobusinessw i thout the cognizance of the Queen - mother . H e died on the

2 8th of Zeekad , 865, (September 3 , 1 461 ) according tosome, but

others relate that he recovered from thi s i l ln ess and was

assassinated during a fit of intoxication by h is own servants whowere w earied out w ith his cruelties . H is reign lasted three years,six months and six days .

”

When , out of pity to mankind, the A lmighty had removedH umay i

'

l n the Cruel from the wor ld and hi s son N izam Shahsucceeded tothe throne of the Deccan , the Queen - mother acted as

regen t. She was a woman of great abi l i ties herself ; but she d idnothing w ithout consulting Khaja Jchi n and Khaja M ahmudGavan ,

admi tting no other nobles to share in the admin is

Such is the description given by the M uhammadan historian of the

commen cement of Nizam Shi h’s reign , but the immediate result ofthe death of H umayun the Cruel and the accession of an infan t tothe throne was that the Raja of Orissa made one more desperateefiort and penetrated wi th hi s army to the very gates of H idi r ,which was then the capital

,so that it required al l the ski l l of the

two m in isters to drive the H indus back to their own boundaries .

A fter a reign of barely two years N iz ftm Shéh died on July 2 9th,

1 463 , and was succeeded by his brother M uhammad II, a youth in

his n in th year , the regency remain ing unaltered .

The concord which hadhither to enabled this council of regencyto repel al l enemies foreign or domestic could not be of long

duration . The Queen -mother became di strustful of Khaga Jehan

Brigg's Ferishta, II , p . 464.

3

1 8 msrm msrmcr MAN UAL,

and was supported in her suspicions by Khaja Mahmud Gavanwhil e Khajai Jeh i n , perhaps in self- defence, took under h is owncharge the education of the young king, usurped the sole dircotion of af fairs and so contrived that his rival , Khtij j . M ahmudGavan , should be continual ly employed on the frontiers of thekingdom . I n this state of af f airs the Queen - mother took a desperateresolution . She depicted toher son , a boy not yet fourteen yearsold

,the over - weening power and influence of the minister and

impressed upon M uhammad Shah that the on ly way of escape wasthat in ful l Durbar next day he should give the order to put KhajaJehén to death . The next day came . The youthful king was on

h is throne when Khaja Jeban arr ived as usual . H is suspicion swere aroused by the number of guards in attendance, but it wastoolate f or him todraw back and he took h i s proper place standingat the king

’s right hand . The boy’s heart seems to have fai led

him,for business proceeded as usual for some time . Sudden ly two

female servants appeared and said to the king in a loud voice

The Queen expects your M ajesty toperform your prom ise toher ,”

upon this the king turned tothe offi cer of the guard and exclaimed ,

That wretch i s a traitor : put h im to death 1” The off i cer , whohad

been forewarned of this duty, dragged Khajci. Jeban from h is placeand cut h im down wi th hi s sabre in the k ing

’s presence . Such was

the education of M uhammad Shah Bahm an i II, the first M ussu lman

King to enter this District .

Five years after the murder of Khzi jzi Jeh i n , in 1 471, when the

young king was seventeen years of age, there arri ved at hi s court

A mbojana RAja, a relative of the R i ja of Or issa, recently deceased .

H e complained tothe k ing that h is rightf ul claim tosucceed tothethrone of Orissa had been overlooked in favour of one M angala Rajaand the King was on ly tooglad tose ize upon this colourable pretextfor an invasion of the coast districts . By the advice of Kh isjaM ahmud Gaa he entrusted the expedition toM al ik H asan Bhairiwho received the title of Nizam - ul - M ii lk . The expedition was

whol ly successful . M angala Raja was defeated and A mbojana R i jawas placed in possession of h is heredi tary dom in ions . N izam - ui

Mulk then marched south and accompan ied by A mbojana Ril ja tookthe fortresses of Rajahmundry and Kondapal le which were occupiedby M uhammadan garri son s, A mbojana Raja return ing toOrissa .

In the years immediately fol lowing the M uhammadan h istor iansrecord a very grievous famine.

“ In Telingana, M aharashtra and

l em m as rumor) . 1 9

throughout the Bahmani dominions, no grain was sown for twoyears ; and on the third, when the Almighty showered hi s mercyonthe earth, scarcely any farmers remained in the country tocul tivatethe lands .

” 1

It was shortly after this dreadful v isi tation , whi le the country wasrecover ing from depopulation , that the garrison of Kondapal lemutin ied, murdered their governor and gave up the fortress toBhimarzi ja Oorea . H e at once sent messages to the Raja of Orissarepresenting that this was a golden opportuni ty for him to recoverhi s hereditary domini ons, as the resources of the Deccan were

exhausted by two years of fam ine and the armies were reduced tosmall number s .

“ The Raja of Orissa at once fel l in with this suggestion and, wi thout delay, marched south wi th ten thousand horseand eight thousand foot. The M uhammadan general , Nizam - u l

M filk,unable to cope with so larger a force, shut himself up in the

for tress of Rajahmundry and sent word toCourt of his situation .

The measures taken by the King were very prompt . Issuing oneyear’s pay in advance to h is troops, he hastened to Rajahmundry.

The R i ja recrossed the river and retired towards h is own domin ionswhile Bhima Raja moved south toKondapal le. Leaving the m in is

ter Khaj ci. M ahmud Gavan , with the prince, M ahmud Khan, at

Rajahmundry, M uhammad Shah pushed forward in person withtwen ty thousand horse and ravaged Orissa until the hum i liated Raja

mod f or peace, whereupon the king turned to the south and laidsiege tothe revolted fortressof Kondapal le . It is ev ident that Bhima

R i ja must have made preparation s f or a seige and laid in store of

provis ions for the fort w ithstood M uhammad Shah’s army f or six

long months . A t length Bhima Raja surrendered on a promise ofpardon , and the king proceeded to v iew the fort that had solongdefied h is power . In the fort stood a H indu temple where some

Brahmans were officiating in the rites of their rel igion . M uhammadShah, now a young man of twenty - three years, was moved tofuryat the sight, and wi th h is own hands slew the ofii ciating Brahmans .

H e then caused the temp le to be destroyed and ordered a mosque to

be erected on its ruins, and him self as cending a pulpit, repeated a

f ew prayers, di stributed aims and commanded the khudba tobe readin h is name . KhajaM ahmud Gavan, now an old man of seventy

Brigg's F erish ta II , 494.

3 Probably the f am ine, as in 1877, did not extend to the Godavari and Vizagapatam

Districts .

2 0 xterm ms'ral c'r “ you ,

five who ought to have given better counsel , bowed before thislamentable exhibition of youthf ul bigotry and suggested that as hi s

M ajesty had slain these infidels with his own hands, he might f air lyassume the title of Ghaiz i, but others stood aghast and murmuredthat this was an inauspicious act . N ot one of the King

’s ancestors

had ever slain a Brahman, for were they not the Bahmani Kings,socal led in memory of the Brahman Gangu in whose service H asan,

founder of the race, had discovered the hidden treasure and whowasafterwards the trusted minister at H asau Shah’s Court ?

For three years after this the king remained at Rajahmundrysettl ing the conquered coun try and establishing suitable m il itaryposts on that frontier . Niz im - ul - M ii lk Bhairi was appointe d governorof Rajahmundry and Kondapal le, and then the King turned his

attention towards the terri tory of Narasimha Réja”whose sway

extended over the Vijayanagar dominions and along the sea coasteven to M asulipatam . But first hemade an extraordinary raid fromKondapal le w ith six thousand cavalry as f ar south as the famousshrine of Kanchi whi ch he plundered . A fter this exploit the Kingdetached an army of fifteen thousand men against N arasimha Rajaunder command of Yusuf A dil Khan , the adopted son of KhaijaM ahmud Gav i n , and went in person towards M asul ipatam which hereduced wi th al l the dependen t country, and then returned toKondapalle .

It was at this time that an intrigue was set on foot against theaged m in ister, Khaji M ahmud Gavi n . H e had come from Persiain h is youth and it seems that at the Court of the Bahman i Kingsthere was always a strong party feel ing between the foreigners and

the M uhammadans whowere natives of the Deccan . The disl ike toKhajaM ahmud Gavan as a foreigner was intensified by hi s strictrule and now an opportun ity was af f orded to h is enemies by theabsence of his adopted son , Yusuf A dil Khan , on the expeditionagainst N arasimha Rtja . The conspirators told of f twoof theircr

eatures to become the boon compan ions of the A byssinian slave

whokept the minister’s seal . On one occasion , having plied the manw ith l iquor, they asked h im to affix the min ister’s seal to a paperwhi ch, said they, was an account of one of their f riends towhich thesignet of several departments had been affixed and which onlyrequired the minister

’s . The drunken slave consented and without

1 Kaw imba Raja”of the M uhammadan history appears tobe a name given tosue.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

2 2 KI STN A ms'rmc'r MAN UAL ,

M ahmud Gavan were depos ited . In apparent alarm, the treasurercraved the king

'

s pardon i f he made a full disclosure of the truthand , the pardon being prom ised, he assured the king that h ismaster’s alms were so munificent that there was now left in the

private purse only three hundred rupees . N ext was questioned the

control ler of the camp equipage who said that al l the tents and

carpets h is master had were now in camp except some matting on

the floors of h is mosque and col lege in the city he added that theKh i ja himself always s lept on a bare mat. The chief cock wasthen cal led whodeclared that al l the uten sils and vessels were with

h im ,but that the food f or h is mas ter’s own table was always pre

pared in earthen pots . L ast came the librarian and acknow ledgedthat there were in the library three thousand volumes, but thesewere al l intended for the students of the col lege . The king was

perplexed and the treasurer seized the opportun ity to exclaim ,

0 king!may many thousands as great'

as M ahmud Gavan be

sacrificed toen sure thy safety, but why didst thou not ascertain

whowas the bearer of that letter tothe Raja of Orissa f ” A wakingas if from a trance the king called f or the intercepted bearer of thetreasonable letter . N0 such one could be produced . The clumsy

plot lay open and M uhammad Shi h, overwhelmed with confusionand remorse, retired to his harem .

The king now gave orders to march from Kondapal le, whichplace had become hateful to h im , but on the very same night twoleading officers of h is army, friends of the Khéjzi , moved with theirdivi sions to a distance of four miles and there encamped . The

king, astonished, deferred h is march and sent to ask the reason oftheir conduct . They repl ied that after the death of M ahmud Gavanthey could not but be apprehen sive of their own safety i f theyremained at court . The king upon this sent them a confidentialmessage, desiring them tocome to h is presence, that by their aidhe m ight pun ish the traitors whohad soabused his confidence . Tothi s they repl ied, that when Yusuf A di l Khan returned from the

expedition again st N arasimha R i ja, they would come wi th him and

throw themsel ves at H is M ajesty’s feet . The ki ng, seeing thatpatience and concil iation were necessary to win back the justlyoflended malcontents, sent for Yusuf A di l Khan whocame w ith al l

speed and pi tched hi s camp alongside that of the two disafiectedChi eftains . M uhammad Shah, sti l l anxious to reconcile tohimselfthese powerful nobles, con f erred upon Yusuf A dil Khan the jagir ofBijapur, which had been held by M ahmud Khajt. Gavi n, and con

nonAmrAnAN rumor . 2 3

firmed Imad- ul -mulk in the government of Berei r . By these mean s

an outward semblance of obedience was obtained and the royalarmy marched from Kondapal le, but distrust stil l actuated the

aggrieved generals whocontinued toencamp at some distance fromthe king, paying their respects only on the l ine of march standingaf ar of f surrounded by their own guards and , upon arrival at Bidar

,

refused toen ter the city . The king was thus driven to rely uponl‘l iasim - ul nm l

'

l lk,l

governor of Rajahmundry and Kondapal le, whowas considered the leader of the Deccan par ty. H e appointed himmin ister in the place of Khaja M ahmud Gavan and loaded h imw ith honours whereupon Yusuf A dil Khan ‘

and Im i d - ul - M ulk’

w ithdrew totheir provinces of Bijap ii r and Berar wi thout takingleave of the king.

To take notice of their conduct would be civi l war and M uhammadShi h had not courage for this . Con sum ed by remorse and unavai l

ing regret, he found h is strength fai l ing him, and formally appoin tedas his successor the pr ince M ahmfid, but whi le the document wasbeing prepared for his signature the unhappy king muttered l f

they do not obey me whoreigned gloriously for many years and

conquered nations with my sword, how w il l they subm it toa ch i ld?Thi s despondency led him toindulge toexcess in forbidden w ine

and this apparen tly brought on del i r i um tremens f or he d ied on

M arch 2 4th , 1 482 , exclaim ing in hi s agony that Khaja M ahmudGavan was tearing him topieces .

Pr i n ce Mahmud ascended the throne under the title of M ahmudShéh Bahman i I I and f or thirty - seven years l ived as titular kingwi th al l the insignia of royalty, but in real ity he was nothing but apuppe t in the hands now of one powerful noble now of another ,un til at length five of these assumed the regal style and on th e ruin s

of the Bahman i kingdom arose the five kingdoms of Bijapur, B idar,Beri r, A hmadnagar and Golcon da .

Th e h istory of these th ree nobles i s stranger than fiction. N izam - ul - M ulk Bhairi

was a Brahman of Vi jaiyauagar , named T immapa. son of Bh aira. I n h is in f ancy h e was

taken p r isoner by th e army of A hmad Shah Bahman i and sowas educated as a M ussulman

and cal led H asan . H e was a companion of th e prince M uhammad who in stead of Bha ira

cal led hi m Bha ir i or Fal con wh ich name was ever af terwards given h im . H i s son Ahmad

founded th e N izam Shah dynasty of A hmadnagar . Y li suf A d i l Khan at th e age of

seven teen was sold as a Georgian slave toH ua'

i jaM ahmud Gav i n who adop ted h im . A

roman tic story says that h ewas the son of th e E mperor of Room (Turkey) but was changed

in the cradl e . H e founded th e A d i l Shah dynasty of B ijap ii r.

Imad - ul - M ulk was a Kamataka H indu by b irth . Taken p risoner when a boy, he served

under KhajaJehan and af terwards under Kha’

nja'

i M ahmud Gavdn . H e founded the Ima'

td

Shi h dynasty of Berar.

KISTN A msrmcr M AN UA L ,

The kingdom of Golconda included this District wi thin its l imi ts .

Th is kingdom was ruled by Sultan Qul i Qutb Shéh from whomdescended a l ine of kings known as the Qutb Shah dynasty.

The story of this adventurer , Sult in Qul i , is even more marvel lous

than that of the founders of the four other kingdoms . H e was a

relation of the Am ir of Persia, Jeh i n Shah , and was forced toflyfrom that coun try because of pol itical dissen sions . Finding h is

way south to B idar, when M ahmud Shah sti ll held court with al l

the emblems of sovereignty , he ingratiated himself w ith the king bya present of some valuable horses and remained in h is serv ice .

Sultan Qul i’s prospects of advan cement now seemed poor indeed

f or he had l inked h is fortunes wi th those of a fal l ing monarch and

he had arrived at the scene too late toassert himself against thepowerf ul nobles who were n ew independen t in al l but in name .

Sultan Qul i , however, must have possessed some sol id qual ities f orh i s r ise was rapid and he never fel l . I n 1 490 he was cflicer of the

guard at the Palace when an attempt was made on the king’s l ife by

some A byssin ians and Deccan is and it was h is desperate defence thatenabled the young M ahmud Shah toescape w ith h is l ife .

‘ For

this serv ice he was rewarded w i th the title of Qutb - ul - M fllk and in

1 495 we find h im appointed Governor of Tel ingana wi th the personal

j i girs of Varangal and Golconda . Tothe credit of Snlti n Qul i itmust be recorded that he sted f astly remained loyal to M ahmudShah, h is early patron . The prov ince was governed in the king

’s

name and dur ing the various interchanging conflicts which occupiedthe fol low ing twenty years Sultan Qul i , as f ar as possible

, gave his

support tothe king. It was not unti l h i s four rival s had al l assumedthe regal style , and homage toM ahmud Shah had become nothing but

a sentimental survival bereft of al l real significance, that Sol ti n Qul iQutb Shah, in 1 5 l 2 , proclaimed himself king and fixed his capital

at Golconda but even after this he continued tosend presents and

money every year tothe descendant of the Bahman i kings .

Sulti n Qul i Qutb Shah being now at peace w ith his own cc

rel igion ists had leisure toattend to h is H indu ne ighbours on thesouth and east, whohad taken advantage of the internal dissens ionsin the M ussulman State and had recovered much ground . In thi sDistrict the M uhammadan garrisons appear to have disappeared

an d it was about this date (1 5 1 6 ) that Krishna Raja, the Karnatakaking, made a peace with the Gajapati R i ja of Orissa by which

Brigg's Ferishta I I , 633 and I I I , 348.

M U H A M M A DA N PE RIOD. 2 5

Kondapal le became the southern out- post of Orissa and Kondaviduremained under the Vijayanagar power . Bel lamkonda was at thistime held by a Raja named Sitapati whoal so held Varangal andKammamet and who seems to have been a vassal O f Orissa . Itwas a dispute with this

.

Raja that first brought Sultan Qul i into theKistna District.

Thi s Si tapati Raja not only possessed these three strongholds, but

had in his service a train ed body of twelve thousand infantry notedas good marksmen . Confident in the securi ty thus af f orded him he

laid hands on some of the Qutb Shah districts which adjoined h isterri tory. This roused the king whomarched from Golconda and

,

leav ing Varangal and Kammamet on h is left hand, crossed the

Kistna river and laid close siege to Bellamkonda . The fortressheld out much longer than the king expected, so

,losing patience ,

he ordered a general escalade on al l sides simul taneously and thustook the place, but with heavy loss.

Bel lamkonda had h ithertobeen considered impregnable and Sitapati Raja , whohad been wel l content to see the king waste h is

time below its wal ls, nosooner heard of its fall than he marchedw i th his army to cut Off the king

’s retreat . A desperate battle

ensued . The H indu in f antry w ith a wel l directed fire inflictedsevere loss upon thei r enemies and firmly w ithstood several chargesof the M uhammadan caval ry but at last gave way, leav ing the baggage and treasure toSultan Qul i whoreturned w ith his booty toGolconda .

Sitapati R aja had fled from the field toh is fortress of Kammamet

but defeat on ly incited h im to further e f f orts . H e sent messengerstoal l the neighbouring Rai jas ,

‘ wri ting to them to form a league

again st th is Sulti n Qul i Qutb Shah w hohad already reduced the

greater part Of Tel ingana and was every day gain ing ground, sothatsoon no H indu chiefs would remain toOppose his overwhelm ingambition . The Rajas responded toh is cal l and their uni ted forcesassembled at H ammamet . Sultan Qul i at once marched toopposethem and a sanguinary action took place when the M uhammadansas usual gained the v ictory.

The defeated but not despair ing Si tapati fled to Kondapal le wherehe found Raja Ramchandra, the son of Gajapati Vijayanadha Deo,Raja of Orissa . Tothis prince he represented that Sultén Qul i had

Including the Raja of Val-

spans , af terwards Wujerabad , on the lef t bank of the

Kistna, oppos i te Pondugal .

2 6 msrm msrmc'r MAN UA L ,

at length succeeded in expell ing him from his country, that al l

Tel ingana lay at the mercy of thi s M uhammadan and that unl ess hewere checked, the Orissa dominions would be the next tosuf f er .

Gajapati Ramchandra, impressed by the gravi ty of the cri si s, issuedorders toal l his tr ibutaries to repair toKondapal le wi th their forces,and soon col lected at Kondapal le an enormous army, stated by theM uhammadan hi storian to have numbered three hundred thousandfoot, thi rty thousand horse and seven hundred el ephan ts . The

various H indu Rajas took an oath tostand by each other , and thenthe unwi eldy host marched to crush Snlti n Qul i . H e prepared tooppose them w ith only five thousand horse and met them at the

r iver near

On the fol lowing day the H indus drew up their forces in orderof battle and Sultan Qul i , notw ithstandi ng the disparityof numbers ,determ ined on delivering the attack . Dismounting in full view ofh is army, he knelt and prayed the great Disposer of events togiveup the host of the infidels intothe hands of the Faithful , and thenmounting, he led the charge at the centre of the H indu ranks . The

rout was complete . The immense numbers of the H indus servedon ly to increase the disorder . Raja Ramchandra was taken prisoner .

H is nephew Vijayadi tya was slain by the prince H aidar Khan’s ownhand . A ll the elephants and all the treasure fell in tothe hands ofthe king whoreduced the fortress of Kondapal le and then marchingtowards Rajahmundry concluded a treaty with the ambassadors ofGajapati Vijayanadha Deoby which the river Godavari became thefrontier of his kingdom .

This successful campaign rel ieved Sul tan Qul i Qutb Shah fromal l apprehensions on the side of Orissa, but in 1 530 he was obl igedtotake the field against the Karnataka Raja of Vijayanagar . The

stronghold of Kondapal le, on the northern bank of the Kistna, wasoccupied by a M uhammadan garrison , but withi n sight of it were inthe Gun tl

'

i r coun try the hi l l forts of Kondav idu and Bel lamkonda

whence the Karnataka Raja’s troops could sal ly forth and haras sQutb Shah’s territory . The king set out from Golconda and, crossing the river , marched to Kondavidu which he besieged. H is taskwas not an easy one . South of Kondavidu lay the fortress of Vinnkonda, and Vinukonda , Kondavidu and Bellamkonda formed a

tri lateral which af f orded excel len t scope to the strategy of theH indu generals . From Bell amkonda and Vinukonda issued exped ition s which made , again and again ,

n ight attacks upon the M uham

Perhaps the present Pénuganchiprélu.

num nnw m PE RIOD. 2 7

madan camp below Kondavidu until the king, wear ied out by th iswarfare, determined to reduce these two forts and marched toBellamkonda, leaving prince H aidar Khan wi th a corps of observation at Kondav i du.

Bel lamkonda had been taken by the king from Sitapati Raja

some years previously and the present siege was a repetition of theformer story. The H indus defended the fort with obstinate bravery,and the king, stil l annoyed by n ight attacks from the Vinukonda

garrison , lost patience and ordered a general assau lt . A t a precon

certed signal the walls were escaladed on al l sides simultaneously,and Bel lamkonda was a second time taken , but several of the bestof the king

’s of f icers and many of h is men lost their l ives . The

property found in the fortress was distributed among the troops,and a eunuch named Ziyaul - Khan was left in command of Bel lamkonda whi le the king marched to the eas t .

Sultén Qul i was now involved in serious difficul ties . A n armyof fifty thousand foot and five thousand horse under command

of the nephew of Krishna Raja was on its way to the relief ofthe fortresses ; the H indu officers in Prince H aidar Khan’s armybefore Kondav idu were in open mutiny and the H indu garri son ofKondapal le had thrown ofi al l obedience to their M uhammadanofi cers . The king first moved to Kondavidu and busied himsel f

in restoring h is son’s authority in the camp . Whi le so occupied he

received an urgent message from Ziya- nl - Khan that the H indu army

had arrived before Bellamkonda and was demanding the surrenderof that fortress . The king at once set out with al l hi s cavalry for

Bellamkonda,fel l unexpectedly upon the army of the H indu Prince,

whom Ziyi - ul - Khan was amusing w ith negotiations f or surrender ,dispersed the assembled forces and took the baggage includingsixty elephan ts laden with treasure for the pay of the troops .

H aving thus raised the siege of Bel lamkonda, the king returnedto Kondav i du and redoubled hi s ef f orts against that stronghold .

A fter the lower wal ls had been in some places breached by th e

king's arti l lery, the garrison disheartened at the failure of the

expected succour, retired into the upper or hil l fort and on the

following day capitulated . The l ives of the inhabi tants were spared,but the whole fortress was given over to be plundered by the

victoriou s troops .

When the news of these even ts reached Kr ishna Raja at

A f ter whom H aidarabad is named . H e died before h is f ather.

2 8 KISTN A D ISTRICT H AN UA L ,

Vi jayanagar he immediately detached h is son- in - law Siva Baja with

a force of one hundred thousand foot an d eight thousand horse to

march against the M uhammadans . This was serious, and Sul tanQul i , unwi lling to weaken h is army by leaving a garri son in

Kondavidu, distr ibuted the stores of that fortress among hi s troops ,burned the gates, destroyed the wal ls and retreated north tothebanks of the Kistna where he encamped . The H indus, aston ished

at this sudden retreat of their adversary, halted at Kondav idu and

repaired the wal ls making i t a depfit for their treasure and h eavybaggage . They then set out tothe north in pursuit of Sul tan Qul i .

The king waited until they had approached towithin a f ew miles

of h is encampment and then, mov ing out at n ight w ith five thousand

cavalry, fel l on the H indu camp at early dawn . The battle lastedti l l noon when th e H indus wi thdrew to Kondav idu and the king,fol lowing them next day, invested the fortress for the second time .

The wal ls had not been suf f iciently restored nor had the fort beenprovisioned f or a siege, sothe H indu general was compelled toagreetoa peace on the hum i l iati ng condition of an annual payment toSultan Quli of three lakhs of pagodas .

The Kondapal le garr ison hearing of the collapse of this greatarmy of Siva Raja returned totheir al legiance and were pardonedby Sultan Qul i whotran sferred them to Ghunapfir in the Deccanbringing the Ghunapfir garri son to Kondapal le .

The king returned tohis capi tal after this two years’campaignand was f or a considerable period occupied by disputes wi th the

neighbour ingkings of B ijapflr, Bidar and A hmadnagar . It appearstohave been about the year 1 536 that Sul tan Qul i took the hi l l - fortof N al lakonda from a refractory Telugu Raja and avai led himself ofthe opportun ity tocross the river and again advance toKondaviduas the governor had never paid the annual subsidy of three lakhs ofpagodas . Kondavi du was , as on the previous occasions, vigorouslybesieged and v igorously defended . The garri son at length ofieredterms wh ich the king refused toaccept and a f ew days af ter thi sthe fort was surrendered . The king erected a pil lar in the m iddleof the fort tocommemorate his victory and return ed tohis capi tal .

Su ltan Quli Qutb Shah was now advanced in years and resolvedto spend the remainder of h is l ife in peace f ul pursuits . It i s now,

”

said the aged king, nearly sixty years s ince I was first engagedin spread ing the banners of the Faithful and reducing the infidelsof Tel ingana from the borders of Varangal toM asulipatam and

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30 KISTN A D ISTRICT M AN UA L ,

The H indu min isterJagadéva Row was toopowerful for a subjectand when Ibri h im Qutb Shah took steps against him he fled totheVijayanagar Court and employed al l his energies in fomentingintrigues tothe detr iment of hi s late mas ter . Thus in 1 557 the kingsof Bid i r and Bijapur attacked h im on the west and Ri m Raja ofVijayanagar on the south, whi le twoOrissa general s named Sitapatiand Vijayadi tya moved from Rajahmundry against E l lore and

Siddhiraja Timmapa, Governor Of Kondav idu,wi th fifty thousand

horse, attacked M asul ipatam and Kondapalle, fighting several actionsnear the gardens of Ibrahim Shah ‘

and the v il lage of Bezvada .

”

The king confined by this coal ition of h is enemies to the neighbourhood of h is capital had recourse to negotiations and inducedRama Raja to be satisfied wi th the forts of Pangul and Ghunap li r .

The confederacy then broke up and Ibrahim Qutb Shah solabouredto impress upon the other M uhammadan kings the need f or un ion

again st the Vijayanagar power that seven years later , in 1 565 , theyleagued together and crushed the H indu Raja at the famous battleof Tal ikfit .

Thirteen years passed before the king had leisure to detach hi sarmies for the reduction of the Guntur Distr ict which stil l remai nedunder the officers Of the V ija

'

iyanagar Court who even ven tured tomake excursion s across the river and devastate the Kondapal lecountry. A t length in 1 578H aidar - ul - M d lk was sent against theH indu commanders, whose names are given as Venkatadri

,Kastl

'

rri

Timma R i ja and N arasimha Rao. The M uhammadan general firstreduced the fortress of Vinuk onda and then marched against

Kacherla Kota which w as defended by Kastfiri Rangayya and

M udna Ch innayya with twenty thousand infantry . On the ap

proach of the M uhammadans they evacuated the fort without fir inga shot and it was occupied by the king

’s forces . From this H aidar

ul - Mulk marched against Cummum whi ch he took,and leaving a

garrison there returned towards Kondavidu .

The twoCommanders M udna Ch innayya and Kastfiri Rangayya.

had been joined by Kandi Timmanna and were prepared wi th thir tythousand men to dispute h is path . Turn ing aside therefore fromhi s march towards Kondav idu he moved on to meet them . The

H indu troops under cover of the thick jungle attacked the M uham

madans on al l sides, but the latter stood firm, gained a completevictory and pursued the H indus as f ar as the fort of Garram”*

Brigg’s Perish ta, I I I , 408, 446 . Th is may be Kurrap i du.

M U H A MM ADA N PE RIOD . 3 1

which surrendered . H aidar - u l -iMulk now marched to the attack of

Bel lamkonda which fell for the third time before the M ussulman

arms an d then ,having occupied al l the minor forts in that neigh

bourhood , proceeded to Kondav idu, the capi tal of the province .

A long time was spent in unavai ling attempts to reduce thisstronghold and H aidar - ul - Mulk was at last obl iged to apply toGolconda for reinforcements. Ibrahim Qutb Shah thereupon despatched hi s best general, the M ir Shah M i r

, wi th a considerableforce Of M oguls and Persians, totake the command of al l the armysouth of the Kistna . The Persians were at this period consideredthe best soldiers in A sia for siege Operations

,but even after the

arr ival of the n ew general noimpression was made on Kondavidu .

M any attempts were made totake the place by escalade but al l fai led .

The H indus remembered that this was the last fortress in the

prov in ce that held out for the Vijayanagar kings and they were

nerved toevery e f f ort by the presence among them of Kapuri Timma

Raija, the son - in - law of Rama R i ya himself. A t length Shah Mi r

resolved that, cost what it m ight, he would drag his guns up the

hil l and batter the wal ls at close quarters . This was done and a

breach was made in one face of the fort. N ex t morning an attackwas made not on ly on this breach but alsoon the southern gateway .

The H indus were prepared torecei ve the storming parties and foughtdesperately inflicting heavy loss on their assai lants . E lephants werebrough t up to the gateway and their huge strength succeeded inbursti ng open one side of the heavy gate . The M uhammadan s

A pr i l l 579 ~ rushed in , drove back the defenders, and Kondaviduwas taken . Kapuri Timma Raja was sen t pr isoner to Golconda and

the whole country as f ar as the coast was added toIbrahim QutbShah’s dom inions sothat the H indu rule in the Kistna District nowcame toan end .

The k ing died on the 2 nd O f June 1 580 having been on the throne

almost th irty years . The M uhammadan hi storian says “ Duringthe just reign O f Ibrahim Qutb Shah Tel ingana l ikeE gypt, became

the mart of the whole world . M erchants from Toorkistan ,

A rabia and Persia resorted to i t : an d‘ they met w ith such en

couragement that they found in i t inducements to return f re

quently . The greatest luxuries from foreign parts dai ly abounded

at thi s ki ng’s hospitable board .

”

Ibrahim was succeeded by his eldest surviving son , M uhammad

3 2 KISTN A msrmcr M A N U A L ,

Qul i Qutb Shah . In the early years ‘ of this reign the command ofthe troops in the Kondavidu di strict was given toAl i Khan Luri , aPersian adventurer whohad di stingui shed himself by his conductin the field . The Revenue A dmin istration of the province was inthe hands of a Brahman named Raja Rao. Al i Khan asked thatcertain estates might be set apart f or the payment of his troops, butRaja Raod id not accede to these demands, whereupon A l i Khan ,with a number of hi s fol lowers, qui tted the king

’s service in di s

gust aud placed h is sword at the service Of the R i ja of Vijayanagar ,volunteering tolead an army to the recapture of Kondavidu . The

Rai ja adopted this proposal and sent h is son - in - law, M ikar Timma ,

w i th a force of thirty thousand in f antry, some caval ry, and fiftyelephants toi nvade theKondav idu province . On arrivingat Cummum

they halted tobesiege the fort which was held by a garrison f or the

k ing, and whi le they were thus engaged, Ri ja Raomarched fromKondav idu, attacked and utterly defeated them . Ten thousand ofthe Vijayanagar infan try are said tohave been killed or woundedin this battle, and four elephants as wel l as the great drum of thearmy remained as trophies wi th R i ja Rao. The Vijayanagar R i ja,annoyed at the i ll success of this en terprise, withdrew all coun te

tenance and support from A l i Khan, who, nothing daunted, marchedabout from place to place as a free lance col lecting fol lowers underh is standard unti l at length he had the presumption to plunder thedi strict of Kondapal le . Thoroughly roused by this , the king despatched Rahman Dafid and Tahir M uh ammad Khan Pati n with a.

large army toput down thi s troublesome rebel . A l i Khan retreatedbefore them and shut himself up in the fort of A ddanki , but on theirapproach he considered the fort untenable and so leav ing a_smal l

garri son in occupation he quitted it and fled to the hi ll s . The king’s

generals arriving before A ddanki took the place by storm and put

every man of the garrison todeath . They then marched in pursui tof Al i Khan , whoposted an ambuscade O f hi s in fantry in the junglesand soinflicted severe loss on the royal ist army, which was takenby surprise, but this temporary repul se d id not af f ect the result

,f or

A l i Khi n was defeated and forced tofly w i th the loss of a thousandmen ki l led and as many taken prisoners . The king

’s army was now

reinf orced by a thousand cavalry brought by A f zul Khan , theH avi ldar of Sautarévfir

,but Al i Khan eluded his pursuers . Sudden

ly appearing at the sea port Of Niz i mpatam,he plundered al l the

wealthy merchan ts there doubl ing back to Kondavidu he fel l onKi shawar Khan , who was encamped wi th a smal l force near that

um m m rrnron. 83

p lace, and completely routed him , and then marching to A mmanab rolu he surprised A f zul KhAn’s detachment, plundered h is camp,and put many of his men to death . A t last Rahman Di ud suc

ceeded in overtaking the ubiquitous A l i Khan and in the action thatensued

,the adventurer’s troops were defeated and he was slain .

For some years a fter this the d istrict enjoyed peace under the

M uhammadan rule unti l in 1 594 Venkatapati R i ja of Vijayanagar ,th en at war w ith M uhammad Qul i , learned that al l available troopsh ad been withdrawn from Kondav idu toassist the king in h is Operations against the fortresses of Gand ikdta and Pennakonda

, and so

despatched a force to U dayagiri in N el lore urging the Raija of that

p lace tocreate a diversion by plunder ing and laying waste the

M uhammadan terri tory as f ar as Kondav idu and the Kistna river .

Thi s stirred up A f zul Khan whowas now governor of Kondavidu,and being unable tocol lect a force su fficien t to Oppose the H indusin the field he set out w ith al l the caval ry he could muster and

passed by way of Ongole into the U dayagiri country . Thi s stepwas most ef f ectual . The H indus returned in al l haste toprotectthe U dayagiri v il lages and com ing up w ith A f zul Khan

’s party sur

rounded i t so that the M uhammadans,although they fought with

bravery, despaired O f extricating themselves from thei r dangerous position . A t this cr itical juncture A j i da Khan w ith five

hundred horse came to their assistance and boldly charged

the H indus before they had discovered the smal l numbers of thisreinforcement . This sudden attack by fresh troops changed thefortun e O f the day : the H indu army was def eated losing threethousand men and al l their camp equipage .

The war against the Vijayanagar R i ja continued and it was aboutthe year 1 596 that the governor of Kondav idu, E tibar KhanY ezdi ,marched south with al l h is forces as f ar as Kalahastr i and the Timpati Pagoda . The local J.igi rd i rs, both M uhammadan and H indu

,

took advantage of hi s prolonged absence and refused to pay the

tribu te they owed to the king’s treasury at Golconda . E tibar Khan

reported the d isafl’ection O f these of f i cers to Court and A m in - ul - Mulk

was sen t to bring them back to their Obedience . On arriving near

Kondav idu thi s general was met by the deputy-

governor of the

fortress who held it during the absence of E tibar Kh i n . A m in - ul

man: accused this deputy-

governor of being the instigator ofthe rebel l ion and at once had h im hanged . This prompt actionstruck terror into the other insurgents . They had coll ected seven

5

34 KISTN A mar iner n ruh h,

thousand cavalry and ten thousand inf antry and had strengthenedthe fort at A ddanki, but now they lost courage and , instead ofOpposing the royal army, retreated to join the Réja of Vijéyanagar .

Amin - ul - Mulk took possession of all their estates and after executingsome two hundred H indus at Kondavidu as accompl ices in the

rebel lion , he returned to H aidarabad .

l

In 1 599 when M uhammad Qul i Qutb Sh i h was engaged in hosti l i

ties not onlywith the OrissaRaja but also at A hmadnagar, which wasthen besieged by the Delhi Moguls, Venkatapati Raja thought hehad a goodopportunity torecover the province of Kondav idu and setout w ith twohundred thousand men and one thousand elephan ts .

On hearing of th is the king sent h is general A dil Khan Bangi zto oppose the Vijayauagar inroad . A di l Khan hastened at speed wi thh is cavalry toKondav i du and there hal ted to await h is guns . Ven

katapati Raja had not yet crossed h is own frontier when he receivedthe news that theMuhammadan armyhad already occupied Kondav iduand so, concluding that he had m issed his Opportun ity, he halted h isarmy and sentambassadors tothe king at Golconda to explain that hehad come sO f ar only for the purposeof seeing the L ake at Cummum .

The king accepted this explanation , but detained the army of A di lKhan Bangéz at Kondav idu as a corps O f Observation . This, however, was the last attempt made by the H indus to recover fromM uhammadan rule any portion of the Kistna Distr ict which was

thus left in peace during the remaining years of the king’s re ign .

M uhammad Qul i Qutb Shah died on the 1 7th December 1 61 1 ,having reigned more than thirty - one years.

H e was succeeded by M uhammad Shah whose reign presentsnothing of interest except that in December 1 6 1 1 we find the

earliest mention of the E ngl ish and Dutch trading at M asulipatam

and N iz i mpatam . The king appears to have encouraged thisE uropean trade . H e was succeeded in 1 62 1 by Sultan ’

A bdullah Qutb

num nu m PERIOD. 85

kingdom and so f ar as can be seen the E ngl ish merchants had no

idea that the more powerful empire of Delhi was before long to

absorb i ts weaker neighbour . They wrote and acted as i f a

concess ion f rom the king of Golconda was a benefit tolast for all

time, but already the Mogul power had overthrown four of the

Muhammadan kingdoms of the Deccan and signs were not wantingthat the fif th, the kingdom of Golconda, would soon share their fate .

In 1 62 4 Prince Shah Jehén retreated from his father, the EmperorJchangi r, into the Deccan and making hi s way to M asul ipatammarched by the coas t through Orissa to Bengal . Doubtless hi sunopposed march di sclosed the weakn ess of the Golconda State and

this may exp lai n how it was that this Prince,when as Shah Jehan heinvaded the Deccan in 1 635, at once overawed

’A bdullé.h Qutb Shah

and compell ed h im to pay an annual tribute.

In the service of the king was an adventurer named M ir Jamla

whohad risen from the humblest origin to the loftiest position inthe State . Born near Ispahan in Persia, of parents so poor thatthey wi th difi culty had h im taught toread, he came to Golconda asa clerk or servant in the serv ice of a diamond merchan t, and thereleft h is master and set up for himself. With the first money that he

gained he purchased aplace in the service of the king, and havi nggot his foot on the ladder, ascended rapidly to high office. N ot

content wi th his position in the publ ic servi ce, he kept up a considerable private trade . H is ships sailed from the ports on the east

coast and all the diamond m ines were farmed by him under borrowed names . A ppointed to a command in the eastern part of thekingdom , where he coul d the more easi ly con trol h is mercanti leOperations , he greatly added toh is wealth by successful war agains tthe H indu R i jas of the Carnatic and was at length possessed ofenormous treasure and influence. H is son , M uhammad A min , wasa violent and dissolute young man whod id not inherit the tact orabilities of his f ather . In the year 1 655 when M i r Jamla was

occupied on the east coast, the son by some misconduct incurred thedispleasure of the king who refused to pardon him at h is father’sintercession . A nnoyed by this, or more probably seiz ing the

opportuni ty to qui t the service of the tottering Golconda throne,Mir Jamla made overtures toPrince A urangzib who was at thistime at A urangabad in the Deccan . A uraugzib , del ighted at so

good an excuse for interference, sent a highly coloured report of theafiair to the Emperor Shah Jehtrn who despatched a haughty

36 KIBTN A msraxcr m ust ,

mandate to his vassal , the king of Golconda, to redress h is mini ster’s grievances . Irri tated by this open encroachment upon his

independence ’A bdul lhh Qutb Shéh comm itted M uhammad Amin

to prison and sequestrated the property of his father , M ir Jamla .

Shah Jeban , now in his turn provoked, sent orders to PrinceA urangzib tocarry into ef f ect the Emperor

’s orders by force of

arms . On receipt of these orders Prince A urangzib spread a

rumour that he was going to march by M asul ipatam to Bengal for

the marr iage of his son Sul tan M uhammad . H e set out professedlyon this march and socame to within a short distance of H aidarabad .

’A bdul lah Qutb Shah was prepar ing an entertainmen t for his reception when he sudden ly discovered the Prince’s hostile in tentions andhad time on ly tof ly to the hi l l fort of Golconda before H aidarabadwas taken and burned . M ir Jamla now appeared w ith his army,ready touse it against the king, who had no alternative but toconsent toa humi liating treaty, whi le Mir Jamla remained in the

service of A urangzib and employed h is undoubted talents in a

wider field than that af forded by the decaying k ingdom of

Golconda.

’A bdul lah Qutb Shah reigned f or fourteen years longer . In 1 667

we find him secretly assisting the Bijapur king against the M ogulsand then averting a threatened M ahratta invasion of hi s own k ingdom by paying tribute toSivaj i . H e died in 1 6691 after a reign

of 48years, and was succeeded by A bu - l - H asan Shfih, the last of

the Qutb Shah Dynasty .

It is marvellous how the remembrance of this i l l - fated monarchstill exists in thi s part of the country . H e is general ly spoken of

under the name of Tanesha, whatever that may mean , and bothM uhammadan and H indu tel l many stories about his reign . H e

had twomin isters, both Brahmans, named‘

A kannu and M adanna

Pantulu, whomanaged h is af f airs with much abi li ty and left an

enduring reputation . For some reason they established their omceat Bezvada . M r . Streynsham M aster surmised in 1 679 that it wasfrom the same motive that led the king, their master, to reside at

Kondapal le, namely, the removal of the capital of the kingdomout of the way of the grasping M ogul Emperor . But popular

1 I t was during thi s reign that the hal l . in the Fort at Kondapal le, known as the BahKisser, was bui l t. In its construction was used carved Burmese teak timbers obtained

probably f rom Masul ipatam. A throne was p laced in this hall but the king never eat on i tbecause of some bad omens which he noticed .

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38 men u DI STRICT I ANUAL ,

sung by many devout H indus wi th much feel ing. E special ly dothey adm ire the pathos of the verse in which Ramdas bewai lshi s wretched captivi ty.

The E ngl ish Company had an agent at the Court of A bu - l - H asan

Shah, f or h i s dom in ions extended beyond Fort St . George, whi chsettlement, indeed, was held by the Company on an annual rent tothe king. There are entries in the old records at Fort St . Georgeof instructions tothis agent topresen t substantial gifts toMadannaand A nkanna topreserve their favour to the H onourable Company,

”and when the king himself was about to v isit M asu lipatam

the Counci l there are directed toof f er a considerable sum of moneyto obtain leave tocoin Rupees and Pics at M adras to be currentthroughout the king of Golconda

’s dom inion s and al so toobtain

exception s f rom cus toms dues in the Carnatic for E ngl i sh goodsas they are in M asul ipatam and those parts of the ancient kingdomof Golconda.

”In December 1 679 a dispute arose between two

native merchants in M adras and the Company obtained fromGolconda, tosettle the quarrel , orders which cost them 1 57 Pagodas 5but soon afterwards one of the merchan ts went toGolconda and

got these orders reversed , whereupon the Counci l at Fort St . Georgerecal led their agen t at Golconda he being no fit person to betrusted .

It is curious to see the powerful E ast India Company, which a

hun dred years later overshadowed the land, now content to pur

chase the good wi l l of a native State on the verge of di ssoluti on .

In 1 686 the Emperor A urangzib moved an army into A bu- l - H asan

Shah’s territory, and the king’s general Ibrahim Khan , treacher

ously deserted hi s master’s cause through jealousy of the Brahman

min ister Madanna Pantulu . H ai darabad was taken in the fol lowingyear , the Emperor himself marched against the fortressof Golconda,ignor ing the prom ises made in the previous year by his son ,

Pr inceShah Al am or Moazzim, and publishing a mani festo in whi ch hedenounced the king as a protector of infidel s . From this moment

A bu- l - H asan seemed to cast as ide h is efieminacy : and thoughdeserted by hi s troops, he bravely defended Golconda for seven

months, til l it al so was given up by treachery : and he September 1 687.

then bore hi s m isf ortunes wi th a digni ty and resignat ion that has

endeared hi s memory to his subjects and their descendants evento this day .

” The news of this col lapse of the Qutb Shahi dynastywas very unpalatable to the Council at Fort St. George, for in Bengal

new sm an rsnxon. 39

at this very moment the Company was at open war w ith the Emperor

A urangzib . The Dutch and French made haste to secure the

E m peror’s good w i ll by large presents, and the Dutch had sopoor

an opin ion of the power of the E nglish Company that they in A ugust1 686 took possession of M asul ipatam f or themselves . The M adras

Cou nci l protested vigorously, but when on 2 9th July 1 687 theyr ece ived adv ices f rom M r . Freeman at M asul ipatam , that Kondapal leth e second strong castle in the country was treacherously sur

ren dered up tothe Mogul by the Governor and therein taken the

greatest part of their treasure, being the chiefest M agaz ine in the

cou ntry,”and that scattered parties of the Emperor’s army were

pl underi ngwithin three days’march of M asul ipatam they resolved to

provision f or a siege Fort St . George itself . M r . Freeman appearsto have quitted M asul ipatam , f or he was present at a General

Council at M ad ras.

on 5th December 1 687 which resolved toex

pen d Pagodas in purchas ing forbearance from the Emperoran d tosend pagodas of thi s sum at once to Court. The

fol low ing extract from the records of Fort St . George, dated 5th

October 1 687 throws light on the wretched state of this coun try at

that time . The Pearle, Wil l iam H arrison ,M aster, arrived here

,

whowai ting upon the President acquainted him of hi s last comingf rom Pettapol lee, where be safely rode out the late storm ,

whichby his account was not sov iolent there as here . But that therewas a very great contagion in those parts, which has depopulatedmany towns, and whol ly ruin

’d trade there, there being scarce

people enough left to sow or reap their l i ttle harvest, he also

advi ses us that upon his departure from Pettepollee there came

news that Gulcondah was certain ly taken , that four hundredhorsemen were come to M etchepatam from the Mogul withTasherfi s for the Dutch and French, and strict orders to seize and

secure all E ngl i shmen and their conce rnes . The Counci l at

M adras , however, were not wi thout hope that some of theiracquain tances among the courtiers of A bu - l - H asan Shah, whohadhasten ed to pay their homage to the Emperor , m ight be able to

intercede f or the E ngl ish, but in October 1 689 the factory at

M asul ipatam was siezed by A urangzib’s troops and their trade was

extingu ished for some years .

The Emperor A urangzib included this Distr ict in the prov ince ofGolconda, one of the twen ty- twoprovinces that formed hi s enormousEmpire, but he was too busi ly engaged in distan t warfare topaymuch attention to thi s part of the country, which remained under

40 KISTN A DI STRICT M AN UA L ,

the sway of Gh’t z i - ud - din , hi s Viceroy at H aidarabad . A fter theEmperor’s death in 1 707 Golconda was one of the six provinceswhich formed the Subah of the Deccan . The history of the next

f ew years is obscure . The Subahdz’

tr held Court at H aidarabad and

exercised h is author ity in this Di strict through m i l i tary officerscall ed Fouzdars who assisted Revenue officers cal led Desmukhsand Despondis tocol lect the government dues from rente rs whowere responsible f or one or more v i l lages . U nder these arrange

ments the power and in f luence of the central authority at H aiderabad

were not of ten exerted and were not much felt in remote Districts . The

Emperor’s th rone at Delhi vacated by A urangzib was filledby feebledescendants, the Viceroy at H aidarabad paid more atten tion to

gain ing the f avour of some faction dominant at Court than torul ingh is prov inces , the Fouzdar or K i l ladzir at Kondapal le was often tooweak to support the Despond is in col lecting tribute from the rentersand soat th is period the on ly person s who displayed any v igour

in this District were these ren ters whofound themselves practical lyuncontrol led and began toset forth claim s tohold in perpetuity thev i l lages they rented and toassume the title of Zemind tir .

The strangest episode of th is per iod of anar chy is the r ise and

fal l of Sarva Papadu This man,an obscure v i l lager of the toddy

drawer’s caste whe l ived near N aud igfima, began torob travel lerson the road past that town ,

h i s associates being at first on ly h is

own relation s . With the booty obtained by these robber ies hecol lected a band of fol lowers whom be armed w ith matchlocks

and this band becam e so hold that they penetrated as f ar as

N allakonda in the H aidarabad country . Sarva Papadu’s next smp

was to build a fort commanding the road and such was h is powerand the terror h i s name inspired that traffic ceased along that roadand intercourse between H aidarabad and the N orthern Circars was

f or the time at an end . The renters or Zem ind ftrs as they now

began tostyle themselves, were emboldened tocompel the Ki l ladairat Kondapal le to give them th e H avel i (demesne ; lands on ren ts

wh ich they dictated toh im and the M ussulman author ity appearedtobe on the point of extinction . A t th is juncture Mob i ri z Khan ,

the Viceroy, himsel f marched f rom Delhi Sarva Pi padu was

defeated and slain by a Si rdz’

tr named A b ld Khan , many of the

rebel l ious Zem ind'

ars were pu t to death and the route taken byMobari z Khan’s army was said tob e marked by blood . Before hecompleted the task of restorin g order Mobni r i z Khan was recal led to

H UM M DAN u nion. 41

H aidarabad by the approach of the famous A saf Jah N iztm - ulH ulk, whohad taken leave of the Court at Delhi and was comingsouth as Subahdar of the Deccan , nominal ly a subject and theL ieutenant of the E mperor

, but in real ity an independen tPrince . Mobdriz Khan was urged by secret advices fromDelhi to overthrow this too power f ul vassal and for a whole yearnegotiations went on un til in October 1 72 4 M obi ri z Khan was

def eated and k il led at the battle of Shakarkard and A saf Jab,Nizhm- ul - M t

'

i lk , reigned wi thout rival as Subahdar of the Deccan .

The rule of A saf Jah was very diff erent from that of the Viceroyswho had preceded him . H is personal attention was occupied byM ahratta wars and Delhi Court intrigues, but he en trusted the outlying divisions of h is Subah to vigorous subordinates whoefiectual lykept order within the l imits of their territory . The Province ofGolconda comprised five N av i bs’charges, A rcot, Cuddapah, Karnul ,Rajahmundry and Chicacole . The Nsvab of Rajahmundry ruled thecountry included in the Kistna Distr ict . This post was heldfrom 1 72 5 to 1 741 by A nwar - ud - d in

,the ancestor of the presen t

Prince of A rcot. Under A nwar- ud - diu was a Zi llahdsir, RustamKh i n , whose severity sti l l l ives in the memory of the people .

Th e fol lowing description of Rustam Khan’s procedure was pennedby M r . James Grant, Resident at H aidarabad Great were the

benefits derived from the v igour and integrity of Rustum Khan ,

who, f rom 1 73 2 , for seven successive years, ruled, wi th the

most ample delegated sway, Ra jahmundry, w ith the four moresoutherly provinces . There the Zemindars general ly had availedthem selves of the surrounding distractions on the death of

A urangzib to usurp the rights and feeble authority of theirM ohammedan superintendents. Tocorrect these dangerous abusesand restore the necessary forms of interior admin istration, werethe arduous tasks assigned to thi s new Zi llahdar and the con

duct of the man soful ly justified the N izam’s choice, that even tothis day it is held up and considered by the inhabitants in generalas an example worthy of im itation f or necessary policy, considerate human ity , and rigid and universal justice . A t the same timeas the Zem indars defrauded the public treasury, they squeezed withthe iron hand of oppression the industrious husbandmen and

manufacturers . The first object, therefore, of Rustum Khan’s

Government was the total extirpation of such mercil ess tyrants .

Those who escaped the sword were proclaimed as traitors, and a

6

42 KI STN A msrmc'r m ost ,

reward being of fered f or their own, wi th their adherents’head s ,

a sufficient number was soon col lected to erect twoof those shock

ingpyrami

dical monuments, called Ka ila -min” , near each of the

provincial capi tal s, for one ofwhich k ind, though on a larger sca le ,

the cruelty of N adir is held in E urope so justly in abhorrence .

The inhabitants in general feared and admired him , and the severe

administration of Rustum Khan, which he now f urther di stin

guishedby substituting ameens, or temporary collectors , in the

room of the refractory Zemindars, was proverbial for exemplaryexcel lence in the N orthern Circar s .

”

In 1 741 A nwe

’

tr - ud - din was rel ieved of the government of th isprovince and in 1 743 became N avéb of A rcot . In 1 748A saf Jah ,N izam- ul - Mulk, died and was succeeded as Subahdsr of the Deccan

by h is second son N asir Jang.

A f ew words of explanation may be inserted here of the various

eras in use in this District . Some ancient H indu inscriptions giv e

the year of the Kal iyuga, which began B . C . 4001 , but the ,

usual

H indu era i s that of Salivahana, dating from M arch or A pri l A .D .

78. For the sake of un iformity I quote dates always according to

the Chri stian era, and thus it w il l be understood that the statement

that the grants of Prattpa Rudra II in thi s Di strict come down toA . D . 1 3 1 9 means that S. S . 1 2 41 is the latest date found on inscriptions recording his grants . The M uhammadans date from the

H i jra, or flight of the Prophet, on July 1 6th A . D. 62 2,but their

year is a lunar year of about 354 days, sothat they gain one year inabout 33 of our solar years . A dditional confusion is caused by ourFasl i or Revenue year whi ch dates f rom July l et . I have noin for

mation on the point, but I imagine that the Mogul Emperors ofDelhi , about the year A .D. 1 63 2 , found the inconvenience of thelunar year, which d id not coincide with the seasons of the solar

year, and sofixed the Revenue year or Fasl i from July toJuly of thesolar calendar. (In 1 854 the Board of Revenue ordered this Fasl ito be reckoned from July l st . ) The M uhammadan H ijra year hasnow gained more than seven years upon the Fas l i or Revenue year .

A nother confusi ng custom i s the H indu usage of quoting a yearbv its name and not by its number . They have a cycle of 60 yearsw ith a sequence of nam es and these names are used even by thei l l iterate . Thus the Guntur ryots always speak of the famine of183 2 as the famine of N andana,

”and soused it is in tell igible, for

nonhu man rssxon. 48

the speaker can have seen onl y one N andana, used ina document might refer toA . D . 1 772 or 1 71 2 .

In thi s present year, A nno Domini 1 883 , the H indus begin aboutthe end of M arch their Kaliyuga year 4984 and Sal ivahana year1 804, otherwise called by the cycl ic name Ch itrabanu, whi le the

Revenue official s on July l st begin their Fasl i 1 2 93 and the M uham

madsus on N ovember 2 nd begin their H ijra year 1 301 .

44 mama msrmc'r m ust ,

CH APTER I II .

FRE N CH PE RIOD.

H itherto we have seen the representatives of the diflerent E uropean nations appear ing as traders on the coast, under shelter of th epatronage of some local potentate or influential courtier . The scene

now changes and the E uropeans play a holder part, exercising a voicein the pol itical changes of the Deccan .

The first who rose super ior to the caution of the coun ting houseand took a statesmanlike view of the possibil ity of building a E uropean Empire upon the crumbl ing monarchy of the Moguls, were theFrench ofli cials at Pondicherry and pro- eminent among them stands

forth M . Dupleix . This marvel lous man was a simple merchant,who in 1 741 had ri sen to be Governor of Pondi cherry . A fte r thedeparture of M . LaBourdonnais in 1 747, M .Dupleix had uncontrol ledscope toprosecute his ambi tious schemes and in 1 750 we find M asu

l ipatam involved in his warl ike designs .

U pon the death of the old N izam - ul - M f i lk in June 1 748hi s secondson , N asir Jang, succeeded as Subahdar of the Deccan . The Frenchsupported the cause of M uzafiar Jang, a grandson of the old N iz i m,

and in 1 750 N asir Jang marched south toA rcot and took M uzaf f ar

Jang prisoner . This repul se di d not quell the indomitable spiritof the French Governor, who con tinued to resist N ésir Jang, andthe Subahd i r thought topun ish the French by sending orders toarrest al l the cfi cers at the Factory at M asulipatam and to seize

their goods .

M . Dupleix had for some time kept in view this seaport and hadindeed obtained from M uzafiar Jang a grant of the place and its

environs. It is probable, therefore, that some communications hadalready passed between him and the Muhammadan Governor, forN asir Jung

’s orders were carried out w ith al l possible tenderness.

The Governor arrested and put in prison M . Coquet, chi ef of theFactory, M . L a Sel le, second in command, the broker, the merchantsand the pr incipal servants, and taking possession of the building hesealed up everything in presence of the broker, but nothing was

plundered and nothing was damaged. The news of this insul t tothe

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46 KISTNA msrmor m un ,

eventfu l day, released from a dungeon and placed upon the throne ofthe Deccan, hai led the French as hi s deliverers and heaped rewards

upon them . H e confirmed h is former grant of M asul ipatam and th e

island of Divi , issued orders that coin struck at Pondicherry shou l dpass current throughout his dom in ions and directed that the tri buteof the A rcot provinces should be paid at Pondicherry and be brough tby sea to M asul ipatam ,

a port which he intended tomake the dep6tof al l his foreign commerce . H e made M . Dupleix Governor of a l lthe country south of the Kistna ‘

and requested that he himsel f

might be furn i shed wi th a body-

guard of French troops toaccompanyhim on h is journey totake possession of his capital , in order that al lH indostan might know that to the French he owed his elevation and

gave his confidence. Tothis request M . Dupleix appeared unwi l l ingtoaccede because of the di stance, but the Subahdar pre f erred libera lterms of recompense for this aux il iary force and M . Dupleix consen tedtogive him three hundred E uropean s wi th ten field - pieces and two

thousand sepoys . M . de Bussi , an officer who had distingui shedhimself by the capture of the fortress of Gingi and as second incommand at the battle of December 1 5th , volun teered for the command of this contingen t and was joined by M . de Kerjean , nephewof M . Dupleix, and by eight other ofli cers . On the 1 5th of January1 75 1 M uzaflar Jang marched from his camp near Pondicherry and

f or the next three weeks M . de Bussi had nothing toreport to M .

Dupleix but that the country people thronged to acknow ledge thenew Subahdér whotreated the French oflicers as his dearest friends .

But when passing through the Cuddapah district a revolt broke outamong the disaflected M uhammadan nobles and M uzafiar Jang, at

tempting toassert h is authority, lost his l ife . M . de Bussi was equalto the emergency so unexpectedly confronting him . H e assembledthe M uhammadan off icers and persuaded them to acknowledge as

Subahdar Salabat Jang, another son of the old N izhm, whowas in

camp . This was reported toM . Duple ix whoapproved of h is Lieutenant’s action , and the new Subahdar proceeded on h is way toGolconda which city was entered in triumph on A pril 1 3th . Salébat

Jang was as favourably in cl ined tothe French as had been his predecessor M uzaf f ar Jang and M . de Bussi took advantage of theproxim ity of M asul ipatam to reinf orce hi s detachment wi th men,stores and ammunition from that port sufficient f or prolonged

1 Depuis la rivxere deQuichena jusqu’au cap de Comorin.

” Lettres Ed . at Cur. ii .’

runner! r naron. 47

camPaignsA H e was not long w ithout an opportun ity of showingSalabat Jang that this smal l French force was .capable of renderingvaluable service. H ardly was the n ew Subahdar in stal led on hi sthrone before he found himself engaged in hosti l ities w ith theM ahrattea and the ski l f ully served French artil lery aston ished both friendand foe . Finding him self firm in his new position , M . de Bussi toh i sF rench battal ion added a body of five thousand sepoys who were

dril led byFrench officers and were paid by himself and kept under hisorders . H e endeavoured topersuade the Subahdar that the Frenchauxi l iaries were the sole safeguard against foreign foe or domes

tic disturbance and , at the same time that he thus tried to

enhance h is value in the estimation of Sal i bat Jang,M . de Bussi

was careful tomake arrangements toavert any popular di sl ike totheFrench con tingen t by always station ing them in a separate and

selected quarter of each town and by obtain ing assignments of therevenues of certain districts f or their pay, which was thus paid w ith

pun ctual ity . A s f or himself he held h is head h igh and took precedence of every noble and courtier , yielding submission to the

Subahdar alone . Salabat Jang was so sensible of the serv ices

ren dered by the French that he rewarded them in N ovember1 75 2 by a grant of the prov ince of Kondav idu, which ad joined theterritory of M asul ipatam . The French were now in possessionof the coast on ei ther side of the Kistna r iver, w ith the threesea ports of M asul ipatam ,

N i zampatam and M étupalle, but thisacqui sition fel l f ar short of the ambi tious desires of M . Dupleix and

so, wi th a view tocreate a favourable oppor tunity toask sti l l largerrewards from the Subahd i r, M . de Bussi adv ised h im toconclude a

peace w ith the M ahratta prince, Ragop Bhonslai, giv ing up certaind isputed terr itory to the westward, and this was done in January1 753 .

A ri se sorapid and a position so prom inen t in an oriental Courtcoul d not fai l toarouse b itter opposi tion and at this juncture, whenthe French appeared tobe on the point of secur ing and extendingtheir influence in the councils of the Nizam ,

there was a suddenchange . Th e territory which had been rel inquished tothe M ahrat

By th e terms of th e agreement with M . Dupleix th e Subahdar was bound topay for

the French contingen t, but Salabat Jang’s l iberal i ty wen t f ar beyond th is . To M . de Buss i

he gave a gratuity of and even an E nsign rece ived R s. The pay of the

French was fixed at the fol lowing rates , thei r baggage bei ng carr i ed at the Subah dar’s

expense : Cap tain Rs. per mensem ; L ieutenan t R s . 500 ; E ns ign R s . Serjeant

Rs. 90 ; Private R s . 60. The maintenance of th e French force was a charge of R s .

01 : flu Suhahd i r's revenues .

48 KISTN A ms'rmc'r marten ,

tas included districts which had furni shed pen sions and emp loyments to several of Sal i hat Jaug

’s officers and their anger at th is

curtailmen t of their incomes was great . On ly a f ew days af te r th econclusion of the peace, M . de Bussi fel l dangerously i l l . H e recover

ed,but w i th frame ‘

so enfeebled that the physicians declared com

p lete rest and cessation of al l business tobe absolutely necessary .

Th is he could not have in camp or at Court, and sotowards the closeof January he handed over the command to another ofli cer and

journeyed toMasul ipatam . he officer whowas thus left in command

of the French auxil iar ies had neither experience nor capacity sufli cien ttopenetrate and coun teract the in trig ues of the hosti le nobles . A t

the head of this faction was the Divan ,Saiyid Laskar Kh

an , who

made use of al l the resources h is position af f orded h im towean

the Subahd i r from the confidence he reposed in the French contin

gent . The Di vi u’s first step was to withhold their pay on the

pretext that the revenues of the assigned districts had not come in .

A fter the departure of M . de Bussi the discipline of the troops wasrelaxed and now , being wi thout pay , they comm itted disorders inthe city and the gate of the Subahd i r

’s palace was besieged each

day by a crowd of townsfolk clamouring f or redress . The Frenchoflicers com plained to the D ivi n whoassured them that the on lvcourse that lay open toh im was to despatch the foreign tr0 0 ps tocol lect the revenues that were be ing w ithheld in the assigned d istr icts . The Subahdar was w i l ling tolet them goas an easy meansof quieting the clamour in the city and thus the French forces werescattered here and there over the coun try . The Divan then per

suaded Bala’

tbat Jang that his presence was required at A urangabad

and thither the Court moved , be ing accompan ied only by a slenderdetachment of French and sepoys . M eanwhi le the position of theFrench grew worse day by day . A l l the M uhammadan officials

,

from the Governor of Golconda downwards, had taken thei r cuefrom the Divan and vexed and troubled the French detachmentsin every way short of actual hosti l ities . N ews of this state of af f airswas not long in reaching Pondicherry, whence M . Dupleix sen t themost peremptory orders toM . de Bussi toreturn toh is post and torepair the m ischief caused by h is absence . Thus admon ished , M .

deBussi sent instructions tothe detachments tomeet him at H aidarabad and leaving M asu l i patam at the end of June arr ived at that city

on July 2 3rd finding there assembled five hundred French and fourthousand sepoys . H is presence was indeed required. The French

ofli cers had been contributing their own money to appease their

reason rumor) . 49

s tarv ing troops, who were on the verge of mutiny,but thi s was

w holly insufi cient and the men were wi th difli culty restrained f romopen tumul t and v iolence in the city . The personal influence ofM . de Bussi was such that the Governor con sented toadvance a

portion of the arrears which the Divi n had w ithheld and the nativebankers in the city advanced some more, but this was provisionon ly for the pressing necessities of the momen t and the outlook forth e future was gloomy enough, f or at this very time the Divan wasw ithholding the pay and rations of the detachmen t that hadmarched to A urangabad , and i f this was done at Court what hopewas there that the French cou ld hold thei r own in the provinces .

U nder these ci rcumstances M . de Bussi resolved to stake al l h is

f ortunes upon one throw and , finding the necessary funds from h is

own purse, set out in the beginn ing of October w ith h is l ittle armyf or A urangabad .

The unexpected advance of the French mercenaries caused much

perturbation among the courtiers . Th e Divan meditated flight tothe impregnable fortress of Daulatabad, but f irst made tr ial ofdiplomacy and sent toM . de Bussi of f ering toresign the seals of his

off ice and todel iver them toany person M . de Bussi m ight appoin t .

The French General was not unwi ll ing to accept this overture of

peace and halted h is army f or some days unti l the ceremon ial of

the meeting between him sel f and the Divan should be arranged .

The in tervi ew took place on N ovember 2 3rd when the Subahdarw i th al l h is Court met the French force about eight m i les fromA urangabad, the ceremon ial being soarranged that M . deBuss i took

pmcedence of the Divi n and paid homage to the Subahdar . The

result of the negotiations was that Sal i hat Jang granted, f or themain tenance of the French force, the four provinces of Kondapal le ,E l lore, Rajahmundry and Chicacole . M . de Bussi at once obtainedth e patents for these grants and despatched them toM . Moracin ,

the

French Governor at M asul ipatam ,w ith instructions totake possession .

These four prov inces, added toKondav idu and M asul ipatam , gave

the French six hundred m i les of sea coast and a territory larger

than any as yet possessed in India by a E uropean power, a terri tory

perhaps larger than the mean s at the disposal of M . Dupleix warrant

ed him in taking, f or when M . Moracin , the Governor of M asul ipatam ,

demanded the provinces of Chicacole and Rajahmundry from Jafar

A li Khan ,the M uhammadan

.

Governor , that officer altogether

refused to give them up and was supported in h is refusal by the

50 KISTN A nrsrmcr MAN UAL ,

English at the Vizagapatam Factory and by the Reja ofVim’

anagrsm ,

the most powerful H indu noble in that part of the country .

M . Moracin seems to have had noforce sufficient toovercome Jaf ar

A li Khén, sohad recourse to negotiation. The E nglish were power

less to help or to hurt, for their troops were requi red in the sout h

by the M adras Governmen t. M . Moracin therefore of f ered to th eRi ja of Vizianagram the twoprovinces on a very favourable ren t

and the Raja accepted the of f er and took possession . The baf f led

Jafar A li Khan cou ld not look to the Divan for assistance because

at this time M . de Bussi’s troops were once more fighting SalabatJang

’s battles against the M ahrattas, so

, marvel lous to re late , heapplied for succour to these very M ahrattas and wi th a body oftheir cavalry ravaged the twoprovinces and defeated the Réja, whoretreated to M asulipatam f or help . M . Moracin gave him whattroops he could spare

,1 50 French and sepoys, and wi th this

reinforcement the Raja checked the M ahratta marauders, whoforded

the Godavar i and passed by E l lore and by the hil ls in the north ofthe Kondav idu province out of French terri tory back to thei rown coun try, the French being glad tosee them goand making no

efiort to stop them in any of the passes or fords on their route .

A l l armed opposition tothe French occupation being now at an end

M . de Bussi came from H aidarabad to Masul ipatam in Ju ly 1 754

and remained in the new ly acquired prov inces until December settl ingthe detai ls of their adm in istration ‘

.

In the meantime the French Governmen t had sent out tosupersede

M . Dupleix in the control of Indi an af f airs M . Godeheu, wholanded

at Pondicherry on A ugust 2 nd, 1 754. A treaty was soon afterwards

agreed upon with the E ngl ish, under which the French were tohave another settlement between N izampatam and the Gund lakamma

river and a partition was tobe made between the twonations of the

island of Divi and of adjoin ing territory of equal value, but thistreaty appears to have been treated as waste paper by both parties.The E ngl ish were satisfied as they were rid of the restless ambition’

x M . deBussi made a caref ul survey of these p rov inces heretofore under a very lax

system of col lection of the land revenue by H indu renters.

i When we consi der that h e formed thi s p lan of conquest and dom in ion at a time

“ when all other E urOpeans entertained the h ighes t op in ion of the strength of the Mogul

Government, suf f ering tamely the in solence of i ts meanest oflicers , rather than venture

to make resistance again st a power which they chimerical ly imagined to be ableof

overwhelm ing them in an instant, we cannotref rain f rom acknow ledging and admiring

the u gacity of his gen ius whi ch first d iscovered and desp ised th is il lusion .

"Orme I , 878.

“ Il est m i qua nous am an puissant protecteur dans la personne de M . Dupleix ;

marten PE RIOD. 51

of M . Dupleix, whoset sai l for France in September, and as M .

Godeheu confirmed M . de Bussi in h is command at M asul ipatamand permi tted him to return in January 1 755 to the Subahdar’sCour t there appears tohave been but l ittle change made by this treatyin the afiairs of the Kistna Di strict .

I n 1 755 and 1 756 M . deBussi was engaged in campaigns in M aisur

and Savanore and it was at the close of the latter campaign that thecabal of M uhammadan courtiers gained somuch influence that theyprevail ed upon the Subahdar to dism iss from his service the wholeFrench force . M . de Bussi , seeing no prospect of a successfulresistance to thi s intrigue again st h im ,

accepted his di sm issal andmarched f or M asul ipatam w ith his men , but sent urgen t messagesto Pondi cherry asking that al l the troops that could be sparedm ight be despatched tohi s assi stance . H e got safely across the

Kis tna, but being fol lowed by Jafar A l i Khan , late Governor ofRajahmundry, with men , was brought tobay and obl iged tohal t on June 1 4th and defend himself at H aidarabad

,whereupon

Salc'

ibat Jang, summoning al l h is feudator ies to the confli ct, advancedto crush him . The E ngl ish Government at Fort St . George hadlong looked upon th e presence of M . de Bussi at the court of the

Subahdar as an immin ent danger to their influence in India and

when the news arrived of thi s breach between Salabat Jang and

the French, they were prepared tosend a force tothe assistance ofthe Subahdar

,but intel ligence was received of the taking of

Calcutta by Suraja Daul a and every E ngl ish soldier avai lable wasrequired for service in Bengal . On the other hand the F renchGovernor at Pondi cherry was not disposed to risk much in upholdingM . de Bussi’s position near the Subahdar . I n France opinion ,

perhaps dexterously influenced by the English Company, was againstthese extensive schemes of empire . M . La Bourdonnais had diedin the Bas ti l le and M . Duple ix had been recalled, and although the

present Governor , M Godeheu, had not ventured totake the decisive

step of recal ling M . de Bussi , he was disposed toregard him with

di sfavour as the right- hand man of M . Dupleix. It thus happenedthat notroops were embarked from Pondicherry in accordance wi thM . de Bussi

’s first messages, and it was not unti l the Governor heard

that a stand had been made at H aidarabad, and that hi s countrymen

m ic is doute si cette protection cars do longue durée et s’il no son pas lui -meme

hientot n ppelé dans sa patrie . I l est trop accredi ts dans l’Inde pour que les Anglois

n'en soien t point jaloux, et dés lors je suis sur qu

’i ls chercheront tous les moyens

possibles dc prévenir la Francomeme centre luv- Lath es E d. at Cur. I I , 761 .

52 KI STN A msrmc'r MAN UAL,

were there fighting again st overwhelming odds, that on July 1 5tha tardy succour of 500 E uropean s w ith a train of field arti llery weredespatched for M asul ipatam on board the Favor ite. In the mean

time M . Moracia at M asul ipatam had done hi s utmost to help h isol d comrade in arms by col lecting 1 00 E uropeans with 700 sepoy s

and five field - pieces, which l ittle force be sen t of f under comman dof M . L aw , an officer who during the previous eight years had seen

much serv ice in the Carnatic . This detachment advanced as f aras Bezvada, where heavy rains and the flooded state of the river

prevented thei r fur ther progress , and soon A ugust 3rd they werethere overtaken by the troops that had arrived f rom Pondi cherryin the Favor i te and the whole force, now 480 E uropeans, sepoysand 1 1 fiel d - pieces proceeded on their way and arrived on the l 0thw ithin forty - five mi les of H aidarabad . The force under M . de Bussiwas on ly 800 E uropean s an d sepoys and Salébat Jang

’s army

was soenormous that he was able to detach horse and

to meet M . L aw’s reinforcement . By a wondrous combination of

diplomacy and m i litary skil l M . de Bussi contrived to enable ML aw to join h im and then , saying that he di d not fear the wholearmy of the Subahdar , he resumed his former position as the chiefcounci l lor of the N izam . H ad he been able to remain at the

Subahdar’s Court al l m ight have gone well once more, but it was

necessary f or h im to proceed to the Chicacole province, wheredisorders had arisen on the n ews of h is breach wi th Salhbat Jang,and so, leav ing 1 00 E uropeans and sepoys toaccompany theSubahdar to A urangabad , M . de Bussi w i th 500 E uropeans and

sepoys returned toBezvai da, where he arrived at the beginningof December and thence toRajahmundry on December 1 9th , 1 756 .

The year 1 757 was spent by M . de Bussi in reducing the northernprovinces , the one event that requires tobe men tioned here beingthat, after the tragic massacre of the Bobbi l i garri son, the Raja ofVizianagram , Vi ziaramaraz, a staunch friend of M . de Bussi , wasassassinated and his estates passed to A nandaraz , whowas morefriendly tothe E ngl ish .

The M asul ipatam garr ison had furn ished all the men that couldbe spared toassist M . de Bussi in the north, for al l was quiet in theKistna District .

There was indeed so little stirring that twenty Frenchmen weresent as f ar south as N ellore to dril l the troops of N ajibul lah, thebrother of the N avab of A rcot, whowas not well af f ected towards

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54 KISTN A msrmcr m un ,

A urangabad he found that N izzim A li had assumed the command ofSalabat Jang

’s army also, so there were four hostile armies, each

of which out- numbered the French force . M . de Bussi visited theSubahdi r with all ceremony and spent the months of M arch and

A pril in the endeavour to persuade the two brothers to yiel d himal legiance, but the task seemed tobe beyond his pow ers . Diplomacyhaving failed, M de Bussi resolved on a show of force and suddenlytook possession of the famous fortress of Daulatabad, saying thathe held it as a refuge for Salcibat Jang. Thi s blow disconcertedthe malcontents . The M ahrattas retired. N iz i m A l i fled north to

Bfirhampinr and Bassis t Jang eff ected a reconciliation with SalébatJang and with the French, af ter which the Subahdar

’s whole army

moved south towards Golconda.

For the thi rd time M . de Bussi had triumphed over a combination

of adverse circumstances, whi ch would have crushed any ordinaryman , and he was now at the summ it of h is power. The N orthernCircars were completely under h is sway, and not an E ngl ishmanremained in these provinces . N el lore, on ly a hundred m i les fromM adras

,was held by N aj ibullah w ith the assistance of French

troops . The Subahdzi r, Salabat Jang, owed everything toM . de Bussiand was now return ing tohi s capital , more as a State prisoner inthe hands ‘

of the French than as a sovereign . If a comparison bemade between what had been done up tothis point by the Frenchunder M . de Bussi and the E ngli sh under Cl ive, it must be acknowledged that the French officer did more with less means . This

success, the frui t of seven years’u.nparal leled labour, was now to be

thrown away . In M ay 1 758 there had arrived at Pondicherry, asGovernor - General of the F rench possessions in India, Lieutenant

General le Comte de Lal ly,a man of very di f f eren t temper from

that of M . Godeheu, and one idea fixed in the m ind of the new

Governor was that M . de Bussi had exaggerated the necessity for hispresence with Salabat Jang, because of the high pay and gratuitiesw ith which that prince rewa rded the services of the French con

tingent . M arvellous as the feats performed by M . de Bussi had been,they appear to have been not duly appreciated at Versai lles . H is

rank was as yet only that of L ieutenant- Colonel , and among theoff icers now at Pondicherry were, in addition to the Governor, aM ajor- General and six Colone ls, any one of whom would in the

ordi nary cour se be entitled to take the command from this oflicer,whose name was known throughout the length and breadth of

India. A t this period in the French service influence at Court

r in s es Psalm) . 55

counted for much more than distinguished service in the field,and

soprobably M . de Bussi was not surprised when on June 1 1 th, as

the army on its southward march to Golconda was crossing the

Godavari , he met the M arquis de Gonflans, whopresented h is com

mission as second in command and inf ormed M . de Bussi that hewoul d shortly be recal led.

The army continued its march toH aidarabad where,on July 1 5th

,

M . de Bussi received a letter wr itten by M . de Lally on June 1 3 th,

recal ling himself and M . Moraqin , and ordering them to bring to

Pondich erry wi thout delay all the tr0 0ps that could be spared fromth e defence of Masul ipatam and the northern provinces . The

orders were peremptory and , in spite of the protestations of SalabatJang, the whole French army left H aidarabad three days afterwardsand marched toRévuru on the left bank of the Kistna

, where theywere met on A ugust 3 rd by M . Moracin . H ere M . de Bussi handedover to the M arquis de Conflans the government of the northern

prov in ces, and taking w ith him 2 50 E uropeans and 500 sepoys, setout w ith M . Moracin , by way of Ongole and N el lore, for the south .

The districts thus handed over tothe M arquis de Con f lans werenot destined to remain long in peace . A lready the Ramof Vizianagram had taken the opportunity of the absence of M . de Bussi todr ive out the French garr ison from Vizagapatam and was in com

munication w ith Calcutta, urging that a force m ight be sent totake

possession of that coast f or the E ngl ish . The departure of M .

de Bussi for the south w ith a portion of h is army suggested to

Colonel Cl ive at Calcutta that the French were concentrating theirf orces f or a supreme ef fort in the Carnatic and

,judging that the

moment was favourable to create a diversion in the N orthern

Circars and recal l the French tothat coast,he despatched from the

H ugl i at the end of September an expedition consisting of 500E uropeans and sepoys w ith s ix fiel d - pieces and six 2 4 - pound

era f or battery, under command of Colone l Forde, whohad beenrepulsed at N e l lore in the prev ious year .

The expedi tion landed at Vizagapatam on October 2 0th, and a

fortn ight later moved south towards Rajahmundry,and being joined

by the R i ja’s army encountered and defeated the French on December 9th , occupying Rajahmundry on the fol low ing day . This v ic

tory,however, was barren of resu lts . By this time the French

army un der Lal ly was besieging Fort St. George and the Raja of

Vizianagram ,regretting that he had espoused the E nglish cause

,

56 KISTN A msrarc'r MAN UA L ,

assisted Colonel Forde w ith neither men nor money, sothat it wasnot unti l January 2 8th that he could move south, having wastedfifty days in negotiations wi th the R i ja . This fifty days had beenuti l ized by M . de Conflans . E very preparation was made todefendM asu lipatam , a corps of observation consi sting of 2 00 E uropeans ,

sepoys and four field - pieces remained in the neighbourhoodof E llore, and Salabat Jang, w ith h is brother Basslat Jang, wasadvancing from H aidarabad w ith men . A glance at the

map w i l l show to what danger was now exposed Colonel Forde,

whohad occupied E llore on February 6th . The garrison of M asu li

patam exceeded h is force , the corps of observation equal led it, andan overwhelmingnative army was advancing from inland

,whi le h is

only support were the undiscipl ined levies of the reluctant Raja ofVizianagram , who pl undered the surrounding country in spite ofal l remon strances of the Br it ish Colonel . A sh -Wednesday, February 2 8th , saw h im still at E l lore , and on the fol low ing day, perhapswi th the courage of despair , he set out across the dry bed of the

Koleru lake towards M asul ipatam .

A fter crossing the Koleru lake the E ngl ish army encamped onM arch 3 rd at Kanukallu ,

near which was a smal l fort held by a

French Sergeant w ith 1 3 men and two compan ies of sepoys“

.l

Captain M acleane was detached w ith six compan ies of sepoys totake this small fort , but the def ence made augured i l l f or theprospects of any attack on the main fortress at Masul ipatam .

The Sergeant had received word f rom M . de Rocher , Comman tof the corps of ob servation ,

that he was com ing toh is assistanceand so manned the wal ls and held the fort w ith the utmostbravery . The assai lan ts were not prov ided w ith any cannon

,but

tw ice made a rush to the gate of the fort and tr ied tobreak itopen w ith crowbars and twice we re dr iven back w ith heavy lossby the fire from the walls . A fter the second repul se CaptainM acleane sent back tocamp for two gun s . These came up in the

even ing and the gate was blown open ,whereupon hi s sepoys entered

and put to death al l the sepoys they met but not the fourteenFrenchmen , f or they pruden tly h id themselves ti l l order was restored,and then sur rendered . A f ew hours a f ter th is the vanguard of thecorps of observation came in sight, and Captain M acleane movedout tomeet them, but M . de Rocher held back . H e was too late

tosave th i s post,and he found that the E ngl ish movement was not

I The fort is some distance f rom the v i l lage .

ru nes rrmon. 57

an itiou to capture a small fort, but an advance of the wholef or ce towards M asulipatam . It was no part of the French policyto al low the E nglish to attack the French arm ies separately, sohe

h e ld back and al lowed the E ngli sh to'

proceed deeper in to the toils,w h i le he marched round to their rear and closed their l ine of communications and retreat

Thus surrounded, the E ngl ish came in sight of Masul ipatam on

M arch 6th . M . de Conflans had encamped in the town because thereis nofresh water in the fort

,and on approach of the E ngl ish he

retimd along the causeway over the tidal swamp to the fort,making noattempt toblock the road by an entrenchment across thecau seway or by any other means . H is garr i son consisted of 500E uropeans and sepoys without the corps of observation whichhe could easily have recal led . The E ngl ish force con sisted of l ittlemore than 300 E uropeans and sepoys w ith which troopsColonel Forde advanced along the causeway and encamped onth e sand b il ls to the north - east of the fort, the R i ja

’s levies remain

ing in the town . The E ngl ish ship H ardwi cke,w ith twosloops, was

in the roads, and now Colonel Forde heard f or the first time that theFrench army under Lal ly had raised the siege of Fort St . George

th ree weeks before, and that therefore reinforcements f or

M . de Conflansmight any day be expected by sea from Pondicherry .

N ever was an E ngl ish Commander in more desperate circumstancesthan those which confronted Colonel Forde, encamped under a M archsun on the sand hil ls at the edge of this dismal swamp before thewal ls of M asulipatam fort . Wal ls which presented an obstaclemost dishearten ing to the weary troops, for the French , dur ing the irnine years of occupation , had modern ized the defences, and the for t,though open upon the south side which lay along a creek or in let

of the sea, yet on the w est, north and east sides showed eleven

strong bastions connected by mud wal l s, faced w i th brick as high

as the parapet, and in front of the wall was a pal isaded berm w i th a

w et di tch . The gateway where the causeway from the town entered

the fort was especially strong.

‘ A force ten times as numerous as

that'

at Colonel Forde’s disposal would have been insu fficient to

l The bastion next the N . W. f ronted the causeway l ead ing tothe pettah : in th is

bastion was the gateway, and 1 2 0 yard s of the causeway was converted into a

Major Cal l , whoreported on the p lace in 1 765 , does not describe the fortifications tobe

a formidabl e as they appear in Orme's h istory.

58 KISTN A nrs'rswr MAN UAL ,

reduce the place, but, nothi ng daunted, he at once set towork to

erect three batteri es on the sand hil ls although the work had to be

carried on under a constan t fire from the fort walls .

Of these three batteries one was placed in a fishing vi llage at th e

angle formed by the inlet of the sea and by a large creek which

comes southwards from the swamp . Four hundred yards north of

thi s battery and on the edge of the same creek was another , and th ethird battery was equidistant from both, about a hundred yards to

the rear . The battery tothe north and that tothe south had each

two eighteen and two twenty - four - pounders, but the southern

battery had also three mortars of thirteen , n ine and eight inches .

The battery in the centre had only two twelve- pounders . Wi ththese thirteen pieces Colonel Forde proposed toopen fire upon thefour bastions of the eastern face of the fort, which bastions together

mounted thirty- one guns To bring intosti l l stronger rel ief thedisparity between the mater ial at disposal of besiegers and of

besieged it must be remembered that the French had other guns in

store mounted ready toreplace any that m ight be disabled, whilethe E nglish had nothing in reserve except the common nine - pounderson board the H ardwicke or the Raja’s guns which were useless .

