The old city of Dhanyakataka on the south bank of the Krishna (Satavahana, Ikshvaku and Buddhist, now a mound with the Amareswara temple, one of the Panchrama shrines) belongs to the Kota chiefs.
On the reading of Wikipedia's Rudradeva article they are Kakatiya vassals since Rudradeva's generals took the city and installed Keta II, so Kakatiya suzerainty over this gate to the delta predates 1200; the campaign board treats it as contested. We draw it pledged to the Kakatiyas, doubtful in practice. The Kotas are one of the families the Kakatiyas later absorb by marriage.
Ganapati's Divi campaign and Kanaka Durga inscription (1201) lie ahead.
Who he is
- Name
- Keta II (Kota Keta II); later kin Kota Beta
- Title
- Chief of the Kota house at Dharanikota
- Since
- set up by Rudradeva's generals (undated, before 1200 on Wikipedia)
- Born
- not known
- Family
- Kota (Shudra family of Dhanyakataka); son of Dedda Bhima (Kota Bhima), said to have been killed; Ganapati's daughter Ganapamba later marries Kota Beta
- Confidence
- low
Wikipedia's Rudradeva article (read): Rudra's generals Kata and Bollama captured Dharanikota and he installed Bhima's son Keta II as a vassal. The Ganapatideva article says the Kotas reaffirmed Kakatiya suzerainty (no date).
What it holds
- Dharanikota (Dhanyakataka) and the Amareswara temple
- The ford and the Krishna crossing at Amaravati
- Kota lands on the south bank (extent not known)
Allies and rivals
Kakatiya vassal on paper; neighbour and sometime vassal of the Velanati Chodas.
How things stand that morning
Pledged to Warangal, answerable to the nearer army.
Places of note
- Dharanikota: Kota seat and Amareswara temple.
Where the sources disagree
- Board 'amaravati-dharanikota' tags the Kota as holders with the ground contested and the Kakatiyas absorbing them by marriage later; Wikipedia's Dharanikota article says Kota rule ended in the mid-12th century, contradicting Rudradeva's article: not reconcilable here.
Evidence: Wikipedia's Rudradeva, Ganapatideva and Dharanikota articles (read): the Dharanikota article itself says only that Kota rule lasted 'until the mid-12th century'.
Primary sources for Kakatiya kingdom (Orugallu)
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Corpus of Inscriptions in the Telingana Districts, Various (Kakatiya chancery and temple scribes), edited by P. Sreenivasachar (inscriptions of the 10th to 15th centuries; edited 1940 to 1942). The Kakatiyas of Orugallu (Warangal) are known for 1200 almost entirely from inscriptions, and this Hyderabad Archaeological Series corpus is the main printed collection. Read online
- Sanskrit and Old Canarese Inscriptions relating to the Yadava Kings of Devagiri, Various (Yadava chancery), edited by J. F. Fleet (inscriptions of the 12th and 13th centuries; edited 1876). The first collected edition of the Yadava (Seuna) records, with texts and translations, from the Indian Antiquary. Read online
- South Indian Inscriptions (Archaeological Survey of India), Various (Chola, Pandya and other chanceries and temple scribes), edited by E. Hultzsch, V. Venkayya, H. Krishna Sastri and successors (inscriptions of the 7th to 17th centuries; the series ran from 1890). The temple inscriptions printed here are the primary record of the Tamil country in 1200. Read online
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia: Rudradeva (read this session)
- Wikipedia: Ganapatideva (read this session)
- Wikipedia: Dharanikota (read this session)
- OMNIA board notes for this place (a lead only, checked against the sources above)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.