Part 8 - Mallapa III (A.D. 1202-1223)

After serving for a period of twenty-six years in the governance of the kingdom in the reign of Vijayaditya, Mallapa began to rule independently as his successor from A.D. 1202. feHis Sarpavaram inscription dated A.D. 1202 and the 9th year of Vishnuvaradhana maharaja, falls prior to his coronation.

The Pithapur pillar inscription, the earliest record of Mallapai III after he became ruler, mentions his grant of Gudivada in the district of prolunandu to the deity on the occasion of his anointment in the temple of Kuntimadhava at Pithapur. The king in this is mentioned as Sarvalokasraya Vishnuvardhana maharaja alias Mallapa deva chakravarti. His Godavari copper plate grant is similar, in terms to the Pithapur pillar epigraph with the difference that his mother is mentioned as Lakshmi in this whereas, Ganga in the other. The next inscription is from Bhimavaram dated in the 39th year of Mallapa which calculating from his first year in his father’s reign falls, in A.D. 1213. A record undated and incomplete at Bhimavaram mentions Mallapadeva and his father Vijayaditya III. Three records at Draksharama mention Vishnuvardhana and may belong to his region. Though none ofMallava’s records are found after A.D. 1213, his reign may have lasted up to A.D. 1223 when he was succeeded on the throne by his son Udaya-chandra.

His Political Relations

Mallapa III assumed the title—Rajaparamesvara, Karavalabhairava, and a full moon to the ocean i.e. the race of the Cbalukyas. His contemporaries were Kulottunga III and Rajaraja III of the Cholas, Ganapati of the Kakatiyas and Prithvisvara of the Velanandu chodas. We have no evidence of the hostility of Mallapa to any of these kings. The rulers of Malaya were the feudatories of Mallaya III. For, the Godavari copper plate grant shows that Malayamu Mahadeva owed allegiance to Mallapa III.

Mallapa, like his father Vijayaditya, was a strong and popular ruler. Recorded tradition has preserved the permanent marks of his rule. The Kaifiyats of some of the villages in the East Godavari district mention the king as Vishnuvardhana and Mallapa deva chakravarti and the year of his coronation, and say that he ruled for ten years, as no records of his, are found after that period.