The French looked upon these preparations for a siege of theirfort in utter aston ishment. They had received advices of speedyreinforcements by sea from Pondicherry and the retreat of theE nglish was blocked by the corps of observation , soM . de Conflans

awaited the arrival ei ther of Salai bat Jaug’s army or of the Pondi

cherry reinforcements toenable him tocrush the E ngl ish force thathad sorashly courted destruction . In the meantime the garrisonmade nosorties, which would have involved an unnecessary waste ofl ife, but a constant fire was main tained from the eastern bastions, astrong guard was stationed in the ravel in outside the great gate,where the causeway entered the fort, and a battery was erected onthe south or opposite side of the in let, which comp letely flanked al lthe three E nglish batter ies . A s thi s battery was separated by theinlet from the fort, and m ight possibly be attacked at n ight by theboats of the ships, a strong guard of E uropean s and sepoys ‘

was

placed in it . H av ing thus provided f or his defence according torule

,M . de Conflans quietly awaited the even t .

The desperate situation of the E nglish was indeed evident toalland the Raja, terr ified lest the French corps of observation shouldmarch north and ravage Vizianagram, spoke of returning and

reason PERIOD. 59

re f used to advance another rupee to Colonel Forde . The mi litarych est was exhausted . The prize money itself had been appropriatedf or the expen ses of the force . This last gr ievance proved toomuchf or the E ngl ish soldi ers, whoon M arch 1 9th turned out under arms

an d declared their in ten ti on of marching away. With much di fficul ty the harassed commander prevai led upon them toreturn to theirte n ts and to depute one or two of their number to

'

state their

gr ievances , and final ly induced them toreturn to duty by promisingto intercede wi th Government that al l that might be taken in thef ort should be given up as prize money. E ight days after thismu tiny news arrived that Sal i hat Jang was at Bezvada and that thecorps of observation had taken Ra jahmundry , whereupon the Rai jaset ofi and marched sixteen miles before daybreak . Colonel Fordesen t messages after h im asking h im i f he expected to escape SalébatJang

’s cavalry or the French corps of observation and representing

that his only chance of safety lay in remaining with the E nglish .

Th e Rtja acknowledged the truth of this and returned to M asul ipataman d Colonel Forde, to leave nochance untried, wrote to

"SalabatJang assur ing h im that the E ngli sh were warr ing on ly against theF rench factories on the coast and had nodesigns on the Subahdar’sterritory . To support these overtures M r . Johnstone, a Bengalcivil ian , was sent to Salt-bat Jang

’s camp on A pri l l st.

Four days later , on A pril 5th , there was a severe gale of wind w ithvery heavy rain , which flooded the swamp and made the E ngl ishcamp stil l more wretched . The rain ceased next day, but news

came that Salébat Jang was advancing from Bezvada and that theFrench corps of observation was about tojoin h im . I n the even ing

the artil lery ofli cers reported that there was only two days’serviceof ammun ition left in the batter ies . Retreat was impossible . The

only course left open was toabandon gun s and stores and to embark

the men on board the H ardwicke in the roads, but before doing thisColonel Forde resolved to make a desperate attempt to storm the

fort and ordered the attack to be made on the following n ight,A pri l 7th .

Thirty men were landed from the H ardwicke and thi s made up

the number of E uropeans to346, in cluding the arti l lery men . The

sepoys numbered The fire of the three batteries had been

directed again st the four bastions on the east f ace of the fort and

had m ined them al l sufficiently to enable a storm ing party to moun t,but as al l four bastions had thus been breached the garrison donot

60 xterm ms'rmc'r m ums,

seem tohave expected an attack at any one breach and apparent lymade noattempt to counter - work the breaches or tomake any new

defences . The heavy rain that had fal len twodays previously hadmade the mud more impassable than before and made any advanceof the besiegers sti l l more improbable .

The eleven bastions were di stinguished by the fol lowing names ,commencing w ith the bastion on the inlet at the south- east corne rof the fort : the French, the Dutch, St. John

’s, the Cameleon , th e

small gate, the Church yard, the great gate, the Pettah, theE ngadour, the Sal ine, and St. M ichael’s . The attack was to bedi rected against the Cameleon or fourth bastion , as opposite itthe sand was firmer f or the march of the storming party, whichwas toconsist of twodivision s of 1 70 E uropeans each and a reserve

of 700 sepoys . E very man was to take part in the assaul t and

the camp was to be guarded by some troops borrowed from the

Réja. The command of the first divi sion leading the attack was

given toCaptain Cal lender . Todistract the atten tion of the garrisonand prevent an undue reinforcemen t of the guard at the Cameleonbastion ,

Colonel Forde arranged for two simul taneous false attacks.

The R it ja’s troops were toadvance along the causeway and on each

side of,i t and to attack the ravel in in front of the great gateway.

The other false attack was tobe made by Captain Knox with 700sepoys near the last or St. M ichael’s bastion . The E ngl ish ofi cersfrom thei r camp had seen that the twobastions on the inlet, theFrench and St. M ichael’s, were in barbette, that is tosay, there werenoembrasures and the wall s were low enough f or can on to fire over .

Between the St. M ichael’s bastion and the Saline the wet ditch wasnot continued, because at that point there was a muddy quagmirebefore the walls , which was considered to be a greater obstacle thanwater . But a f ew days before this, Captain Yorke had been told byh is native servan t, whoknew M asul ipatam, that cool ies employed in

the fort had sometimes waded across this muddy swama Captain

Yorke had mentioned thi s in tel ligence to the .Colonel , whoal lowed

h im togowith Captain Knox at n ight to examine this approach .

They put on dark clothes and , taking with them a hundred sepoyswhowere stationed in smal l parties behind them to cover theirretreat, they managed to goas f ar as this quagmire without beingnoticed by the garrison and found that the mud, though very tena

cious, was not more than knee~ deep . A t this poin t, therefore, on the

south - west corner of the fort, Captain Knox was tomake a f alse

attack with 700 sepoys.

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62 KISTN A nrs'rsrcr MA N UA L ,

the ravel in upon the causeway wi th a terrific din and clamour, whicheff ectual ly served its purpose of diverting the attention of th e

garrison . Th e M arquis de Conflans had remained at his house i nthe south of the fort near the in let . The arsenal was there, an dit was there that messengers knew where tofind him , so there h eremained, w ith the ~Grenadier company and other troops, receivingreports and i ssuing orders . When the sound of firing at th e

Cameleon bastion announced a third attack, M . de Conflans sent ofia reinforcement of sepoys tothat point . These appeared toCaptainYorke marching up in the space between the rampart and th e

bui ldings w ithi n the fort, at the moment when hi s di vision was

facing south ready tomove on the St. John’s bastion , and the l ittl e

gun which the artil lery men had turned commanded them . CaptainYorke immediately cal led on the French officer at the head of thesepoys tosurrender, and these sepoys laying down their arms were

taken up intothe Cameleon bastion as pr isoners . This route below

and w ithin the rampar ts seemed to Captain Yorke tobe preferableto the narrow rampart, and soh is div ision came down from the

Cameleon bastion and advanced by this way, leaving only a f ew

guards over the prisoners and some gunners towork the gun . I n

the St. John’s bastion were some twen ty Frenchmen and more

sepoys who were sheltering in the angles from the enfil ade of thesmal l gun , and as soon as Captain Yorke’s div ision appeared undertheir bastion they fired down upon them, kil l ing several and

wounding more, but immediately afterwards surrendered and,

giving up their arms, were marched tothe Cameleon bastion where,by this time,were sepoys enough tohold the Cam eleon and St . John’sbastion al so. Captain Yorke

’s div ision then marched on towards the

Dutch bastion, and here again the guard fired down upon them and

then surrendered . The three bastions , the Cameleon, St. John’s

and the Dutch, were now held by the reserve sepoys and by somemen of Captain Yorke’s division and the remain ing men of the

divi sion were again formed up tomove southwards upon the Frenchbastion which appeared about twohundred yards before them, dark

with an ominous silence . The men whohad, with success so un

expected, obtained possession of the St . John’s and the Dutchbastion shrank back from proceeding any further, for not only wasthe French bastion before them but the street by which they hadadvanced now w idened out intothe open ground near the arsenal

and M . de Conflans’head- quarters, and, here they m ight expect tomeet opposition in force . With threats and exhortations Captain

sem en rss ron. 63

Yorke persuaded them to advance a f ew paces beyond the Du tchbastion . There was a smal l br ick bui lding close to the rampart

,

which was used by the garrison as a magazine . Some one noticedthis and cri ed out “ A m ine and sudden ly the whole d ivisionturned and ran back al l the way to the Cameleon , their officersfol lowing cal ling on them tostand , and Captain Yorke found himselfstanding alone with only twonative drummer boys , whokept on

heating the Grenadi ers’march . For some time he stood there

,but

the drums recal led no one out of the darkness toh is side,so he

went back to the Cameleon and found hi s men there a disorder lymob, some even proposing to go down the breach and out of the

fort. The moment was past f or expostulation , Captain Yorkesprang up on tothe breach and said that he wou ld kil l the first man

whocame near . Thisgave the soldiers time torecover from their pan ic .

Among them were some veteran s who had served under Yorke inAl dercron

’s regimen t,

*and these cried “Sham e!

”and volunteered to

follow h im again . They stepped forward to the number of thirtysix, and w i th these he marched of f , leaving the rest tofol low as soon

as their of f icers could induce them tocome on . Past the St . John’sand Dutch bastions he marched and on tow ithin a f ew yards of theFrench bas tion ,

when the si lence that had before soawed h is menwas sudden ly explained . The ofli cer commanding that bastion hadloaded a gun w ith grapeshot and poin ted it up the way that theEnglish we re advancing. When they were w ithin a f ew yards the

gun was fi red w ith terrible e f f ect . The twodrummer boys and

several men w ere ki l led, Captain Yorke had a bal l through eachthigh and s ixteen of h is men were wounded . Strange to say, the

very troops that had a f ew m inutes before fled in pan ic, now were

steady and cool . The guards posted in the Dutch and St . John’sbastions stood their ground , and the survivors of Captain Yorke’8

party took h im up and carried h im back tothe Cameleon bastion .

By this time Colonel Forde had come up and taken command in

person of the Cameleon and St . John’s bastions, soCaptain Yorke’s

fall did not cause any fresh di sorder .

Whi le these events were happen ing on the eastern face of the

fort, the first div ision under Captain Fischer had proceeded totheirright along the rampart to the smal l gate bastion . This was not in

goodrepair, and the sepoys under M acleane were attempting tocl imbup into i t f rom the ditch . The approach thereforeof Captain Fischeralong the rampart disheartened th e French guard ,

whoretreated to

The s9th Primus in Ind ie , now the Dorsetshire Regiment .

64 KISTN A ms'rnrc'r KA N UA L ,

the next or church - yard bastion , where, afte r a desul tory fire, th eysurrendered . By thi s time the firing of Captain Knox

’s sepoys w as

dim inishing as the ir amm un ition began to fai l and , as the attackat the great gate by the Raja’s troops continued with as much

noise as ever , many of the French troops had col lected on the ma inparade, which is below the great gate bastion , and now strengthened the guardof that bastion , which in this way amounted toabou tone hundred men . The fire which they del ivered towards CaptainFischer’s divi sion on the church- yard bastion showed their numbers ,

but the attacking party, nothing daunted, rushed on and cleared

the bastion and then Captain F ischer , wi th admirable presence ofm ind, immediately sen t down and closed the great gates , sothat al l

the defenders whohad assembled in the ravel in on the causeway

to repel the Raja’s attack were thus caught as in a trap . Th e

division was again formed up tomove on against the next bastion ,

known as the pettah or town bastion ,and at this moment sudden ly

appeared the m issing Captain Cal lender , whoplaced himself at the i rheadas they marched of f . N oone knew where he came from and no

one ever found out, for f rom the pettah bastion were fired a f ew

scattered shots , and by the last that was fired Captain Cal lender fel ldead .

I t was now one o’clock . The E ngl ish held seven bastions, and

an eighth bastion , the pettah, was making nofurther defence . Th e

M arquis de Conflans sent an officer to Colonel Forde toask for

terms, but the Colonel repl ied that he would hear of nothing but

unconditional surrender,whereupon M . de Conflan s gave orders to

the French troops to lay down their arms and Colonel Forde sen tword toCaptain Fi scher to cease firing. On the parade under the

great gate b astion ,1 00 E uropean s wi th two guns and two com

pan ies of sepoys remained watching the French in the ravel in unti lmorn ing broke, the morn ing of Palm Sunday, A pr il 8th, 1 759 . The

gate was then opened and the French troops passed in tothe Fortand became pr isoners, the guard of the battery at the other sideof the in letalsosurrender ing. The total number of pri soners was500 French and sepoys and the stores in the fort included1 2 0 gun s w ith ample ammun ition . The E ngl ish loss was : kil led,Captains Cal lender and M ol l itore, 2 0 E uropean s and 50 sepoyswounded, Cap tain s Yorke and M acleans , L ieutenan t Cummins,E nsign Trevan ion

, 58 E uropeans an d 1 00 sepoys, so that the

force fit for duty was less than half the number of the prisonersthey had toguard .

passes rumor . 65

The aston ishment of Salabat Jang, whowas leisurely advancingf rom Bezvéda, and of M . de Rocher , the commandant of the corpsof observation , when they heard that the E ngl ish were inside thef ort of M asul ipatam

,was extreme, but they had soconvinced them

selves that Colonel Forde’s position was utterly desperate that theynow looked on thi s marvellous success merely as an advantage whi chwou ld justi f y them in according to the E ngl ish commander permission toembark wi th gun s an d stores. The Raja of Vizianagramviewed the matter in the same l ight, and on A pri l 1 2 th set out w ithal l his forces to cross the Godavari . But Colonel Forde was madeof sterner stufi and proceeded to put on board the H ardwi cke not

his stores nor h is guns, but h is pr isoners . E arly on the morning ofE aster Day, A pril 1 5th , whi le Captain Samson of the H ardwi ckewas ashore superintending this duty, there appeared two shipsstanding into the roads under French colours . The first officer ofthe H ardwicke at once weighed anchor and got tow indward of thestrange ships whil e Captain Samson , with eight gunners lent h imby Colonel Forde, put of f from shore an d managed toget on boardhi s ship . The wind now changed and the two French ships came

down before it upon the H ardw'ickc . They exchanged broadsidesand then the H ardwwke, finding that they carried heavier metal ,stood away to the offing whi le the French ships anchored in the

road s . Dur ing the n ight they sent ashore a catamaran ,whi ch they

had brought wi th them , w ith letters toM . de Conflan s announcing

that they were the H ar lem and Br istol from Pondicherry w i th a

reinf orcement of 300 men under command of M . Moracin himself .A s noanswer was returned from shore they saw that the place hadf al len and on the morn ing of the 1 6th stood out tosea in pursuit ofthe H ardwicke and by noon al l three were out of sight .

1

Salabat Jang was now w ithin fifteen m iles of M asul ipatam and

nothing doubting that the French ships would return toland thei rtroops he pushed forward his cavalry tothe shore . Colonel Fordeleft half his force in the fort toguard the prisoners and w ith theother half encamped on h is old ground in the sand hi lls, sothat thecavalry .d id not venture wi thin cannon shot but robbed an d burnedall the v i l lages round . Whi le afiairs were in this state news fromthe interior suddenly caused Salabat Jang to change h is tactics and

to trea t in earnest w ith the E nglish .

M . H oracin landed his tr00 ps in Ganjam where they met w ith nosuccess and f ared

n otchedly . See Orms’s H istory.

66 men u msrmcr m en ,

It wi l l be remembered that the prince N izam A l i had fled a year

bef ore this from A urangabad to Bfirhhmpfir . When the news of

this and of M . de Bussi’s recall reached Calcutta, Colonel Cliv e

had made overtures to N izam A l i and had asked him to assi st

Colonel Forde in the projected expedi tion to the N orthern Ci rcar s .

These overtures had been renewed by Colonel Forde when he landed

in Vizagapatam, but he had received no response from N izam A li

and he had even assured Sal i hat Jang a f ew days previous toth etaking of M asul ipatam that he had no designs on the Subahdar

’s

territory, but the messages to Bnrhampur had not been w ithou t

eff ect and Sal i hat Jang was now thrown into di smay by inte l l igencethat his faithless brother , N izam A li

,had moved south through

A urangabad and was in full march upon H aidarabad . H ostili tie s

were suspended and Colonel Forde went to the Subahdar’s camp

where he was rece ived wi th honor . The negotiations, however ,were protracted . Salabat Jang was anxious totake back w ith him

an E ngli sh force , but Colonel Forde would not agree to this andBasalat Jang who had accompan ied hi s brother was unwi lling to

break wi th the French, especial ly as he was on term s of friendship

w ith M . de Rocher . A t length on May 1 4th a treaty was signed

under which M asul ipatam and the adjacen t territory passed under

the British flag.

Thus did the edifice reared during eight years of labour by thewondrous talents of M . de Bussi fal l to the ground. Doubtless

many events gave great advantages to the E nglish : the recall ofM M . de Bussi and M oracin by a self- w i l led Governor, the v ic

tories in Bengal which le f t at Cl ive’s disposal troops for an expedi

tion to the N orthern Circars, the tardy advance of Salabat Jangwi th his overwhelm ing army, the late despatch of succour fromPondi cherry, and lastly the unexpected move southwards of N izfimA l i which saved Colonel Forde even after h is successful storm of thefort ; this fortunate combination of events gained M asul ipatam to

the E ngl ish, and it is not toomuch tosay that the taking of M asul i

patam and expulsion of the French from the N orthern Circars wasthe turn ing point in the long conflict between French and E ngl ishf or the E mpire of India. The M adras Government had lookedupon the presence of M . de Bussi wi th Salabat Jang as their greatest danger in India . That was now gone and

,though for years

after this the str ife continued, the loss of the Northern Circars, thesource whence M . de Bussi had drawn the sinews of war, was the

rsss cs PERIOD. 67

blow f rom which the French never recovered . We may thereforelook upon that singularly uninteresting spot, the old fort at Masulipatam

, as classic ground and,ri sing superior to the depressing

influences of the d ismal swamp and muddy sea surrounding i t,

may remember that had the issue of that midn ight struggle inA pril 1 759 been otherwi se, the tricolor and not the un ion jack m ightnow wave over Indi a.

Before closing thi s chapter I may insert some remarks found inM r. Gran t’s Poli tical Survey of the N orthern Circars upon the

admin istration of M . de Bussi . M r . Grant says Thi s able pol itician and commander found himself under the necessity, butalways w i th true civi l ized human i ty, of going over the same

ground wi th the best of his Mohammedan predecessors in restoring order and the indubitable rights of eastern sovereignty .

Zemindars were as usual dismissed from their employments, but

general ly permitted to enjoy, under French sunnuds, their m a

mm and saverams, or conditional heredi tary privi leges and thereare more instances of new creations than total extirpation of thenecessary officers of Government . The union of these several

possessions under one head appeared the most el igible system ofadmini stration and Vizayarama Razu rendered himself the mostuseful and acceptable man to act in the capacity of chief.

A complete survey and hustabood, or detailed account of the

gross col lections of the whole country were formed, and put M .

Bussy in the knowledge of resources entirely beyond the reach ofhis M ohammedan predecessors, and greatly exceeding, perhaps,the general beli ef of modern financiers . But moderation was

necessary . The jummabnndy or annual settlemen t was, therefore,on ly doubled in Chicacole and Rajahmundry . Besides which, asa temporary expedient, the Zemindars were bound tomaintainthe publ ic peace defray al l charges of col lections 5 and keep onfoot a Si bbundy corps of infan try, which, over and abovethe ordi nary servi ces of preserving the three year ly crops, orenforcing their equal div ision between Government and the

tenants, were l iable to be cal led on torepel any invading foe . A ll

this, however, we bel ieve to have been on ly the first step towards

806 Sir A . J. A rbuthnot’s L i f e of Sir Thomas M unro, Vol . 1 , pages m u and lxx iv ,

where‘

s French invasion i s dreaded by M unro as late as 1 800, and i t is stated thatWar

ren H astings dreaded nothing somuch as a renewal of the struggle in Ind ia between the

French and E nglish .

68 n srm mer ino-r m ust ,

establ ishing a more adequate j umma. kaum'i l or revenue standard .

”

M r . Grant concludes by saying that M . de Bussi did not appropriateto himself an undue amoun t of the publ ic revenues . N othingbeyond a splendid fami ly subsistence, with just such a surplus ofincome as might serve to support oflicial digni ty, consequenti alappearance, personal pre - eminence and gen til ity.

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70 KI STNA ms'rsrc'r MAN UAL ,

charge . Colonel Forde decl ined toobey any orders except those ofthe Calcutta Counci l and soretained command until October 1 5 th ,when he handed over the civ i l authority toM r . A ndrews and the

mi litary 1 toCaptain Fischer and sailed f or Bengal .

M eanwhi le Basalat Jang had le f t Kondav idu and moved southwards through Ongole and Sangam to Saidapuram in the territoryof the Venkatagiri Raja, where he awaited M . deBussi whomarchednorth from Pondicherry tojoin h im . The prospect of the restora

tion of French influence caused much anx iety,and M r. A ndrews, in

a letter to Government, dated N ovember 2 9th, 1 759, recounts h isef f orts topersuade N izam A l i toprevail upon hi s brother tow ithdraw from al l connection w ith that nation . These efiorts were suc

cessf ul . When M . de Bussi met Basalat Jang they could not come

to any agreement, and thereupon M . de Bussi returned to Pondicherry, taking w ith him al l the French troops

,includi ng the

unfortunate corps of observation that had marched w ith Basalat

Jang f or six months, and Basslat Jang retired toA don i .

Little attention was now paid toSalabat Jang, whowas detainedat H aidarabad by his energetic brother N izam A l i, more as a prisonerthan as a ruling Pr ince. In A pri l 1 760 N izam A l i came to Bezvéda,where he was met by the M asul ipatam Chief in Counci l, M r . A lex

ander . H e of f ered to pay 9. lakh of rupees per meh sem for a force ofa hun dred E uropeans w ith artil lery and fifteen hundred sepoys, andpromi sed that i f they defeated the Mahrattas he would cede totheCompany the Circarsof Rajahmun dry, E llore and Kondapal le,but theM adras Government could spare no troops from the blockade ofPondicherry and were unable to accept the of f er of N izam A l i , so

these three Circars remained under the able management of N izamA l i

’s Fouzdar, H asan A l i Khan .

A year had now pas sed since the British had taken M asul ipatam,

and as Basalat Jang was out of the way at A doni the whole coastwas tranquil , sothat in July 1 760 we find orders i ssued to establ isha line of postal runners f rom M adras to Calcutta and directing all

ships passing up and down the Bay tocal l at M asul ipatam for in te lligence . This tranquill i ty, however , was not tolas t long. In July1 76 1 Basalat Jang sent from A don i an of f icer named Karim Khan

,

with eight hundred cavalry and six thousand foot, whotook possession of Gun tur in h is name . H asan A l i Khan appli ed to M asul i

The E uropean sold iers, though rein forced by fif ty enl istments f rom the French

prisoners, had f all en through disease and desertion in six months f rom 600 to300mm .

BRITISH rumor . 71

patam f or assistance to.repel this invasion and his application was

referred to M adras , but Government repl ied that war was declaredw ith Spain and notroops could be spared . H asan A l i Khan

,there

upon , wen t to M adras, vested w ith ful l powers on behalf of N izamA l i ,

1 and engaged in a tedious negotiation w ith the Government ofFor t St . George . They real ly could spare notroops, but“ theysuggested to H asan A l i Khan that these five N orthern Circarswere of l ittl e value toN i zam A l i , who extracted revenue from themw ith di fficul ty, that the Bri ti sh Government was strong enough tohold them and that they would pay toN izam A l i hal f the net

revenues . H asan Al i Khan assented tothis suggestion , probablyhe found i t to be worth while todoao, 3 and del ivered to th e

M adms Government sanads in the name of N izam A l i for the five

Circars . These sanads were despatched on September 2 3rd , 1 762 ,toM r . Fairfield, Chief at M asul ipatam , w ith orders tooccupy and

hoist the British flag at Rajahmun dry and other places, but not at

Guntur , as Basélat Jang’3 force there was toostrong. These orders

w ere obeyed, but N izam A l i hearing of this extraordinary in tr igue,was justly angered and demanded that as the Br itish had sent no

troops toh is assistance they should return the sanads and restorethe te rr itory . The M adras Government at once returned the sanads

but decl ined to restore the territory until they should be repaidthe expen ses of th e occupation , and in this ref usal they were sup

ported by M r . Pybus, Chief at M asul ipatam, whowrote , saying

that toretreat at the dictation of N izam A l i would lower the Bri tish

name throughout the country . H e accordingly retained possessionof the occupied territory until March 1 5th , 1 763 , when the disputewas sett led at a conference held between Buddes Jemah Khan , the

new Fouzdar appointed by N izam A l i, and Condrégula Jogi Pan tulu,

n By the Treaty of Paris of February 1 76 1 Salabat Jang was recogn ised as Subahdar

d the Deccan . When N izam A l i heard of thi s h e put Salabat Jang todeath on July 1 8th ,1 76 1 , sohe was now th e actual Subahdar.

3 L etters f rom Government toChie f in Counci l at M asuli patam, dated September 2 8rd ,1 762 , and N ovem ber 1 8th , 1 76

0

Th is transact ion i s not very intel l igible , perhaps its explanation may be found i n

the fol low ing despatch ,

f rom th e Court of Direc tors Our disp l easure hereat is aggra

vated by th e d i s ingenuous manner in wh ich th ese af f airs are rep resen ted tous in your

advices. We can not take a. view of your conduct, f rom the commencement of your

negot iation for the Circars, without th e strongest d isapprobation , and when we see the

Opulent for tun es sudden ly acquired by our servants whoare returned since that period ,

it gives but too much weight tothe publ i c Op in ion that the rage for negotiations ,

treaties and al l iances has pr ivate advantages for i ts object more than the publ ic good .

”

72 xterm msrmcr MA N UAL ,

M r . Pybus’ own dubash 1 the N izam paying M adras Pagodas

This new Fouzdar , however, was unable to maintain h is

authority after the w ithdrawal of the Company’s troops, and th eRaja of Vizianagram , al though nominal ly an al ly of the Bri tish ,marched south and captured Rajahmundry

, compell ing the Fouzdarto take refuge in the fort at E l lore .

M eanwhi le the M adras Government had received a despatch fromthe Court of Directors, dated December 9th , 1 763 , advising them to

keep the French out of these Circars by obtaining sanads from the

Subahdar, even at the price of supplying him w ith a British force ,and they endeavoured to resume the in terrupted negotiations . I n

N ovember 1 764 Condrégula Jogi Pantulu was sent to H aidarabad ,but N izam A l i would not l isten to h im,

and in February 1 765 h e

returned unsucc essful toM asul ipatam . Thus baffled , the M adras

Government fel l back on thei r former plan of ignoring N izam A li’s

wishes and making use of H asan A l i Khan , who set out fromFort St. George w ith a force under command of Captain H art to

take possession of these Circars . H e arr ived at Masul ipatam on

M arch 2 4th , 1 765 , and at once marched against the nearest fort, thatof the Zem indar of Tsal lapal le, who abandoned the fort at his

approach . H e then moved on Rajahmundry , which was stubbornlydefended f or the Viz ianagram Raja, but was taken by the gal lantryof the British contingent under Captain Madge . The Gunti

'

i r Circarwas not touched as i t was now held in person by Basélat Jang ,

with uwhom M r . Pybus was cul tivating friendly relations , havingeven suppl ied h im w ith boats at Bezvada in June 1 764 when hemarched from H aidarabad toGuntu’r .

H asan A l i Khan professed totake possession of the Circars in th e

name of N izam A l i, but in truth he was a British agent . What

N izam A l i thought of it was seen by his acts . H e col lected an

enormous army and marched south as f ar as Tripati , but, findi ng

that the M adras Government were prepared todi spute hi s furtherprogress , he turned back by way of Kalastri and N el lore and arrived

at Bezvhda on M ay 2 1 st, 1 765 . H is approach caused much alarm,

and M r . Pybus made arrngements to defend M asul ipatam, but

Dubash, wh ich means bil inguist or interpreter, was a name given tothe confidential

agen ts of the E uropean ofi cials in those days . Someof them amassed wealth and founded

fami l ies . The son and grandson of thi s 0 0ndr6guls Jogi Pantul u h eld Divi in reward

for h is services .

nam es PERIOD. 73

H asan A l i Khan col lected al l the money he coul d lay hands on and

wen t to the Subahdar’s camp on June 2 nd and N izam A l i,thus

appeased, took 11 1 8 departure f or H aidarabad .

I n the meantime Lord C live had returned toIndia and was not

disposed to let sl ip any opportun ity of carrying out the w ishes ofthe Court of Directors and of securing tothe Company these five

Circars, the frui t of the expedition which he had himsel f despatchedfrom Calcutta under Colonel Forde seven years previously . On the

1 2 th of A ugust 1 765, when he obtained from the Emperorof Delhi the grants for the provinces of Bengal , Behar and

Or issa , Lord Clive obtained also Imperial Firmans granting to

the Company the five northern Circars . The M adras Governmenthad now a legal title to hold these provinces , but hesitatedf or some time before they would venture to publ ish the ImperialFirmans and so do away w ith the fiction that H asan A l i Khanwas holding them on behalf of the Nizam . On December 2 7th ,1 765, they w rote to M r . Pybus that they in tended to publishthe gran ts as soon as they could muster a su fficient force, and in

February 1 766 they sent General Cail laud to M asul ipatam to

undertake any necessary mi l itary operations . On M arch 3rd , 1 766 ,

the Imperial letters were proclaimed in the fort at M asu lipatam ,

w ith al l possible ceremony, and letters were despatched to al l

Zem indfirs in the C ircars, and on that even ing Gen eral Cai l laud leftM asul ipatam tojoin Captain Fitzgerald

’s camp at Sr ikakulam and

pushed on to take possession of the stronghold of Kondapal le . The

fol lowing despatch from General Cail laud is dated at I bri himpatam ,

and received in M adras on M arch 1 7th, 1 766 For conven ience

of water the army was obl iged to encamp about 3 mi les di stant .

from the fort, on the banks of the Ki stna, at the place from whichthis letter is dated, but wi th the cavalry and four compan ies ofsepoys under the command of Captain M adge I took another roadwhich led di rectly to the fort . On our approach I sen t again a

H it to desire the Ki l ladar tocome out tome and that i f wecould not agree on terms he should have leave toreturn . But Iwas soon informed that he had gone up the hil l the n ight beforeand that the lower fort would be given up w ithout resistance .

We accordingly entered it, and Captain M adge w ith twocompan iesof sepoys pushed up the hil l a f ter some of the runaways that weretaking to the fort where the Ki lladar had retired . A s our sepoys

advanced they began to fire : even then Captain M adge sent a

1 0

74 KISTNA DISTRICT MAN UA L ,

message desiring them todesist and of f ering the Kil ladar term s,

but all tono purpose . The firing stil l con tinued and woundedsome of our sepoys but encouraged by the spirit of the ofi cersthat led them they stil l continued advancing and got possessionof the first gateway and soon to the second where the Ki l ladarmade h is last stand, cutting down w ith h is own hand the Jemed ar

whofir st entered . H e was in stantly shot through the body and

“arm . H e fel l and demanded quarter which was gran ted tohim an d

to five or six of h is people who remained wi th him . I have thepleasure to inform you that the possession of this place thus

easi ly gained seems tobe a post of the highest importance f or the

security of our acquisitions : neither is the present state of thefortifications by any means in a despicable condi tion .

”

Some emergent repairs were carried out to the fortifications atKondapalle and Captain M adge was left there in Command, a small

detachment being posted in a redoubt con structed at Bezvada .

A l l the Zemindars as f ar as Chicacole now submitted tothe Britishrul e, and the M adras Government sent orders to occupy Gunt'fir also,sending descriptions of al l the forts in that Circar and off ering toland troops at Padarti or some other point on the coas t toco- operate,but General Cai l laud con sidered that h is forces were insufficien t toattack Basalat Jang and di d not cross the river .

It now remained todi spose of the claims of Basan A l i Khan .

H e asked for a Jagir and wasof f ered an al lowance of a lakh of rupees

per annum , being told plain ly that he .had done nothing toprocure

these Imperial sanads . Thi s of f er he altogether refused and showedhi s displeasure soplain ly that Governmen t

,alarmed lest he should

make mi schief in the newly acqu i red territory, gave him a Jagir of

thi rteen vil lages and al lowed h im to rent two Zemindaris . H is

troops were all paid of f , four hundred cavalry under Ibrahim Bégentering the

'

British service and fif ty French troopers going to

Basalat Jang at Guntur .

N izém A li was at this time occupied w ith a M ahratta war, butthe occupation of h i s terri tory under cover of a grant from the

tottering Cour tof Delh i touched h im tothe quick, and leavi ng the

M ahratta frontier , he hurr ied back toH aidarabad and made everypreparation for w ar . M r . Pybus kept the M adras Governmen t duly

I General Cai l laud goes on to promi se a sketch , but un fortunate ly thi s cannot now

be found in the record s .

p

nam es PE RIOD. 7a

inf ormed of the news from the N izam’s Court and received in reply

a series of very well argued despatches proving beyond doubt thatthe Niat

'

un must know his own interests too well to engage in

hosti l ities wi th the Company .

1 But there was some di fficulty in

placing these views before the Nizam for the successive nativeenvoys who were sent could not reach him

,or perhaps dared not

approach h im,’and meanwhile the Nizam’s warl ike preparations

continued.

In the midst of these anxieties came an order tosend toCalcuttawhat ofi cers could be spared totake the places of the mutinou sofi cers whohad resigned in a body to thwart Lord Clive . General

Caillaud could spare only thr ee , and perhaps i t was h is representation s on this subject that may have at las t roused the M adras Gov

ernment to some sense of the danger, for on 5th July theywrote empower ing General Cail laud to check any cavalry thatapproached the fron tier and on 5th A ugust to beat up the

enemy’s quarters at Cummumett,”but as the strength of the enemy

a t Kammamett was now ten thousand cavalry and six thousandin f antry, General Cai llaud di d not avai l himself of thi s permi ssion .

A n attempt was now made toopen negotiations through the Navabof the Carnatic, bu t w ith nosuccess, for the only answer made bythe N izam was toupbraid the Navéb with hi s folly in assisting the

Briti sh to obtain such possession of terri tory in India.

The first break in the threatening war clouds was the receipt of aletter dated A ugust 4th from the Divan , Rukn ud Daula, at the

N izam’s Court . H e said tha t he had not dared to lay before the

N izam the letters from M adras, and that matters were made worse

by the Navab of the Carnatic being chosen as a chann el of commun ication , and suggested that a special envoy be sent. 8 The

M adras Governmen t eagerly seized thi s opportun ity and entered

The Government of M adras was then under M r . Palk , whohad gone toIndia as a

Chap lain, but renounced h is orders to enter the more lucrative Civi l Service of the

Company , in whi ch he amassed a large fortune and on hi s return to England was

created a Baronet.”

- M arshman I I , 3 2 6 .

1 One of these envoys , N asib ir Khan , got as f ar as N andigama and reported that

unf riend ly Zemi ndfirs barred h is route. Captain M adge, commandi ng Kondapal le, wrote

on June 6th . 1 766, toM r . Pybus : H e i s, I bel ieve , amost notor ious rascal . The truth of

the matter i a he does not chase topursue his journey til l certain that he wi ll be at least

an unmolested if not a well come guest at soubah’s durbar and therefore intends keep ing

himse l f out of h i s reach till he has answers toh is letters.

”

8 The tone of th e Divan's letters toGeneral Cai l laud is most imperious I have been

informed of your fidel i ty and attachment toH is H ighness , of whi ch I have acquai nted

him the same are imprinted in my mind . H is H ighness'f avors have been over con

76 KISTN A msrmc'r MA NUAL ,

into correspondence w ith Rukn ud Daula. In October General

Cail laud was ordered to proceed to H aidarabad and,after a very

di fficult negotiation , he concluded on N ovember 1 2 th,1 766, a treaty

w ith the Niz i m , by which the M adras Government agreed to holdthe N orthern Circars on a tributary tenure under the N izam , at

eight lakhs of r upees per annum, engaging at the same time to

furn ish the N iz i m w i th twobattal ions of infantry and six pieces ofcannon .

A fter the conclusion of this treaty General Caillaud returned to

M adras and Colonel Sm ith, w ith two battalions of infantry,w as

sent from M asul ipatam to H aidarabad. It was the expectation of

the M adras Government that the N izam would serve as a bulwarkagain st the dreaded M ahratta power and alsoas an al ly in crushingH aidar N aik of M aisur , and Colonel Smith was toinform the Nizamthat when he moved south he would be joined through Cumbumby 2 00 E uropeans and sepoys from Ongole

‘ in addition to a

further reinf orcement from Vel lore . But events did not occur as

the M adras Government wished. Colonel Sm ith left M asul ipatamon December 2 9th , 1 766, and carried out all hi s instructions, marching south w ith the N izam into M ai sur , but Nizam A li was gained

over by H aidar’s sol icitations and in A ugust 1 767 they jointlyattacked the Company’s territory .

M r . Lewin Sm ith, Ch ief at M asul ipatam, was busily engaged inthe revenue adm in istration of the Circars . H e had rented out

f erred upon the truly f ai th f ul toH is Court especially upon the E ngli sh nation.

I am todesire that in case i t is your real design to be in al l iance wi th and obedience to

th e Ci rcar , you wil l send wi th all expedi tion a trusty person of your own toCourt and

on our understanding the greatn ess of your attachment H i s H ighness'usual f avor and

rewards shal l be con f erred upon you. Keep your m ind at ease at all events show

yourself f aitt and be in home of the f avors of H im whonourishes the universe."

But thi s tone was only intended toflatter the N izam. General Cail laud af terwards

wrote toGovernment f rom H aidarabad The D ivan,Ruccum ud Doul ah, perceived that

hi s own interest and f uture support depended on the all iance with us. Nor was he long

be fore he conf essed tome hi s real situation , sensible as he was of the number of enemies

he had toencounter and the d ifi culti es that presented f rom th e Boubab'e disgust and

p rejudices. H e soon made i t evident, f rom the earnestness with which he expressed

himsel f on the subject, that hi s f ate depended on th e turn thi s aflai r should take. I

nosooner remarked thi s than I endeavoured tomake al l the advantage I could of a

di sposition somuch in our f avor .

"

1 Gunthr was stil l held by Basti lat Jans whowas in secret communi cations wi th

H aidar, but all the Carnatic was occup ied by the Company's troops , and th is included the

Palnad . Cap tain F itzgerald had been sent in 1 766 to quell disturbances in the PM ,

and i t was now held by Cap tain Davi s who was stationed at Tamara Kota. The troops

seem tohave crossed the Ki stna at Srikakulam and marched through N izampatam tothe

PM from Masul ipatam.

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78 KI STN A mem o-r H A N UA L,

Since the year 1 763 the Zem indi r of Ongole had given much

trouble, and troops had been pushed forward f rom Nizampatam to

Vetapalem and lKadava Kuduru to watch him . But this Zemindarwas surpas sed in bad qual i ties by a brother whoclaimed a share inhi s estates and who supported his claims by a horde of rufiian s

soreckless that he became a veri table outlaw , and for once al l

the country was un ited in an e ff ort to put a stop to his career .

The E g as of Venkatagiri and Kalastri sent their troops, five com

panies of sepoys marched from M adras to assist,Capta in Fletcher

moved from Ongole, Colone l Tod set out from Kondapal le , even

Basalat Jang’s forces left Kondav idu . Thus hemmed in by h is

adversar ies, the claimant made for the hi l l - fortress of Vinukonda,

and asked f or shelter, but Gunda Rao, the Zemindar of Vinukonda,overawed by the combination against this adventurer, closed the gatesof the fort in his f ace . E scape seemed hopeless, but a native army ,living on plunder, has l ittle baggage and can travel w ith an amazing

rapidity . H e made a n ight march from Vinukonda and next

morning was through the Paln i d and on the other side of the Kistnain the N izam

’s territory, safe from pursuit . On December 8th, 1 768

Captain Fletcher at Ongole reported that he had again marked dow nthe outlaw ,

thi s time at Chi lakalurpett . H e was now furn ished wi th

letters f rom H aidar A l i of M aisur and the neighbouring Zemindar swere disposed to assi st h im . E ven the Zem indar of Ongole, with

whom he had a dome stic quarrel , marched toCumbum and col lected

troops and stores . The M asul ipatam Council sen t Captain Colvin to

reinforce Capta in Fletcher at Ongole . They attacked and defeatedthe Ongole Zemindar af ter a sharp conflict and then marched onVinukonda which they besieged in January 1 769, but the Zemindar ,Gunda Rao, surrendered the fort and gave up twobrass guns, h isonly modern ordnance, and after this nothing more was heard of

the adventurer .

Similarly in 1 776 one Padmanabha Rao, a relation of the Zemin

dar of Nuzv idu, began to cause much‘

trouble . H e, as usual ,

col lected a

'

band of fol lowers and en tered on a course of robbery and

v iolence and was pursued for a long time before he was at lengthcaptured by a detachmen t under E nsign Forbes, whofell in wi thhim at Pedda Sanagollu . M r . Forbes conveyed hi s prisoner to

N uzvidu and made him over to the Ritja for safe custody. Whennight fel l M r . Forbes heard that it was in tended to put the prisonertodeath and so hastened to the fort, but the gates were closed

sem en PERIOD . 79

against him ,and when , after some time, he obtained admission ,

it

was toolate, for -Padmanabha Raohad already been executed .

A third instance wa s thatof Surinemi Venkatarayalui

whocla imedsome m irassi rightsover four v i l lages in the Nizampatam Circar and ,when his claim was di sal lowed by Government in 1 780 , col lected a

body of vi l lagers and commi tted depredations . H e was captured andplaced in confinement at M asul ipatam

,but

,escaping thence, became

more troublesome than be fore . H e impri soned the Company’sTanad i rs and collected money from th e vi l lages, torturing any who

ref used to pay by cutting off their noses, ears or hands and byburning their houses or stacks . When hard- pressed by Br iti shtroops he took refuge in Guntur Circar under Basalat Jang.

l

These instances w i l l serve toshow the law less outrages towhi chthe people were exposed un ti l at length the Company 8 ofii cers

su cceeded in putting down these freebooters . The contigui ty of theN izam

’s terri tory and the presence of Basi lat Jang in Guntt

'

i r madeth e task more di fficul t than i t would otherw ise have been .

U nder the Treaty of February 1 768 the Gruntti r or M urtazanagar

Ci rcar was given toE sei lat Jang f or his l ifetime . The partial ity

of th is pr ince f or the French was a con stant subject of anx iety tothe(b mpany

’s officers at M asu l ipatam . I t is probable that Basalat

Jang was never w i thout some Frenchmen i n his servi ce, but whenH asan A l i Khan’s troops were paid of f in M arch 1 766 about fiftyFren ch cavalry soldiers went toh is camp at Guntur, and his forcethere and at A dom

’

was soon large enough tocause uneasiness at

Madras . It was under command of a M on sieur L al ly, and another

omcer named Bon E nfan t was Governor of the fortress of Kondavidu .

From al l parts of Southern India adventurers flocked tojoin thisforce and i t was known that deserters from the Company

’s service

were tobe found in its ranks . When a regiment was on its marchfrom E l lore to M adras an d passed through the Gun tur C ircar two

ofii cers’ and thi r ty - four E uropean soldiers deserted, and , althoughBas i lat Jang at Gun tur denied any know ledge of the fugi tives,they were found , soon af terwards, in h is service at A don i . The

desertion s from E llore became so f requent that spies were employed

totrack the deserter s who, when arrested,were shot . N evertheless

1 Surinéni M a lls Rao was in possess ion of five vi l lages of th e N izampatam Ci rcar in

1 787 and h is son received a pension .

N on - comm issioned , let us hope .

KISTN A msrmcr M AN UAL,

the evil increased and it was found that recruits and m ilitary stores

were being landed at Motupalle and conveyed toGuntti r.

The French Factory at M asul ipatam had been restored to the

French and their agen t, M . M angin, was suspected of intr iguesw ith several of the native powersfi I n October 1 770 it was d is

covered that Jaf ar Bég Khi n , whohad received a Jagi r in the Kon

dapal le Circar because he surrendered the fortress of Kammamet toColonel H art in December 1 767, was in commun ication with M .

M angin . Jafar Bég Khan was arrested and h is Jagir was confis

os ted, but he was afterwards released and received an al lowance of

1 50 Pagodas per measom which was continued tohis son . In 1 773

l A very bel l icose ep itaph i s on a tomb at Gnnthr . +D . O . M . Cheri doIs Fortune

st f avori doMars LaVictoire suivi t partout sos étendards . D’H erculo il égala lea travai l :

ot la gloiroms is une mort trop cruel le a trompé notroespoir. Charles Babel , d it Zaphyr ,

general dos arméos doBss salst Zinquo, mortaGontour lo2 9 N ovombro1 770 ago89 ans.A f ew months af ter thi s date M . Mangin wrote the following letter which shows th e

m my side of th e career of glory . I found the original letter in possession of a native

Ch ri stian in Sattenapall e Taluq .

A . M . Gsrdé commandant dos troupes doBassalatZinque sGontour . M asul ipatam, Lo2 4

Juin 1 77 1 .

Monsieur , 1 ai roqu dans son toms l'am itie dola votre du 1 9 courant avec los 779, Pad .

d’or, 1 B . 8a. ,

con formes an bordereau quovous m’avez envoys. J’si retonu pour les

boi ssons quojovous ai qy devant f airs passer la som e do Psg. d’or, 8 B . Jom is

étonné quol’on trouve l'eau dovie m elangeé . C

'ost M . Dumnreux d’Yanaon qui mol

'a

onvoyé, ls pareil le jovend icy unoRoup ie et dem ie ls boute i l le ; je voudrais mtoni r cel lo

que vous svez i l y s urs it f ai t du benefice zl e v in at Penn dovie sont icy fort rs ros is vous

consoi llo domanager vos boissons . N ous n’avous pas encore do vsi ssoaux d

’E uropo

arrives s Pondicherry : los A nglais on out recu trois aM adrass. L a guerre étai t sur l e

point de se déclarer ontrol’E spagne et l

’A ngleterre : i l y a l ion doIs croire par toutes lo.

nouvol les que l’on debits i cy , on no d i t rien dola France ms is je crois qne cola ontrors

dans lomoment quoIs my pensors lomi eux .

Jotiendrai compte aM r. Com er doPag. d’or 2 60 : 3 R . provenant dola possession dof en

M r . Dubois .

J’s i f ai t remettre aM r. Drouet 1 08 108Peg. d

’or 4a qui étoion t pour son compte.

J'ay recu une lettre doM r. C irrier que m

'a envoyé pour locomp te du Sr . M srly uno

gum-ante six pagodas d

’or a compte sans doute doco qu'il modoi t. CoM r. m

’s. an d

renvoyé unop iece dogaze aflours d’urgent et art : Sou : 7go: galons d

’or : same doute i i a

vendu unop iece gaze s flours d’or ainsi que doux paquets dogalon s d

’argont ot une gsm i

ture double doboutons d'

argent, i l nom’en parle pas. Cy joint uno lettre pour lui u se 1.

note docoque loSr. M arly me doi t : is vous p rie d’y tonir la mai n et dof airs votre possi

ble 5 me f ai re rentrer ce qui m’est as, vous m

’obl igeroz beaucoup .

J’ay rocu jusqu

’a co jour doux m i l les pagodes d

’or s compte sur la ven ts da Drape d

Bassalat Z inque ot j'ay rem it an port

eur nu Requ dola sommoon votronom .

J'sy requ auss i votre b i l let, payable daus nn mois doIs somme doPag. d

’or 378, Ba pour

montant dodiverses Bijouteries que vous svos pri s pour votre com pto.

Si ttt que je ssurai dos nonvel l es d'

E urope jovous on fors i part, marques moy si vouscompte: roster quolquotoms dsns notre voi si nage . Jovous souhaite bien doIs ssnté at an

pas de patience. Jocroi s qnotout irs sn ivsnt vos desirs.

sem en mel on. 81

M r . Wynch , Chief at M asul ipatam, addressed the M adras Govern

mos t on the impolicy of permitting the French force to continue at

Gnntii r, but Governmen t on June 1 3th repl ied that as Basalat Jang

had in fringed none of the conditions on which he held Gun tur we

cannot wi th any degree of propr iety either in sist on the dismissionof the Fren ch or on the cession of Motupi l l i and other vi llages

possessed by them .

” On receipt of this rohnfi M r . Wynch sentan envoy, named M al ls Pan tulu, to suggest to Basalat Jang thathe should rent Guntur tothe Company for Pagodas, butBasé lat Jang said plainly that he would l isten to no argu

ments on the subject and would give up Gunti’

i r only to super iorforce . M eanwhi le the desertions from the Company’s troopscontinued . M r . Brooke, Chief at M asul ipatam , again brought thematter before Government suggesting a reference to the N izam 1

who coul d influence hi s brother . In March 1 774 the N izam ,

at the request of the M adras Government, did issue orders to

Basalat Jang, orders towhich Basslat Jang paid not the sl ightestatten tion , and the French corps continued in his service undisturbed .

In 1 776,however, a more favourable opportun ity arose tourge the

dismissal of hi s French contingent f or, alarmed at the progress madeby H aidar A li of M aisur

,Basalat Jang le f t A don i and came to

Guntur’ for safety, paying a considerable sum of money to H aidaras a pacification . The M asuli patam Counci l , thereupon , occupiedVetapalem and other ports on the coast, seiz ing al l m i l i tary storeslanded f or Guntur, and Basalat Jang, h is resources by sea cut off

and threatened by H aidar on land,found hi s power decl ine . A n

E ngineer ofiicer, named Dufficio, left h is service and joined the Com

pany’a force at Vetapalem , giving ample information of al l troops

and fortifications . A t length Basslat Jang found that he had no

alte rnative but tocome toterms w ith the Company, an d on Novem

ber 3oth , 1 778, the M adras Government took in toconsideration a

There was an extrad i tion clause in the T reaty w ith the N izam and under th i s

clause the Company had gi ven up in 1 768A sava Rae , a Zem indar whofled f rom Kamma

mett and took re fuge i n N uzvidu . There was there fore a good cause todemand thatBasa

lat Jang should not harbour deserters f rom th e Company’s regiments .

H ai dar A l i was conquering the Cuddapah coun try , whi ch included Cumbum and the

M arks pur Taluq , sothat it would be easy for h im tomove on Vinukonda and Guntur .

Cap tain Walker , Command ing Kondapal le, wrote on M ay 8th , 1 776 : A Subadar of“ Captain Coll i ns

’Battal ion says that he came th rough Bazalut Jung

’s camp , nearly 86

mi les f rom th is p lace . H e has a vast number of troops , particularly cavalry, 2 0

elephants , and 1 00 camels , that the M p was above four coss in length and that M r .

Lal ly was at Vinukonda : that he had wi th him about 8 poys armed wi th firelocks ,900 topasses and 1 00 E uropean cavalry and some sepoys at Vetapalem waiting for gun sand ammun ition f rom Pondicherry.

KI STN A me'rni er M A N UAL ,

proposal from him to code the Guntur district for an annual pay

ment, to dism iss al l French troops and to accept the Company’sof f er to provide for the defence of h is country . The negotiationswere carried on through the N avab of A rcot and the N izam was

not consul ted in the matter . On February 2 7th , 1 779, a treaty wasconcluded w ith Basalat Jang, and M r . H ol lond was despatched toH aidarabad to explain the transaction to the N iz i m ,

and on A pr i l1 9th , 1 779, a force under Captain H arper marched totake possessionof Guntur .

The anger of N izam A l i , when M r . H ol lond mad e known tohimthe views of the M adras Governmen t, was not easi ly appeased . H e

denied the r ight of the Madras Counci l tomake a treaty w ith h isbrother unknown to himself, he altogether resented the idea of h i sbrother’s being provided by the Company w ith a British force and

he was yet more embittered by the w ithholding by the Governmen tof Fort St . George of the tribute due tohim f or their occupyi ngthe Northern Circars and by thei r proposal torem it this tr ibu teal together . H e showed hi s opposition by at once taking intohi sown service al l the French troops which h is broth er had dism issed,and i t appeared probable that he would at once un ite w ith H aidarA l i in an attack upon the Company’s terr itory . From this dangerM adras was saved by the in tervention of the Governor - General at

Calcutta, VVarron H as tings . H e took a very severe vi ew of theproceedings of the M adras Counci l and , in truth, the f act that theyhad at once leased Gun tur for ten years to the N avab of A rcot is

enough tocondemn them .

‘

On N ovember 1 st, 1 779, a letter was written from Calcutta totheN izam repudiating the action of the Government of Fort St . George .

That Government repl ied by a letter to the Bengal Governmen t

expressed in very in subordinate language and recal led and sus

pended M r . H ol lond , the envoy at H aidarabad, whohad commun i

os ted tothe Calcutta Counci l copies of h is correspondence . Th e

Governor - General , thereupon , appoin ted M r . H ol lond torepresen th im immediately at the N izam

’s Court, and when the account of

1 Some of the M adras ofi cial s were engaged w i th transactions w i th the N avdb s im i lar

tothose , descr ibed elsewhere, of M r . H odge s w i th N 1’

1 zv idu. They ad vanced money and

rece ived assignments of the revenues of h is territor ies , so Guutii r was now on the poin t

of f al l ing in tothei r clutches . The most notorious instance was that of M r . Paul Bonfi eld ,

whose salary was about £300 per annum and whohe ld claims upon the Carnatic revenues

amounting to The Governor of M ad ras at p resent was Sir Thomas Rumbol d ,

whois said to have commenced l i f e as a waiter at Wh i te's.— A rbathnot

’s M unro, I , 1 1:

f ool - acts.

BRITISH PERIOD . 83

these transactions reached E ngland the Court of Directors dismiss

ed f rom thei r servi ce Sir Thomas Rumbold, Governor of M adras,an d twoM embers of Council .

I n the mean time Captain H arper , w i th three battal ions of sepoysand one company of arti l lery, had occup ied Guntur . This hadm uch annoyed H aidar A l i , and when the British troops set out to

march from Guntur towards A don i , H aidar A l i proceeded toopenhostili ty and barred their route through the Cumbum di strict, sothat Colonel H arper was compel led tofal l back upon Guntur . H aidar

A l i’s troops followed him intothe Guntur district and by N ovember

1 779 had possession of the open country , and Basi lat Jang terr ified by the atti tude of H aidar and of hi s brother , begged the M adrasGovernment torestore toh im Guntur and soavert their hostil ity .

The question came before the Coun cil on December 30th , and it wasdecided that Guntfir should not be given up the embarrassmentscreated in the Council , by the bargain they had concluded withthe Nabob, f or a ten years’ lease of that Circar , contributed not

less, it would appear , than al l other inducements, tothe resolutionwhich they In A pril 1 780 Sir Thomas Rumbold lef t

M adras and M r . Whi tehi l l , formerly Chief at M asul ipatam ,became

Governor . During this weak admin istration of the Governmen t ofM adras H aidar burst upon the Carnatic w ith an army of a hundredthousan d strong. With him was M . L al ly, late Commandant at

Gun tur, and four hundred F rench soldiers . The M adras Governmen t, col lecting al l avai lable reinf orcements, ordered ColonelH arper

’s detachment, now under command of Colonel Bai lli e, to

march from Gun tli r toM adras . The force consisted of 1 50 E uropeansand 2 ,000 sepoys . They setout for the south, and on September 8thfell in w i th H aidar

’s army at Perambakam and , being joined by

Colonel F letcher with reinforcements of E uropean troops, were

total ly defeated on September 1 0th at Conjeveram where, had it

not been f or the great exertions of Lal ly, Pimor in and other Frenchofficers,

”not a man would have received quarter from their

M ussulman foes .

The Calcutta Counci l had on June 1 2 th, 1 780, addressed a despatchto the M adras Government ordering the restitution of the Gun tii r

M ill I V, 1 2 0 .1 M i ll IV, 1 86 .

“ No pen can do justice to th e humanity of these

gentlemen , wi thout whose assistance many of our omcers must have per ished : but their“ meri t wi l l l ive for ever embalmed in th e hearts of al l who f elt or witnessed their

beneficence .

"

84 KISTN A ms'rmc'r n its“ ,

Circar , but the M adras Government did hot carry out these ordersand the Guntur Circar remained nom inal ly under the N aval) of

A rcot . N ominally,for in real ity there was l ittle rule of any sort in

Guntur . The Company’s sepoys,left by Colonel Bai ll ie in garrison,

refused to goby sea toM adras and remained uselessly at Ongole.

H aidar’s cavalry, under comman d of a Sird i r named Narsu, swept

over the country, plunderingthe town sof KadavaK liduru, Vetapalem,

Nizampatam andM angalagiri . A t M asulipatam ,

‘ when the sepoyswere ordered to embark they broke into open mutiny

, and many ofthe Zem indars throughout the Circars were known tobe disaf f ecte d .

A t this juncture Warren H astings sent from Calcutta to M adras

Sir Eyre Coote, w ith a comm ission totake command and tosuspendthe Governor, M r . Whitehil l . Some regiments of Bengal sepoysunder Colonel Pearse marched by the coast toreinforce the M adrasarmy, and M r . Daniel took advan tage of their passage through the

Circars tocoerce and reduce tosubm ission some of the more retrae

tory Zem indars . The orders of the Supreme Governmen t were nowcarried out and Guntii r was restored toBasalat Jang, but Kondapalleand M asul ipatam forts were strongly garr isoned and a field forcewith six gun s was stationed on the river bank at Srikakulam readyf or any hosti l ities . The only breach of the peace, however , was thetrouble caused by Venk iah , a kinsman of vasireddi Nagannah ,Zemindzi r of Nandigama, who was supported by A ppa Rao, theZemindar of N dzvidu, and by the petty Zemindars of Bezvada,M ai lavaram ,

M edurghat and Jamalavai . To put an end to thesedisturbances, M r . Stratton in 1 781 was stationed at M ai lavaram and

M r . A ndrew Scott at Raghavapuram, each wi th amili tary force ath is di sposal . Some time afterwards Venkiah was captured and the

disturbances ceased .

In 1 782 Basélat Jang died, but the Guntfir Circar was not

given over to the Company according to treaty and remainedfor six more years under the tender mercies of Saif Jang and

the renters of N izam A l i Khan . In 1 784 the Governor -General,Warren H astings, was so pressed for men and money that he

proposed to restore al l the N orthern Circars to the Nizam, but this1 A f ul l account of thi smutiny was lef t on record by M r. Dan iel ,Ch ief atMasul ipat am

On coming to the fort in the morn ing he was told by Captain Cesshyre and L ieutenant

Crauf urd that the sepoys ref used toembark . H e therefore asked General Stuart, whowas

apparently travel l ing through M asul ipatam, touse hi s influence. The General paraded

the troops and went through their ranks, but fai led to persuade them toreturn totheir

duty. M r . Daniel then called for volunteers toembark, but seemingly tonopurpose, and

the sepoys appear tohave gained their point.

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86 KI STN A nl srmcr MA N UAL ,

by way of N arsaraopet and Vinukonda to Cumbum, a regiment ofl ight cavalry following in hot pur suit, but never overtak ing them .

Their ravages are stil l remembered in thi s district . Old men cal led as

wi tnesses in Court fix their age by saying that they were lads whenthe M ahratta cavalry came .

In the year 1 82 3 the claims of the N izam over these N orthernCircars were determined by a money payment to him from the

Company of Rs.

I n 1 83 2 - 3 occurred the terrible drought, which is known amongE uropeansas

“ the Guntur Fam ine” and among nativesas N andana

that being the cycl ic year . Thi s terrible calami ty covered thecountry w ith human bones from Ongole to M asul ipatam and for

twenty years afterwards the cultivation in the Guntur district didnot reach i ts previous l im it .

In December 1859 the Guntt'i r and M asul ipatam districts were

amalgamated into the Kistna District .

m asts or mi sumrs'rsu . 87

CH APTER V.

A N N A LS OF M A SUL I PA TAM .

The ancien t geographers men tion a port named Mmsol ia on thiscoast wh ich was the point to which caravan trafi c extended fromPersia and the emporium whence ships sai led tothe Gol den Chersonese,

”and th is may be the modern M asul ipatam but the coast l ine

near the mouth of the Kistnamust have advanced very much in seven

teen cen turies, and it is impossible now tocon jecture where the ancientport was situated . There is very l ittle reference toM asul ipatam in

th e period of H indu rule the people were chiefly pastoral and donot appear to have paid much attention to sea- borne commerce.

I n the temple in the fort is an in scr iption of A . D . 1 397 recordinga private grant, and on a pil lar of the mandapam of the temple ofRamal inga in Robertson

’s pettah are three inscriptions of the twelfth

cen tury .

Orme men tions a tradition that M asul ipatam was founded in thefourteen th century by a colony of A rabs, and there may possibly besome foundation f or the legend, as the A rabs engaged largely incommercial ventures from the Red Sea toSouthern India and may

perchance have found their way round Ceylon as f ar as thi s part ofthe coast. The first mention of M asul ipatam in history is that aboutthe year 1 42 5 a M uhammadan M osque was bui lt in M asul ipatamunder the tolerant auspices of the Carnatic Rajas, w howere at thattime fighting the Bahman i kings of the Deccan wi th their ownw eapons, and were en listing M ussulman soldiers under their banners .

In 1 478the victorious army of M uhammad Shah Bahmani II penetrated as f ar as M asul ipatam,

but on the downfal l of that monarchthe country came under the ru le of the Or issa Raijas and, after beingconquered by the great Carnatic k ing, Kr ishna Rays , (circa

was final ly taken possesssion of by the M pssulman kingof Golconda,Sultan Qul i Qutb Shah . I n 1 557 the Carnatic Governor of Kondav ida occupied M asul ipatam w ith an army of men

, but thatwas merely a temporary in road, and this part of the coast remainedpeaceful ly under the rule of the Golconda kings for a century and a

half, numerous references in the hi stories of the period showi ngthat the sea- borne trade of M asul ipatam, fostered by the M uham

madan sovereigns, must have attained very considerable dimensions .

88 n ew s msrarcr m an ,

It was under the patronage of the k ings ofGolconda that E uropeantraders first established themselves at M asul ipatam . The Portuguesemay have been the earl iest and the Dutch the second nation to

occupy this field, but the first E ngl ish venture was in the year 1 61 1 ,when a factory was establ ished at M asul ipatam on behalf of the

E ast India Company. The following i s taken from M r . Morris’

Godavari M anual

The very earl iest notice of this factory is to be found in two

letters addressed by L ucas A nthenn i ss at Pettapol le (Peddapal l i) orN izampatam , toPeter Will iams , a factor at M asul ipatam, in whichthe particulars of certain pettymercanti le transactions are men tioned . These letters are dated December 2 9th , 1 6 1 1 , and January 8th ,1 6 1 2 .

In January 1 6 1 1 Captain H ippou was despatched by the Directorsof the E ast India Company in the ship Globe to open a trade

wi th the people on the Coromandel coast . A Dutchman , namedPeterWi ll iamson F loris, whowas in the E ngl ish Company

’s Serv ice ,

accompan ied him in the capacity of factor, wi th authority toconductal l commercial transactions . A fter touching at Pulicat, where Florisand H ippou were unsuccessful in open ing trade, the Globe sailed

for M asul ipatam . Thence she departed, laden wi th cotton clothsand other del icate fabrics for Bantam and Siam . In the fol low ingyear (1 6 1 3 ) she returned to M asul ipatam . Floris has left an interesting account of these voyages and a quaint extract from the narrative

of his second v isit here fol lows

On the l 0th of December they arrived at M asul ipatam where

they found an E ngl ish ship and twoH ollanders . They understoodthat M ir Sadardi was out of place and that A tma Khan and

Busebul leran di d govern . The ship was the James sent expresslytosecond them in their voyage . The 2 l st, the author and otherswent on shore, where they were met by Wenkatadra, son of

Busebul leran , w i th the Shah Bandar and other M oors, by whomthey were wel l received, being presented w ith several Tesserifies.

The Director Warner and the author had each a fine horse giventhem . Floris ref used hi s

, suspecting their treachery, but wascompel led toaccept it. H e took a Kaul at four per centum and

landed goods . The 2 5th of January the James departed forPetapoli , and on the 7th of February from thence for Bantam.

The 2 3rd the author returned toMasul ipatam.

AN N A LS or M AsUL IPA rAn . 89

The 2 9th of July, there arrived four persons; as ambassadors,along with Wengali , from the great King of N aras inga 1 or Vel i

'

l r,

whobrought M r . Floris the King’s kaul wi th h is abestiam (which

i s a whi te cloth, bear ing the impression of 11 1 8own hand, in sandalor safi ron) l ikewise one from the Queen of Paleakate, besidesseveral letters f rom Jaga Raja, Tima Raja, A pokandaia and others .

The King’s letter was written on a leaf

.

of gold, wherein be ex

cused the ofience given the E ngl ish at Paleakate and invitedthem tocome toh is country, giving them leave to choose a placefor bu il ding a house or castle totheir l iking, besides other privileges. A s an earnest of h is good wi ll , he bestowed on M r . Floris

a town , yi el di ng an in come of about four hundred pounds a year ,prom ising todomore f or h im at his next arr ival . The H ol landersdid al l they could to obstruct th ese favours, but their influencewas not great enough . The inhabitants grieving to see everyyear E ngl ish ships pas s by without reaping any benefit from them ,

fil l ed the King’s ears w ith complain ts, and procured these friendl y

of f ers . M r . Flor is kept the envoys w i th h im and bore their ex

penses til l the ship came into the road . H is man,Wengal i , has

spoken in person w ith the King wholaid hi s hand upon his headand presented h im with a Tesserifie .

Th e 4th of October , the ships being sheathed, came intothe

road of Masul ipatam and Flor is gave order for loading the goods .

On th e 2 5th cam e new s of the death of Wenkatadrapa, King ofVe lfir, after fifty year s

’reign , and that his three w ives (of whom

Ob iamma,Queen of Paleakate, was one) had burn ed themselves

w i th th e corpse . Great troubles were apprehended . The H ol land

ers were af rai d of their castle newly buil t in Paleakate ) “

From the above extract it w i l l be seen that the ships traded not

on ly from E urope, but‘

that a profitable business was done in sel l ing

M asul ipatam goods in Sumatra and the Spice Islands . This trafli cproved soprofitable that in 1 62 7 the Batavia Counci l “ recommendedthat rials in money should be sent annual ly toM asul ipatam

f or cl oths tobe exchanged in the E astern A rchipelago for gold and

camphor and spices.

1 N ararimha seems tohave been general ly used by the E ngl ish todenote the Carnatic

BAja of Vijayanagar .

Journal of M r . Peter Wi lli amson F lori s, Cape M erchant in th e voyage of Captai n

H ippou . Translated f rom the Dutch . Col lection of voyages and travel s,”Vol . I , p . 443 .

s Bruce’s A nnals of the East India Company, Vol . I , pp . 188, 2 79.

90 n ew s msrmcr m uss,

There was much jealousy at M asulipatam between the Dutch and

the E nglish merchants, and in 1 62 8 the latter were soharassed bytheir rivals that they removed toA rmegon on the N ellore Coast,where a factory had been founded three years previously . In

November 1 63 2 a firman was obtained from the King at Golcondapermitting the E ngli sh tore - open the factory at M asul ipatam and to

trade at other ports in his domin ions, and in 1 684 a second firman

was obtained, sothat they ought to have been free from al l local

hindrances, but the Dutch appear to have stil l been able tothwartand annoy their E uropean rivals . In 1 648 and 1 649 the wars

between the King of Golconda and the H i ndu Rajas interfered w iththe cloth trade, and from this date M asulipatam factory appear s tohave occupied a position of less importance than that assumed bythe more recent establ ishment of Fort St . George or M adras . On

December 4th , 1 655 , the foll owingM inute of Consul tation at Masuli

patam was recorded : N ext was taken in to consideration what

proportion of means was thought needf ul to be all owed to such ofthe Company’s servants as are to resi de at M adraspatam and

M etchlapatam and the subordinate factories f or their necessaryexpenses , charges, garrison , &c.

, excepted, it was agreed thatthirty old Pagodas should be al lowed to M r . E dwardWinter touphold the Company’s houses at M etchlapatam ,

Verasheroon ,

Pottapolee, Daleepadee, and sixty new Pagodas for the presidentand two factors the minister and hi s wife, and chirurgeon , atFort St. George .

A bout 1 670 a Dominican Friar, named Fernandez N avarette,visi ted Masulipatam on his return journey f rom China to E urope .

H e had been sen t to the Philippin e Islands and Chi na and he

returned by a rather circuitous route . From Malacca he went bysea toM adras and thence by land to Golconda and M asulipatam , at

which port he embarked f or Surat. H e gives the follow ing descriptica of Masul ipatam : The city Musul apatam is famous al l

along the coast of Coromandel . It is situated sixty leagues northof M adrasta, a very populous place and of great trade . The

E ngl ish and Dutch and at present the French have erected f actories there . Some years ago, besides these, the Danes had one

too. Some Portuguese, M ungrels and Blacks whoare Cathol icksl ive there and have a l ittle Church where there was a father of theorder of St. A ugustin . Some E ngl ish and Dutch, who have discharged themselves from their Companies, have settled there and

m an s or u summrn . 91

l ive wi th their f amilies. The cl imate is very bad and unhealthy.

They sai d the heat from A pril to A ugustwas intolerable : all thecountry abounds in wheat, rice, sheep, hens, geese, fish and frui tat reasonable rates . I stayed with my Chinese in the French f actory, where I said mass f or them every day and dined and suppedat their table they treated me in heal th, and a small sickness I hadwi th extraordinary k indness, love and afiection . The city is singular and there being such a diversi ty of natives there fal l s out

something new every day among Persians, Armen ians, M oors, &c .

That city resembles Babel in the variety of tongues and difi erencesof garbs and customs, but I lik ed the natural incl inations of themall . I sometimes went tothe Church, which was a considerabledistance from the f actory, met several people by the way and

they were al l courteous and civ il . I talked with some E ngl ishand Dutch, vi sited them because it was necessary, and foundthem very obl iging in their words and some no less in theiractions .

’

A very simi lar description of M asul ipatam is given by a Dutchm inister : M asul ipatam is a city seated near a large r iver, wherethe E ngl ish and Dutch have their factories. It is very populousand the residence of a Governor, whopays a certain yearly tr ibuteto the King of Golconda, whi ch he squeezes out of the inhabitants,espec ial ly the gen tues, which are sorely oppressed by the Persiansand Moors here, who farm al l the weaving trade f rom the greatpersons ; wherefore there is scarce any trafficking here w ithprofit un less you obtain a Patent from the King which is not easytobe obtained, because the Governors (whopay Pagodasof annual tr ibute to the King) constantly oppose it : and it is a

d imcul t matter toapproach the King (whokeeps his Court at a

great distance hence) without purchasing thei r f avour or some

other Government men’s at Court . For the rest, thi s city is a

place of great trafi ck , wheremost of our commodi ties, as also thosetran sported hi ther from the M ologues, China, &c., are sold at a

very good rate. H ere is also a great concourse of merchants

f rom Camboja, Burattoand other places under the jurisdiction of

the Gr eat M ogul , as also f rom Goa, Orixa, Bengals and Pegu .

H ere is alsoa considerable trafi ck in Diamonds and Rubies .

”

0 An account of China, wri tten in Spani sh , by the R . F . F. Fernandez N avarette,

k n ew in Coll ection of Voyages and Travel s.

” London , 1 704, Vol . I .

A true and exact description of themost celebrated E ast Indian Coasts of M alabar

and Coromandel . By Ph ilip Baldores, M inister of theWord of God in Ceylon . Amster

dam, 1 67 2 . Col lection of Voyages and Travels.

” London 1 764.

92 men u ms'rsxcr MA N UAL ,

The following description of Masul ipatam was wr itten in 1 7 1 9

by Pere Bouchet, a French Jesuit M asulipatam appartenoi t

anciennement en m i de Golconde, il est ma intenant sous la pu is

sance da M ogol . Cette vi lle est eloignée de Golconde d’envi ron

quatre vinght l ieues : les pr incipales nations de 1’ E urope qu i

trafiquent auxIndes y ont des comptoirs . L es toiles peintes qu’on

y travaill e sont les plus estimées de toutes cel les qui se fabriquent

aux Indes : on y voit nu pont de bois le plus long, je crois, qui soit

au monde il est uti le daus les grandee marées oh la mer couvre

beaucoup de terrain : on y respire nu tree mauvais air . On

compte plus de cent l ienes de chem in par te rre de M adras a

M asul ipatam,mais i l est vrai qu’il y a plusieurs detour s é

prendre .

”

These three description s give us a picture of M asulipatam as a

busy commercial centre and var ious quaint references in the ol d

records' give us some idea of the mode of l ife° of the E nglish in

their factory about the year 1 670 an d later . The orders of theDirectors in London were expl icit that their married servants weretoreside in hciu ses prov ided by the Company, an d that the unmarriedmen were todine at a common table w ith a steward appointed toorder their table, that it doth not exceed their al lowance .

”Some

times they sent out Bibles, Catechisms and rel igious treatises fordi stribution and in al l their despatchesmuch interest is shown in themoral welfare of their employés . This paternal care reaches i tscl imax in the fol low ing M emorandum written by Major Wi l l iamPuckle, whocame out in February 1 676 as A uditor

Proposal ls tothe A gent about the youngmen in M etchelepatam .

I .- Whereas each hath h i s peon ’ and some more w ith theirRondel ls, that none be perm itted but as at the Fort .

II — That some pecun iarymulct or fine be imposed or deductedoutof their wages f or m isdemeanours .

1 . A bsence from public prayersWithout reasonable excuse .

Letters E difiantes et Curienses. I I . 652 .

See th e notes on and extracts f rom the Government Records in Fort St. George,M adras , 1871 , s copy of whi ch i s in every Col lector

’s Ofi ce throughout th e Pres idency .

8 For an amus ing sketch of themodeof l i f e among th e Dutch in Indi a, see M r . Morri s'

M anual of the Godavari D istri ct, p . 1 98.

Peon is a Spanish or Portuguese word , meaning foot or foot soldier , and i s

used all over South India to denote an ofi ce messenger or attendan t. Probably hence

Pawn the p iece in chess .

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94 KISTN A msrsrcr m ust ,

Will iam Puckle, the A uditor, was commissioned by the“ Court of

Directors as Chief of M asulipatam in order to investigate this d is

pute, the accusations being : M r . M ohun in trading wi th the

Company’s monys and taking up monys at interest, &c . , on the

Company’s creddit i f not in their names, for h is own accoun t f or

the driving on of h is own particular trade . M r . Mainwaring for

wronging the Company in over - reckoning the packing charges at

M etchlapatam and the Bay and over - rating some of the Company’s

goods there .

”

But Major Puck le died in January 1 677 and the Counci l, havingreceived orders from London todi smiss M r . Mohun from the Com

pany’s service, paid him hi s arrears of salary up to date and he

sailed f or E ngland, giving notice that he in tended to sue for

damages for'

wrongful dismissal . Dur ing the fol low ingyear , 1 678, the Counci l leisurely proceeded w ith the enquiry intothe

charges against M r . M ainwaring and on March 4th he, in hi s turn ,was rel ieved from duty, M r . Christopher H atton becoming Chi e f at

M asul ipatam in his stead . In N ovember 1 678 M r . M ainwaringformal ly demanded his place as Chief of M asul ipatam , but Govern

ment decl ined to modi fy their suspension of h im and ofiered h im

copies of their enquiry and a passage home . In January 1 679 M n.

Richard M ohun returned to M adras tr iumphant and was rece ived

into Council . A f ew days after thi s M r . Mainwaring del ivers twopapers tothe Governor, apparently fearing M r . Mohun’s vengeance,f or he is an swered concern ing his wife and afiairs at M etchlapatam,

she is a woman soe obl iging and di screet there is noe occasion ofan order to protect her, but i f anything should ofier , the A gentand Governour wi l l not be behind hand in civilitys and in care of

her soe f ar as becomes him and w ith regard to hi s other requestthe A gent and Governour is onl y confirmed in his previous Opin ionand refers M r . M ainwar ing to the Bou

’ble Company for a final

conclusion of all his matte rs . M r M ohun accompanied the A gentin his two journeys by land and sea to M asul ipatam in 1 679 and

then remained in M adras as a M ember of Council , but meanwhi leM r . M ainwaring had gone toE ngland and soon July 2 ud, 1 780, thefol lowing minute was entered : The ship President anchors in theRoads having left the Downes the 1 3th February . M r . M atthewM ainwaring lands . The H onourable Company

’s packet is read.

Mr . Richard M ohun being now by the Company’s order discharged

A N N A LS or nssm xrsu u . 95

the endless disputes and aspersions, as the M adras Counci l termsth em , at M asul ipatam must have had the worst possible ef f ect uponth e di scipl ine of the factory there . In a despatch dated December2 4th , 1 675, .the Directors had laid down rules for the purchase of

goods . When the Cal icos were brought to the Company’s ware

house in fulfilment of contract, three of the Council , including the

A gen t or Chi ef or Warehousekeeper , must be present, tocompareth e goods wi th the sample and tofix the price tobe en tered in thebooks, and the Factors and Writers must be present as f ar as possib l e to gain know ledge . Thi s was apparently beneath the dign ityof some of the Company’s servants, for in a despatch dated 1 5thDecember 1 676 the Directors say, w ith regard to the objectionsraised by some to assisting at the sorting of cloth, We wouldhave you tolet al l in our service know that they are tobe disposedof as our Chief and Coun cil shal l di rect, for the best carrying onof afiairs , and not to stand upon Punctil l ioes . It is in thi s

d espatch that the fol low ing curious passage occurs We find a

complaint against M r . Wales and Cul len about throwing a brickbat into M r . M ainwaring

’s window , and of Wales swearing, and

we note that M r . Clau le and M r Vincent do laugh and di spise at

our agency at the fort . We trust due notice has been taken ofthis, for we shall not permit any of our servants, of what qual itysoever, to contemn our authority, whi ch those do, that contemnany that act by it .

”

The trade whi ch was carried on at the factory was as describedabove by the travel lers whovisited M asul ipatam . The staple exportwas cloth, weaved and dyed in the Kistna and Godavari v i llages,an d there are references to saltpetre, turmeric, al l sorts of spices,an d mi scel laneous articles such as spotted deer and water fow l f orH is M ajesty Charles II. The imports included al l sorts of goodsmanufactured in E ngland, among whi ch broadcloth, and superfinescar let and green cloth, seems to have been most appreciated by thenatives of this coun try. The Company had an agent at Golcondafor the purchase of diamonds, a M r . Cholmely, whowas from timeto time accused of engaging in private trade . This private trade is amatter which constan tly crops up in the records and probably wasthe mainsn of much of the insubordination and discord that

prevailed . The East Indi a Company al lowed private trade in certain

commodi ties, setting apart five per cent. of the tonnage of each ship

for the private ventures of the Commander and seamen, and

96 men u DISTRICT M AN UAL ,

permitting the Chief at M asul ipatam tosend home three tons, al l

others of Council two tons and the Factors not in Council one ton

each . There i s more than one passage in the old records show ingthat this private trade clashed wi th their duty to the Company .

If they engaged in private trad e, competing against each other , that

would at once explain the many quarrels and the bitter complaints

against the Chief, whose position and power doubtless placed h im

at an advantage in the mart . The salaries were soutterly inadequate ,a wr iter got £ 1 0 per annum and a Factor £2 0, that the pr ivatetrade was what they looked toas their l ivel ihood and their position

as servants of the Company was valued on ly for the faci l ities it

af forded them to carryon this private trade . Thus we see M r . M ohun ,

Chief at M asul ipatam, on a salary of £ 1 00 per annum , giving notice

tosue the Company for damages for wrongful dismissal

The establ ishment proposed f or the factory at M asul ipatam by

M ajor Puckle in 1 675 was as fol lows :

A ChiefA second f or accounts and nomore of Councel l .A thi rd for godowns

A Secretary, twoFactors, a Steward, three Wr iters, each of the

Councel l totake charge of one, a Physitain ,rather than a Chirurgeon,“a M in ister . The business done at the factory must have been

considerable to afford occupation to so large an establi shment.Some passages in the records show that Portuguese clerks were

employed as book- keepers .

The Directors in London , w ith their sober mercantile ideas, hadl ittle notion that their servants in India adopted any r61e but thatof the representatives of a trading Company . The accounts, ofcourse, showed that large sums were paid toobtain the patronageof M ussulman and H indu courtiers and business was carried ononly un der the shelter of royal grants, but this perhaps toLondonmerchants, who could almost remember the monopol ies of QueenE l izabeth’s reign , may have appeared a necessary inciden t of foreigntrade and they appear to have had l ittle suspicion that their agents

in Indi a now began to assume a retinue and di splay more suited toenvoys of a nation than to mere employés of a mercanti le concern.

The old records contain a very interesting accoun t of two visitsmade to M asul ipatam by M r . Streynsham M aster, A gent at Fort St.George, whotravell ed in state attended by twoM embers of Council,

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98 KISTN A msrmcr MA N UAL ,

their factories make their investments wi th ready money advan ceswhich they never did heretofore . N otwi thstanding wh ich our

merchants goe on cheerq y in their business, not questioningbut tocomply wi th the contracts made w ith them , made by theA gents &c.

, at M etchlepatam and M adapollam .

” I n the even ing

of A ugust 9th, M r . H atton and the others went ashore and the w indbeing favourable after midn ight, the ships wi th the A gen t and h ispeople set sai l for Bal lasore.

On January 1 3th , 1 680, the Golden Fleece again anchored in theM asul ipatam roads on her return voyage from the H ugli . M r .

H atton , M r . Wynne and others went on board and in the afte rnoon

the A gent went ashore. The Dutch Chief stood upon the Termsof their house when we passed by

, but came not downe tomeet

us in the street.” H e sent next day to say that he would v is it theA gen t whobegged tobe excused on account of press of business .

One Down ing having entered the service of the King of Golcondahas Pilot in charge of a vessel bound for Persia, on a salary of 500

pagodas per mensem (l) the A gent informs Derya Chaun in charge oftheKing

’s af f airs here, that it was the King of E ngland

’s orders that

h is subjects should not serve any other nation , and that the KingofGolcondah would do wel l toget rid of Down ing, as such sort ofmen were general ly runaways and di d their employers no good .

But that being unwi l ling toinconven ience the King, the A gen t wouldnot take the man out of the ship til l the K1 ng was informed of thematter . Derya Chaun represents the inconven ience of the pi lotbeing removed when she was now ready to sai l wi th a Portugueseand French pass . Orders were given to proceed w ith new buildingsfor the factory, the old bui lding having snfier

'

ed much in the greatstorm of October 1 3 th, 1 779. The descriptions given of this stormshow that it was sim ilar to the inundation of N ovember l st, 1 864.

The sea flowed twelve feet deep in the Dutch factory an d destroyedal l their goods and their house to the value of pagodas the

sea was alsoknee - deep in the E ngl ish factory, where great loss wassustained in pepper and other spices . A l l the houses in the townw ere unti led “ whereby our H onourable Company hath l ikew isesustained much dammage there in their Broadcloth and Calicoes.

A great part of the Towns, both houses and people, being carr iedaway and destroyed by the sea water which has washed among the

Island be fore it, the Bar, towns and bridges .

” Several ships andboats were blown away. In Masul ipatam and adjacent v il lages at

ANN A LS or M A SUL IPA TA M . 99

least men , women and chi ldren were drowned and lay nu

bur ied in the streets , which occasioned a great stench .

”The

Call icoes which were w ett in the H onourable Compan ies f actoryin M etchlepatam were al l del ivered to the washers to be washtagaine, and al l possible dél igence used tohasten the same

,that

soe thi s year’s investmen t be not retarded .

”

Thi s in undation was probably fol lowed by sickness at M asulipatamf or on February l 6th , 1 780, the follow ingM inute appears in the FortSt George records M r . Chr istopher H atton desir ing a greaterl iberty as to removal out of the factory f or air than the late ordersmade at M etchlepatam doal low tothe Chief, i t is thought propertogran t h is desire in respect tohimself in particular by reason of

his indisposition of body,but this is not to be a precedent f or

other s w ithout a particular dispen sation ,”and on July 2 6th , 1 780,

advi ce is received of M r . H atton’s death . M r . John Twi l l wasappoin ted to succeed him but he also died in September and M r .

M aurice Wynne was then appointed Chief at M asulipatam .

It w il l be seen from these extracts that the Dutch were the mostform idable r ivals of the E ngl ish factory .

1 1 They had been the firstcomers and appear always to have looked on the E nglish as intruderswhowere to be driven from this field. In 1 62 8they bad influence

enough to expel the E ngl ish for some years from this port, and the

boastful language of the Dutch Ch ief recorded by the A gent of FortSt . George was in keeping w ith the ostentatious assumption of

super iority we find on other occasions . It i s said that the Dutchwere the first to erect the fort at M asul ipatam . I have not beenable tofind any authority for this tradition , but it is probably true,for in the fort is a tomb - stone w ith the fol low ing inscription

H ier leyt begraven Den E . Jacob Dedel , in syn leven Raetvan in

D ierst ende Opper H oof t te water ende te lande over de N ederlan tzeE . Comp . Deser Cust Cormandel . Overleden , den 2 9 A ugusty A nno

1 62 4 .

