Hanamkonda (Anumakonda) is the town where the Kakatiyas rose, as Chalukya feudatories of the Sabbi-1000 country, and the seat of Rudradeva when he declared himself sovereign in 1163 and built the Thousand Pillar temple (the three-shrine Trikutalayam for Shiva, Vishnu and Surya: Hanamkonda article read).
The Padmakshi temple on the hill is put in the first quarter of the twelfth century. The Hanamkonda article says the capital moved to Warangal in Ganapati's reign and gives no year (infobox: founded 1199): in January 1200 the old seat remains the great temple town a few kilometres from the new fort.
Who holds it
- Name
- not known (a Vellaki under Rudradeva)
- Title
- Governor of Anumakonda under the Kakatiya king
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Family
- The Vellaki family held Anumakonda and Sabbi-naddu under Rudradeva (Wikipedia Rudradeva).
- Confidence
- low
Gangadhara of the Vellaki family is named as administrator of Anumakonda under Rudradeva; nothing names a governor for 1200.
Lord in 1200
The king's governor; not named for 1200.
Overlord
The Kakatiya crown
How things stand that morning
The old seat, quiet.
Communities
Telugu Brahmins and Shaiva priests, temple dancers and craftsmen; the sources do not describe a merchant quarter.
Walls and castle
Hill-top temples and a town below; no wall dated.
Trade and crafts
Temple town: stone carving, priestly trades, a market that serves the court.
Places of note
- The Thousand Pillar temple: Trikutalayam of 1163, built by Rudradeva (board 'thousand-pillar-temple-hanamkonda').
- Padmakshi hill: Hill temple of the goddess Padmakshi, early twelfth century (board 'padmakshi-gutta').
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The Hanamkonda, Rudradeva and Kakatiya articles (read) give the 1163 temple, the Padmakshi date and the later move.
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: Hanamkonda (read this session)
- Wikipedia: Rudradeva (read this session)
- Wikipedia: Kakatiya dynasty (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.