Part 8 - Pratapavallabharaja (A.D. 1427-1467)

The relationship of Pratapavallabha to Prataparjuna is not known. Probably he was the son and successor of Arjuna III. Pratapavallabha’s earliest reeord is from Juttada dated A.D. 1432. His next inscription is dated A.D. 1463. In A.D. 1465 the king made gifts for the increase of his kingdom etc. to the God at Simhachalam. In the same year, at Simhachalam Sri vallabha of Oddadi mede grants. The next record is dated A.D. 1467 mentioning gifts by merchants for the prosperity of Pratapavallabha. Some records of the reign give the cyclic year and not the saka year. The Chodavaram inscription dated—visvavasu—mentions Pratapavallabha. Another record there is dated Sobhakrit and mentions Vallayapadalu, a friend of the king. In Sarvari, Vallayapadalu granted Annavaram to Vallabha at Juttada, in Vallabha’s reign. The record at Chodavaram dated Kalayukti mentions gifts made for Vallabha’s merit.

His Political Relations

Vallabha is mentioned in records as mahamandalesvara Pratapavallabharaja, Oddadi Pratapavallabhadevaraju, Srivallabharaju, Vallabharaja mahapatra, srivirapratapavallabharaja mahapatra and Kumara Traida Beharamahapatra. Srivira bhupatirayavirapratapa vallabharaja mahapatra. His Ganga contemporaries were—Bhanudeva IV (AD. 1424-1434) and Kapilesvara Gajapati (AD. 1434-1470). Kapilesvara subdued all the local dynasties in Kalinga and the Matsyas were no exception. For Pratapavallabha in his records added Mahapatra to his name, though did specifically mention his subordination to the Gajapatis. As mahapatra is a term suffixed to the names of the provincial governors under the Gajapatis, it is definite that the Matsyas lost their independence to the Gajapatis in the reign of Pratapavallabha—by A.D. 1435

Kumara Erramanayaka at Elamanchili, Verna reddi and Virabhadra reddi at Rajahmundry, Harihara II and Praudha devaraya at Vijayanagar were contemporaneoum with Vallabha. Villabha a great warrior did not come into conflict with Errama who also acknowledged Gajapati yoke Vallabha had to face the Reddi expedition into South Kalinga in A.D. 1434 and suffered a reverse and submitted to the invader. For Oddadi is included in the conquests of Alladevema Reddi in his Simhachalam inscriptions of A,D. 1435 along with Potnur and Kalavalapalle.