1 11 There i s nomention in these old records of the French f actory , except th at in M ay

1 674, th e Dutch p icked a quarrel wi th th e Government at Fort St. George for gi ving

asy lum to Monsieur Peter Del tor, second for afia irs of the Royal Company of France at

M etchi patam .

” I n 1 698a smal l square was bui lt for the French f actory, wh ich is sti ll

known as Frenchpettah, and , having been restored to France af ter th e peace of 1 81 4, sti l l

remains (1882 ) French terr itory . I t is a space of some 71 acres and includes twobungalows,

a chapel and some other buildi ngs.

1 00 KISTN A DISTRICT MAN UA L,

(H ere l ies buried the H on . Jacob Dedel , in hi s l ife Council lor in theService and Chi ef by water and by landof theDutch IndiaCompanyon the Coromandel Coast. Died A ugust 2 9th ,

The site where the Dutch had their vi lla residences is stil l knownas Valandupalem , a

.

corruption of H ollandpalem, and their bu ria l

ground is in a corner of the compound of a bungalow behind the

Col lector’s Ofii ce . It contains several tomb - stones in very good

p reservation . The stone is the hard ndpa régi on whi ch the

H indus carve their inscriptions, but the Dutch‘

must have had a

trained stone mason , for almost every stone bears a coat of arm s ,

executed with considerable sk il l . E ven the grave- stoneof an obscure

Schipp er or Sea Captain, probably notof degree tobear coat armour,has an effigy of deceased with the three - cornered hat and long coat ,

fami l iar in old il lustrations, rem inding one that this Dutch Skipperwas a contemporary of those bold mariners, Gul l iver and RobinsonCrusoe .

The graves are enclosed by a good masonry wal l , but some inscriptions have disappeared before that destructive personage, the v i l lageherds - boy, who, stone in hand, del ights tochip off the raised lettersthat tel l the v irtues of long- buried merchants and their vrouws . Itherefore find space for five of the most quaint, and make an attemptto trans late them ,

but many words are obsolete Dutch .

DE S! ZE RK BEGRYPT ON DE R 2 1 0 DE DOODE LICH AM EN VA N CATH A R I N A

VAN DE N BRI E L VAN AM STE RDAM E N IOH A N N E S KRUYF VA N TOUAN AN

ON DE RKOOPM A N 1 N nmN sr DE E E . coup . 1oN cE DOGTE R E N 1 0 N e M A N

ensos E N DEN 1 5 A UG 1 657 E N 2 8Nov 1 649 ovE uLUnsN m as r E N con

TOIRE 3 00 1 0 13133 1 678 EN 1 IA N UA RY 1 679 OU T 2 1 IA RE N 1 MA EN 1 9

nA Ae E N E N 2 9 IARE N 1 M A E N 3 DA A GE N .

Requiescan t in Pace .

E E N van s EN r E N M A E en ssnrcx'r nE Es E E N E e E N

H A E a ssr nna M E N IN e WA s VA N rwrn Tr. WORDE N E E N

M u s m: ovE EwsEnE noon sE LE 1'rE VE RGA BE N

E nnsr oA r DEN BRI E L e ar or , E N nos wman xnur r E E N LYK.

H u n Lr vE N ao'rrrN man Mu s m nss 11 1:a arcs .

ZA L GOD DB ZIE LI N VAN DB TWDI GELE VBN PAREN .

Buried un der thi s slab are the dead corpses of Catharine VanDenBrie] of Amsterdam and John Kruyf of Touanan, jun ior merchant inthe service of the H on . Comp .

, a young woman and young man,

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1 02 KI STN A DISTRICT M AN UAL ,

nE sE sE Ex D’U E E DE E LA As

'rE OPSTAA N DING. svsToar DEN 1 7 E N 1 3 3 7 .

1 685 E N WA S our 6O 1 A EE N .

BE LE sEN , DE UGDsAAM , o ou , STAN DVA STIG vAN GEMOET .

N 1 ETLIGT vE EAN DE E LYK noon voos or n ew w1 N DE N

DE N AM STE L WAS E AA E wuss, DAA E WI E RD sr orcnvonr ,H I ER sTos r s

’1N eon vnaNoncD, VA N DAGEN sAT E N 1A E E N

,

H A A E vsous zutL sAL M E T DE CH E RUBYN EN PA E EN .

The dead corpse of M iss E lizabeth Van E rpecum, in her l ifeworthy spouse of M r . M arten Van Den Briel , jun ior merchant and

warehousekeeper, here waits under this slab the hour of the resur

rection . Died the 1 7th February 1 685, and was aged 60 years .

Cultured, vi rtuous, pious, steadfast of mind,N ot l ightly changeable by winds to and f ro,The A mstel was her cradle, there she was brough t up,H ere dead, she in God happily, full of days and years,H er pious soul shal l with the cherubim pair.

Zr BULLEN w arm or H A RE eLAA P- STE EDEN . 1 E S - 57- 2 .

H 1 E E RU ST l E N vEOUWE , noon DE noon

GESCH EYDEN VA N H AA R EcT - cENoor

I N E 1TTE EN Eoow, BE STE LD TE E A A E DE

BE WE EN D M ET rEA N E N vLorn. N A WA EDE .

ON DE E 11 1 :e ZA RK LEeT DEe E A VEN M’mrr . MA E IA WIL E E Lm N A GAM

DmE ZA L E eEM Au N N E vA N DE N E r. E E E E oosrwrN m an orrE EcoorM .

sECUN DE Tl DESE E CUSTE csonoMA N DE L E N orrE E soorn D1 T E OOE DE E

DISTRI CT N ATA TE E sTE E DE N AeA rATN A M DE E 1 5 OUT . 1 702 cmrr A Lm E E

TOT MA sUL IPATN AM DE N 2 A UGU STY A 0 1 735 OUD 3 2 1 A E E N 9 M AAN DEN

E N 1 8DAoE N .

They shal l rest in their beds .— I saiah 57, 2 .

H ere l ies a wife, through deathSeparated from her husband.

In bitter ruth, bestowed to earth,Bewai led with flood of tears

, according toworth .

U nder this slab lies buried M rs . M ariaWi lhelmina Gambier, latewife of the H on . M r . Gosewyn , M ayor, senior merchant, second ofthis Coromandel coast and first of this N orthern di strict . Born at

N egapatam , October 1 5th, 1 702 , died here at M asul ipatam, the 2 ndA ugust 1 735, aged 3 2 years, 9 months and 18days .

A N N A LS or MA SULIPATA M . 1 03

DI ES ST E I N REDEOET DE ROM PEN VAN DE N E . H R . I AcOB OOE BE SIE R

O EBOORT IO VA N VVTREcs T I N SVN L EVE N OPPE RCOOPMAN IN DIE N ST DE R E .

OOM P . EN OE E LIE rE ET SE OUN DE BY DEN E D . B E E R OOUVE RN E U R TOT PALL I

CA TTA OBIIT A LH I E R DEN 1 5 A UGUSTU S 1 687 OUD SYN DE OM TE E N T 5 1

JAA E E N .

I U FPR MA RGA E IETA ROOM S VA N A M STE RDAM SYN E SAL IGE RS H UYSVROUWE .

A LE I E E GE STU RVE N DE N 2 4 E N A UGUST 1 687 OUD OMTE EN T 46 JA A KE N .

SE A DR I E N BLOOE E E L VAN YSSE N DYCK SYN DE eEWE E ST ON DE E OOOPMA N IN

O E M E LTE N DI E N ST E N OPPE R H OOFD VA N T’COM PTO IE E DA ETOR E ROM A LDA ER

OVE RLE DE N DEN 1 9 M AY 1 687 OUD SYN DE OM TRE N T 40 IA A RE N .

I e E L I ZABE TH ERON TE N I US OEBOOE TIG TOT PA LL IOATTA SYN

B UYSVBOVWE E N DOOIITE E VAN VOORN OEMDE I U E I'E A LE I E E ON TSLAPE N

DE N 2 4 M A E RT 1 688OUD OM TREN T 2 1 IA A REN .

SR WIL H E LM FRON TE N IU S M EDR VAN PA LLI CATTA IN SYN L E VE N A DSI STA N T

I N DI RN ST DE R E . COM P. E N BRO E DE R VAN DE I U FR VE RDRON CKE N TU S

scs E N DEB-S PLA ETZE E N PAL L IcOL DEN 1 4 OCTOBE R 1 687 OUD SYN DE RUYM

3 1 IAA REN .

I AOOBU S CORRESIE R DE LON OE cEBOORTI N c TOT DA ETcs E ROM SOON VA N

E E RST GEN OEMDEN R R E N IUE R M EDE A LH I E R OVE RLEDE N DE N 2 1 SE PTEMBR

1 687 OUD SVN DE OM TR EN T 7 IA A REN .

SOO DAT H I E R LEGGE N E EN VADR E EN M OE DE R

E E N SUSTE R TWE E BROE DE E S

TWE E M A N N EN E N TW'

E E WVVE N

Docs N IET M E E R DA N SES LVVE N .

Thi s stone covers the corpses of the H on . M r . James Corbesier ,native of U trecht , in h is l ife sen ior merchan t in the service of the

H on . Company, and elevated as second by the H on . the Governor O f

Pu licat, di ed here the 1 5th A ugust 1 687, aged about 5 1 yearsM rs . M argaret Booms of A msterdam ,

hi s late w ife, died here the

2 4 th A ugust 1 687, aged about 46 years : M r . A drien Blockeel ofI ssendyck , former ly junior merchant in the above mentioned service ,and Chief of the factory at Daetcherom, died there the 1 9th M ay 1 687,

aged about 40 years .

M rs . E li zabeth Frontenius, native of Pul icat, hisw i f e and daughterof the above mentioned dame, fell as leep here the 2 4th M arch 1 688,aged about 2 1 years .

1 04 KISTN A DISTE IcT MAN UA L,

M r . Wi ll iam Frontenius, also of Pulicat, in his l ife assistant inthe service of the H on . Company, and brother of the lady, drownedbetween thi s place and Pal icol, the i 4th October 1 687, aged more

than 3 1 years .

James Corbesier Delonge, native of Daetcheron, son of the

first named husband and w ife,also died here the 2 1 st September

1 687, aged about 7 years

Sothat here l ie, one father, One mother ,One sister , twobrothers ,Twomen and twowives,

But not more than six lives .

The records of Fort St . George mention that in 1 687 there was a

great contagion”at M asul ipatam , which may accoun t for some of

these deaths . The paltry doggrel which closes the epitaph and

which agrees curiously word for word wi th the E ngl ish translationis unworthy of a place on the monument over the remai ns of the

old couple, their two sons, daughter and son - in - law . The wholefamily must have been swept away by the pestilence

,for the chari

table friend who wrote the inscription did not know their exactages . Daetcheron is in the Godavari district. There are otherepitaphs, but these five are the most in teresting.

There are noE ngl ish or French grave stones in M asuli patam ofthe seventeenth cen tury, although as we have seen two E ngl ishChiefs in Council died in one year, and sowe must conclude eitherthat the Dutch along th is coast had more filial reverence f or theirdeceased or el se that they, assuming a higher posi tion, behavedmore as i f they were permanen tly establ ished in the country.

I n th e year 1 686, when the dynasty of Golcondah fel l before theEmperor of Delhi, the Dutch saw an Opportun ity to secure a stillmore prominen t position and, raking up some real or imaginedaff ront from the Court of Golcondah , took possession of M asul i

patam . This was commun icated tothe M adras Government by thefollowing curiously imperious letter

From the Dutch Governour and Council of Pal l iacatt to the

Engl ish Governour and Counci l of Fort St. George, bearing datethe 3 - 1 3 th A ugust 1 686 .

It cannot be unknown to your H onours, how our H onourable

N etherlands East India Company, for some years on this Coast of

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1 06 KISTN A DISTE IcT MA N UAL ,

of the country wi th famine and war combined . The M adras Government sent Rs . as a present to the Mogul Governor of

Golconda, and in M arch 1 688 received a letter from the Mogul

Governor of M asul ipatam about thei r re- establishing the factorythere . On October 2 nd, 1 689, the factoryw ith its eighteen godownswas seized by the Mogu ls . I n December 1 690 the Madras Governmen t obtain ed from Zul fikar Khan, one of A urangz ib

’s generals ,

a firman enabl ing them to re - opeu their factories along the coast,and in 1 692 another firman was obtained to the same ef f ect, but thebui ldings were reported tobe in ru ins

, and from 1 690 to1 697 appeartohave been in charge of a man named Brough, whodrew Sergeant

’s

pay . In 1 697 a M r . Lovell was sent to reopen the factory, butapparently on a smaller scale .

In A ugust 1 699 there landed at M asul ipatam M r John Pitt, u

A gent of the new E ast India Company,whoassumed th e rank of

Presiden t O f the Coromandel Coast and Consul for the King of

E ngland . The M adras Government forbad their subordinates at

M asul ipatam to obey any orders issued by M r . John Pi tt . In

December 1 699 Sir Wil l iam N orris, A mbassador to the E mperor ofDelhi , landed at M asul ipatam and issued the following notificationtothe servants of the Old Company at this station

This is torequire and command you, not to presume tomake any

address or appl ication , ei ther in your own person or by any other,d irectly or in directly : to any public min ister or Ofi cer of the greatMogul , w i thout my know l edge or perm ission , as you wi l l answer

the contrary at your peri l . Given at Masulipatam,December 2 6th ,

1 699 .

WILL IA M N ORR IS .

Tothis the Governor and Counci l at Madras replied in a letter toSir Wi l liam N orris, dated January l 6th , 1 700, in which they pointe dout that the A ct of Parliament did not authorize the new Company

1 8 Th i s M rJ ohn Pitt was cousin of M r . Thomas Pitt, whowas at th is juncture Governor

of Fort St . George, sothe di spute between the representatives of the rival Compan ies on

th is Coast had al l the bitterness of a f ami ly quarrel . I t was M r . Thomas Pi tt, Governor

of Fort St. George, whotook home th e f amous Pi tt or Regent diamond, wh ich is said to

have been found at Partié la in N andigama Taluq of thi s District. H e was the grandf ather

of the well known Statesman Pitt. There was a later Governor of M ad ras , M r George

Morton Pitt, who alsodeal t secretly in b ig diamonds, as is told on page 506 of Wheeler's

M adras in the Olden Time (E di tion of but Thomas Pitt, Governor of Madras f rom

1 898 to 1 709, was the one who took toE urope the f amous diamond . See page 2 79 of

A N N A LS or uA sUL IPA 'rAn . 1 07

to send Ambassadors and Con suls to in terf ere w ith the trade of theold Company un ti l the 2 9th September 1 701 . A fterwards the

M adras Governmen t, suspecting that M r . Lovell had been lukewarmin h is opposition to Sir Wi l l iam N orris and M r John Pitt

, on the

1 2 th July 1 700 resolved toagain establ ish a Chief and Counci l atM asul ipatam an d despatched to that port a force of 2 4 sol diers w itha Lieutenant, Serjeant and Corporal . M eanwhi le Sir W. N orrisleft for Surat, and in 1 702 the old and new Compan ies were

amalgamated , sothi s rival ry ceased .

In 1 703 imm inent war wi th France caused the M adras Govern

men t to withdraw al l the Factors from M as ul ipatam, except one

M r . Frewen . In 1 704 a person was sent from M adras tolook afterthe dead stock w ith a remark that the Companyw il l be at noexpensebut h is salary an d that of the necessary peons . A native namedN arrain was deputed to buy goods. In 1 706 M r . Fawcett is recal ledfrom M asul ipatam and M r . N oden left in charge .

The follow ing appears in the records of Fort St. George under

date,2 6th A ugust 1 71 74

The President del ivers to the Board a translation of their lettersfrom M asul ipatam, one by Cunsum Pera, who had been formerlychief Dubash to the new E ast India Company there, the other fromKh an Colonoo Buggawan , an eminent Brahman in these parts

,

advi sing an d pressing us totake speedy possession of Divy Island .

They both agreed that all the inhabitants wai t impatiently for us,

an d that we may depend upon hav ing an accession of people f rom

th e cont in ent ; the inhabitan ts being very desirous of liv ing underth e E ngl ish Government, and that there are already eighteen townsand vi l lages upon the Island .

A fter f ul l debating the matter, it is agreed that Cunsum Pera besent f or hi ther togive us a more ful l accoun t of the state of af f airsthere that he be taken in tothe Company’s serv ice and employedin that bu siness and that in the meantime the President do giveorders f or providing al l necessar ies ready for taking possession of

D ivy Island .

There is nothi ng else on record unti l in 1 72 0 M r . H umphreyH olcombe came as Resident to Masulipatam . I n 1 72 3 he wrote toM adras, asking that some one might be sent torel ieve h im as he is

very me lancholy .

1 08 xxe A msrmc'r MAN UA L,

There is an en try in the M adras records show ing that the tota l

expenseof the factories at M asul ipatam and Mad apol lam in 1 72 6

was only 6 2 8Pagodas, which proves that they were kept up on a

very insign ificant scale . The Vizagapatam factory at this date cost

six thousand pagodas each year .

A fter this there is nothing on record about M asuli patam, and Ihave not been able to ascertain i f the E ngl ish were sti ll inM asul ipatam when in 1 750 N asir Jang

’s ofiicers seized the French

factory, or when in July 1 75 1 the French troops took possession ofthe fort and town . These even ts have been related at length ina previous chapter, but it may be doubted whether the coup bywhich the French, sudden ly appearing in the roads, landed and

took the place was a very hazardous enterprize . The M uhammadanGovernor of M asul ipatam had a son , named H aidar Jang, who

had been for some time interpreter in the French service at

Pondicherry and whoaccompani ed M . de Bussi from Pondicherry tothe Deckan as confidential agen t unti l assassinated by N izam A l i

in M arch 1 758 at A urangabad . This may be one explanation ofthe feeble defence ofiered , but indeed M asul ipatam adm itted of verylittle defence, for there was nothing worth cal l ing fortifications .

’

There were a f ew round towers of mud , raised by the M uhamma

dans or by the E uropean traders as a protection against maraudi ngcavalry, and in the town there was an enclosure cal led the fort,where the M uhammadan troops were lodged . The town and the

harbour which w e now cal l the fort were connected by a longbridge bui lt on wooden piles an d the French at once set to

work to demol ish thi s bridge and,raising l l bastion s of earth

about 8feet in height, faced these bastions w ith the wooden pi lesof the bridge . A

.

breast- work, six feet high but of no great

thickness, joined the bastions in place of a curtain and at the footof al l was placed a pal l isade of country wood cut at Divi . This

work took the French five years tocomplete , and as the earth wasthe sal t earth taken from the adjoin ing swamp

, every shower of rainmade repairs necessary . When Colonel Forde appeared beforethe Fort in 1 759 it was in as good state of defence as i t had ever

been and had a garri son of E uropeans equal toi f not superior tohis E uropean force . H is batteries at the distance of 1 3 oryards produced little or noefiect , and with regard to the damage

Report dated 18th N ovember 1 765, by Major Call , Engineer, upon the fortificationsof M asul ipatam.

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1 1 0 KISTN A DISTRI CT MAN UA L,

thousand, making Rs . 1 6 per thousand total charge . The piles forfoundation cost 1 Pagoda for 30 and the rate for excavating earth

was 1 Pagoda for 2 0 cubic yards . There i s an i tem of Pagodasfor bal ing water , and four sluices at Pagodas each completethe estimate with its total of M . Pagodas

This was for the fortification s on ly wi thout any prov ision for

inter ior barracks or offices . The estimate was at once sanctioned inM adras and the work was set in hand, f or M asu l ipatam was thenregarded as the seat of Government of the N orthern Circars, whichhad to be defended from the N i zam , the M ahrattas and possiblyfrom the French .

In 1 767 pipes were laid down along the causeway toconvey f reshwater from the ci stern to the fort and in other points doubtless theestimate was departed from ,

f or in letter N o. 1 67 dated 30th A ugust

1 771 M r . E ngineer Steven’s report is subm itted toM adras

, show ingthat the fortifications had already cost C . Pagodas and woul dcost Pagodas more . The M adras Council pointed out thatthis was three times the original estimate, but admi tted that theworks were necessary an d must be carried out . In 1 772 the

M asul ipatam Chief in Council stated that in wet weather or springtides the road f rom the town to the fort is sti ll under water and

proposed toprotect it by a br ick wal l on each side .

From the date of the E ngl ish occupation there is l ittle tobe

recorded of M asul ipatam that has not been told in the previouschapter on the history of the D istrict general ly . On October 1 5th ,1 759, Colonel Forde made over a charge toM r . John A ndrews whowas succeeded in 1 760 by M r . James A lexander and he was fol lowedby M r . Pybus, whowas Chief in Counci l when the Imperial sanadawere publ ished with al l ceremony in the fort on M arch 3 rd, 1 766 ,

but was rel ieved in M ay 1 766 by M r . L ewin Sm ith. In 1 773 M r .

Wyn ch was Chief at M asul ipatam and in 1 775 M r . Whi tehi l l,and

it is curious toremark that both these gentlemen rose tobe Governor

of M adras and both were removed from that post .

This indeed was a period in the history of the M adras Presidencyat whi ch many wri ters have looked askance . The Company

’s ser

vants now had to‘

send forth arm ies, to conclude treaties and to

govern kingdoms, but the trad itions of the mercanti le origin of th eCompany, w ith pri vate trade perm i tted i f not encouraged amongthe employés, were not yet extinct and men in influential position s

A NN A LS or M A SU LIPA TA M . 1 1 1

en gaged in pecun iary transactions l iable to abuse and soon to be

p rohibited al together . A s an instance of this may be quoted a case,

not disentombed from the dusty records of the Col lector’s office,but

f oun d on page 3 70- 4 2 3 of Volume V of Thornton’s H istory . In 1 775

M r . John Wh itehil l was Chief at M asul ipatam , M r . John Su li van ,M ember of Cou ncil, and Colonel Flin t, M i l itary Commandant . Theseth ree had advan ced sums of money tothe Zem indar of N li zv idu toen able him topay tothe Company the rent or tr ibute for h is estatesan d , in one case at least, the loan carried interest at 2 4 per cent.M r . James H odges was appointed M ember of Counci l at M asu l ipatamin 1 775 and took over these debts from the three others. H e al so

advanced money on hi s own account tothe Zemindar unti l h is claimreached the enormous total of M . Pagodas for which sum

th e Zemindar gave h is bond . It i s not clear whether thi s transaction was open ly avowed , though certain ly the M asulipatam Coun cilk new of it . On Jun e 1 1 th , 1 777, the Court of Directors forbad any

l oans to native princes, and on 1 7th December 1 777 M r . H odges

acknow ledged receipt of these orders, but perhaps they had not

re tr ospective ef f ect and M r . H odges may not have considered h imsel f bound to disclose loans made before these orders had beenissued . In 1 779 the M asul ipatam Counci l reported tothe M adras

Government that the Zem indar was heavi ly in debt and suggestedthat the estate shoul d be taken under managemen t and the revenues

app ropriated topaying the Company’s tribute w ith arrears and the

cla ims of the credi tors . It was not sa id whothe creditors were, butM r . Whitehil l was now in Council in Madras and he, at least, knew .

Th e suggestion of the M asul ipatam Counci l was approved and a

committee was then appoin ted con si sting of M r . H odges and M r .

A r thur Pringle, who was also a creditor . This comm ittee rented

th e estate toon e Sam i Pil lai and he made over toM r . H odges ,because of h i s private claims on th e estate, al l the vi l lages of

Vycor, amounting in a good season to about Pagodas .

”

M r . H odges kept these vi l lages until 1 784 when Lord M cCartney,

Governor of M adras, investigated the transaction and took them

f rom him ,declari ng that the whole proceeding was irregular . This

decision of the Government of Madras was commun icated to

M r . James H odges, credi tor , under the signature of M r . James

H odges, Chief in Council at M asul ipatam . M r . H odges remained

at Masul i patam till 1 786 and left India in 1 79 1 . In 1 792 and

1 793 he made unsuccessful applications to the Court of Directors

1 1 2 KI STN A msrmcr M A N UA L .

topay his claim against the N fizvidu estate. H e died in 1 794 and in

1 801 hi s widow again petitioned the Court but to noavail .’N othing

morewas heard of the matter for thirty years, when a Captain M urray ,

as assignee of the claim , filed a bil l in the H ouse of Lords tocompelthe E ast Indi a Company to pay the claim . N otwithstanding th e

spirited protests of the Court of Directors the bi l l passed throughParl iamen t in 1 83 2 , and Captain M urray’s claim was paid out ofIndian Revenues Thi s appears to be the latest case on record of

a fortune made by a civi l ian through unrecogn ized channels , butthere is nodoubt that the civil ians even af ter M r . H odges

’days had

a wonderful command of money . On a beam in the large house inM asulipatam which is now being adapted f or a Court- house is thefollowi ng inscription This house was buil t in 1 790 by WilliamA ugustus Dobbyn , Second in Council of Masul ipatam . Cost M .

Pagodas

The days of the Council at M asul ipatam were now numbered, f orthat body was abol ished in 1 794 and a Col lector was appoin ted .

There are two epi taphs of in terest which may be inserted here .

Sacred to the M emory of Colonel Charles Fraser, who died at

M asulipatam in command of the N orthern Division of the A rmy ,2 7th A pri l 1 795 .

H . S . E . Integer et U rbanus, cui summm f uerunt animi dotes,quas ad extremum fovit, machi narum m irus artifex, necnon in l iteri shuman ioribus ac musicis versatus, M ichael Topping, M athematicus

admodum solers . Ingen ii multa quidem pignora poster is rel iqui tet missus in has regiones astronomiam excolere, Societatis merca

torum sumptibus speculum s ideralem juxta Sancti Georgii arcem

f ormav it et posuit . Ofii ciofunete , prom ittens majors , occubuit fehri ,Januar i i 7 A . D . 1 796, A et 48.

There are alsofive A rmenian ‘epitaphs in the cemetery at the

fort, translation s of which have been courteously furnished me bythe A rmenian priest at M adras . They are as fol lows

This is the tomb of Jackathoon , the wife of A lexander and

daughter of Balcor, who was born at Ispahan,Julpha

, and was

taken to the Lord at M asul ipatam , in the year of our Saviour 1 784,M ay 2 l st .

‘ Lord Brougham sai d the claim was tainted— contam inated in i ts origin .

Thornton I I , 2 48, foot- note.

l The E ast India Company employed A rmen ians as early as 1888. See M il l 's H i storyI , 89 . Dr . H eyne met an A rmen ian travel ler in this distr ict in 1 798.

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1 1 4 KISTN A ms'rs l c'r u N UA L ,

were sti l l condemned to quarters in the fort . The pestilence th at

fol lowed on the famine of 1 83 2 - 3 induced the authori ties to station

no more E uropean troops at Bandar and the storm wave of 1 864

caused the withdrawal of the last sepoy regiment and ended th e

history of M asul ipatam as a mi l i tary station .

The fol lowing description of M asuli patam was written by Colon e l

Walter Campbel l in 1 833 when Lieutenan t in H is M ajesty’s 6 2 u d

Regiment

The fort was originally bui lt by the Dutch on a site (a patch of

dry ground, surrounded by a dismal swamp) whi ch no l iving

creature but a Dutchman , a frog, or an al l igator, would ever hav e

selected f or h is habitation .

On the main land,opposite the fort, stands the native town

above whi ch, on dry sandy soil , comparatively healthy, th e

native troops and civi lians are quartered in a wel l bui lt cantonmen t .

But the fort being a fort— a l though half in ruins and utterlyuseless— it is considered necessary togarrison it w ith E uropeantroops and so for the sake of mili tary etiquette , we are sent heretodie l ike rotten Sheep ; al though in the even t of our being calledupon to defend the place, we could hardly muster 1 00 men fit to

bear arm s . Our entry into thi s di smal place— from whi ch f ewreturned alive — was anything but a tr iumphal procession . A t

least half the men were carried in : some in doolies, some inblankets slung upon poles, and those who were wel l enough tobear the motion , in hospital waggons— a melancholy procession .

From the native town our route lay across the swamp, on a

raised causeway, upwards of twomi les long : and — in the rainyseason at least — form ing the on ly practicable approach to the fort,on entering which you feel as if cut ofi from al l communicationwi th the outer world . A nd so indeed in the hot season you

virtual ly are : for with the thermometer standing at 1 1 0° in the

Shade, and w ith a hot wind blowing f rom the desert— sweepingbefore it clouds of black dust, whi ch parches up the lungs and

almost causes sufiocation— f ewmen are found rash enough tobravethe fiery blast for the sake of holding intercourse wi th their fellowcreatures on the main land .

The fort is surrounded by a broad di tch fil led wi th a f ew feet ofwater and several feet of putrid mud intowhich the tide ebbs and

ANNALS or MA SUL IPATAM . 1 1 5

flows the mud,at low water

, exhal ing pesti lential vapours . Thisd itch is f ed by a muddy creek, extending in land from the sea

wh ich is about twomi les distant — and washi ng the rear of the fort,wh ere — at high water — flat bottomed boats can di scharge theircargoes . But

'

at low water, the receding tide leaves exposed a

fi l thy mass of mud , which by nomean s improves the salubrity ofth e atmosphere .

The bui ldings inside of the fort, designated barracks and ofli cers’

quarters, are wretched half m ined bui ldings, overrun by rats ,bandicoots and other verm in . H ere and there a wretched specimenof tropical vegetation — a palmira or cocoanut tree or some hardyjungle thorn — makes feeble efiorts toraise its stun ted headabove thew all s as i f vainly seeking for a breath of fresh air . Between us and

th e sea sti l l extends the apparently interm inable swamp— at th isseason a plain of dry black mud and sand, over which we can

r ide,but in the rainy season a sheet of stagnan t water : the on ly

ob ject whi ch breaks the monotony of the vi ew being a

b urying- ground, contributing its m ite to the desolation of the

scene . Verily i t requi res a stout heart and a. sanguine temperamen ttoenab le one to keep up hi s spirits in the midstof such a landscapeand yet I received a vi sit, on the morning after our arr ival , whichmade me laugh in spite of myself.

M y vi sitor was a respectable half caste gentleman dressed in a

gen teel sui t of black and a whi te ti e . A dvancing wi th the gravemelancholy sm ile and obsequious air of a wel l bred undertaker , heunrolled before my aston ished eyes a neatly drawn plan of a new

cemetery, whi ch had lately been erected, and begged to knowwhether I would l ike toselect, for my private use , a remarkably

picturesque spot to which he call ed my attention . I thanked him

very much f or hi s pol i te attention , but informed h im that, beingan officer in hi s M ajesty

’8service, a gratefu l countryhad guaranteed ,

in th e event of my demise, to put me under ground free of expenseand w i th mil itary honours .

A ugust. We have now been quartered in M asul ipatam f or near lyfour months, being literal ly in the m idst of pestil ence and fam ine .

Our unf ortunate regiment is dreadfully cut up . We have not a

single man fit f or duty, sothat the guards have to be furn ishedby native troops . Gorfield and I are the on ly twoof f icers not on

the sick li st and are hard- worked accord ingly : although we have

1 1 6 msrm DISTRICT M A N U AL ,

nomen of our own tocommand we are stil l obl iged totake our

tour of duty on the main -

guard, w ith native troops, and as ther emust be an orderly ofi cer , we have also this regim ental duty to

“ perform every second day .

The main -

guard duty is what we dread most : for to the main

guardroom , which overhangs the pesti lential ditch , the medica l

men have traced almost all the fatal cases which have occurredalmost every ofi cer whomoun ted guard having been attackedwith symptoms either of cholera or dysen tery .

We have never had less than 1 00 and from that to 1 50 men inhosp ital , since we arrived and sogreat has been the mortal ity, thatthe Surgeon has requested the Colonel to let the dead be buriedquietly, wi thout music or firing, as the almost dai ly repetition of

the dead march has a very depressing efiect on the patients in

hosp i tal .

To add to our mi sery, the surrounding country is in a state of

f ami ne, in consequence of the crops having fai led last year f orwan t of rain , and the scenes of misery we are dai ly forced to

wi tness are too dreadful for description . N oone,un less he has

seen a coun try in an absolute ostate of famine, can conceive the

horrors occasioned by such a state of things .

The f amine extends over a great part of the M adras Presidency .

The E uropeans throughout the coun try have subscribed l iberallytofeed as many of the poor starving wretches as possible : and bythis means ten thousand are daily f ed in M asul ipatam alone .

But ten times that number are still famishing and hundreds diedail y, l iterally of starvation . The swamp around the f ort isfound each morning strewed with the bodies of those whohave

died during the night ; and al though a strong body of pol iceare constantly employed in col lecting the dead and throwingthem into a huge pit prepared for the purpose, they cannot

succeed in keeping the ground clear, and numbers of bodies are

lef t tobe devoured by dogs and vultures .

The description in the ‘ Siege of Corinth’of the dogs gnawing human sku l ls, i s mi ld compared to the scenes of horror we are

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1 1 8 KI STN A DISTRICT MAN U AL ,

ment at last came to the conclusion that M asul ipatam was no

longer a sui table quarter for E uropean tr00ps, and the miserab le

remains of our regiment were ordered to embark for M oulmein .

When parading for embarkation , fif teen men only appeared on

parade, the remainder being in hospita

In 1 835 Sir Frederick A dam , Governor of M adras , landed at

M asulipatam . H is Surgeon , Dr . Benza, wrote an accoun t of th etour and called attention tosome of the A mr f wati marbles which he

noticed in Robertson - pettah, a square in the town cal led after a

Col lector of that name .

I n 1 841 M essrs. N oble and Fox began the first Church of E nglan d

M ission in the Telugu coun try . This M ission , whi ch is supportedby the Church M ission Society, has conferred great advantages on

M asul ipatam, especial ly in education .

In the following year, 1 842 , Bishop Spencer of M adras visitedM asul ipatam and consecrated the two Protestant Churches . Thatin the fort is a commodious buil ding, but is now entirely di sused asa place of worship . St . Mary’s Church, in the Pettah, has in theChurchyard a good School - buil ding and Schoolmaster’s house ,which were constructed with funds left by General Pater . A Chaplain was stationed at Masul i patam unti l recently, but the Clericalduties are now performed by the M issionaries of the Church M issionSociety.

The trade of Masul ipatam at the commencement of the cen turyhad been very extensive in chintzes and colored cloths. It i s saidthat goods tothe value of 50 1akh s were exported to the Persian Gul falone . But M anchester goods superseded the produce of Indi an

looms and the trade of Masul ipatam fell toabout half a lakh perannum . Moreover the bar outside the creek si lted up somuch thatin 1 864 there was only 1 8 inches upon it, al though M r . M ichaelTopping

’s sketch of l 792 shows 8 feet. A promise of revi ved

commerce was given by the an icut thrown across the Ki stna at

Bezvada in 1 853 , and the extension of canals towards Masul ipatam .

The southern rampart of the fort was removed in 1 861 to make wayf or the canal which was to pass through the old moat . Much of theeastern rampart was also removed, for by thi s tim 9 it was nolongerl ooked upon as a postof strategic importan ce . For twen ty years no

E uropean of f icial , except the M aster A ttendant, had resided there,

AN N A LS or assumes -mu. 1 1 9

and though it was sti ll the port"

and dep6t f or Secunderabad, Jalnaand Kampti, yet only one N ative Infantry Regiment remained ofthe Divi sion once quartered in M asul ipatam .

The tidal look of the canal was completed in A pril 1 863 , and in

Jun e was opened for traffic. N otw ithstanding that ships had toanchor seven mi les out, goods to the value of a lakh passed throughthe look wi thin a fortn ight of i ts open ing.

Thi s prosper ity was rudely interrupted in the fol low ing year, 1 864,by one of the most di sastrous inundations recorded in hi story . The

N . E . Monsoon on this coast usual ly break s about the 1 5th of

October, but there was a cyclone near Calcuttaon October 5th , 1 864,and thi s appeared to have upset the usual course of the season

, for

the last fortnight of October was bright and clear so that fearswere entertained lest the r ice crops in the Delta should w ither f orwant of water . It was therefore w ith pleasure that the people ofM asul ipatam on the morn ing of N ovember l st, Al l Saints

’Day, saw

the sky overcast w ith dull leaden clouds, presaging speedy rain

, and

none surmi sed that a cyclone was approaching although some did

remark that the wind was from the N . W.

1 8 and not f rom the“

N E,

as it ought tobe at this season .

A bout 8A J I . the M aster A ttendant noticed that the barometerwas rapidly fal l ing and at noon rain set in wi th violent gusts ofw ind. By 3 PJ I . it was growing very dark and the sky was no

longe r of a uniform dull leaden colour, but ragged masses of indigocoloured clouds were dr iving before the gale . M r . N oble di smissedh is school as there was no l ight to read by . It was qu ite darkbef ore 6 a n . M r . Thornhi l l , the Collector , did not leave office un ti lhalf past six and drove home wi th much di fficulty, while the

un f ortunate clerks whohad to find their way to the town were in

In 1 867, wh en th e mutiny broke out in Bengal , the l et Royal swere brough t f rom

Ceylon by sea and landed at Masul ipatam, whence they marched toSecunderabad . The

story goes that the ofi cers, soon af ter landing, heard bearers carrying a palanquin towards

them and drew their revolvers determined todef end th emselves tothe last.

i s Colonel Basted. BI L , assures me that thewind un ti l even ing was N .W. al though

the M aster A ttendant, as quoted in M r. Robert E ll is’ report, says it was N . E . I t does

not fol low that th is N .W. wind shows that the storm had passed up the Bay and was

then N . E . of M asul ipatam . Captain Taylor, in his memorandum on the L aw of Storms,

points out that upon th i s coast the bad weath er may commencewith wind toth eW. of N .

al though the centre of the storm may sti l l be tothe S. E . of the observer and thus comingd irectly toward s h im . H owever , th is storm ,

instead of taking the usual N . E . course,may

have poss ibly taken a curve and struck the M asu l ipatam coast moving westerly or south

westerly .

1 2 0 KISTN A DISTRICT MAN UAL ,

stil l worse pl ight. A t 8PJ I . the barometer had fallen to 2 9 500 and

the w ind began toshift tothe E . of N ., increasing in violence, sotha ttrees were blown down and roofs l ifted of f houses . A t 1 0 a n . th e

gale was E . N . E . whi ch gave the M aster A ttendant hopes that th ecyclone was passing inland to the south of M asul ipatam , but now

came another danger, more to be dreaded than the wind. It wasN ew Moon and the tide was ful l on the bar at 9° 2 0‘ and at th e

tidal look about 1 0 PA I . Thus the sea driven intothi s bight of thecoast before the storm came at the very moment of high spring tideand an enormous wave thirteen feet above ordinary high water levelwas borne in land by the gale . The gates of the tidal lock were

wrenched OE and of the six lascars stationed there only twol ived totell the tale . (One of them clung first to a palmyra beam an d

afterwards toa boat and was carried f ourteen mi les in land H ad

the ramparts been stil l in tact they could have broken the force of

the wave, but meeting w ith noobstacle it rushed through the fort .There were more than 2 ,000 people l iving in the fort and of all th enative houses nothing was left but a f ew posts. The Commissaria t

godown s fell and casks of porter and arrack strewed the country formi les in land . The shops of M essrs . Fruval l and M aiden fel l, buryingthe inmates, and so also did the house of M ajor Jackson of theN izam

’s Service, but M essrs . Jackson and Maiden escaped from the

ruins wi th their li ves, how they themselves could hardly tell .

Captain Maiden , the M aster A ttendant, wi th h is fami ly were saved ,

as their house had been substantial ly bui lt by the Dutch and w ith

stood the flood . . The l ittle chapel of St . Catharine did not f al l , and

two priests saved their l ives by cl imbing on the brick arch

above the al tar, one of them holding above the flood the consecratedhost which had been reserved in the tabernacle on the altar .

On the east of the fort, between it and the sea, lay the v il lage ofGi lkadinde wi th a population of about fishermen and shi p.

wrights. This vi llage was completely swept away, noth ing beingleft toshow its site .

The flood was at its height at the fort between half past ten and

eleven and in M asulipatam town about half an hour later . The

scene in the town was worse than at the fort because there were morehouses to f all and more people to lose their l ives. The houses withmud walls soon f el l and crushed their inmates . The w ind was so

fierce that strong men could not stand against it. M any who

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1 2 2 KISTN A msrarcr M A N UA L ,

pound . But the black waves which rose rapidly in the blackernight over the basemen t of the house were salt, and sothe wholeparty retreated by the outer staircase tothe upper story . The win d

was stripping the roof, but one corner remained firm , and under thi s

corner of the roof they all sheltered ti l l daybreak . The wind blewthe furn iture about, and M r . Thornhi ll , coming in contact wi th someof it, got twoblack eyes .

The most circumstantial accoun t of that night was given me byColonel (then Captain) H asted, R . E .,

whooccupied the large housesouth of the Church now occupied by Colonel l

’hel ips . It waspitch dark by 6 9 . 1L , and so the servants then brought dinner .

During dinner Captain H asted heard the crash of the first fal l ingtree . The children went to bed and Captain and M rs . Basted

played the harmon ium unti l the wind spl it the cei l ing cloth and

fil led the room with dust when they decided to retire also. It wasthen 8 r .n .

, and Captai n Basted, on going along the covered way tothe detached bungalow which served as his dressing room , foundthe branches of a fal len tree blocking the passage . A bout 9 a ll . so

many tiles had been stripped from the roof that the rain renderedthe bedroom upstairs uninhabitable. M oreover the wall s were

beginning to rock w ith th e force of the w ind, so it was deci ded tomove downstairs. The window on the staircase was now blown to

pieces and a flood of rain was beating onthe steps . Wrapping thechi ldren in shawls and blankets the gauntlet was run of this openwindow, two servants with all their strength open ing the bedr oomdoor again st the storm to let them pass out. The mattresseswere spread on the floor of the dining- room . I n the draw ing- room

the cei l ing cloth was now spl i t into ribbons which cracked l ikepistol shots, al l the pictures were broken against the wal l , and about1 0 a n . the drawing- room fron t door bur st open and the furn iturewas blown about. When an efi

'

ort was made to close the door the

glass broke into pieces . The wind was now changing from East toSouth- E ast and the door of the end bed - room which faced thesouth was now blown topieces and the furn iture dr iven up in toa corner. So on ei ther side of the dining- room the storm had

penetrated, and about 1 1 a n . the din ing- room window gave waysending a shower of broken glass wi th wind and ra in over the

chi ldren’s mattresses . They were carr ied intoa smal l store - room

or cupboard, which opened out of the din ing- room ,while Captain

Basted and a bearer, exerting al l thei r strength , closed the broken

m u s or m ou rn “ . 1 2 3

w indow frame and lashed it w ith rope so as to keep the storm as

m uch as possible out of the dini ng- room . The store - room or cupboard aflorded a dry shelter for M rs . H asted and the chi ldren , andthe servants, huddl ed together in the adjoining matey’s room

,

awai ted contentedly the subsiding of the hurricane. A bout thi st im e , past eleven o

’clock , a horsekeeper , dr ipping w ith wet and

carrying a chi ld, appeared among them and said The sea i s

com ing !”

A t thi s news the servan ts lost heart and wept and

how led, not for themselves but for their wives and chi ldr en in thetown . Captain H asted promptly contradicted the horsekeeper , butw ent tolook for himself . M aking hi s way over the wreck of chairs,boxes, bricks , tiles, and branches of trees, he got in to the covered

passage and crouched near the opening, fearing to be blown out.

Putting both arms round the pi llar he managed toget his head tothe open ing and lookedout . Far ashe cou ld seewas one wi ld waste oflur idly phosphorescent water , not in waves, but swirling, boil ing,

pouring around the house and l ifted against i t and over it in sheetsby the raging win d . The house seemed to stand out alone at sea.

l ik e a l ighthouse on a sunken rock . Choked w ith the sal t waterwhich the wind had driven down h is throat, Captain Basted struggledback to the cupboard and told them toprepare to fight their wayup the stairs again . The water rose and was soon in every roomexcept the cupboard, where it just washed the door si l l . Captain

B asted , as he walked about the din ing room, watching the waterrise, thought that their last hour had come, but revolved desperatedevices, such as that when the foundations gave way they shoul dlaunch themselves from the upper storey in tothe flood in hope ofclutching some floating timber . H owever, the wate r seemed to r ise

nohigher on the candle shade that was placed f or shelter on the

floor behind the side board, and soon he was sure that he could see

more of the candlestick than he had been seeing. This good news

was commun icated tothe others and soon afterwards there could beno doubt that the water was really receding. It was now pasttwelve o’clock and the w in d was as high as ever blow ing f rom the

A bout 2 A d i . it began tolul l and the storm might be consideredas past . Before dayl ight Captain H asted and the servan ts busied

themselves in drying over the flame of the candle leaves and l ittlepieces of wood toserve as fuel toboil the kettle . The stables and

outhouses had f al len , but, strange tosay, the horses and cows had

escaped and when day broke enough mi lk was obtained for a cup

1 2 4 xrsrns ms'rmcr sm u t ,

of tea . The scene disclosed by dayl ight was very desolate . H ard lya tree was standing, the

.

whole country was covered wi th sheets ofwater or a black sl imy mud and the houses in sight were partlyruined . Captain H asted waded over to Dr . Robertson’s house, a

large wel l built house which had suf f ered less than the others .

Dr . Robertson had descried two sheep al ive on an island and had

at once captured them and ki l led one, sothere was a prospect off ood in that house . A ccompani ed by M ajor Bette, Captain H astedthen went toColonel A nderson’s house . The water was sti l l sodeep that they had to swim part of the way . M rs . A nderson had

spent the n ight in the dark holding her children on the din ing- room

table for the water had been three feet deep in that house and many

rooms were in ruins . They had biscuits toeat, soCaptain H asted

returned to h is own house, enquiring on his way for h is next- doorneighbour, M r . Gibson , the Chaplain of the station . The Chaplain’shouse was on an elevated basement and the doors had been securelyf astened . H e had slept through the storm and was astonishedwhen Captain H asted showed h im the flood -mark on his door .

M rs . H asted and children were carried over to Dr. Robertson ’shouse and Mrs. A nderson and children were ferri ed over in a large

bath tub sothat al l partook of the breakfast furnished through thelucky discovery of the sheep . The waters were subsiding and af te r

breakfast Captain Basted attempted to go beyond the Church to

learn the fate of the residents to the north of the cantonmen t .

It was a wi ld stormy dayw i th a breeze from the N . E . and occasiona l

heavy showers which prevented anything f rom drying. Dead carcasesof bul locks and buff aloes lay here and there. I n Dr . Robertson ’scompound were two corpses and in M r . Gibson’s three . The

windows of the Church were al l shattered and the floor was covered

with slimy mud . Resting on the benches were several persons whohad escaped from the adjoin ing houses . The clothes had been

l iteral ly blown ofi the backs of some of the refugees and

they were covering themselves with blankets or borrowed garments .

Among them was M r . M arjoribanks, the Deputy Col lector , whosaid that the house had f allen and kil led h is mother and three ofher grand- children w ith some of the servants, and on the steps wasM r . Cresswell , the Salt Superintendent from M anginapudi , who

1 D Colonel A nderson and M r . Vibart were in a boat on the canal . Th ei r boat was

up set and they spent the night lying in the fiel ds , the w ind be ing so strong that they

could not stand .

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1 2 6 mam a msrmc'

r M AN UA L,

whohad been married on ly a week before . The house was in ruins ,

and it was said that both M r . and M rs . Scott had perished. Behindthe house lay the body of a young Overseer named Carr . N ot 50

yards from the house against the remains of two palmyra trees laythe keel and some timbers of a large vessel washed in from the sea .

From here they went to try to assemble a f ew armed constabl estocommence the work of burying the dead and di scovering foodf or the survivors . On their way they met the schoolmas ter, M r .

Thorn ton, whohad a tin of biscuits under h is arm and , with trueself- den ial , of f ered the party a biscuit each, as food was scarce

A t the pol ice station were found a f ew muskets and bayonets an dsome men tocarry them . A s the constables were being told of , anative woman came up and said that the body of a E uropean ladywas near by . This they found to be M rs. Scott, whose naked l imb swere twisted and entangled among the branches of a fal len tree bythe roadside . H er ring finger had been cut 03 . A bout half a

mi le further on was found the body of M r . Scott.

The E uropeans then di vided themselves into parties with the

constables and set to work tobury the caresses and corpses aboutthe cantonment . Graves were dug wherever there was dry ground ,

and the buf faloes and large animals were buried first as the sme l l

began to be horrible . In the af ternoon M r . Gibson, the Chaplain ,read the funeral service over the bodies of as many Christians as

could be buried in the Churchyard. M rs . Jamieson and chi ldren ,

M r . and M rs . Scott and M r . Carr were all buried together in suchboxes as could be found . M r . Sharkey buried the bodies of theschool - girls where they lay .

On the following day , N ovember 4th, the E uropeans wen t intothe town and opened the shops where any grain coul d be foundun injured by the sea, the damaged grain being destroyed . Guards

of the 1 9th M . N . I . were placed in the streets to prevent r iotingand alsoover the on ly twofresh water wel ls which were on a ridgenear the Doctor’s house . The people were mad w ith thirst andhunger, many of them having gone w ithout food or dr ink for threedays .

A t the crossings of the principal streets in the town the deadlay in heaps . Graves were dug here and there and the bodies werethrown ih — l Omen and a bullock were buried in one grave— and bythe evening of N ovember 4th a great clearance had been made .

AN N A LS OF M ASU L IPATAM .

N o commun ication had as yet been held w ith the fort . The

causeway was breached in many places . In the swamp were

several huge holes round which the l iquid mud slow ly moved . The

first to cross was old M r . Ottman who came from the fort, sw im

m ing these holes, ' being anxious to learn the fate of h is daughterM rs . Scott . A fterwards Captain Bowen crossed the swamp w itha Company of the 1 9th and buried more than a thousand corpsesw ith in the fort itself.

From this time the work went on regularly . M any of the vil lagesroun d Masul ipatam were in as bad a state as the town , and unti lsom e oflicials v i si ted them and arranged for distribution of food andbur ial of the dead, the v i llagers remained in helpless apathy and d id

nothing. The canal was full of corpses, but was not much in juredby the flood, which is remarkable as the scour of the receding wavewas sufficient to deepen the harbour bar to6 feet . On the veryday on which the store of grain in M asulipatam was fin ished suppl iesbegan to come by canal from the interior , and Government, onrece ipt of the news by Telegraph from Boavi da, sent a steamer

from M adras w ith stores and M asulah boats to land them .

The extent of the inundat ion was along 80 mi les of coast and onan average about 9 m i les in land . The farthest point reached bythe wave was 1 7 mi les in land and the surface inun dated must havebeen not less than 780 square mi les . The loss of l ife was estimatedat and there was of course much destruction of cattle, whilethe salt wate r rendered a considerable extent of land unfit for culti

vation .

Beyond the l im its of the inundation much damage was caused bythi s exceptional ly severe storm . On the E l lore canal boats wereupset and passengers drowned . A t Bezvfida every boat in the canal

was sunk . M r . H orsley, Sub- Col lector of Gun tur, was encampedat Chi nna Ganjam in the Bapatla Taluq. Seeing that the shiftingwind foretold a cyc lone he

,w ith M rs . H orsley, took shelter in an

adjoin ing shed during the n ight. Fortunately the roof of the shedheld firm , but dayl ight showed the tent poles snapped and everything ruin ed, so M r . and M rs . H orsley set out to ride along the

sand ridge to the Bapatla bungalow . Dead birds and uprootedtrees showed how violent had been the storm . A rrived at Bapatla

the first news of the inundation was der ived from hints l et fal l bystrangers hurrrying through the town . These were men who had

1 2 8 xterm nrsrnrcr u s e“ ,

taken the jewellery from corpses and were on thei r way todisposeof their i l l - gotten gains in some di stant bazaar bef ore inconven ient

questions woul d be asked. For the bodi es lay along the l im it of theinundation l ike sea - weed l ies at hi gh water mark on a shore and thejewe llery af forded a harvest tothe unscrupulous . It is even said

that where bodies had stranded on the hedge or boundary betweenfields, the owners of the fields fought, each claiming the hideousjetsam .

I t was a long time bef ore M asul ipatam recovered from the disaster .

M r . Robert E l li s, o.s ., whoarrived at M asul ipatam on N ovember

1 7th, wrote The destruction of roads and trees has been great.

The station which prev ious to the storm was a pleasant look ingplace, with wel l made roads and tr im avenues of trees , presen ted

on my arrival a most melancholy aspect . The .whole place was

covered either wi th water or a thick deposi t of black mud . The

roads were almost entire ly eflaced and covered wi th broken trees

and masses of pr ickly - pear, whi le the houses in their ruinous

condi tion looked as if the station had been abandoned for years.

”

A s soon as a sufficient supply of dry firewood was obtained the

bodies sohurriedly bur ied were exhumed and burned . This was

the more necessary because herds of sw ine and packs of dogs wereroaming about unearthing and eating the corpses . These an imals

were destroyed, f or the brutes became dangerously savage . M r .

Brandt fired at and wounded a dog near a herd of swine and the pigsat once rushed on the wounded dog and tore him into smal l p i

M uch sickness broke out among the survivors in the town and the

1 9th M . N . I . was removed and not replaced, so the storm put an

end toMasul ipatam as a mi l itary station . It was , indeed, suggestedto remove the civi l head - quarters of the D istrict to Guntur or

Bezvada, but after some time the merchants rebuflt their houses,trade took its usual course and the traces of the cyclone passedaway .

The only sign of it now visible is the ruined racket court in thenorth of the cantonment. In many houses is shown what is said tobe the mark of the wave , but this is probably the mark of the usual

efiect of sea air on a brick wal l .*

The cyclone washed away a tree about twomiles north of the Civi l Station , wh ich

was cal led E l iza’s Tree af ter H rs . Draper, the wel l known con espm dent of Sterne

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1 0 2 KISTN A msrmcr M A N U A L ,

visi t the Agent, &c . , whowere entertained at a Banqustt and went home agains abou t

8at nigh t, Signor Outbornediscoursing wi th the Agent amongst other Bravadoos

del i vered this as remarkab le , that their Company had see many I sland and Castles in

the South seas , many of whi ch he named , that they were as Emperors, they had here

tofore made Kings, as a King of Ternot and a Kingof Cochi sa , and now lately they had

made an E mperor , v iz . , the M ataran whohad sever-all Kings under him ,

and he had

given the ir Company all the sea ports upon the coast of Java, when they wante d m en

upon their call , the Kings brought their A rmies tofight f or them , as a great Prince of

M acaper whom he named had now brough t a great army toBattav ia to fight th e

K ing of Bantam by land , and they intended toblock it up by sea, and when’tw as

ob jected that i t may be their Company at home would not approve of a warrw i th Ban

tam hs rsplyed he knew better f or he came f rom Battav ia thi s year about January

last .

2 8. A t a Consu ltation

Presen t

Srnrvs ss s u M am a, E sq .,Agen t.

M r . Csmsrors ra H arrow. M r . Bream Mos es .

Some merchants of Pettapolee having made an odor toprovide goods at cheaper

rates then the merchants of M etch lepatam an d not toreceive many before the deli very

of the goods, th e said proposal l being taken in to consideration, i t was resolved tobe

f or the H onorab le Company’s In terest tomake a contract wi th the sai d merchan ts

they giv ing reasonab le secur i ty by responsib le Persons f or perf ormance of the same .

Col la Vincutadry the Dubass hav ing been exam ined about the management of th e

af f air in presenting the King in January last at wh ich time he obtained a piece of

ground f or h imsel f It was thought fit to confin e him under guard i n the Factory

un til f ur ther order .

Af ternoons .

The Psttepolee merchants having brough t their mustors, which were compared wi th

the mustsrs in thi s Factory , and some of the Psttepolee mustsrs apearing inf erior to

the others, the merchants ofisred tobe regulated by the n uatora of the Factory an d

af ter much di scourse about the pr izes they concluded upon thi s of f er , toprov ide to

the amount of 40 : or pagodas in due goods that is Salampores , Ps rcol laes ,

I zaress, A llsjaes , Sadsrunchss, Sassrguntes, Collowaypoos and Remal ls at 1 0 per cen t .

cheaper than the prizes wh ich the M stchl epatam merchants had the last year, p ro

vided that one hal f or one quarter of the mony was paid them in hand, an d the said

goods tobe del ivered at the Company’s Fac tory at Ps ttepolee . But they would not

abate anyth ing of the prizes they had sett upon their cvf n musters.

The Debate thereupon tocke up time ti l l night and then they were dismist wi th th is

answear , that the A gent and Councel l would consider f urther of it be fore they came

toa conclusion.

81 'a Mam a.

Csaxsrcm a H ar row.

Bxcm an Mos es .

Joan N i el s, Secretary

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1 34 n e A cl am or MAN U AL,

in the Consultation of the 2 9th Instant, the parti culars of which Contract w i th the

marchants names and all things relating thereunto shall be part icularly specified

hereunder .

ThePsttepoleemas-chants being wholly disappoin ted of the Imp loym snt they s inned

at, at whi ch they are much grieved the good service they have done the H onorable

Company in this particular in being instrumental ] in abating the prizes of the goods

being taken into consideration toge ther w ith their charge and trouble of atten dance

i t was thought fitt to send for them and grati f y them w ith 500 pagodas in ready

money and 6 yard s of cloth Rashd which be ing presented tothem they were d im igt

wi th good words and fairs p romises of being remembered when any imp loym sn t

should hereaf te r ofler, notw i thstand ing they seemed much dejected and departed

Sm m ssA u M A srns .

Cs arsrornr a H Afl cN .

Brcru an Mose s .

JonN N i el s, Secretary.

The Agreement and Contract made by the Agen t and Councel l wi th th e M etch le.

patam marchants for the Investments tobe made there f or account of the H onorable

E ngli sh E ast India Company .

1 . That the Persons hereaf ter named shal l be the said H onorable Company's

marchants toprovi de the goods mentioned in this Contract f rom which imp loyment

they shal l not be removed but by order f rom the H onorable Company or f rom the

A gent and Councel l , the whole Investment being divided intoE ighty

- four shares is

subd ivided untoE leavsn Principal l Persons whoare responsible for themselves and the

persons under them , viz

8 ToMadala Cundapa and under him

Madala M cotsaloand under him

Samana Ramona.

Pul ly Var-te Jungum.

ToBsacaps l i Colupa and under him

Coorakayle Bungapa.

Charocgound la A iana.

ToA cula E l lupa and under him

Goorssalu Servana.

Majsty Gurana.

ToRscapeli A cana and under him

8 : ToChoundcor A ccana and under him

Tarsnsla Latchans .

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1 38 KISTN A nrsrarcr MAN UA L ,

3rd . A t a ConsultationPresent

Bram sru x M As'rsa, E sq , A gent.

M a . Cs srsrom s H u ron. M s . Bra snMom .

The Contract w i th the marchants being sealed and interchangeab l y delivered i t was

thought fit for their encouragement toanswer their expectations of Tashsrif s . there

being nos scarlet in the Factory, toeach of the 1 1 principal l marchants was given 3 yards

of fins purple or violet cloth , tothe 2 0 under marchants each 3 yards of Cloth Rashes,

tothe Bram in ie, the Factory Dubass, and tothe Agent’sDubass each 8yards of purple

or violet cloth , and tothe Mul la 3 yards Cloth Rashes w i th wh ich they were al l of

them well p leased .

There be inga large scaleof the Company’s armss w ith the supporters in thi s Fac

tory, and such a one wanting at the Fort ,’tis ordered that the same be carryed f rom

hence tothe Fort .

There being several l debts wh ich are esteemed Desperate and there fore cleared out

of the Bookes in the Bookes of A ccounts of this Factory Letter 8. ballanced by M r .

Field to the 3oth A pri l] 1 678 : I t is ordered that the said Debts shal l hereaf ter be

entered at the beginn ing of every Journal l , expressing at large the parti culars thereof

sos f ar as can be discovered ; That is to say w here the persons were or are , wh i ther

l iving or dead , what their prof essions, and in w hat time or upon what occas ion each

Debt was made , and in regard the Debts of Verasherocus and Pstte polee Factorys are

alsos in the same condi tion ,’tis ordered that those A ccoun ts be al so in l ike manner

cleared in next book ss L etter T : tobe bal lanced the 3oth of this present A p ril l and

af terwards entered at the beginning of the Journal ls expressing the particular s how

the same Debts did arise , sof ar as can be now coll ected .

A nd whereas i t was ordered in the Letter f rom the Fort of your 2 3 rd December last

that the A ccount of the Bookskssper ,Warehousekseper the Purser and Steward should

be re ad and passed in Counce l l every month ,w hich order is now againe confirmed . I t

is tobe note d that the A ccount of the Warehousskeeper , Purser and Steward are tobe

read and passed some day be fore the Journal l of A ccounts kept by the Bookek eeper ,

that he may thereby be wam nted toenter the same in the bookss of A ccounts .

There being several l E nglish in and about M s tch lepatam who against the H onour

able Company’s orders (which they have been of ten acquainted wi th ) doe not re quire

tol ive under the Company’s Governmen t , the letter to constrains them soe to dos

and al sotopreserve the privi legesof the Engli sh nation in those parts it was thought

fitt and resolved tomake the f ol lowing orders . That none of the subj ects of h i s

majesty l iving in those parts which are not in the Company’s service or hav e not a

Pass as Inhab i tants of some p lace under the Company’s Government in Ind ia shal l

have any countenance or protection or enjoy any of the E ngl ish privil ege s nor shal l

the Chie f of this Factory upon any occas ion owns them as E ngl ish or belonging un to

them . That al l such Persons as are in the Company’s serv ice and al l such as have

or shall have Passes for l iberty to trade as I nhab itan ts of any p lace under the Com

pany’s Government , whohave any goods topass in or out of the Towns or Coun try,

shall give notice thereof tothe Chie f of the Company’s Factory at wh ich such goods

are topass, and app ly themsel ves tosuch Chie f f or the clearing their goods. A nd i f

any Person or Persons other then the Ch ie f or such as are apointsd by h im shal l app ly

themselves to the Governour or to any other omcsr or M in ister of the Term s or

Country upon any occasion whatsover, the Chief and Councell of the Comp any’s

ANNAL s or MA SULIPATAM . 1 39

Factory where such Person shal l reside , shal l se ize upon the party w e acting and

send him toFort St . George to he proceeded against according tothe quali ty of the

af fai r , and when any Persons in the Company’s service, or having Passes as afore

sai d shal l app ly them selves to the Chi e f f or the clearing or passing any goods or for

anyother businesswh ich does require app lication toyour Governour or any other Officer

or M in ister , the Chi ef is hereby ordered and required to use h is endeavours f or the

sfiecting the said afiair , and for the preservation of the E ngl i sh privi leges in these

Parts , and use Person shall owns any strangers goods not belonging tothe E ngl ish or

tosuch as serve them that they may pass f ree of customss and other dutys as Eng~

l ish goods upon pains of paying double the same dutys, one hal f e toyour In former

and the other hal f s to the use of the peers at Madraspatnam f or every such ofisnce .

These orders be ing resolved upon , some of the Factors and some of the Freemen

were cal led be fore the Coun se ll and acquain ted therew ith , they migh t not pretend

ignorance of th e same .

Will iam H arrison having oflsrsd togive Bond in 2 00 : pagodas togoe toMadraspat

narn and become an Inhabitant there by M arch next , i t was thought fit totake hi s

Bond and give him a Pass f or l iberty of trade as an Inhabt of the said Towns .

Phi lip Noden being marryed toan E ngl i sh woman in this Towns , and having pre

sented a Pet ition where in he desires tohave l icense tokeep a H ouse of entertainment,

w h ich upon inquiry is f ound to be necessary .in this p lace in your tims of shi pping,

for the accommodation and heal th of our peop le , i t was thought fitt to grant him a

license f or a years , he paying 1 2 pagodas into the Company’s Cash f or the same,

and in regard by this license hs i s an an Inhabitan t of Madraspatnam’tis ordered that

he have a Pass f or l iberty of trade as an Inhabitant under the Company’s Govern

ment

STREYN SH A M M Asrss .

Cameram an H Am N .

c nA sn M es srs.

Jon N rcxs, E sq. Secretary .

4th . Aga Telol the Governour came toTowns this morning by 8 o’clock d ire ctly

tothe Engl ish Factory tovis it the Agen t with a trains of Persians, &c . , he stayed

about an hour, and very much importuned the Agent to accept of an en tertainment

at h is house , for wh ich he woul d recei ve no dsnyall , see i t was thought best to

returns the vi sitt this evening tomake an and h ere the sooner which was accord ingly

done, and h is treats was very civi l l af ter a plenti f ul l supper being closed w ith a

present of a H orse, and he would have gi ven Tasheri f s but they were re f used as

be ing not p roper tobe received but by an inf erieur f rom a superior .

5th . A t a Consul tation

Pre sent

Srsrmrssu M As'rsa, E sq ,Agent.

M a. Cums-reruns H A rros . l M s . Bra an MoaUN .

Aga Telol the Gevernour cf this Towns having given your A gent a visi t yesterdaymorn

'

ag, and invi ted him and his Company toh is house at supper last night, when

he prsmnted him with a Horse valusd at about 50 pagodas all which was done in

expectation of a Piscash , and hohsing a Perscn rising in f avour at Court, it was

1 40 men u DISTRICT m us t ,

thought fitt togratifie hi s expectations by presenting him w ith two hundred and

fivsty pagodas in ready mousyoprivatsly, which wil l be much more acceptab le than

a greater summe publ iksly, there being alsos nos fins cloth in the Factory .

A letter tothe Chi e f and Councel l at H ugly tobe sent hence overland by expresse s

with the H onourab le Company’s letters received via Surratt was read and passed .

Sm rnsm Mm e .

Cm srcm a H arms .

Brennan Mom .

Joan N l cxs, E sq , Secretary.

M srcnnsrsu n , Apri l l 6th, 1 079 .

TanWour . Mar-nu s Vmcnnr ,

Chief , 5c , Councell i n H ugly .

Our last toyou was dated in Fort St . George about the 2 4th February sen t upon

the smal l shi p A p sarance in answer toyour several l letters by the ships to which we

re f err , these are to accompany the enclosed letters f rom the H onourable Company

which we received via Surratt over land the 7th of last month the last yeare’s packetts

which were m issing ccmeing w ith the H onourab le Company’s f reshest advices of the

5th A ugust 1 678 towh ich rs f err you for what they order in their afiairs under your

cars , on ly they have required us togi ve you directions togoe in hand wi th prov iding

the good s f or their ships expected this years accord ing to their ad vices of the 1 2 th

December 1 677 : and rather to incre ase then abate the quantity of raw si l ks and

Flors tta yarns , and by nomean s tosend them any throwns si lks , as they have alsos

wr itten in their sai d L etter of oth A ugust to yourse lves, wh ich we recommend to

your care f ul observance .

The Gazettes which came toour hands we alsos send you herewi th, by which you

wi ll be advised that the peace was signed between France and the Dutch upon the 81 st

July but the later advices say that those af f airs are uncertain by reu on of a fierce

battle f ought between the French and the Prince of Orange in which about

men were slains af ter the Peace was signed .

Whereas in our last letter we ordered that in every Factory your A ccounts of the

Bockskeepsr, the Warehousskseper and the Charges General should be read and

passed in Counsel l every month which order we doe confirm , yet you must chasm to

pass the A ccoun ts of the Warehousskssper and the Charges General l some day bef ore

the Journal l of the Bockes of A ccounts kept by the Booksksspsr that he may there~

by be warranted toenter the same in the Bookes of Accounts .

U pon consideration of the H onourable Company’s af fairs in these parts and in

respect tothe 8th A rticle of their orders of the 18th December 1 667 : it was thought

fitt for the Agent tovisit these Factorys, upon which journey he sett out of Madraso

patnam the 1 1 th of last month , and having spent some time at Psttepolee and the

I sland of Dioarivsd here the 2 6th which our endeavours f or the H onourable Com.

pany’s Interest have not been unsuccessf ul l , having brought the Merchants to an

abatement of 8 per cent. upon the whole Investment in this Factory for th is years

and hereaf ter, which business being fin ished we shal l now in a day or twoproceed to

Madapol lam and God wil l ing some tims this month the Agsnt intends to return to

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1 42 mam a nrs'rsrc

'r m ust ,

the time of the f rsshss i t gainss upon your towns of N aurasporam, see that it

indangers the destruc tion of it, there we see a f airs great house bui l t by M r . H attol r

whi ch since he hath sold to the coun try peop le , the R iver having washed away

the Garden toi t, and come near the house , another H ouse bui l t by M r . Cholm l ey ,

now belonging to M rs. Gi l l,Sr . E dward Winter’s great house part of i t f a ll en

downs , and the rest scs rotten ,

’twas not saf e to gos in to i t, M r . Fleetwocd

's

great housewhere M rs. Mainwar ing now l ives,

’tis bu il t of Brick , a very f air large

strong bui lt house, which the Kingof Gulcondah l iked we ll when he was in those parts

in January last, al sos there is a good house bui lt by M r . Turner now belonging tc Coro

l us Courthal ls a Fleming.

A t our returns home f rom N aurasporam about noons your Dutch Chief of Foll icul i

being this morning come thence to their house at N arsapore where their Fla“ was

hoisted up , sent todesi re togi ve the A gen t a vi sit th is evening which was admi tte d ,

they came about 4 a clock were treated at a Col lation and went away about 8at n ight

toFol l icul l very much importun ing the A gent togive them a v is itt at Pol licul l — they

told us that one w hoaf ore time was King of Orixa was risen w ith a great army of

H orse upon your coast and country of Ginger les , w hohad beseiged the See:

Lasear or Gratt of the King of Gulcondah in a Castle and had taken away 500 laes t

of Pady of the Dutch Companys .

There came tous the Factory thi s day a Dworf s an Ind ian of the Comittes Cast, he

was he said 30 years old , borne in the next towns toM adapollam in land , we measured

him by the rul e 46 inches h igh , all his limbs and h is body straigh t and equal] p rOpor.

ticnsd , of comely f ace , his speech small equal l ing h is stature . he desired tobe one of

our marchants being a shopkeeper by trade .

1 1 th . In the even ing came tov isit the Agent one Cal laudinde N arsarass a Sentus

of an antient f amily in great repute in these parts , wel l esteemed w i th the great

Governours and al lwayss a f riend tothe E ngl ish, he is a comely personal l man of as

aflable and genti le behaviour , he brought a present of f ruites , towhcms was returned

6 yards of scarlett for the preservation of his f riendship , he be

’

mg very serviceable to

our marchants in clearing the ir good s f rom stops in these pu ts .

1 2 th . The Agent having been indisposed tooks Physick th is morn ing.

A t a Consul tation af ternoons

Present

Srarvnsnu M aars s , E sq ., Agent.

M r. Csnrs'rornxs H arrow. I Mr . Brem en Mos es .

The Madapol lam marchants being cal led totreat about your abatement of the prises

of the goods usual ly p rovided by them , af te r sometime of debate thereupon they not

giving dare toany abatement upon the ordinary sorts of Cloth , at last came to this

agreement. That the ordinary Long cloth , Ordly Sal amporss and three threaded

f orty coved Ginghams shou ld continue at the old prizes of last years , and as contracted

f or this years the 1 3 th last month , and f or the fine Long cloth , fine Salamporss , Per

col lace, I zarses and Dungarees they woul d abate 8per cent . upon the prizes as the

M stchlspatam marchants had agre ed provided they were al lowed for an st rout in

their wrong in ,the abatement made upon the Gingham sent home the last years, at

which termes the Age nt and Councel l closed w i th them, and the erreur about Um

Ginghams was by consent re f erred toM r . H atton toal low them w in t ret urnable .

AN N A L S or n ssemrl u n . 1 43

U pon this agreement the said marchants desired tohave pagodas now paid

them , besides the paid them upon the contract the 1 3 th M arch last, but there

bei ng not soe much money in cash , it was agreed to pay them pagodas now

whi ch w ith the paid them bef ore makes pagodas wh ich summe was agreed

tobe upon A ccount of this yeares Investment at your rates now agreed , the contract

of 1 3 th March to be vcyd and yourmarchants togive new Bil l s accord ing to thi s

U pon the marchants desire tohave the same w r it ings drawn up f or them as was

don e for the marchants at M etchlepatam it was ordered accord ingly .

A nd the sai d marchants declaring they wou ld not stand tothis bargai ns i f any other

Persons w ere joyned w i t h them more then such as they now nom inate d , whose names

w il l be ente red in the agreement hereunder , i t was though t good toconsent tothem in

that par ticular by tak ing in nos other marchants than such as they now agre ed unto.

Srarvs ss su M s sm .

Cs arsrors sn H arros .

Brcs asn Mos es .

Jcurlr N rcxs, Secretary.

1 4th . The Agent, the went tov isit the Dutch at Fol l icul l th is evening which is about

7 mi les in land f rom M adapol lam , there the Dutch have a Fac tory of a large compound ,

w here they dye much Blew Clcth ,having above 300 Jars set in theground for that works

al sothuy make many th eir best paintings there , the Towns be ing first rented by them

at old pagodas per annum is now given them f ree by the King and they say they

m ake pagodas per annum of i t and some time more .at Pol l icul l is a great Pagodas

where gr eat numbers of Peop le come to worsh ip once a years and per forms their

vowes of being hung up by the sk in of the back w ith I ron H ookss at the end of a long

pols turned round upon a post of about 1 0 or 1 2 f eet h igh bef ore the pagodas , Th is

f east hapnsd th is years th e day af ter we were at Fol l icul l , and some of our peop le

went toit, and saw near 2 0 peop le soe hung up by the bac k bef ore the pagodas at the

top of th e high pole.

1 5th . A t a Consultation

Present

Srs svs ssu M aeras, E sq Agen t.

M r . Cs s rsrors su I M r . Brem en Mos es .

A rthur Seymor having given bond in 2 00 pagodas torepai r toand inhabit in Madras

m m byJanuary next upon h is desire a pass was granted h im f or l iberty of trade

as an Inhab itant under the Honourab le Company

’s Government.

John H eathfis ld b rurgeou of th is and M s tchlepatam Fac tory having marryed the

l ict of M r. Rober t F lee twood whohath taken the Towns of N auraspcram tof arms

about three yearss since, which being against the H onourable Company’s order , the

said John H eathfie ld was cal led into the Counce l l , and ordered toquit the f arms of

th e sai d Town s w h ich he p romised to doe , the terms f or wh ich it was taken being

exp ired by the m iddl e of next mon th .

The Investments of M stch lepatam and M adapol lam Factorys being divided to

marchan ts belonging toeach place , i t is ordered that as well the goods as al l other

afiairs re lating tothe A ccounts be d istinctl y entered in the Bookes of A ccounts kept

1 44 men u DISTRICT M ANU AL ,

in each respective p lace, that is to say what is transacted at M etchlepatam in th e

Bookes kep t at M etch lepatam and what is transacted at Madapol lam in the Booke s

kept at Madapol lam the goods p rovided in each place tobe Invoiced apart in several l

Invoices and the charge of each Factory to be proport ioned upon each sort of goods

in the said I nvoices accordingly , and your Bookekeepers are to observe to enter

the goods in their bookes accord ing tothe contracts by consul tation and af terward s

to deduct what is abated by order of Councel l f or wan t of dimentions in length or

bread th, and in al l th ings tomake the A ccounts con forms tothe Orders in the Con

sultations.

The Warshousskespsr i s alsos toobserve tosort the goods aw arding tothe se veral l

mustors contracted upon, and not tomak e any new sorts without order of Councel l .

There being coveral l bad Debts due tothe H onourable Company as spears by'

a Con .

sultation in M etchlepatam the 1 7th A ugus t 1 675 .

I t is ordered that the parti culars of the said Debts shal l hereaf ter be ente red at

the beginn ing of every Jonrnall kept in th is Factory expressingat large the particulars

thereof sos f ar as can be discovered , that is tosay where the persons were, or are ,

whither l iving or dead , what the ir prof essions and in what time , and upon what occa

sion, each Deb t was made, and the Chief and Councel l are at al l times to endeavour

the recovery of them, and alsos of those ordered tobe en tered in the M etchl epatam

book ss as oportun ity shal l of f er .

Connapa the Bram ine of thi s Factory hav ing in several l instances behaved himsel f

disrespectf ul ly to the H onourable Company’s af f airs and since the A gent

's s t i val l

here cast out slighting speeches of him, the said Connapa and h is sons Monger-as and

Gongaras were cal led before the Counce l l and comitted under guard in your Factoryuntil f urther order .

Srssrs ss u M A OTI B.

Cs arsrors ss H arms .

R ICH ARD Mos es .

JOH N Kloxs, E sQ. , Secretary.

1 6th . A t a Consultation

Srn m ss u M A srsn, E sq . , Agent.

M s . Csmsrors s s H am s . H ip t sn n Mos es .

There ar ising some difierence w i th the marchants in drawing up the particulars ofthe Con tract agreed upon with them the 1 2 th instant, first about the prizes of theordinary Long cloth and next about money paid at th is time of the yeare upon the

Investments hereaf ter upon which particulars they insisted soe ob stinately upon their

own way the i t speared to the Councel l to be totheir detriment that upon theirmotion toconclude upon a Contract for this yeares Investmentonly and neither partytobe obliged f or longer con tinuance thereof , it was resolved and agrecd wi th the marchants at the fol lowing termes, vi z . For fine Long cloth, fine Salampores, Percolh es,Imrese and Dungarees, they are toal low 8 per cent . abatemen t upon the pr izes following :

Long cloth fine 72 covada long and 2 k covads broad brown s by the covada of thisFactory of 2 0 Inches.

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1 46 KISTN A DISTRICT MA N UA L ,

each of them 3 yards of fine c loth , and 1 06 under marchants each 3 yards of cloth

rushes, tothe Factory Bramine, the Dubass and the A gent’s Dubass for his paines in

the managing th is afiair each 3 yards of fine greens .

Conapa the old Bramine and his sons having ofisred 500 pagodas tobe discharged of

their confinement without f urther pun ishment f or their misdemeanours, ‘ the sai d

summe was accepted and they were cal led be fore the Councel l and d ischarged the

Company’s servi ce never toenter the doores of any of the Company

’s Factory sgaine

upon pains of f orf eiting 500 pagodas for every such ofisnce. Guraras whobath former ly for many yearss served the E nglish in these parts, was then entertained in yo

Company’s service as Bramine of this Factory at the u

'

snal l se l lary of 2 pagodas per

mensem and h is brother N arran tobe ye sxpence Bramine at l pagoda per mensem .

N arsaraz a Gentue of great qual ity in these parts and an antient f riend tothe E ngl ish

and the ir Interest, having given the Agent a visi tt a f ew daies since , and was then

presented w i th 6 yar ds of scar lett , h is son having since sent a w i ld H ogg and some

f rui tes desireing tomake a visi tt al sos , it was thought fit rather tosend h im 3 yard s of

Cloth Rashes toprevent the trouble thereof and lossof time. There be ing conveniency

in th is p lace for the breeding up of Spotted Deer which the H onourab le Company doe

every years order tobe sent home f or h is M ajesty ; it is ordered that care be taken to

breed them up in this Factory tobe sent home accordingly.

Brsrvs sm u Mau ra.

Csms'rorsxs H ar ms .

Rucs u n Mos es .

Joss N l cxs , Secretary.

l 6th . We went to view the Dutch house and compound at N arsapors which is a

very large p iece of ground divided into two large inclosed quadrangles, in one of

which is as many f orges as 300 smith s may works in them, the compound re aches

downs tothe R iver side upon the sandy banks of which lyes many vessel la which are

imployed in that great Rice trade of Ginger lse.

1 7th . H av ing fin ished what was though t necessary tobe done in th is v isi tation of

these Factorys , in the morning about 8a clock we sett f orward upon our journey to

return s to M sdrasps tnam intending togos the upward inland way and tomake an

e lbow totake a sigh t of the Diamond m ines, we went this forenoons toVerasheroone

which is about 9 or 1 0 m iles f rom M adapollsm, these twop laces and Pol l icul l makinga tr iangle , we viewed the Company

’s two houses at Verasheroone whi ch stand one

over against the other in one streets , both of them part f al len tothe ground , and that

which stands of them it was not saf e to adven ture in tosee them , the compounds of

the houses are small but well scituatsd , being raised high f rom the streets, above a

m i le f rom the Towns , there is a very large mangoe garden of the Company’s bywhich

the tent was p itched for us, but the country Governours claiming the right tothe f ruit

of the trees by reason we have neglected i t, the A gen t gave order , to Mr . H atton to

send 4 or 5 Peons f rom Madapol lam every years about mangoe season wh ich is at this

time of the years towatch the trees and gather the f rui t tosend toM adapollam

thereby topreserve your Company’s r ight and title tothe garden , there is al sos two

other smal l gard ens nearer the Town s be longing tothe Company but al l lye west and

only the great trees stand ing toshade the cattle and travel lers f rom the sun ; and

these w ith many others that are about th is Towns would very wel l accommodate

weavers toworks under if the p lace were rented of the King by the Company, and

kept under the ir government wh ich was now adjudged tobe f or the Company’s

1 48 xl e A msm cr MAN UAL,

b ids the Governour money f or i t, and he that gives most has it, but besides the rent of

3 to5m odas per mensem tothe Governour f or the King there is a customeor excise

sett upon al l Corns at about 60 per cent . above themarkett upon Sal t, Beetle and

that deals there (excep t a privileged English man or such l ike ) are compel led to l iveupon the mines in those Townes where that exci se is raised , the Towns of Gul lapell e

the w i thin a m ile and a half e of the mines is without those limits, and therefore none

of the miners or dealers in Dymonds are allowed to l ive there, but at Me ll i vi l lee

about 4 or 6 mi les f rom Gul lapel le, where the Governour of the m ines l ives, the whole

rent of these mines is reckoned tothe k ing worth pagodas per annum and as

much more to the Governour tobribe the Courtiers to hold tothe p lace, there was

none of the m ines that we saw this day which were dug above 3 f eet deeps f rom the

surf ace of the earth , and most of them about twof eet , the ground first over grown

w ith shrubs and bushes whi ch the miners digg up with the earth , these W e lyes

upon a flat hill upon the top and on the side of it, where are found smal l and great

Dyamonds of good and bad waters, but very l ittle best, and they say that your

adventurers in these mines ssldoms loose in their undertakings.

Sl st. Th is morning came severall of the most eminent marchants f rom the m ines

tovisi t us at Gul lapel le , and totry how we were incl ined to buy, at first they asked

moderate rates, which when we bought they raised and af terward s would not shew

more but what they asked dear f or, soe we could not lay out 1 000 pagodas amongst

us all f or f ears of injuring ye marks tt ; at 3 in the af ternoons we sett out of Gul la

pel le , passed over the m ines by M el lwi l lee and Baispent which is about 6 m i les, all

most al l that ground being spread with m ines, and the mines in the val leys were much

deeper then those upon the hi lls, being some of them 1 0 and 1 2 f eete deepe, and some

mines were sprung upon ground where corns had beene sowen and reaped a f ew

months since, The Governour of themines at M el lw i l lse sent tocomplement the Agent

and excuse h is not com ing out tomeet him as he said he intended todoe ; towhich a

civi l l answear was returned ; The Townes of M el lwil lee and Raispent upon the mines

are very large and populous , but the bui ldings al l thatch t H ovells, the peop le are we ll

f avoured, well clothed , and looks as the they f ed well toundergos their great and hott

labour tbo’the corne, ac , be at excessi ve rates , and the p lace must needs be f ul l of

mony topay 30 or labourers in the mines besides many others, the dymonds

be ing al sos alwayes bought with ready many, the country pleasant l ike E ngland about

London , by Baizpent i s a large p leasant greens val ley f ul l of flocks of wool ly sheep,

thence toM ustabad where we longed th is n ight, we travailed through a mountainous

country by very p leasant val leys wi th tankes of water, and came toour journeys and

about 8at night, having travail ed twoGentue leagues .

2 2 nd . A t 3 th is morning we sett out of M ustabad f rom which p lace toBeawar is

one Centos league. Beswar lyes in the road f rom M etchlepatam toGulcondah , at

which place the King ordered the English and Dutch totake leave of him in h is pm

gress in January last, it stands by the side of a mountains as does M ustabad, M un

gu llgurree and most of the Townes in thi s mountainous country, by it runs the river

Kistna(which we passed between Pul lywar andWarragocdra).U pon the twomonntainesat Beawar there are several l pagodass much esteemed by the Gentue, who report that

there are alsos great treasures upon these H il ls, by ye towns are large groves of

trees, having foarded the River Kistna (which is very good water) by the he lp of therising sun we saw the wal ls of the great Castle of Couudapel l i upon great H i l ls about

7 miles f rom Beawar, this Castle is said tobe stronger and biger then that of Gulcon

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rm : PA LN A D . 1 0 1

CH APTER VI .

DE SCR I PTI ON OF E ACH TAL UQ.

l .— TH E PA L N A D .

The Palnad Taluq is a tract of country in the extreme westof the Ki stna District, with an area of somewhat more thansquare m il es . It i s bounded on the north and west by the river

Kistna, which flows rapidly between h igh rocky banks and separatesthis Taluq from the N iz i m

’s Dom in ions . On the south and east hi ll s

and jungles div ide the Taluq from themore open plainsof Vinukonda,Narsaravup etand Sattenapal le . This Taluq is thus not very accessible,and its remote geographical position has placed i t outof connectionwith the h istory of the rest of the Kistna Distr ict . The name

Palnad is said tobe der ived from Pal lenadu, the country of hamlets,and was gi ven by th e early Telugu colon ists whocal led the A mravaticountry Krorunadu, or new land, and the Tsandavolu countryVélnadu , th e outer or nether land. A more poetical derivation ofPelnad i s the mi lk land” from the l ight cream - coloured marblethat aboun ds there.

The ston e circles and tombs of ear ly races are very numerous in

the Pelnad and indicate the‘ presence of man in these forests longbefore the erection in the early cen tur ies of the Christian era of the

hamlets under the hi l ls that gave a name tothis country . The first

glimpse we obtain of any h istory is from one of the M ackenz ie M SS . ,

which narrates in heroic style the wars between the Chieftains of thePelnad and the Kingof N el lore arisingf rom quarrels about pasturageInscr iptions in some of the oldest v i l lages show that the Palnadwas subject tothe Chola Kings, who extended their sway to the

north in the tenth and eleventh cen turies A fter this i t was overrun by the armi es of the Kings of Varangal , whose officers haveleft numerous in scr iptions , and in the fourteenth century it is saidthat the Reddi Kings of Kondav idu bui lt the fortress of N agarjunaKonda in the west of the Taluq, but before this date there appeartohave been some local Chi efs, whose exploits have lived in popularstory, known as the Palnati Viral u, the Palnad H eroes . M r . RobertSewell has taken the trouble toprint an abridgmentp f these popular

1 5 2 KI STN A DISTRICT H AN UA L,

legends, but the edition of the poems or bal ladswhich he had was

written as recently as 1 86 2 and . cannot therefore be accepted as

giving us a true idea of the legends current among the peopleseveral centuries ago. The bal lads abound in demon - horses,miraculous cocks, enchanted tigers and al l the usual paraphernaliaof fairy tales .

The historians whorecord the varyi ng campaigns of the fif teenthand sixteenth centuries, when the Or issa and Carnatic Rajas opposed

each other along this coast, make no mention of any inciden ts in

the Palnad, but in the v il lage of Tangeda, seven m i les north - east ofDachepal le, i s an insci'iption of A .D . 1 552 in the reign of Saddsiva

of Vijayanagar . A t the close of the century, when the KondaviduDistrict was annexed by the Kings of Golconda, the Pe lnad comes

intonotice as an asylum of hi ll and forest into which defeated armies

retreated toavoid pursuit .

Dur ing the last century when the Empire buil t up by A urann b

was parcelled out among his lieutenants, the Palnad was not portionof the N orthern Circars, but, l ike Ongole and N ellore , was in cludedin the jurisdiction of the N avab of A rcot. Th e heredi tary Desmukhs

were a fam i ly named Remarazu and the Despondis a fami ly named

Komara . The office of Desmukh was held by Ramarazu M antrappa

at the beginn ing of the century . H is grandson , Bamarazu

Virabhadrayya, was Desmukh for no less than 34 years, and underh is management the Palnad paid toA rcot a revenue of three lakhsof rupees . In 1 764 the Navab M uhammad A l i Khan deposedVirabhadrayya, and from that date the country declined very rapidly .

When one reads of the deplorable m isgovernment of the Pe lnadunder the N avab it makes the perusal stil l more and when one

remembers that it was the E ngl ish Company that had placed thisN avab in power and that the money wrung from the wretchedinhabitants of the Pelnad was destined, l ike the revenues of otherDistricts of the Carnatic, toswel l the il l - gotten gains of men of thestamp of Paul Benfield at M adras .

The N avab stationed a Fouzdar atTumarakdta w itha mil itary force,and from the year 1 766 a detachment of Company’s troops werestationed at the same place . These assisted, when necessary, theN avab

’s Am i ldar to coerce the villagers and the exten t to

which coercion was carried is barely credible . The post ofAmi ldar was usual ly put up f or sale and given to the highest

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1 54 KISTN A msrmcr M AN UA L ,

M r . Scott endeavoured to create confidence among the povertystricken vi llagers by l iberal advances for seed grain and he pacifiedRamarazu Rajésvara Raoand Klimara Virenne by continuing to

them an al lowance of 75 Pagodas per mensem . A fter some time,however, the peace of the country was much disturbed by a leaderof banditti named Karavakol lu Késavulu, and the Col lector’s e f f ortsto introduce settled cultivation were frustrated . A t length the rob

ber chief was apprehended by a Chen tsu Pol igar named Ramanaick,

who held five vi llages in the forest- clad hil ls tothe north - west ofVinukonda. The Collector issued orders tothe Pol igar to send inhis prisoner w ith an escort toGunt l

’

i r,but Ramanaick

,f ar from obey

ing, released h is captive and,secure in h is jungle fastnesses, set the

Company at defiance . The Col lector , thereupon , requested M alrézu

Gunda Raoof Vinukonda tocoerce the refractory Pol igar intosub

mission and sent bands of sepoys and peons into the Pelnad who

hunted Késavulu from place toplace . Before long Ramanaick wastaken prisoner by the peons of M al razu Gunda Raowhohanded h imover to the Col lector . H e was tried as a rebel and sentenced todeath . M eanwhile Karavakol lu Késavalu, tired of being pursuedabout the Palmad, sent word tothe Tanadar that he would surrenderi f h is l ife were spared and an al lowance paid toh im f or main tenance .

The Tanadar sent on this off er tothe Collector whorefused tolistento it . U pon this theTanad i r sent amessage to Karavakol lu Késavaluto come in and hear the Col lector’s answer . Késavalu came in to

Dachepal le and met the Tanadar . When the Tanadar read out tohim the Col lector’s reply, Késavalu rose togo, but the doorway wasblocked by sepoys, who had hidden in the adjacen t room , and

Késavalu, cut of f from h is followers in the street, found himself aprisoner . When this story was reported totheGovernment at Madrasthey said it was a breach of publ ic faith

,and ordered the immediate

and unconditional release of Késavalu . But nosuch blun der hadbeen made in the capture of the jungle Pol igar RAmanaick , and hewas executed , his vil lages being given over to the M al razu and

vasireddi Zem indars and lands in that neighbourhood were allottedtoKattubadi peons who shou ld watch the ghats .

A fter this the ryots of the Palnad appear to have reaped theirharvests in peace . In 1 804 and 1 805 M r . Crawford, then Col lector ,surveyed the lands, but this survey was not brought intoappl icationas the system of v il lage rents came in toforce f rom 1 808to 1 82 0 as inthe adjacent District of N el lore . The individual ryotwar system

re s PALN AD. 1 55

was introduced in 1 82 0, see paragraphs 3 2 , 3 3 of M r . Wilson’sSettlement Report, printed in Revenue Board’s Proceedings of 9th

M arch 1 870, N o.

~1 62 8.

Kumara Viranna died on July 5th , 1 806, and hi s pension of 75Pagodas per mensem was not continued toh is son , KuméraVirésvara

Rae,who remained in Guntl’i r f or some years, but in 1 81 2 went to

the Palnad and fomen ted disturbances . Banditti from the N izam’s

country under one Tulava Basavanna Ns ick, crossed intothe Palnadand comm itted cruel ravages . When the Col lector wrote toKlimaraVirésvara Raohe di d not take the trouble to disavow hi s responsibil ity f or these outrages and repl ied that on receipt of the Col lector’smessage he had put a stop tothe disturbances and that if h is father’spens ion were continued to him he wou ld be a peaceable subject.The Col lector recommended that the pension and a pardon mightbe of f ered toVirésvara Rao, but Government altogether declined, andthrough the Residen t at H aidarabad, sent in a claim to the N izamf or al l the damage done , whi le troops were moved tothe Pelnéd and

stationed at Pondugal and elsewhere . The N izam’s Governmentdecl ined topay any compensation , but they arrested TulavaBasavannaN aick and handed him over tothe Company’s of ficers whohangedhim , and there the subject disappears from the reocrds

,f or there is

nomore mention of Kumara Virésvara Rao.

The other pens ioner , Ramarazu Rajésvara Rae,l ived ti ll 1 7th

M arch 1 82 5 . In 1 82 8a pension of 50 Pagodas was granted to hisson Virabhadrayya who died in 1 82 9 leaving two widows who

rece ived pensions f or l ife , and thus seems tohave ended the line of

the Zemindars of the Palnad .

In paragraph 50 (b) of M r . Wi lson’s report is an account of theNagiléru, a stream which rises near Karempudi and passing Dachs

pal le enters the Kistna after a course of about 2 0 mi les . There are

various legends about the name of this perenn ial stream and aboutth e massive embankm ent which once dammed up i ts waters betweenthe Savadi tola hi l l of Karempudi and the Podi le hill of the

Singarutla agraharam . The water is raised intowel ls on the bankssimi lar to those 1 1 1 Vinukonda Taluq on the banks of the Gundlakamma. A t Dachepalle, Gamalapadu, and Sankarapuram have beenraised huge stone dams called Kattuvae , whence small irrigationchannels are led tosome garden lands .

The pecul iar geological formation of the l imestone and quartz itein the Palnad is described in the chapter upon geology . A minute

1 56 KI STN A msrmcr MAN UA L,

account of several local ities in the’

Taluq has been printed by M r .

Robert Sewel l whopassed through thi s country in 1 879, but space

does not perm it me toreproduce h is notes at ful l length . A brie f

sketch of the principal objects of interest that awai t investigation inthis Taluq is al l that can be given here and the travel ler w il l be

supposed to enter the Pe lnad from Sattenapal le, along the old

Guntur and H aidarabad road .

H aving left the con spicuous hi ll fort ress of Bel lamkonda on the

r ight and passed Nemal ipuri once a frontier v i llage and fortified ,a halt is

'

usual ly made at Pida Gurrala, where

there is a travel lers’bungalow . There are here

tworuined temples . That of Kr ishna bears an inscription recordingi ts erection in A . D . 1 550 and between the vi l lage and the old

fort is a stone with an older inscription not yet deciphered . M any

broken carvi ngs and other remnants of old temples are to beseen , and M r . Sewell mentions three shrines erected in recen t

times toappease the spirits of three women whodied in the v il lage,

twoof them being remembered because of their evi l tempers and

the third because she became sate?af ter her husband’s death . A s

this road has been much traversed by E uropeans there are sometombstones here . The largest is in memory of M ary Campbell , wifeof George M eikle, E sq . of the M adras M edical E stabl ishment, who

died on October 2 0th , 1 81 9, and there are the graves of twoyoungofficers, E nsign A lgernon J. Revely, di ed 7th February 1 844, aged 1 7,and E dward Charles Forbes, died A pr i l 1 6th, 1 853 , aged 1 9 years .

A twelve-mi le march through Brahmanapal le leads one toDachspal le, the present head - quarters of the Taluq . There is nobungalow

avai lable for travellers here and the Nagil éru

which flows past the t own, is unfordable for

some hours after rain , so Dachepal le is not a pleasant halting place.

The name is fanciful ly derived from the Telugu, meaning the

hiding vil lage’ or vi l lage of concealment,

” but thi s derivation isdoubtful . The oldest inscription is on a: stone in the N agésvarasvami temple , A . D . 1 2 1 3 , but the temple i tself has noappearance of

great age . The town occupies the site of an old fort said tohaveM en built by the Kondavidu Reddis and there are remains of oldforts in the neighbourhood, chiefly at U bbepalle near

'

Gamalapadu,

where are al so some smal l temples, wi th a great ded of carved stone,and four or five inscriptions, three of which have dates equivalent toA . D. 1 2 2 2 , 1 2 90 and 1 459.

Pida Gurréla .

Dachepal le .

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1 58 KI STNA msrmcr MAN UA L,

ki l led the garrison of Company’s sepoys and tortured the townsfolk

to make them disclose hidden treasure, but were put to flight by a

detachment sent out from Vinukonda. There are several tombstonesw ith inscr iptions roughly carved but some have been enclosed inbackyards and others have been broken in course of years by the

v i llagers. The inscriptions on those that remain are as follows :

H ere l ies interred the body of Captain James A rchbold of the

N abob’s service who died in Timmerycottah December 2 l st 1 766

aged 2 9 years .

I cy repose ls corps de Pierre M ichel Tardivel , fils legitime deJ . B . Tard ivel , ofiicier commandant les troupes du N abob M ahomet

A ly eu Pal lenard, et de M agdelaine Burot, décédé ls l l ieme, 9bre,1 773 , agé de deux ans et 1 9 jours . A d M ajorem Dei Gloriam .

Icy repose ls corps de Pierre Charles N icolas, ofiicier enseigne eu

service de son excellence ls N abob M ahomet A ly, décédé a Temerycotte ls 1 1 fevrier A . 1 774, Requiescat in pace .

A qui repozocorpo de Juan Placitt, lef tenaot eem servisode N ababo

M ahomet A ly Can e foi falecido em primeiro de mayo do 1 778H uma sestaf eira as 1 0 horas de manhao e f oy sepul tado as 5 horasde tarde . N omeemo Dia d’aydade dodefunto. 39 annod’ anno

de Deos 1 778.

The fol lowing description of the cataracts tothe west of Tumarakota was wr itten in 1 797 by Dr . H eyne : f ‘ One of themost strikingobjects of cur iosity in this distr ict i s a cataract six miles west fromTimericotah on a range of hil ls that run s from south to north .

I went tothe place, attended as i t was thought necessary for mypersonal safety, wi th a sufficient number of persons armed wi th

matchlocks and a boy with a tom tom to fri ghten away the tigersand bears with which the place is infested . Fortunatelynone of these animals presented themselves to obstructour passage . The skin, however, of a tiger , which Captain Deaswas soobl iging as to show me, of an an imal about fourteen orfifteen feet long from head totai l , that had secured the coun tryabout Timericotah f or a long tims and had commi tted greatdepredation s even upon the human species, was enough to havealarmed much bolder adventurers than myself in toan observanceof the necessary precautions .

The road that leads to this famous spot ri ses, though not

suddenly, is exceedingly stoney,’

and soclosely l ined wi th very

thorny shrubs, that one has a di sagreeable feeling in travel ling

run PALN AD . 1 59

along it . On the plain which forms the tap of it, we behold the bedof a smal l river , which appears as i f it were paved in a regular

manner . The stones wi th which i t is lined natural ly break intoregular tables and thus produce thi s admirable imitation of art .

The cataract and river under consideration are cal led by thenatives Yedlapadu . It runs from south to north, in whichdirection i t precipitates itself over the cataract ; then it w indswest and at the distance of six m i les disembogues itself into theKistna . The Kistna at this place runs in the same direction f romsouth tonorth and its bed is situated about sixty feet lower thanthat of the smal l river .

I despair of giving any descr iption of the place itself adequateto its natural beauties . A large cataract has something majesticin its appearance. The suspended column of water, whitened wi thf roth and encircled wi th rainbows, the pecul iar roaring noise and

th e idea of danger wi th wh ich the spectator is struck, must alwaysrender such a spectacle interesting. The pecul iar situation of thecascade in a lonely place at the t0p of a hi ll , overshadowed w ithlarge trees and crowded w ith places of worship

, the simpleregul arity of the bed of the r iver above and of the sides of thebasin in to which it precipitates itself, render it peculiarly interesting. The water fal ls from a height of about sixty feet intoa basinm ore than one hund red and twenty feet in breadth

, which inconsequence of the unwieldy masses of stone that the torrent hascar r ied along and which have gradual ly agglutinated together, ismore irregular and uneven than the bed of the water above thefal l . The sides of this basin , especial ly the eastern , are nearlyperpendicular, and soregular, that i t appears as i f it had beenconstructed by the rules of archi tecture. The front over which

the water precipitates itself is also perpendicular and has cleftsthat are filled up w ith roots of ban ian trees and covered with a

species of adiantum , from which the French , whowere former ly

in this country, are said to have p repared a very good swap dc

cap i l la i're. The roots of the ban ian ,

spreading l ike a net, rendered

it easy f or me to cl imb up the perpendicular precipice and to

collect specimens of the calcareous deposition s which fil led up the

fissures between the beds of rock . These sof t calcareous stones

a variety of calcareous tuft, often take various forms, which, by

the help of a l ittle imagination , are conceived torepresent the

figures of lingome and other H indoodeities .

1 60 KISTN A msrmcr MA NUAL ,

A t the time of my vi siting the place there was fortunately aconsiderable fal l of water , but by nomeans enough to cover thebed from bank tobank . The water was at the eastern side of thefal l and extended in breadth twenty yards . In the middle there

was nowater but near the western bank there was an inconsiderable stream

,near towhich I ascended the precipice . The places

of worship on the western side of the basin consist of H indootemples, dedicated toa great variety of deities, among which a

smal l one near the bed of the basin is the most famous . On a

certain day al l the shepherds of the country round assemble an d“sacrifice several hundred sheep to the sanguinary Sekty . Theydonot give over butcher ing ti l l the blood flows in a stream and

mingles w ith the water in the basin of the cataract .

The other temples or pagodas are somewhat larger , very darkfrom the trees that everywhere surround them but by

onomean s

remarkable for their structure . Tothe highest of them we mustascend by a flight of steps and this pagoda, on account of a cavern

in it, is the most spoken of . It is said togounder the Ki stna toa point on the Opposite bank and this i s firmly believed by th e

natives of the place . These temples are often haunted by tigersand they are defiled in a shocking manner by their numerousinhabitants the bats, which occasion a smell that is almostsuflocating.

Such was the description w ritten by Dr. H eyne in 1 797 . N ot

having myself v isited this very remote corner of the District I amin doubt as tothe exact spot towhich he was carried in his palan .

quin from Tumarakota . It may have been to Pasvému la or to

N itgalavaram ,in the direction of the old fortress of N agarjuna

konda, f or at these places there are deserted temples and the stream

has cut a cur ious channel f or itself through the rock,but the best

known cataract in that part of the country is near Gotti podla ,

1 8mi les south - west of Tumarakota. I n wet weather this water - fal li s heard at a distance of some m iles among the hil ls but t h erocky defile cannot be approached w ithout danger because of thenumerous bees whi ch swarm on the cl i f f s . These bees are saidto be the form taken by the jealous spirit of Lakshm i , who

haunts the place because her consort Vishnu had there an amourwi th a Chentsu woman .

From this vi l lage Gottipod la a path runs along the r ight bank ofthe stream toKistnapuram where there is a ferry across the Kistna.

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1 62 xre A em s-r MA NUA L ,

bal lads. This cruel sport survives to the present day atKarempfid i .

M r . Boswel l opened several cromlechs in this neighbourhood an d

both he and M r . Sewel l have written descriptions of the various

temples and ruins in Karempudi . M r . Sewell gives a list of fourteen

inscriptions, one of which is of the reign of Kulottunga Chola A . D .

1 1 54 and others are of the reigns of the Regent Rudramma and

Pretape Rudra II . There are also two inscriptions of the reign of

Pretape Rudra II, A . D . 1 302 , 1 304, in the vi l lage of Chintapal letwom iles tothe north - east, and a third, A . D . 1 3 18

,in the jungle

at the deserted agraharam vil lage of Singarutla, to the south- east,w ithin the l imits of Sannigandla vill age . N ear

this deserted agraharam is a perennial springand a reservoir w ith a number of stone carvings of which some

resemble Buddhist emblems . There is al soa natural cave whichwas explored by M r . Sewel l .

Singarutla.

A bout 71 m i les east of Karempudi , five mi les south- west of

Pidagurréla, or eight miles north- west of N e

karikal is the cave of Guttikonda, which has

been described at length by M essrs . Boswell and Sewel l . Lakshm i

N arayanappa, grandf ather of the present Curnum , took up h is

abode in this cave as a Sannyasi and is here buried . The Brahmanssay that this is the local ity of the legend of M uchukandudu towhomthe gods granted a long and unbroken sleep in this cave as a rewardfor his assistance in extirpating demons . Krishna, being hardpressed by the d shasas, entered this cave and M uchukandudu

awaken ing from h is slumber cast a fiery glance upon Krishna’spursuers and reduced toashes the impious intruders .

Gutt ikonda.

From Karemp l'

l di the road runs north 1 3 m iles toDachepalle orsouth by the M élvagu pass towards Vinukonda .

2 .— SA TTE N A PA L L E TA LUQ .

This Taluq l ies tothe west of the Guntur Taluq and to the n orthof N arsaravupett. It has the circuitous course of the river Ki stnaas its northern boundary and on the west adjoins the Palnad . Thereis a great extent of black soil in the Taluq, producing heavy cropsof cotton, and in this black soil the gneissic rock protrudes here and

there, sometimes in picturesque profile, as in the eminence overlooking Krossur, the presen t head - quarters of this Taluq . U pon the

west, the river flows round a range of hi l ls, a continuation of thePelnad limestone formation, with remarkable outl iers near A chamma

sa'

rrsu ru u : ru ne. 1 63

p etandBiravallapéya, which are descr ibed in the chapter on geology .

The road from Gunter to the Palnad traverses this Taluq, passingby M edikondur and Sattenapalle, and there is a road from AmravatitoGuntt

’i r . The road f rom Gun ter toNarsaravupett passes through

th e south- eastern corner of the Taluq at Firangipuram . These arethe only roads in thi s Taluq and in wet weather the black soil andthe watercourses, wi th their treache rous beds , are almost impassable.

The most con spicuous object in this Taluq is the hi ll fortress ofBel lamkonda whose castle - l ike cl ifis stand out prom inently to thew est of Krossur . Wi thin sight are the neighbouring fortresses ofKondapal le and Kondavidu, so that the Taluq must have been a

debatable ground in the sixteenth century when Kondapal le wasthe frontier post of the Golconda kings and Kondav idu the frontier

pos t of Vijayanagar, while Bel lamkonda was taken and retaken,being held atone time by M ussulman , at another by H indu .

The most interesting spot in Sattenapalle Taluq is certain ly thetown of A mravati wi th the neighbouring vi l lage

‘ m ‘m ' Dw ’

of Dharanikcta . They l ie in the north- easterncorner of the Taluq on the banks of the river .

Dharanikota is supposed to be the ancient city Dhanakachaka, thecap i tal of the monarch M ukkanti or Trilochana Pal lava . M any coinshave been found here of date about the first century of the Christianera and the massive wal l or embankment, which stil l marks thesquare outl ine of the ancient city, has in course of time hardenedin to a mass that might

’

be quarried . A ntique bri cks are to be seen

in this old f ort wall . Legends say that thi s was the scene of a

great dispute between the Jains and the Brahmans, when the Jainwere overcome by means of magic and were ruthlessly destroyed,crushed in oil mi l ls” says the Llegend . There is a small edifice

near the river bank midway between Dharanikcta and Amravatiwhich looks very like a Jain temple and More are several inscriptions in various local ities in this District which ref er to a local dynasty of Jain kings in this place which was finally absorbed bymarriage with the Varangal dynasty. One of these inscriptions istobe seen on apil lar to the west of the Gopuram of the A marésvaramtemple . It is of date equivalent toA . D. 1 1 82 and is by Kéta KetaRaja . Some Jain images are tobe seen lying to the east of theGopuram, having evidently been cast out of the H indu temple .

The H indus say that this temple of A marésvaram is four thousandyearsold , butane thousand years is a very much more probable age.

1 64 KISTNA ms'rmc'r m un ,

On a rock in a field about a mile and a half west of Dharanikota is

cut an inscription in an tique Telugu, beginn ing wi th Svasti SarvaLokasrdya Vishnuvardhana, sothiswould justifyus in concluding thatBrahman s may have had a temple here a thousand years ago, but,i f so

,the dynasty of Jain kings must have come later . The temple

is said to have been repaired by the Kondav idu Reddis in the f ourteenth century. There is an inscr iption by A nn Vema Reddi dated1 361 . A nother inscription dated 1 5 1 5 records the grant of twov illages by Kr ishna Keys and another dated 1 62 6 records the reconsecratiou of the temple by Pedda A ppayya Garu , perhaps af ter somepollution by M uhammadans .

A dditions were made to the temple at the close of last century byRaja Vasireddi Venkatadri N aidu, whoremoved his residence fromChintapalle toA mrzivati , because a battalion of Company’s sepoyshad been stationed at Chintapal le to keep him in order . The Ri jainvited merchants f rom elsewhere to take up their abode in Amravati ,laid out broad streets at right angles, planted gardens and erecteda palace

,the roof of which, sheeted wi th burnished copper, was the

admiration of the wholeDistrict . A f ter the Raja’s death a disputedsuccession ruined the fam i ly and now, in a ruinous f ragment of thepalace he built, two grandsons of hi s cousin l ive on an al lowance

given them by .

Government . They greatly assisted M r . R . Sewel lin h is investigations and it was through their courtesy in December1 881 that Dr . Burgess was enabl ed to enter the temple and inspectthe inscriptions, notwithstandi ng the opposition of the Brahmans.

It was Réja Vésireddi Venkatédri Naidu, who, in searchi ng for

bui lding material s, first laid open the famous Buddhist carvings at

A mravati , sowel l known now tocaveats al l over the world. Thesecarvings were hidden under a large mound of earth at the southwest corner of th e town . The mound was cal led by the peopleDipal Dinne, the mound of lanterns .

” The Raja’s men first sunk

a shaf t down the centre of themound, expecting there to find treasure,and found the usual soapstone casket with a pearl and some relics .

This is now in the M adras M useum . The Raja’s masons played

havoc wi th the carv ed marble slabs, which they found . Some are

tobe seen built in to the wal ls of the M antapams east of the temple

and one with a clear cut inscription has been fixed in as the sill of

the doorway . Others have been placed as steps at the temple .

Perhaps some of these slabs formed part of the dagaba in the centreof the mound, but of that dagaba there is now notrace.

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1 66 men u w armer m un ,

A bout this time the greater part of the marbles were shipped to

London , where they lay neglected in the coach - house of Fif e H ouse,unti l M r . Fergusson discovered them in 1867 and made use of themas materials in the compi lation of h is Tree and SerpentWorship.

”

This magnificent work brought these sculptures to the knowledge ofthe scientific world . In 1 870 M r . Boswel l , in h is report publ ishedin G . O . , N o. 1 62 5 of November 7th , 1 870, and repub l ished in theIndian A ntiquary, I, 1 50, drew attention to the stones which stil l

remained in the mound at A mravati , but it was not until 1877 thatexcavation s were once more undertaken by M r . Robert Sewel l ,whose exhaustive description of the local ity and the sculptures hasbeen publ ished by E yre and Spottiswoode, 1 880. The Duk e ofBuckingham v isited the spot in February 1880 and ordered thewhole circle to be completely excavated and this was done underthe superv ision of the Collector . In December 1881 , Dr . James

Burgess inspected A mravati and has since published notes upon i t.I n N ovember 1 882 , Captain Cole, R . E .

, also inspected the marblesand is now in commun ication with Government as to their removalor conservation .

The destruction of these sculptured slabs has indeed been too

complete . In 181 6 Colonel M ackenzie made a sketch showing theposition of 1 3 2 marbles and executed drawings of 97. Out of thesewe know that 1 8are in London , 2 in M asul ipatam, 2 in Madras,

and 1 1 were sen t to Calcutta . The others have probably beenburned by the vi llagers to make l imol E ven in recent years ,al though the vil lage ofi cers have learned that E uropeans attachsome importance to these useless stones” it has been difi cult toprevent the infliction of mal icious injury tothese marbles . It seemstoafiord a H indu herdsboy some pleasure when he knocks the noseor arm ofi a del icately chiselled figure .

Detailed descriptions of the marbles have been publi shed by Dr .

Burgess and M r . Sewel l , but a brid sketch may here be given . The

excavation of this mound laid bare a circular processional path,stone- flagged , with an inner and outer rail ing of carved marble.

A t the poin ts of the compass were four smal l chapels or perhapsentran ces w ith pil lars . In the centre was probably a dagaba, butof that there is now notrace. The pillars and slabs and cornices

of the railings are covered wi th sculpture of an as toni shing degruof excellence. The Revd . W. Taylor says it was never sur passed

at any time or place and another author says that this is the me l t

ea rm ark s“ ru se. 1 67

interesting monument of antiquity east of Greece ! Without beingsoen thusiastic as thi s and giving to A mravati the superiority overN ineveh, Jerusalem and the Pyramids , one must admit that themarbles are of very great interest . The sculptures depict scenes

in th e l ife of Buddha and various Buddhi st emblems and symbols.

In scr iptions in the Gupta or Pal i character are frequent and

trans lations of several are given by Dr . Burgess . The four l in einscr iption on the base of the pi llar to the left side of the southentrance is sai d to be in characters of the first century beforeChrist. A nother inscription on some fragments records a gift inthe reign of Pulumavi , a king mentioned in inscriptions in other

parts of India as reigni ng in the second century A . D . One inscrip

tion mentions Dharanikota . It has been thus translated by Dr .

H ul tzsch of Vienna

Success adoration to the H oly One, the Sun of theWorld !The gift of the worshipper Buddharak i ta of Dhamnakata, the

son of Gomdi and of hi s wife Padma and of their son H amgha

of the pious disciple Buddharakita .

”M ost of the inscription

are simi lar to this, recording the name and parentage of the donorof the carved pil lar or slab .

Thus we may conclude that there was a Buddhist monastery herebefore the Chri stian era. Some authors suggest that this must beth e famous shr ine near the diamond sands” whence the rel ics of

Buddha were conveyed to Ceylon in A . D 1 57. Others are of

Opinion that here were the E astern and Western Monaster iesadorned wi th all the art of the Palaces of Bactria” visited by

the Chi nese pi lgrim, B icaou Tsang, in A . D . 640, and General

Cunn ingham suggests that it is the Rahm i of A rab Geographers .

On a pil lar which lay near the eastern en trance i s por tion of aSanskr it inscription in antique Telugu charactersgivi ng the names

of nine kings of the Pal lava dynasty, sothere can be no doubt thatthis stdpa. existed in A . D . 640 and it i s improbable that H iouenTsang would not v isit it, but many other Buddhist remains may

hereaf ter be found in other local ities . On the hi l l above PeddaMadd li r, twom i les to the east, are ruins w i th ancient bricks . A

mound called Dipaldinne is near Panidem some sixteen m i les tothesouth and across the river l ie Jaggayyapet and Jonnalagadda hil l

,

awaiting exploration .

Dr . Burgess was of Opin ion that the stfi-

p a at A mravati had beendestroyed, perhaps by flood, roughly reconstructed, and again

1 68 n srna msrmcr H AN UAL ,

destroyed, before the friendly covering of earth protected it unti lRaja vasireddi Venkatadri N aidu’s excavations . The marble ofwhi ch the stones are composed i s the cream

- coloured limestone f oundamong the hi l ls to the west, but there are gneissic pil lars at the eastentrance .

R iding westwards from the Dharan ikcta Fort along the bankof the river one passes through a wel l cu ltivated country, butw ith l ittle to cal l for remark except the numerous stone circles

or cromlechs which one notices here and there . The soil is for

the most part black and when the crops are ofi the ground a

traveller , traversing the undulating expanse , sees the difieren t

v il lages or rocky eminences ri se above the hor izon and disappearl ike headlands on a sea coast, but always, in ful l view tothe west,stands out the hi ll fortress of Bel lamkonda . On the left hand l iesthe populous vi l lage of Kurrapadu w ith the prefix of Pedda to

distinguish it from i ts older but smal ler neighbourof the same name four m iles further south . Close

toPeddakurrapadu i s the vi llage of Patibandla remarkable for its finechurch , the major ity of the cul ti vators of the vi llage being Cathol ics .

To arr ive at Patibandla on a Sunday morningand see from each neighbouring vil lage people

walk ing through the fields towards the conspicuous belfry of the

Patibandla church almost makes one feel as i f one were in a

Christian country . The arrival of Christians in this vil lage is a

very recen t event, probab ly after the great fam ine of 1 83 2 , but a

short distance tothe south l ies the vi l lage of Sir ipuram where therehave been Christians from a remote period . A t

Si ripuram a f estival is held on January l et,the

Circumcision , and at Patiband la onJanuary 6th , the E piphany . On a

stone in front of a ruined temple near the tank in Siripuram is an

inscr iption of A . D . 1 1 65 relating how the Chitlfikya Kingdompassed into the hands of the Chola Kings . A djoin ing the v il lage

of Patibandla i s a mass of black rock crowned by temples said tohave been buil t circa A . D . 1 450. A n inscription in Telugu recordsthat Kondaman idu, son of Gopapatrudu, on horseback crossed over

the rock from west toeast . The neighbour ing v il lages of Jpuram and Masapuram took their names from two M uhammadan

Jagi rdbr s Jellal Khan and M usa Khan . E ight mi les west of

Amravati is the village of M unugodu, now decayed, but onceof some importance . On a stone in the street

are twoancient inscriptions, one of the reign §of

Pedda Kurrapa'

du

Patibandla.

Sir ipuram .

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1 70 KISTN A msrmcr I AN UAL,

other cousins in the fort at Chintapal le and in short doing just as he

plmsed . In 1 794 a battal ion of Company’8 sepoys was sen t to

garrison Chintapal le and the Zemindar, in disgust, changed hi s

residence toA mravati . The fort was 2 50 yards by 1 60 and had s ix

bastions w ith twoentrances . It is now in ruin s . The grandson of

Venkatadr i N aidu’s cousin l ives here in receipt of a pension .

From Chintapal le a path runs along the r iver bank skirting th e

range of l imestone and slate hi ll s, the most prominent of which is

M edasala Durga. The very remarkable stratigraphy of these h i l ls

is described in the chapter on Geology. A t the point where the river

winds round tothe north end of this promontory is the insign ifican tl ittle v il lage of Kuntamaddi and the adjoin ingA graharam v il lage of Madepadu, where there i s a

ferry to the opposite important vi l lage of M uktiala. The countryhere is extremely wi ld and rocky, indeed above Chintapal le th ewhole course of the river is between steep banks . The path nex tpasses through the hamlet of Jattaval le, where are traces of ston e

wal ls erected apparently to keep of f wi ld beasts .

There are some old Pagodas here, and H indu

legends say that this was the place of retreat of the R i shi , Bara

Dvéja A sram . Passing below the lofty M eda Sala Durga ridge th epath l eads toPul ich inta

,a small vi llage w ith the

remains of a fort, rectangular and f aced wi th limestone but rapidly fal l ing in todecay . It was formerly the residenceof some relative or dependant of the Vésireddi family . A l ittl emore than twom il es further up the river bank is Kol l ti r , which was

a very important place in years gone by whendiamond m ines were worked. Ruins here and

there show that the bui ldings covered a considerable exten t. BetweenKol l li r and Kol lurpett, a hamlet {1 of a mi le tothe S . E . , is a stonepi l lar said tohave been connected w ith some water works, but as it18 constructed of stone loosely put together, it was probably in tended f or some other purpose. The remains of a mosque superior insi ze and execution tothose met w ith in places of considerable noteare situated in the north- east corner of the v i l lage and at the otherend

'

of the street is a flat- roofed pagoda. There are also some rui ns

west of the vi l lage . The country to the west is pecul iarly rocky,

large slabs of l imestone r is ing in almost every part to the sur f ace .

The cultivation is in consequence very l imited . A t a di stance of a

mile and a half and twomiles and a half south from Kolhir are

Madcpadu .

Pulichinta

Kol lur .

ssrrrsaru t r ru se. 1 71

traces of twobunds of ruined tanks, original ly in tended to collect

th e water from the hil ls on the E ast.

These remains make credible M r . V. Bal l’s assertion that Kol lurw as the diamondmine vi sited by Jcan Baptiste Tavern ier in the daysof the Emperor A urangzib when many thousands were at work hereand

,if so, this is the spot whence came the Koh - i - noor . Moreover

i t seems probable that these were the diamond m ines visited byM arco P0 10 in the thirteenth century and by N icoloConti, and

p oss ibly these hi lls are the scene of the marvellous legends of .Sind

bad the Sai lor .

H igher up the river beyond Chitiala is Kétavaram, where is anold fort, within which is a slab bearing an inscrip

tion , dated A . D . 1 552 , recordi ng that some localpotentate in the re ign of Sadasiva of Vijayanagar abol ished the taxon an imal s and goods crossing the ferry here . On the hil l is a

pagoda w ith a flight of steps. Festival inM arch or A pr il . Two

m i les further to the south - west is the village ofBodanam situated on the bank of the river about

60 or 70 feet above its bed . In the centre of the vil lage are the

remains of a stone caval ier and on the br ink of the precipice thoseof a dwel l ing house on ceoccupi ed by some relative of the Zemindar .

In dry weather the river is fordable below Bodanam . Twom i les

west of Bodanam is the vill age of Kamépal le, a

pretty vi llage w ith regul ar streets . On a sl ight

eminence aboutone furlong S . W. of the v il lage i s an enclosed flat

roofed pagoda, inside which is an inscription . The h igh perpendi - t

onlar bank s give way to a gentle slope to the water’s edge and

basket boats are used at the ferry.

Kétavaram .

Ki mépalle .

Turning eastwards f rom this pointpaths lead towards Bel lamkonda,

passifig south of the great outlying range of limestone hi lls . These

hi l ls run in ridges and the val leys between are cul tivated . The

most southerly vi l lage in these val leys is Munesfil tanpa’

slem,a name

which commemorates the title bestowed by the

N izam upon the Chintapal le Zemindar for hi s

prowess in subduing certain rebel Pol igars . Twoand a hal f mi les

to the south is Papayyapalem . The Surveyors of

1 81 6 say“ South and east of thi s vil lage the

soil is of a red sandy nature and is cult ivated with several kinds of

dry grain pecul iar to i t.” If one explores the val ley extending

M anesfilténpélem

KISTN A msrmcr M AN UA L ,

north- east from M un esti l tanpalem after passing Gudibanda, at

the foot of a rock on which is a pagoda, oneGuam “

arrives after a march of 6 § m i les at Venkata

yapalem, where are stil l traces of a fort wal l .From this secluded hamlet a path lead s to the east over the hi ll s

emerging in the neighbourhood of Valpuru, a

vi llage tothe N . W . of Krossfir, in which are

some ancient pagodas, the large scattered blocks of stone giving

the place a wild picturesque appearance .

Valp t'

l ru.

To the south - west of Krossfir and 6 ; miles south - east ofM unesultanpfilem stands con spicuous the massive hi ll fortress of

Bel lamkonda, (H i ll of Caves). This hi ll whenseen from near has a remarkable appearan ce

from the prominent rocky peaks of huge stone surmounting th ewal l . The works consist of a single stone wal l connecting the

principal elevated points of the hil l , hav ing tower bastions at the

S . E . and N . W. angles, which terminate the principal front. Th e

entrance is in this side, at about a third of i ts length from the latterbastion , and is gained bv a winding path - way from the foot of th ehi l l near the vi llage . It is in shape somewhat of an equi lateraltriangle, enclosing an area of irregular elevation of about onesixteenth of a square m i le . The wal l is in a very ruinous state ,every shower of rain loosen ing and bringing down parts of it. The

twobastions abovementioned, that tothe N orth - west 970,and tothe

South east feet above the plain, are the most per f ect parts of

the work, but even these from their overhangi ng position seem to

threaten destruction to everything below them . The interior isquite overgrown wi th bushes and long grass which obstruct th epassage to the eastern and western faces in many parts . Therestil l remain some bui ldings of stone, the old magazine, and godown s .

The remains of a small mosque and a tomb of one of the M ussulman

Commanders are yet tobe seen . There i s also a smal l pond said tocontain good water and a mound of earth thrown across part of th einterior apparently intended as a passage tothe northern part of theDroog. The height is feet above sea level .

Bel lamkonda.

The early history of thi s f ortress is obscure . It is said tohavebeen one of the hi l l forts constructed by the Reddi kings ofKondav idu . Ferishta gives the fol lowing tragi c legend circa A . D .

1 371 , but it is doubtful if the fort was this Bel lamkonda because at

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1 74 KISTN A mar iner m en ,

from merchants on their way to Kulburga, and , making an inso

lent reply, M ahommed Shah, who had before this resolved to

spare h is l ife, commanded a pile of wood, which happened to be

close tothe citadel , to be lighted. H e then ordered the tongue

of Vinaik Dew tobe cut out and hav ing placed him on a’

catapul t

caused him tobe cast from the w al ls intothe flames, in whi ch h e

was consumed . The king remained fifteen days in the town ; and

as h is army came up, it encamped without the gates, while h ereposed from h is fatigues and gave himself up to pleasur e .

H av ing secured the treasures of Vinaik Dew, and levied a

heavy contribution from the inhabi tants, M ahommed Shah lef tBel lamkonda and returned towards his capital ; but the Tel uguswhohad now col lected in great force, surrounding h im from al l

quarters, so harassed hi s march, that he commanded hi s tentsand baggage to be burnt, together wi th al l his plunder excep tjewels and gold. Be ing rel ieved of these incumbrances, he movedin close order f rom dawn ti l l n ight- fal l every day, relying f or

prov isions on the v il lages on the route and passing the ni ght instrict v igilance for fear of surpr ise . With al l these precautions,the enemy destroyed such numbers of hi s soldiers, that of fourthousand men only fif teen hundred returned .

”

A fter the power of the Kondav idu H eddis passed away in A . D .

1 42 8 this fortress of Bel lamkonda perhaps passed under the Or issaRajas for at the commencement of next century Ferishta tel ls us

how it was taken by Sul tan Qul i Qutb Shah of Golconda from a

Telugu R i j a named Sitapati, whowas a vas of Orissa. Whetherthis was before or after the v ictorious march of the CarnaticmonarchKrishna Raja in 1 5 1 5 does not appear , but Bellamkonda is

mentioned in in scriptions as one of the strongholds taken in thatcampaign . In 1 53 1 Sul tén Qul i of Golconda took the place a second

time . On both these occasions he took it by a general escalade fromal l sides at once, regardl ess of the very heavy loss of hi s best troops .

When from Bel lamkonda one sees the cl i f f s of Kondavidu rising out

of the plain on ly 1 6 m i les away one remembers Ferishta’s story thatthe veteran Sultan Qul i , now more than seventy years of age, left a

garr ison in Bel lamkonda and marched away to invest Kondavidu .

To him came a breathless messenger saying that the Carnatic armyof fifty thousand foot and five thousand horse had arrived bef oreBel lamkonda. The old man was as ful l of energy now as he had

been when sixty years before he was the hope of the Turkoman tribe

sA rrrN ArA LLn rA Luo. 1 75

near di stant Trebizond .‘g Cal l ing hi s men tohorse, he rode with

al l h is caval ry towards Bel lamkonda and fel l upon the unsuspectingCarnatic host, dispersing them and taking sixty elephants ladenw i th treasure .

I n after years Bel lamkonda must have again fal len into the handsof the Carnatic k ings for i t was final ly taken by the M uhammadansin 1 578be fore they marched tothe siege of Kondav idu and put an

end tothe H indu government of this part of the country .

A f ter thatdate nothing is recorded of Bel lamkonda . A t the close of

last century, the E ngl ish stationed a f ew sepoys at the foot of thehi ll in temporary mud huts .

We may now leave the record of war and pass toscience . M r .

Bruce Foote says that a Geologist m ight wel l make a pi lgrimage to

th e summ it of Bel lamkonda in order tov iew the stratigraphicalpanorama di splayed in the adjacent hil l s. I n the geological chapterar e descr ibed these inverted strata not on ly of the range tothe northw est but al soof the outl iers tothe north n ear A chammapet and of

th e great outl ier, the anticl inal dome of Biraval lapdya, tothe south.

This Biraval lapaya outl ier is of special interestf or intothis natural fortress of l imestone al l the

surroundingvi l lagers retired in 1 81 6 and set the Find ir is at defiance .

Between these rocks and Bellamkonda the high road from Gunt lir

tothe Paln zid passes w ith the ruined fort of N emal ipur i showingthat it was once guarded on the Palnad

frontier .

A t the southern foot of the fortified hi l l l ies the town of Bel lam

konda, now desolate but once a populous town . Remainsof pagodas,wells and other bui ldings are num erous .

B iraval lapti ya.

Nomal ipuri .

Two m i les south of Bel lamkonda at the foot ofthe Biraval lapc

’tya hi l l i s Razupalem , perhaps a

place of antiquity for on a stone in the jungle is an inscr iption

recording a grant tothe temple in A . D . 1 2 45 .

A t Gud ipfid i to the east there are no less

than five of these incription s in the temple .

Their dates range f rom A . D . 1 1 60 to 1 2 43 .

On the high road from Gun tli r is the town ofSattenapal le which gives its name to the Taluq .

Bi zupalem .

Gudipt’

td i

Sattenapal le .

Brigg's Feri shta II I 840.

1 76 KISTN A msrmcr M AN UA L,

This was the residence of one of the Zem ind i rs of the M an ti r fam ily .

H is for twas of mud but was a strong erection, w ith bastions at th e

angles and a rampart tothe eastern face where was the entrance .

The fort was bui lt by Pedda Venkata Kr istnamah,Zem indzir of

Ch ilkahirpad dur ing the time of Bas that Jang.

The vi llage of Pan idem , north east of Sattenapal le, deservesattention from the A rchmologists f or in addi tion

to three inscriptions recording pr ivate gran tsthere is an in scription on a stone pi l lar east of the vi l lage recording a gran t by the queen of Keta Kéta RAja in A . D . 1 2 3 1 and to

the west of the v i llage i s a ham let on a mound cal led D ipcildi nne

p dlcm

Pan idem .

A t Peddamakkena are two inscriptions ona pil lar east of the v il lage, one dated A . D . 1 1 60

records a grant by Bhutama Dev i queen of Keta Gandapa Raja, theother records a grant dated A . D . 1 1 75 .

In the south - east corner of the Taluq where the road fromGunttir to N arsaravupet skirts the Kondav idu range of hi l ls l ie an

interesting group of v i l lages, the scenes of

Peddamakkena .

f fiflf‘

bfififm ‘

many a legend . A round A m inabad are several

H am zuganésa' temples , twoof which are conspicuously placed

on rocky en inences and from a distance look l ike Grecian fanes .

Thesemay be of Jain or igin , and M r . Bruce Foote , in the Geologica lM emoirs, cal ls attention tothe singularly beautiful carv ing of the

green stone portal s . This local ity abounds in inscriptions and otherremains of departed prosper ity . One of the inscr iptions in the

A mmavaru temple , w est of the vi llage, is dated A . D . 1 1 92 . and

there are, on a stone north of th e temple, several inscriptions not yetdeciphered . I n the mosque are several Persian inscriptions . U nderthe hill l ies the smal l v i llage of H avuzu Ganésa (lake of Vishnu), aname curious f or its m ingl ing of H i ndu and M uhammadan terms .

Firangipuram is at the north end of a detached hil l and may be a

vi l lage of some antiqui ty , f or on a p il lar in the temple of Virabhadraare three inscription s, one of which , dated A . D . 1 409 , records thecon struction of a tank by the w ife of Vira N arayana Vema Vibhuin the days of the Redd is . The name of this vi l lage may denote“city of the cannon,

”although that would also be a m ingl ing of

H industan i and Sanskrit, for there is an old legend about fir ingcannon from thi s hil l : or th e name may refer ,

tothe presence offoreigners, Feringh is, for French troops were quartered atKondavidu

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1 78 KISTN A msrmcr m en ,

0

from Yanamadala vil lage toGunter . The great northern road thence

goes north toSitanagaram on the river bank opposite Bezvada.

Thi s is the best and the most important road in the Taluq . Othe rsradiate f rom Guntt’i r as follows to Kolakal li r for Masul ipatam ,

to

Chebr61u for Bapatla; to A mravati for N andigi ma and a road

westwards bifurcating seven m iles f rom Guntt’

i r for N arsaravupet an d

Sattenapal le . The canal led ofi f rom Bezvada anicut at Sitanagarampasses through a portion of the north - eas t corner of the Taluq .

Travel lers usual ly en ter Gunter Taluq from Bezvada crossing th e

Kistna to Sitanagaram , a hamlet of Tadepal l e .

On the south side of the hil l is a chattram f or

the accommodation of travellers . From the ferry the road passesbetween the river and the hi l l, which has been much quarried herefor mater ial to construct the an icut, crosses the main canal of th e

western delta at the lock and head sluice and then winds southwards among the hi lls towards Guntt’tr . In the hil l in full view

about a'

m i le and a half to the south- west are therock- cut temples of U ndaval le . There are many

small rock - cut shrines and mantapams about the hil l and the larges tis a four - storeyed temple w ith gal ler ies and rudely sculpturedfigures . These caves were not mentioned by M r . Streynsham

Master in 1 679 al though he passed along this road. The surveyorsof 1 81 6 describe them . M r . Boswel l , in G. O. of 7th N ovember 1 870,gave a description of the caves and ascribed them to a Buddhi storigin . M r . R . Sewel l took much interest in the subject and clearedaway the accumul ated rubbish of centuries from the gal leries . H is

very m inute description of the caves is prin ted in G. O . N o. 1 62 0,

dated N ovember l st, 1878. See al so Journal of the R . A . S . XXI,

Part I . p . 98, and Fergusson and Burgess’ Cave Temples of India ,

p . 95 . The caves are undoubtedly of Brahman ical or igin , but maybelong to a date very soon after the downfal l of the Buddhist rel igion .

The temple i s dedicated to Vishnu, of whom a colossal recumben tfigure i s seen in the third storey . M r . R . Sewel l would place the

date in the time of the Chalukya kings, that is, from the seventh tothe tenth centuries, but noinscriptions of so old a period have as

yet been deciphered. In the rock - cut temple are inscriptionsrecord ing three grants, one being by M achama Reddi with a date

which Chepur i Jei Ramudu, Sir W. E ll iott’s copyist, copied as

1 2 87 (A . D . but of which only the numerals can now be

distinguished.

Sitanagaram .

U ndavalle .

GUN TUR TA LUQ . 1 79

Tothe south of the vi llage is the temple of Bhaskaresvarasvami ,in f ront of which is a pil lar w ith three inscriptions, one of whichrecords the erection of the temple by a Reddi A . D. 1 52 6 and anotherrecords the digging of a wel l in the reign of KrishnaRaya . Thereis alsoan undated inscription on a stone near a pil lar at the Bh imesvarasvami temple.

The road winds p icturesquely among low hi lls to the town of M an

galagiri (hi l l of happiness), population 7,wherethere is aTravellers’bungalow , Deputy Tah sildér

’s

ofi ce, Post 05 00 and Pol ice station. In the last century the vil lage of

ol d M angalagiri , about half a mi le to the south, belonged to the

Sattenapal le Zemindar, while M angalagiri proper, the town close to

th e pagoda under the hil l , was part of the N izampatam Circar, forsome reason .

On the hil l is a Trigonometrical station , the height of which, according to Colonel L ambton , is 875 feet . Some distance up the

h ill is a rock - cut platform with a temple of N arasimhasvém i . The

same legend that was told to M r . Streynsham M as ter, twohundredyears ago, when he ascended the steps tothis temple, is sti l l curren t .It is that when vis itorsofier a draught to N arasimhasvam i the image

in the temple refuses to drink more than half of it. Behind thetemple i s a cave, which, as usual , is said to commun icate wi th thecaves near U ndaval le . N ear the foot of the stone flight of steps is astone pi l lar, wi th Telugu inscriptions on all sides, recording grantsof v i llages. It is dated A . D . 1 52 0 and mentions the capture ofKondav idu by Timms A rasu , general of Krishn a Ra

ys , in 1 5 1 5 .

A nother stone near the temple of Garudalvar has inscriptions on fours ides , recordinggran ts in the reign of Sad i siva, Rayaof Vi j ayanagar ,A . D . 1 558. These dates are noteworthy, because at that pon odSul tan Qul i Qutb Shah held Kondapal le and was mak ing frequen tattacks on Kondav idu, soit is curious tosee how the H indus continuedtoendow temples and record the endowments by public inscriptionseven in sight of a M ussulman fortress and almost in the track ofM ussulman armies . The lofty gopuram in the temple at the foot ofthe hi l l is said to have been erected by one of Krishna Raya’s courtiers . A nother account attributes it to the H indu agent at Masul i

patam of the Dutch E ast India Company, and a th ird story i s that itwas erected in its presen t form at the end of last century by VasireddiVenkatadri N aidu . Between old and new M angalagiri are several

M uhammadan tombs, some with inscri ptions . There is a very large

M angalagi ri

1 80 KISTN A DISTRICT M AN UA L

and deep reservoir in the town , square w ith stone steps . Var iouslegends say that it is un fathomable, that a golden temple exi sts

below the water, and so on,but the records show that it was d ry

during the fam ine of 183 2 and that matchlocks and 44 iron

bullets were foun d in it,hav ing probably been thrown in during

some of the many wars that have swept Over this part of the country .

A festival is held at M angalagiri at full moon in M arch and attendedby many thousand H indus .

Three m i les south of Mangalagi ri the road passes through thevi llage of Kaza. A stone in front of the Vishnutemple bears inscription s of the time of Kul lot

tunga Chola II . A . D . 1 1 44, and of the reign of Pratapa Rudr a I .,

A . D. 1 2 49, so that we may conclude that this vil lage was in existence before M arco Polo traversed this distr icti Before comi ng to

Kaza there is seen on the lef t, across a smal l tank, the vi l lage of

Chinna or Kukka Kakan i , in which is a stone w itha rude carving of a horseman and twohounds .

There are difierent forms of the legend which this stone commemo

rates. The form in which the legend was told tome is as fol lowsI n the old times there lived a Chieftain who possessed vast flocksand herds

,but, in consequence of too lav ish hospitality and too

great a retinue, fell into debt, and was obl iged tosel l h is herds andflocks and at last to borrow money from a trader . A nnoyed bythe frequent demands of this trad er that he should repay the debtor at least give some secur ity, the Chieftain one day told hi s creditorthat h e had an of f er to make, that he would give h im hi s best hound,an an imal whose in tel l igence rendered h im pecul iarly valuable . The

money - lender laughed in scorn and repl ied that i f the dog were ia

deed so cunn ing he would return next day to h is master’s abode .

The debtor explained that the great mer it of the hound lay in h isfulfil ling any orders given himand thereupon he cal led hi s favouri tetohim and strictly charged the faithful beast totransfer its alle

giance tothe trader and thenceforth toobey on ly h im . Sadly thehound heard and departed w ith h is new master . That night thievesdug through the wal l of the trader’s house and were about topossess them selves of a l l h is boarded wealth

, when the houndsprang upon the intruders and gave the alarm to the household .

This roused a feel ing of gratitude in the breast even of a moneylender, and when day broke the trader despatched a messenger

tothe Chieftain tosay that the faithful hound had amply cancel led

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1 82 KISTN A msrmcr M AN UA L ,

while Chagarlamud i , only 9 m iles distant on the canal is 2 5 f eetabove the sea . The town is not of ancient date and came in top rominence only during the French occupation of the country . The

v illage of Ramachendrapuram A graharam ,which has been absorb

ed by Guntli r, was probably much older , for on a pi l lar of themantapam in the temple of Lakshmi - N am imhasvami i s an inscr iption recording a private gran t in A . D . 1 2 1 8. There is anoth ertemple tothe east of the Red Tank w ith four inscr iptions and a

sculptured stone which M r . Boswell mentions in his report in G . O.

of 1 4th December 1 871 and doubtless these may be many centuriesold . (There is a sim i lar stone by the road side, west of the red tank ;where the road toOld Guntur branches ofi, sculptured rudely wi th a

female figure brandishing a sword, rays of glory being portrayedround her head . M r . Boswel l suggested that these stones were ofScythic origin .) But there is no mention of Gunti’i r in old histor iesor records and I imagine that it was in very recent times that thev il lage which arose under the red tank (Guntfir=the tank vi l lage)came intonotice . M r . Streynsham M aster journeyed from Bezvadathrough Mangalagiri to Ponn t

'

i r in 1 679 and says not a word aboutGuntur, sowe may assume that i t was then insignificant.

The French held Kondav idu from 1 75 2 and it was they who

buil t a fort tothe east of O ld Guntt’tr . The prov ince was sti l l cal led

the M urtazanagar or Kondav idu Circar but theFrench head - quartersappear tohave been at Guntli r, probably because the twotanks sup

pl ied water for a camp and itwas conveniently situate d for commun i

cation w i th Kondapalle or M asul ipatam . The Chintapal le Zemindarbui lt himself a residence to be near the French commander and

other houses were erected towards the north of the black tank and

were cal led N ew Guntdr . The place increased in importance and

the prov ince was often called by its name instead of by the name of

the fortress, Kondavidu . In 1 766, when the E ngl ish Company tookKondapal le and the northern provinces, Gunttir was retained byBasalat Jang, who maintained a French force here . Probablyabout thi s time the French soldiers erected the smal l Catholicchapel on the outskirts of N ew Guntur . In 1 779 the French troopswere removed toH aidarabad and Captain H arper for some monthsoccupied Guntii r wi th Company’s troops (whomarching south next

year . were involved in the terrible defeat at Perambakam and owedtheir l ives to the interposi tion of these very French whohad takenservice with H aidar A l i) . For seven years after this Guntur was

ous ros TALU Q . 183

held by native levies under Saif Jang, the N izam’s Fouzdi r

,and

in September 1 788was given up to the E nglish .

I n the cemetery are three epi taphs of thi s period which may bequoted . First a vainglorious epitaph on the French Commandan t

,

D . O . M . Cheri de la Fortune etFavori de M ars L aVictoire suivitpartout ses étendards . D’H ercule i l égala les travaux et la gloire .

M ais une mort trop cruel le a trompé notre espoir . Charles Babel ,d it Zephyr, général des armées doBassalat z inque, décédé, a Gon

tour, lo2 9 N ovemb re 1 770, agé 39 ans .

” Second comes a patheticrecord roughly cut on a slab at the west end of the Catholic chapelby a H ighland serjean t left alone with an inf ant chi ld in this inhosp itable land. Beneath this stone l ies the body of Chr istian M cDonald ,

spouse of DonaldStewart, Quarter - M aster Serjeant of 1 2 thBattal ionof N ative Infan try . Born in the Pari sh of U rquhart in Inverness .

M arried to the above said Donald Stewart, the 6th day of M arch1 784. Bywhom she had issue four chil dren three of which depart

ed this l ife before her . She wasa tender parent and most aflectionatew ife . She departed this l ife the 2 5th A ugust 1 789 aged 2 8years1 1 months .

” The thi rd epitaph i s dated 1 792 in memory of anA ssistant Collector named Will iam White who died aged 2 3 years

a victim to the incautious use of castor oil nuts . The epitaphsof the present cen tury are of no special interest. They tel l the

usual story of a E uropean cemetery in India . M en in thei r prime,young w ives and many children l ie there . A wal l divides the Protes

tan t and Cathol ic portions. The former i s kept in order by Gov

crament, but the Cathol ic portion , as it includes the smal l chapelused by the Cathol ics in Guntt’tr , is not under Government cemeteryregulations and the key is kept by the Catechist.

Close to the red tank near the main road is a bui lding which all

strangers suppose to be a religious edifice, for i t has a dome sur

mounted by a M al tese cross . It, however, is a chattram or seraif or travellers buil t in 1843 - 6 from a legacy bequeathed by M r .

Wh ish, formerly Coll ector of Gun ter . Land to the value of Rs. 60

per annum was assigned in 1 846 by Government for the maintenanceof this chattram, and in 1 874 the bui lding and this land were transf erred tothe M un icipal ity of Guntt'i r .

A t the other side of the town is the tomb of a M uhammadan

pr iest, Mohad in Padsha Saheb, who died about 1 81 0. Malrazu

Venkata Gunda Rao, Zemindar of N arsaravupet, although a H indu,

KISTN A msrmc'r MA N UA L ,

was an admi rer of thi s M ussulman teacher , and gave an Inam of 180acres, valued at Rs . 2 00 annual ly, for the performance of hi s yearlyfuneral ceremonies .

A description of Gunter, wr itten in 1 81 6, gives some idea of theE ngl ish society and the smal l houses they occupied . The Col lec

tor’s ofi ce stood in its present site, but the wal ls of a fort shut outal l the air . The small bungalow,

about 2 00 yards west of the present Travel lers’bungalow , was the Col lector’s house . The Doctor ,

A ssistan t Collector and Registrar l ived in twosmal l bungalows near

the M uhammadan Idgah, some 500 yards further west . The

Judge’s house stood in a garden 300 yards eas t of the Collector’s

omce, evidently the house that stands there now ,in the compound

which is bounded on two sides by the H igh Road (and in whichcompound, it may be men tioned, the A stronomers set up theirinstrumen ts toobserve the total ecl ipse of A cross the roadfrom the Judge

’s garden on the southern or town side of the H igh

Road the Inval id Commandant was erecting a bungalow , which stillstands . These six men seem to have been the only E uropeanofficials . N orth of the Col lector’s ofi ce stood the Cour t- house,probably the building new used as a dwel ling house, and north - eastof that was a garden - house occupied occasional ly by the ChintapalleZemindhr . There were traders and merchants in the town and one

soucar who would negotiate bi l ls on native Bankers throughoutIndia.

Such was Gunter in 1 81 6 . The Judge’s Court was withdrawn

to M asul ipatam in 1 81 8, but was again restored to Guntur . The

native town was burned down in 1 82 3 . The terrible f amine of 1 83 2

checked the prosperi ty of the district for twenty years, but af terthat period trade seems to have steadily increased . Two large

houses were bui lt f or the E uropean ofi cers, one being enlarged by

M r . J. Rohde, C . S ., so wel l remembered in this Presidency as an

A rchitect . I n 1859 the di strict was amalgamated with Masul ipatam

and a Sub - Col lector was stationed at Gunter. In 1 877 the Distr ictCourt was moved from Guntur to M asul ipatam . A Branch of theBank of M adras was establi shed at Gunti

’i r in 1 869, chiefly on

accoun t of the trade in cotton ,which is brought to Guntti r by the

cul tivators and sold to agents whopress it and despatch by cana l toCocanada or Madras f or shi pmen t. There are at present four Pressesworking in Gunter , twoare worked by manual power and two bysteam, consuming firewood at a cost of Rs. 9 per ton .

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1 86 KISTN A DI STRICT MA N UA L,

moist heat of July toOctober, the cl imate of Guntur it not sotryingas that of M asul ipatam and other places on the coast. A fter theN orth- East M onsoon breaks in October, until February, or even

unti l M arch, the morn ings at Guntfir are very cold, a cold whi ch

astonishes those whocome from more southern districts.

From Old Guntli r a road goes west toKolakalur in Répall e Tal uqwhich carr ies a very heavy tramof or M asul ipatam during the th reemonths when the canal s are closed . To the south of this road a

cart track over the fields leads from Old Guntl’nr to Chagarlamfidi

lock on the canal , whence there i s a road eastward to Tenali and a

branch road, a m ile long, toSékuru . This v illage is seldom vi si tedby any E uropean , but as it is sonear the canal

deserves a vi si t from some A rchaeologist f or there

are in the vi llage seven inscriptions not yet read .

A nother road goes south - east from Guntfir over black soi l to

Chebrélu in Bapatla Taluq,and as this is the nearest l ine for the

traffic to the Kommamur canal , the Local Fund Board have spentlarge sums upon it. A t the fourth mi le is the vil lage of Budampad .

The onlywater supply is from a smal l,shal low surface drainage tank

which is utterly dry in the hot weather, and it isthen a pitiful sight tosee the vi llagers carrying

water four m iles from the Guntl’

i r wells . M r . Rohde, Judge ofGun tfir , spent a thousand rupees in digging a wel l in this vi l lage,but it held nowater . Th is Budampad, only four miles from Gun tdr,may be accepted as a specimen of the local d ifi cul ties in watersupply over the black soil that extends for thirty m il es to the

south- west . The last vi l lage on thi s road in Guntfir Taluq isN arakod li ru and now the road leaves the blacksoil and crosses the sands tone ridge. There are

quarries to the left near Vejendla, where may beseen an inscr iption on a stone on the south side of the gateway ofthe Gopalsami temple. In the fields of Suddapal le, close by

, is

another inscription on a stone lying in the field of Vajrala R i ms

Reddi . Five mi les to the south - west is the village of M utl li ru or

M utm’i ru, a large vi llage with a Catholic Church and a M issionary

’s

house . The pictures for the stations of the cross

in the Church are drawings copied from originalsbyM r .Westlake, P.S.A . The festival hereon December 3rd, S . FrancisXavier’s day, is attended by several thousand people.

The old M adras road leaves Guntl'

nr below the band of the black

Sékuru .

Budampad

M utnfiru.

GUN TUB. TAL UQ . 1 87

tank and goes south - west ten miles toPrattipadu, where there is abungalow . The road is over black soil and the

water - courses are bridged, but the embanked

road - way has been swept away by heavy rains and the road is utterlyimpassable in wet w eather . I n dry weather carts can of course take

thi s route (as they can take any other cross country track) and it isthe nearest route f rom Guntur to the Buckingham Canal in the hotweather when the river canals are closed . The telegraph w ire

follows this l ine to Ongole . A t Prattipadu are two temples , theSiva temple buil t by the Chola kings and the Vishnu temple bui l tby the Reddis of Kondavidu . The former has seven inscriptionsranging from A . D. 1 2 2 2 to 1 638, and the latter has an in scr iptionnot yet read .

The new M adras road follows the l ine of the western road f ormore than ami leout of Guntl

'

l r and then branchesof f tothe south- west past the vil lages of Pottfiru

(i ll egible inscription south of the Vishnu temple)and Yanamadala, which in former days was a

place of much importance. The name Yanamandala is said to

denote herds of elephants . M r . Sewell gives a l ist of twelveinscr iptions in the four temples, and there is an importan t inscriptionon a stone lyi ng in the street, a translation of which is appended to

Prattip i du.

Pottfiru

Yanamadala.

The western road from Guntli r passes through the vi l lage of

Nal lapadu, four mi les from Guntl’

i r . N ear the first rock outliers ofthe Kondavidu range of hi l ls i s a chattram recently erected by a

merchant . It is a lonely habitation and the local ity bears a badreputation after n ight- fall among travel lers . The road passesthrough the hills in a picturesque defile at the sixth mile- stone and

at the seventh mi le - stone bifurcates, one road going toNarsaravupet,Vinukonda and Cumbum , the other to Sattenapal le, Dachepall e andH aidarabad. Formerly th is western road left Guntur by what isnow called the R ing road and passed round the {northern outlier ofthe hi lls at the vi llage of Pedda Palakal li r . This path sti l l exists,but is almost stopped by the growth of prickly- pear . The survey

of 1 81 6 says about Pedda Palakal ti r N ear thisvi l lage is a Jainpad upon which an image now

stands , said tobe one of that sect, the right hand grasps a swordand under the foot is some an imal resembl ing a deer .

”

From the north of the loop Ring road at Guntur is taken of f the

Pedda Palakahir .

1 88 KISTN A ms'rmc'r MAN UA L,

road tothe north -west leading to the river bank at Amrévati . I t

passes the vi llage of Gorantla nestling under a

mass of very black hornblendi c gneiss . There isan in scription in the temple of A njaneya in this vil lage whi ch hasnot yet been read. Twomi les further is a sti ll more imposing massof black gneiss towering over a vi l lage which bears the curious

name of Lam . On a stone in front of the Sivatemple is an inscription , and there is another at

the Bhairavagunta tank, but neither of these have been read . The

v illages of M andadam , Ravala and Pamulapadu to the west haveeach an inscription not yet read . Tothe right is the conspicuoush i ll of Tadikonda , crowned by a H indu temple and rising above thevi l lage and the large tank ful l of tumma trees. This vi l lage,

Tadikonda, abounds in remains of old temples andinscriptions . One temple is said to have been

buil t by the Buddhi sts or Jaim and stil l to contain Buddhi st or Jainfigures . A t the beginning of thi s century four Zemindars, Repal le,Bachur

,Sattenapal le and Chi lakal li rpadu, held each one quarter of

Tadikonda, and, strange to say, each made his quarter of Taidikondathe head quarters of a sammat

’or circle of vil lages. Perhaps

each was jealous lest the other should appropriate the renown ofthi s ancient shrine .

Gorantla.

Tadikonda.

Leaving Tadikonda on the r ight and with the v illages of

Ponukal lu and Bejatpuram on the left the road goes from h im,

straight towards the conspicuous black gneissi c hi lls whi ch run

south from the river bank and , skirting the eastern edge of these

hi ll s, passes through the vi llages of N idimukkula and Motadaka.

In the street of Nidimukkula is a stone with an

flbd

tfiw inscription of Krishna Raja’s reign and on a tankbund toone

’s left on entering the vi l lage is a

curious building said to have been erected by the Reddi s ofKondav idu . A fter quitting Motadaka the road passes through a

gap in the range of hil ls and proceeds through the v il lages ofL emal lepadu and Yendrayi towards Amravati . A s yet, however,this road is not metalled further than Yendrayi , and there are two

water courses to be crossed between Yendrayi and Amravati whichstreams are in black soi l and present a formidable obstacle to

wheeled traffic even in dry weather . U ntil this road i s completedat this point it is better to fol low the cart track tothe right f romYendrayi as f ar as Pedda M addur, where shelving banks afiord a

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1 90 KISTNA Dl srmcr MAN UA L,

There i s another road leaving Guntl’

i r, a cart track to the north

passing through Tadikonda. Thi s was much frequen ted in form er

centuries when Kondapal le was the seat of power, and it i s note

worthy that pi lgrims leaving Guntt’l r for Bhadrachellam and other

northern shrines use thi s route, probably because their forefathe rsused it . A fter passing through Tadikonda the path goes north to

Tul l l'

i ru, leaving on the right Nidamarru, where, say the surveyors

of 1 81 6,“ is a gentle em inence supposed tobe a Jain pad . A Jain

and twoor three Buddhist images lie neglectedin the fields about the vil lage .

”The con

spicuous hi l l of Nirkonda is also left on the

right. Tothe north of i t l ies the vi l lage of A inavolu which, in theearly years of this century, belonged to the former Circar of

U dayagir i in the N el lore District. Two mi les beyond Tul l liru is

the vi l lage of Rayap ti di, w ith a pol ice station .

This vi llage, Rayapudi, contains several inscr iptionsof past centuries, and at M arkapuram A graharam, three m i lestothe east, there is an important inscription of Kakatiya Rudra deva,undated.

Bayapfidi .

4 .— N A RSARAVUPE TT TA LUQ .

Th is Tal uq, which l ies tothe west of Guntur , forms part of theDivi sion of the Deputy Col lector of Vinukonda . The water shedruns from the Kondavidu hil ls along the north of the Taluq near its

boundary wi th Sattenapal le , and from this r idge the country slopesdown towards the sea, sothat suggestions have been made that theKistna water , led by a channel from Chintapal le to this water - shed,woul d command f or irri gation almost the whole of this Taluq. For

the present, however , the general aspect of the Taluq is characterized by dry crops and an occasional patch of irr igation under arainf ed tank . There are several bold hi lls, such as Kotappa Konda, andthe country is intersected by water courses, dry for the greatest partof the year, and forming torrents when rain fall s .

The first object that meets the eye on entering this Taluq 1s theconspicuous hi l l fortress of Kondavidu . Thisrange of hi ll s occupies thenorth - east corner of the

Taluq overlooking the town of Gun tli r and all the country to thesea. From its central position it arrests the eye from al l quarters.

It forms a connected chain runn ing in a N . E . and S .W. directionf or 95miles, besides some unconnected heights tothe N E . which

Kondavidu.

N A RSA RAVU‘

PE TT TA LUQ . 1 9 1

extend it between twoand three m i les f urther . Colonel Lambtonplaced a Trigonometrical station upon the highest peak, rather tothe southward of the m iddl e of the range , whi ch he determ ined tobe in Lat . 1 6

°1 5

’2 2

"N . and Long. 0

°2’2 4

”E . of the M adras Oh

servatory, w ith an elevation of 1 701 feet above the level of the sea.

and abou t 1 52 0 above the plain . The outl ine of the ridge is veryuneven , having many projecting conical peaks and at a m i le N . of

the stati on it is very low . Tothe S . W. of the station i t forms a

box or table land which connects the main ridge w ith a parallel orcollateral r idge, about four m i les long, term inating on the south bya conical peak called SaunaKonda. A t thewestern foot of the centralridge l ies the vil lage of Kondavidu . The f ew houses that are w ithinthe wal ls of the ol d fort are little better than a heap of m ine . Theyare chiefly occupied by a f ew M ussulman fam ilies . The vi llage i s

about 5 f urlongs N . E . of the fort and must once have been of importance . The streets are regular and there have been some goodhouses. Some M uhammadans sti l l manufacture a strong brown

paper , but thi s industry has languished since M r . N ewi l l,Col lector

of Guntt’i r , ceased todraw the omoe supply of paper from thi s source .

Others extract atta and oi ls from jasm ine and other aromatic plantswhich grow on these hi ll s . It is said that in old times the townof Kondavidu was to the east of thi s village in the triangular vall eybetween the ridges. The remains of a great embankment whi chconnected the ridges and closed . the north side, the base of thi s triangular site, stil l is tobe seen, and legends relate that the escapeweir of thi s embankment was choked one n ight of heavy rainf all so

that the val ley was flooded and the inhabitants drowned . There are

numerous remains and ruins lyi ng in every di rection, which mightrepay examination by the archaeologist .

The fortifications erected .upon these hills are extensive and the

bastions, in particular, strongly bui l t w ith large hewn stones well

cemented together, notwithstandi ng the wear and tear of centuriesstill stand as monuments of vast labour . Th e greater par t of theworks are on the western side of the mountain, the principal sum

mits of the ridge of the pettah being conn ected by a wal l extendingnearly 1 2 mi les to the south . From the southern extrem ity a line

almost at r ight angles passes over one of the highest peaks, at halfa mile from which it descends about the same distance and forms ajunction w ith the southern face of the fort in the plain . A secondline projects from the above mentioned peak in a north - westerly

1 92 xl e A msrmc'r MA N UA L,

di rection . From the northern front of the lower fort a line of works

extends up the mountain in an easterly direction un til it joins the

central ridge. The foregoing are the principal l ines, but there are

also some detached works withi n the cul tivated parts, to defend suchpoints as were particularly exposed, as well as a line on the high

ridge immediately east of the central one .

The bui ldi ngs w ithin the works do not appear ever to have been

numerous or remarkable for their strength or usefulness . One near

the gateway leadi ng up from the lower fort has been appropria ted

as a mosque, another was a magaz ine and a thi rd was a storehouse

for betel - nut and ghee . N ow they aff ord shel ter tothe cattle. In

the southern part of the area are three tanks sufficient to supply the

garrison with water , and the highest of these is p icturesquely fringed wi th clumps of bamboo. There are twosmal l bungalows con

structed up here in recent years by the E uropean ofi cials of Guntur .

One, buil t by M r . N ewi l l , is in ruins and the other, buil t by M r .

Rohde, has nodoors or windows but is occasionally occupied in thehot weather by the Lutheran M issionaries . The difierence of tem

perature is not much, but one escapes from the dust of the plains .

There is the grave of an infant daughter of M r . H . Stokes, whodiedl 0th June 1 847.

The lower fort was a strong enclosure, five furlongs in length by2 } in breadth, facing W. N . W.

, at the foot of the hil l . The wal ls

are built of stone, with a parapet and loopholes, well defended bybastions in the main l ine an d caval iers at the angles. That at the

N . W. angle is the most perfect and has been constructed to def endnot only the ditch but its own base from projecting loopholes . The

whole extent of the rampart is in a ruinous state. A f ew M ussulman

f ami lies yet reside within the wal ls, but the place has altogether amost desolate appearance, being overrun with cactus and bushes,among which are di scernible the remains of rel igious buil dings, someof considerable extent, bixt all showing the decay of that splendourwhich witnessed their rise.

M any are the legends attached to these bi l ls and ruins. On the

highest‘ peak, three miles east of the village, is a mark in the rock

which the H indus suppose to be the impression of Vishnu’s f oot, butwhich has been appropriated by the M uhammadans who call it

A dam’s Foot .” The legends usual ly told of the local ity are tobe

found in several M SS.,someof which are in the M ackenzie col lee

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1 94 KI STN A msrmc'r M A N UAL ,

who had been looking on , then di rected h im to throw into the pitthe bush he had dug up and toset fire toit. The cowherdobeyed, andas the flames began torise he suddenly found himself seized by theherm it whoendeavoured w ith all h is strength to throw him intothefire . The truth flashed upon the min d of the deluded cowherd . H e

was to be made the v ictim, the human sacrifice, whi ch should ap

pease the evi l spiri ts whoalways guard hi dden treasure! H e did not

tamely accept this fate, but struggled might and main with the wily

recluse and , being the stronger , at last overcame him and, castinghimheadlong intothe smoking pi t, fled from the i l l -omened spot . N ext

day the cowherd returned and ventured tolook intothe excavation .

Certain ly the sacrifice of the wicked herm it had satisfied the guardiandemons, f or among the ashes of the fire he saw part of a goldenimage . Careful ly he dug down to the feet of the precious statue and

taking it out of th e earth, carried it to his but in all secrecy . Ignor

ant of the value of gold and dreading to trust any one, he cut 05

fragments from the figure, the fingers and toes, then the feet andhands, and exchanged these pieces at a shop in the town for beteland other luxuries . The shopkeeper grew rich by this barter , sorichthat enquiri es were made by A nupu Vema R eddi , and the wholestory came tol ight . The shopkeeper was ban ished for fraud andthe Reddi confiscated the remainder of the golden statue and wi ththi s treasure purchased many districts .

The thi rd brother, A leyavéma Reddi , was succeeded by the fourthbrother , Kumaragir i Vema Reddi , whose son , Komati Vema Reddi ,paid a visit tothe Ki ng at Vijayanagar of whi ch many detail s are

given . H e performed wonders at the Vijayanagar court, either by

magic or legerdemain . A fter his return he bui lt a temple toM alla

giri M aha Dévi , and was succeeded by hi s brother Racha VemaReddi , whobecame unpopular because of h i s oppressive taxes and

was assassinated A . D . 1 42 7, when the dynasty ended . TheseReddi Kings appear tohave kept up a bril li ant court at Kondav idu .

Srinadh and other Telugu poets sang their praises, and some of

these poems are tobe found among the M ackenz ie M SS. This wasat a period when Chaucer wrote in E ngland .

When the Reddi Kings di sappeared Kondavidu passed under thesway of the Ori ssa Rajas, whoextended their domin ions as f ar asU dayagiri in the N el lore District. A bout A . D . 1 5 1 5 it was taken

in the victorious campaign of Krishna Rays and remained under

N A BSA RA VUPr'r'r TAL UQ . 1 95

th e Vijayanagar power unti l i t was finally taken by the M uham

m adane in 1 579 . It had been taken and retaken by the veteran

S u l tan Qul i Qutb Shah of Golconda about the years 1 53 1 and 1 536,a s has been related in Chapter III .

The M uhammadans changed the name of Kondav idu to M urtazan agar after M urtaza Khan , a general whodi stinguished himself int h e reign of M uhammad Qul i

,Qutb Shah. The fortress remained

u n der M ussulman rul e, unti l in 1 752 it was given by the N izam to

th e French . In 1 757 M . de Bussi had considerable trouble here,as

appears by the following extract fromour records

The French were before this place in 1 757 w ith 2 00 E uropeans,six Companys of Seapoys, Coleries and six Field Piecesand i t was defended by a thousand Colerica whi ch were starved

out by the French . The H il l is sosteep that i t is reckoned impossible totake by any other method than starving.

”

This appears tohave been the last actual instance of 'hosti l ities at

Kondavidu . The Fouzdar of Kondav idu removed his residence to

Gun tur, leaving in the fort a Ki lladar w ith only 300 peons, whi lethe force stationed at Guntur is said to have been 500 horse, 800sepoys and peons, which shows that Gunter was the seat ofGovernment although Kondavidu sti ll frequently gave its name tothe provi nce whi ch was finally made over to the E nglish Companyin September 1 788.

There are numerous inscriptions at Kondavidu, and I regret thatI have no complete l ist of them . Fifty yards west of the Vemalamma temple tothe south of the oldest fort on the hil l is a lengthyinscr iption of the reign of Krishna R

ays , dated A . D . 1 52 5, and in

th e Vishnu temple in the south of the lower fort is an inscription ofthe reign of Sadasiva of Vijayanagar , dated A . D . 1 564. There are

several other inscriptions in this temple, one dated A . D . 1 546 and

the temple i tself is interesting because the M uhammadans havedefaced al l the H indu scul ptures and have turned part of it intoamosque . A t the western end of thi s temple is shown the roomwhere 72 Chieftains, invi ted to be present at the dedication of thetemple , walked unsuspectingly in toa well and so were got rid of .L egen d attributes this foul deed to one of the more w icked of theReddi Kings, but M r . Boswell tells the story of Kr ishna Bays , whileanother account places it to the credit of the Vijayanagar Governorand gives the date as A . D. 1 534 others, again, relating it as

1 96 xre A nrsrsrc'r MA N UAL ,

perpetrated by the M uhammadans, which i s absurd, for how coul dM uhammadans induce H indu Chi efs to enter a temple ? The lower

fort, contain ing thi s temple, is attributed to Kri shna Rays . N ear

the village are many inscriptions, among which may be mentionedone dated A . D . 1 55 1 on a black stone, in the midst of prickly-

pear,

quarter of a mile north of the vi ll age ; another dated A . D . 1 538 in

the m iddle of a tank near by, and a third dated A . D . 1 666 on a

pil lar of the adjacent temple, recordi ng its erection in that yearwhich is another proof of the tolerance of the last Qutb Shah Kingsof Golconda . In a mosque close by, pi llars have been taken fromol d H indu buildings and one bears four in scriptions recording p rivate gran ts in A . D . 1 41 5 during the reign of Komati Venha Reddi .But the whole neighbourhood abounds in remains of past centur iesawai ting investigation by a ski lled archmologist.

The vi llage of Kondav idu in the early part of this century was

included among those ren ted by the Chi llakaldrpad Zemindar , amember of the M anuri family, who resided at

Chi l lakalurpad to the south of Kondavidu on thebanks of the Vagéru jungle stream . The Zemindar’s house wassurrounded by a strong mud wall w ith bastions at each angle, and

in the neighbourhood were pleasant gardens and topes, but i t is notk ept up now as in former years.

Chi l lakalurpad .

Travelling towards N arsaravupett by the high road , one passesthrough the v i llage of Sétulur with a pleasanttank above the vil lage and a large tamarind tope .

There is an inscription on the vi l lage goddess and another over thedoorway of the Siva temple, alsoon four sides of a stone close to

the gate of the Rémalingesvara temple. On the left hand is thevi llage of Bukkapuram , a haml et of Tsandavaram,

which may be the Bouccapouram”where the

French Jesuits establi shed a M ission in 1 733 although the native

Chr istians say that Bukkapuram lay to the south over the N el lorefrontier .

Four m i les farther li es the town of A t1 1'

1 ru , now cal ledN arsaravupett, the head - quarters of the Tahsil

dar of the Taluq . It took its name from N arsa

Ravu , father of the M alrtizu Venkata Gunda Ravu, whoenlarged the

fine tank to the west of the fort . In the Zemindar’s days the place

was well kept up . Thi s tank supplied water for the fountain s in the

palace and there were good mango orchards south of the town,

traces of which yet remain .

Si tu lur .

N arsaravupett .

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1 98 xre A nrsrmcr MA N U A L ,

Fourteen mi les from N arsaravupett, the road comes to N ekari

kal lu where there is a neat but smal l Travellers’bungalow . The

road f rom Ongole toH aidarabad joins the road from N arsaravupett

and thus at this halting place we find0

a number of graves of E uropeans, whodied on the ir march in the old days when troops movedby road from M adras toSecunderabad . One tomb bears the nameof A . L . C . Inglefiel d, Lieutenant of the 36th Regiment, N . I . ,

who

died on February 4th ,1 844, aged 2 8. The most in teresting in scrip

tion is that over the grave of General Conway, an officer whogot

rapid promotion at the time of the Ofli cers’M utiny in 1 809 . H i s

name is remembered in M adras by Conway'

s Gardens, and h is son ,

T.B

. A . Conway, retired from the M adras C ivi l Service in 1 862 .

Sacred to the memory of Brigadi er T . H . S . Conway, C . B . , who

died at this place on the 1 3 th M ay 1 83 7 whi l st en route to assume

the commandof the H aidarabad Subsidiary Force . A fter a bri ll ian t

career of publ ic service extending toforty twoyears, twenty eightof which were devoted to the important cfli ce of A djutant Generaltothe M adras A rmy, aged

There are other Travellers’bungalows on the Ongole road to thesouth at Romp icherla and Kommalapadu and at

3mm“.

both places there are graves of soldi ers. A t

Rompicherla are the remains of an old fort inwhich is a temple with twoinscriptions. A t the Sankarésvarasvam i

temple are three inscriptions, one of them dated A . D. 1 557.

A s one journeys north by the old M adras road from RompicherlatoN ekarikallu, one leaves on the left the vi l lages of Chejerla and

Kunkulagunta which (along w i th the adjacen t village of Inimel laacross the Vinukonda f ron tier) contain many points of in terest .

Chejerla is said to be the scene of the legendtold in the Mahabharata of the King who sacri

ficed his own flesh to redeem the l ife of a dove hunted by a hawk.

The temple here is erected to thi s pious monarch under the title ofKapotésvara. There are three caves in the rock , which perhaps datefrom very early times, and the whole locali ty is covered with remainsof old H indu shrines . There are ten inscriptiqns, of which somemay be of great antiquity, but only four of them have been deci

phered, dates equivalent toA . D . 1 1 65 , 1 2 46, 1 5 18and 1 62 9 . In the

adj oining vi l lage of Kunkulagunta are threeKm “

deserted temples in one of which is an inscription

e UxonnA TAL UQ . 1 99

not yet deciphered and the same must be said of twoinscriptions inth e Ganesa temple and in Venugopalsvam i

’s temple, but in the

temple of Bhogésvara are three inscriptions, which have beenr ead and are of the time of Pratapa Rudra. I n the vi l lage of

In imel la, over the Vinukonda frontier, are fivedeserted temples said to be of great antiqui ty .

T here are several inscriptions in thi s v il lage which may prove of theu tmost importance in fix ing the dates of the Chola and Varangal

d ynasties , but they have, as yet, been imperfectly copied and translated .

On l eavingN arsaravupett togoto Vinukonda the road passes thevi l lage of I kkurru . On a stone near the southeast wal l of the temple are inscriptions of the

time of the Chola kings, A . D . 1 1 1 6 . Other in scriptions of thi s

per iod have been deciphered in Govindapuram near Kotappa Kondaan d in Degaradi in the south of the Taluq and there may be manyothers ; for, in addi tion to those I have mentioned, there are 1 1 2

in scriptions in this Taluq enumerated in M r . Robert Sewell’sl ist which have not yet been deciphered .

In imel la.

5 .— VIN UKON DA TA LUQ .

The Taluq of Vinukonda l ies to the south of the Palnad and to

the west of N arsaravupet Taluq, in a corner of the Distr ict, boun dedby the frontier of the Karmi l and N el lore Districts . The r iver

Gundlakamma, from the great Cummum tank, flows through thesouthern portion of the Taluq . There are indications of the presenceof copper and iron among the hill s and this was noticed nearly a

hundred years agoby Dr . H eyne . The roads south from the Pelnad

an d west from N arsaravupett meet at Vinukonda, whence a road

p roceeds toCummum and Karnr'

rl . Vinukonda, the head - quarters ofthe Taluq, is situated below the cleft hi l l of that

name . Vinukonda, the hi ll of hearing, is saidtobe the spot where Rama heard the news of the rape of h i s wife Sita,and certainl y the local ity abounds with H indu remains of very greatantiquity . The twopeaks are not easily climbed, but foot passengerscan pass wi thout di fficulty through the cleft between them . Thisrupture i s said to have been caused by earthquakes whi ch are very

f requen t here, but arise not from volcani c action , al though the blackbasal tic appearance of the hornblendic gneiss gave support to thatidea, but from the contraction and expansion of these masses

Vinukon da.

2 00 KISTN A DISTRICT MA N UAL ,

of rock under the influence of heat and cold . The north - eastern

hil l,nearest the town, was the fortress . A t about one- third of

the height is a large reservoir of water , faced wi th stone . N ear i t

are remains of some H indu temples and a powder - magazine, the

roof of which is formed by the solid rock . The summit is gainedby a flight of rude stone steps which lead by a smal l ruined manta

pam . On the top is a small pagoda dedi cated to Siva and an old

H indumantapam, atone time used by theM uhammadans as amosque .

Reservoirs for water have been cut out of the rock , twoof whichafiord a good supply throughout the year . The fortifications at thefoot of this hi l l have been sothoroughly demol ished that their line

can now hardly be traced .

On the other hil l is the Trigonometr ical station . L at . 1 6° 3

'

1 3

N . Long. 79 ° 47'

2 4”

E . The ascent is sosteep and the surface ofthe rock sosmooth that any attempt toreach the station is attendedw ith con siderable r isk .

The town is now the head - quarters of the Deputy Collector on

general duties and its central position favours a local trade, but i thas much decayed from its former importance . The first fortificationson the hil l were probably bui lt in the days of the Gajapati Rajasof Or issa about A . D . 1 1 45 and were extended towards the end of

the fourteen th century by Bu l iya Vema Reddi of Kondavidu . Thereare

'

several old inscription s which have not yet been deciphered, butone speaks of bui l di ngs carr ied out by Segi Gannamma N aidu

, the

Governor of the Orissa Rajas in 1 477, for afte r the extinction of theR eddi dynasty of Kondav idu, the Orissa power came as far south as

thi s . The fortress was taken by Krishna Dévaraya, the famousmonarch of Vijayanagar, in his v ictorious campaign of A . D . 1 5 1 5,

and it was probably much strengthened by the Carnatic general s inlater years as it formed on e of the triangle of fortresses, Kondavidu,Bellamkonda and Vinukonda, which were fought for by the G0 1conda kings until in 1 579 they final ly passed under M uhammadan

rule . A large mosque was bu i l t in A . D . 1 640 by A ulya Rajan Khan,as is told by a Persian inscription . A fter the E ngl ish took M asuli

patam the fort of Vinukonda was regarded as a place of considerable strength and in the many petty quarrels among local Zemindarstowards the close of last century it afiorded a secure place ofref uge . The Company established a garri son here about 1 790 and

as it was a large dep6t f or stores, being advanced on the road to

H ai darabad , and within easy reach of the seaport of Motupalle,

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2 02 me A nrsrarcr MAN UA L ,

of Kammalacheruvu, M alapadu, Birzupal le, Gannavaram and

Girakepadu . These vi llages, in our ol d records, are o f ten all uded to

as the Chentsa vi l lages .

” They were under a Pol igar named

Ramanaick who trusted toomuch in the remoteness of hi s jungles

and b id defiance totheCompany . The Collector of Guntl'

rr requested

Raja Venkata Gunda Rae of Vinuk onda to put down the rebel , and

he was accordingly arrested by the Zem indar’s forces and was hanged

in 1 804 as a warning to other lawless inhabi tants of these jungles .

H is vi l lage of Kammalacheruvu was given to Vasireddi Venkatadr i

N aidu , and the four others tothe Vinukonda Zemindar .

Still farther to the north- west are the secluded v il lages of

Ravulapuram and Remi dich erla . In th e jungle between thesevil lages is an ol d fort now inf ested by wi l d beasts . In Remi dicherla

are three deserted temples with several inscriptions .

Journeying north from Vinukonda tothe Palnad one passes onthe right Kochar la, wi th an old fort bui l t informer times by a relati ve of the Chintapal le

Zemindar, and arrives at A gn igundala which is the A griconda ofDr . H eyne whoin 1 797 furnished to the M adras

Government a report upon the copper mines inthis neighbourhood. There are some old temples here, one of whichis said to be beauti f ul ly sculptured, and on a stone, quarter of a mi leto the north - east of

.

the v illage, are some inscriptions not yet

deciphered . Proceeding to the north the road leads through a

pass in the hil l s, whi ch was once fortified, and entering the Palnad,

goes on to M élvagu and Karempudi .

Kocharla.

Agnigundala.

6 .— BA PA TLA TA LUQ .

This Taluq l ies along the coast south of Guntt'

rr and extends fromnear N izampatam to Pedda Ganzam Salt Factory, not very f ar fromOngole. The Kommamur canal en ters the north- east corner of the

BArA rLA TAL UQ . 2 03

Travel lers’bungalows at Parachur and Inkol lu , a route practicablein dry weather and impassable after heavy rain . A large portion ofthe Taluq is De ltaic al luvi um and i s under irrigation which makesthe con trast the more '

str iking between the expanse of rice fields

un der Kistna water and the dry, dusty, barren v i l lages a f ew miles

tothe north - west. A pecul iar feature of the Taluq 1 s that al l alongth e coast or

,more correctly, paral lel to the coast and some mi les

inl and, run s a great sand ridge which shuts in the drainage flowingtowards the sea and causes an enormous swamp with outlets to thesea at Chinna Ganzam . The town of Bapatla i tself is on thi s sandr idge and the old line of the M adras road is shown by avenue treesh ere and there westwards along the ri dge, from whi ch one can see

the casuarina plan tations on the coast line on the one hand, and thetrees of the distan t v il lages inland of the great swamp on the otherhand .

The road from Guntl'

rr enters Bapatla Taluq near Chebré lu, a

p leasan tly situated vil lage on the edge of the sandstone ridgeoverlooking the Delta. The town is nine m i les from Guntl

'

rr , but

the bridge over the Kommam frr canal is at the tenth milestone .

Some D . P . W. ofii cers buil t a smal l bungalow on the north- west ofthe town. It is on the Inam land of the vi llage putters whomain

tain their claim to the site . There is a Post ofii ce and Pol ice stationin the town . This is a p lace of con siderable antiqui ty . Inscriptionsat the temple of N agésvara are of the reign of Pratapa Rudra and

i t is said that others are of the days of the Chola Kings and even

of the Vishnuvardh ana dynasty . Gold and silver coins have beenf ound here recently, and rumour says that much of the destructionof the old H indu temples in Chebrolu was due to the search forhidden treasure at the beginn ing of thi s century made by RajaVasireddi Venkatadr i N aidu, Zemindar of Chin tapalle . The

Zemindar, however, rebui lt -or restored some temples and gave tothe place its name of Chatturmukhapuram,

the ci ty facing the

four points of the compass .

”

West of the road as one enters the town of Chebrolu l ies in view

the vil lage of Reddipalem, where there is a Cathol ic chapel ,

and in the neighbouring vi llage also of Brahmana Kodursouth of the canal there have been Chr istians since the time of theFrench Jesui t M issions, more than a hundred years ago.

N ine mi les south of Chebrolu the road comes to Ponnl’rr, the

2 04 KISTN A nrsr srcr MA N UA L ,

station of a Deputy Tahsi ldar . I n the nursery garden f or avenu e

trees is a small hut erected by D . P . W. ofli cers ,

whi ch is occasionally occupied by E uropean s .

There is a large festival here at the fu ll moon , about the beginning of

M ay . The temple has inscriptions going back as f ar as a record of

a grant by Kulottunga Chola I in A . D . 1 1 1 9 . It is dedicate d toVishnu under the title of Bhava N arayana Svami , and its Sanskr i t

name is Swam a or golden , Ponmir being a Tami l form of the name,

given probably by the Chola kings . The legend about the placestates that once upon a time there l ived here a chi ldl ess Brahman

named Kasibhatlu, whose sister’s son , N andfiri Gunugovindu, was a

def ormed hunchback, so uncouth that no parents would give himtheir daughter in marr iage . The twoBrahmans went on a pilgrimage toBenares, and at that holy place Kasibhatlu, moved wi th com

passion towards hi s hapless nephew , prom ised h im that if ever a

daughte r should be born toh im she should be given in marriage toGovindu . Instantly Govindu cal led upon Bhava N arayana Svam i ,the sacred river , and certain treesgrowingon the bank tobe wi tnessesof the promise . The trees were of a variety strange to the eyesof these southern Brahmans . They return ed toPonn lir

,and after

wards the wi fe of Kasibhatlu bore him a daughter . When she was

of an age to be betrothed, Govindu claimed’

the fulfilment of th eprom ise, but Kasibhatlu looked upon his fair daughter and uponGovindu

’s crooked form and was reluctan t to keep hi s word . In

thi s strait Govindu cal led upon the w i tnesses of the .vow to come tohis aid and called not in vain . One night, when Kasibhatlu sleptBhava N arayana appeared to him and upbraided him with h is slothfulness in ful fil l ing a promi se made at the sacred shrine . In the

morning, when Kasibhatlu awoke, the Ganges i tself was flowing pasthis door and , before long, trees, such as they had seen at Benares ,grew on its bank . Warned in time by these w itnesses he kept hi sword and gave his daughter to Govindu, and afterwards a statelytemple was erected by the Chola kings upon the spot thus renderedmemorable .

This legend probably refers to a time when the Tungabhudra

appeared or reappeared because of a flood in the Kistna. It is a

del taic channel and must have varied greatly in volume . N ow its

upper reaches are converted intoa canal regulated by sluices and

locks, but in July 1 882 one saw the Tungabhudra burst all bondsand once more Kistna water flowed past Ponnur to the sea .

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2 06 xrs'rN A nrs

'rsrcr MA N UAL ,

0

establ ished comf ort that reminds one of the homesteads in the M alabar

District, the more soas between the ridges of blown sand there aresome oases of green sward w ith water surroun ded by pandanu sbushes and p hoen ix sylvestris forming a miniature landscape thatmakes one almost imagine oneself to be on the west coast of theM adras Presidency. The peaceful aspect, however , of these v i llagesam idst the sand hi l ls does not accord with the nature of their inhab itants, for these weavers are a very independen t and turbulent set ofmen . In defau lt of any others wi th whom toquarrel , one sub

div ision of the weavers w i l l quarrel with their own caste people . In

1 882 all the weavers joined in objecting to the Komatis carryingwhite flags in a procession, and a force of 1 2 0 pol ice constables wasnecessary to escort the Kématis’ procession through the weavers

’

v illages .

A t Chirala, population eight mil es along the ridge f romBapatla, i s a Dispensary and at Vetapalem , fourm iles further, is a Pol ice - station and also a smal l

bungalow , bui lt with teak, by the f ather of Parnam Séshachellam

N aidu, a publ ic- spir ited resident of th is town .

Vetapalem has long been a place of some trade .

A temple here is said to have been bui lt by the Chola kings, an dM r . M aster in 1 679 mentions it as the centre of the weaving

industry.

Chirala.

Vétapalem .

From Vetapal em the sand ridge runs south- west past the villagesof Pandillapal le and Kadavakuduru and then comes the swampy

ground near the Ch inna Ganzam salt f actoryThe country here, though toal l appearance deso

late in the extreme, has several points of interest tothe antiquarian .

Fragments of stone with Buddhist carvings and Pali inscriptions li e

near Chinna Ganzam and in the Kol l itippa M p . On the coast isMotupal le, now an insignificant fishiflg v i llage ,

but identified as the port where M arco Polo

landed in A . D . 1 2 90 (see Yale’s M arco Polo II . 2 95, 2 72 , I t

was much used as a landing place for stores for the French tr0 0ps

at Gunter a hun dred years ago. N ear the line of the old M adras

road i s the spot known as Feringhi or Frangula

Dibba, the mound of the foreigners, where there

was once a Portuguese settlemen t. A dandakavi le”says that the

Portuguese (or Venetians) were there in 1 2 40, but if soM arcoPolo

would have mentioned it . A bout 1 580 is a more probable date for

M 6tupalle .

Feringhi Dibba.

BA rArLA TA LUQ . 2 07

this settlement . M r . M aster passed by in 1 679 and says that stoneswi th inscr iptions lay by the way. The smal l fort at Kadavakuduru

occupied as a British outpost about a hundred years ago, whenthe French at Guntl

’rr were regarded wi th suspicion .

‘ Stil l more to the south - west is Pedda Gausam,only 1 6 mi les in a

direct line f rom Ongole . The tidal look hereconnects

'

the Kommamfir canal w ith the saltwater coast l ine, known as the Buckingham canal , which passessouth toM adras . Travellers journ eying north by thi s canal cometoanother lock at San tae market harbour town ,” whence there

is communication by water wi th the sea and byroad inland to Inkol lu on the old Gun ter - M adras

r oad . There are three ancient templ es in Santarévr'

rr wi th several

interesting inscr ipti ons, one of date A . D . 1 42 8, the year when theK ondavidu Reddi dynasty ceased, and one recording a private grantas f ar back as A . D . 1 1 92 .

The canal passes the village of Sverna whi ch was part of theVenkatagir i Zem indary until 1873 . There are

three inscr iptions in.

Svarna, not yet read . A

short road connects the south bank of the canal wi th Karanchedu,

an opulent v i l lage in the m idst of the swamp,where al so are old temples with an in scription

not yet read. A t Kol limerla, where there is another look , is a

granite slab at the entrance to the Vishnu templewi th an inscription which no one has yet read,

and the same may be said of twoinscriptions at Vall t’rru four mi les

west of Kollimer la, one on the entrance of the Gopdlasami temple,the other on a stone pi llar in a tank . A t Chagar

o lamfidi, where the canal quits Bapatla Taluq, there

are ol d temples sai d to contain inscriptions . These are mentioned

for the inf ormation of any travel ler on the canal whomay have

studied South Indian Palwogmphy, but almost every vil lage in

Bapatla Taluq has inscri ptions not yet accurately translated . Amongthe most important are probably the inscri ptions at Pedda Chem

kuru of which M r . Sewell mentions sight on stone

and three on copper plate and they appear to

Svama.

ties, alsoone dated A . D. 1 2 09 by Béta Maharaja, perhaps one of

2 08 xrs'rN A nrs'rnrc

'r MAN UA L,

the Jain kinglets of Dharan ikéta. There are also fourteen inscri ptions at Kommuru, five miles north of Cherukt'rr ,some of which go back to A . D . 1 1 1 9. Fi ve

mi les f urther north is Vangipuram with two inscriptions of thereign of Sadasiva Rays of Vi jayanagar datedA . D . 1 556 and 1 565 .

The ol d l ine of M adras road enters the distr ict near Inkéllu, wherethere is a Travellers’bungalow . There are seve

ral old temples here and a curious stone imagewhi ch SirW. E l l iot and M r . Boswell consider to be of Scythic origin .

The figure wears a Phrygian cap . M r . Bruce Foote has m inute lydescribed the geology of thi s neighbourhood , e8pecially the outcropsof upper Gondwana gritty sandstones between Pavulur and Buda

vada. A t Pavul l'

rr also are old temples with

thr ee inscriptions not yet read, and some eight

stone images in difierent parts of the vi l lage . These are supposedto be of origin prior to the Brahmani cal religion .

There is hardly a v i llage one passes on this road which has not

inscriptions awaiting an archwologist. Daggubadu, four mi les northof Inkdllu, has three inscr iptions, not yet read, and there are two

more in Timiritipédu on the right hand. A nother i s in Vidubala

pAdu on the left of the road, and there is one in Paratsuru where isa Travel lers’bungalow . Twomiles south- east ofParatst

’rru i s an inscription on a stone pi llar

whi ch i s referred to in Wi lson’s Preface to the M ackenzie M88. and

dates from Kaliyuga equivalen t toB . C. 1 1 01 1 I t is a grant

to the Brahmans by Trinetra or M ukkanti Pallava.

7.— RE PA L LE TA LUQ .

This Taluq l ies on the right bank of the Kistna, extendi ng fromthe sea to wi thin a f ew mi les of the Sitanagaram and M angalagir i

hill s . With the exception of the seas and and of a slight sandstoneridge at Kolakah

’rr, the Taluq is whol ly composed of river alluvium ,

and in fact it l ies below flood level , protected by embankments, as

some portions of H ol land l ie below the sea.

Komm liru .

M any v i llages, however , are situated on mounds a f ew feet abovethe surrounding fields, mounds resul ting from the great antiquityof these vi l lages or perhaps of artificial construction , in consequenceof di re exper ience of river floods, for when the embankmen ts are

breached by a flood the whole area of the Taluq is submerged .

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2 1 0 xre A nrsrnrc'r M ANUAL ,

1 1 76 . M any gold coins have been found here, and in 1 874 som e

workmen came upon a treasure consisting of several masses of

mol ten gold as large as bri cks. Since then there have beenper iodical rumours that treasure had been di scovered, and it may b etrue that in M arch 1 881 twoworkmen found a number of gold coin s,f or af terwards some Kdmatis, more enterprising than honest, sol dwith much secrecy brass coins made to imitate ancient gold coins ,deluding the purchasers into the beli ef that these were portions ofthe discovered treasure . In searching f or these concealed hoards ,trenches have been dug in the v i l lage laying bare the sol id masonryfoundations of very extensive buildings .

From Tsandavdlu the line of the ol d M adras road goes south - west

toBapatla crossing the drainage channel by a good bridge near

Buddam on the Bapatla Taluq frontier . This drainage channel andthe canal both enter the sal t creek or backwaterclose to N izampatam , population This

seaport is mentioned by Ferishta under that name, but the E ngl ishwhohad a factoryon the creek from the year 1 6 1 1 cal led it Pettipoleef rom the neighbouring vi l lage of Peddapalle . M r . Streynsham M aste r

in 1 679 remarked that the proper name was N yshampatnam . This

was , of course, many years before the present dynasty of N izamsof H aidarabad.

The place is now the site of an extensive sal t manuf actory, andthere is an A ssistant Superintendent of Sea Customs here, whotakeschargeof the extensive swamps covered with mangrove (Rhisophoramangle) which provi de a supply of firewood f or M asulipatam . On

the beach at Dindi , near N izampatam, is a bungalow buil t by M r .

Rohde, late Judge of Guntur .

Look ing out seawards from this quiet spot one recalls with dimculty a ghastly incident in the hi story of the port told in the

M asul ipatam records . A t daybreak of a day in A ugust 1 769 aDutch vessel , the H elena, bound from Batavia to Bengal , came to ananchor of f N izampatam . Before noon a boat came ashore with theserang, .

sixteen las cars, a N egro, n ine M alays, one woman and a

Dutch gunner . The M alays and some of the lascars at once escaped

inland. The boat was soon beaten to pieces in the surf . Four ofthe lascars wen t to the Brahman A gent of the Company and

reported that about eight o’clock that morning the M alays had

tak en arms and had killed the M aster and twoother Europeans

N izi mpatam .

REPA LLE TA LUQ . 2 1 1

and had forced a fourth E uropean to leap overboard . For somereason they spared the l ife of the gunner , the only remainingE uropean , and when the tumul t was over the whole crew came

hurri edly ashore in the ship’s boat. The Brahman A gent gravelyreports thi s and a mariner was sent from M asul ipatam to takecharge of the H elena and bring her round to that port.

From Tsandavélu the distance eastwards across country to theTahsi ldar’s head- quarters at Répal le is aboutfourteen m i les. A t Répal le is a ruinous fort

which was bui lt in 1 705 by the Zemindar whose descendant now

inhabits it . The road passes on an embankment through the

tank to Petern, where are some old temples and the remains ofanother fort of the M anika Rao fam ily, and then tothe river bank

near Oléru. A t Oléru on the left side of theentrance tothe M adana Gopalsami temple is an

inscription of A . D . 1 538 in the reign of A chuta Deva Raya ofVijayanagar . Last century this vi llage was almost whol ly Christianand part of the large Church then built is stil l standing. Becauseof famine or other troubles about fifty fam il ies of Kamma cultivatorsmigrated in 1 787under the guidance of Father M anenti, an ex Jesuit,and settled at Ki lacheri in the Chingleput Distri ct, where they stillform a Telugu Chri stian colony . N ear the Church is an epitaph inFrench and Telugu on the grave of Ignatius, a native of Pondicherry,whodi ed in 1 792 , and the old men in the vi l lage still remember thatthe Festival of St. Francis Xavier was kept with some splendour, butnow theonl y Christians in the v i llage are some seven or eight famili esof Pariahs , whocultivate the Inathl and and worship in the ruins of

theold Church. The chancel fell in during the Cyclone of 1 864.

To the south of Répal le lies the vi l lage of Kaitupal le, now muchdeteriorated by the inundation of 1 864, but in

former years a wel l known place .

.

I t was part ofthe old U dayagiri Circar of which the Jupal le fam ily were jointDesmukhs in past centuries, and sodid not come under the jurisdiction of the Guntt

’rr Zemindars . Basalat «Jang gave it as a Jagir to

his Divan Fattah Al la Khan , and in 1 801 the Col lector of N elloref ormal ly restored it to Fattah A lla Khan and considered it as part ofthe N ellore District . In 1 81 1 Fattah A lla Khan died, and in 181 3

Kaitupalle was transferred to the Col lector of M asul ipatam who, in

182 3, transferred it to theCol lector of Guntt’

rr. Itwasminutely sur

veyed by M r . P. Grant, when Col lector .

Repal l e .

0 16m

2 1 2 n orm msrmc'r MAN UAL,

The l imits of the adjacent vi l lage of Potumeraka include the greatspitof alluvial deposi t and sand ridges, at themouthof the river , extending southwards into the Bayof

Bengal . I t is now more than twelve mi les from the vil lage to the

southern point of thi s spit, and the local jest is that a Curnum of

Potumeraka, trudging over thi s wearisome sand with hi s measuringchain, declared that he could descry on the horizon the white hou se

of M adras .

Travelling north f rom Repal le one strikes the old M adras road atBhattiprolu

,where a f ew years agosome Publ ic

Works Depar tment subordinates, in their ignorance, demol ished a Buddhist stripe , marble pillars, central casketand al l . (See Indian A ntiquary f or A pri l 1 874, II I . Some ofthe sculptured marbles can be seen in the flooring of a sluice in the

chann el twomi les east of Bhattiprolu over which the road passes

near Vellatti ru . A t this vil lage is a chattramconstructed by former Collectors f rom Choultry

funds .Colonel Campbel l states in M y I nd ian Journal that when

H . M .

’s 62 nd Regiment hal ted here on A pr il 9th, 1 833 , there died

here Captain Buchan , a Peninsular and Waterloo veteran, but notomb- stone marks his grave.

Potumerah .

Further north up the r iver bank lies Kolluru, once held by theN uzvidu Zemindar and afterwards by Vasiredd i

Venkatadri N aidu . The temples have several inscr iptions, of which three bear dates equival ent to A . D. 1 1 72 , 1 1 73 ,

1 1 77 in the days of the Chola k ings . A t A nantavaram and Chul umuru , sti l l f urther north

, are more inscriptions and also at Davulurand Koll ipara. From

'

this the Guntur road passes through A ttota,a vil lage raisedon a mound above dood- level and comes to N an divelagu with old temples and an inscription said to bear a date

equivalen t toA . D. 1 1 3 2 , but reciting the ti tles of Pratapa Rudra ofVarangal whoreigned 1 80 years af ter that date .

The road continues through Kolakalur, where one emerges f romtheDeltaic all uvium on to the sandstone ridge thatextends south- west towards Chebrolu . There are

several old inscriptions in Kolakalur and hi dden treasure has beendi scovered more than once ; some gold pagodas were ploughed upin a field a f ew months ago. On the pil lars of the A gastésvara tem

ple are inscriptions p f the Chola kings, A . D . 1 2 02 , 1 2 41 , and on a

Kol luru.

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KISTN A DISTRICT H A N UAL ,

identified by Colonel Yule (Smith’s A ncient A tlas, p . 2 2 ) as th e

Koddura of Ptolemy on the river Massolus, but

there is another Kodur south of this and A namala Kuduru on the river bank four miles below Bezvada has manyinscriptions of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and may haveexisted 1n Ptolemy’s time .

In the temple of A gastésvarasami in Pedana, a vi l lage five milesnorth of M asul ipatam, are f our inscr iptions, oneof 1 2 98, three of 1 303 , apparently by 3 0 1 1 1 0

General of the Varangal R ija.

Gudur .

Pedaua.

A vanigadda, close to the river, is the station of a Deputy Tahsi ldar. On the pi llars of the gopuram of the Vishn utemple are five inscriptions of the eleventh

century mention ing names of Chola kings.

South of this is the vi llage of Talagadda Divi . In front of thetemple of Durgamba in the hamlet of Ganapésvaram is a stone pi l lar w ith several inscriptions

,

One of these is a grant by a Chola k ing with date equivalen t toA . D. 1 083 and there is another inscription , dated 1 2 3 1 , which givesa very interesting pedigree of a cadet of the Kakatiya f ami ly ofVarangal, whobuilt the temple of Ganapésvara in that year . It i smentioned that his grandfather founded an agrahzi ram in the

Vélnad, an old name for al l the Tsandavolu coun try .

A van igadda.

Talagadda Divi .

In the adjoin ing Tsal lapall e or Devarak éta Zemindari is the very

ancient shrin e of Srikaku lam on the left bank ofthe Kistna. I t is said that this was the p lace

where Brahmans first settled in this District at the invitation of thethree eyed Pal lava monarch, perhaps as early as the third centuryA . D . But none of the inscriptions here ,— M r . Sewel l gives a l is t of2 9, — is earl ier than A . D . 1 088in the time of the Chola kings . The

popular legend about Srikakulam is as fol lows : In the days of the

good King Kodanda Ramanna the officiating priest at the templekept a concubine and each day when he prepared garlands to placeon the image of Kakul asvami the pr iest wickedly decked his paramour w ith the flowers and af terwards ofiered them to the dei ty ,

One day when the k ing, whowas the patron of the temple, came to

pay a ceremonial visit, the priest, according tocustom, took the garland from the neck of the image and ofiered it to the king. A s

Kodanda Ramanna accepted the garland he descried among the

flowers ahuman hair and casting a suspicious glance upon the priest:

Srika'

kulam .

ounrvm a Tu be. 2 1 5

he asked him how came a human hair intothe garland which was on

the idol’s neck . The priest, not knowing what to say, repl ied thatthe image had a look of real hair behind its head and this was doubtless one of these hairs. The monarch said that he would see thi smarvel and the priest, on the verge of being detected in his wickedness, si lently implored the deity to save h im . The king proceededbehind the image and there, to the astonishment of al l his Court,saw a real look of hair growing on the back of the stone idol’s head .

The festival at Srikakulam is held in the month of Vaisakham

A t N idum6lu, on the canal , are three inscr iptions of the reigns ofthe Chola kings and at Pedda Kal lepal le, to the

N idumdlu.

pad“ “ lemme.

south - east of Tsal lapalle are fifteen inscriptions ofwhich three are of the twelfth and three of the

eleventh century, and one i s by Ku lottunga Choda Deva Gonkayyain the th irteenth year of the reign of Vishnuvardhana .

The is land of Divi at the mouth of the Kistna gives i ts name to

Point Divi where there is a Light - house . Thi s island formerly belonged to the N uzvi du Zemindars, butwas appropriated by the Frenchwhobuil t a fort here and cut a canal from the river to M asul ipatam .

Af terwards Divi was included in the H avél i lands of M asul ipatam and

was given to Condregula Jogi Pantulu, the Dubash, as a reward forhis services. H is brother Condregula Venkatarayalu was Dubashunder later chiefs in council at M asul ipatam and in 1 776, took al l

the H avel i lands on a ten years’ lease, which lease was continued tohis nephew Jaggappe . In 1 807Divi was given on Zem indari tenureto Condregula Gopala Raowhodied on 3oth A pri l 1 81 2 and was

succeeded by his younger brother Jagannadha Rao. H is descendantCondregul a Gopal Rao, Zem indar of Divi , died on l 6th M ay 1 836

leaving authority to h is widow to adopt a son . The Zem indari of Diviwas brought to sale on M arch 2 5th , 1 853, and was purchased forRs . by Government.

9.— GUD IVA DA TA LUQ.

Thi s is a Deltaic Taluq lying to the north of Masul ipatam and

compr ising withi n its lim its the greater part of that curious depression between the alluvi al deposits of the Ki stna and Godavaririvers, which is known as the Kolléru lake.

The twocopper plates of the early Pallava dynasty mentioned on

2 1 6 KISTN A DISTRICT MAN UAL ,

page 5 , were f ound in this lake, and legend connects the place

wi th L angulya Gajapati King of Orissa, from 1 2 3 7 to 1 2 82 . The

legend states that the Gajapati fort was at Kol léti Kéta on one

of the eastern islands of the lake and that the enemy (whetherCarnatic or M uhammadan) encamped at Chigurukota on the shores

of the lake and could not reach the'

Or issa garrison . A t last th eyexcavated a channel , the U pputéru, leading the lake waters intothe

sea and to ensure the success of this enterprise the General sacr ificed

h is own daughter whence the breach is cal led Perantala Kanama tothis day . The waters in the lake decreased and Kol léti K imwas

taken .

When the Settlement Report was prepared in 1 860 there was

considerable cultivation in the lake by means of lake water li fted bymechanical contr ivances tothe fields in the hot weather as the level

f el l . This cul tivation was little better than a reserve f or the ryots

tof all back upon in dry seasons when the river irrigation failed, andit produced on ly an inferior rice. The Board, in consideration of theexceptional difficulties of thi s cultivation , carried on at a distancefrom the ryots’ homes, imposed no water rate, al though for the

sake of thi s cul tivation an escape weir had been built at the mou th

of the Upputéru to retain the level of the water . But in Fasl i 1 2 79the lake was brought under anicut irrigation and the U pputéru was

left cpen as a tidal inl et between the sea and the lake .

The cul tivation in the lake whi ch is now under the ani cut systemis pecul iar , for the cul tivators obtain no proprietary rights in theirlands but hold them only on annual leases, which may be revokedi f any scheme necessi tates that course . There are in the lake 44

vi llages which by the Survey clubbing some together have beennominal ly reduced to 2 7, but some are un inhab ited . Gudi vada, the

Tahsil dar’s head-

quarters, is about twen ty milesfrom M asul ipatam . It is a place of great

d Buddhist sh ip s demolished by the Departmentof PublicWorks, is to be seen in the middle of the vi l lage . Fourcask ets are said to have been f ound in it. To the west of thev illage is a fine Jain statue in good preservation . Further westi s a mound, the old si te of the town . H ere massive pottery,beads of all kinds in metal, stone or glass and An dhra coins havebeen found . A t the temple of Bhimesvara are two inscr ipti

onsrecording private grants with dates equivalent toA . D . 1 2 3 7, 1 2 43 .

Gudiva'

da.

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2 1 8 11 1e 11 ms'rmc'r n nou ,

Chinese travel ler spoke of A mravati as one of the twomonasteriesthe second monastery has not been discovered, and there are no

hi l ls very near Amravati . M r . Beal’s translation of the original textof H iouen Tsang, as quoted in M r . Sewel l’s ' paper, is here givenfor reference, but it must be adm itted that inaccuraciesof topographymay have crept intothe travel ler’s narrative and that it is not saf etobuild much conjecture on any one phrase . The city referred tois Dhanakacheka (Dharanikota capital of the kingdom of Pinki

(Vengi

To the east of the city, restingon the side of a mountain , is the

E astern M onastery tothe west of the city, resting on the side ofa mountain , is the Western Monaste ry. A n early King of thiscountry constructed here a chai tya in honour of Buddha he bored

out the river - course, constructing a road through it ; he made in

the sides of the mountain long gal leries,wide chambers connectingthem one w ith another along the whole course of the escarp (or ,at the back of the mountain he constructed a cavern in connection w ith these chambers)

In the l ife of H iouen Tsang by H oei - li , M . Jul ien’s translationsays ; “ A l

’est de la cap itals, on a construit sur une montagne ls cou

vent (Pfirvaci laSangharama .) A l’onest de la vil le, on a élevé sur

locfité opposé de la.montagn e le convent (A varacilaSfinghfirama).

U n ancien roi de cc royaume l’avai t construit en l’honneur du Boud

dha et y avai t déployé toute la magnificence des palais de la

Bactrians .

”

Both works speak of moun tains in the vicin ity . The monasteri eswere deserted since a hundred years because the spirit of the mountains had frightened away al l travel lers . There is alsoanother passage as follows : A little distance tothe south of the city there is alarge terraced moun tain : This is the place where Bhavavi véka, th emaster of the Sastras, remain s in the palace of the A s uras, awai tingthe arrival of the Bodhisatva M aitreya, that he may see him whenhe arr ives at perfect intel l igence .

” These are the texts uponwhich thi s discussion has arisen . If the travel ler had made any

mention of the Kistna river it would be easier to form an opinion .

H i s omission to do soshows how l ittle reliance can be placed uponhis description of locali ties.

Twostone images have been found on the western hi l l and one onthe eastern hill , perhaps of Jain origin . Excavations show that there

BE ZVADA TA LUQ . 2 1 9

was formerly a large city on the site of the present town . M r . Sew el lmen ti ons 47 inscriptions w i th dates from the eleventh century of theChr istian era. Situated as it is at a conveni ent ferry on the r iver

an d surrounded by a natural defence of hi l ls , Bezvada was a con

stan t halting place for al l the armies mentioned in the previous h istorical chapters, from A .D . 1 02 3 , when the Chola kings obtainedthis coun try, down to 1 765, when Nizam A l i appeared here and

threatened M asul ipatam . The hi l l known in these days as the

Telegraph hill former ly ended in an abrupt scarp on the river . The

road al ong the face of this hi l l was a hundred years agoa gal lerywi th overhanging clifi and was regarded bymi l itary men as a defil eof con siderable strategic importance . A fter General Cail laud

marched through Bezvadaand took the Kondapal le fortress on M archl 0th

,1 766 , this defil e was protected by a lunette or redoubt on the

hil l whi ch was garrisoned f or some years afterwards and of whichtraces sti ll remain . The overhanging clifl was removed by the

D . P . W. whoused this face of the hi l l as a quarry when constructing the an icut .

Twoinscr iptions at the Kanaka Durga temple on the western hi l ldated A . D . 1 5 1 8give the genealogy for eight generations back of aKshatr iya family . It is said that as early as A . D. 59 1 four Rajpfittribes came toBezvada under the leadership of one Madhavavarma,whose l ineal descendants, a thousand years afterwards, were Sirdarsof influence under the Kings of Golconda, in 1 65 2 establ ished themselves in the Vizagapatam country and in 1 71 3 erected the fort atVizianagaram where they have since resided . The late M aharajaof Vizianagaram vi sited Bezvada, the home of his family for

somany centuries, and h is v isit is recorded in a Telugu inscr iption ,cut in imitation of ancient characters . A ll the Rfijpflts in the

Northern Circars acknow ledge the l ineage of this Pfisapati f ami lyand regard the M aharaja of Viz ianagaram as their Chief.

The anicut which has been constructed here across the river

Kistna is described in the chapter on Irrigation . It is, however , notthe only triumph of engineering ski l l tobe seen at this spot . The

telegraph w i res of the l ine from M adras toCalcutta are carriedacross the Kistna from hi ll to hi ll in a single span , the longest spanof telegraph wire as yet erected anywhere . The wires are fastenedtostout teak beams which are held by backstays intothe rocks onthe hi l l side . E very day the Telegraph lascars climb the cl ifl s and

impact these beams . There are three wires independently fastened

2 2 0 KISTN A Dl s'rmc'r mmUA L ,

to separate supports . On the Sitanagaram hil l the lowest support is366 feet and the highest is 3 72 feet above the level of the crest ofthe an icut. On the Bezvada hil l the lowest support i s 380 feet andthe highest 405 feet above the an icut . The distance in a

straight line from support tosupport is feet, but the w ires ofcourse di p considerably, the lowest w ire above midstream beingon ly 66 feet above the an icut level . The Bezvada hi ll is above the

ani cut and the Sitanagaram hi ll below it, so the wires pass overthe ani cut in a slant and as in July 1 882 there was more than 2 0feet of water passing over the an icut the wires were then w i thin46 feet of the flood level . Thi s dip , about 300 feet per pendiculardip in a span of feet or 1 in 1 6, is said to be less than whatought to be given , in other words the wire is screwed up tighterthan mechan ical formula warrant, but there was no alte rnativeexcept a sub~ fluviatile cable . Bezvada is the station of the Super intending E ngineer, 2 nd Division , of the E xecutive E ngineer E asternDel ta, and of the H ead A ssistant Collector . The Church M issionarySociety have schools here and there is a smal l Catholic chapel v i sitedoccasional ly by a priest of the H aidarabad Vicariate.

Among the inscripti ons collected by M r . Sewel l in th is Taluq maybe noted two dated A . D . 1 1 57 in Potavaram and Jakkampud 1

vil lages and one in Senikepadu, dated A . D . 1 1 74, said to be of theChola kings .

The most interesting hi storical remains in Bezvada Taluq are the

ruins of the hi ll fortress of Kondapal le . The

var ious v icissitudes of this picturesque stronghold have been related in the prev ious chapters, but a br ief summary may hers hs given . It was buil t circa A . D . 1 360 by A nuvéma

Reddi of Kondav idu and was cal led Kondapal le after the shepherd

Kondadu whoshowed the site tothe Reddi king. A fter the close

of theReddi dynasty the fort passed under the Raja of Orissa f rom

whom it was taken in 1 471 by the youthfu l M uhammad Shah II

of Kulburga. The garrison revol ted about 1 476 and in 1 477 the

place stood a siege of six months at the close of which occurred the

ep isode related by Ferishta. The youthful king ascended the hil l

tothe fort and wi th hi s own hands k il led the Brahmans whowereofi ciating at a H indu temple wi thin it . Four years later the

encampment at the foot of Kondapal le w i tnessed the tragic f ate ofthe aged minister Khaja M ahmud Gavan . A fter this date the

fortress appears to have passed out of the hands of the M uham

Kondapal le .

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2 2 2 KlBTN A ms'rmc'r M A N U A L ,

in this Quarter from the rudeness of the Zem in dar ies and f rom its

being on the high road toH yderabad .

”

A t Ibrahimpatam on the main road is a Travellers’ bungalow.

The plain between Kondapal le and the Bezvada h 1 118 is below the

flood level of the Kistna . In 1 853 an embankment was erected

but the flood of July 1882 breached thi s embankment‘ and the

Kistna water flowed eastwards across country breaching the E l lore

1 1 .— N A .N DIGAM A TA LUQ.

This Taluq lies to the west of the Kondapal le rangef of hil ls

between the R iver Kistna and the N izam’s Dom in ions . It includes

the twodetached Zemindaris of M unagala and L ingagiri which lie

within the N iz i m’s terri tory. The river M unéru with its tributarythe Varéru and also the Falern flow from the north

'through this

Taluq and enter the Kistna . The road from Bssvada'

towards

H aidarabad traverses the Taluq from east towest.

The diamond- producing v i llages of Partiala, Kodavatakullu and

U stapalls, on the left bank of the Kistna, were reserved by the

N izém when the Kondapal le Circar was coded to the E ast IndiaCompany in 1 766. E nter ing the Taluq from Bezvada a halt is

usually made at Kanchakacher la which ColonelYule identifies as the Konta Kossyla of Ptolemy

which was on on the river M assolus . Four mi les to the north is

the vi llage of a zuru, mentioned in an inscription of the tenthcentury (I nd ian A ntiquary VIII .

,where is the old fort of the

Bszvada Zemindars . E ight m iles to the north is Tsavutapalls wherei s a pil lar with date equivalent toA . D . 1 2 2 2 .

A march of l ittle more than nine mi les, crossing the M anéru ,

leads to N andigama, the station of the Tahs il dar .

Two mi les to the east across the M anéru is

Raghavapuram with the remains of a fort bui ltin 1 686 by Vasirsddi Choudari Ramayya. H ere

is a station of the Church M ission Society wi th about 800 Christiansunder the Revd . J. Stone . To the north of this lies the Ramaredd i

palle hi ll with some carved stones whi ch may on inspecti on prove tobe of Buddhist ori The local traditi on as

M d’pme '

that the hi l l was tfin

residsncs of a dancing giry

l

'

,

and this seems to be the usual legend about the si tes of Buddhist

Kanchakaoherla.

1 1 1 11 0 1 0 1 1 1 11 ram s . 2 2 3

H igher up the M unéru and on its right bank is Psnuganchi proluwhich may be the Palanchenm

'

i r near the river”

where, according to Ferishta, Sul tan Qul i QutbShhh defeated an enormous H indu army circa 1 52 0.

Tothe south between N andigima and the river Kistna are seve

ral vi llages deserving of men tion . A t M un'

agalapalls and M uppala

are inscriptions of the thirteenth century. A tKanchala is an old fort,

wi thin which are broken stones bearing five inscriptions, two datedequivalen t toA . D . 1 185. A t Ravnlapadn, further south, there are

also five inscriptions, and one deserves special investigation as it

records a gran t to the temple by Kota Gundra Raja, probably one ofthe kings of Dharanikéta, but they are supposed tohave been Jains .

A t M unalur , at the mouth of the M un éru on its left bank, is aninscription wi th a mythical accoun t of the origin of the stream .

Journeying westward from N andigama one passes through Peddavaram, where, on a stone south of the vi l lage, is a grant of A . D .

1 2 68 in th e time of the Regent Rudramma, and arrives at Gudi

metta on the river bank . There is here a picturesque old fort said

tohave been bui l t by the Kondavidu Roddie, but there are four

inscription s on a. stone east of the mosque and three on a slab lyi ngnear, and f our of these seven inscriptions have dates of the Crangul

or Chola dynasties bef ore the time of the Reddi kings . H igher

up the river , on the north bank , at Vedadri , where there is a temple

of N arasimhasvami , and at M uktiyala, the residence of the vasireddi

will probab ly throw l ight on the local history of that period.

Leaving N andigama by the road to the north - west one passesthrough N avabpst, where is a temple with six inscriptions, threebearing dates of the thirteenth century. On the left hand is Kanakanchi w ith an old fort and four inscriptions, one as old as A . D.

1 1 46 records a grant by Rajendra Chola . The road passes KongaraMalls , a locality whi ch long bore a bad reputation as the resort ofhighway robbers. To the right 1 3 Bhimavaram, whi ch also has an

inscription of date A . D. 1 146 . The usual halting place for troops

on the march is at Shér M uhammadpet beyond which i s the vil lage

of Anumanchipalls , where, in the Siva temple, are five inscr iptionswith dates from A . D. 1 2 03 to 1 2 60. Two mil es south of ShérMuhammadpet is the flourish ing town of Jaggayyapet (population

It was formerly called Bétavoln, butVasireddi Venkatadr i N aidu whoenclosed itwi th

2 2 4 KISTN A msrmc'r w on .

a wall and invite d merchants tosetttle hers , cal led it by the name

of h is father Jaggayya. The town is a depdt f or much of the com

merce which goes on between the N orthern Circars and the N izam’s

Domin ions or Central India, commerce which would justi f y the

construction of a Ra ilway from Bezvada to Secunderabad.

The road for H aidarabad passes thr ough part of the N mam s terr i

tory and arrives at the detached Zem indari of M unagala. A t Tada

vayi , twomi les west of M unagala, are twomscriptions in the temple of M alli kharjuna, one dated

A . D 1 300 in the reign of Pratapa Rudra . The other in the time

of A nnayya Reddi is dated 1 306 . If the date i s 1 366 it may b e of

A nuvéma Reddi of Kondav idu ,but the M unagala Zemindars are

Beddia and the inscription may relate toone of their ancestors.

U nnagéla.

In this Taluq there are very many stone circles, which have beennoticed in the I ndian A n tiquary IV.

, 305 . There are various Spotssupposed topossibly contain remains of Buddhistmonumen ts . M r .

R . Sewell mentions Budavada, four miles west of JaggayyapetM ul kapuram ,

seventeen miles north - west of N andigama, Kokiréni ,six mi les south- west of M unagala and N elamarri wi th Undrakétafortress to the north- west.

One locali ty near Jaggayyapet was inspected in February 1 882 byDr . Burgess who found the remain s of a Buddhist ship s of dateabout twohundred years before the Christian era. A description ofthese remain s is given by Dr . Burgess in his notes on the A mi -an tistrips publ ished at the M adras Government Press

, 1882 . Somecarvings are of an archaic type and the letters on some slabs are ofthe character used about 2 00 to 1 70 B.C.

From fragments of pi l lars at the eastern gate Dr . Burgess puttogether the fol lowing inscription which was written in charactersof about A . D . 2 00.

Success On the l 0th day of the 6th fortnight of the rainy

season of the 2 0th year of the King, the il lustrious Purushadatta,son of Madhari hero of the Ikhakus . The mason Siddhartha, aresiden t of the vi llage M aha Kadur l

'

i ra, son of the m an

N i gachandra, a resident of the village N adanura in the country ofKan aka, hi s mother N agil ini being foremost, and together withhi s wife Samudrini , son M ulas iri

, daughter N agabudhni ka, brotherBudhinaka,wif eChakan ika, sons N agasiri and Chandasiri, daughter

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2 2 6 KISTNA msrmcr 1mm“ ,

A ppendix toNo. XI N andigama Taluq.

Du. H E YN E’S JOURN EY.

Observations made on a tour f rom Samn lcottah toH ydrabad .

My sui te consisted of near forty persons : twelve palankesn boys f or mysel f

and one massalj i : six boys and a massalj i f or my dubash’e duly , four coury cool ies

tocarry my baggage and prov isions, one draughtsman , two plant collectors,

twopeons, one servant, four inval i d sepoys, &c . I n the night of the 1 st of A ugust

1 798, I set out w ith my sui te f rom Condap i l ly and arrived in the morn ing at

Gave Partes l , where I wished tostay in order to make a botan ical excursion tothe

nearest hi l l s. But my palankeen boys objected to i t, because i t was a N isam's

v i llage and a Company's vi l lage was only f our m i les f arther 06 where they coul d

procure pots and rice at a cheaper rate , as they are always absolute, or w hen they

are disappointed make one f eel it, I wenton w i th them to Cochnmchi rla. I stopped

in a fine tamarind tops at the east end of the vi l lage, in pre f erence tothe chou l try at

the other side of it, whi ch was occup ied by an A rmenian. It is under the f our th

d ivision of wh ich M r. Oakes is Col lector .

A bout 4 o’clock in the af ternoon w e broke up again , crossed a smal l r iver about

f our mi les f rom it, cal led Ki sere or Baiyala. The buildi ngs in the v i l lages are kept

in pretty good repd r and the inhabitants seem tobe on the whole in comf ortable

circum stances. Bef ore sunset we reached N andi knm , a good v i l lage w ith a large

pagoda, in which the H indoohours were regularly struck . A n elephant alsobe longed

to i t that had been presented by Vassareddy , the Zem indar, to whom the vil lage

belongs. The choultry was occup ied by some peons of the Zemindar’s, who made

room however immediate ly , and procured me al l the comf orts that the v i llage amended ,a f ow l, mi l k , rice, duo. Most of these kind of peop le are Moormsn , whoare paid by

their employers by ord ers upon v i l lages that owe money tothe Circar f or thei r kists

and f rom which they get f rom a quarter of a rupee toa rupee a day unti l the money

i s paid . They are usually a set of lazy thieves that woul d rather starve then work,

who cringe in the presence of their masters or any man in authori ty, and are

insuflerab ly' insolent toevery other person . (H ere follows a description of torturing

def aulting ryots.)

This was the last place where I met with a choultry in which one might find

shel ter in the rainy season , provided the rain does not come f rom the east where it

is open. Most of the choul tri es in the Circars are nothing but p laces surrounded by

mud walls, twelve f eet high , thatched w ith straw , about sixteen f eet long and f rom

ten totwel ve broad . In the wal ls are holes f or putting an earthen vessel which is

toserve as a lamp in the n igh t . In thi s the palankeen is p laced when the weather

i s rainy or col d an d around it flock the palankeen boys. A n old di rty f akir , in one

of the corners smokes his chil lum . Some of the palank esn boys light their oherutsc :

others sleep and snore ; all combine tomake it comf ortab le to themselves, whi le their

master is almost suf focated by a compl ication of odours.

Finding the country pleasant, I did not goon early in the morning. On the west

of the vi l lage was a tank lately buil t, and not f ar f rom this tank , under a large tree,

I f ound the Armenian . I invited him toeat a curry and rice wi th me and he did not

arrsnmx ro r um ou rs TALUQ . 2 2 7

af terwards leave me ti ll I came to H ydrsbad . H e had with him a great many

valuabl e articles of trade . The smal l guard I had along wi th me and my numerous

train must have been a great inducement for h im tocon tinue in our company .

Between this vil lage and Conchumchir la, I f ound a kind of stone cal led by the

Gentoos, Guruwin tam , w i th wh ich they poli sh steel . I t is an aggregate of smal l

garnets agglutinated by an imperceptible but very strong cement. They are al l of an

irregular f orm , a glassy lustre , are very hard : the ir spec ific grav ity is only

Probab ly these stones are detached f rom the neighbouring hi l ls . Garnets of a

regular f orm and perf ectly pel lucid are found about Condap i lly and Bezvadah and al l

along th e banks of the Kistnah ; and f ormerly, I understand , a profitable trade with

them was carr ied on even toE urope .

A bout 4 o’clock we set out f rom N and iknm and passed a large vi l lage cal led

N abobpatnam , about eight mi les f rom it ; on the west side of whi ch was a very

large tank whi ch cannot be less than three or f our m i les in circum f erence . The

v il lage seemed to be inhab ited by rather Opulent peop le f or the houses were pretty

good and large : i t be longed toVassareddy and is the best I have seen on th is side of

Con dapi l ly . From this vi l lage w e came into a j ungle that had lately in part been

c leared of i ts underwood by the Zem indar, toput an end to the many accidents that

had happened totravel lers f rom robbers and tigers, wi th wh ich these jungly plains

were in f ested . On th e righ t hand we passed by a h il l cal led Th ieves’H il l , on account

of the shelter wh ich i t aflorded tothis descrip tion of peop le, before they were dr iven

away by the Zemindar’s sepoys .

The palanksen boys, im pressed w ith the f ear of tigers and robbers, made the best

of their way and arr ived bef ore ten o’clock at Ser M ahommed Pettah about twenty

mi l es f rom N andikum . I n the morning another travel lerovertook us , a M r . H arding,

a young I rishman,who introduced h im sel f wi th much afiabi l i ty and we soon became

acquai nted . H e was an adventurer or a sol d ier of f ortune ; had been a Cap tain in

the Rajah of Travancore’s serv ice , and conceived high ideas of hi s f uture situation at

H ydrabad . Judging f rom the letters of recommendation he showed me , he had

reason toexpect that his si tuation woul d be at least l ucrative (H e was k il led in

battle a f ew years af te rwards, command ing a large army of H olcar’s, just as he had

ga in ed a v ictory over Scindi a. ) N ear this v i l lage was a large tank , that watered all the

r ice fields w ith whi ch the tops , where we‘had put up , was surrounded . I ndeed

i t m igh t water al l the country toJuggampettah, a large trad ing vi llage about six

m i l es to the south . I thought the coun try remarkably pretty; the soil was f ertile

and nothi ng was wanting but hands toclear itof i ts jungle and totill the ground . We

w en t almost round the tank wi th our guns and ki l led some quai ls an d ducks . The

A rmenian on h is side was as happy as poss ib l e . H e stole unawares on a couple of

doves and k ill ed them both at once . A f ter our return toour palankeen we took a

hearty meal of curry and rice and opened our last bottle of w ine .

We le f t Ser M ahommed Pettah about 2 o’clock and passed through a great deal of

jungle that had the ap pearance of havi ng been f ormerly cul tivated land ; for we saw ,

not only deserted vi ll ages and pagodas , but rui ned f orts and several very large tanks ,

w hi ch, notw i thstanding they were out of repair , contained much water, and would

be the source of riches in coun tries supp l ied wi th a greater number of hands .

Grass was very luxur iant everywhere and my f el low travel ler remarked that

th is country was the best adap ted he had ever seen for the breed ing of horses.

80 indeed it appeare d at present during the rain but I doubt whether during the

dry mon ths it wil l have toboast of a single b lade of grass.

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2 30 KI STN A msrmcr m ust ,

Slates and l imestones of Sudimat Konda andM élvagu val ley.

Quartzi tes and slates of Biraval lapaya,N ekarikallu, Chintapalle and Jaggayyapet

Kadapa series

Gneissic rocks

pall e and Kondavidu .

The crystal line metamorphic gneiss is the oldest formation,

and M r. King suggests that the flat tops of the gneissic hi l ls al lsloping in a plane to the south - east show an old mar ine floor whi chhas been deeply eroded during the formation of the present val leysand plains . These fiat tops are clearly displayed at M angalagir i,

Sitanagaram and Bezvada, and are tobe seen on the hi l ls of thesame formation al l the way north toVizagapatam .

There are several varieties of gneiss wi thin the l imi ts of theKistna di strict, but the Geological Department has not given timetothis subject sufi cient to subdivide and correlate the di f f eren t

groups of gneissic rock, and indeed, the matter i s not of muchimportance . It may sufii ce to say that they roughly divide the

gneiss intograni toid and schi stose, the gran itoid being probablyolder as it has undergone a greater metamorphosis . Of thi s gran itoid

gneiss are composed the higher hi l ls in the district, such as BogalaKonda near Vinukonda, Kotappa Konda near N arsaravupet, the

Bel lamkonda, Kondavidu and Kondapal le hi lls, wi th many othersof less elevation . In thi s grani toid gneiss M r . Foote di stinguishesthree principal varieties, the hornblendic being most frequen t, themicaceous next and then the epidotic . In some rocks, however,only quartz and felspar were v isible . A n intensely black variety of

hornblendi c gneiss, which Dr . H eyne and other observers havemistaken f or basal t, forms the Bogala Konda, a conical hil l formerlysupposed to be of volcani c origin ,

and also Kotappa Konda, whilethe low rocks immedi ately north of Gun tt'i r at Lam are examples ofordinary hornblendi c grani te gneiss. The micaceous and hornb len

dic varieties are associated in the Kondavidu hills and in the hi llsbetween A mr ftvati and Guntli r . Bellamkonda is an example of theepidotic variety .

The schistose gneiss extends in a broad band from the NelloreDistrict past Vinukonda and N arsaravupet, the band narron as it

oromov . 2 3 1

passes through the Sattenapal le Taluq toreach the Kistna west ofA mravati . It appears to be a later rock as it is not so metamoro

phosed as i s the grani toid gneiss . The Bezvada hil ls and the

Sitanagaram , U ndaval le and M angalagir i hil ls are composed of a

pecul iar vari ety of this rock, whence the geologists have cal led itthe Bezvada gneiss . M r . Foote describes i t as a. rather fine grainedquartzo - micaceous felspathic schist, contai n ing several accessorym inerals, chief of which are garnets of a smal l size but occurring in

great numbers, and a brown fel spar , forming small quasi - nodul araggregations .

” M r . King says i t m ight be termed murchi smvite

gneiss as it i s characterised by the presence of thi s form of orthoclasefelspar . The anicut at Bezvéda is bui lt of this stone except the cut

stone copings which are of grani toid gneiss from Kondapalle. The

connection between this Bezvada or murch isonite gneiss and the

granitoid gneiss of the Kondapal le hi l ls, or the grani toid gneiss ofthe rock s croppingout on the road from M angalagiri toGun tur , orthe gran itoid gneiss of the N irkonda hi l l conspicuous w

i

th its pagodatothe west of M angalagm has not been satisfactorily established,as nosection has been found showing the rocks in contact or evenin moderate proximity .

There are but f ew intrusive rocks in this gneissic area and thesef ew are of l ittle importance . There are trap dykes around Bel lamk onda and tothe north of Jaggayyapet, the dykes being dioritic incharacter , many of them distinctly porphyri tic. (Perhaps from such

a source came the stone used in the temple on a small granitoidh i llock near Aminabad, ten mi les west of Guntur , a stone beautif ul ly

carved and pol ished .) There are some quartz veins, the mostremarkable being the mass of quartz west of N ekarikall u, and thereare quartz veins south of Vinukonda, but noindi cation was observedof the presence of gold in any of the quartz intrusi ons.

A s regards the probable age of these crystall ine gneissic formations geologists cannot as yet venture an opin ion, for the formationis azoic and there are nomaterials tocorrelate i t wi th formations inother parts of the world, but it may be referred to the Laurentianseries, whi ch includes the fundamental gneiss of the H ebrides inWestern Scotland .

2 . We now pass toa more recent series ofm etamorphic rocks,towhi ch the name of the Kadapa series has been gi ven by the

geological surveyors, a great series of quartzites, slates and l ime

l

2 3 2 n ew s ms'rmcr m ush ,

stones which begins with a bold outlier at N agari near Madras andextends from Tirupati over the greater part of theKadapa and Karnf i lDistricts into the N izam’s Domin ions, an extent roughly estimatedat twohundred mi les long and a hundred broad . These rocks aremuch less altered than the gneissic series, but no fossi l has beenfound in them . The sedimentary character of the formation is,

however, abundantly evi dent and some geologists suppose that it

marks the position of a vast gulf or inland sea among the gneimichil ls in bygone

'

ages . The frequent presence of wel l defined ripplemarks and great beds of conglomerate in the quartzi te confirms thisidea. A s there are nofossi ls the relative age of the rock cannotwith certainty be given , but it must be vas tly older than the In diancarboniferous ser ies (or Lower Gondwana series) seeing that betweenthe two is in tercalated another important series of metamorphicrocks, the Karnfil or Vindhyan series on whi ch f urther north in theGodavari val ley the Indian coal measures rest unconformably, so

we are safe in attr ibuting a very early period to this Kadapasystem,

a period as ear ly as the L ower Si lurian or more probablythe Cambrian series, making it contemporaneous with the slates of

Wales .

The deposition of thi s enormous thickness of rocks, estimated atfeet, over soextens ive an area must have been spread over

immense periods of time. To the east of the Dindi river (whi chjoins the Ki stna river at the extreme west of the Palnhd) the

p ologists could clearly trace the flat surf ace of gneissic rock ,eviden tly a great plane of marine denudation . U pon this foundstion was deposited the Kadapa

”system . T he beds composing this

formation have been subdivided by the Geological Depar tment intofour groups, and these again into various subg roups, each greatchange in mineral character showing a period in the hi story of thi sprimeval gulf. These sub - divisions were named from the local i tieswhere they are well di splayed and the names are given here, as thesenames wi ll be used in describing the Kadapa rocks in the KistnaD istrict. In this nomenclature the term quartzite, itsel f a fine

grained metamorphosed sandstone, includes al l the detrital si liceousrocks, such as grit, conglomerate, breccia, &c., and the slates, so

called, are an imperf ectly cleaved system of rocks whi ch do not

break up with sufi cient regularity torender them usef ul as roofingslates .

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2 34 KI STN A DISTRICT l l AN UAL ,

blue l imestone (Koi lkuntla), beneath which is a non - calcareoii s bufl

shale (A vuk) upon a more compact and crystall ized l imestone (N erji ) .Beneath thi s come traces of quartzite san dstones and conglome

rates (Banganapal le) which in places has been worked for diamonds .

Sof ar wel l, this is the Karnul formation, and M r . Kingwas incl ined

to think that the whole area was Karmi l, even up to Jaggayyapet ,where the diamond- bearing stratum might be considered to be

Banganapalle . A gain , on the slopes of vamikonda, a moun tain on

the frontier of Palnad and M arkapur Taluqs, thi s formation is under

laid by quartzi te (Srisélam ) which overl ies l imestone (Kammam

slates) of the Kadapa formation, and al l seems to be regular . But

i f we exam ine the strata east -of Karempudi we find the sequence

reversed, for the Karnul l imestone is undermost and the quartzites

of the Ki stna group above i t. The same quartzites can be seen westof Bel lamkonda, where they properly overl ie l imestones which M r .

Foote classed as Kadapa ; but in one vi llage in this neighbourhoodthe limestones both overl ie and under lie the quartzite, whi le furthernorth of thi s the l imestone is overlaid by an immense thickness ofslates w i th several bands of quartz ites, which form the great Pul ichin ta r idge .

The most probable solution of this irregularity i s that after theKadapa and Karnul formation s were deposited, or perhaps after thedeposition of the Kadapa, and before that of the Karnul formation ,there came great pressure from the east and that these limestonestrata were, by this horizontal pressure, crushed into curves whichfolded over tothe westward . These folds may have fractured, ortheir summits may have been denuded . E ither supposi tion wi ll

account f or the inversion of the sequence of the strata and the

appearance of the older formation in places above the newer .

We may conclude that the l imestone of the ridges west of Bellamkonda, as al so the l imestone near Nekarikal lu

,i s of the Kadapa

formation , and that the limestone in the Paln id may represent theKarn li l formation rol led up in folds above the older Kadapa strata.

The junction between the gneissic rocks and this later ser ies is a

great fault or ser ies of faults , as is wel l exempl ified to°

the west ofBellamkonda, the down throw being on the west or the upheaval onthe east. There are also many minor faults which have produced

inl iers of gneiss among the limestone ridges west of Bel lamkonda

oronoor . 2 35

and some remarkable outliers of the Kadapa rocks am idst the

gneissic rocks, outl iers so curious that space must be found for abrief notice of them.

The farthest north is Kangramal la , four m iles and a half east bysouth of Jaggayyapet and there are twowest of A chammapet inthe Sattenapalle Taluq . The larger of these twooutliers form s a

low broad- backed hil l more than a m ile in length and breadth, thesurface being bare quartzite of brown and drab colours. It is evidently a dome

, or as the geologists term it,an anticl inal curve w ith

a quaquaversal d ip , let into the surrounding gnei ssic rocks by a

series of faul ts . Though cut into by a deep ravine on the north

side , the arch of the dome is not cut through and the underlying

gneiss is not seen . N o point of actual contact w ith the gneissicrock is seen , but to the north of the dome is a large dyke of d ior itic

trap of the gneissic series of dyke which is older than the Kadapaformation . North of this dyke is another outlier , alsoa domoid

anticl inal , but of much smal ler size, being only about six hundred

yards long and two hundred broad, but consisting of bluish- drab

and grey quartzites, unl ike any of the beds seen in the greater dome .

South of the Bel lamkonda hi l l fortress l ies another outl ier, which

encloses the vil lage of Biraval lap i ya . It i s an el liptical anticlinaldome, let down among the gneissic beds by a series of faults, butthe peculiarity is that the top of the dome has been so muchdenuded that the underlying gran itoid gneiss has been exposed ina narrow longitudi nal valley, in whi ch stands the hamlet ofBiravallapi ya . The dome is made up of four prin cipal beds ofquartzite with interbedded slate of the Kadapa formation . On

th e south - west the slope of the hi l ls displays the bare surface of oneof these quartzite beds di pping south - west at an angle of 30° l ike afort glacis, but on the other sides of this unsymmetrical dome theslope is from 45° to The Trigonometrical station on the northend of the dome is feet above sea

- level . There are otheran ticli nal f aulted domes near N ekarikal lu and Vinukonda .

3 . The next rocks that claim attention are the patches within thisDistrict of formationsof the Lower Gondwana ser ies, beds apparently

resul ting from lacustrine or fluv iatile deposits on the older rocks .

The age of the Lower Gondwa‘na ser ies, which i s the In diancarbonif erous series, i s not yet absolutely determined, but the lowestbeds are of later date than the E uropean carbon iferous and probably

Permian period, while the fossil s found in the upper beds show that

2 3 6 men u nrsralcr m u ,

they may be con temporaneous with the Tr iassic series . The matter ,

however, is stil l under discussion , some geologists wi shing tolim i tthe age of the Lower Gondwana beds to the Permian and Tr ias i c

periods, which come between the carbon iferous system and th e

Rhwtic series . L ower Gondwana beds are found on ly on the

northern frontier of this District cropping out between the coast

alluv ium and the old gneissic hil ls at Somavaram , north of N ti zv idu ,

where there is a small extent of the sands tones cal led Kampti .”

This small patch is the on ly represen tative in the Distr ict of theLower Gondwana series .

From the local ity south to Gol lapalle, near N fizv idu, M r . Kingtraced the lower div ision of the U pper Gondwana series and cal led

it the Gollapal le sandstones . The fossils here foun d are describedby Dr . Feistman te l at page 1 63 , Volume I, of the Pa lceontologicaI nd ies . See al sopage 2 1 1 , VolumeXVI , of the Geological M emoirs .

A n overlying stratum appears east of Gol lapal le, whi ch M r . Kingdistinguishes as Ragavapuram shales , from Bégavapuram, a vi llage

in the Godavar i District . It seems probable that the patches of theU pper Gondwana ser ies , which M r . Foote investigated in the Guntercountry, are the equivalents of the more nort herly patches . The

best example of these Guntfir patches is tobe seen near Inkol lu onthe old road toOngole . In Part I, of Volum e XVI of the GeologicalM emoirs , M r . Foote gives a section from the v il lage of Pavul li r to

Budavada and descr ibes at some length the fossils he found there .

The difierent strata above the gneiss floor he arranges thus, as he

found them from Budavada toPavulur .

A gneissic floor

1 . Sandstones , pebbly on tops, much weathered .

2 . Sandstones, massive, hard, brown .

3 . Sandstones, hard, brown , alternating several times wi th thinshaly beds .

4 . Sandstones, shaly, fr iable, dark buf f .

5 . Sandstones, gritty, calcareous , ful l of shel ls, rather hardand tough when fresh .

6 . Shales, various , hard and soft, mottled in parts, general lywhi tish or light grey in colour .

7. Sandstones, f riable, drab pale brown .

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2 88 men u ms'rmc'r m ust ,

A bout eight mi les south - eas t of Guntur, across the al luvial soi l s,appears a very remarkable r idge, about twomiles w ide and near ly

fif teen m i les long, extending from Kolakahi r past Tangellamudi

and Chebrolu to Mutm'

i r . M r . Foote was unable to obtainsections determining the stratigraphy of the ridge . A sands tone,not unl ike that of Guntur, is exposed in a wel l south -west of Kol akal i

'

i r and may be newer than the red and purple hard sandstones at

Tangel lamudi or than the mottled purple soft sandstones at Kazipe t.The hard sandstones north- east of Chebrolu appear to be newer thanthe softer sandstones exposed tothe south of Gandavaram ,

a v illage

a m ile and a half north- west of Chebrolu. The last appearance ofthe ridge

'

is a friable buf f sandstone in the wel ls of M fitm'

i r .

Later than these Gondwan‘a beds comes the Deccan Trap,

the

result of enormous volcanic deposits upon the shal low lakes whichcaused the fossi l iferous layers . Thi s Deccan trap is displayed in a

most interesting manner near Rajahmundry, but nowhere w i thin thi s

District, f or the trap dykes, so frequent at Sher M uhammadpet,

near Jaggayyapet, and elsewhere in the gneissic rocks, are evidently of a vastly earl ier period of volcan ic activi ty, a period anterior tothe desposit of the Kadapa series south of Jaggayyapet .

4. A bove the Deccan trap near Rajahmundry but beneath thelaterite is a supposedly tertiary formation cal led Cuddalore sandstone, the origin of which is obscure , perhaps marine, less probablyfluviati le . The sol itary representative of this formation wi thin thisDistrict is a coarse conglomerate whi ch occur s in a very small

patch at I ppatam , three m i les east by north of M angalagiri . M r .

Foote was unable toassign this conglomerate to the Gondwanaseries and suggests that i t may be an outlier of the Cuddalore sandstone as it strongly resembles the Rajahmundry conglomerates .

5 . We now pass on to the Lateri te, sowell known in the M adras

Presidency, that l ittle descr iption is required . I n its typical form itis a porous clay strongly impregnated w i th i ron and it suppl ies anexcellent road material at M adras and N el lore on this coast . But

in this District the lateri te appears in the form of a thin superficial

deposit of ferruginous gravel , usual ly found as a fringe round theoutcrops of Gondwana beds, hav ing been general ly denuded fromtheir exposed surfaces, or in detached patches . of small extent, sa iorinstance, at Parachur on theol d Guntur - Ongole road.

GEOLOGY . 2 39

The lateri te at Guntfir itself is partly gravelly and partly con

glomeratic, the latter variety being best seen tothe south - east of thetown

, close tothe al luvial boundary . In the town the laterite restsupon the soft gritty sandstone of the upper Gondwana series, but tothe west and north-west it overlaps the soft gri t and rests on the

gneiss . The gneiss which extends from Guntur tothe bank of theKi stna is fr inged in places by lateritic gravel , which might be usedf or that portion of the Great N orthern Road . The ridge of Gondwana beds at Chebrolu i s alsofringed with lateri tic gravel , but thisfringe i s in places hidden by the black cotton soil .

This laterite i s undoubtedly of very recent formation . Some ob

serv ers have stated that lateri te can now be seen in course of forma~

tion and M r . Foote found w i thin the later ite on this coast numerous

chi pped quartzi te implements , which shows that the clay has hard

ened since man inhabited this earth . The most probable explanation of this w idespread deposi t i s that it i s not marine or lacustrine

,

but a sub - aerial formation , due tothe rearrangement of marine sandsand gravels by rain and streams. The l ighter sand and clay wouldbe washed away and the heavy iron clay remain ing would form thisferruginous deposit . M any chipped stone implements were foundby M r . Foote in the N ellore country, especially along the course of

the river M anéru ,but in thi s Di strict he found some in the lateritic

gravel fringing the I ppatam patch of conglomerate and many in a

highly Kankarry shingle of gneiss and quartzite at the vil lage ofA ngahi ru A graharam ,

n ine m iles north of Vinukonda .

6 . N ext comes another sub - aerial formation,the singular tufa

known as Kankar, a name appl ied by A nglo- Indians tothat massof nodul es, composed of carbonate of l ime and clay

,which forms at

the base of nearly every b lack soi l in the country and infiltrates intothe crevices of older rocks . Sometimes in the beds of streams i twelds together the water - worn stones intoa conglomerate and some

times it i s found in massive horizontal sheets or layers, as may bewell seen near Yel lamanda on the path from Kotappa Konda to N arsaravupet, where the banks of the water - courses are l ike huge staircases and are not soon forgotten by the unfortunate District officerwho attempts todr ive a dog

- cart over them . In all these forms

Kankar is the deposit from water con tain ing carbonate of l ime .

7. A bove the Kankar (but of older date as the Kankar is a product of infil tration ) usual ly occurs black soi l , otherw ise called cotton

2 40 men u msrmc'r MAN UAL ,

soi l , and designated by the Geologists Regur from the Telugu re

gada . It is a fin e black soil , highly argi llaceous and slightly calcareous , whi ch in dry weather contracts tosuch an extent that the surf ace exhibits cracks often five or six in ches across and sev eral f est

in depth and in wet weather retains an extraordinary amount of

moisture , becoming then singularly adhesive . This soil is thereforetobe avoided by a travel ler on horseback , f or in the hot season the

fissures w i ll admi t the horse’s hoof and in the rains the mass of sti ckysoil that wi l l adhere to the hoof is worse than bal l ing snow . Dr .

Christie dr ied a portion of regur and then exposed it in a wet

atmosphere when he found that it increased its weight by eight per

centum . The soi l is never more than about six or ten feet i n depth

when it usual ly al ters intoKankar . It is never found at any depthbelow the surface, unless where it has been carr ied down and re

arranged as a stream deposit . I t is wonderful ly fertile, yieldingcrops of cotton and m il let year after year w i thout manure, but i t

bears f ew trees and thus when the crops are 0 3 the ground in th ehot weather an expanse of black soil looks as desolate as an E gyptian desert and produces the same m irage when the sun is overhead .

The origin of this black soil has been much disputed and thereis a choice of theories on the subject. N umerous writers f rom Christieand Veysey toCarter and Theobald have contended and stil l contendthat black soil is produced by disintegration of volcani c or basalticrocks . But basalt usual ly disintegrates into red soi l and the blacksoi l exists in South India in localities remote from basal t . N ewbold

,

and others following h im , considered black soi l tobe of sub - aqueousorigin ,

l ike N il e mud or the deposits in tanks, and M r . H . F .

Bland ford actual ly showed the soil in process of formation in a

lagoon nea r Pondicherry, but this theory could wi th d ifi culty

account for black soi l in e levated areas where i t frequen tly and

largely occurs . H islop was the first to suggest that the black soi lmay really be of sub - aerial or igin and due tothe impregnation of

certain argil laceous soi ls by organ ic matter , and M r . Foote, writingof the black soi l in this D istr ict, has adopted this theory and attri

butes the soi l to the form er ex i stence of large and thick forestswhen a moister cl imate prevai led than now exists . Thus the blacksoil is the humus formed i n si tu by such forests . It overl ies al l

formations indiscriminately and shows nosign of aqueous deposition .

The other soi l s that are met w ith among the hi l ls in this D istr ictare the direct product of the decomposi ti on of various rocks and

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2 42 ms'rm merarc'r MA N UA L,

mile and the bed widens out to even three or four mi les soin course

of time an extensive Deltaic tract has formed between Boav i da and

the coast . This Delta slopes away on ei ther side from the elevatedriver bed so that al l that is not protected by embankments is sub

merged whenever a high fiood occurs and thus the deposi tion offiuviati le alluvium sti ll continues. The Kol léru lake, a depressionbetween the Deltas of the Godavari an d Kistna rivers , represen tsthe work sti l l to be done by this alluvium in levell ing up the land

wrested from the sea by the r ivers.

9 . The whole coast is fringed with dames of blown sand, the mostrecent formation and the least interesting in the District . Theseridges or sand hil ls attain a height of from 30 to50 feet and th ebelt of sand is sometimes more than a mi le in width. In places th esand is bound by spinifex, ipomwa and other sand- loving plants ,whi le the cashew nut bushes (anacardium) and screw pine (pandanus) make some nooks picturesque enough . The extension ofplan tations of casuarina trees upon these sands has answered well .

Before qui tting thi s sketch of the surface soi ls of the Di strict a

word must be said about the sal ine emorescence, cal led chéw du in

Telugu and rah in H industani , which throws so much land out ofcultivation . This emorescence con sists chief ly of sulphate of soda,m ixed with the ordi nary chloride of sodi um and with carbonate ofsoda. It appears on the surface of land newly irrigated and rendersit worthless for

.

cul tivation . The matter long ago attracted th e

serious attention of Government, and in 1 869 M r . C . G . Master

wrote an exhaustive report on the subject . A l l soils contain sal ts

and al l the water draining f rom soils is impregnated wi th.

salt tosome extent . Certain salts are assimilated by plants and othersare carried of f by subsoil drainage, (as we have seen that the carbonate of l ime is carried of f from black soi l to form the underlyingstratum of Kankar). If the drainage is suf f icient no harm resul ts

from the presence of salt, but if the matter remains in the subsoiland salts accumulate there this water wi ll be brought to the sur f ace

by capi l lary attraction and evaporated, the salts contained in it

being deposi ted as an efilorescence on the surface . Th is explanationshows how it happens that when irrigation is appl ied to lands thathave been fertile under rainfall the water may so clog the subsoilthat the salts come to the surface and the land becomes barren ,

irri

gation in such cases prov ing a curse instead of a b lessing to the

Grow er . 2 48

cul tivator . The remedy is, if possible, to improve the subsoil

drainage and to continue todeluge the land with water unti l the

salts are carried of f .

A s regards the economic resources of the geological formations

which have now been described there i s not very much to be said .

The late M r . Boswell , Col lector of the District, wrote a letter on the

G o. No I 1 2 9subject which caused the Board of Revenue to

2 6th a: speak of the extraordi nary mineral wealth of the

351

3; Kistna District, but the Geological Survey and

pn vate capi tal i sts have not been persuaded thatthere is any remunerative opening for enterprise in this part of thecountry .

There i s excellent bui lding stone tobe obtained in many localities .

The granitoid gneiss whi ch was used in the old hil l forts and in some

old temples has stood for centuries and was recently used f or the cut

stone work of the Bezvada an icut . It is, however, very expensiveas the stone cutters work slow ly and receive high wages, but whenone sees the missionaries in the Guntur country erecting cheap and

ugly brick churches the thought wi ll suggest itself that if some

munificent benefactor were to supply the cost a magnificent churchcoul d be built wi th polished granite pillars f rom the stone close at

hand. The stone of the later Kadapa and Karnul formations also

suppl ies splendi d bui lding material , sometimes coloured very beautu

'

f ul ly and susceptible of a high pol ish . M r . J. Rohde, when Judgeof Guntur, collected some specimens of these marbles whi ch are nowin the M adras M useum . This formation furni shes the stone ofwhi ch are composed the well known Amrévati marbles, some of whichare in the British M useum . It is doubtful if this stone wi ll ever

become an article of commerce as similar stone can be procured inthe Cuddapah District along the l ine of rai l . It might, however, besen t in boats down the flooded Kistna toBezvédaor m ight be carried

by road tothe canal and socompete with that borne by the M adras

Rai lway . The hard sandstone of the Chebrolu ridge forms a

th ird variety of good bui lding material . It is easily worked and the

red purple and buf f colouring renders it highly ornamental . It is

found in carvings of Jain origin more than a thousand yearsold and

carved pieces have been buil t into the northern gate of the Konda

v idu fortress. The D. P . W. have used it in some very handsome

lock s and bri dges on the Kommamfir Canal , but nowfind that it

does not resist the action of the sea air near the coast.

2 44 KI STN A DISTRICT M A N UA L,

The lowest beds of the Lower Gondwana ser ies are the Indian coa l

measures and an upper bed of that series, as we have seen , ends a t

Somavaram ,only twenty m i les from Bezvada . In that neighbou r

hood, if anywhere, wi l l coal be found in the Kistna District. It ha sbeen f ound near Kamaram

,a vi llage about 40 m i les east by nor th

of Varangal , Singareni , about 2 5 m iles north of Kammamett, and

alsoat Beddadanol , near A swaraopet, and el sewhere, so i t is n ot

impossible that coal may yet be found in the northern portion ofthe N fizv i du estates . There i s nohope of finding coal near the ou t

crops of the U pper Gondwana series in the Guntur coun try, as the secon tain nocoaly matter and the colour ing of the fossils is of f err u

ginous origin .

Iron i s found in many parts of the Distr ict . A bed of magneti c

iron crops out a little tothe north - west of Yerraguntlapadu , a vi l lage

four miles south - east of Sattenapal le . I bel ieve that in the wes t of

Sattenapal le Taluq there are sti l l three vi l lage furnaces in blas t an dM r . King mentions three in Nfizv i du

, but this industry has almost

been extingu ished by the high price of fuel .

Copper alsoexists in Vinukonda Taluq as was stated by Dr. H eyn enearly seventy years ago. M r . Foote v isited the old mines at A gn i

gundala and found that the pockets of earthy carbonate havebeen worked out. The past experience of copper mining in the

adjoining N el lore hi lls is not favourable .

Garnets are very common in the gneiss . They are washed out of

the detr ital sand near Kondapal le, but are not of much value .

The diamond m ines in this District are of great his toricalinterest. In the accoun t of the M uhammadan period it was shownthat the D istrict formed part of the realmof the Qutb Shah dynasty ,

usual ly known as the Kings of Golconda, a dyn asty which ruled

over this part of India from the downfall of the Bahmani Kings ofDeccan (circa l 500) un ti l t heir defeat and extinction by the EmperorA urangz ib in 1 686, a period longer than that during which the

H anoverian dynasty have ruled over Bri tain . The diamond minesin the Kistna Distr ict were under the control of the Kings of Golconda for the whole of that period and those in the Karnfil Districtwould be soafter the Carnatic Rajas of Vijayanagar were driven tothe southward in 1 564 . Golconda i s a common enough name in the

Telugu country, being simply Galikonda, the hi ll of tempests, and

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2 46 KISTN A msrarc'r M AN UA L,

M emoirs . See also The Diamonds, Coal and Gold of India b yV. Bal l, Trubner a useful Opuscul e from whi ch I obtain th ehistory of the R egent an d Koh - i - noor diamonds . See also M anual of

Geology of India, Volume III, E conomic Geology.

D iamond min ing in this part of the coun try may be of great an ti

quity . These may be the moun tains whence came the legends tha tenthral led us when as boys we read the story of Sindbad the Sa ilor .

M arco Polo, the Venetian traveller of the thi rteenth century, an dN icolo Con ti, a travel ler of the fif teenth century, repeat the m ythtold in Sindbad about the method of obtain ing diamonds by raw

meat . N icolo Conti’s travels have been publi shed by the H ak l uyt

Society, see page 2 9 of“ Indi a in the Fi f teenth Century.

”

From Bizenguli a (query Vi jayanagar)fifteen days journey nor th i sa diamond producing mountain cal led Al benigaras,* inaccessible an d

inf ested by serpents but commanded by a hi gher adjoining mountain . H ere at a certain period of the year men bring oxen, w hi chthey drive tothe top , and having cut them intopieces , cast th ewarm and bleeding fragments upon the summi t of the other mountain by means of machines, whi ch they con

’

struct for the purpose .

The diamonds stick tothese pieces of flesh . Then come vul ture sand eagles flying to the spot, whi ch seiz ing the meat f or their f oodfly away wi th i t toplaces where they may be safe from the ser

pents . Tothese places the men afterwards come and col lect

the diamonds whi ch have fal len f rom the flesh .

”M r . Ball of f ers th e

very probable exp lanation that this myth arose from the H ind u

custom of sacr ificing an imals at the commencement of an enter

prize or to propitiate malevolent spirits. To thi s day H indusbel ieve that demons guard hi dden treasure an d Dr . H eyne

’recoun ts

how the workmen in the Cuddapah diamond m ines considered tha tthey were under the special protection of the goddess A mmavaruand objected tohi s approachingon horseback lest that should ofl’endher .

The earliest trustworthy accoun t of these diamond m ines is by theFrench jewel ler, Jean Baptiste Tavern ier (1 605 whomade six

journeys to India to purchase precious stones . H e tra vell ed seven

M r Ball suggests that at 1 8 the A rabic article and that Beni garas 1 8 Beirargurh'

m we

N izém’s territory but it may as probably be Bel lam Konda or Gani Kol lur forMarcoPolo’s

simi lar account ref ers tc local ities on thc Kistna river.

M m gfi

ononoov . 2 47

days eastwards from Golconda, crossed the Kistna, and found himselfat the mines of 1 Gani - Coulour evidently Gan i - Kol lur or Kolhi r,south of Puli chinta and west of Bel lam Konda . For Tavern ier’saccoun t of these mines I am indebted to M r . Bal l’s work .

It is not above a hundred years since this m ine was discoveredl“ by a countryman who, digging in a piece of ground to sow mi l let,found therein a pointed stone that weighed above twenty - five

carats. H e not knowingwhat the stone was, but seeing it gl isten ,carr ied it toGolconda, where, as it happened wel l f or h im , he met

w i th one that traded in diamonds . H owever, his reportmade a great noise in the country, inasmuch that the moneyedmen in the town set themselves towork and causing the groundtobe searched they found and sti l l dofind bigger stones and in

greater quantity than in any other m ine for they found a great

number of stones from ten toforty carats and sometimes bigger,among the rest that large stone that weighed 900 carats whichM irimgola presented to A urenzeb .

When Tavern ier vi sited the m ine there were persons atwork, a statement whi ch accounts for the ruins of extensive habitations at this now desolate spot on the river bank .

The story of the chance discovery of a diamond a hundred years

prev iously and the commencement of the m ine is the usual story inevery locali ty. It was told to Dr . H eyne at M alavalle in 1 795 and

was said to have occurred in the Nizam’s days, but these mines wereat work when M r . Streynsham M aster saw them in 1 679 beforethere was any N izam . A much older H indu tradition relates thatthe adven t of the Rajas of Orissa to the banks of the Kistnacen turies before was caused by their jealousy at the displayof diamonds made by a local Zemindar and there can be li ttledoubt that the Kolh’i r mines were worked more than a hundred yearsbefore Taverni er’s date and may be the m ines described by M arco

Polo and Nicolo Con ti . There are large numbers of very old abandoued diamond pits in gritty quartzi te beds in the jungles east of

the Pul ichinta ridge .

The stone of 900 carats weight said by Tavern ier to have beenfound at Kollur is supposed by some authors to be the famous Kohi - noor . Tavern ier saw this gem on the occas ion of the audi ence

Gan i mm a mine and i s prefixed to the name of the locality . Gand i mesns a

gorge , pass or val ley .

2 48 msrsa msrmcr m us t ,

granted h im by the Emperor A urangzib on November 2 nd, 1 665, an ddescr ibes it as hav ing been reduced by the unskil ful cutting of aVenetian , named H ortensio Borgio, to 3 1 9i ratis equivalent to 2 1 8

noor whi ch is 1 865 carats, but Tavernier’s carat may have been l ess

than the carat now used by diamond merchants . The question is

discussed on pages 1 30- 1 3 3 of M r . Bal l’s book and he alsosugges ts

that the stone may have been originally cal led the Kollfir gem ,

corrupted by the M uhammadans intoKoh - i - n oor .

When the Kondapall e Circar was ceded to the Company th e

N izam retained the diamond - producing local ities at Partiala an d

elsewhere . A t Partiala one account says that the wel l known P i ttor Regent diamond was found. The workman who discovered i t issaid to have caused a sore in hi s leg large enough to concea l th e

stone and soconveyed it from the mine . It found its way in to th ehands of M r . Pitt, then Governor of M adras, but there was mu ch

secrecy about the transaction , and one account says that it cam e

from Borneo. M r . Pi tt, the grandfather of the statesman , took i t toE urope . It was purchased by the Regent Or leans and is now among

the French Crown Jewel s .

M r . King is of opinion that there is a good field for commercia l

enterprise in the further exploration of the diamond- yi elding stratumin the Banganapal le quartz ites . The nativeoperators hi t upon it bychance and worked it by rul e of thumb, but modern workers, w i th

science toguide them ,would be in a better position . The greatest

obstacl e to the successful prosecution of diamond - m in ing by

E uropeans in this country woul d be the di f f icul ty of effici ent super

vi sion , a diamond is sovery easi ly secreted . Tothis di f f icul ty must

be added the drawback that the outcrops of the Banganapall equartzite are often in feveri sh and remote local ities.

It was said above that the onlyplace in this di strict where coal maypossibly be found is near Somavaram where the Lower Gondwanabeds end . For more than thi rty years past thi s has been contradictedby General A pplegath, whosays that he himself quarried and burnedcoal near Jaggayyapet . This assertion by General A pplegath isattributed by M r . M edl icott, Superintenden t of the Geologica lSurvey, to mental delusion and the documents quoted by M L

.

M edl icott certainly point tothat conclusion . A brief narrative of

the matter may be given .

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2 50 KISTN A ni s'ri i i cr u suu ,

Colonel A pplegath , nevertheless, reiterated hi s asserti on that he hadonce quarried and burnt coal and i n August 1 870 Government gavehim a detachmen t of Sappers and M iners equipped w ith blastingand boring tools . The Sappers opened out rocks and dug pits 2 5or 30 feet deep, but nocoal was found, the only resul t of thi s ex

penditure of public money being that Colonel A pplegath col lectedsome specimens of the rocks and attempted toidentify them with

the Indian coal measures, whi ch attempt the geologists ridiculed.

M eanwhile the Geological Survey completed their examination ofthis tract of country . If coal is there the geologists would welcome

the discovery as hearti as woul d any other ofi cials, and M r . Kingdid identify the Singareni coal measures lying tothe north in th eN izam

’s territory, but Colonel A pplegath once more returned tothe

charge, and in September 1 873 submi tted to Government anothersuggestion to bore for coal as if no professional geologist had ever

said a word on the subject . In A pril 1 874 Colonel A pplegathindi cated on a map the places at whi ch he most desired borings tobe made, and these borings were carried out under the supervisionof M r . Vanstavern and M ajor H asted, R . E .

, whowere predi sposed

in favour of Colonel A pplegath’s views, but failed to find any coal

bearing rocks or any combustible matter . The M adras Governmen twere satisfied as to the completeness of the investigation made .

G . O . N o. 76 1 , 1 8th M arch 1 875 .

In 1 882 General A pp legath again addressed the M adras Government, pointing out that the coal measures of India do extend southinto the Kistna Distr ict, asking how M r . King, who acknowledgedthat the stratigraphy of the Kadapa and Karnul rocks in the PMwas tohim a perfect puzzle,

”could be confident that there was

nocoal there and, final ly, once more expressing h is opin ion that theJaggayyapet rocks woul d develop themselves into a coal fieldextending probably to wi thin 30 mi les of M adras . (This must meanthat the Kadapa and Karnul formations in whi ch the geologistsfound nofossils are to become one vast coal field 1) Governmentdecl ined to re open the question

To explain these reiterated assertions by General A pplegath, Dr .

Oldham suggested that some natives, to please Lieutenan t A pplegath ,placed coal in the p it and then found it . M r . M edlicott supposesthat L ieutenant A pplegath did put intoa carnp fire some pieces of

cronoév . 2 5 1

s late whi ch became ashes, and points out that the slate with smal l

but distinct traces of vegetable deposit in 1850becomes bituminous rock wi th upwards of 30 per cent of carbonaceous matter ”

in 1 86 1 and in 1 866 was coal not un l ike the Torbane mineral

giv ing out great light and intense heat .

A t all events it is clear that since 1 85 1 Generalevery f acility aflorded him, has not found coal in the Kistna District.

2 52 KISTN A DISTRICT MAN UA L ,

CH APTER VI II .

I RRI GA TI ON

The principal object of in terest in the Kistna District is the Bez

vada anicut, a great transverse dam thrown across the river fromhi l l to hill between Bezvtida and Si tanagaram, to serve as the headof an irrigation system commanding almost all the al luv ial Del tafrom Bezvada tothe sea.

In the chapter on Geology some figures were given in di scussing

the formation of this al luvial Delta and they may be here repeatedf or faci l ity of reference. The river Kistna has a course of 800 mi lesand the area which it drai ns i s computed at square m iles .

The average fal l of the river in the 2 59 m iles above Bezvada i s 3 5feet per m ile, but after the stream quits its narrow ,

rocky bed amongthe hi l ls at Chi n tapal le and w idens out past the Kondapal le range ofhill s, the average fall i s on ly 1 5 feet per mi le . When it reachesBezvada, it is confined between twogneissic hi lls, the width of the

gorge being about yards . A t this poin t the velocity of theriver current in flood i s rather more than 6§ m iles an hour, and the

maximum flood discharge attains the enormous figure ofcubic feet per second . The si lt carried by the flood water is T h of

the entire bulk . Bezvada is about 47 m iles distant in a direct l inefrom the sea, but the river tends tothe southward and has a course

of 60 m iles below Bezvada before it disembogues in to the Bay ofBengal . The height of the top of the an icut wal l (the crest or sil l

board of the dam) is 43 feet above sea level . The fal l of the river

in its course from Bezvada to the sea is about seven inches ineach m ile, foot is the figure usual ly taken by the E ngineers.

It flows along an elevated ridge formed by the deposi t of its ownal luv ium ,

the ground on either sideof this ridge sloping away witha fal l of about 1 8inches in each mile .

These figures show at a glance the possibility of uti l ising for

gating the rich al luvium of the Delta the wate r that flowed uselesslydown the river to the sea. The E ast Indi a Company obtained possession of theKondapalle Circar in 1 766 and of the Guntur Circar in1 788, but even before these dates attempts had been made to irri

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2 54 KIBTN A DISTRICT MAN UAL .

haps because cultivation was concealed or perhaps because the ryots

d id not expect so much water to be at once avai lable. The cut

made to the Tungabhudra channel near Sitanagaram was more suc

cessf ul . It was proposed in 1 838but was not carried out til l 1 846 ,the cost being Rs. and the receipts in the very first yearRs .

Captain Buckle’s report upon the more ambitious pm j ect of throwing a dam across the river itself was dated 1839 . Further investi

gations were made by Captain Best in 1841 and by Captain (now SirA twel l ) L ake in 1 847. Captain Lake’s views were endorsed by M a jor

(now Sir A rthur) Cotton and were referred to a Committee composedof Captains Buckle, Bel l and Orr

,along with M essrs . Forbes and

Stokes of the Civ i l Serv ice . Their report was dated January 2 6th ,1 849, was despatched from M adras to London on July 2 0th , 1 849,and the project was sanctioned by the Court of Directors on January5th 1 850.

The first poin t tobe decided by the Comm ittee was, of course, thebest site for the proposed dam . The river Kistna first touches thisDistrict below the Ganikonda mountain in the south - west cornerof the remote Palnad Taluq , a point only about 80 m iles from the

sea ; but the river flows due north, winds considerably and final lyflows almost due south into the sea wi th a course of 2 00 m iles

in stead of 80. A t first glance, therefore, it would seem that an

advan tageous site might have been found hi gh up the river,

and indeed so early as 1 798Dr H eyne suggested the possibil ity ofirrigating the whole Guntur Circar from the Palnad , but the

interven ing mountainous ridges and the deep and rocky bed of theriver placed that local i ty out of consideration . The highest pointwhi ch came under discussion was M uktiala, some 45 mi les aboveBezva

’

i da, where the r iver turns round the Pul ichinta range of hi lls,

but thi s locali ty was unsui table. The river bed at thi s point isstil l very deep, 60 or 80 feet below the l ip of the bank : a dam

there must be enormously high and would make the water standback in the streams among the hi l ls causing much damage ; and,

moreover, the channel would have to be led, at great expense,parall el tothe river for many miles, intercepting the drainage of theSattenapal le Taluq , before it coul d command any irrigable lan d .

A ttention was next given toChin tapal le, 1 2 miles below M uktiala,the point where the rocky bed ends and the river widens out, flowing

IRRIGA TION . 2 55

through a comparatively level plain, but even at Chin tapal le theriver bed was sorestricted that the water was 60 feet deep in thehot weather and 1 00 feet deep in the rains . Chi ntapal le was

theref ore given up1and it was decided that unti l the river arrived

within 1 5 mi les of Bezvada it would be impracticable to lead ofl 8.

There w ere several arguments in favour of Ibri h impatam ,below

the Kondapal le range of hi l ls . Stone was available ; a less massive

dam than that required in the Bezvada gorge would sufi ce, and the

level , ten feet higher than Bezvada, would command the wholeDeltaic slope . On the other hand it was urged that the dam wouldbe twoand a hal f times as long as that at Bezvada, that stone wasat hand on ly on one bank, that the channel s which it was proposedtoexcavate would not carry water enough f or the Whole Delta so

that there was no benefit in commanding i t, and that the cost ofleading the channels for some m il es paral lel to the river woul d be

great. The Committee therefore decided upon Bezvada, the proxim ityof material s on both banks being an undoubted advantage and

soundings showing that the river bed in the narrow gorge betweenthe two hi l l s was not deeply scoured out by flood action, whileborings showed sand toa great depth .

Thus Bezvada was selected as the site f or the dam and estimateswere framed amounting to Rs . The original design of theworks has been greatly departed from , but may here be brieflysketched. The breadth of the r iver between the hi l ls is feetand the depth of the water in summer 6 feet . A massive stoneretain ing w al l was tobe thrown across this val ley, the crest being1 6 feet above summer level and 1 2 feet wide . The slope was tobe48feet w ide and in rear of the work was to be an apron 90 feetwide . U pon the dam was to be erected a masonry bridge and at

each end of the dam it was proposed to place under - slui ces soas tocreate a scour in front of the head - sluices of the main channels on

1 M r.W.Wi lson , rev ived the question of an anicut at Ch intapal le, but I cannot

find that any action was ever taken on paragraph 4 of the Revenue Board’s Proceedings

No. 6390, dated 8th September 1868. A tlas sheets Nos. 75 and 76 disp lay the drainage of

the country and show that a channel led f rom Chin tapal le almost due south past Krossfir

and Sattenapal le woul d command the country between N arsaravupet and the sea, and M r.

Wi lson surmi sed that the water might al so be taken north of the Kondavidu range to

L ‘m or Gorantla, soas tocommand the Gun tur Taluq . But there is barely enough water

in the river tosupp ly the present an icut channels to the close of the cultivation season

and there would certainly not be sufi cient water for twosnicnts .

2 56 men u mmm M A N UAL ,

each bank, for it had been found in the Godavari and CAver i ri vers

that the deposit of sil t above an anicut becomes sogreat as almostto raise the river bed to the level of the crest of the dam . These

under - sluices were to be prov ided wi th cut stone aprons in f ront

and rear, besides a rear apron of packed stone 1 50 feet wide .

The works were placed under charge of Captain Orr, R .E . , who

wrote h is first report in July 1852 . Some months were spen t in

erecting huts and store- sheds, marking out quarries and arranging

f or suppl ies of lime and firewood. The Bezv’ada hi l l was foun d to

be almost toonear the river and the first quarries were Opened outon that hi l l .

A lmost before the work was commenced the designs were al tered .

The masonry bridge which was toconsist of 49 arches of 6 1 feeteach, the piers 1 0 feet thick and the abutment 1 6 f eet thick , was

abandoned lest i t m ight unduly restrict the,waterway, Captain

Orr reporting that the flood veloci ty was not 5 m iles an

hour as stated by the Comm ittee, but 65 m i les or even more . Ithad been in tended to erect the head sluices and locks on the Bezvada side of the river in l ine wi th the an icut, but it was now determ ined to place the head sluices at right angles tothe under slu ices

soas tohave more scour in front of them,whi le the site of the lock

was moved away from the head sluice and p laced in a separate.

cut

ting from the river .

The prel im inaries progressed. and on December 1 4th, 1 85 2 , everything was prepared to commence bui lding on the head works, butthe next day the river rose to 1 6 feet, broke into the foundations,and put a stop to the work for three weeks . On January 5th

,1 853,

the E ngineers were able tocontinue the building and sinking of

wells, and the work went on fairly through the hot weather, sothatby June about cubic yards of masonry had been completed .

In July 1 853 the river rose to39 feet, topped its banks and submergedthe whole Delta. Before thi s flood it was not supposed that theriver above Bezvzi da ever rose above its banks

, and a trifling sum of

one thousand rupees had been al lotted for an embankmen t f romBezvada to Ibrah impatam, but this flood showed that the river , evenbefore the dam was bui lt, coul d pass round Besvada hill and out

flank the position , soRs . was sanctioned for an embank

ment to Ib tfihimpatam .

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2 58 KISTN A msrmcr M AN UA L,

Kondapalle hil ls, which was quarr ied , wrought and conveyed tothe

anicut at heavy cost .

The idea of a masonry bridge having been abandoned, a angges

tion for a wooden bridge was now mooted . Funds were al lottedand timber was purchased, but this idea alsowas given up and the

trafi c sti l l crosses the river by ferry .

The an icut, as complete d, may be thus described. U pon wel ls,

7 feet deep, 6 feet outer and 4} feet inner diameter, sunk in the bedof the stream ,

rises a great retain ing wall of stone in mortar , vert icalon the downstream side and sloping on the upstream si de unti lwi thi n 4} feet from the top of the wall when both sides are vertical .

The width of thi s wal l at top is 6 feet with a coping of wroughtstone . I ts length from w ing tow ing is feet, and the height ofthe top of this great wall , the crest or sil l - board of the ani cut, wascalculated at 2 0 feet above the deep bed of the stream and 1 5 ; f eetabove the summer level of the river . Thi s great wall is backed downstream by nearly cubic yards of rough stone, in blocks of allsizes, some weighing as much as 6 tone. This rough stone

“apron”

slopes away downstream for 2 57 feet . In it at a distance of 1 00feet from the great retaining wall is a second retain ing wal l , 3 ; feetdeep, the top of whi ch is 6 feet lower than the crest of the greatretai ning wal l . In the space between these twowall s the sur f aceof

the apron is roughly packed w ith stone on end , as tightly fixedtogether as possible by quarry rubbi sh rammed into the in tersti ces :below the second retain ing wal l the sur face is of large rough stone .

On each flank of the anicut is a set of powerf ul scouring sluices,consisting of 1 5 vents of 6 feet span , wi th thei r floor 8§ feet belowthe crest of the anicut . A bove the an icut on either bank are the

head sluices and locks of the Del taic channels, which are used bothfor irrigation and navigation . The head sluices on the left bahkare 5 ] feet and those on the right bank are 6 feet below the crestof thean icut. H igher up the banks than the head slui ces are the locks

of the canals, 1 6 feet wide and 1 60 f eet long from gate togate.

The canals are closed for excavation of sil t during the hot seasonform March 1 st to June l st . A bout the first week in June wattcomes down the river and the river remains in flood usually from themi ddle of June toSeptember or October when the river becomes low

I RRIGA TION . 2 59

and it is difi cul t tokeep a sufficien t supply of wate r in the canals

un t il M arch l st, the date of closing. It was mentioned that whenthe river is level with the crest of the an icut there is 5 ] feet ofwater passing into the M asulipatam Del ta and 6 feet into the Guntdr Delta, but the E ngineers find that the Deltas require 8i and 8

f ee t during the cultivation season and therefore tokeep the level

above the anicut, a rough dry stone wall about 4 feet high is erected on the crest of the an icut in October or N ovember of each yearand when M arch comes round the stone is util ised in repairing theinevi table holes in the rough stone apron, so that the crest of thean icut is lef t clear again before water comes down the river in June .

Th is simple expedien t of a dry stone wal l suflices, but it is undercontemplation to raise the water level about three feet by means ofshutters, whi ch w il l cost Rs .

In September. 1874 the river rose 1 9 feet 5 ; inches over the crestof the anicut, flowing upon the roadway above the Sitanagaramhead sluice and over the roadway above the Bezvada head sluice .

Thi s very narrow escape warned the E ngineers that the head sluicesare toolow for safety and the parapet wal ls were raised at a cost ofabout Rs . This, with the cost of screw shutters for thesluices, makes an addi tion of Rs . tothe cost of the an icutand the total is Rs . according tothe G.O . of October 2 4th

,

1 881 .

The floodof Friday July 2 l st, 1 882 , was yet higher, for the level atthe Si tanagaram gauge stood for some hours that day at feetover the crest of the anicut. It is cur ious that the level at the Bezvéda gauge was seven or eight inches lower, al though a fierce westwind was blowing across tothat shore carrying the spray of theanicut l ike steam, but the set of the flood from the Ibrahimpatan

embankment was towards U ndavalle village and the water seemed

thus tobe banked up a li ttle against the Si tanagaram head works .

The Ibrah impatam embankment was breached and the flood water

passed into the Buddaméru and soto the Kol lern lake . The river

embankmen ts below the anicut were topped by the flood whichbreached badly the M asul ipatam canal , the flood water appearingeven round M asulipatam town . The Sitanagaram head works stoodalthough the river was nearly over the lock gates and the parapet

of the roadway, but the river unf ortunately found a weak place at

the crossing on the lef t bank of the canal at the south of the Si ta

2 60 3 1mm msrsrc'r M AN UA L ,

nagaram hill and there pouring into the canal made an enormousbreach, twolarge banian trees (Ficus Indies ) being deposited in the

canal as i f they were smal l bushes . The canal rose 2 ' 6 " over the

first lock at Duggirala, whereupon the E ngineers cut the left bankthere, letting the water flow over the coun try . It met the flood

water coming through the breaches of the river embankmen t and al l

Répal le Taluq was submerged . There was 4'6" of water in the

streets of Répalle to

In proceeding to describe the various canals whi ch form the existing irrigation system in the Delta it must be avowed that their h istory and early financial accoun ts are in a very tangled m e . Whil ereading the records which refer to the construction of the anicut the

thought would occur that the E ngineers paid more attention to

drafting a scheme that might be sanctioned than to dev ising a

comprehensive scheme for the irrigation of the whole Del ta, a pro

ject whi ch, however masterly its design , would probably terr if yGovernment and the Court of Directors by the magni tude of itscost. Thi s idea is strengthened when one observes the piecemealway in whi ch the canals were excavated, economy being evi dentlythe first consideration and the accoun ts being sadly compl icated bypayments for new work made from funds al lotted for repairs or foran entirely difierent work . A n attempt to unravel these accounts

is made in G. O . N o. 72 3 I, October 2 4th , 1 881 .

The M asul ipatam canal was commenced in 1852 at the same

time with the an icut . A n old trace of a cutting was v isible fromBezvada to Patamata, the nearest point of the Pul lern and this linewas fol lowed . The first idea was to make the cutting in thi s fourmiles dead level , but afte rwards it was given a slope of three inchesin ew h mile . A volume of water was thrown from the Bezvada

flank of the an icut through thi s cutting into the Pul léru and followed its course for eight mi les to Veyfiru. I n 1854 it was proposedtocut a new chann el from thi s point, Veyfiru , to tide water at

Mopadévi , along the river embankmen t, and toestabli sh commun ica

tion with M asul ipatam by means of the old Chinnapuram cuttingwhich the French had dug a hundred years previously. This pro

posal was, however, abandoned and the canal was continued in a

more direct line to M asul ipatam, where it ends at the Fort . Thisvery beautiful canal is the highway for trafi c between Becvéda and

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2 62 me A msrswr MAN UAL ,

The first trouble was with the Bodaméru, a violent l ittle river which,when in flood, carries down immense quantities of sand. It wasdiverted and passed under the canal below an aqueduct . A t the

look at the 1 1 th m ile an escape weir discharges the surplus canal

water into this riotous Bodaméru which flows down to the Kollérulake . Beyond thi s point the canal has to cross al l the drainagefrom the Nuzvidu territory, which abounds in small tanks, most ofwhich are in bad order , so that when a heavy rainf all comes theyall breach together and the rush of water towards the sea carries

everything before it. This was shown in September 1 862 when 1 1inches of rain fel l in 48hours . The E ngineers had provided in 1 5miles of canal 5 tunnels giving a waterway of 50 feet, but thi s waswholly inadequate . Out of 76 reservoirs 63 had breached and the

canal was almost obli terated by the water which swept across it . A t

one spot 1 2 mi les of bank was carried away. The cost of constructing tunnel s snfi cient to give pas sage tosuch a flood woul d be enor

mous and , as a cheap device, Colonel A nderson suggested inl ets andoutlets to let the wate r pass across the canal . These were con

structed of substantial masonry at five points along the canal , the

crest of the wal l being 4; feet above the bed of the canal , and uponthe wal l was erected an earthen bank calculated to give way when .

the water rose 2 } feet above the crest . The length of these inletsis 1 85, 1 50, 1 00, 75 and 50 feet respectively , and in addition totheseinlets there are two escape weirs at the loth and 1 9th m i les f romBezvada of 8and 4 vents which are calculated to carry of f 5 § inchesof rain fal l ing over 60 square miles in 2 4 hours, sothat the in letsand outlets will be cal led upon on ly in an exceptional rainfall .

Some irr igation was establ ished under the upper reaches of theM asulipatam canal, under the Pullern and Bodaméru streams and

under Ryves’canal , (a canal which formerly was taken ofl from the

7th mile of the E llore canal , but now is taken from the main canal,

5 1 chains below the anicut). In 1862 the Governmen t of Indiainsisted upon the preparation of a complete scheme for the irriga

tion of the Delta, and this was sketched out by Colonel A nderson.

H i s proposals were to w iden the main , E l lore, Masul ipatam and

Ryves’canals, toexcavate a channel from Parnarru to Gudivada and

to continue the Pul lern intothe Bantumilli canal . It appears thatbefore 1864 twenty- four lakhs had been spent upon works and

acres were irrigated. Colonel An derson proposed to spend3 1 lakhs more irrigating a total of acres . Thi s scheme was'

IRRIGATION . 2 63

tobe carried out by an annual expenditure of 2 ; lakhs . The detai lsare given in G. O. of 2 4th October 1 881 . The Government of Indiain 1 867 appears to have again asked f or a comprehensive schemeand in 1 876 Colonel M ull ins and Lieutenan t Campbell partly pre

pared the desired scheme, as appears in G. O . N o. 352 8, dated 2 2 ndDecember 1 876, but the sanction of the Government of India wasw ithheld un til the submission of the en tire scheme.

We now pass from the M asul ipatam side of the river or E asternDel ta, as it is cal led, and describe the canal s on the Guntur side, orthe Western Delta. It was mentioned above that even before the

construction of the an icut, a out had been made from the river intothe Tungabhudra channel . A s soon as the ani cut was buil t thewater was taken through the Sitanagaram head sluice into thischannel and sorendered immediately available for irrigation . The

S i tanagaram head sluice is 6 feet below the crest of the an icut and3 7 feet above sea level . The channel for seven mi les of its course

was widened and was then continued for six miles further almostdue south to Duggirala, the head-

quarters of the E xecutive E ngineer in charge of theWestern Delta . This 1 3 mi les is call ed themain canal , but some con f usion ar ises from old records term ing itthe Nizampatam canal . The f al l is 3

'

per mi le . A t the 1 2 th m i le is

the head look of the Kommam li r canal and at the 1 3th mile is the

head lock of the N izampatam canal .

The Nizampatam canal begins at this look 33 '9'

above sea level

wi th a f all of 7} feet. There are two nine mi le reach es with a

merely nominal fall tothe looks at Kuchipudi and Intfiru . Fivemiles below In turn commences the same trouble with drainage inter

cepted by sandy undulations that was exp erienced near M asul ipatam,

but here the di fficul ty was met by giving the canal stout banks 1 2

f eet high and 1 5 feetwide at top and by cutting openings in the sand

ridges sothat the drainage coul d flow in to the sea paral lel wi th the

canal . Itwas proposed to give the canal a fall of 4'

per mi le in the

1 3 mi les between Inturn ,and the tidal look, but it was found that

across some of the depressions in the sand ridges the canal must be

led on a high embankment and it was cheaper toconstruct a look at

N allavada, 6 miles beyond Inturn, wi th a drop of 5; feet. The sil l of

this look i s about 2 feet below sea level . The tidal look at the

N izampatam creek has a drop of 7 feet, so its lower sil l is 9 feet

below h igh water. The fall .

of the tide is about 3 f eet. This

2 64 me A ms'rsxcr N ANUAL,

Nizampatam canal is at present only a navigation l ine : the irri ga

tion i s carried on by means of twoparal lel channels, cal led the E astand West side channels, taken 03 from the head at the 1 3th m i le

below Sitanagaram .

The Kommamfir canal had been partly excavated as an irr igation

channel even before the construction of the anicut and Rs .

was spent upon it in 1 858- 9, but it was not until 1 877 that thi s canal

was, as a Famine work, continued to meet the Buckingham canal,

completing the l ine of water communication with M adras . The h ead

of th e canal is at the 1 2 th m ile below Sitanagaram . The windi ng

course of the old Tungabhudra channel is struck and fol lowed for 8

m i les to the look at Chagarlamudi , the first vi l lage of Bi patla Tal uq.

The old l ine of the Tungabhudra f rom this point goes sou th past

Ponm'

i r to the sea, but the canal is excavated with a south- westerly

course towards Pedda Ganzem on the N'

el lore fron tier . A t Chebr61u

bridge ten miles from Guntfir a considerable amoun t of traffic quits

the canal f or Guntfir and the Local Fund Board were anxious to

erect a quay wall at this spot, but the Revenue Board struck the

al lotment out of the Budget considering that i t ought tobe s charge

on navigation receipts and not on road fund . The next lock is at

Kolimerla constructed of the very handsome Chebrélu sandstone and

another lock has recently been constructed at Nallamada. A fterpassing the Santarévfir lock, the canal ends at the Pedda Ganzamtidal lock 56 miles from Duggirala, where it joins the Buckingham

canal .

In 1 856 it was proposed to lead 05 from the main canal a

channel similar to the E llore canal , to skirt the Western Belt

and to cross the drainage f rom the uplands of Gun tur and Narse

ravupetTaluqs. This canal received the astounding ti tle of the canal

f rom Ki stna to Karnfil , (perhaps wi th some idea that it mi ght at

the river Pennéru meet the Irrigation Company’s canal ) I ts head

was some six miles below Sitanagaram and it was tow ind westerly

round the foot of the M angalagi ri hi ll , pass 3 miles south of Guntfir

and meet the E ast Coast canal near Inkol lu . R s . was spent

on thi s canal in 1857- 9 and it was excavated as f ar as N m bfim

vi l lage and irrigated some extent of land in Feel ie 1 2 67- 8. The

fal l was only half an inch per mile sothis canal was not wel l adaptedf or irrigation and the l ine was al together abandoned for the

Kommamur canal which was much cheaper to excavate and saved

four miles of distance. There has been much correspondence about

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2 66 me A msrmcr M AN UAL ,

a net R evenue of Rs . 9,41 , l 3 2 , whi ch is equivalent to per

cen tum on the direct expenditure or per centum on the total ,

including indi rect charges .

The value of thi s work, however, is not tobe estimated by any

such balance sheet, for even i f it di d not repay Government one percent . i t would be worth while to have constructed it as an insuran ceagainst such a famine as that of 1 83 2 . Moreover it adds tothe

wealth of the community, for only a portion of the increased yi eldof the soil goes as water rate toswel l the exchequer receipts.

The quan tity of water calculated for irr igated land is 2 cubicyards per acre per hour . That actual ly del ivered i s now in the

E astern Delta and in the Western Delta cubic yards

per acre per-hour .

In 1 869 the decrease of irrigated land under the an icut arousedatten tion and M r . C . G . M aster , an ofi cer whohad served in the

M asul ipatam and Guntfir Districts, was sent to investigate the sub

ject . A summary of his report is given in Board’s No. dated

2 5th July 1 870. The ryots had been too eager to take the an icut

water in the years following its construction and the channelscould not carry water sufi cient for al l the land . Wh en the ryotsfound that the water supply was precar ious and that in some

instances the land had been rendered unfit f or cultivation by thesal ine efilorescence the water brought to the surface

, a reaction set

in which was hastened by the disasters suf f ered in the cyclone ofN ovember 1 864 and by the introduction in 1865 of the new Settlement rates of assessment . The Board recommended that the ryotsbe allowed free option totake or rel inquish water and that wi th

land soafiected be given f reely and without payment solong as

and it is estimated that the recelpts will amoun t to Rs . per

annum , or Rs . 2 3 7 per mile .

The foll ow ing are the statistics of navigation in the year 1 880

N umber of l icensed cargoboats 698

Tonnage of dittoN umber of passenger boats 85

i sss rmN . 2 67

Raf tsR eceipts (l icenses and tol ls )M aintenance charges (including interest)N umber of trips by laden boatsTonnage 1 01

,446

Ton m i leage

Value of goodsN umber of trips, empty boats 71

N umber of trips , passenger boatsPassengers carried

I n addi tion tothe irr igation under the an icut, there is a triflingamoun t of irr igation from well s on the banks of the Gundlakamma

r iver and from wells and under rough stone dams in the N agi léru ,

al soto a smal l extent under the three rivers in N andigama Taluq .

A t para . 40 of M r . Wilson’s Report, printed in Board’s N o. 1 62 8,

dated M arch 9th , 1 870, wi l l be found the statistics of the 2 68tanksin the five inl and Taluqs of Guntfir, and in paras . 92

, 93 , 94 of M r .

F . J. M or ris’Report, pr inted in Board

’s N o. 1 5 1 7 of 1 7th October

1 802 , is an account of the tanks in the N andigi ma and Bezvéda

Taluqs , but the extent of land irrigated by these small rain - f ed

reservoir s in the uplands is incon siderable . The nom inal receipts toLand Re venue are Rs but last year R s . was rem itted,because many of these smal l tanks are in bad repair and on ly R s .

w as credited toGovernmen t .

The difi culty is that from the point of vi ew taken by the A ccountBranch of the Department of Public Works to repair these tanksis not remunerative, and thus the sum s of money granted for thei rrepair are usual ly qui te inadequate, but the local officers see tha tthere are many other considerations besides the irrigation balancesheet of each reservoir . These tanks keep up a supply of water forthe vi l lages and for cattle, and this stored water tosome extentbenefits the adjacent well s. In the hot weather it must be an

advantage (second onl y to that whi ch would be af f orded by forests)tohave the expense of dry parched plain relieved here and there bya f ew acres of green vegetation under the smal l tanks . If theseupland Taluqs belonged toan en lightened individual proprietor theprobabi lity is that he would keep in repai r the small rain - f ed reservoirs

without looking too closely to the statement of receipts on the l andirr igated . A proposal to give over to the cul tivators the smaller

tanks, on the condi tion that they repair the tanks and pay dry ratesfor the land irrigated , is at present under discussion .

2 68 KISTN A msrmc'r MAN U AL ,

CH APTER IX.

RE LI GI ON 8

BR A H M A N 1 0 A L .

There are noBuddhists or Jains now in this District which con

tains somany tracesof their presence in past ages . Some tradi tions

still linger among the people of the ruthless persecution of the latestholders of the rel igion of Buddha, and the exterm ination must havebeen thorough, for the rel igion has completely disappeared from thispart of India . The Brahman ical rel igion , therefore, which is fol lowedby the vast majority of the H indus, is the longest establ ished of therel igions now existing in this District, as it is the most w idespread ;but, before describing it, some mention may be made '

of customsprevalent among the H indus which appear tobe survivals of the

form of faith prevalent here in the ages before Buddhism became

the established rel igion , toyield tothe tenets of the Js ins, and theyin their turn to the Brahmans. A s has been already mentioned

,the

first inhabi tants of this country were the prehistoric men whobui ltthe cromlechs or kistvaens , but of their rel igion we know nothi ngexcept that the care they bestowed upon the sepulture of their deadwould show s bel ief in a future state . N ext came aboriginal tr ibesof hun te rs, the Sabame of Ptolemy or Savum s of the presen t day,the progen itors of the Chentsus and Yerikalas we see now in thisDi str ict . Their religious observances included the idea of sacr ifice,often of human sacrifice, and thi s practice of sacrifice has come downtothis time and seems tobe deeply rooted among the lower class of

H indus . Immense numbers of sheep or goats or even fowls are

ki lled at times w ith sacrificial ri tes, and this often is a ceremonyw ith which Brahmans have no concern . The worship of serpentsand trees and the facil ity wi th which the ghost of any deceasedperson whowas held in awe by the v i llagers becomes a malevolentdeity to be appeased by ofierings,

’l these and many other customsappear to be surv ivals of very ancient bel iefs in noway connectedwi th the sacred books of the Brahmans .

M r . Sewel l found some curious instances of this in the Palh ad .

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2 70 n srm msrmc'r m an ,

The three great Doctors or founders of Schools of Phi losophy inmodern times were Si nkarfi A charya, a votary of Siva, whose disciples are termed SmArtas, Madva Charya, who ascr ibed supremehonour to Vi shnu and is followed by the M adhvas , and Ramanuja,whotaught that Vishnu is Brahma and that all worship must therefore be addressed toVishnu and hi s consort Lakshmi. Réman uja

’s

disciples are known as Sri Vaishn avas .

There are several sects, ofishoots f rom Brahmanism, and the most

important among these are the Jangams, whofollow the teaching ofBasava, a Sivita Brahman of the twelfth century. They acknowledge the authority of SankaraA charya and reverence the Védas,but reject the Bhaigavata and Ramayana and all the Brahman i calobservances, including caste, soare regarded w i th bitter dis like byorthodox Brahmans . They wear the l ingam always on their per s ons,

which is a rel ic of their Siva or igi n , but their creed is based on the

idea that al l men and women are equal in the sight of God, a doc

trine which some have thought may have been borrowed by Basavafrom the Christians whoexi sted in South India many centur ies ago.

The number of wearers of the l ingam in this Dis trict was nearlyforty thousand at the Census of 1 871 , but this includes some Brahmans who continue to wear the thread and so are not ackn owledged by the true Jangams .

Th is leads us to the subject of caste among the H indus, a subjecton which it is very di f f icul t for a E uropean toform an opinion , therel igious and social aspects of the question being so in termingled.

In every country there is social caste and sometimes it hardens intoa very r igid system, as for instance in France before the Revolutionwhere the royal and noble caste s never married and seldom eat

w ith any person out of their own caste . But in India the Brahmanshave somixed rel igious sanctions w ith social distinctions that it is

now impossible todisentangle them, and the separations of clas s from

class appear tohave extended in course of time in a way l ittl e con

templated by,M enu . Not on ly is one class above the other, but

sections of the same class wi l l not un ite though they are on the samelevel . One can understand that the Brahman or Pr iest was to be

above al l , that the warrior was above the trader, and the trader aboveothers, but we find thatBrahmans of difierent sects hold nointercoursewith each other , and that difierentvar ieties of agriculturistsor artisans

are completely separated from each other . Touse geological terms,we find not only strata but cleavage in H indu society 5 and it is a

numerous . 2 71

mistake to think that caste distinctions, like feudal heraldry inE urope, are kept up principal ly by the descendants of a long l ineof Rajas and are ignored by the mass of the people . The Sudrasare extremely tenacious of their caste privi legesfi

’and even Pariahs

look down on those who are below them . I n this District thereare about a hun dred thousand Brahmans 8 and they almost invar iably have secured the post of Curnum or A ccountant in each v i l lage,

soare very influential . The Kshatriyas or Warr ior caste are veryf ew, less than ten thousand, and they are principal ly engaged incul tivation . The Vaisyas or traders are more numerous and almostequal the Brahman s . The great mass of the artisans and til lersof the soi l come under various div isions of the Sudra castes and

their labourers are recru ited chiefly from the twogreat out- caste

classes of Par iahs and leather - workers .

The above i s but a brief sketch of the rel igion held by so manyhundreds of thousands of H indus in this District . The subject hasbeen treated in f ul l detai l by many authors, and there i s nopeculiarity among the H indus of the Kistna D istr ict that requires specialnotice . The late M r . Boswel l , in hi s M anual of the N ellore Distr ict,descri bed at great length the rel igion and social customs of the

H indus, and that description appli es tothe K istna as much as tothe

adjoining Nellore Distr ict, so I have not thought it necessary to

repeat what is already printed and accessible in every library .

A s regards the question whether thi s religion exercises a good orbad influence on i ts votaries, there are various opinions . I haveheard an old M issionary say that the more he became acquaintedwith the H indu rel igion the more he was struck by its approach toa pure De ism and by the beneficent maxims which are intended to

govern the moral conduct of i ts adheren ts,but this was theoretical

and referred toH indui sm as it ought to be and not as it actual ly is,for most E uropeans whohave enquired into the subject denouncethe existing state of H indu rel igion and conduct, none perhaps ex

cell ing Dr . Beyne’s Tracts in vigour of epithet and invective,.

and

some authors , from the A bbé Dubois downwards, have not

hesitated to state that the r ites practised in some temples give covertogross impur i ty and licentiousness, and that St. Paul

’s descr iption

of the H eathen , in the first three chapters of his E pistle to the

s A nati ve in M adras has sent me, toassist me in th is Manual , an elaborate treatise to

prove that the Modal iars among the Tami l Sudras are real ly Kshatriyas.

The resul ts of the Census of 1881 are given in Chapter XI I I .

men u mem o-r M AN UA L,

Romans would serve as a description of the H indus in the present day .

There would even appear to be some points in which the H indusystem has become worse than the Pagan system of Rome . The

women , dedicated from childhood to the temple service but in real ityprofessional prostitutes, and the carvings upon temples and cars

,

representations not merely obscene but bestial beyond imaginati on,are instances which wi l l occur toevery one . I n thi s town of Gun tur,on a stone, which is passed every day by the women and gi rl s draw

ing water for household use, was recently renewed in bri l lian t colours

a rude represen tation of a lascivious male and female figure . With

such filthy pictures before their eyes H indu childr en grow up in

credulous of the exi stence of puri ty and chastity among mankin d.

I n some respects the H indus set an example tous Chri st ians,notably in the respect they show toa father or elder brother an d in

the way they accept the obligation of supporting their relations

al soin the con tentment with which they accept the duti es of their

station in l ife whatever it may be . Among the rural classes there

is an amount of frugal ity and industry which one would not have ex

pected after reading the record of wars and rapine which constitutes

the history of the Kistna District, and many w ives among the cul ti

vatorsmanage their households as did the val iant woman” sketchedby King Solomon in the 3 1 st chapter of Proverbs. These remarks,

however, donot apply to the Brahmans whowield enormous influence

in this District . I n every v i l lage the heredi tary accountan t is a

Brahman , almost without exception , and in al l the Governmentoffices the vast majority of employés are Brahmans . Toooften theinfluence of this learned caste is not used for good, the Curnum of

the vi l lage fomen ts intr igue and encourages perjury and the Brah

man high in ofli ce uses his power to gratify private raucour . Sir

Wal ter E l l iott’s report upon Guntfir af f airs in 1 846 is a startl ingdisclosure of what is done in thi s way.

I recently heard of twoinstances showing the selfishness of theBrahmans of this District towards their own children, and i f they

are careless of their own flesh and blood what can they care for the

welfare of other castes ? In the N andigama Taluq some Brahmanparents gave their daughter aged eight in marr iage to a Curnum

whowas noless than eighty years of age. They received f rom him

a; thousand rupees as the price of their chi ld. To those who know

what prospects await a young widow in this country the transactionappears very horrible.

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2 74 KISTN A msrsrcr MAN UA L,

tr ict, but it has not done so. The great majority of the M uhamma

dans in the Ki stna D istrict are orthodox Sunis, and there are f ewShias except at M asul ipatam

,where the ex- N avab, the descendant

of the H asan’A l i Khan whowas in charge of this Di strict when

the Company took it, is a Sh ia and i s surrounded by several of his

own faith .

The Muhammadans in this District for the most part engage in

trade, in cloth, indigo, hides or cotton . They keep up a constantintercourse with their cc - religion ists in H aidarabad and remain

en tirely di stinct from the H indu populace . H industani they use

among themselves, but al l know Telugu as they are in so smal l a

minority among the H indus . They keep up much of the pride of adominant race, and in no way yield to the Brahman ical pretensionsor caste system of the H indus, and their converts, f or they dooccasional ly make converts, become more M uhammadan than the M n

hammadan s themselves . Indeed i f a convert comes from the lower

or outcastes it is a social rise in l ife . Ramigzi du, a Pariah or leatherworker in the v i llage , who cou ld not draw water from the well

reserved f or caste H indus, becomes a M uhammadan,lets h is beard

grow, cal ls himself A bdul H asan and draws water from the castewell unchall enged .

The M ussulman commun ity have not shown the same di sposi tionthat the Brahmans have shown

'

to avai l themselves of an E ngl isheducation , and there are but f ew of them in Government service

except as Pol ice con stables and peons .

The large mosque near the H ospital in Guntur was bui lt by Khaj aRahmatul lah Khan and was endowed w i th acres of land inthe days of N avab Shuja ’

lal Mulk,A . D . 1 763 . This land brings

in an i ncome of more than Rs . per annum .

CH RISTI A N .

Some w riters have thought that the influence of the doctr inestaught in South India by early Christian s ‘ can be traced in some of

1 The latest in formation that has come to l igh t about th e Church foun ded in SouthI nd ia by St. Thomas, th e A postle , w ill be found i n a Protestant book cal led Dis Kin k dcrThomas Chr isten . E in Be itr zur Gesch ichte der Or ienta l icchen Kirchen vos D r . W.

Germa nn. (Guteraloch 1 877)a

grom E dessa in the f ourth century envoys w ent to th isChurch and later the bonesof the A ostle were removed toE dessa. The Church af te rwardsf ell intothe N estorian heresy preva ent in Persia. K ine A l f red the Gre at sent an embasatoth is Church . I t numbered many thousands wh en the Portuguese came toIndia i n 1 49g,and toth is da these Chr is tians on the Travancore and M alabar coast use a Syr iac l iboth those w 0 have come under the Roman obedi ence and those who adhere to$0N estorian heresy .

am orous . 2 75

the H indu schools of philosophy, especial ly in the tenets held by

Basava whofounded the Jangam sect. That may be so, but thereis norecord of the existence of any branch of the Christian Churchwi thi n the l imi ts of the Kistna Distr ict until recent times, and it is

probable that, w ith the exception of a traveller l ike M arcoPolo or

N icole Conti , no Christians set foot in thi s Di strict before the

arrival of Portuguese traders on the coast about the end of the

sixteenth century . The E ngl ish, Dutch, Danes and French alsocame tothis coast in the seven teenth cen tury, but they were tradersonly and did l ittle or nothing tospread the Christian rel igion . The

Dutch appear to have had a M ini ster in their Factory, but theE nglish had not and the French bad .no Chaplain . In 1 670 it is

mentioned that the Portuguese had a Chapel where some blacks”

worshipped, but it may be said that there was no attempt to teachChristian ity to the people of this District before the arrival of FrenchJesui t M issionaries shortly after the year 1 735 .

Before describing the French Jesuits it is necessary tosay something of the M adura M issionaries, whose mode of working the

French at first copied. The great obstacle in the way of the

Missionaries in the sixteenth century was not only the evi l exampleshown by bad E uropeans but al so the disl ike w ith which E uropeancustoms were v iewed by H indu and M ussulman alike . A wi ckedE uropean of course caused scandal , but a devout E uropean , whoeat beef and drank spir its, of f ended against Brahmanical and

M uhammadan tenets and shocked native prejudices . Thus Christianity was despised as the rel igion of the Feringis as E uropeanswere contemptuous ly termed . A n Italian Jesui t, Father Robertde Nobi li , conceived the idea of presenting Christian ity to the

H indus , freed from al l association wi th repulsive Western habits .

The Christian religion was an oriental religion 5 it had its origin inA sia, and these E uropean customs were not essential but onlyacciden tal portions of the rel igion which the M i ssionaries strove tospread in Indi a . Fi lled with this idea he penetrated in 1 608to thecourt of Tirumal Naick , King of M adura, and there, l iving an

ascetic l if e and call ing h imself a Brahman from Rome, he foundedthe famous M adura M ission . Incited by the success gained by thePortuguese Jesuits in this M adura Mi ssion, Louis XIV, King ofFrance, wi shed the French Jesui ts toundertake a M ission on the

same model and so, in 1 700, he sent out six French Jesuits, all ofthem picked men and A cademicians, who landed at Pondicherry

2 76 KISTN A mararer w on ,

and founded the Carnatic M ission . I t was by thi s Carnatic M i ssionthat the Christian religion was first taught among the people of theKistna District .

The progress of the French Jesuits was very rapid . Commen cingat Pondi cherry in 1 700, they had next year a

W333?“ Church at Pungan l'

i r in N orth A rcot and in 1 709another at Chinna Balap ii ram in the M ysore

country. Then foll owed a Church at Krishnapuram in the Dharmavaram Tal uq of Bellary District, and in 1 71 8 the R aja of

A nantapuram gave permission to erect a Church at M adigfiba in

A nantapore Taluq . In 1 733 there were sixteen stations of whichthe most remote was Bouccapouram ala hauteur de M asul ipatam“

which is a vi llage in the Darsi Taluq of Nell ore District on th e

borders of Guntti r . I n 1 735 th is station was increased by an

immigration of some Beddia surnamed Tumma , who came f romBel lary to escape the constan t M ahratta inroads . The headman ofthis family had been converted about twenty years before this ; thenarrative is toolengthy for insertion here and can be found at page

564,Vol . II of the L ettres E d/ifiantes ct Cur ieuses, but the account

of the migration I have translated as it accords wi th the traditionsstil l current among their descendants in the Guntur District and as

i t throws l ight on the state of the country at that period . It occursin a letter by Father Calmette S . J. dated September 1 7th

, 1 735 .

The new Christian station of Bukkapuram has much increasedsince twoyears and amongst others it is augmented by the Reddifami ly of Tummavaru whoare in part the founders of the Churchof M ad iguba. It is several years agothat the head of thi s family,being v iolen tly tormented by a demon , was entirely cured as soonas he had received baptism at the hands of Father L e Gac :however, he did not long survive thi s grace. A lthough sospeedya death was a trial for proselytes in India, they were not

the less attached to the Fai th . Since that time the familyincreased to nearly twohundred persons and has become extremelyr ich . These Beddia l ived at A lumtiru which is under A nantapt

'

rr.

They were reported to the M ahrattas as very rich. Madu Rayadu,a M ahratta Brahman . whowas at the head of a flying camp

, came

a A la hauteur dc “as f ar north as. M asul ipatam is Lat. N . 1 6 0 1 0

‘

and there is a

Bukkapuram near Tsandavaram in Narsaraopet Taluq whi ch is L at. N . 1 6° but the

native Christians assure me that the v i l lage where their ancestors l ived is Bum pimm

near Bandiveliguntla in Darsi Taluq of N el lore, In t. N . 1 6°

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2 78 n am e s tern er m ust ,

obtained possession ofGuntur in 1 75 2 , the Christians in Bukki pun m

and A rikatla moved into thi s Distri ct and were joined by other:

f rom Bellary and Karn i’

i l . This is probably true, for the Jesuit

Fathers of the Carnatic M ission had by thi s time quite changed

their first idea of working on the model of the Madura M iss ion,secluded from al l in tercourse with E uropeans , and were now inclinedtocol lect their flock under the shelter of the French flag. I n 1 700

Pere M artin had wri tten , C’est donc en menant parmi eux une v ie

austere et pen itente, parlan t leurs langues, prenant leurs usages,

tout bizarres qu’il s sont, et s

’

y naturalisant , enfin noleur laissant

aucune soupcon qu’on soit de la race des Franquis qu’on peut

espérer d’introdui re solidemen t et avec succes la rel igion chrétiennedans cc vaste empire des Indes ,

” but in 1 751 another Mi ss ionarywrote i l est vrai que nous avons nu puissant protecteur dans lapersonne de M . Dupleix .

” It i s certain that when the wars whi chcommenced in 1 740 brought E ngl ish and French soldiers intotheinterior of the Pen in sula the M i ssionaries could no longer avoidi ntercourse wi th E uropeans and they appear tohave adapted themselves tothe changed state of the country . Thus Father Lam ar

,

the Superior of the M ission , when the M ahratta cavalry burned hi schurch, acted as Chaplain tothe low caste horsekeepers and grass

cutte rs who fol lowed the army ‘ and afterwards appears in h istory

as one of the French Commissioners at the Conference of Sad ras.

We may there fore accept as very probable the tradition of the

native Christian s that the Mi ssionaries encouraged their flock s toescape from the ravages of M ysorean , M ahratta or M uhammadan

armies tothe Gun tur Distri ct which was held in comparative peaceby the French troops from 1 752 to 1 779 .

A bout the Christian colon ies thus introduced into Guntfir towardsthe m iddl e of last cen tury I have been able to obtain little inf ormation . Th e Christians of the Kamma caste at Ravipiidu near Narsa

ravupet trace the foundation of the church there to one PolavarapuChinnayya,

“who was converted at Pondi cherry and com ing north

was employed as a Revenue Officer at N arsaravupet, and at the

date when the Bri tish took possession of the District there were

Cu M i ssionaire qui est bloqué par une tell s armée n'est pas cependantoi si f pour lesfoncticns de son min i stere . Il y a quantité des ch rétiens dans ces sortes d

’arméea, on

ala véri té i ls ne sent as an grands consideration , mais il s n’en mér i tsn t pas moins la

nbtre l’emp loi de is p u art est d

’

y soigner les chevaux des cavali ers M arattes : d’autres y

ent leur vi e en ven t do l’herbe on du boi s .

”L etter f rom Pete L avaur tohis

er M . de L amar . L ettres Ed ifiantes et Curiouses I I, 689.

H is nephew Polavarapu Buchayya died in 1877 aged soyears.

name l ess. 2 79

some Christians enjoying oflicial posi tion and influence . Basalat

Jang in 1 770 gave to the M ission 71 § acres of land m M utant

v i l lage of Guntur Taluq which the M i ssion sti l l holds wi th otherI nam lands, and it was probably about this date that the small

chapel in Guntfir was erected, perhaps by the French soldiers .

Some manuscripts stil l in existence show that these FrenchJesui ts paid much attention to Telugu , im itating not unworthily the.labour s of the M adura M ission aries, which have made the names of

Besch i and others famous . These manuscr ipts, on paper or palmyral eaves, are Telugu poems on sacred subjects, narratives of Bibl icalhi story or translations of prayers .

‘ One of them,the Vedanta

R asayana, is mentioned on page XIV of C . P . Brown’s Telugu

E ngli sh Dictionary and at page 349 of the Wilson Catalogue of theM ackenz ie M SS . where it is described as fol lows LXXIIIVedanta Rasayana . Palm leaves . The history of Christ translatedf rom the gospels with an introduction in the form of a dialoguebetween M a l larasa. and Guyana. Bodha ,

in which the inferiority ofthe H indu Gods toParameswam or Sarveswam

,from whom they

proceeded, is maintained, and in proof, the incarnation of Serveswam as I su or Jesus is described composed by A nanda inhabitant of M angalagiri dedicated to Dasa M antri or Dasapa, a

Brahman converted to Christiani ty .

”

The M angalagiri here mentioned is not the town in Guntfir Taluq,b ut some town of the same name near Chinna Balap ii ram in M ysore,f or there are allusions in the introduction which show that i t waswri tten in that country . M r . C . P . Brown gives its date as 1 700and says that the poem is much admired for its style . I am told

that a Protestant Society in M adras have taken a copy of themanuscript in the M ackenzie col lection and intend to publ i sh an

ed iti on of i t, altered to suit their doctr inal v iews . It might beworth while for the Cathol ic M ission topubl ish this and the other

M SS . unaltered . There is a copy of the Védanta R i si yana wi ththe Catechist at Ravip i dufi

‘

These Chr istians in the Guntur Di strict maintained their divisionsof caste and dosoto this day, but the customs known as the “ M ala

A box f ul l of th em was shown me by M al avarapu Ignatius of A ttalur in Sattenapal le

Tfl uq .

Since this was written an edi tion of the Vedanta M ayan , has been printed in

Madras, edited by the Rev . Father Balanader .

2 80 KISTN A msrarcr m ums,

bar R ites” 7 had been abol ished be fore their arrival here and sothat

controversy never af f ected Guntur District. The di fficulty of caste,however, still remains . The Chr istians of Sudra or higher castesdonot intermarry wi th other castes, and retain some H indu prejadi ces, for instance, they never eat beef. The question i s a very

di fficul t one . It woul d certain ly have been simpler if H indu con

verts toChristianity had , l ike H indu converts to _M uhammadani sm,

left all their H indu ideas behind them ; but they did not doso, and

as it is diflicult to say w i th regard toH indu customs how much is

social and how much is rel igious, the M issionaries would not be

justified in insisting upon the H indu Chr istians relinquishing chaer

vances which from one point of v iew are merely social . Of courseany customs that pertained to the Brahman ical rel igion or were

opposed tothe Christian rel igion had to be forbidden , but one can

imagine that a H indu convert of high caste, told by a French Jesui tto give up his thread and to leave h is daughters unmarried untilthey were fourteen years of age, must have been almost as muchaston ished as a French nobleman would have been had the JesuitFather told h im togive up his armorial bearings and to allow his

daughters to select husbands f or themselves . Simi larly at the

present day the Father Prov incial of the M ission has nomore authority to tel l a Christian Reddi to give h is daughters to men of

another caste or to direct his flock to overcome thei r prejudiceagainst beef than he had in hi s own country to te l l a German

Baron togive his daughters tohusbands wi th no Von before theirnames or todirect h is flock toovercome their disl ike tohorse flesh.

We are soaccustomed tomany E uropean habi ts that we are apt to

forget that these habits are not essential parts of Chri stian ity .

Some Protestants, have wished toimitate the Catholi cM iss ionariesin tolerating caste: Dr . H eyn e in 181 4 wrote: “M issionaries, in many

7 Th e M adura M iss ionaries, in their anxi ety to present Chri stian i ty f ree f rom an

Weste rn customs that migh t give ofien ce , had tolerated among their converts save

H indu custom s wh ich , af ter long d iscussion , were forbidden by Rome. A mong th ese forbidden concess ions to H i ndu prej udice were th e retention of the sacred th read and themark on the forehead ; the marryi ng of chi l dren be fore th ey attained puberty ; the refun lof th e Sacraments to f emal es at cer tain times , bathi ng, as a ceremon ial purification , andother poin ts ; for the H i ndu converts appear to h ave been as reluctant togi ve 11eaccustomed ceremon ial observances as w ere the ear l Chr istian converts togive up theJew ish ce remon ial . Thi s d i scussion of th e M al abar Bites," as it was call ed , was finallyclosed on Sep tember 1 2 th , 1 744, by the Bull Omn ium Sall icitud inum issued by Pepe BenedictXIV and since then every M iss ionary has taken an oath toobey thi s Bull . I noti ce thatin 1 708 orders on th is subject were i ssued by the L egato, Cardinal Tournon , to PinBouchet , Superior of th e Carnatic M iss ion , and th at in 1 735 Phrs L e Gac was one of thosewhosigned a declaration adh ering tothe brief of Pope Clement XI I about th ismatter andthat is my authority for saying that th is controversy never af f ected Guntur District.

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2 82 KISTN A DI STRICT n N UA L,

the statement made in Bishop Colgan’s M adras Directory, that i t

was the persecution by thi s Zemin dar that caused the Chr istian s at0 16m near Répal le tom igrate south in 1 787 tothe Chingleput Distriot . It is more probable that the migration was caused by pressure of famine .

Oléru is a vi l lage on the bank of the Kistna, three mi les fromRepalle. A f ew Brahmans and the body of the Kamma cul tivatorswere converts . In 1 787 they migrated south in a body

,under the

guidance of an Italian ex- Jesuit, Father M anenti , tothe ChingleputDistr ict, where Sir A rchibald Campbell , Governor of M adras, locatedthem in a tract depopulated by famine, whi ch was cal led Campbe ll

puram but now is known as Kilacheri . Father Manenti was enconraged ll by the M adras Governmen t to bringother coloni es of Chr istian cul tivators toChin gleput District from the countr ies then ex

posed to the armies of Tipu $ 61a or the Nizdm and these sti llform a Telugu Christian settlement in themidst of the Tami l people .

‘

The vi llage of Oléru was not, however, whol ly abandoned f or thereis an inscription in French and Telugu, dated 1 792 , over the grave ofa youth named Ignatius , a native of Pondicherry, and there are stillin the

,vil lage some forty Parias who cul tivate the Inam land round

the ruins of the old Church .

A f ter this date the revolution in France and the wars that fol lowed

in E urope prevented the despatch of any M issionaries for India and

the Vicar - A postol ic at Pondicherry in 1 802 1 0 had only four native

priests and fifteen French M issionaries of whom most were tooold

totravel , sothat it was wi th d ifi cul ty the Bishop could arrange thateach station should be v isited once every year . I n 181 6 the Surveyof Guntfir District mentions that one Roman Catholic M issionary

resided at Firangipuram having charge of all the Christians f rom

Crole's Chingle ut M anual ,

5. 2 37 . See al so Kel sal l 's Bellary Manual , p . 301 and

Gribble’s Cuddapah ual

, p . 2 7 where Coimbatore is a mi stake for Pann ur. ese

wristians, driven abroad by war and fam ine, have f ounded a Tonga Christian colony in

W “as th e Tumma f ami lgtbrought Ch r istiani ty in to this istrict . Dicp en i p er

tra evangelism “ vet-bum i . A cts vi ii . 4.

oI found th e fol lowin letter dated February 87th , 1888 descr ib'

Kilacheri inChingleputD istr ict

g m8

I t is composed of Tel people only whounder fire conduct of F . M anenh‘

, one ofthe last Jesui ts dead m

a

gic country. came f rom th e N or th to settle in the midst of animmense jungle which th ey cut down and cleared w ith the consent of the E nglish Compony. Some old Christians stil l l ivin who came wi th the colony are never tired oftelhng th e story to their chi ldren an of prais ing the devotion and seal wh ich the

“ Father disalayfi

d on this occasion . Be had to bring by f rightf n l rosds for 90 1eaguesfif ty poor

'

es whohad noresource but th e good management of their M issionary.

”

F183.

“ Manenti received a pension in f rom the E nglish Government and diedin

W TwoM issionaries, A stray and Lambert, Frenchmen b birth , but inoflensive,l ivpd at Brahmanapal le in mom— L etter f rom Collector of Guut r.

san cti ons. 2 83

Oléru tothe Palnad . A t this date matters were at their worst for in1 81 7 the Bishop had under him only five or six aged M issionariesan d some native priests . The result was ' that the number of

Chr istians decreased . In N arsaravupet Taluq i s a vi l lage where the

Reddis sti ll hear Christian names . They admit that their forefathersw ere Christians but left that rel igion because they for many longyears saw nopriest.

A f ter 1 81 7 the Soci ete de M issions E trangeres in Pari s sent out af ew M issionaries and we have a long letter at page 796, Vol . II, ofth e L ettres Edifiantes et Curieuses written by one of them

,Pére

Charbonn eaux ,describing the dread f ul fam ine that devastated

Gun ti'

i r in 1 83 2 . H is memory has l ived among the people for to

this day some of them give each year an ofiering f or a RequiemM ass tobe said f or the good priest whohelped our fathers duringthe great fam ine .

’

It was probably after the great fami ne of 183 2 that Christiancultivators moved to Patiband la in Sattenapal le, now one of the

m ost flourishing churches in the M i ssion . A bout this time the

Vicar - A postolic at Pondicherry sent some Ital ian priests to Firan

gipuram , but in 1 843 these Telugu M issions were transferred to

the Vicar - A postol ic of M adras , and in 1847 Father StephenF ennel ly came to Firangipuram to take charge from the Ital ianpr iests . H e had con siderable trouble w ith them in various waysf or they den ied the authority of the Vicar - A postol ic of M adras andtook part w ith the Goanese 1 Schismat ics .

Father Stephen Fennel ly remained for some time in this Districtand when

,

he in after years became Vicar - A postolic of M adras his

first and last E piscopal visi tations in 1 868 and 1 880 were to theseGun tur vi l lages . There was, however , a great lack of priests in the

i Wh en th e Portuguese were the on ly E uro can nation that had in tercourse wi th

I ndi a, an Archbishop was establ i shed at Goa, w i Sufi ragan Bisho s at Cranganore and

St. Thome (M ylo. re ). A rrangements weremade between Rome an Portu

gal whi chgave

the Portuguese t e monoolyfi

so to speak , of Indian M issions and boun the Ki ng of

Portt

fial tosupport al l 0 di an M i ssions . In course of time the Por t see in India

dwin ed awe and Dutch , French and E n l ish traders ousted them, so 0 Portuguese

mono y of issions was relaxed . In 1 6 a Vicar- A postolic orMi ssionaryBishop of th eFrenc Soci été de M issions E trsngéres had been a pointed at Siam and i n 1 778 one of

the same Soc iety was a inted at Pond icherry . 1882 an I rish Vicar - A postoli c wasappointed at M adras. th is date the Cosmos party objected that Rome had nopowertoi ntrude these View s - Apostol ic or M issionary Bishop s i nto

.

the prov i nce of the A rch

bishop of Goa. The d ispute lasted for many years and di d much harm . Monsignor

Sabbat, w i th Fath er (now Card inal ) H oward , came out toIndia toi nvestigate the matter,wh ich was se ttled in 186 1 by th e Bul l ad rep eranda damna issued by Pope Pius IX, under

whi ch the Wears - A postol ic continue toexerci se jurisd i ction.

as M i ssionary Bishops

independen tl y of the A rchbishop of Goa, who, however , retai n s the ti tl e and rank of

Primate of India.

2 84 KISTN A DISTRICT MA N UA L,

M adras Vicariate, and for some time the whole of the Gun tur and

N el lore Districts , square mi les, a tract of country as large as

Belgium , was under the care of one Irish priest, Father P . Kennedy .

Toremedy this state of things Bishop Stephen Fennel ly in 1 874appli ed to the M issionary College

"at M i l l H il l near London

for assistance and in that year four priests, Fathers Forbes, Sabbé ,Grand and Dieckmann , arrived in Gunti

'

i r . There are now (1 881 )seven priests working in the Guntur District . Of the four who

first arrived, Father Forbes was obl iged by i l l - heal th to return toE urope, Father Sabbé l ies buried in the chapel at Guntur, FatherGrand lost h is arm by an unfortunate acciden t, and Father Di eckmann is the present Provincial at Firangipuram .

The number of Cathol ics in the Guntur Distr ict rose from in

1 872 to in 1879 .

There are some vi l lages where a large proportion of the ryots are

Christian , such as Renta Chintala. and A tmak ii r in the Palnad , Ravi

padu in N arsaravupet Taluq, F irangipuram , Sir ipuram and Patibandla in Sattenapal le Taluq, M t

’

i tn i'

ir in Guntur Taluq and Beddi

palem near Chebrolu in Bapatla .

A t the festival of St . Francis Xavi er at M i’

i tnfir, Chr istmas at

Firangipuram,N ew Y ear

’s day at Sir ipuram and the E piphany at

Patibandla several thousands assemble . There are in al l six churchesand twenty - three chapels in the Distr ict, some of them badly in need

of repair . There are good vernacular schools at Patiband la, Firan

gipuram and Rentachi ntala and a convent for nati ve nun s i s in

course of erection at Firangipuram , but there i s noseminary in theDistrict, any boys who show signs of a vocation for the priesthoodbeing sen t toNellore .

In Gun tur town there are less than a hundred Cathol ics, chi eflythe Tami l servan ts of the E uropean residen ts . The Kistna r iver is

the boundary of the jurisdiction of the Vicar A postoli c of M adras,and the M asul ipatam portion of the Kistna District is un der the Vicar

A postol ic of H aidarabad . There is nothing as yet that can be called

Th is college was founded by Dr . H erbert Vaughan , Bishop of Sal ford, in pursu

ance of the w ish of Card inal Wi seman . I t is the on ly i nsti tution for forei gn M issions

kept up by E nglish Cathol ics. From this col lege M issionar ies are sent tothe negroes of

the U nited States , tothe Telugu people of th e M adras Vicariate and toBorneo. In the

A fghan war of 1879- 80 the coll ege suppl ied Chaplains for our troops and one of the

priests Whoserved as Chap lain in that war , Father R ichard Burke . i s now in the Gunti ir

D istrict .

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2 86 KISTN A msrmcr MAN UAL ,

This eminent mi ssionary, the founder of the Masulipatam M ission ,who— it is a curious coincidence — bore the same name as Robert deN obil i, the founder of the M adura M ission , exercised a wonder f ul

influence over the pupi ls in hi s school , an influence which is not to

be gauged by the mere number of youths who declared themselvesCh ristians and were publ icly baptised . H e was unmarried and

coul d give his whole time and attention to hi s work, and the amount

of daily work, steadily pursued f or more than twenty years in the

enervating cl imate of M asul ipatam , byone whom i ll health had com

pel led tocease read ing f or honours at Cambridge, is aston ishi ng.

E ight hours in school was only part of hi s daily task .

M r . Noble’s l ife was wri tten in 1867 by hi s brother, the Rev . John

N oble, Rector of N ether Broughton , and the book gives a read

able sketch of Robert N oble’s career in M asul ipatam but is in some

respects a disappoin ting work and one cannot but regret that i t

stopped the way of any better biography . With incredibly bad

taste the author printed M r . N oble’s private letters contain ing

h is plainly spoken opinion s of the piety or laxi ty of the

E uropean officials in thi s District, and much space is given in thebook to the narrative of M r . N oble’s disputes with the Chaplainsand with his own Commi tte e . Thi s indeed serves to i llustrate theremark so often made that a man

’s most severe trials are those

whi ch he least expects . M r . N oble made l ight of the notion that hewas suf f ering physical hardships and says I cannot speak of anysacr ifice . E very naval and mi litary officer, every civi lian, makessacrifices and the di f f erence is sosmal l between mi ne and theirsthat I am ashamed to talk of sacrifices . When a tumul t arose

on the occasion of the first conversions and his house was guardedby peons to keep of f the angry mob , that appeared only toraise his

spirits . When on the awful n ight of N ovember 1 st, 1 864, heassembled hi s household around him and awaited death, he sharedthis peri l in common w ith every other resident of M asul i patam .

Such things d i d not daunt him ,but what threatened to close his

car eer as a M issionary was his di f f erences of opin ion wi th membersof h i s own Church .

M r . N oble had been at Cambridge under the Rev . Ch arles Simeonand was of the E vangeli cal or Low Church party in the A nglican

Communion . On arrival at M asul ipatam he began to hold prayermeetings among the E uropeans who agreed w ith his theologicalviews . To these prayer - meetings the Chaplain of M asulipatam

summons . 2 87

ob jected and an appeal was made to the Bishop of M adras . The

C h aplain returned tothe charge and accused M r . N oble of admin iste r ing the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper toE uro

p eans, upon which M r . N oble resigned his l icense as a M issionaryan d restricted himself toscholastic work, un ti l the arrival of a new

B i shop in M adras, whorestored hi s l icense . The controversy w ithh i s Commi ttee arose in 1 858after M r . N oble had been sixteen yearsa t w ork in M asul ipatam . The M adras Committee objected tohise x cluding pariahs, leather -workers and scavengers from h is school ,an d M r . N oble repl ied in a letter prin ted on pages 2 67 to 2 78of hi sl if e, a letter which ought to be perused by any one whothinks thatth is thorny subject is easy of solution . M r . N oble said The

humblest and most pious Chri stian parents in E ngland wouldnot al low their sons, much less their daughters, to be educatedw ith their footmen , w ith their cooks and their scul lery maids .

Perhaps I was puni shed oftener by my pious father f or stealingaway to play w ith the boys of the vi l lage than on any otheraccount : whi le in the best ordered Chri stian fam i ly I have ever

seen, the chi ldren were not allowed toconverse w ith the servan tsor todescend the second step of the stairs intothe ki tchen . M yf ather would not have allowed us tomix wi th the cook’s or stableboy

’s children ; nor can I see i t right to require of Brahm ins that,

before we wi ll teach them the Gospel, they must sit down on thesame form wi th the pariah and the sweeper . The requirement i sto me unreasonable and unchr istian .

” The di scussion las tedn early twoyears; and the M adras Committee final ly decided thatcaste was to be no ground of exclusion but that out of theCommittee’s respect for their dear brother N oble, the M asul ipa

tam school was tobe regarded as an exceptional case. On receiptof this decision M r . N oble wrote resign ing his position as a M i ssion

ary of the Society, but was persuaded tow ithdraw the letter .

M rs . Sharkey, wif e of M r . N oble’s colleague, took charge of a

gir ls’boarding school which was in a flourishing condition unti l the

storm wave unhappi ly drown ed thi rty - threeout of the sixty five girlsthen on the rol ls . M r . Sharkey died m 1 866, and 1 8 buried besideM r . N oble at M asu lipatam .

A f ter the death of the Rev . H . W. Fox a fund was set on footin 1 850 tosupport an A ssistant M aster in M r . N oble’s school . M r .

Fox had been a pupilO

at Rugby under Dr . A rnold from 183 1 to 1 836,and when he revisited England in 1 846 he gave an address on

2 88 KISTN A msrsrcr M A N UA L ,

M ission work toRugby school which mad e such an impression that

afte r his death this fund was started and called the Rugby FoxM emorial Fund . A sermon is preached and a collecti on mad e in

the Chapel of Rugby school each year on A l l Saints’Day, and themon ey subscribed annual ly to this fund at Rugby and by old R ug

beians amounts to nearly £300 This supports an A ssistant Mas terat the school founded by M r . N oble, which since his death is known

as the N oble M emorial School or N oble College, M asul ipatam. I t

now occupies the site of the Col lector’s office which was ruined by

the storm wave of N ovember 1 864 , and is not on ly a strik ingarch itectural feature in M asul ipatam , but what is of much more

importance, a powerful factor in the moral elevation of this Distr ict .

It must be acknow ledged that the A ngli can M i ssionar ies in

M asul ipatam are not l ik e M issionaries one has met in other Districts ,school - masters first and Mi ssionaries afterwards . They appear toengage in scholastic work only as the best means of intercoursewith educated natives and fr om time totime their labour is rewarded by isolated conversions, while the influence they are enabled toexert over successive generations of the upper classes in thisDistrict must dogood . The presen t H ead M aster , the Rev . E . N oel

H odges, M A , has under h is charge three schools w ith 400 boys,including two sons of the N avab of M asul ipatam and 70 otherM uhammadan boys .

It had long been M r . N oble’s desire to open schools for caste

girl s, but thi s was not done in his day . It was in 1 869 that thefirst caste gir ls

’school wasopened an d af terwards others, and in 1 878

was begun the work known as the Zenhna M ission . This is underthe supervi sion of four E uropean ladies whocame toIndia todevotethemselves to this special duty and they have three assistan ts andthree Bible - women , making ten in al l . A t present they supervisefive schools f or caste gir ls, wi th 2 1 8 pupils, and one school forM uhammadan girls, w ith 60 pupils. Besides these gir ls there are

1 45 caste women taught regularly in their homes, and in al l 6 2 housesin the town are Open to the v isits of these lad ies. Two Sudrawomen have embraced Chri stian ity .

In addition tothis mention mustbe made of a M uhammadan girls’

school hithertomanaged by the wife of the Rev . M r . Ratnam with

30 girls on the rolls, of three other caste girls’school s under M rs.

Peel with about 180 girls, and of a training school under M rs. Pad

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2 90 KI STN A msrmcr M AN UAL ,

Thus in the Kistna Di stri ct are more than ten thousand RomanCathol ics , five thousand L utherans and twothousand six hundred

members of the Church of E ngland . In addi tion

to these numbers there are the converts madeby the American Baptist M issionar ies, whose station i s at Ongolein the N el lore District . The Bapti sts have been at work in thispart of the country since the year 1 866 and have enrol led an

aston ishing number of converts, pr incipal ly from among the

“M aidiga”or leather - working class, whoare very low in the social

scale . The Rev . J . E . Clough of Ongole informs me that w ithin theKistna District hi s M ission has baptised communicants and,as chi ldren are not baptised in this sect, these figures may representnearly followers , a wonderful result tobe shown by a M issionstarted on ly 1 6 years ago.

American BaptistM ission .

But it must in truth be said that the statistics published by theBaptist M ission havemet w ith cri tici sm. A t the great Conf erence ofProtestan t M issionaries held at Bangalore in 1 879, it was remarkedthat after the fam ine the Ongole M ission baptised at the rate of a

hundred each day and the other M issionaries asked how it was

possible that ten thousand person s,baptised w ithin a periodof three

months, cou ld be properly instructed . The re may be some foundation f or these criticisms of the workof the Baptist M ission made byother Protestant M issionaries, but probably the same might havebeen said of any M ission when a popular movemen t took place infavour of Chri stian ity . I f any other M ission found itself in the same

position , con f ron ted by ten thousand heathen desirous of receivi ng

baptism,the same di fficulty of instruction would at once ari se and

that M ission would probab ly doas the Bapti sts have done, bapti sefirst and instruct afterwards . For it must be admitted that theBaptist M issionaries are making great ef f orts tohave schools e verywhere for their people, so much sothat there are loud complaintsfrom employers of labour that the converts goto school in stead ofworking as heretofore .

There is a point in connection with these M issions which is not

general ly known to E uropeans and may be mentioned here . A

convert from the H indu rel igion toChristian ity, who, because of hisconversion , is abandoned by h is w ife or her husband, is enabled,under A ct XI I of 1 866, to obtain a d ivorce in the District Courtfrom the H indu partner and may then marry again . This has been

numerous . 2 91

d one by some of M r . N oble’s converts who were abandoned bytheir Brahman wives . The privil ege thus conferred upon convertsby A ct XII of 1866 is very simi lar to what the Roman CatholicM i ssionar ies call the Paul ine Dispensation,

”an exception ,

founded on I Corinthians vi i,1 2 - 1 5, to the ordinary rule that

matrimony is indissoluble .

A nother matter in connection w ith marriages that may here benoted is that the Decrees of the Council of Trent have been publ ishedthroughout the H aidarabad Vicariate and also in the town of Guntur,but not in the outlying v i llages of the Guntur District, such as

M l’i tnfir , Firangipuram and Patiband la.

Since the above account of the Rel igions.

of the Kistna Districtwas written the results have been publ ished of the Cen sus taken in1 881 , from which it appears that more than two per cent . of the

population are Christians and more than five per cent . M uham

madans .

H indusM uhammadansChristiansJains

Not stated

1 ,

The M uhammadans are divided as follows

Sunn isShiasParesis

N ot stated

The Chr istians are divided as followsBaptistsChurch of E nglandCongregationali stsDissenters

Protestants

2 92 KISTNA DISTRICT MAN UAL ,

Roman CatholicsSyrians

Others

These figures agree f airly wi th the M ission statistics quoted aboveas regards the total , but of course it is impossible to say whi chM ission ought toclaim the under N ot stated” and Pro

testant .” The fol lowing figures show the need f or education ofthese converts

Under Instruction .

Christian Males . Can read and writeIl literateU nder Instruction

Christian Females . Can read and wr iteIl li terate

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2 94 KISTN A msrmcr MANUAL ,

M uhammad Taki Kha'i n had twosons, H usain A li Khan , whodiedchi ldless, and H asan A li Khan , whose name is soconspicuous in

our early records .

H asan A li Khfln entered the service of the N izam , and after di stinguish ing himself in the province of A urangabad became the

Subahdi r of the N orthern Circars . H is career is matter of hi story ,but it may be mentioned that high praise as a General and adm inis

trator is awarded h im in the Persian history wr itten by M i r A lam ,

the grand- father of Sir Salar Jang.

It was H asan A l i Khan whofirst suggested to the M adras Government the idea of taking the Konda-pal le and E llore Circars fromN izam A l i Khan and he fought by the side of the E ngl ish troops at

Rajahmundry and elsewhere . In the arrangements necessary whenthe Circars were taken over he was the r ight hand of the Company’e officers, and he himself adm ini stered the three provinces ofKondapalle, E l lore and Rajahmundry for three years w ith all the

pomp of a Viceroy.

But when the M adras Government found themselves able to dis

pense with the assistance of H asan A l i Khan he was thrown aside,almost with contemptuous indi f f erence. U pon the shal low excuse

that these Circars were taken under cover of the Imperial gran ts ofthe Emperor and not under any influence that H asan A li Khan hadat H aidarabad he was told todis lfi nd h is troops , to descend f rom hispowerful position and to content himself w ith the l if e- rentof a JagirH e died in 1 771 and the Jagir was at once resumed, an allowance ofone lakh of rupees ann ual ly being gran ted for the maintenance ofhis fami ly .

This f amily was very numerous . H asan A l i Khéu had five sons

and twodaughters, a mother - in - law, two sister’s sons, a brother’s

widow, two brothers - in - law, a son - in - law and a hereditary family

schoolmaster . A l l these shared in the maintenance al lowance and

their various descendants enjoy shares to this day . The pensions

have been divided and subdivided, sometimes by Government, sometimes by the head of a branch of the fami ly . Sir Thomas M unrorecorded a M inute on the subject which is printed at page 2 85,Vol . II . of Sir A . J. A rbuthnot’s book, and ful l information on thesubject wi l l be found in Board’s Proceedings No. dated March1 5th , 1876 .

The eldest son of H asan A li Khan was SubanBaksh al ias Rustum

m s N AVABS or MA sUL I PArA M . 2 95

Jah . H e left twosons but the elder , Qutb ud Daulah, was passedover because of his mi sconduct and the younger son , Inti zam ud

Daulah , was recognised as head of the fam ily. On h is death hiseldes t son , N izam ud Danlah , was recognised as head of the family

,

but the Court of Directors reduced h is pension to Rs. per

E . M . C . No. 62 5mensem and took from him the title of N avéb of

dated80th M ay 1 854. M asulipatam

In official correspondence thi s order must of course be obeyed andit is obeyed by inserting E x.

” bef ore the title of Navcib of M asul i

patam, but in social practice N izam ud Beulah , the great grandsonof the H asan A li Khan whosobefr iended the E ngl ish, is known bynoother designation than the N avab of M asul ipatam .

There is intercourse between the three branches of this nobleMuhammadan fami ly . The mother of the present N avéb of Cambayis the niece of the present N avab of M asul ipatam, and the late N avabof Banganapal le, Ghul am A l i Khan , C . S . I . , gave h is daughter inmarriage to the present N avéb of M asulipatam .

2 .— TH E N UZVIDU ZEM IN DA RS .

The most prom inent, and perhaps the oldest fami ly among the

territorial landlords of the Kistna District is the fami ly of theZemindars of N fizvidu, whose r ise by the ir fighting qual ities introublous times and fal l before E nglish law courts is not un l ike thehistory of some of the H ighland fam il ies, extending thei r influenceamidst neighbours as warl ike as themselves, only at length to

succumb toE d inburgh lawyers .

The first member of this fami ly of whom we have any mention isMéka Basavanna, a sold ier of fortune whocame from the south and

establ ished himself on the left bank of the Kistna in the early partof the sixteenth century . A t that period the Gol lapalle parganamust have been a debateable land, a battle field for the armies of the

Orissa Rajas , of Kr ishna Raye the famous king of Vi jayanagar , andof the redoubtable Sulti n Qul i Qutb Shah of Golconda . M éka

Basavanna is said tohave bui lt a smal l fort near Gol lapal le, but itmust have been in significant as he was not crushed by h is so

powerful neighbours . H e was succeeded by his son Timmanna,hi s

grandson Basavanna, and his great grandson Konappa, whose descendants have ever since continued the line . Konappa had foursons

, of whom the eldest died before him . The second son, Ven

katédri, in 1 652 rented five or six v i llages of the Gollapal le pargana.

2 96 KI STN A msrmcr M AN UA L,

H is son A ppanna, usual ly cal led Vijaya or Victorious, greatlyadvanced the fortunes of the fami ly . I n 1 667 he received from the

King of Golconda the titles of Tahavir,Vazulalat and Dastugaha,

along w ith the priv i lege of beating a kettle - drum and of using a

palanquin wi th a fr inge . H e also received the titles of Raja,Bahadur and A ppa Rao, which last title has since been somuchused by the fami ly that in the ear ly records the N fizvidu Zemi ndaris seldom designated by any other name than A ppa Rao.

It was th is R i ja Vi j aya Bahadur A ppa Rao who bui lt the fortat N fizvi du . The legend says that one day as he was r iding wi thh i s fol lowerson a hunting expedition they came to a field of gingel lyoi l - seed (sesamum indicum ) in which a goat was making a mostval iant defence against the attacks of a wol f . H ere is a place of

good omen where the feeble goat* successful ly resists the migh tywolf said the Chief, and on that Spot he erected h is fort, when cecomes the name N li zv idu, from mi e n chetla. vidu, the place of theoi l seed plants .

”

Vi jaya was succeeded by h is on ly son Venkataidri , whoren tedthree parganas, and was succeeded by h is twosons

, N arasimha an d

Sobhanadr i, in whose days the prosperity of the fam ily was at i ts

height. The Emperor A urangzib was now dead and the weak

governmen tof the Emperor’s l ieutenan ts at H aidarabad was unable

tocontrol distant vesse ls . The elder brother N arasimha rece ived

the title of Tin hazar mansabdar , which denotes that he held h isestates on the feudal tenure of leading three thousand men tothestandard of his suzerain . H is reputation as a w ise and char itableruler stood high among the H indus, and there is a poem dedicatedtohim named Indumati Paryanam. In the days of the youngerbrother Sobhanadri , whoassumed the title of Zemindar , the estatesincluded noless than eighteen parganas , as follows

I n E l lore Ci rcar . I n Kondap a l le Ci rcar . 1 2 Gudivzida.

l Gondugol lu . 6 lVeyy ii r .1 3 Kal idindi .

2 Pentaphdu . 7 M ed li r .1 4 Vinnakota .

3 N idadavél . 8 N unnastalam .1 5 Bh ittarzal le Divi .

4 Baharzal le . 9 Chatrayi .1 6 Réyagud i .

5 H avél i of E l lore . 1 0 Vijarayi . 1 7 Kudikonda .

1 1 Gol lapal le .1 8 Kappalavayi .

M éka, the f am ily name of these Zem indars. in Te lugu means a goat.

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2 98 KISTN A DISTRICT M AN UA L ,

vi sit to H aidarabad and obtained in their own names a sanad f or

the whole of the N i’

i zvidu estate s. A rmed wi th thi s they retur n edtoN li zv idu and Jaganadha A ppa Rao, alarmed by this sign of th e i rinfluence at court, of f ered them the whole Charmahal estate i f th eywould get the sanad cancel led . A second time they trusted to h is

wor d and they had the sanad cancel led, but nosooner was A p pa

Rao assured of thi s than he broke hi s promise a second tim e and

gave them noth ing. By this time the French had establi shed th em

selves at M asulipatam and exerted much influence in the pol i tics ofthe Deccan . They already had built a fort in Divi for which th eypaid tothe Zem indar a quit- rent of three pagodas . Tothe Fren ch ,

therefore, the Kamadana claimants applied for redress and the commandant attempted topersuade A ppa Raoto come to terms w i t hthem . A s he would not heed th e French a battle took place an dJaganadha was carri ed prisoner into the Deccan . H e di ed in th e

camp of M . de Bussi before Kulburga in 1 756 .

The French kept the estates under their own managemen t f orsome time, but meanwhi le the Kamadana men had foun danother Venkatadri of the N fizvidu fam i ly . This Venkatadri wasthe grandson of the uncle of the R i machandra whose skull was

placed on the bastion of E l lore and was the fifth in l ineal descen tfrom Bapanna, fourth son of Konappa . I n 1 759, or perhaps earlier,

the influence of H asan A li Khhn was exerted on behalf of this Venkatadri , f or in 1 759 he obtained A mi ldari sanads from the Fous t

and in 1 763 Zemindar i sanads for all the eighteen parganas fromthe Subahdar, N izam A l i Khén . Venkatadri A ppa Rao, in gratitudetothe Kamadana courtiers, made over tothem the Charmahal estateswhich they afterwards held as a separate Zemindari .

The sanads of N izam A l i Khan were in the name of Venkatadr i

alone, but he al lowed his brother N arasimha to take a part in the

management and in 1 765 the names of both brothers appear in the

agreement with General Cai llaud at E l lore . In 1 766 the Konda

pal le and E l lore Circars were ceded by the N'

i z i m to the E ast IndiaCompany, and in arrangi ng the af f airs of thi s Zemindari the Chiefin Counci l at M asul ipatam appears tohave dealt

'

with both brothers.In 1 771 Venkatadri di ed and his brother N arasimha Rao assumedsole charge of the estates .

We now come to a page in the history of N ui svidu which it is notpleasant to recall . The country was in an unsettled state . N are

simha A ppa Raowas not di stinguished by careful management of

TH E nuzvmu zmnmnaas . 2 99

m on ey matters and year after year he fel l intoarrear wi th the landtax or tribute due to the M adras Government . In 1 773 a mi l i taryf or ce was sent from M asul ipatam to take possession of the estates

an d the hapless Zemindar borrowed money from the Company’s

ofi c i als at M asul ipatam and sofor the time met the Company’s dem an ds again st h im . In 1 775 M r . Whitehi l l was Chief in Counci l atM as u l ipatam,

the M r . Whi tehil l against whom a Bil l of Pains andP en alties was introduced in Par l iamen t in 1 783 . H e lent money toA p p a Rao and sodid M r . H odges , M ember of Counci l, who also

b rought up the claimsof the other officers at Masul ipatam against theZ em indar . Thusmatters progressed f or three years when A ppa Raoun d ertook a journey toM adras and laid hi s case before Government .Th e Governor was Sir Thomas Rumbold and the Sen ior M ember ofCounci l at M adras was now M r .Whi tehil l . A ppa Raogot noredressan d , return ing toN fizvidu, showed signs of defying the Company

’s

of f icers . M ajor Casamajor was sent toNlizvidu and the Zemindarw as induced to come toM asul ipatam where M r . H odges obtainedf rom h im a bond for the sum total of the debts which M r. H odgeshad acquired . In 1 781 , Sir Thomas Rumbold and M r . Whitehil lhaving both been dism issed, M r . A , Sad leir, the M ember of Councilin charge at M adras , sent toLondon A ppa Rao’s petition and the

Court of Directors ordered a strict enquiry . The new Governor,

L ord M acartney,received very unfavourably M r . H odges

’traussetions with the Zemindar, but al l this was toolate for A ppa Rao, whohad lost al l faith in petition ing and in 1 783 acted as many of h isan cestors had done before him , col lecting an armed force and placingh is fort in a state of defence . M ajor Towns was sen t from M asul i

p atam w ith a detachment which was not strong enough tomake wayagainst A ppa Rao

’s m i li tia, sohe was reinforced by M ajor L asage

whotook the fort, while a body of 350 peons, under a Velama leadernamed Chal ik i n i Venkayya, coming tothe Zemind=i r

’s help, was de

f eated by M ajor Towns, the leader being slain . The Zemindar himse l f escaped from the fort and crossed the N izam’s frontier, whencehe continued toravage the N fizv idu coun try by frequent incursions .

When negotiations were opened wi th the N izam’s Government for

hi s extradition , A ppa Rao appeared before M r . Dan iel at Rajahmundryand of f ered topay h is arrears if h is rebell ionwas condonedandh is estates were restored . M r . Daniel accepted the of f er, and uponpaymen t of the first in stalment placed h im in possession of the es

tates . The second instalment, however, was not paid and NarasimhaA ppa Raotreated all summon s with contempt

, soa detachment was

300 xi s'rN A DI STRICT M A N U A L ,

sent toN fizv idu under Captain Montgomer ie, who took the f or t

after a stubborn resistance of 48 hours, losing in the attack th ree

ofli cers and 80 sepoys . The Zemindar made hi s escape from th e

fort in di sguise . The ramparts were level led wi th the ground .

The Government of M adras in N ovember I7S4 proclaimed th at

Réja N arasimha A ppa Rao was removed from the Zemindari a n d

that hi s eldest son Raja Venkata N arasimha A ppa Rao was recog

n ized as Zemindar in hi s place . The father , however, from h is

refuge in the jungles near Bhadrachel lam made raids into the

estates, burning vi llages, plundering treasure and kil l ing and mu ti

lating any whoresisted . A t length the Company’s oflicers, wear ied

by these disturbances, came toa compromise wi th N arasimha whoin 1 785 was perm itted toreside at Nfizv idu wi th hi s son .

This arrangement did not work wel l . The son , Venkata Narasimha, was a weak youth whose influence was powerless topreven th is father from interfering. Final ly N arasimha was brought toM asulipatam , but he came attended by a sturdy band of fol lower sand declared that he would meet death sooner than imprisonmen t .

Captain Campbel l , however , took an opportun ity to arrest the oldman when hi s fol lowers were al l absent in the bazaar . They tookthemselves back toN fizv idu and there increased the troubles of th eyoung Zem indar Venkata N arasimha . H is mother was PeddaVenkamma, but the old Zem indar had a second wif e named ChinnaVenkamma whohad borne h im a son , Ramachandra, and about thistime

,1 788, bore h im another son , N arasimha . M any of the

fol lowers of the old Chief were relatives of h is second wife, ChinnaVenkamma, and she headed the faction against the young Zem indarand h is mother . The disorder became sogreat that a m ili tary forcewas sent under Captain Oldham toput down the lawless hordes andVenkata N arasimha, thinking his life unsafe at Nfizvidu , came to

M asul ipatam . Orders were then issued that al l the relati ves ofChinna Venkamma who had been instrumen tal in fomenting thesedi sturbances must quit N fizvidu and L ieutenant H igginbotham was

despatched to see these orders obeyed . Resistance was of f ered toh im and he was obliged toattack the fort, several lives being lost.

In the fol lowing year, 1 789, the old Zemindar, N arasimha, wassummoned to M adras togive evidence in a charge of bribery againstM r . Floyer, formerly Chief in Council at M asul ipatam , and thissummons was regarded by h is adherents in the Zemindari as a

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3 02 KISTN A DISTRICT M AN UA L,

h is object . H e wished toweary the Government in togiving h imhalf of the Zemindari under an al leged wi l l left by hi s father, an dwhen he found that this proposal would not be favourably received ,

he set out again from Nuzv idu f or Bhadrachel lam . H e wa s

pursued by Colonel Price who overtook the party and ki ll edseveral . Ramachandra’s two chief advi sers were captured and h e

himself only escaped by leaping from the palanquin and run ni ng

f or four m i les to the jungles where he eluded further pursui t. O n

arrival at Bhadrachel lam he found himsel f wi thout f riends an d

resources and nolonger broke the peace of Nuzvidu .

M eanwhile the famine of 1 792 an d 1 793 made it di f f icul t to stav eofl any longer the financial collapse of the Nuzvidu Zemindar i ,under the lax management of Venkata Narasimha A ppa Raoand th e

lax superv ision of Mr . Sadleir , Chief in Council at M asul ipatam .

There were petitions and coun ter - petitions , accusations and recrim inations before the Governmen t of M adras and the Committees ofinvestigation, which ended in the appoin tment on 2 2 nd July 1 793 ofM r . Robert Gardiner as Collector of N uzvidu .

'

H e received chargeof al l the records and of the person of the Zemindar who was

detained at Masul ipatam . I n N ovember 1 793 M r . Gardiner was

succeeded by M r . Branfil l and the Zemindar was released fromcustody, his brother Rama chandra receiving a safe conduct and a

pardon in consideration of hi s extreme youth .

During the years fol lowing, wh i le the estates were under Government management and the brothers were l iving on an al lowance,

R i machandra did not cease to urge his claims toa share in the

Zemindari and he induced his elder brother to execute an agreement

todi vide the estates. I n 1 800, when Government determined torestore the Zemindari , the Collectors who were asked for theirOpin ions di d not attach much weight tothe wil l of the father or theagreement executed by the brothers,

‘

but M r . Branfil l said plainlythat the peace of the

‘

country requi red that R i machandra shouldei ther receive a share in the Zemindari or be placed in confin ement

wh i le M r. Read said that as a measure of prudence the Zemindi ri

should be di vided . This v iew was taken by Government and in

December 1802 sanads were issued to the eldest brother VenkataN arasimha Raofor the N idadavol parganas in the Godavari Di stri ct,and tothe second son Ramachandra, for the six parganas of Weyytir,

M edur, N unastalem, Chatrayi, Vijayarayi and Gol lapal le, whichformed a third portion of the estates. The youngest brother

TH E N UZVIDU ZEM INDA RS . 303

N arasimha was yet a minor and received nothing. A ll arrears of

p eshcush due to Government were rel inqui shed so that the twoZemindars had a clear balance sheet when they were placed in

p ossession of the estates in 1 803 . Ramachandra, after h is stormy

youth, proved tobe a good landlord , managing the Nfizv idu Zem ind z

'

i ri well and keeping upon good terms with the authori ties at

M asul ipatam .

The youngest brother Narasimha l ived f or some time wi th hisbrother Ramachandra on amicable terms, but in February 1 805 theyquarrelled and N arasimha filed a sui t in the Zi l lah Court of Masuli

patam claim ing half of the N uzvi du estates and half the otherproperty of his brother . In January 1 809 the Court rejected h isclaim , but awarded him main tenance . Ramachandra appealed to theProvincial Court, whoreduced th e amount of maintenance, whereup on Ramachandra, stil l dissatisfied, appealed in 1 81 1 tothe SadrCour t and in 1 81 5 that Court rejected N arasimha’s claim even to

m ain tenance upon the ground that N arasimha ought to have filedh is suit not on ly against h is uterine brother R

amachandra but alsoagainst h is half brother Venkata N arasimha . A ccordingly, N arasimha began again , fil ing a suit in 1 81 6 against both brothers,claiming one

- third of their estates . I n 1 81 7 the Provincial Courtdecided in hi s favour ordering each brother togive h im one - thirdof their estates . This decision , if carried out, would have confusedmatters, for as Ramachandra had only one - third of the originalestates he would now have been left w i th on ly two- n inths whereasN arasimha would have three - n inths . H owever, in 1 81 9 the SadrCourt reversed the decree on the ground that the division of theZemindari in December 1 802 was an act of State with wh ich the

Courts could not interfere . Narasimha had no funds to prosecutean appeal to the Privy Council and, indeed, was now penn iless, sothrew him sel f on the compassion of the M adras Government The

Governor , Sir Thomas M unro, held strong Opin ions that th e lawcourts ought not to be perm itted todiv ide ancient Zem indaris, buthe sympathized w i th N arasimha in hi s ef f orts toobtain maintenance

,

h olding that Government themselves were to blame f or not havingin 1 802 defin itely settled something about N arasimha’s posi tion and

that Government coul d not look passively at the fate which bef elN arasimha in the Courts of L aw .

By this time the N fizvidu estates were under the managemen t ofthe Court of Wards , for Ramachandra had died on N ovember 2 0th

,

304 KISTN A DISTRICT MA N UA L ,

1 81 4, leavng an only son , Sobhanédri , aged five years . The eldes t

brother Venkata N arasimha was in too weak a state of heal th to

al low of an interv iew with Sir Thomas M unro, when the Governor

Wards . A s f ar as can begathered from the records, Sir Thomas M unro

then appears to have granted to the on ly surviving brother, Nara

simha, an al lowance of R s . 800 per mensem , i ntending that this b e

eventual ly recovered from the estates , but the M anagerof the Nuzvid u

this v iew and in a letter to Government, dated 2 9th September 1 82 8,

stated their opin ion that the estate of their Ward could not fair ly be

made respon sible for the pension of Narasimha.

U pon this Government determ ined to solve the di f f iculty by

l egi slation and (Sir T . M unrobeing dead) passed Regu lation IV of

1 82 9, empowering them to revoke the sanads of 1802 and to issu efresh sanads, giving N arasimha one

- third of the whole estates . Th e

Governor - General di d not approve of this course and ordered the

matter to be referred for the decision of the Court of Directors .

A ccordingly Regulation IV of 1 830 was passed suspending the operation of the previous Regulation . The Court of Directors said It

seems tous clear that Narasimha A ppa Rao had noWel l f oundedclaim toa portion of the Zemindari , but merely to maintenance,

”

and Regulation XII of 1 835 was thereupon passed annulli ng the twoformer Regulations . The allowance of R s . 800 per men sem was

continued to N arasimha, but upon h is death about thi s time it wasreduced toRs . 400 and continued to h is sons Simh i dri andVenkatédr i .M eanwhi le the twom inors had come of age : R i ja Sobhanadri A ppaRao took possession of Nuzv i du in 1 83 1 and R6ja N arayya A ppaRaoof N idadavol in 1 835 . In this year, 1 835, the Governor, SirFrederick A dam , took a tour through the coun try and persuaded thetwoyoung Zemindars to come to some terms with their relatives .

A fter tedious negotiations the brothers Simhadri and Venkatadriobtained in 1 840 from Governmen t the vi ll ages of Raicherla and

Sriramavaram,which had once formed portion of the old N uzvid

estates, and from the Zemindars of Nidadavol and Nuzvi du amoneyal lowance which was in 1 846 commuted for the mutahs of Tangel

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306 KISTN A ms'rmc'

r M AN UAL ,

2 nd N ovember 1 871 he commenced a suit against his five brothersto recover a sixth share of the Zemindari and the personal proper tyleft by his father . There was room for argument on h is behal f .

The estates had certainly been div ided, though unequal ly, in 1 802

and the claims of the third brother in 1 840 and 1 846 had been m et

by a small portion of the estates being permanently alienated to h isrepresentatives . M oreover, the late Raja Sobhanadri

,in h is anger

again st hi s eldest son , had in 1 866 declared h is intention of equa llydividing his estates among hi s six sons . Tothi s the Zemindar , th eeldest brother, repl ied that the div ision in 1802 was an act of poli cyby the rul ing power and did not al ter the rule of descent by p r i

mogen iture observed for somany generation s in their family . T h e

District Judge of Kistna, M r . J . C . H annyington , in A ugust 1 873 ,decided against plaintifi that the divi sion in 1 802 did not alter th eimpartible nature of this ancient Zem indari and this decisionwas, onappeal , upheld by the H igh Court consisting of Morgan C . J . an d

H olloway and Innes J. J . M eanwhi le of the other brothers , thr e efiled a suit in February 1 873 claiming each a sixth share, and i n

February 1 877 the Di strict Judge of Kistna, M r . H . J . Stok es ,decided against them upon grounds sim ilar tothose taken by M r .

H annyngton . The three plain ti ff s appealed to the H igh Court an dM organ C . J M uttusam i A iyar J . and Forbes J . upheld the decis ionof the District Court on 3 1 st January 1 879 . I n the meantime th e

fourth brother Raja Venkata N arasimha had continued his appea ltoH er M ajesty in Counci l . The appeal came on in N ovember 1879and the view which had been taken of the matter by the Madr asGovernmen t, twoDi strict Judges, and five Judges of the H igh Cou rtd id not commend itself tothe Privy Counci l , whoon December 1 3 th ,1 879, pronounced their decision that upon the division in 1 802 the

N uzv idu estates became a new Zem indari , not feudal in its tenure

or impartible in its nature, the succession towhi ch must be regulatedby the ordinary H indu law .

I n consequence of this decision each of the five survi ving sons of

Ré ja Sobhanadri became enti tled to one- sixth of the estates wi tharrears of mesne profits, which arrears the minor sons of their eldestbrother. could not possibly pay outof their sixth share . The D i strictJudge in 1 880 i ssued a precept tothe Col lector to divide the estate

and the Col lector , anx ious to avert the ruin of the three mi nors,endeavoured to persuade the successful litigant to agree to some

compromise . The irate uncle of the minors would l isten to no

r e s N UZVIDU s i N DA ss . 307

argument . I have been kept out of my rights solong, that nowI am determ ined to have a sixth part of every v il lage, of everyhouse, of every back- yard and of every tree l ” A nd of every

e l ephant ? asked the Col lector . If an elephant coul d be divided ,I should l exclaimed the impracticable Raja . To arrange a divis ion among claimants of this temper was a troublesome business,b ut it was accomplished by M r . Breeks A tkinson, whowas A ctingCol lector in 1 881 and remained in the District on that special dutyun ti l he had completed a compromise under whi ch the minors retainone - sixth of the estates an d a sum of money in hand . The re

mainder of the estates and of the money at credit of the minors wasd iv ih d among the five uncles, in accordance wi th the decision of

the Privy Counci l .

The three m inors have now come of age and propose to dividetheir sixth share .

3 .— TH E VA SIREDDI FA M ILY.

This family are Sudras of the Kamma subdivision and intermarrywi th th e Yarlagadda Zem indars of De

'

varakéta . For more than a

cen tury they occupied a very prominen t position in thi s District, buttheir extensive possession s have now almost en tirely passed intooth er hands and at presen t the only member of the fam i ly whoholdsland on Zemindfi-ri tenure is a represen tative of a junior branch,R aja Vasireddi Bhavani Muktésvara Prasadha N aidu of M uk tiala,

usual ly know n as the Chi ntalapati Vantu Zem indar .

The ancestor of this fami ly, vasireddi Virappa N aidu, in the year1 670 obtai ned from the King of Golconda a sanad appointing him

D esmukh of the pargana of N andi gama . H e left three sons who in1 686 divided N andigama into three portions and l ived separately,each in the fort which he had buil t, Ra

ghavayya at M agol lu ,Choudi ri Ramayya at Raghavapuram and Chendra Mouli at Chintalapadu

'

. Some accounts make Choudari Rémayya of Raghavapu

ram to be the eldest of the three brothers .

These three div isions descended to the ofisprings of the threebrothers and in thi s generation Vés ireddi Chinna Padmanabhudu,only son of Raghavayya of M agol lu , f ar outstr ipped his cousins inthe race for power , obtain ing the perganasof Pénuganchiprolu and

Bétavolu in the Kondapalle Circar . Popul ar legends say that thi s

Chinna Padmanabhudu when a young man was carried as hostageto Delhi and there languished forgotten, until one of the ladies of

308 n e A Di s-rater MAN UA L ,

the Zenana interceded f or h im with the E mperor. One account saysthat he sat in the courtyard combing hi s hair and that the Begumsaw him from a window and was struck wi th his man ly beau ty .

A nother account says that he had secreted on his person numerous

precious stones which he sewed into the embroidery of a jack etintended as a presen t for the ladies of the Zeni na and so obtain edtheir in tercession . The story continues that the Emperor promi sedtorelease him,

but i n releasing him gave h im, as a parting gif t, “unmanageable steed, the terror of the whole Court. Chinna Padmanabhudu mounted and disappeared, al l thinking that the rashyouth would forfeit his li fe, but next day he rode up to the palace,

having kept the horse at speed for twenty- four hours . H e d is

moun ted and as the grooms approached to take the trappings ofithe foam - flocked coarser it staggered and fell dead . The Emperor ,won over by this exhi bition of physical endurance, sen t Padmana

bhudu back to h is coun try wi th sanads for the three parganas .

In the year 1 71 0, when a di spute arose in the Kondav idu coun try

between the rival famil ies of M anfiru and Manika Rao, the Suba hdar of the Deccan bestowed upon the vasireddi fami ly author i tyover one- third of the Kondav idu Circar that there might be a

coun terpoise to the two di sputan ts . It is not clear which of th ecousins of thi s generation in the Vasireddi fami ly thus obtain eda footing on the Gun tur side of the river . One accoun t say s

it was the same Chinna Padmanabhudu of M agol lu, Pénuganchiprélu and Betavolu, and that he bui lt the Fort at Chintapal le on

the right bank of the river . A nother account says that the third ofthe Kondavidu Circar was given in 1 71 0 to the descendan ts of

Choudéri Ramayya of Raghavapuram. H e had six sons of whomon ly the eldest lef t issue, twosons named Chinna N arasanna an d

Chinna Ramal inganna. In M anchala vil lage near Chebrolu 1 8 a

grant of land by N arasanna in 1 72 5 . Ramalinganna marri ed a

daughter of Kodanda Rhmanna of Devarakéta, but di ed wi thouti ssue in 1 760, when the descendants of Vasireddi Choudéri R5.

mayya of Raghavapuram became extinct and their possessions passedtothe twoother branches of the f amily.

Chinna Padmanabhudu, the son of Réghavayya of Magdllu, hads ix sons, of whom the third son, N aganas , stands forward most prom inently, ei ther because his energetic character gave him the leadin these unsettled times or because he claimed to have been adoptedby the childless Remalinganna, whodied in l 760.

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3 1 0 xrs'rN A DISTRICT M AN UAL ,

She flung away the necklace and hastened toprepare .herself tobe

burned along w ith her husband’s corpse on the f uneral pile . Thi s

is the las t recorded instance of sati in the Kistna District . Tothis

day, in memory of the devotion of A chamma, the ladi es of the V4

sireddi f am ily never wear a necklace of gold beads. The widow who

thus sacrificed herself left a young son , Venkatadri , the f amous Raja

Vésireddi Venkatadri N aidu, sowell known in the early British t e

cords .

On the death of Jagayya, the elder brother, Rzimanna, tookChintapal le and kept all the territory in his own hands unti l 1 768,when he made over N andigama tothe youngest brother , Venkatadr i ,and himsel f remained at Chintapal le.

A bout the year 1 770 Remanna had the misfortune to incur the

di spleasure of Basslat Jang, whoat this date held Gun tur with a

formi dable French force . A n expedition set out from Guntur und e rthe command of a French cfi cer named Bon E nfant, and Chintapal l efor t was taken by storm,

Ramsaus flying across the river to N aud i

gama which was now included in the Company’s territory . Basal at

Jang’s vengeance di d not end here . Pedda Ramal inganna of Ch in

talapadu, the elder brother of the Viranna kill ed in 1 763 , had fi v e

sons, and the eldest of these five sons, Raja M ouli , was now in 1 7 7 1

invested by Basi lat Jang w ith the ti tle of Raja and made Zemi nd i rof all the Vesireddi terri tories subject to Guntur . H ow long th i s

access of fortune to the Ch intalapadu branch of the family lasteddoes not appear . On the death of Venkatadri at N andigama in

1 772 the eldest brother Rémanna claimed N andigama as of righ t,

al though the deceased Venkatédri had left a son Chendramoul i , age d

six years . The M adras Government adm itted the claim and mad e

over N andigama toRamann'

a on the condi tion that he main tain edh is brother’s children . Within the next five years Rhmm na mu st

have become reconcil ed wi th Basslat Jang, for in 1 777 we find h imonce more in hi s fort at Chi ntapall e and there giving refuge to th eyoungZemindar of M ail avaram , Surinén i Venkata Rama Rao, w ho

had fled from the E ngl ish . The M asulipatam Council retaliated byattaching N andigama whereupon Ramanna came toterms, giving upthe young Zem indar and becoming securi ty for hi s paying th e

arrears due on the M ai lavaram estates.

In 1 778vesire'

ddi Ramanna N aidu di ed and the whole of hi s vastinfluence passed not to hi s own son , N éganna al ias Papayya, but to

rns vA srarnm ru n s . 3 1 1

h i s n ephew, Venkatadr i, son of Jagayya, the wel l known Venkat i dri N aidu . The first step of this nephew, Venkati dri , was to

im p ri son in the fort at Chintapal le hi s uncle’s sons, N aganna a l ias

Papayya and Chendramoul i . H is great resources and energeticcharacter extended h is influence on every side and

,after the death

of Basalat Jang, when the on ly check upon him was the distan tN izam at Secunderab i d , he became toopowerful for a subject . In

1 785 the M asul ipatam Council suggested to the Madras Governmen tthat it would be well i f h is immense power were divided with 1 7581

reddi Lakshmipati , the second brother of the RajaMoul i whom Basalat Jang had temporarily elevated in 1 771 . Some news of thissuggestion reached Venkatadri and he promptly crossed the river

into the Kondapal le Circar and razed to the ground the fort at

M uktiala where L akshm ipati abode . This levying war w ithinthe Company’s territory” enraged the M asu l ipatam Counci l , butn othing was done tocurb the lawless Venkatadri N aidu .

I n 1 788, when the Kondavidu Circar also passed intothe handsof the Company

, as Venkatadr i N aidu was toopowerful to be putdown it was proposed touti l ize his energy by giving him the management of the estates of the twoGunda Raos,

”the Zemindaris of

Vinukonda and Bellamkonda . But after some time the Company’s

officers found themselves strong enough to put pressure upon Venk atédr i N aidu and in 1 794 he was compel led to release h is two

cousins from confinemen t and tomake them an allowance for mainteance . A battal ion of Company’s sepoys was stationed in the fortat Chin tapalle and Venkatadri N aidu himself was for a time placedunder a guard at Guntur . The proud Chief was obl iged to recognize

the fact that he could nolonger use force again st the power of the

E ast India Company, but what weapons were stil l left to him he did

use and by intrigue and careful management con tinued to extendhis power f or twen ty yearsmore . H e never return ed toChintapal le

after it had been desecrated by Company’s sepoys and fixed hi s

residence at A mravati , lower down the river bank , where, at a great

cost, he laid out gardens, restored temples, and erected a palace, the

roof of which, covered wi th sheets of burnished copper, was the ad

miration of the District . It was in digging toobtain stone for these

Buddhist ruins at Amravati , first described by Colonel Colin M ac

kenzi e.

The last instance of lawless violence on the part of Venkatadri

3 1 2 xre A ms'rmcr MAN UAL,

N aidu was in 1 798when he turned out of Ch intalapédu, Vi siredd iChendramouli, the fourth son of Pedda B‘mal inganna and, so,

younger brother of Raja Moul i , made Zem indar in 1 771 , and of

L akshmipati, driven out by Venkatadri N aidu in 1 785 . I n 1 798

the time f or such outrages was past . The Col lector of Masul ipataminterfered and in 1 801 Venkatadri N aidu was compelled to give tothis distant relative, Chendramoul i , the Jagir of Muktiala, on the

left bank of the river. When C ivi l Courts were established a sui twas filed against Venkatadri N aidu for the recovery of the Chin talapadu estates and a decree was passed in favour of Chendramoul i ’son ly son , Chinna Venkatadri, whothus held both M uk tizi la and

Chintalapadu. H e left one son Raja Vasireddi Bhavflni M uktésvara

Prasadha N aidu, the present Zemindar of the Chi ntalap<i ti Vantu,the l ineal descendant in the seventh generation from Chendramoul i ,third son of the original ancestor , Vi sireddi Virappa N aidu .

Toreturn to Raja Venkatédr i N aidu . In 1802 when the Permanent settlement was made, he had influence sufficient over the Vi l lageCarnume to conceal the real value of the territory under his controland so obtained an unduly favourable settlement f rom the MadrasGovernment. H e thus derived a large income from hi s vi llages and ,

al though his expenditure was on a princely scale, he was able con

tinually toadd to h is territory. H e took the Vangipuram quarterof Repal le Zemindari in satisfaction of a debt due by the Man ila; Raof ami ly . H e purchased Kol luru and N izhmpatam sold f or arrears

of revenue, and rented a great part of theVinukonda Zemindhri . On

the M asul ipatam side of the r iver he purchased Inuguduru, A kulamand, the six Islands, Kaldindi and part of the M edurghat and

Jamalvayi territory, along w ith other lands in the Ra jahmund ryDistri ct .

In paying the peshcush due on al l these lands he was always ve ry

punctual , soas toavoid giving any pretext toGovernment for interference . On one occasion before setting out upon a pilgrimage toBenares he paid the peshcush in advance and deposited with bank

ers two lakhs as a fun d to retire his draf ts f or travel ling

H e bui lt another residence at Chébrolu, whi ch he cal led Chattur .

mukhap iiram , and he builtor repaired the lofty gopuram at M angoF

lagiri. H is charities were lavish and one popular legend states thatthis was to remove a curse which had fallen upon him . It is saidthat during h is energetic days he had determ ined to get rid of a tr ibe

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3 1 4 xre A ms'rmc'r MAN UA L ,

adoption of the younger lad , RamanAdha Babu was inval id , whilePottlir i Kalidas stood by Ramanadha Babu in his claim f or the

Chebrolu portion which the late t a had destined f or him. A law

suit accordingly began between the twoyouths, the Collectors of

Guntur and M asul ipatam attached the greater part of the estatesf or arrears, and the downfall of the family was very rapi d. It isbarely credible, but SirW. E lliott states in h is report that Jagann itdhaBabu on hi s f ather’s death got possession of a hoard of 50 lakhs ofrupees

,half a mi l l ion ster l ing, and that in 1 818, on ly two years

afterwards, the copper sheets w ere stripped of f the roof of the palaceat A mrévati and were despatched toSabuavis A ntana Pan tu lu at

M asul ipatam to defray legal expenses . Where all the money went noone seemed to know . SirW. E ll iottmention s that a lakh and a halfwas remitted

,

to M adras tobribe pandits and purchase mantrams,

but even with expenditure such as that fifty lakhs ought tohavelasted longer .

In December 1 82 2,Sir Thomas M unro, Governor of M adras,

passed through Guntur and wrote in his M inute as fol lows

The two sons of the late Vasireddi , Zemindar of Chintapalle,both complained tome of the distress they snfier from the tem

porary resumption of their Zemindaries and of the heavy debtwhich is accumulating upon them by their lawsuit about theirfather’s property . They are both sons by adoption . The objectof the elder is toobtain the whole Zemin dhri on the groun d thatthe second adoption is i llegal that of the second is to retain the

share which he obtained during his father’s l ife . They are both

tired of the sui t. I recommended tothem to withdraw and tosettle the matter amicably. The younger is of course anxious todothi s . The elder likewi se expressed hi s w ill ingness, but his

native advisers are again st it and I imagine the sui t wi l l proceed.

”

The suit did proceed and with an increase of bitterness as is usual

in fami ly quarrels. On the 1 6th June 1 82 4 the Provincial Courtdecided against the younger brother who appealed to the SadrCourt at Madras . On February 2 8th , 182 5, the elder brother, Jagannadha Babu, di ed . The younger brother at once claimed tobe his

heir , but the Provincial Court on December 2 2 nd, 1 82 5, deci ded infavour of h is sen ior w idow , A chamma . From this decree Ramanadha

Babu appealed tothe Sadr Court sothat he had twoappeals pending . The junior widow,

Rangamma, now came forward and on the

TH E VA SI aunm FAM I LY. 3 1 5

6 th September 182 6 filed a sui t against Ramanadha Babu, A chammaand Pottfiri Kal idas , al leging that she and her late husband had inA pr il 181 9 adopted a boy named Chava L atchmipati , (her mother

’s

sister’a son), and that thi s adopted son was thus the heir tothe whole

estate of Rai ja Venkatadr i . Thi s sui t came on for hearing before theProvincial Court on May 1 1 th, 1 82 7, and was scornf ul ly dismi ssedw ith costs, the Court refusing even to hear the w itnesses produced toSpeak to the adoption of L atchmipati . The Court, by exam ini ng

w itnesses, would in factbe lending its authority toperjury”said the

Second Judge. We shoul d be wan ting in respect toourselves nay,more, we should wilf ul ly conn ive at perj ury , i f , w ith our knowledgeo f thecircumstances of the case, we were gravely to proceed to theexamination of witnesses, in proof of the impuden t and palpablefalsehoods alleged in the plain t

”said the Third Judge . Bangam

ma of course appealed and on October 2 2 nd, 1 82 9, the Sadr Courtordered the Provincial Court tohear the evidence . The best pointin f avour of the adoption was that Jagannfidha Bhbu had cal ledupon M r. Roberts, Col lector of M asulipatam , with the boy ChavaLatchmipati and had acknowledged h im as his adopted son and thatM r . Roberts had soreported to the Board of Revenue, but M r .

Russell , Col lector of M asu l ipatam , and M essrs . Oakes and Whi sh,Col lectors of Gun tur , knew nothi ng of the adoption . On the 5th of

July, 1 830, the Provincial Court gave judgment at very great lengthdeciding against the adoption of Latchmipati . Rangamma appealedand on the 1 4th of M arch 183 2 , the Sadr Court at Madras .pronounced one judgment f or the three pending appeals . The decision

was to the e f f ect that Chava Latchm ipati was not adopted by Jagan

nadh a Babu, that the second brother , Ramanadha Babu , was dulyadopted by Raja Venkatadri , and that as Jagannadha Babu and

Ramanadha Babu were undivided brothers , the w idows A chamma

and Rangamma were enti tled only tomain tenance from the date of

their husband’s death . Thi s decision gave to Ramanadha Babu

what was now left of the estate of Raja Venkatadri N aidu, but

arrears had accumulated and the awf u l famine of 1 83 2 had im

poverished the cultivators. The twowidows appealed tothe Kingin Counci l, but in the meantime M manltdha Babu was regarded as

the lawf ul Zemindar and was for a time placed in charge of theesta tes as Manager on behalf of Government . H is management wasnot successf ul , and in some respects was f raudulent, as he acceptedfor his own urse large sums when grantingleases on unduly lowrents . Sir E lliot in h is report says that he kept up an undue

3 1 6 KISTN A DISTRICT MA N UA L,

amount of pomp, but a penci l note on the margin in the handwritingof Mr. Goldingham says, H e had one velvet coat which he wore onall ceremonial occasions.

” H e was treated with the same measure

that was dealt out tothe other Guntui r Zemindars . In 1 842 he sur

rendered h is zemindari wi th a promise of a sufliConrt of D1 rectors

’

Despatch , 2 1 at cientmain tenance and in 1846 they were formally

E f fififihfi’éfi brought to sale and bought in by Government,

2 0th Feb . 1 846 . whi le in 1 849 the Cour t of Directors havingread Sir W. E l liott’s report decided that the

1 849 . Guntfir Zem indari s were permanently resumed

But meanwhile the appeal of the two widows came on for

hearing before the Privy Council . It was argued in Juneand July 1 846, and on the 2 9th February 1 848 the JudicialComm ittee pronounced their decision . It occupies 1 1 3 pages ofPar t I , Volume IV of .M oore

’s Privy Counci l appeals . They decided

that the adoption of the second brother , Ramanadha Babu, wasinval id and that he could not inheri t any of the ancestral property ofRaja Venkatadri N aidu

,which must al l pass to Jagannadha Babu,

but that the younger brother , Ramanadha Babu, was entitled to anyacquired property given him by Raja Venkatadri N aidu . The adoption of Chava L utchmi pati by Jagannadha Babu was held good,w ith the following remark, This Court is more accustomed totheexamination of ev idence, than the Ci vil Servants of the E ast IndiaCompany, whopreside in the N ative Courts, can be supposed to

be .

”A nd the cause was remi tted tothe Sadr Court at M adras to

give this decision e f f ect .

The suit resembled the famous Chancery suit in Bleak H ouse,for the estate of Raja Venkatadri N aidu had disappeared . The

grandson Latchmipati was now the legal heir and appl ied to Government to be put in possession of the Zemindari , but al l thatGovernment did was totransfer to him the allowance of Rs .

per men sem which the Court of Directors had granted toRamanadha

Babu, and to give the latter a compassionate al lowance of Rs . 300

per mensem . U pon this L atchmipati N aidu appl ied to the PrivyCounci l

,who on the 1 8th A ugust 1 852 again ordered the Sadr

Court togi ve ef f ect to the decision of February 2 9th , 1 848, but theM adras Government maintained that al l that there was to inhm'it

was the al lowance of Rs . 1 ,000 per mensem .

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3 18 11 1 e .1 DISTRICT M AN UA L,

w ithin of considerable architectural pretensions, and laid out gardens

and orchards round the town . On his death his terri tory was

div ided between twoZemindars of the same name, di stingui shed as

Pedda Venkata Gunda Rao and Chinna Venkata Gunda Rao,

of whom one took the fortress of Vinukonda and the other Bellamkonda . In 1 803 one of. these resigned his share in favour of theother, soal l the Zemindari was again uni ted . Raja M alrazu Venkata

Gunda Raopurchased the Bachur portion of the Repal le Zemindari

and bid against Vasiredd i Venkatédri N aidu at the sale of other

estates . H e was wel l known as a patron of li terature and of all

rel igions with which he came in con tact but towards the close of his

l i f e he appears to have regarded the management of his estates as aburden and several times ofiered togive them up to Govern ment inreturn for a pension equal toone- fif th of the gross rental .

H e had purchased the Zem indari of Sayidapuram in the Ri ptir

Taluq of the N ellore District when it was sold for arrears and he

gave h is on ly daughter, L atchm i N arasayya, in marri age to Japal leM al ls Rao, the brother of the last Zemindar of Sayidapuram . In

1 81 8M alrazu Venkata Gouda Raodied . On his death - bed he made

a wi ll in presence of the Col lector, M r . Oakes, giving over his Zemindari to Government . In the same w ill he left Pagodas to

Kanchanapal le Srin ivasa Rao, the Col lector’sconfidential cash - keeper

Because he perm itted this legacy and because he had on a previousoccasion borrowed money from the Zem indar , M r . Oakes was

removed from his appointmen t. A M inute on this subject is printedon pp . 2 68- 2 71 , Vol . II, of A rbuthnot

’s M unro .

On the Zemindar’s death the Col lector took charge of h is estatesin thi s District but the son - in - law

, Japal le M al la Rao,took possession

of Sayi dapuram . A lawsuit arose between this son - ia - law and

the Zem indar’s widow L ak shmamma, which las ted f or eight years.

A f ter Jupall e M al ls Raodi ed, the lawsuit was kept up by hi s widowand h is twodaughters, and when h is widow died there appeared onthe scene one Jupalle Venkata RamaRao, whonot on ly alleged thathe had been adopted by Jupalle M al ls Rao’s widow but also marriedboth Jupal le M alla Rao’s daughters . This curious consoli dation ofclaims di d not much avail Japalle Venkata Réma Rao, for in June1 82 6 the Sadr Court decided in favour of M alrazu L akshmamma, the

wi dow of M alrazu Venkata Gunda Rao.

A ll the estates including Sayidapuram were handed over to her

rs s MA LsA ZU rA M 1 LY . 3 1 9

and she adopted a son named Venkata N arasimha Rao. In 1 83 2

the Zemindari was attached for arrears . I n 1839 an al lowance ofRupees per mensem was granted to the Zemindar . In 1 841

Sayidapuram and in 1 846 the Gun ti’1 r District Zemindari was soldand purchased f or Government .

M alrazu Venkata N aras imha Rao lef t a son Venkata Gunda Raowhose widow adopted a son , Venkata N arasimha Rao, yet a minoran d unmarr ied . H e resides in the fort at N arsaravupet and is the

hereditary custodian of the neighbouring shrine of Kotappa Konda .

5 .— TH E M A N IKA R A O FAM I LY.

This fami ly, long known as the Zemindars of Repal le , claim to

have been establ ished in this D istrict f or twel ve generations sincethe days of Krishna Rays . They say that under the Kings ofGolconda they were Mannavars and alsoDesmukhs but thei r oldestdocuments are two Firman s dated A .D . 1 690 from Rohallah KhanandBhasharatKhan , A urangzib

’s l ieutenants at H aidarabad, appoint

ing M an ika RaoRama Raotobe M annavar of the whole M urtazanagar

Circar and Desmukh of the same w ith the exception of the Vinnkonda pargana. Thi s claim is con tested by the Vasireddi fami lywho assert that they were Mannavars of the whole M urtazanagar

Circar and that two- thirds were taken from them because they fel lintoarrear wi th the N izam’s demand whereas the Man ika Raofami lycontend, and w ith probabil ity, the Vasi reddi fam ily di d not leave

N andigama and cross the river before 1 71 0 . I n that year sofiercea quarrel arose between the M anuru and Manika Rao fam ilies thatthe Subahdar of the Deccan was compel led tonotice i t. The N svabof A rcot, on h is way to that Government, passed through thisDistrict,attacked and took Kondavidu from the M an ika RaoZemindar, and ,having thus restored order , gave one - third of the M urtazanagar

Circar to the Vasireddi Zemindar, and went on h is way to A rcot .

Five years before this, in 1 705, the Manika Rao Zemindarhad bui lt the Fort at Repal le, soi t was probably necessary to curbthe power of thi s fami ly. A fter this in terference by the M uham

madans the power of the Vasireddi fam i ly steadi ly increased and thepower of the Man ika Raosteadily decreased, indeed when the GunturCi rcar passed into the hands of the Company and Vasireddi Ven

katadr i N aidu was powerf ul almost beyond control the Repal leZemindar was feeble in comparison .

3 2 0 xre A DISTRICT MAN UA L,

I n 1 792 Repalle and Bachur were divided inth separate Zemindaries . In 1 795 the'Rach l

'

Ir Zem indsr died and was succeeded byMan i kaRaoSi tanna Rao whodied w ithout i ssue on the 2 0th July1 799 . A w i l l was produced nam ing as hi s heir Man ika RaoSi tayya,youngest son of Jsugava Raouncle of deceased, but after legal p roceedIngs w ith much perjury and i ntrigue Government recogni sedas heir Bh i va N arziyana Rao, Zem ind

ar of Repal le

,whothus got all

the estates again intoh is own hands . 1 80 1 , both estates were at

teched for arrears and afterwards the Rach ti r portion was broughttosale and was purchased by the Malrei zu fami ly.

Man ika RaoBh i va N arayana Raoheld the Répal le Zem indar i formore than twenty years longer and bore a good reputation as an in

du lgent landlord . H e died in 182 4 leaving a widow A chamma and

a brother Si tanna Raowhodi sputed about the succession . Govern

ment placed the w idow in possession and referred the brother to theC ivi l Court . I n 1 82 7 the widow died and the brother succeeded .

H e died in 1 82 8leavi ng a minor son , Janganna Rao, and the Zemindar i was taken under the Court of Wards until the minor attained hismajority

‘

in 1 835 . A rrears accumulated and the Zemindari wasattached and bought in by Government in 1 846 . Th e Zemindar’sdescendant resides at Repalle in the ruined fort receiving an

al lowance f rom Government .

6.— TH E M A N U R I FA M ILY .

This fam ily, until lately Zem indars of Sattenapal le and Chi lakal hr

pad, are Brahm ans . They have an Imper ial grant dated 1 707, thelast year of A urangz ib

’s reign , appoin ting them Zemindars and

Serish tadai rs of M urtazanagar C ircar . They make use of th e titleM uzundér in addition totheir fami ly name .

The representative of this fam ily at the time when the Companytook possession of the Distr ict was M anuri Kondalrao. H i s estateswere in 1 799 equal ly divided between hi s twograndsons, the elder

taking Sattenapal le and the younger, Chi lakalfirpAdu which includedthe ancient fortress of Kondav idu . The peshcush fixed on each

estate at the permanent settlemen t was the same Rupees

The Sattenpalle Zemindar was a weak man and gave over themanagement of the estates toh is son A ppaj i Raowhodied in 181 0.

The Zemindar then asked that his estates might be taken under the

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3 2 2 men u ms'rmc'r m in t ,

7— TH E VE LLA N KI FA M ILY.

The Vel lauki family, who sti l l retain some territory in the northof the District and have some claims over vil lages w ithin the N izam

’s

Dom inions, trace their pedigree back to R i ja Vellank i M alla Rao,

whohad authority in the three parganas of M edfirghat, Jamalaveiyi

and Kanakagiri more than three hundred years ago under the

M ussulman Kings of Golconda. M al la Raohad three son s and was

succeeded by the eldest son , Jan ika Rao, wholeft a son , M al la Rao.

This M al la Raohad twosons and , as the elder di ed wi thout issue, thesecond son , Linga Rao, succeeded Linga Raohad one son , Ri ms

Rao,who had one son , Vengala Rao, the common ancestor from

whom are descended al l the various members of the Vel lanki f ami ly.

This common ancestor, Vel lank i Vengala Rao, l ived in the daysof

’A bdul H asan Shah (1 669 the last King of Golconda, who

i s said to have given Vengala Rao sole charge of these three par

ganas . It is from th is period that the family date their useof honorificinsign ia whi ch, however, have fall en into disuse in late years since

their lan ds were partitioned or sold. These honorific distinctionsincluded a white flag, a royal umbrel la, a banner wi th the heraldicbird cal led Gandabhairundam and the four drums known as Danka,N avubat, Tasha and Marfa .

Vellank i Vengala Raoleft twosons, Gopala Raoand M al la Rao.

The elder son , Gopala Rao, in 1 698 obtained from the EmperorA urangzib a sanad appointing h im joint Despond i , along wi th Vari

gonda Vissamrazu and Vutukfir Koners and Rémachendrudu, of

the parganas of M edurghat and Jamalavayi . This Gopé la Raohadfive sons . The fourth son died wi thout issue and the th ird son,

Pedda Rama Rao, he gave in adoption to hi s younger brother , MallsRao. On h is death the lands were d ivided . The eldest son ,

VenkataRao, took .

Gampalagudem the second son , Vengala Rao, tookKalagara the fifth son , Jogayya Rao, took Yenagadapah the

third son , Pedda Rama Rao, whohad been given in adoption tohis

uncle, M al la Rao, took Tiruvur . From these four brothers are

descended the existing branches of the family and as childlessmembers frequently adopted the sons of their cousins the unravel

l ing of their intricate relationships has been a task requir ing much

patient investigation .

The eldest of the four brothers, Vellanki Venkata Rao, tookGampalagudem . H e left two sons, M al la Rao and Gopala Rao.

TH E VE LLA N KI FAM I LY . 3 2 8

The elder had noissue , but the younger left twosons, Venkata Raoand Vengala Rao. These two grandson s of the original holder,Venkata Rao, appear to have divided the property. The elder

grandson , Venkata Rao, took the western half of Gampalagudemand died leaving a son , Gopzi la Rao. The younger grandson ,

Vengala Rao, took the eastern half of Gampalagudem and diedleaving a w idow Venkamma. The great grandson , Gopala Rao,holder of the western portion , died leav ing a widow ,

Ch innamma,

so that in the year 1 82 2 the western and eastern portions ofGampalagudem were held by these two w idows, Chinnamma and

Venkamma. The proprietrix of the western portion , Chinnamma,w idow of Gopi la Rao, adopted Venkata Rdma Gopala Rao, a great

grandson of the Jogayya Raowhotook Yenagadapah . This adopted son in hi s turn adopted Raja Vellank i Venkata Krishna Rao,a descendan t of the Pedda Rama Raowhotook Ti ruvii r as h is share,and this Raja Vel lanki Venkata Krishna Rao i s the present Zemindar of the western portion of Gampalagudem . The proprietrix ofthe eastern portion of Gampalagudem ,

Venkamma, w idow of VengalaRao, adopted Rama Rao, also a descendan t of the Pedda Rama Raowho had Ti ruv lir as h is share, and the widow of this RamaRao, Lakshmi Venkamma Rao, is the present Zemindarn i of theeastern portion of the Gampalagudem M utah .

We now pass toVengala Rao, the second son ,whotook Kalagara

as his share of the fam i ly territory . H e left a son , Sanj iva Rao,whohad twosons, Raghava Rao, who died childless, and L akshmaRao, who obtained a sanad at the permanen t settlement in 1 802 .

Thi s Lakshma Raotook in adoption Sobhanadri , another descendantof the Tiruvur sharer . On the death of Sobhanadri the Kalagara

Zemindéri passed toVenkata Gopala Raoan d Venkata Rama Rao,twobrothers whonow held the half of Y enagadapah , but af ter sometime arrears accumulated upon the Kalagare estate and i t was sub

d ivided and sold .

The fifth son of Gopala Raowas Jogayya Raoand he took Yena

gadapah as hi s portion . H e le f t twosons , but as the younger diedw ithout issue, the Zemi ndari passed entire tothe elder son , GopalaRaowholeft three sons and as the eldest died without issue, theY enagadapah Zem indari was divided intotwoportions, one going tothe second son , Tirumala Rao, the other going tothe third son, RamaRao. Tirumal a Raoleft twosons

,Venkata Rama GopalaRao, whowas

adopted by Chinnamma, widow of Gopala Rao, and soinherited the

3 2 4 xi s'm A msrs l c'r MA N UA L,

western half of Gampalagudem , and Venkata N arasimha Rao, whoinheri ted from his father the half of the Yenagadapah Zemindhriand had twosons who di ed unmarried

, so af ter the death of hiswidow , Chel lamayyagaru, h is half of Yenagadapah passed to hiscousins . Rama Rao, who took as h is share the southern hal f of

Y enagadapah , left two sons, Venkata Gophla Rao, whose w idow ,

Sayemma Rao, now enjoys half of the southern portion of Yenagadapah , and Venkata Rama Rao, whose daughter , Kamadana SitammaRao, enjoys the other half of the southern portion of Yenagadapah .

L ast comes the third son of Gopala Rao, Pedda Rama Rao, who

was given in adoption tohi s uncle M alla Rao, and got Tiruv lir as

his share . H e had four son s and as the eldest died without i ssueTiruvur was div ided among the three others . Of these three remain

ing sons of Pedda Rama Raotwowere chi ldless, but the third son,

Sura Rao, had three sons sowas able to give one in adoption toeachof h is childless brothers . Thus the three sons of Sura Raoinheritedthe three portions of Tiruvfir .

,Venkatak rishna Rao got Razupett,

Chinna Rama Raogot the N adimi Tiruvfir M utah and Ri makr ishna

Raogot the old Tiruvur M utah . With these three brothers thepermanent settlement was concluded in 1 802 , and in 1 82 7 theydid good service in arresting a leader of bandi tti named RAja

Venkatakr ishna Raoof Razupett had three sons, Jagannadha Rao,Sura Rao and Sobhanadri Rao. The youngest of these three,Sobhanadri Rao, was, as stated above, given in adoption toLakshmsRaoand soinheri ted the Kalagara Zem indari . The eldest of thethree, Jagannadha Rao, left three sons, Sitarfima Rao, (whose son,

Ramakrishna Rao, was born in 1 874,)Venkata Réma Rao, now alive,

and Chinna Venkata Krishna Rao, whowas given in adopti on and

has inheri ted the western half of Gampalagudem,which he now

enjoys. The second of the three sons of Venkata Kr ishna Rao,named Sura Rao, lef t a son named Pedda Venkata Kr ishna Rao.

H e had two son s Surya Prakasa Rao, died wi thout issue, and

Venkata Rama Rao, a min or, whohas been taken in adopti on by

A chemma RaoGaru, widow of the Zemindar of Nadimi Ti ruvfirand sowi l l inher it that Zemindari .

Rai ma Krishna Rao, third son of Sura Rao and Zemindar of the

old Tiruv i'

i r M utah, had one son RéjaVel lank i Venkata Rama SuryaPrakasa Rao, the present Zemindar .

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3 2 6 xl s'mA ms'rmcr M A N UAL ,

lands were made over to him as Renter . In after years he was veryhighly spoken of by the E ngl ish officials, earning for himself a reputation as a good landlord. H e died in 1 791 leaving four sons, twoofwhom di sputed about the property, but before the di spute was set

tled one of the disputants died and Government recognised as

Zemindar the eldest son Venkataramana a lias Nagésvara Naidu. In

1 798 he was deposed and h is adopted son A nk ividu or A nkanna,

(the son of hi s younger brother ) was proclaimed Zemindar in h is

stead . An kanna removed h is residence from N aidupett toTsalla

pal le and spent large sums on a pi lgrimage to Benares and on a

vi sit toPoona to obtain from the Péshwah the empty title of Srimantu . H e bui lt the temple at Sivaganga close toM asul ipatam at

an enormous cost and erected a house in the Tsal lapal le fort forRupees on the model of one he had seen at Benares . A l l thisinvolved h im in debt and hi s peshcush fel l in to arrear . H e put

pressure upon hi s ryots and they deserted the vi l lages . Thereuponthe Col lector arrested h im and took the estate under management,suggesting to Government that the Zem indari be made over toA nkanna

’s uncle, Venkatadri Naidu , the youngest son of Kédands

R ilm . Thi s suggestion was not approved , and in 1 800 A nkanna wasrestored to his position . H e stil l gave trouble and quarrel led withal l his relations . H is natural brother and adoptive cousin

, Gangs

dhara N aidu, grandson of Kodanda Ram , by threatening tocreatedi sturbances obtained for himself a pension of 50 pagodas per mensem .

In 1802 the permanen t settlement was made wi th Ankanna forthe Dévara K6ta estate and the rental was fixed at Rs .

whi ch has since been reduced toRs . on accoun t of the Zemindar being prohibi ted from l evying certain fees . I n 1 805 hi s fatherpurchas ed the Pedana estate, but that was divided between his widowsand was finally bought by Government in 1 837, 80 forms nopart ofthe Dévara Kota Zemindari .

Zomindtr A nkanna continued to mismanage the estate and at

length hi s credi tors became soimportunate that in 1 81 6 he requestedthe Col lector toassume the managemen t. H e died in 1 81 9 leavingssadopted son Durga Prasad, aged eight years ,when the Zemindhri wastaken under the Court of Wards . I n 1833 the estate, sti l l burdenedwi th debts , was handedover tothe young Zem indhr, but was attachednot long afterwards for arrears . In 1835 Raja Durga

‘

Prasad diedleaving a widow , Durga Bhavamma Garu, to whom he had given

ran c snA nA L zrumnA s l . 3 2 7

authority to adopt a son . She a ccordingly adopted one A nkanna,aged 6 years and 5 months, son of a ryot named Yarlagadda Venkataratnam

, residing at M erukanapallelanka in Div i . The Court ofWards again took charge of the estate and gave i t over tothe youngRaja in 1 85 1 . H e was much under the influence of h is mother,Durga Bhavamma Gem , and quarrel led w ith hi s wife and sons. H is

expen diture was reckless . H e pul led down the temple hi s grandf ather had buil t at Sivaganga and began toreconstruct it of Konda

pal le granite . H e thoroughly repaired the fort and house at

Tsal lapal le . For these and other expenses he borrow ed at usuriousrates sothat when he died in 1875 the estate was burdened withdebts amoun ting to Rs . 2 ,OO,OOO. H e left three sons , and in 1876

the Zemindar i was registered in the name of the eldest son R’aja

Yarlagadda M al li kharjuna Prasad N aidu , whomarr ied a daughter ofthe Zemindar of Chi ntalapati Ventu, by whom he has issue, one

H is grandmother is sti l l al ive and l ives at M asul ipatam and his

mother at Srikakulam . The Zemindar is not on amicable term swi thhis relations . H e brought an accusation of theft against hi s two

younger brothers and they were acqui tted by the Session Court.They are now prosecuting a suit against h im for the partition of theZem indari and al though the District Judge has decided that theestate is impartible an appeal i s of course being carried tothe H ighCour t. The second brother married his ni ece, his sister

’s daughter .

9 .— TH E CH A RM A H A L ZEM IN DA R I .

It has been told in the narrative of the N fizvi du fami ly how the

esta tes were preserved tothat family by the exertions of a fami lynamed Kamadana, whoobtained as a reward f or their services the

estates of Chérmahal , comprising, as the name denotes, four par

ganas, Vinnakota, Gudivada, Kaldindi and Bhattarzal le, a compactb lock of about four hundred square m i les of fertile land on the

Kollern lake, including 2 60 v i l lages .

The genealogical tree of this Kamadana fami ly is before me but

as all collateral branches di ed out leavi ng only one representative ofthe name there is nonecessity toreproduce it , and the tangled maze

of relationshi ps among al l these uncles, nephews and cousin s may be

compressed as fol lows — The common ancestor w as Kamadena Guruvayya, whohad twosons, n ine grandsons and eight great grandsons . I t was twoof these grandsons whoexerted their influence at

3 2 8 xterm ms'rmcr MAN UA L ,

the Court of H aidarabad i n 1 738and following years, but it was two

grandsons and great grandsons appear in the sanad for the Char

mahal estates granted by Vénkatd dr i A ppa Rao in 1 757 and two

names appear in the grants given by the French on 4th February1 759 and by Salabat Jang on M ay 2 8th 1 759, while twoothers of

the descendan ts of the ori ginal Guruvayya met General Caillaud at

E llore in 1 765 and received grants from the E ngl ish Governmen t on

2 5th A pril 1 771 , other twoagain receiving grants fromthe E nglishon 3 rd M ay 1 774 and on 2 5th M ay 1 777. A ll these men were

grandsons or great - grandsons of the original ancestor Guruvayya,and they evidently lived together, H indu fashion , as a un i ted family.

In 1 770 M r . Wynch , Chi ef at M asulipatam , began to correspondwith the Chai rmahal Zem indhrs and in 1 77 1 made a settlement ofthe rental for three years , Kaldindi Tirupati Ra

zu,Zemindar of

Mogultore, becoming securi ty f or the three years’ peshcush . In

1 774 M r . Whi tehi l l , Chi ef at M asulipatam ,made another settlement

of the estates and found that they were indebted to Ti rupati Ramin the large sum of Pagodas, the deficit in the Company’s

peshcush whi ch had been made good by Tirupati Rézu during the

past three years . To enable the Mogul tore Zemindar to recouphimself for thi s heavy loss, whi ch was crippl ing his credi t, theCharmahal estates were handed over tohim for six years more .

In the meantime the tworepresen tative members of the Chérmshe] fam ily, w ith whom M r . Wynch had treated in 1 771 , both died.

Kamadena A n kappa, great grandson of the common ancestor Guruvayya, died in July 1 773 and was succeeded by h is younger brotherChi nna Papayya. Kamadena Pedda Papayya, the youngest andlast surviving grandson of the original Guruvayya, di ed in October1 774, leavingan infant son cal led N arasimhaRao. When N aras imhaA ppa Raoof N fizvidu went to M adras in Sir

,Thomas Rumbold’s

time he set forth a claim that the grant of Chtrmahe’

tl to the Kamadana family was an act of the Nfizvidu Zemindar and not of the

rul ing power, in other words that Ohhrmahe'

tl was a fief subord inate

to the N fizvi dn Raja and not a Zemindari held directly f rom the

State . In M ay 1 780 when the six years’ lease of Tirupati Ri saexpired, A ppa Raoformal ly appl ied to be put in charge of the Charmah61 estates . The Chi ef in Counci l at M asul ipatam rejected the

appl ication of A ppa Rao and , with the concurrence of the than

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330 t re A mar iner uAs UAL,

began to raise disturbances in Charmahal which were put down onlywith some loss of l ife .

In this year, 1 791 , the Zem indar Kamadana Chinna Pépayya diedleaving two sons, the eldest being called Sobhanadri . I n 1 792

Government restored the estates tothi s Sobhanadri and his cousin

N arasimha Rao who thus became join t Zemindars of Charmahalfrom the beginning of Fasl i 1 2 02 .

I n 1 793 Narasimha Raodied w ithout issue and the M asul ipatam

Board suggested that i f hi s turbulent cousin , Venkata Rao, were

recogn ised as h is successor it would conduce topeace , but Government decl ined topurchase the subm ission of Venkata Rao by any

such arrangement - and recogn ised Sobhanadri as the sole Zem indar .

The M asul ipatam Counc il reiterated their views and Governmen t atlast consented that Venkata Raoshould reside in M asul ipatam and

receive five hundred Pagodas per mensem from the revenues of the

estates to keep him quiet .

Raja Sobhanadr i Rao, whowas now sole Zemin dar and in chargeof the estates, had to pay toGovernment the whole balance duewhen the estates were handed over in 1 792 , and as he had nomoneyin hand this obligation involved h im in pecun iary di fficulties . Withthe concurrence of M r . Gardiner , Chief in Council , he took in 1 794a loan of Pagodas from Qutb M ulk , e ldest son of H asan

A l i Khan . This transaction was the subject of much correspondencein after years but final ly Qutb M ulk was repaid h is money with ten

per cen t. interest .

In 1 798M r . Oakes, the Collector , put pressure upon M ja Sobhanadri to place his finances in a more satis f actory state , and the

Zem indar furn ished as h is surety and took as h is Divan , one Tal l’

iri

Jogayya , an Opulent Brahman of Kautaram vi l lage . The rule of

this Di van appears to have been exceptional ly harsh even for thatper iod . Some of the doggrel verses of prayer to the vi l lage god

desses tointerpose and r id the people of Tal t'i ri Jogayya are sung

tothi s day in Gudivada Taluq . M any cultivators abandoned theirfields, the arrears due to Governmen t increased, and in 1 801 M r.

Col lector Reade placed both the Zemindar and h is Dubash in con

finement and assumed the charge of the Zemindari . This was theOpportun ity of Kamadana Venkata Rao, whofor six or seven year!had been drawing h is al lowance in M asulipatam . H e appeared at

the head of a'

band of fol lowers raiding in the Charmahal estates and

run a nnAuA L ZE M I N DA RI . 33 1

f or the next two years the records are ful l of the e f f orts made bym il itary detachments todrive h im back in tothe N izam’s territoriesand the ef f orts made by the Collector to extract some portion of thearrears from the Zemind'

e

’

tr and his Divan .

In 1803 the rental was permanently fixed by the Special Comm ission , al l arrears were remitted and Raja Sobhanadri was again

p laced in charge of h is estates . H e was sti l l very unfortunate . The

tworen ters towhom he entrusted his estates, Diduvan i Timmayyaand Bommadévara N aganna, both fail ed and involved him in protracted l itigation , at the close of which, in 1 81 2 , the i rrepressibleVenkata Raoagain appeared plundering from the N izam

’s territory .

A m il i tary force drove h im back intothe N izam’s country where hew as arrested and handed over to L ieutenan t Vaughan . H e was

tr ied and sentenced totransportation for l ife, but died at Masulipa

tam . Réja Sobhanadri now found himself wi thout any rival claimantin the representation of the Kamadana fam i ly, but this rel ief came

toolate . H is debts were overwhelm ing an d there were twodecrees

passed against him by the Provincial Court amounting to

Pagodas, whi le the arrears due toGovernment amounted toPagodas . A ccordingly in 1 81 3 the mutahs of Kaldindi and Bhattarzal le were put up to sale . The Zem indar of M ai lavaram purchasedBhattarzal le for Pagodas and the Bezvada Zem indar purchasedKal dind i f or Pagodas .

Thus dismembered the Charmahal estates were reduced to two

parganas, Gudivada and Vinnakéta,which were taken under the

managemen t of the Col lector , whof or seven years succeeded in paying of f a portion of the Zem indar’s l iabil ities in each year . Raja

Sobhanadri, himself, passed his time in lawsuits unti l h is death onSeptember l 6th, 1 82 0, leaving ten sons and six daughters .

A dispute at once arose about the succession and lasted til l 1 832when the family agreed torecogn ise the eldest son , Papayya, as

Zemindar and Government made over toh im the twoparganas, remitting al l arrears . The terrible fam ine of 1 833 threw Raja Papayyain toembarrassmen ts and in 1 836 the estates were attached by Government . There was noprospect of the Zemindar freeing himselff rom his l iabi li ties and his second brother filed a suit for the partition

of the estate. U nder these circumstances the Zemindari was broughttosale f or arrears of revenue in 1 843 and was purchased by Gov

ernment for Rupees Thus the Chérmahal Zemindari

came toan end 85 years af ter the Kamadana fami ly had obtained it .

33 2 KISTN A ms'rmc‘

r MA N UAL ,

A u al lowance of Rs . 500 per mensem had been made toRain

Papayya and his brother since the Zemindari was attached in 1 836 .

They now petitioned for the restoration of their estates, but theCourt of Directors in their despatch of 2 9th N ovember 1 848decl inedto sanction the restoration of the Zemindari, observing that the

extent of Réja Papayya’s embarrassments and the reduced resources

of the property precluded the hope that it would prove beneficial to

him while i t woul d certainly be injurious to the ryots . A n al low

ance of Rs . per mensem was, however, sanctioned w ith

retrospect from 2 0th N ovember 1 843 . I n 1 850 this allowance wasordered tobe paid direct to the ex - Zemindar and not in shares to

his relations.

Raja Pripayya Rao died on the 1 7th January 1 876, leaving two

sons and five daughters . The Board in Proceedings No. 1 982 ,

dated 5th A ugust 1 876, recommended that the al lowance of Rs .

per mensem tothe fami ly be continued as follows Rs . 600 to B i jaVenkataréma Gopala Jagannadha Rao, eldest son of the deceasedR i ja Pepayya, and Rs . 1 00 each to h is four cousins, the eldest sonsof his uncles . In other words R s . 600 to the family left by RéjaPfipayya and Rs . 1 00 ea ch tothe famil ies left by four of hi s brothers.

This was sanctioned by Government and is the arrangement nowin force .

1 0.— TH E MA ILAVA R AM ZEM IN DAR I .

This Zemindari comprises the greater portion of the old H avél ilands of the Kondapal le pargana . It appears that the Surinén ifami ly came to this neighbourhood about A . D. 1 670 as cul tivators,and that some members of the fami ly rented one or more v illages

from the Ki l ladar of Kondapall e . Later one Surinéni Venkatapatiassumed the title of M ustajar or Renter and his son Sur inén i

N arayanudu took the title of Zemindar, claimed to be independentof Kondapal le and bui lt the fort at M ai lavaram . H e was Rente r forseven years and Zemindar for ten years . H e was succeeded by hisnephew Venkatapati Rayanengar, whowas Zemindar for twentyeight years unti l he was expel led by Rustam A l i Khan and fled to

M ujal lu where he died.

The estates were for a time under Government management until1 746 when Surinén i Burrs Venkatachellam took possession of

M ailavaram. H e was succeeded in 1 756 by Surinéni Potanna whodied in 1 765 leaying aminor son Venkata Rama Rao and nominat

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334 KI STN A msrmc'r I AKH AL ,

leavinga w idow and twodaughters The civ il courts decided infavour of the w idow’s claim toinheri t her husband’s property and

in 1 866 the estate was divided, the widow getting a somewhat

larger share than that given to her brother - in - law , Raja Venkata

N arasimha Gopzi la Rao. A simi lar arrangement was made about th etemple in M ailavaram ,

the w idow holds the management f or

months and twenty days while the Réja holds i t f or five mon th s an d

ten days in each year .

In 1 87 1 the w idow,L akshm i Venkamma Rao Garu , gave her

daughter in marriage toRaja Venkata N arasimha A ppa Raoof N (ra

v idu, the successful l itigant f or the partition of the N uzvidu esta te s .

1 1 .— TH E BE ZVA DA ZEM IN DA RI .

This Zemindari is said to have been in the possession of Kadava

kolanu Ti rupati Raoin the early years of last century. H is son , K .

Venkatedri Rao, was in possession in 1 73 1 and was succeeded by h is

son , K. N arasimha Rao, whowas succeeded by his third son , K .

Ti rupati Rao, whowas succeeded by his nephew ,K. GopalaRao, wi th

whom the l ine of Venkatadr i Raobecame extinct. The estate thenpassed to A chenna Rao, whose father, Peddappa Rao, was the thi rdson of the original Tirupati Rao. Thi s A chenna Raowas succeededby h is nephew , ChinnaPeddappa Rao, whowas succeeded by hi s son ,Tummanna Rao, but with thi s Tummanna Raowas associated a

second cousin named Pedda Buchohenna Rao. In 1 764 the jointZemindér , Pedda Buchchenna Rao, died and h is eldest son , VenkataRao, succeeded to his share . Venkata Rao died in 1 767 and wassucceeded by h is brother, RamaRao. In 1 768Tummanna Rao diedand was succeeded in his share not by his son but by h is brother,Chenna Rao. These twomen , Rama Raoand Chenna Rao, werejoint Zemin dars in 1 770 when the Engl ish of f icials began to settlethe revenues of the country .

In 1 788 the twoZemindars fel l into arrears and refused to cometoM asul ipatam . Lieutenant- Colonel Prendergas t, who commandedKondapal le, sent a detachmen t under Lieutenant Lawrence to com

pel them,whereupon Rama Raofled to Cumbum and Ghan a Raoto

M ailavaram and elsewhere . For some months the estate was undermanagement, but in 1 789 Rama Raoreturned and expressed hi s submission sowas restored to his position

, but in the fol lowing year 1 790he died and was succeeded by h is son, Venk ata Kistna Rao.

In 1 791 Chenna Raoalso made hi s submission and was restored ;

rm: l l UN AGALA zrum mss. 335

an d in the same year he alsodied and was succeeded by his son ,

Venkata N arasimha Rao. The cc - sharer , Venkata Kistna Rao, diedon ly a f ew months after he had succeeded h is father, Rama Rao,an d was succeeded by hi s son , Tirupati Rao.

Kurinéni Venkata N arasimha Raol ived quietly and did his besttofulfil h is obl igations tothe Government, but was hampered by theconduct of his partner, the young Tirupati Rao, whofled into theN izam’s country and thence made raids into the Zemindari . H e

sustained a crushing defeat at Gottimukkala where most of h isadherents fel l , but he did not sue for pardon until 1 796 . In 1 798he

attained h is majori ty and was placed in possession of h is share ofthe estates, buthe died w ithout issue in the fol low ingyear, 1 799, whenVenkata N arasimha Raobecame sole Zem indar of Bezvii da . The

permanent settlement of 1 802 was concluded with this R i ja VenkataN arasimha Raoand on 1 3th October 1 81 3 he purchased theKaldindi

pargana of the Charmah e'

tl estates . In M ay 181 5 he died, leavinga son , Venkatarama Gopala Jagann édha Rao, aged on ly five years .

The estates remained under the Court of Wards unti l h is son at

tained his major ity on the 1 3th N ovember 182 7. In 1830 the Zem

indti ri was attached for arrears and in 1 83 1 Raja Venkatarz'tma Gope'

tla

Jagannadha Rao died leav ing a m inor w idow. The estates were

again taken under the Court of Wards . In 1835 , when the w idowLak shminarasamma, came of age she appl ied to be put in possession of the Zemindari but thearrears had increased instead of dimin ishing and in 1836 the Zem indari was put up to sale. The sale, how

ever , was postponed at the intercession of the Raja of N t’i zvidu, whohad married the w idow’s elder s ister and now came forward withofiers topay portion of the arrears . Some correspondence took placew ith the Court of Directors but final ly the Zemindari was sold on1 9th June 1 846 and was purchased by Government for a nom inal

sum of Rs . as there were nobidders .

The arrears due by the w idow were remitted and she was given

an al lowance of Rs . 1 50 per mensem . She resided '

at N uzv idu w ithher sister , the w ife of R

'

tja Sobhanadri , but died in 1853 at Zuzzfir,

where was the old fort and residence of her husband’s ancestors, theZem indars of Bezvada .

1 2 .— TH E M U N A GA L A ZEM IN DA RS.

This family i s perhaps the on ly one among the Zemindars of theKistna District whohold lands which were possessed by the f ami ly

336 KISTN A msrmcr M AN UA L,

before the M uhammadan invasion . They are Reddis and claim

centur ies of un inter rupted residence at M unagzi la, going back toth edays when another Reddi family left A numakonda and establ ishedthemselves w ith regal power at Kondav idu . There are, however,nodocuments tosupport this tradition, f or M unagala l ies out in the

N izfim’s Terr itory in the track of Mahratta and other freebooters,sohas been sacked as often as any tow er on the border betweenE ngland and Scotland, and the fami ly archives have long since

perished.

The last member of the original family of these Reddi chieftainswas one Garlapati Iyanna Desah i . H e saw h is son d ie before himand on h is own death in 1 693 was succeeded by his son’s widow

,

Subhadramma. She made over the Zem ind iri to her brothers ofwhom on ly one Kissara M ukkundappa had issue . M ukkundappa

was succeeded by h is eldest son Suranna, and second son ,N arasanna

whowas succeeded by his eldest son Venkatarzimanna. This Venkatarzimanna left five sons, the eldest Venkata N arasimha Raosucceedingto the Zemind i r i and the title of Desmukh , although the emoluments

derived from the lands appear to have been divided among th e

jun ior branches of the family .

The permanent sanad was issued in the name of Venkata N arasimha Rao, but he died in 1803 before formally receiving it, soi t was

given to h is son Kodandaramayya. In 1 81 4 Kodandarémayya diedand the Zem indar i was taken under the Court of Wards unti l h isminor son Venkata N arasimha Raocame of age in 1 818. VenkataN arasimha Rao died in 1 835 , leav ing an adopted son , Kodandaramayya aged five years . This adopted son ,

Kodandaraimayya died in1 854 leavingone daughter, L atsamma, aged five years , but hi s wi dowRukkamma, expected another chi ld . The posthumous chi ld was

alsoa daughter and died soon after i ts birth , soLatsamma was the

sole heiress . The Zem inda’tr i remained under managemen t of the

w idow Rukkamma unti l her death in 1868. A fter some delay itwas registered in 1 873 in the name of the daughter, L atsamma.

She is now a w idow and has no i ssue .

Several suits have been filed by various members of the fami lyat di f f erent times and some v il lages are set apart for their main

tenance . The succession of Latsamma i s d isputed and the wholeZemindari 18 claimed by her second cous in , K issara Lakshm i N arasimha Rao, great grandson of the Venkata N arasimha Rao whodiedin 1 803 .

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338 men u msrmcr MAN UAL ,

made is Varigonda N i lamrézu, whowas hereditary Despondi of the

Jamalavayi Pargana. The office and the Zemi ndari passed to h is

descendants in a succession which can be given only by numerals

with a genealogical list.

1 Varigonda N ilamrdzu

I l2 . Kemeraan A kk irazu

5 . Sivarazu du 6 . Bapi i

iazu

7. Venkatapati 8. Bhaskarudu 9 .

1 4. Remanna

Ramanna, the fourteenth Zemindar, had no issue and adopted adistant cousin named Ramanappa whowas Zemindér at the permanent settlement . Thi s Ramanappa, the fif teenth Zemindar, marriedL akshm idévamma, the daughter of an E llore Brahman named

Caval i Venkata Subbayya. Caval i Venkata Borayya, her brother ,was the wel l known assistant of Colonel Col in M ackenzie, theA rchceologist. There were three other brothers, Cavali Sitayyain some Government employment and Caval i Venkata Lakshmayyaand Venkata Ramasami whoworked for many years wi th ColonelColin M ackenzie after the death of their brother Borayya. The

following pedigree is gi ven

Caval i Venkata Subbayya.

Lakshmidévamma V. Borayya V. Lakshmsyya V. Bdmau'mi

a daughter

These brothers advanced money to Varigonda Ramm appa andon his death wi thout issue in 1 81 0 continued to advance money toh is w idow, their si ster L ak shmidévamma . It was alleged that he

This nameought of course tobe translitersted Ktval i but the h mily sh u n write it

run ZI M IN DARS or VALLUR . 339

had adopted Rajésvarayadu, son of Sitayya, and the Collectorattached the Zemindar i referring the w idow tothe Civil Courts .

L akshmidévamma appl ied tothe Courts whodecided that she mustbe placed in possession of the estates unti l the adoption was provedby those alleging it. The adoption was not established and Rajésvarayadu remained in his father’s fami ly . M eanwhile the moneyad vanced tothe widow to enable her tomeet the Governm ent deman ds tood as a debt due tothe brother L akshmayya, whoin 1838broughta sui t against h is sister . The l itigation thus commenced, continuedf or thirty years until the last decision of the Privy Counci l in 1 867 .

F irst Lak shmayya sued hi s sister L ak shmidévamma for the moneydue to him and in 1 841 the matter was compromised, she con

sen ting tomake over the Zemindari to him . Then certain relationsof the Varigonda family brought a suit to contest h er right to makeaway wi th her husband’s estates . A fterwards the Collector , on behalfof Government, fil ed a suit against N arrainappa, son of L akshmayya

deceased, on the ground that Government was entitled tothe Zemindfiri as an escheat . This suit twice got as f ar as the Privy Counci lon appeal and was twice sen t back to India for further finding. Final ly, in 1 867 it came for the third time before th e PrivyCouncil , who held that the w idow was entitled toborrow money tomeet the Government demand on her husband’s estates and thatCaval i N arrainappa was entitled to hold the estates because of the

loans advanced by his father, but that the Crown had an equity ofredemption . Government, however, did not avail themselves of this

equity of redemption awarded by the Privy Council and Caval i N arrainappa was recognised as Zemindar of Vissanapet .

Venkatapati Rao, son of N arrainappa, died in 1873 leaving no

sons and N arrainappawhodi ed in 1 874 passed over hi s cousin’s sons

and bequeathed h is property to trustees for charitable purposes.

Thi s wi ll was not recogn ised and the Vissanapet Zemindari was

registered in the names of the twosons of Cavali Kistnayya, both of

whom are called Kaval i Venkata Sitaramayya. A lawsui t for the

parti tion of the Zemindar i is now in progress between the two

brothers and also Prasadha Rao, son of the Rajésvarayédu said to

have been adopted by the last Varigonda Zemindar .

1 5 .— TH E ZEM IN DA RS OF VA LLU R .

This f amily, al though of comparatively recent origin, is among

the foremost in this District in regard of wealth and enl ightened

340 n srm msrmc'r 1m : UAL,

enterprise . It dates its rise H orn Bommadévara Naganna N aiduwhowas head maistry in the Transport Department of the Br itishA rmy in 1 798- 9, during the final struggle with Tipu Sultan of

M aisur , and by diligence in this business attained the position ofContractor for the supply of draught bul locks to the A rmy in the

fiel d . H e amassed thereby a considerable fortune and in 1 808

purchased the H aveli estates of Val lfir, on the left bank of theKistna, and Gudur , a short di stance west of Masul ipatam .

In February 1807 Réja Bommadévara Naganna N aidu enteredinto a formal contract wi th the Government of Fort St . Georgeundertaking the entire Transport A gency between Masul ipatam and

H aidarabad binding himself to.

supply draught andcarriage bul locks and Brinjar is on 30 days’ notice or hal f

these numbers on 1 5 days’notice, which gives some idea of his vast

resources . The Governmenton their part covenan ted to give him the

monopoly of the Transport Service inland from Masul ipatam and

thi s he and his descendants en joyed for more than half a century .

The Zemindar di ed in 1 808. Three sons had di ed before him,

leaving noissue, and the Zemindari passed tothe fourth son , a minor,Raja Venkata N arasimhulu N aidu .

The estates and the transport business appear to have been wellmanaged during thi s minori ty and again during the minori ty of RajaN aganna whosucceeded h is f ather, Raja Venkata N arasimhul u, in1 842 . This Raja N aganna purchased four considerable estates inthe Godavari District which he added to those inheri ted f rom hi s

grandf ather . During the troublous times of the M utiny in 1 857,Raja N aganna zealously espoused the cause of the British Government, meeting the heaviest requi si tions for transport f rom M asuli

patam to H ai darabad, J411m, and Kampti . I n December 1 857 whenthe Royal Regiment came by sea from Ceylon and disembarkedat Masul ipatam, Raja N aganna mnnificently entertai ned the

oflicers and rendered every assistance in hurrying the regiment ontoSecunderabad . The transport service between M asul ipatam and

H aidarabad was maintained wi thout interruption in a most efi cimt

state . A t a critical moment when theBrinjaris woul d not comef orward and the movements of M ajor - General Wh i tlock’s columnwere paralysed for lack of transport it was the timely aid afiorded

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342 n ames msrarc'r MA N UAL,

CH APTER XI .

RE VE N UE ADMI N I STRATION .

We know very l ittle about the system of admini stration foll owedby the H indu rulers of thi s country before the Muhammadan invasion ,

but it is certain that from a very early period the v il lages, with a headman in each tocollect the revenue and an accountant to record theitems, were the un its of admin istration as they have been ever since.

The numerous al lusions in ancient inscriptions to royal grants ofentire vi l lages or a group of vil lages show that in former cen turies,as now, al l revenue administration was based upon the vi llage uni t.

The accountants of the vi llages in the Kistna District are Brahmans with very f ew exceptions. This is also the case in the neighbouring districts of Cuddapah, N ellore and the Godavari , and Dr .

Burnell states that very many of these Brahman Curnums are of

Tamil origin , being the descendants of Brahmans who came f romthe south with the Chola kings m the eleventh and twelfth centu

ries, but the Brahmans themselves have a difierent story and quotelegends to the efiect that they came from Benares on the invi tationof Mukkanti Pallava . Whatever may have been their origin , theposition hel d by the Brahmans as accoun tants in every vi llage has

given them immense influence f or many centuries past . Thissystem of vi llage accountan ts or Curnums was regularly estab

l i shed about the year 1 1 44 and there are extant copies of thel ists of Curnums at that date, many of the present 06 00 holdersclaiming to be able to trace their pedigree back to the vil lage Cur

nums entered on that l ist 1 It seems that there was an ecl ipse of

the sun in October 1 1 44 and that the Orissa Raja then rul ing this

country had performed the necessary ceremonial ablutions when to

h im appeared h is Brahman D ivan asking for a gift . The k ing as a

gift gave him seven hours of time dur ing which he might exerciseunfettered power over the royal domin ions . The Divan seized the

opportun ity toappoint to every vi llage a Brahman as accoun tant.

The seven hours ended before he had qui te completed the task andthus there are a f ew vil lages in which the accountants are not

Brahmans . Such is the legend .

nnvanun m um l srm r iox. 3 13

When the M uhammadans took this part of the country, in the

s ixteenth century, they appear to have made but l ittle change in theex i sting H indu system . They occupied certain posts wi th mi l itary

garrisons under M uhammadan ofi cers, and sometimes a tract ofcountrymight be granted toa M uhammadan oflicer as a Jagir , butf or the most part the revenues were col lected and accounted f or toth e central authori ty by H indu ofi cials . These H indu officialsw ere the District A ccountan t or Despondi , thoDistr ict Col lector orD esmukh and a third official , who had charge of the Pol ice and

seems to have exercised some supervi sion over the twoothers, bearing the name of M uzumdar or M annavar . A s is usual in India theseofi ces became hereditary and when the M uh ammadan power becamelax the H indu heredi tary of f icials began to cal l themselves Zemind i m and toact as i f they were independent pri nces, but throughal l these changes the vil lages remained unal tered.

In addi tion to the land revenue, the sovereign’s share of the .

pro

duce of the fields, there were other sources of revenue. The Impe:rial Firmans gran ted in 1 689 and 1 71 2 to the Dutch at M asul ipatamshow that import and export duties at the seaport were a considerable item in the H aidarabad receipts and there were various inlandcustoms l ines, now happi ly abol ished .

In the neighbourhood of each mil itary post or headoquarters tation were certain lands in tended for the maintenance of the troopsor M uhammadan ofi oers which were under the direct managementof the Fouzdér or Kil ladar . These H avél i lands, as they were

turned, were not supposed tobe under the Desmukhs and Despondi swhowere responsible for the col lections of the rest of the coun try.

A t first the H indu Desmukh s and Despondi s were paid by a per

centage upon coll ections, by certain fees and by a l imi ted portion ofland in each vil lage, these three modes of payment being supposedtoensure their attention to the amount of col lections, their procuring the goodwi l l of the populace who paid fees and their actualresidence among the villages where their plots of land were si tuated .

In course of time, however, we find that these Desmukhs and Des

pondis themselves rented villages and even Districts, or, as it maybetter be expressed, farmed the revenues of certain Districts or com

pounded the Revenue demand against them for a fixed sum .

The French Commandant, M . deBussi , had a survey made of theseN orthern Circars and evidently contemplated the institution of a bet

844 n ew s msrarcr u s e“ ,

ter revenue system, but he fell from power before he had an oppor

tunity of carryi ng out these plans and when the E nglish Compan ytook possession of the Kondapall e Circar in 1 766 and the Kon dav idu Circar in 1 788the H i ndu hereditary ofiicials, cal ling themselvesZemindfirs, were still in possession of the country.

The E ngl ish ofi cials at M asulipatam di d not qui te understan dthe legal position of these Zemindars. The first Chi ef in

Council after the E nglish took Kondapalle was in favour of set

tling every year, according to the harvest, the amount to b e

paid by each Zemindar to the Company, but in 1 771 the Chi efand Council wrote that the Zemindaris were feudal estates, of

which the Zemindars were the proprietors, paying a tribute to Government and furnishing troops in time of war . This idea gained

ground, the payment made by the Zemindars was constantly termedtribute, the territory they held was called their heredi tary estate

and the inhabitants were entirely subject totheir oppressions .

”

M ore correct ideas might have obtained had the E ngl ish ofi cials .

read the sanads under which these Zemindars held their lands forthese show clearly that they were regarded by the M uhammadanGovernment as State A gents and not as terri torial landlords. A s

a sample, 18 given a translation of the sanad granted to the Charmahal Zemindars by Salabat Jang, shortly before the Engl ish tookM asulipatam .

To the Ami ls for the time being and in f uture, the Desmukhs,

Despondis, Choudaris, the principal persons and Kanakap i llais’

of the Vinnakota Pargana in the Charmahal Distr ict in the

Circar of M ustaf anagar under the Subah of H aidarabad. It

is now wri tten that the Bussuma or fees, M aha] or land revenue,Sayer or land customs, Moturpha or quit rent, Savarams and

four villages allotted in l ieu of the Savarams in the vi llages

belonging to the Parganas, is now confirmed and ratified as usual

to Kandana Papayya, brother of A yanna, and Surayya, Zemindarsof the above mentioned Charmahal . You are therefore to giveup to him the Bussuma, M aha], land customs, qui trent, fees, landin lieu of vil lage Savarams, as usual and customary, solong as

they shal l continue attached to Government . They are toenjoy

Probably Karanam in original , Kanaka Pillai being 3 Tamil word much used by

Madras E uropeans, whence Conioopillay.

”

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346 KISTN A DISTR ICT MAN UA L ,

1 759, rented out the tracts of land adjacent, which the Subahdar ofthe Deccan had granted . Wh en the Company took the Kondapd leCircar in 1 766 it was given along w ith the E l lore and Raj ahmundryCircars on a three years’ rental tothe N izam’s Fous r, H asan A l i

Khan . Thi s arrangement came to an end in 1 769, and after thatan attempt was made to make a separate arrangemen t wi th each

Zemindar , while the H aveli lands were for some time given out onvil lage rents and were then given on a ten years’lease to CondregulaJaggappe , son of the Dubash . In another chapter the fate of eachZemindari has been told and there is, therefore, the less necessi tyto dwel l upon the proceedi ngs of the Comm ittee of C ircui t, whi chhave been described by M r . Morris at pp . 2 48- 9 of the Godavar iM anual . The ol d records of this period are not pleasant li terature .

There was much acrimon ious correspondence between the Reven ue

Board, the Masulipatam Counci l and the first Col lectors, corresponddence which is best buried in obl ivion . Some ofiicers were removed

from their posts and others were perm itted to resign . When an

investigation was about tobe held in October 1 793 in to the conductof M essrs A . Sadleir and A . Dobbyn , Chief and Second in Coun c ilat M asul ipatam , these gentlemen both Opportunely died. This was

almost the last incident connected w ith the M asul ipatam Counci lwhich was abol ished in 1 794 .

It must be admi tted in pal l iation of the failure of many of theearly E uropean of f icials that their difficulties were great, ignorant

as they were of the language and local customs, and sometimes betrayed by their Dubashes or N ative agen ts .

‘ Moreover the Zem indarswere very troublesome to manage and required a firm hand overthem . A curious gl impse of the state of Guntur when the Companytook it over, after seven years during which the N izam had left theZemindars very much to themselves, is given by a letter which Ifound in possession of a native Chri stian in a remote vil lage . Th e

letter is written in French toFather Bourgoing by the ex - Jesui tFather M anenti , whohad carried of f the Oléru Chr istians south tothe Chingleput District . It i s dated Campbel l pouram , M arch 8th ,1 789 .

6 The dishonest conduct of Venkataramayya, th e Dubash of M r . H ugh es in 1 792 - 3,and of A tmur i Venkatachellam , Dubaah of M r . Ram in 1 794, occupy a p rom inen t positionin the records. A tmfiri Venkatachellam continued toexerci se a perni cious influence in

the District for many years af ter the removal of his patron in January Para. aoof Sir W. E ll iot

’s Report. M r. Jarrett in 1810 call ed Venkatachel lam “

a vul ture preyi ngupon the simp le peop le .

savanna ADM IN ISTRATION . 347

With regard to Papireddi he has missed his opportuni ty and

you know that an opportun ity mi ssed is very difficult toseize

again . A s soon as the Province was taken the Governor wrote tome to propose to h im a suitable man tobe employed and then Icould have done him al l the good possible, i f he had written tome

sooner . That opportun ity i s passed and wil l not return and he

m ust just hear the consequences of hi s fol ly .

H e has asked me to obtain for him the guard of Kondavidu .

That depends on the Governor ‘

of Guntur and they donot knowwho w il l replace M r . Sadlei r . They say that it wil l be M r .

Davi dson . It is my business, but I shal l make noef f ort on behalfof Papireddi , who has always endeavoured to hinder the Christians coming here .

H e has entangled himself wi th the Zemindars and tells me thathe has taken six vi llages f or three thousand pagodas perH e does not know what he i s doing. The Government have toldthe Zemindars to repopulate the country or else to hold themselvesl iable topay the thirty lakhs of pagodas which they have drawnduring the past seven years . The Zemindars are working on al l

sides togive out their vil lages on rent and toshow to Governmentby the contracts of the renters that they have repopulated thecountry and they have represented that the custom of Kondaviduis to take three pagodas f or each pagoda expressed in the agree

ment and thus Papireddi is bound n ine thousand pagodas perannum whi le he wil l not draw three hundred, for the vi l lages

which he has taken are depopulated and he has not the means to

give advances to ryots who can come and cul tivate.

them . In

short he has lived as a fool and he wi l l die as a fool and woe tothose who trust to h im ! I beg you to say the same to M alla

L inappa and to Sarva Rayappa .

”

The Guntur or Kondav idu Circar was also under the control ofthe M asu lipatam Council , but when that Council was abol ished in1 794 Gun tur formed a separate Zil lah under a Coll ector whoreport

ed direct tothe Board as did the Collector of M asul ipatam .

I n pursuance w ith the orders issued by the Bengal Governmentthe Permanent Settlement was introduced in the M asulipatam and

Guntur Districts in 1802 . The amount to be paid by each Zemin

dar was calculated at two- thirds of half the gross produce of thelands, this half being supposed tobe the share paid them by the

348 KI STN A DISTRICT MAN UAL,

cultivators . Thus the Zem indars were to retain for their onmain tenance one- sixth of the gross produce of their territories . The

amounts were obtained from an inspection of the accoun ts of thelast thirteen years or of what papers the vil lage Curnums producedas accounts . In some cases, especially that of Ch i rmahal , th eZemindars’ peshcush was fixed too high, but in some in stances ,especial ly that of Vésireddi Venkati dri N aidu, the peshcush was notonly fixed too low,

being based on ficti tious accounts, but was

actual ly sti l l further reduced by the Board of Revenue at M adras ,

anx ious that the Perman en t Settlement should be moderate .

Th e H aveli lan ds, wi th the exception of Divi , were di vi ded in tomutebe, each calculated to bear an assessment of one thousand toten thousand Pagodas as the Government demand, and these weresold and brought under the Permanent Settlemen t . Care was

taken that al l lands under one irrigation source should be includedin one mutah and the purchasing proprietors were to be held res

ponsible for the upkeep of these irrigation works, but migh t beassisted by loans from the Treasury at 1 2 per cent. This sale

of the H avéli mutahs took place in December 1802 and thus th ewhole of the present Kistna District passed under the PermanentSettlement, except Divi , which in 1 807 was given on Zemindar-itenure to Condregula Gopala Rao, grandson of the Dubash, andthe Palnsd which had recently been acquired from the N svab ofAr cot and whi ch, l ike the N el lore District, passed under triennialand decenn ial village rents, but did not become Zemindhri .

The principal purchasers of the H avel i mutahs were the f ollowing : Vasireddi Venkatadri N aidu bought the H avél i lands of

Kondapal le, the N i zampatam H avel i and the A kalamann zid an d

Inuguduru H avél is near Masul ipatam . Yarlagadda N agésvara

N aidu, the father of the Tsal lapal le Zemindi r, bought Pedana. The

Répal le Zemindar bought the H avél i lands of Kondavidu . Bomma

dévara N aganna N aidu, an enterprising man whohad made a fortune as a Commissariat Contractor in the Seringapatam campaign ,

bought the Val l li r and Gud ii ru estates, whi ch his descendants stil l

hold .

0 From th is Vi siteddi Venkatéd ri N aidu was called in M asuli patam th e H avéli u pand a large bui ld ing be erected in that town was known as th e H avel i Kacheri. In I”

theM ogal tur Raja relinquished h is portion of Kal idindi whi ch was then sold. Vi sireddi

Venkatadr i N aidu and M alrazu Venkata Gunda Raob id against each other and t fi

dri N aidu outbid the other Zemindar and purchased Kal i dindi beyond its value.

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350 icim l i msrmcr uA N UA L ,

In this M inute by Sir Thomas M unro are also some forcible t e

marks that the placing the whole of the N orthern Circars under thepermanent settlement had weakened the efficiency of the Collectors’

o ffices and left them wi thout any person capable of assisting them

in revenue matters when any dimcul ty arises . Instead of a Collector being surrounded by a body of intel ligent native ofi eers,

h is cutcherry is in this respect inferior to that of some of the Zemindars and is held in no respect by the people . By not having

such men the Collector is compelled, when a Zemindari comes intoh is hands , to hire such persons as he can find.

”

Thi s is an exact description of the state of afiairs in the Kistna

District sixty years ago. The Zemindaris were constantly attachedfor arrears and taken under the Court of Wards and the Col lectorsmanaged them by means of cutcherry retainers in such a way thatarrears sometimes accumulated as rapidly while the estates were

under management as they had done under the Zemindar . Some

Col lectors remained long enough to acqui re local know ledge, M essrs.

Oakes andWhish each held Guntur for ten years, but changes of Collectorswere frequent and a recently arrived Col lector ‘ could onl yappoint h is Sheristadar’s nominees tomanage these attached estates .

The terrible famine of 1 83 2 - 3 rendered the Zemindars less able thanbefore topay the Government demand and in the Guntfir Col lectoratethe mismanagement of the attached estates was increased by a bitterfeud among the Revenue servants . The H ead Sheristadar of Guntdr died in October 1 837 and efiorts to obtain the post were mad eby Sabnavis Venkata Krishna Rao, a dependent of the Vasiredd if amily, and by N yapati Seshagiri Raowhowas connected wi th th eManuru family of Chil kal t’i rpad and Sattenapal le. Al l the Revenue

subordinates and volunteers ranged themselves on the side of one orother and for more than five years the Guntur Collectorate was di s

much length in the report written by M r . Walter E ll iott, whowasdeputed to investigate the state of Gunttir . The report is datedA pril 1 4th, 1 846, and M r . E l l iott states reasons f or h is conclusionthat i t was useless to restore the estates to the Zemindars and to

'

expect any better resul ts in f uture .

0 Some acting Coll ectors adopted curious means of increasing their authori ty. In1 81 1 ML Robertson erected a gallows in f ront of hi s tent and ostentatiouslyordered lette rstobemanufactured . H e was removed for this .

srvm un A DM IN ISTRATION . 35 1

The experiment had been tried of placing the Zeminda

rs in charge

of their own Zemindaris as M anagers, but this also was a fai lure, theZ em indars fraudulently leasing vi l lages on low rentals in consider

a t ion of sums paid down as N uzzerana.

” Under the provisionsof the despatch of the Court of Directors dated 2 1 st June 1842 theG un tur Zemindi rs surrendered their estates to Government on theu nderstanding that they should receive a sufficient main tenancew i th the h0pe that the estates may be eventual ly restored . A f terw ard s it was decided by Government toplace beyond al l doubt their

pow er to deal with the estates by bringing them to sale

and buying them in . This was done in 1 846 . There were nopur

chasers and Governmen t bought in the Guntur Zemindari estates bya b id of Rs . f or each . A fter perusal of M r .W. E ll iott’s reportthe Directors wrote a Despatch on 3 l st January 1 849 declaringth e resumption of these estates tobe final .

The state of the Masul ipatam Col lectorate was very sim ilar tothat of Guntur . A lmost every Zemindar i came under the Collector’smanagemen t, either being attached f or arrears or taken under theCourt of Wards dur ing long minorities . On September 1 5th , 1835 ,M r . Wroughton wrote to the Board This district is almosten ti rely Zemindari and al l the estates are l iable to temporaryattachment. The si tuations are adventitious , the tenure uncertain

and ill paid and too pregnant w ith temptation . N orespectable,talented and intel ligent native would become a locum tenem . I n

consequence the appointments devolve upon worthless indi vidualswhose sole study is to make the si tuation subservient to their indiv idual interests . I n many cases the A mins

’situations are fil led

by creatures of the Cutcherry people . N eed I say more to showthe necessity of counteracting such a system of misrule

“

P In

accordance wi th M r . Wroughton’s suggestions the M asulipatam

Col lectorate was divided in to. eleven Tahsi ldaris in 1 836 . The large

estates acqui red by Vfisireddi Venkatadr i N aidu were surrenderedto Government, and in 1 843 the Charmahal Zemindari , as also in1 846 the Bezvada Zemindari , was put up to sale and purchased byGovernment, sothat before the year 1 849 all the Guntur Collectorateand a considerable portion of the M asul ipatam Collectorate was nolonger under the Zemindari form of tenure .

The year 1 849 is to be noticed as the date of the appointment ofa Commissioner of the N orthern C ircars . The Court of Directors,

3 52 KI STN A msrmcr lumen ,

upon perusal of M r . Walter E ll iott’s report’on Guntur afiairs, sent

out orders that al l the N orthern Circars should be placed under the

immedi ate charge of one of the members of the Board of Reven ue,with ful l powers of the Board . I n accordance with thi s order M r .

Walter E ll iott himself was appoia Commi ssioner of the N orth ernCircars in 1 849 and soon afterwards came toM asul ipatam . The

state of the M asul ipatam Distri ct, as descr ibed in the Comm issioner’s

correspondence, reminds one of M r . Il tudus Prichard’s Chroni c lesof Budgepore .

” M r . R . T. Porter had been Collector since 1 842

and the H ead Sheristadar f or the same period was Sundaragiri

Ramanuja Rao. The Commissioner found more than four thousan d

communications lying unanswered in the Col lector’s Office . A s an

instance showing how the District had sl ipped out of the Collector’shands may be told the story of Durgagiri Gossayi . H e was a

Savukar of H aidarabad and lent money tothe Zem indar of N uzv i du .

Being imprudent enough to come toN uzvidu asking f or hi s mon ey,he and his servants were seized by the Zemin dflr’s people, his bon dsw ere forcibly taken f rom him and returned tohim duly receipted as

discharged in full , he and some of hi s servants were, through th e

connivance of a dishonest H ead of Pol ice, committed to the Sess ionsCourt on a false charge of attempt to murder, and others of his ser

vants were carried by the Zem indar’s people over the f rontier and

imprisoned in a fort in the N izam’s Domi nions .

The Comm issioner made a determined attack upon the officers

responsible f or thi s mal - admin istration . The Collector, Mr . Por ter ,was removed from ofi ce and M r . T . D . Lushington took his pla ceA Special A ssistant Coll ector, M r . E . W. Bird, was posted toM asul ipatam and almost al l the Revenue ofiicial s were charged before h imw ith receiving bribes . In al l 1 1 6 native ofiicers stood their h i s ] .Some were fined under Regulation IX of 182 2 and others were comm itted to the Session Court, but the Collector reversed the convictionsand the Judge acquitted in almost every case . The principal ev idence against them was the entries in the accounts of the Zemi ndfir’sVakils and the favouri te l ine of defence was to al lege that th e sums

SirWalter E l l iott’s Q in ions were not in accord wi th those of some other experien ced

omcers. The copy of his report whi ch i s be fore me bears numerous pencil notes in the

margin in the handwriting of M r . John'

Gold ingham, Col lector of Guntur 1 887 - 42 . and

af terwards himsel f Commissioner of the North ern Circars. These marginal notes show

that M r . Coldingham entirely disagreed with many of SirWal ter E lliott’s conclusions . So

alsoM r. Porter, Col lector of Masul ipatam, and M r. P. B . Smol lett, Collector of Win gs patam, di f f ered in many points f rom the views of SirW. E ll iott.

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854 KISTN A Drsrsrcr M AN UAL ,

stations . Kodur in Bandar Taluq, Kaikalr’

rr in Gudivada Taluq,

Jaggayyapet in N andigfrma Taluq, Tenal i in Repal le Taluq , Pon

nt’rr in Bapatla Taluq, Guntur town and M angalagir i in

“

Gun t tir

Taluq and Tumarakota in the Palnad .

The Distri ct is at present divided intotwo Local Fund Circles ,M asulipatam and Guntur . The M asulipatam Circle includes al l on

the left bank of the river and al sothe rich Repalle Taluq . The Gun tur

C ircle compri ses al l on the r ight bank except Répal le Taluq.

There is nom i l i tary force now stationed in the Kistna Distr ict .

Peace is maintained by a Pol ice force which numbers 2 Eur opeanOfficers , 3 E uropean In spectors, 1 8 N ative Inspectors; 5 N ati veSub - Inspectors, 3 E uropean H ead Constables, 1 4 1 N ative H ead

Constables, Constables and 2 6 v i l lage hil l watchmen , in a l l a

total of men , being one man for every seven square m i les ofarea or one man for every of the population .

A reserve of 44 Constables armed w ith sni ders under a E uropeanInspector is stationed at Jaggayyapet to guard against band i tt ifrom the N iza

'tm

’s Terr itory .

It has been mentioned in the above sketch of the changes in th i sDi strict that almost every Zemindar i came under the Coll ector’shands f or longer or shorter terms of years . L ittle seems toha vebeen done, however , to introduce any improved system of lan d

revenue at these opportun i ties and the faulty Zem indar i systemcontinued, wi th the Kai ls” or actual measurements of the crop

which lay heaped f or weeks awaiting the measurer , wi th th e

suchens ” or estimate, made by a venal estimator, w i th the join tvil lage rents giving rise tofactions and oppression of the poor er

vi l lagers by their stronger neighbours .

The first Col lector who made any attempt tograpple wi th the

subject was M r . G . E . Russel l ,B Col lector of M asu l ipatam,

181 2 - 2 1 .

H e selected the v i llage of Telaprolu in the N uzv idu Zemindar i an dmade a m inute survey of the vi l lage fix ing the

’

amount tobe pa idby each indiv idual cultivator according to the qual ity of the lan dshe held. M r . Russel l

’s reporton Telaprélu is dated 2 0th Septemb e r

1 818. U nder the rental thus fixed by the Collector the totalamount paid by Telaprolu vi llage was Rs . in Fasli 1 2 2 8

0 M r. Russell was a grandson of Governor Lord Pigot and became Col lector of M asul i

pah n at nine years’serv ice. H e was himsel f Governor in 1887.

srvrmus Am uN rsrsArrON . 355

an d rose gradual ly to Rs . in Fasl i 1 2 41 whi le the ryotsw ere prosperous and contente d under the Col lector’3 management,b ut the young Zemindar whogot possession of his estates in A .D .

1 83 1 , exacted no less than Rs . from Telaprolu in Fas li

1 2 42 and Rs . in Fasl i 1 2 43 . Then came the fam ine and

i n Fasl i 1 2 46 , after the famine, the vi l lage paid only Rs . 675, so

a l l trace of the former prosperi ty had vani shed. M r . Russell’s

r eport on Telaprti lu contains a deeply interesting account of the

r ack rents and extra col lections by the Zemindar’s retainers whi chl e f t to the wretched cultivators barely enough f or the support of life .

The report is tobe found in Vol . 9 of L etters sent toBoard in theM asuli patam Collector’s office and deserves perusal . A nother Coll ector, M r . P . Gran t, made a sim ilar survey of the village of Kaitu

p al le, but nogeneral action was taken upon the data furnished bythese twoisolated surveys .

M r . H . Stokes in 1 844 attempted to introduce an improvedRevenue system in the resumed Zemindari estates of the GunturDi strict, but was restrained by the con servative ideas of his Sheristadar, N yapati Seshagiri Rao, who was supported in hi s cautiousviews by the then Board of Revenue . M r . W. E l liott supportedM r . Stokes in his advanced policy and by 1850 the Guntur Districthad been brought under the system which in the old records istermed makta, and is sometimes cal led Ryotwari , but in truthd ifiered very li ttle from the joint v illage rents of the M asul ipatam

D istrict .’ There was a fixed total demand on each v il lage and the

individual cultivators were left to apportion thi s demand . I f remis

sions were necessary they were given in lump sums to vil lages .

The influential ryots secured their own interests at the expense oftheir weaker neighbours and al l sorts of curiously old - fashionedideas of Revenue A dmin istration , such as tak ids l o perm itting cultivators toreap their crops and the notion that no E nglish - speakingnati ve coul d be an e fficient Sheri stadzi r, survived in the Gun turCollectorate wi thin the recol lection of men stil l in the service .

That old system of Revenue practice passed away w ith the introduction of the Survey areas and Settlement rates of assessment.

0 See Para. 18of M r .Wilson’s Report in Board’s N o. 1 62 8of 9th March 1 870.

l 0 The most amusing instance was a circular takid issued by the Col lector of Masul i

patam. H e had noticed that reports of damage done tocrops by hai lstorms said that th e

hai lstones were as large as mangoes or even cocoanuts . This he posi tively forbade.Thencef orward hai lstones were not toexceed the size of M es.

356 n s'rNA msrarcr m en ,

The assessment Operations in the M asul ipatam portion of the Ki stnaDistrict were commenced by M r . Bal lard in 1 859 and were con ti

nued by M r . F . W. Morris in 1 860 . The proposals were sanctionedin G. O . N o. 181 2 , dated 3oth September 1864. The work in theGuntur District was undertaken after that in M asulipatam and was

not laid before the Board unti l the close of the year 1 868, b ei ngdelayed until the Sur vey Department had completed their operation 3

in the Palnad , the last Taluq of the Distri ct . The report of M r

F . W. Morris on M asuli patam is printed in Board’s Proceed ingsN o. 1 5 1 7, dated 1 7th October 1 862 , and the Report of M r . WWil son on the Guntur portion of the D istri ct is printed in Boa rd ’sProceedings N o. 1 62 8, dated 9th M arch M r . F . W. M orr is

proposed 1 4 rates f or the lands in the M asulipatam part of the

District , the irrigated land paying from Rs. 2 -8- 0 toRs . 7 per acre

and the uni rrigated land from A nnas 4 to Rs. 4 . In classifying the

soi ls he placed noless than 77 per cent. of the land under pure and

loamy Regur .

” One special peculiarity in his proposals was histreatment of the irrigated lands in the Kolléru lake, the rates on

which were reduced in consideration of the moul iar disadvantagesof these lands, irrigated by li fts only when other cultivation f a i l s .

In M r . Wilson’s classification of the Gun tur part of the Distri ct as

much as 90 per cent. of the whole is placed under varieties of the

Regur” or black cotton soil and md soils were only 2 per cen t.

The highest class is the al luvial” along the margin of the r iv er

60 vi llages with lands amounting to 6 6 per cent. of the whole area

were placed in the first or al luvial group. 2 00 vil lages wi th lan ds

amounting to 2 1 3 of the whole area, comprising the sand of the

coast and the stony uplands of the interior , were placed in the th i rd

or poorest class and the second or principal group numbered 465

vi llages wi th lands amounting to72 1 per cent. of the whole area .

Thi s second group comprised the land in Repal le and Bapat la

Talaqs, irrigated by the ani cut, and the heavy loams near Pre tti

padu which bear good craps when the rainf allr

is timely . The rates

on irrigated land varied from Rs. 1 - 1 2 - 0 to Rs. 7-8- 0 and on un i rr i

gated lands from A s . 4 to Rs. 4 80 per acre .

One point upon whi ch the Board of Revenue di d not agree w i th

Mr . Wi lson was hi s proposal to regard as unirrigated the lan ds,

about acres, irr igated from the perenn ial springs in the great

“ These reporte take up 400 quartc pagee of closely printed matter. They are in

every Revenue ofi ce, soneed not be reproduced here.

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358 KISTNA ers-rarer H AN BAL,

A P P E N D I X .

A L I ST OF CH IE FS IN COUN CIL , AN D COL L E CTORS OF MASUL IPATAM .

GUNTUR AND TH E KISTN A DI STRICT.

Chief s in Council at M asul ipalam.

John A ndrews Dec. 1 759.

James A lexander Feb . 1 760. E dward Cotsord

John Andrews M ay 1 761 . James H odges

Richard Fairfield Sept. 1 761 . James Daniel

John Pybus Nov . 1 762 . James H odges

John L ewin Smi th A ug. 1 766 . James Daniel

A l exander Wynch A pril 1 769 . James H odges

Samuel Jchnscn Oct. 1 769. James Dan ielNov . 1 769.

4th Dec. 1 772 . A nthony Sadl eir

Dec. 1 772 . James H odges4th July 1 778. A nthony Sad leir

5th Sept. 1 773 . GeorgeWestcott

Sept. 1 773 . Morgan Wi l liamsOCR 1 773 . Obu lgs Ployer

1 1 th D00 . 1 773 . James H odgesA pril 1 774.

Charles Desvcsux Jan . 1 776. James H odges-h Feb . 1 776. A ugustus Dobbyn

5th A ug. 1 776 . A nthony'sm eir

2 nd Nov . 1 776' A ugustusDobbyn

1 6th June 1 777‘

Anthony Sedl eir'

30th Aug. 1 777 . A ugustusDobbyM

8th Dec. 1 777. A . Scott

John Peter Boileau 8rd A pri l 1 778.

Messrs . Sadleir and Dobbyn both died in October 1 798, and Mr.

l st A ug. 181 6.

l at Sept .

P. B . Cazalet

8th Feb . 1 786.

lath March 1 786.

loth May 1 785.

1 9th June 1 787.

l 6th July 1 787~

W. Thomas

A . S . M atheson

A . Scott

W. Mainwaring

M . G . H udson

M . G . H udson

M . G . H udson

Thomas Jarrett

F . W . Robertson

Thomas Jarrett

F. W Robertson

T . A . Oakes

G . W. Saunders

T . A . Oakes

St . John ThackerayT . A . Oakes

Joseph Clulow

W. E . Underwood

REVE N U E A DM IN ISTRA TION .

2 nd June 1832 . E . E . Ward

— In charge.

Jul y 1 882 .

Feb . 1883 .

M ar . 1 886'

A pri l 1835 .

June 1835 .

oth Jan . 1886 .

— In charge.

2 9th A pri l 1 83 6 .

Jan . 1 887 .

Feb . 1838.

— In charge .

Feb . 1838.

M ay 1 888.

M ay 1842 .

- In charge.

June 1 842 . W. Knox

M . C. Chase

Col lector : of Guntur .

. 2 4th M arch 1 794.

. . 2 5th Jan . 1800.

9th July 1 900.

A ug. 1800— In charge.

Sept. 1800.

9th A ug. 1802 ,

(Resigned )June 1808. J , Blackburn

— In charge .

A . 8. thOct. 1803 .

M“

June 1806 .

8th July 1 3 16 .

(Died ) .

June 1807 .

— In charge .

A ug. 1807 .

Dec . 1 809 .

A pri l 181 0.

Dec. 181 0.

Oct 1 81 1.

M ay 1 81 4.

July 181 4.

July 181 6.

Nov . 181 6 .

Sept. 1 82 1 .

— In charge.

Oct. 182 1 .

June 182 5 .

— In charge .

A ug. 1 82 6 .

Jan . 182 7.

- In charge.

G . A . H arris

E . B . Glass

1 6th Feb.

359

1842 .

360 KISTN A nrsrarcr MAN UA L,

H . Stokes

H 8m “Nov . 1 857 .

A . G . Tweed l e2 nd Nov . 1 868.

H . N ewil l

J. W. B . Dykes

C. G . M aster

L istof Collector: t he Kistna District.

J . A . C. Boswel l

H . N ewman

H enry Moberly

A . J. Stuart

Gordon Mackenzie

W. H . Comyn

C . J . Knox June 1 881 .

J. A . C. Boswel l

Boyd H ombrugh Sept.

Oct .

Dec. 1 6 1

sth July 1 870.

90th Sep t. 1 3 70 .

— In charg e

6th Oct . 1 87 1

1 9th Feb . 1 878

3 rd A p l . 1 87 5

- In charge.

loth Oct . 1 87 5 .

17th Nov . 1 87 7 .

8th A pl . 1 87 8.

— In charge

loth A p l . 1 878.

2 4th A pl . 1 878.

A p l .

In charg e .

2 4th Jon e 1 879 .

l 6th A pl . l ean.

2oth Feb . 1 881 .

l 7th A p l . 1 881 .

— (D iod)am M ay 1 881 .

— In charge .

6th June 1 881 .

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862 KISTN A ms'rsl c'r M A N UA L ,

M adras by sea and there sold it at the rate of eight annas for eachtree . This successful speculation induced many others to sinkcapital in Casuarina p lantations and many of them , especial ly thosenear Vadarevu, w i ll bring a very good return to the proprietors . Ofcourse these native capital ists can manage their plantations muchmore cheaply than can any Government Department and it is saidthat the cost of a plantation

' is foun d tobe half an anna per tree and

the value eight annas or more f or each tree, sothat this cul tivationof barren sandy wastes on the coast must be a lucrative under

taking . I i there were better roads fr om the coast to Guntur theseplantations would send a supply of firewood which there costs Rs . 9

per ton .

The Jungle Conservancy Fund has also been uti l ised in the formation of reserves on the Kondapal le range . These hi ll s contain bambooand some useful timber, especial ly the light woodwhich is used for thewell known Kondapal le toys, in Telugu Ponuku, in Latin Gyrocmp usA siaticus . For three years cattle and goats have been r igidlyexcluded from the Kondapal le hi ll s and the resul t is very marked ,young trees grow ing up vigorously, unmolested by herds or herdsmen . The chief obstacle in the formation of such reserves is the in

trusion of the prickly- pear cactus (opuntia vu lgari s) whi ch . gains a

footing everywhere and can be extirpated on ly at considerable expense. The natives say that this troublesome plant was first introduced in this Distri ct by the English officials at Perali in the B4

patla Taluq and old men there say they recoll ect the first specimensbeing landed from a E uropean ship and plan ted as a hedge roundthe salt pans, adding that f or some time much trouble was taken tobring fresh water from a di stance unti l it was found that the cactusdi d not require so careful tending . Now it forms impenetrablethickets in that neighbourhood and has sooverspread the Dis trictthat it i s the principal di fficulty tobe overcome in any forest reser

vation .*

The Palmyra tree (Borassus flabel lzf ormi s) on the coast is alsoa

recent arrival , having been introduced in 1 796 at the suggestion ofDr . H eyne . A nother plant in these sandy cl imes whi ch deservesmen tion is a dim inutive member of the fami ly of Cin chonacew called

I t has been said by some that prickly - pear forms a usef ul sh elte r for young trees, but

th i s th eory is not hom e out by f acts in th is D istrict. The cactus chokes other vogoh tion,and when cleared away one sees that any sap l ings whi ch have survived in sp ite of tho

cactus are puny specimens wh ich never become vigorous h oes .

M ISCE LLA N EOUS . 3 63

by L innwas Olden land ia Umbel lwta , by Lamarck H edyotis Umbel lata ,

in Telugu Ohcn'

velu and in E nglish chay or chey root . Thi s plan tis sometimes cultivated, but that whi ch grows spontaneously in thesands is considered to be superior and the right to gather it is farmed out each year . The bark of the root is used to produce the redand orange dyes characteristic of M asulipatam cloths and this dyeresists the action of spir it which is more than can be said for the reddye produced from M anj i t (Rubia cordifolia .) Like most hi l l fortsin India the fortresses of Kondapal le, Kondavidu and Bellamkonda

have in their neighbourhood a number of the custard apple plan t

(anona squamosa). A t Kondavidu especially this shrub grows

p len ti f ully and the jungle frui ts on that bi ll are sold for aboutR s . 600 each year .

The severe drought of 1 83 2 - 3 destroyed most of the orchards oforange and mango trees on the plain of Guntur and the people donot restore them for they donot now seem tohave the Same fancythat their forefathers must have had for plan ting groves of tamarindand other f rui t trees. I n general the District is very desti tute oftrees . The Banian (ficus I ndica) of the road avenues and a f ew

Ravi (liens religion ) and margosa (metia. azadi rachta ) trees near

the vill ages with the low Tumma trees (A cacia. A rabica) in waste orswampy lands '

ers the on ly trees to be seen on the plains and timberf or carpen ter’s work is usually brought from the adjacen t Godavar i

or Karnul District .

FA UN A .— Thornton’s Gazetteer states that the Zoology of Guntur

is meagre, there being fewer wi ld animals in thi s part of Indiathan in almost any other .

” Thi s is overstated . Wi ld an imals

are certainly not plentiful , but tigers and sambhur are found in thePalnad and Vinukonda jungles, on the M édasala Durga ridge and onthe Kondapalle and Jamalavayi“ hi ll s

,while cheetahs wi th

an occasional bear or hyena lurk in the rocky eminences in al l the

inland taluqs and wolves sti l l exist in the more open parts of thecountry such as, for instance, the tract near Yanamadala south and

east of the Kondavidu range . A ntelope are tobe seen especial ly inthe Bapatla Taluq and spotted- deer and pig haunt the glades in thelow jungle along the coast . Some of the smal ler var ieties of deerhave been shot on Kondapalle or caught when floods had driventhem to some rising ground on the p lain s .

ModurghAt is f eet above sea level , the highest h il l in the District.

364 KISTN A msrmcr M AN U AL ,

I n the Deltaic taluqs there is, of course , abundance of duck, tealand sn ipe, but in the upland taluqs there are f ew game birds.

Bustards are occasional ly seen in Vinukonda but are exceedinewary . Partridges and quail of course are found and fior ican near

Guntur and M angalagiri .

Flamingoes, pelicans and many other varieties of waders are

plentiful in the swamps near the coas t and there is a curious thingthat I have not heard of in any other District, namely, that somein land vi l lages foster colonies of pel icans in their neighbourhood,considering that the birds bring good fortune tothe v il lages . Thismay be seen at Yendrayi in the extreme north - west of GunturTaluq and much further inland at Pakalapadu of Sattenpal le Taluq,a vi l lage almost under the shadow of Bel lamkonda. A t Pakalapadu

the v i llagers subscribe a monthly salary for a watchman whoseesthat the birds are not molested and there are several hundreds ofthese pel icans there, bui lding their nests in the trees north of thevi llage . The birds are not readily di sturbed, but it is wel l for thecur ious observer not toapproach their trees too closely because ofthe ancient and fish - l ike smel l .

The great extent of land under pasture in this District is favourable tothe breeding of cattle and along with the Nel lore District,the Kistna District is known for i ts good oxen . They are very

powerful an imals f or heavy draught, but as compared tothe M ysorebul locks are Slow and they deteriorate when taken toother di strictsor countries where the grass is not so suitable . From 1 859 to 1875annual Cattle Shows were held at Ongole or A ddanki and the cattlefrom Narsaravupet and Vinukonda held their own Wi th the catt le ofN el lore District, and brought back several prizes across the f rontier .

The way in which two huge an imal s from Vinukonda Taluq in

January 1 874 gained the prize for draught oxen , taking up a slope '

w ith apparent ease a cart laden w ith a ton weight of sand bags wasan exhibition not soon forgotten by the crowd whowi tnessed i t.

I N DUs'rxms .— These cattle are essential tothe people of this District

which is greatly dependent on agriculture .* The detai ls of the area

cultivated under each crop w i ll be given in the statistical appendices

,but the total s may be Shown here . They are f or the year 1 881 - 2 .

A cres .

Irrigated land, First cropSecond crop 955

In th e N el lore M anual is a detai led descrip tion by M r . Charles Randal l of the Agncultural system of that D istri ct wh ich appl ies equal ly tothe Ki stna D istrict.

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366 KI STN A nrsrmcr MAN UAL ,

A glance shows what a large extent is under food grains . In pros

perous years this district exports grain inland and by sea . The

proposed railways to the inlan d terri tory wi ll doubtless increasethi s trade . Only 400a cres are under wheat whi ch is exported f romVadarevu and M asul ipatam . More than acres are under

rice and almost an equal extent is under the Ital ian Mil lett, Icon -u,

(Pan icwm I tal/ibum) . acres are cul tivated w ith that precarious crop the Greater M i l lett, j onna, (sorghum vulqare), whichis ruined if rains fall in December or January

, but its straw is

invaluable as fodder for the cattle in the hot months and th e ryots

wi l l not abandon its cul tivation . A s much as acres are

under Var iga, (Pan icum M i l ih ceum), acres are un der the

spiked M i llett, Sazza. (Pan icum sp icatum), are under M aize

and only under the prolific Ragi (E leusine ooracana ). In

pulses we find acres under horse gram (Dolichos angiom )and 2 5

,000 acres each under Bengal gram (Gioer afi etinum) and

Dholl (caj anm ). U nder orchards the mango tree occupiesacres . U nder drugs the opium poppy (p apaver somn if erum) issaid to be grown on 1 86 acres,* but this is evidently a mistake probably f or hemp or some other in toxi cant, and tobacco onacres . Some of the tobaccogrown on the rich all uvial soil i s of tolerable quali ty, but much of what is grown under well - irrigation inlandi s very inferior . Chil li es occupy the astoni shing exte n t ofacres and coriander seed follows with acres. There is no

sugar- cane grown [in this District, the area under sugar

” beingoccupied by the Palmyra tree (Bom ssusflabel l iformis).

Among oil Smds l inseed occupies on ly 1 72 acres and gingelly

(sesamum) only but castor oil (Ricinus Commands) covers noless than acres . Very recen tly M essrs . Simeon Brothers ofCocanada have set up a Mi l l in Guntur to express the oi l of the

castor seeds and are selling large quanti ties of the oil . Some nativemerchants are following this example and there seems tobe no

reason why oil should not be expressed locally inste ad of in E urope,

The gingelly (sesamum) seeds are shipped from thi s coast to Mar

seil les and their oil returns to India label led Best Lucca Oi l .”

Tons of caster seeds can be obtained in this District, yet we were

content topurchase for our Dispensaries E nglish bottles of castoroi l costing about one rupee per lb . until recently at M essrs. Simson’s

press it was sold wholesale at l ittle more than one anna per lb .

The op ium consumed in th is District comes f rom Malwa to the M erchants at Jargayyapet whosupply al l the Northorn Circars .

M ISCE LLAN EOU S . 367

U nder dyes the smal l cheyroot plan t takes up 41 8 acres and the

remainder 69, 736 acres is under indigo. But thi s cul tivation of

in digo is extending very rapidly indeed, so much so that i n some

v i l lages there rs a difficul ty about straw for the cattle, indi go havingd r iven cereals Ofi the field . M any ryots have their own vats or at

l east a share in a vat where they boi l the leaf and extract the

in digo, but others merely cul tivate the plant and sell their leaf to

some neighbour whohas a vat. N ew vats are now being constructed

on every side, but I have nostatistics of the trade in the dye whi chi s pr incipally in the hands of some M uhammadans . It is said that

to maunds of 82 3; lbs . are annual ly purchased in

Guntl ir and the total f or the whole Distr ict may amount tomaunds at Rs . 50 each . This represents Rs . U nder

fibres the figures for last year -were

Cotton (gossyp i’wm)

Jute (cannabi s) 605

81 2

There are in Guntur four presses where the raw cotton purchased0 3 the ryots’carts is pressed into bales and despatched to the coastfor shi pment . The staple is short and the cotton wi l l not comparewi th A mer ican cotton , but the demand for it continues and bringsmoney into the District . From statistics kindly f urnished me byR . P . Gi ll , E sq.

, of M essrs . Gi ll Deane 81; Cc . ,it appears that in

the'

Six years from A pril l st, 1 876, to M arch 3 l st, 1882 , there weredespatched from Gnntfir the fol lowing number of bales weighing300 lbs . each

To CocanadaTo M asul ipatamTo M adras

ToN ell ore

whi ch gives an annual average of 2 1 , 1 00 bales despatched from the

Gun tur presses. Taking the price of cotton at annas 3 per lb . theremust be about sterling remi tted to the Guntur cul tivatorseach year in exchange for thi s cotte n .

*

A f ter agriculture the most important industry 1 1 1 this DistrictWoul d that this money were used in some productive industry . M r. B . Sherman ,

Agent of thoBm k oi M m cs lculated thst 1 00,000 sovsrelgns ars boarded every yearin the KistnaDish 'lot.

368 xrs'rN A nrsrmc'r MA N UA L ,

is weaving. The extracts given in previ ous chapte rs from the

old records, including the narrative of the journey of M r . Streyn

sham M aster , show that in previous centuries th is industry was an

important factor in the prosper ity of the District . The chi ntzes and

coloured cloths of M asulipatam had a wide reputation and that portsent these goods tothe Persian Gul f to the value of fifty lakhs ineach year , but the annual value of the trade has now fal len tohalf alakh . The vi llages along the san d r idge west of Bi patla had alsoa

very exte nsive trade, Spinning their own thread and weaving very

substantial cloths . This trade is not extinct, but flimsy cheap piece

goods from M anchester have almost dr iven the durable local clothsout of the market . A t Jaggayyapet silk cloths are woven f romthread which is brought f rom the Central Prov inces, and at manyinland vi l lages , such as A chammapet in Sattenapal le Taluq,ing has not entirely disappeared, but in general the weavers have

been forced by the competi tion of M anchester goods to abandontheir looms and take tothe plough .

There are various minor industries in every v i l lage ; the potter, theblacksmith, the carpen ter and goldsmith, the bricklayer, shoemaker

and other hereditary artizans all ply their trade .

A t Kondavidu there i s a special ity. Some Muhammadans extract

essences and fragrant oils from the flowers of Jasmine, Pandanus

and other plants, sending these to H aidarabad for sale. They

also manuf acture a strong rough brown paper and have sti ll

a grievance against M r . Newi ll , a Collector of Gunter who

discontinued the use of this paper in the oflices, some twenty.

five years ago. A t Kondapal le there is also a special local

industry, the manuf acture of the well - known small figures and toysfrom a very light wood that grows on the hil ls there , (Gyros

-mp“

A s iaticus)

Raw hi des are largely exported and some leather is locall y tannedby the use of the bark of the shrub call ed Tange

'

du (Cassia A uricu

lata.) A curious export not usual ly known may be here men tioned.

It is the feathers of the k ing- fisher .* The L abbays and M uham

madans give Rs . 1 6 per hundred feathers tothe jungle tr ibes who

col lect the feathers, which is more than three pence for each f eather.

Saltpetre is made in some inland villages and along the coast are

the Government sal t factories where sal t is manuf actured by evapo

The wh iteobreasted king-fisher, H alcyoaj m u , in Telugu Lat in a -Mu .

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CH APTER XII I .

A fter the preceding chapters were in type an early draft was

obtained of the Re vi ew of the Kistna Distri ct by the DeputySuperintendent of the Cen sus of 1 881 . It i s given verbatim

'

as

fol lows

KIs'rN A DISTRICT .

The district of Kistna l ies n ext toand south of Godavari .

It covers an area of square m i les . In point of size,'Kistna

ranks fifth and in population twel f th among the di str icts of thePresidency.

The district is di vided intothi rteen taluqs, eleven being Government and twoZem indari divi sions . The latter are Nll ZV ld and Vis

sanapét, an d their area i s square m i les . The number of

inhabited vi llages was

The number of occupied houses decreased by 1 per cent. The

population per occupied house was 5 8against 53 in 1 871 .

The population i n 1 881 was and in the follow ing tablei ts di stribution over terri torial div isions i s shown

Table showing the A rea, Vi l lages , Occup ied H ouses and Pop u lation

f or the Di str ict.

Population .

CE N SUS RE VI EW. 3 73

The population in 1 871 was in 1881 it was

g iv ing an in crease of or 6 62 per cent.

The fol lowing table shows the percentage of increase or decrease

b y taluqs and the densi ty of the population . In only two places,

v i z . Bezwéda and Vissanapét , there was a decrease ; in the former

b y'on ly 2 2 per cent . and in the latter by 2 2 7 per cent .

Table showi ng the Percentage of I ncrease or Decrease in Pap u lation in 1881

as comp ared wi th 1 871 , and the Densi ty of Pop u lation

f or K istna Distr ict.

Percent of Increaseor so

Densi tv .

D istri ct. Taluqs.

Kistna.

Repall eSattenapal leVinukondaVissanap ét

Distr ict Total

Total of the

Thi s increase varies from a fractional rise in N undigama to

1 6 ; per cent. in Nfizvid . Parts of the District felt the pressure of

I n 1 871 there were 1 81 person s to a square mile ; in 1 881 therewere 1 83 persons . In Government taluqs, the density is 184, andin Zemindari 1 76 . Kistna ranks sixteen th in the density of pcpulation .

There are 504 males to 496 females in every In 1871

there were 508males to 492 females .

374 msrm msrmcr u son ,

The classification by rel igion gives

Distr ict for 1881 .

Total 1 00-00 1 00-00

The H indus have gained 4 per cent., the M uhammadans 1 0 percent., and th e Christians have increased to nearly five times theirnumber in 1 87 1 . The Christians are chiefly (71 per cent.) Protestants, and the M uhammadans are chi efly Sunnis.

The number of E uropeans and E urasians returned was as under

0 0 .

The principal language of the di strict is Telugu. It is s ken bypersons, or 938 per cent. of the district pop tion ; 5

per cent . or speak H industani .The follow ing table gives th e ages of the co le as the ap in

the final statement in decennial periodsp p y pear

Table showing the Ages of the Peop le in the Kistna Distr ict in Decca- idP eriods.

60 and upwards

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3 76 men u msrmcr MA N UA L,

The proportions of the numbers of Brahmans, Shetties, Vel lAlars,

Idaiyars and Par iahs are above the average whi le those of Vanni

yans and Shanars are much below .

The following table compares the proportions of the distribution

of the occupied and the unoccupied population tothe six classes

with the proportions for the Presidency .

Percentage on Total Percentage on WorkPopul ation. ing Population.

Class .

Ki stna.

I . Prof essionalI I . DomesticI I I . Comm ercial

Occupied

VI . I ndefini te and N onProductive .

U noccup ied .

A bout half the population are returned as workers, while the

other half depend on them 66 58per cent . of males and per

cent. of females were workers . The total workers are below the

average in num ber, but the proportion of male workers is nearly the

same as the average.

The fol lowing table gives the distribution in actual numbers to

the several divisions .

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380 in s-nu msrmcr m uss .

Table showing the Percentage of M a les and Females of E ducated to Total

Percentage of EducatedtoTotal Population .

H indus

A l l Re ligions

There were persons of unsound mind as against 91 9

in 1 871 of bl ind against in 1 871 , 9 18 deaf- mute s as

against and 62 6 lepers as against 51 7 in 1 871 .

There are thirteen towns returned in Kistna with an aggre

gate population of or per cent . of the total . They are

Table showing the Distribut ion cf the Pop ulation according ”Rel igion i n each Tm is (has

Kistna District.

The twoM unicipalities are Guntoor and Buil der.

Of the town population, per cent . are M ussulmans

a very high proportion as compared w ith the rural population,where

the percentage is onl y per cent . Of Chr istians the town proportion i s low. They form only per cent . of the town popelation to of the rural population. In the towns there are 504

males to496 f emales in every

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384 n e A nrsrmcr MAN UAL,

N o. 2 (A ).— Statement showing the male pop ulation, arranged

ForZresu lts of census of 1 881 , see page 377:

Government service

Agricultural

Combustib les

Indefini te and non -pro Property

U nproductive

386

Puttahs .

Below BS . 1 0

KISTN A DI STRICT N AN UA L ,

N o3 .— Statement of Rent Rol l f or Fas li 1 2 9 1 .

Single Puttahs Joint Puttahs . Total Puttahs.

cessesaud

mera

S

payable

ove

and

above

assessment

.

and

Ti

ruvaj

asti

Assessment

inc

l

usive

of

Be

Fasalj

asti

,

but

exclusive

of

missions,

l ,54, 1 46

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KISTN A DISTRICT m un ,

No. 7.— Statemen t skewing ghe particulars

Rm rwm r .

Yuma.

A rea occup ied .

Total .

A cres . A cres.

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392 men u ms'rmc'r m un ,

N o. 7 (A ) .— Agri cu ltural Statistics , A creage of Crop s, in

Names of Talaqs.

1 Répal le

5 N arsaravnpet.

6 Gudivéda.

9 N andigfima.

1 1

3 Gnntti r

4 Palni d

5 N arsaravnpet.

1 1

Total Gov . and

or

Inam.

N umber of

2 1

I

STATISTICAL TABLE . 393

the Distr ict of Kis tna, f or Fas l i 1 2 91 .

some under crop . Number of acres under

Wh ereof under .

I I I . Green IV . TopesV. Spec ial On e cropI I . Seeds . and Gard and Do. 2 crop . Umm gated .

en crops . Orchard s .

crops . irn gated .

394 KISTN A DISTRICT MANUAL,

N O . 7 (AL— Agr i cu ltural Statistics, Acreageof Crop s, 66 ,in

Number of

I Food

Names of Taluqs.

Cholum . Wheat. n i . Camboo.

Gudi véda

Sattenapall e

Bandar

Bezvéds.

Répalle

Gnn tfir

N arsaravupet

0 0 0

Total Gov . and Inam

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396 KISTNA DISTnIcT 1 1 1 mm .

No. 7 (A ).— Agri cul tural Statisti cs, Acreage of Grape, 56 .

N 6 11 1 6 6 of Talaqs.

Total .

6 Gud ivéda

7 Sattenapalle

8

9 N sndigi ma

1 0 Bezv‘da

1 1 Vinfikonds

1 ,1 (B,449

1 Répal le

6 Gndiv‘da

Total Govt. and

STATISTICAL TABL E . 397

the Disbrict of Kistna , f or Fasli 1 2 91

acres under

1 1 . Seeds.

Cor inn Castor Ginge l ly Vendiam Bishop'sd er seed . oil seed . oil seed . seed . weed .

898 n s'rn l 1c M A L,

No. 7 (A L— Agricultural Acreage of Crops,

445

1 Répalle

8 Guntfir

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400 KISTNA DISTRICT IIA IICAL,

N o. 7 (A ) . — Agr icultural Statistics , A creage of Crop s, é-

c.

Names of Taluqs.

Colocssis M iscel la

A n tiquo neons and Total .

mm . Vegetable .

Gunt tir

1 Répal le

Tota l Govt . and

STATISTICAL TABLE . 401

the Distri ct of Kistna, f or Fas li 1 2 91

and Orchards .

402 KISTNA DISTRICT M ANUAL,

No. 7 (A ). — Agr icu ltural Statistics, A creage of Crop s, 8m, i s

N umber of acre s

Names.

Cotton . Indigo. Tohm .

Bépstls

Gudivéds.

Sattenapal le

Vinukonda

Guntfir

Vinukonda

Total

Total Govt . and

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404 KISTNA DISTRICT I IA N UA L ,

N o. 7 (B — Agri cultura l Stati stics , A creage of Crop s, 1346 .

i {N umber of acres under crop.

N ames of Tsluqs.

1 Répal le

4 PaluI'

Id

6 Gudq

8 Bandur . .

1 1 Vinukonda 90

STATISTICAL TABLE .

A graharam f or Fasli 1 2 9 1 i n the Distri ct of Kistna .

Ri ce .

405

406 KISTN A DISTRI CT TIAmIA L ,

No. 7 (B)~ A gri cu ltural statistics , acreage of crops,

Names of Ts luqs .

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408 KISTNA DISTRICT I IA N CA L,

N o. 7— (B) Agr icultural stat isti cs, acreage of crop s, 46 , i s

1 86m

2 Bspstls

8 Guntur

8 Bandar

Bezvtdo

Agraharam , f or Fasli 1 2 91 in the Distri ct of Ki stna .

Tapes and Orchards.

STATI STICAL TABLE .

V.-Speois.l crop s.

a o

:5“ 3

o oo .5 a

5Q

83

31- 1

409

4 1 0 K ISTNA DISTRICT IIA N UA L ,

No. 8.- State~ment chewing the p ar ticulars 0f the several Team-

cs,

other than Ryotwary.

Namesof the Zemindaries and Inam vi llages .

Chintalapati VantuNuzvi d ZaminDevarakota

Chevendra

Cbanubanda

Mylavaram 1 } portionDo. 1 portion

Ootnknr

Inagadapa MuttsGampalagudem East por tion

Do. West portionMun gala

Gudur Paragaua

Kuchi pudi

M unukutta

Devarapal l i

Sufi sm

1 171 1 1 VI L LAGl l .

RE rA LLI TALUQ.

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4 1 2 KISTNA DISTRICT IIAN UA L ,

N o. 8.— Statemsnt skewing the p articulars of the several Ta mra ,

other than Ryotwary.

Palnad Ta luq .

Chennayapal lem

Sri rukunni puram

China A graharam

Peda Agraharam

N idanampadu

Viralak shmipuram

Singarutla A graharam

Tripura Suudar ipuramMai lavaramDamarlapadu

N avasamambapuram

Venkamambapuram

Jaugsmahesvarapuram

Pul lsredd igudem

A lugumal l ipadu

Janga M ahesvar

apuram hamlet

alampad

Jammalamadaka

Total

Norasarowp stt Tal uq .

Jonnatal i

L akkavaram

Ch ina Pasumarru

Kantet ivari Khandr ika

Vemavaram

Chen nupal l i

Totapudi

Komm alapadu . .

Sankal iugamgudipadum

Pamid ipadu

Gun tagavlapadu

M uttanapall i

N al lagav lapadu

Dondapa'

du

N 6 Zel lapal li

Gurijépall iLuigamgnntla

Petlurupallem

Annavarappadu

Visvanadhuin KhandrikaVipparlapal le

STA TISTICAL TABLE .

N o. 8.— Statement shewi ng the par ti cu lars of the severa l Tenures ,

other than Ryotwary .

The entire Pe ishcush

beriz of the or quit - rent

N ames of the Zemindaries and Inam Vi llages. Estate for for Fasl i 1 2 91

Fasli 1 2 9 1 or or

A .D. 1 881 -82 . A .D . 1 881 -82 .

Gudi vada Talaq .

Kummaragun ta

Vemavarappal lem

Maundikol laVérugunta

Chi lakamud i

GangadhavapuramSiddhan tam

ChiriohiutalaBamaehendrapuram

Bi llapadu

China YarukapadhRamapuramPeda L in la

Gunta K firu

Saida fid i

GandgpfidiSi tanapal l i

Kondurn

China Tummid iM audapadu

Kalavapud i

Vadal iGdginampaduKooragun tapal lemGonepadu

Syamal ambapuhamSyobhauadr ipuram

Chi ntalapud i

M irmampal lem

Kalavapud i MokhasaL e

’

l lapudi

41 4 K ISTNA DISTRICT MANUAL,

N o. 8.— Statemen t skewi ng the p arti cu lars of the several Tenures

,

other than Ryotwary.

the Zem

China M akkenaGdrantlaA nantavaramPam pal l iRentapal laPattipadnPondugalaM al lad iJupud iM ad ipéduGinzupal l iAmbatipud i

BalamarruKétavaramKottapaduVennayapal lemPapayapal lemH asuubadaGarikapaduPouugupadu KhandrikaM angalagir ipaduDéchavaram Khand rikaPal idévar lapadu

Gur idalapadu

Nan smgapaduTr ipurapuram ”

Kastala

Bandar Taluq .

M aui vem ram

N andigama Ta luq .

Pal lempal l iAmbi rupettaRamireddi pall i AgraharamTad igummi

n

aharamA d ivirévula

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LmmT

858

wmmA

Sa

.

NT8m41 6

Sh

gm

mx7~

mwn.

amwowmm

aguwbwfi

mun

gmfi

Rumb

a

2.

6

t

mom

33.

ma

g

«mag

STATISTICAL TABLE . 41 7

N o. I O— Statemen t skewing the tota l value of Trade f or a seri es often years in the Kistna Di str ict.

Value of Imports .

Total .

N . B.— The figures for 1 872

- 73 and 1 873 - 74 represent only the value of Importsand Exports from and to Bri ti sh Ports wi th in the Presidency : Returns showingImports and Exports from and toFore ign coun tries, from and toBri tish Ports in

other Presidencies and from and toIndian Ports not British are not forthcoming inthe 06 00 mas.

2 67

, 1 74

35993 03

as, 2 .

,75,

4 1 8 K] STN A DISTRICT MANUAL,

< 1

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42 0 KISTNA DISTRICT MAN UAL,

5498

58

8

560

641

STATI STI CAL TABLE . 42 1

42 2 KI STNA DISTs IcT m us t ,

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KISTNA DISTRICT u N UAL ,

298

5.

2,

815

482

628

610

STATISTI CAL TABLE .

100

210

42 5

KISTN A DISTRICT MAN UAL,

124

R

.

235

,323

867

882

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KI STNA DIS-

rul er m u ,42 8

42 9STATISTI CAL TABLE .

mafia

80

Six

N

3.

mm

.

on

KISTN A DISTRICT I A N UA L ,430

8

8

a

8

8

8

3

a

:

8

88

i

f

8

3

8

3

8

8

88

v

2

2

8

8

8

8

8

«

8

8

a

5.

88

2

R8

2

8

88°

2:

588

a

o

:

8

8

3

2

8

88

8

88

3

8

2

8

8

2.

2

8

2

a

s

98

2

8

2.

2.

8

2

88

x:

88

8

2

2

8

2

8

2

38

5

2

3:

8

28

88

88°

8

588

2828

8

88

8

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432 n orm Dmm cr n u n ,

No. l 5 .- Statement of persons tried, convicted and acqu i tted and

M urder

Hurts and assaul ts

Dacoi ty

Other ofiences againstPenal Code

Special and Local Laws

M urder

Culpable homi ci deRape

Hurts and assaultsOther ofiences against thepersonDacoityRobberyHouseTh eft .

Other ofiences against pro

1 1 Other ofiences against the

Penal Code

1 2 Special and Local Laws

STATISTICAL TABLE . 433

N o. l 5 .- Statement of p ersons tried, convicted and acqui tted and

of p rop erty lost and recovered— (Continued)

1 875

Nature of ofience .

M urder

Culpable homicideRape

Hurts and as saul tsOther cflences against thepersonDacoityRobberyHouseTheftOther oflences against pro

Oth er oflences against the

Penal Code

Special and Local Laws

Murder

Bape

Other oflences against the

personDacoityRobberyHou seTheft .

Other of f ences against proparty

Other oflences against the

Penal Code

Total

Special and Local Laws

484 KI STN A DISTaICT H AN UA L,

N o. l 5 .— Statement of p ersons M ed, convicted and acqui tted and

Nature of oflence .

MurderCulpable homi cideRapeH urts and assaultsOther oneness against theperson

RobberyHouse - breaki ng;TheftOther oflences against propet tyOther of f ences against thePenal Code

Total

Special and Local Laws

MurderCulpable homicide

H urts and assaults

Theft .

Other cflences against proPort?Other oflences against the

Penal Code

Total

Special and Local Laws

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436 KI STNA DISTaICT M A L ,

N o. 1 5 .— Statement of p ersons tr ied , confi d ed and acquitted and

of p roperty lost and recovered

Nature of oflence .

M urder

Culpable homicideRapeHurts and assaul ts

Other of f ences a

gainst the

personDacoi tyRobberyHouse - b

TheftOther ofiences against preopartyOther oflences against the

Penal Code

Special and Local Laws

Total

MurderCul pable homicide

Hur ts and assaultsOther oflences against thepersonDacoity

Other oflencesagainst prePerti n

Other oflencesagainst the

Total

Special and Local Laws 2 565

STATISTICAL TABLE 43 7

488 n snu man ner m un ,

N o. l 7- 8tatcsumt shav i ng the Receipts of Local Fund: under

A ct 1 7 0] 1 87l , f or j icc years .

do. General pmposss .

Surplus Pound Fund

A venues

Orna ments

Bes e- under A ct 1 1 1 01 1866.

m m m n ou eca

Contributions

Educational Receipts

Sale of Elementary Books

Hospital Receipts

Choul try Receipts

Fees from Travel lers’

Balance fromBungalow m a

F ines and Penal ties

Sale of other property

Publ ic Works Receipts

M iscel laneous Debt A ccountsCheques payable

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442 KISTN A msrmcr MANUAL,

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444 KISTN A DISTRI CT MANUAL,

N o. 2 0.4 8tatementahewing theReceip ts and E sp emh

’

twreof the cocci-c l 1m ;

eip e l Comm issions in the Ki stna Distr ict f or a ser ies of five years.

Masul ipatam

Guntur

1878- 73 .

1879-80. Masul ipatam

Guntur

Gu m l ,886

1881 -82 .

Gunter

STATI STICAL TA BLE . 445

2 0.— Statement showing the receip ts and exp endi ture of the severa l M unicip a l

commissions in the Kistna D istrict f or a seri es of fivewarm— (Con cluded )

E xpenditure .

Years.

1 877 - 78. Masul ipatam

:Guntli r

Total

1 878- 79. Masulipatam

Guntur

1 87980. Masul ipatam

Guntur

Total 5 938

1 880-81 . Masul ipatam

Guntur

1 881 -82 .

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Basalat Jang, maintains a French forceBasi lat Jang, makes a treaty with the CompanyBasdlat Jang, his death

Basdlat Jang, takes Chintapal le

Bellamkonda, taken by MuhammadansBellamkonda, I

's - taken by Muhammadans

Bel lamkonda, description ofBenfleld, Paul , credi tor of the CarnaticBenza, Dr . , on the Amra

'

vati marbles

Bezvi da, alleged Buddh ist remains at

Bezvi dg the Taluq describedBezvéda, the Town describedBezvdda, the gneiss sonamed

Besvada the anicut describedBezvi da, Zemindars of

Bezvdda, Dispensary at

Bhatt iprdl u, vi llage in Bepal le TaluqBiraval lapfiya, vil lage in Sattenapal le TaluqBiraval laptya, outl iers near

Bird, M r. E. W., Special A ssistant Col lectorBirds, game, presence ofBlack soil, description ofBommadevara fami ly, Zemindfirs of Vall drBonEnfi nt, Ofi cer In Basalat Jung

'

s service

BonEn f aut , takes Chintapal leBonjour, EnsignBoswel l , M n , describes Amri vati marblesBoswell , Mn , reports on mineral weal thBourgoing, Father, French M issionaryBowen, Captain , 1 9th M . N. I.Brahmans, their arrival in this DistrictBrahmans, their legends valueless

Brahmanical tenets describedBrahman Curnums , origin of

IN DEX.

Brandt, M L , Assistant Col lector

Branfil l , M r .

, Collector of N dzv idu

Buckingham , Duke of , visits Amri vati

Buddh ist remains at

Buddhi st remains at

Buddh ist, alleged remains at Bezvada

Buddh ist pilgrim, H iouen Tsang

Buddh ist remai ns at

Buddhist remains at Gudivada

Buddhist remains at Ramaredd ipal le

Buddhi st remains in Nand lgama TaluqBuddhists, expulsion ofBui l ding material , stone f or

Bukkspuram , an early Mission StationBurgess, Dr . , examined Jagayyapet amp sBurgess , Dr . , opinion on Buddhi st remains at Bezvéda

Burgess, Dr . , vi si ts Amarsvati

Burke , Father R ichard, a MissionaryBurnell , Dr ., on Brahmanical legends

Burnel l , Dr . , deciphers copper plates, Palava dynastyBurne l l , Dr ., deciphers 00pper plates, Eastern Chflukya dynastyBurnel l , Dr ., on Tami l ori gin of Curmuns

Bussi , M . de, commands Haidarabad ContingentBussi , M . de , places Salabat Jang on the throneBussi , M . de , defeats the MahrattasBussi , M . de, proceeds toM asul ipatamBussi , M . de, marches towards A urangabadBussi , M . de , obtains Saunde f or Northern CircarsBuss i , M . de , defends himself at H aidarabadBussi , M. de, reduces Northern ProvincesBussi , M de , marches toAurangabadBussi , M . de , is recal led toPondicherryBussi , M . de, M r . Gran t

’s Opinion of

Bussi , M . de, takesKondaviduBussi , M . de, takes Nli zvidu Zemindar prisonerBussi, M. do, his Revenue Survey

Cai l laud , General , arrives at M asul ipatamCai l laud , General , takes Kondapal leCail laud , General , negotiates w i th NisfimCai l l aud , General, concludes treaty with NizamCalm s

Caldwel l , Bishop, on stone circles

i ii

l v n srn merr i er m un ,

Cal lenda , Cspts in, kflled u m - d l ssum

Campbe ll . Colone l, his descri p tion of Masuli patamCampbel l, Capta in , arrests N fizvidu Zem indi r

Canals, descri pt ion of var iousCardinal Tour-

non ,vi sit s India

Card inal H oward , v is its Ind ia

Card inal Wiseman f mnds Mi ll Hi l l Col legeCarmichael, M r. D . F ., on jungle tr ibes

Cataracts in the Palni d

Catholic M isch ns

Cattle c f Guut l'

l r Distr ictCassmajor , Major, arrests N dzvidn Zemindar

Caste , the subject discussedCaste retained by Roman CatholicsCaste , M r . Noble’s letter uponCastor -oi l, expression of at GuntfirCasuarina plantations on the coastCaval i Venkata Borayya, Col Mackenzic

’s As sistant

Caves near Gutti kondaCaves near U ndaval leCensus, statist ics ofCereals, cul tivat ion ofChagarlamudi , v i llage in Bapatla Tal uqChéldkya dynastyCharbonneaux Pére describes the Fam ineCharles 1 1 gets water - fowl and spotted - deer

Chi rmahél Zem indliri given toKamadana men

Chi rmaba'

l, Zem inda'

rs of

Chdrmshél Zem indari , Sanad granti ng

Chdva Lakshm ipati Naidu adopted intoVasireddi fam ilyChebrdlu, vi llage In Bi patla Taluq

Chebrdlu sandstone described

Chebr61u, residence of Venkatadri NaiduChejerla, vil lage in N arsaravupet TaluqChentsus , a wild tribeChentsus, identical with cabana of Ptol emyChentsu v il lages and Pol igar

Chentsus, massacre of by Venkatddri NaiduChévendra, Zemindfir of

Choyroot, cul tivation ofChiefs in Counci l , list ofChilakaltlrpéd u, town in N arsaravupet TaluqChilaks l f lrp i du, Zemindar s of

Chinna Gauzi m, vi l lage in Bi patla Taluq

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vi KI STN A DISTRI CT MA N UA L

Dhsrsn ikota, descr iption of

Diamonds found in this Distri ctDieckmann , Father, Provincial of M ission

D ispenm i es in the Kistna District

Di vi , descr iption ofDivi , given toCondregula Gopala RaoDivorce , permi tted toChristian converts

Dobbyn , M r . A . , erects a house at M asul ipatamDobbyn , M r . A . , his death

Dominican Friar’s descr ipt ion of Masul ipatamDraper , l i ra , correSpondent of Sterne

Dubash , meaning of termDubash Condregula Jogi PantaluDubashes , dishonesty ofDuflicio, deserter from Basi lat JangDnggiri la, v il lage in Repal l e TaluqDupleix, M .

, sends exped ition toM asul i patamDuple ix , M , favours Jesuit Mi ss ionariesDup liex, M . , is recalled toFranceDurgi , v i l lage in the PalnhdDutch ep itaphs at Masul ipatamDutch firmans at Masul ipatamDye derived from cheyroot

East India Company trades toMasul ipatamE ducation, need for among ChristiansEducation in Kistna D istr ictEliza’s tree near Masul ipatamEl l iott marblesEl l iott, Sir Wal ter, visits A mrtvati

El l iott, Sir W., remarks on vasireddi adairsEll iott, Sir W. , investigates Guntf l r af fairs

Epitaphs, Dutch , at Masul ipatamEpitaphs , A rmenian , at Masul ipatamEpitaph on A stronomer ToppingEras in use in this DistrictEssence, fragrant, manufactured at Kondavidu

Fairfield , M r ., Chief at Masul ipatamFamines, severe in past cen turi esFamine , the Gun tur, of 1 83 2

Fasli or Revenue year

1 2

356,

IN DEX. vfi

Fauna, descr iption ofFeathers, trade inFergusson , Mr .

, hi s paper on stone circles

Fergusson , M r ., on Buddh ist remains at Bezv i da

Fennel ly, Father StephenFenn elly, Bishop StephenF er inghidi bba, vis ited by M r . Streynsham MasterF eringh idibba , in Bapatla TaluqF irangipuram , v l l lage in Sattenapalle TaluqFi rangipuram , a Miss ion station

F irewood , cost of at Gun turFlax , area cul tivated under

Flood of July 1 853Flood of September 1 874F lood of July 1 882F lor is, his account of M asul ipatamPloyer , Mr . , Ch ief at M asu l ipatamFood grai ns, cul tivation ofFoote , M r . , Geologist

Forbes, E nsign , at N uzvidu

Forbes, Rev . Father , Miss ionaryForde, Colon el , in A ldercron

’s Regimen t, the 39th

Forde, Colonel , un successfully attacks N e l loreForde , Colonel , invades N orthern CircarsForde , Colonel , takes Masul ipatamForde , Colonel , concludes treaty wi th Sal i hat JaugForde , Colonel , return s toBengalForests, descr iption ofFort ifications of Masul ipatamFox, Rev . H . W.

, MissionaryFrazer , Captain , Superintendent of Pol iceFreeman , M r . , Chief at Masul ipatamFrench , progress of in the DeccanFr en ch tr00ps wi th Basalat JangF ren ch epitaph at Gun tl

’l r

French Jesui ts arr ive in Ind iaFrench interference wi th N flzv iduFruvall , M r .

, drowned in cyclone

Gajapat i Kings conquered thi s Distr ictGam e birds , presence ofGam palagudem , Zemind il rs of

Ganapamba, daugh ter of King of VarangalGanapati Déva, King of VarangalGardiner, M r . R . ,

Coll ector of N l'

rsv idu

Garnets found in gneissGe nealogies of pri ncipal fami lies

Page.

3 68

one

2 83

2 84

1 30

1 76

2 81 2 82 983

36 2

3 67

2 56

2 59

se

v i ii KI STN A ma'rmo'r M A N U A L

Geology of Kistna D istrictG ibson , Rev . M r . , sleeps through the cycloneGil l , R . P. , E sq .

, Merchant, GunturGneiss, description ofGoa, A rchbishop of , Primate of IndiaGoanese schism

Golconda, cap ital Of Qutb Shah KingsGolconda, attacked by A urangz ibGolconda, taken by AurangzibGolconda, a prov ince of the EmpireGolconda, diamonds of

Gold, hoarded in the Kistna D istrictColdingham ,

M r .

, Col lector of Guntur

Gol lapal le , v isi ted by M r . Streynsham MasterGonka Viceroys of Chola K ingsGorantla , a v il lage in Guntur Taluq

Gottimukkula, battle ofGrand , Rev . Father, Missionary

G.

Grant, M r . James, Opinion on Rustam A l i KhanGrant, M r . James, Op inion on M . de Bussi

Grant.M r . James, Opinion on Zemi ndars

Grazing tax or Pul lari

Gud ivada, the Taluq describedGudi vi dmthe Town descr ibedGudur , v i l lage in Bandar TaluqGunn , Rev . W.

, Missionary, hisGuntur , the Taluq describedGuntur , th e Town describedGuntdr Zem indaris. sale and resumption ofGuttikonda, caves near

Gurzala, v il lage in the Pains-d

Haidarabad , Vicar A postol ic ofHaidar A l i ravages the Guntur coun tryH ai lstones, their si ze exaggeratedH annyngton , M r ., Judge of Gun tdrH arding, M r .

, a soldi er of fortuneH arper, Colonel , occupies GunturH art , Colonel , marches from Bezvéda

H asan A l i Khan , Muhammadan FouzdarHasan A l i Khan , negotiates wi th E ngli shH asan A li Khfin , attacks RajahmundryH asan A l i Khan , appeases Nizam A l i

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KISTN A DISTR ICT M AN UA L,

Jain remains at Palakalur

Jain remai ns at N idamarrn

Jafar A l i Khan, Governor of Rajahmun dryJafar A l i Khan defeats Vizianagram Ri jaJafar A l i Khan attacks M. de Bussi

Jagannadha Babu adopted by Venkatadr i N aiduJagayyapet , Buddh ist stupa near

Jagayyapet in N and igtima Taluq

Jagayyapet , si lk weaved at

Jagayyapet, salt sold at

Jesuit M issionaries, twoarrive at Masuli patamJesui t Missionary’8 description of Masul ipatamJesuits, suppression ofJungle Conservancy ReservesJupal le fam i ly, Zem indi rs of SayidapuramJute

,area cul tivated under

K.

Kadavakuduru, plundered by H aidar’s CavalryKaikalur , vi l lage in Gudi vada Taluq

Ka itupal le, v i l lage in Repalle TaluqKaitupal l

‘

e , survey ofKakfin i , Chinna, legend ofKakan i , Pedda, vi l lage in Guntur Ta luq

‘

Kalagara, Zem indars of

Kamadana fam i ly assist N uvzi du ZemindarKamadana fami ly, their ped igreeKammamet , battle ofKammamet , Siti pati Raja ofKammamet

,taken by British

Kankar , description of

Kannk al lu, vi l lage in Gudivada Taluq

Kanuru , vi llage in Sattenapal le TaluqKaranchedu, v il lage in Bapatla TaluqKarempudi , vi l lage in the PalnadKa

'

za, v il lage in Guntur TaluqKi l ach eri , Telugu Chr ist ian colonyKing, M r . , of Geological SurveyKennedy, Father P ., MissionaryKetavaram, v i llage in Sattenapal le TaluqKoh - i - noor perhaps found at KolluruKolakalur , v il lage in Repal le TaluqKol lern lake , description ofKol imerla, v il lage in Bapatla TaluqKolluru, s ite Of diamond m inesKol luru, v i l lage in Repall e TaluqKol luru , visited by Taverni er .

Kondapalle bui l t by Anuvéma Reddi

IN DEX.

Kondapalle, taken by MuhammedansKondapalle retaken by MuhammadansKondapal le finally taken by M ubammadans

Kondapall e, great battle be lowKon dapal le , revolt of theKondapal le, favouri te residence of Ibrahim Shah

Kondapal le surrendered to

Kondapal le taken by General Cai l laudKondapal le, descr iption O f

Kondapal l e, M r Oram’s description of

Kondapal le toysKondavidu , Reddi kings ofKondavi du, a Vijayanagar stronghold .

Kondavidu taken byKondav idu again taken by MuhammadansKondavidu final ly taken by MuhammadansKondavidu threatened by Carnat ic armi esKondavidu, description ofKondavidu Haveli lands sold toRepal le ZemindarKondavidu,

manuf actures at

Kotappa Konda, festival atKotappa Konda, custodian ofKrishna Rays conquered this DistrictKrossur , ch ie f town in Sattenapal le TaluqKumi ra fami ly, h istory of .

Labour , compulsory, uponL al ly ,

M .,French ofi cer wi th Rasalat Jang

Lolly , M . ,befriends the Engl ish prisoners

Lam , vil lage in Gun tur Taluq

Lasage , Major , takes Nuzv iduLater i te , stone weapons found inLater ite , description ofLeather, tradeLegend ofLegend of Chin a

Legend ofLegend ofLegend of SrikakulamLegend of Vas ireddi Chinna PadmanabhuduLegend of introduction of Brahman CurnumsLimestone in the Palnéd

1 4 083 813 1 : Zemindars

Local Fund Circles, l im ita ofLocal Fund Di spensaries

x i

xi i KISTN A ms'rmcr MAN UA L

Local Fund SchoolsLushington , M r . T . D ., Coll ector of Masuli patamLutheran Mission at Guntur

Macartney, Lord , Governor of M adrasM acDonald gold medal

Macharla, vi l lage in the Palna'

d

M acKen z ie, Colonel Colin , vi si ts Amravati

M acKenz ie , Colonel Col in , hi sM acKenzie, M SS., references toM acL eane , Capt . , takes fort at Kanakallu .

M acL eane, Capt , wounded at storm of Masul ipatamMaddur , Pedda, vi llage in Gun tur TaluqMadge , Captain , takes RajahmundryMadge , Captain , at Kondapal leMadura Mi ssionaries describedMahmud Gavan, M ini ster of Brahman kingsMahmud Gavan behead ed at Kondapal leMaiden , M r . drown ed at the cycloneMaiden, Captain , Master- A ttendant

Mailavaram, Zem indar of

Mainwaring, M r . , Second in CouncilM al - admi n istration of Masul ipatam DistrictMalabar R i tes, discussion concerning

M alaval le visited by M r . Streynsham M aster

Mal colm , Sir John , v i sits Masul ipatamMalcolm ,

M r ., goes toN uzvi du

M alrazu fam i ly, history ofM alrazu Venkata Gun da Raoof VinukondaManenti, Father , takes Chri stians from Oléru

Manenti , Father , letter about Guntur ZemindarsMangalagiri plundered by H aidar

’s cavalry

Mangalagir i vis ited by M r. Streynsham MasterMangalagiri , description ofMaugin , M . , French A gen t at Masul ipatamMangrove jungles near coast

Mani les Raofami ly, history ofM annavar , HinduM anor

,Sul tan , title obtained by Venkatad ri Naidu

Manuscripts M acKenz ie, references toManuscripts lefl; by French Jesui tsM arbles , the AmravatiMarch of M. de Buss i toA urangabadMarcoPolovi sits this coun tryMassacre of Chieftains at KondaviduMassacre of Chontas by Venkatadr i Naidu

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KI STN A Di s-

rarer c L,

N i gi léru, stream in the Palnad

Kamburu, v il lage in Guntur TaluqN andana, the year O f the Gun tur Fam ineNandigama, the Tal uq describedN andigiima Pargana he ld by Vas ireddi f ami lyNarasimha Rao, Zemindar of N uz viduN arsaravupet Tal uq descr ibedN arsaravupet , the Town describedN arsaravupet , Zemindars of

Nasir Jang arrests French at Masul ipatamNavi b of Masul ipatamNavab of CambayNavab of BanganapalleNekarikal ln, v il lage in N arsaravupet TaluqNekarikal lu, quartz rocks near

Newil l, M r . , Col lector of Gun tur

Nidadavol Zami ndarNizam , origin of the familyNizam A l i , brother of Salabat JangNizam A l i marches upon HaidarabadNizam A l i comes toBezvada

Nizam A l i puts Salabat Jang todeathNizam A l i thr eatens tomarch on Masul ipatamM izam A li concludes the treaty of 1 766Nizam A li concludes the treaty of 1 768Nizam Al i takes French troops in tohis serviceNizam A l i makes over Guntur tothe CompanyNi zampatam , a seaportNizampatam , plundered by H aidar’s cavalryNizampatam, description ofNizam’

s te rritory, goods for, must pay dutyNizam nd Daulah , Navab of Masul ipatamNobil i , Robert de, Jesuit PriestNoble , Rev . RobertNoble College , distinguished scholars atN ur Jehan , her n iece ancestress of NavabN uzvidu, M r . Hodges’ claim uponNuzvidu, Zemindars of , their pedigreeN umidu , origin of the name

N fizvidu fort taken by M ajor LasageN uzvid u fort taken by Captain MontgomerieN uzv idu fort taken by Lieutenant HigginbothamN uzvidu, regulations passed tosettleNuzvidu, partition ofN yapati Seshagiri Rao, Sheristadi r of Guntur

IN DEX.

Oakes, M r ., Coll ector of Gun tur

Oak es, Mr . removed f rom omceO’Brien , Rev . Dr Schoolmaster at M asul ipatamomeara’mutinyOil expressed at Guntur

Oldham , M essieurs, Geologists

Ol dham , Captain , marches on Nuzvidu

O léru, v il lage in Repal le TaluqOléru, migration of Chr istian s fromOp ium,

imported toJagayyapetOram , M r Coll ector of H avél i lands

Orissa Rajas conquer this Di strictOrleans d iamondOrr , Captain , R .E . , constructs the an icut

Pakalapédu, colony of Pel icans atPalmyra, introduction ofPalnéd, early history of , unknownPalni d , the Taluq descr ibedPalnad , Geological formation ofPaper , manufacture ofParatsuru , v i l lage in Bapatla TaluqParganas, eighteen , Of NdzviduPartiala diamond mines

Patibandla, vil lage in Sattenapal le Taluq

Paul ine d ispensation among Cathol icsPeach, Colonel , takes A numakondaPedda Gausam in Bapatla TaluqPelicans, colonies of

Pensions Of Hasan A l i Khan’s descendantsPensions of the Vasireddi fami lyPensions of Kamadena fami ly

Permanent Settlement, introduction of

Pettapolee, a v i l lage near NizampatamPettipolee, Old name for N izi mpatam

Pida Gurrala, inscriptions and tombs atPindi ris their invasion

Pindaris invade Guntur

Pindaris attack N arsaravupetPin daris ravage VinukondaPi tt DiamondPitt, John, Governor of Fort St. George

XV

xv i s re i msm cr M A N UAL

Poets . names of Telugu

Pol ice force , statistics ofPolice reserve at JagayyapetPondicherry, Vicar A postol ic ofPondugal , ferry across the KistnaPonnfir, town in Bi patla TaluqPonnfir ,

legend of

Population at Census of 1 881Port , Masul ipatam , a freePorter, M r . R . T . Col lector Of M asul ipatamPortuguese epitaph at TumarakctsPortuguese monopoly of M issionsPottur i Kalidas, confidential BrahmanPotumeraka, vi l lage in Répal le TaluqPretape Rudra, K ing of VarangalPratapa Rudra carried captive toDelhiPrice, Colonel , acts against N usvidn rebelsPrickly- pear , introduction ofPrivy Coun ci l decision on N usv idu partitionPrivy Counci l decision on Vasireddi adoptionPrivy Counci l decision on Vissanapet ZemindariPuckle, Major , at Masuli patamPul ichinta, vi l lage in Sattenapalle TaluqPul lari or grazing tax

Pybus, M r ., Chief at Masul ipatam

Q.

Qutb Shi h , dynasty founded by Sul tan Quli

Rachfir, Zemindars of

Raghavapuram , v illage in Nandiga'

ma TaluqRajahmundry subdued by Chola kingsRajahmundry occupied by Engl i sh troopsRamachandra A ppa Raopet in N usviduRamanadha Babu, of the Vasireddi familyRamaru u, fami ly history of

Ramdas, legend of

Rangamma, wi fe of Vi sireddi Jagannfi l ha BabuRi vipadu, a M isssion station

Rayapudi , vi l lage in Guntur TaluqRasupet, vi si ted by M r . Streynsham MasterRi zupet, Zem inda

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rs of

Read , M r ,, Col lectorRegulations passed tosettle N t sviduRel igions, descriptionof

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xv ii i KI STN A msrmc'r m un .

Sstulti r , village in N arsaravupet TaluqSch ism, the Goanese

School at Masul ipatam founded by General PaterSchool, Hindu, at M asul ipatamSchools at Guntur

Schools in Kistna DistrictScott, M r . A ndrew, at Raghavapuram

Scott, M r . , Collector of GunturSettlement, introduction of Permanent

Settlemen t rates introduced

Sewell , M r . Robert , on stone circles

Sewel l , M r . Robert, on Buddh ist remains at BezvadaSewell , M r. Robert, translates Palnad legendsSewel l, M r . Robert, publishes Palnad legendsSewell , M r . Robert, descr ibes Amravati marblesSewel l , M r . Robert , describes U ndaval le cavesShAh Jchi n traverses the DeccanSharkey, M r .

, MissionarySherman , M r . E .

, A gen t of Bank of Madras , Gun turShias , a sect of MuhammadansSingaravélu M udal iar , Schoolmaster, Gun tur

Siri puram ,vil lage in Sattenapal le Taluq

Sitanagaram , ferry across the KistnaSitapati , Ri ja of KammametSkul ls of Zemindars at Ellore FortSmi th , Mr . Lewin , Chief at Masul ipatamSmi th , Colone l , marches from Masul ipatamScapnut jungles on the coast80t e Raja of N uzviduSobhani dri , Zemindi r of Chtrmahi l

Sovere igns hoarded in the Kistna DistrictSpencer, Bishop , ccnsecrate s Masul ipatam Churchessp’ot f ed dear f or King Charles 1 1

Srigiripadu, v il lage in the PalnadSrikakulam , a shrine on the K istnaSrikakulam , description ofSrini dha, the poetStations of MagistratesStations of Surgeons

Sterne , M rs. Draper , correspondent ofStevens, Captain , reports on Masul ipatamStevens, Captain , reports on Kondapal leStokes , M r . H . , Col lector of GunturStokes, M r . H .

, his Revenue adm inistration

Stokes, M r . H . J Judge of Guntur

Stone '

circles in Kistna DistrictStone circles in Vinukonda TaluqStone weapons found in Kistna DistrictStone weapons found near Gund lakamma

N .

l N DEX.

Stratton , Mr . , stationed at MailavaramSudakshana invites Brahmans toSrikakulamSundaragiri Ramanuja Rao, Sheristadar of M asul ipatamSuni , a sect of MuhammadansSul tAn A bdullah Qutb Shah ascends the throne

Sul tan Qul i Qutb Shth , his deathSurgeons, stations of

Surinéni Venkata Ri yalu claims NizampatamSurinéni fami ly, ped igree ofSurvey and Settlement in troducedSvarna, vi llage in Bapatla Taluq

Ti dekonda, v il lage in Guntur Taluq

Tanesha, a name of A bu . l -Hasan ShahTangeda, vi llage in the Pelnad

Tangel lamudi MutahTaverni er , J . B . , visi ts the d iamond m ines

Taylor , M r . Claudius , SchoolmasterTaylor, Rov . W.

, on Ganapamba’s marriage

Taylor , Rev . W., on Amri vati marbles

Te laprdlu, survey ofTelegraph span at Bezvada

Tenal i , vi llage in Répal le Taluq

Thomas Chr istians in Ind'

n

Thornhil l , M r. G Col lector of KistnaTiruvur , Zemindars of

Ted , Colonel , Commanding Kondapal leTopping, M ichael , th e A stronomerTowns, Major, marches against N uzv iduToys made at Kondapal l eTrade of Masu lipatam factoryTrade, privateTrade of Guntur

Trade, statistics of in land

Transport from Masulipatam toSecunderabadTreasure trove at Tsandavolu

Treasure trove at Kclakaluru

Trent, decrees Of Counci l ofTrevelyan, Sir Charles , Governor of MadrasTr ilochana, the three - eyed monarch

Tsandavolu, vi llage in Repal le TaluqTsal lapal le , Zemindars of

Tumarakota

U h l , Rev . L . L MissionaryU nangst, Rev . E MissionaryU ndaval le , caves near

x ix

xx KISTN A DISTRICT MAN U AL,

Vaikuntapuram, vi llage in Guntur TaluqVal lflr , Zemindars of

Vi sireddi Venk iah , h i s insurrection

Vs'

s i reddi Venkata'

dri Naidu excavates AmravatiVésireddi family, pedigree ofVa

'

sireddi Chinna Padman i bhadu, legend of

Vi sireddi N aganna N ai du, h is descendants

Varangal , name explainedVarangal taken by MuhammadansVarigonda fam i ly, pedigree ofVaughan, Bishop HerbertVaughan , L ieutenan tVédanta Rasayana, publ ication ofVelagapfidi Snndara Ri mayya

Veldurti , v illage in the PalnadVel lank i , fam i ly ofVel latur u, chattram at

Venkatédr i N aidn , hi s l ifeVengi , an ancient ki ngdomVétapalem , a mil i tary postVétapalem plundered by H aidar

’s cavalry

Vetapalem vi sited by M r . Streynsham MasterVétapalem , v il lage in Bapatla TaluqVibart , L ieutenant, exposed tocycloneVicars A postol ic or M i ssionary BishopsVijayanagar, kings ofVi l lage, un it of administrationVinukonda, fortress of the Kondavidu BeddiaVinukonda taken by MuhammadansVinukonda, fortress of Gunda RaoVinukonda, the Taluq describedVinukonda, the Town describedVirabhadrayya, son of Prad pa Rudra

Virabhsdrayya opposes M uhammadans

Vissanapet, Zemindars of'

Vizianagram, Ri ja of , be f riends the Engl ishVizianagram, Baja of , takes part in storm of Masul ipatamVizianagram , Baja of , his pedigreeVoyages toMasul ipatam

Wahsh , Ensign, marches againstWales, Prince of , accepts antelopes from Val l tir Bi jaWalker , Captain , Commanding Kondapal l eWheat, cul tivation of

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