Part 36 - Viragandagopala (A.D. 1292-1302)

Viragandagopala of the Nellore cholas ruled for a decade from A.D. 1292. He dated his inscriptions in his own regnal years. His earliest records available are dated in his corresponding to A.D. 1293. Two of them are at TiruppukkaliAnother is at Tirukachchuiyur recording the grant of land in Ottankadu as devandana by Pancbanadivanan Arunagiripperumal Nilugaogaraiyan after purchasing it from Tamburan in Suratturnadu, a subdivision of Puliyur Kottam in Jayangondachola mandalam. Of Viragandagopola’s third year, there are three records at Little Conjeevaram, Kuonattur.and Ramagiri. The earliest among them mentions Rajarajapur am, a sub-division of Venkanrakottam, and the mentions Rajarajasasikula chalukki Viranarasimhadeva Yadavarya. In the 4th year of ViragandagopaJa Panchanadivaman Arumugiri Perumal Nilagangaraiyan made grants at Kunnattur on behalf of the king The record from Vishar also of the 4th year records—grant by Tyagasamudrapattai Nallasiddharaiyan Vijayadevan of Velasaru, alias Uttamasolanallur situated in Virpadunadu, a sub-division of Kaliyurkottam, a district of Jayangandasolamandalam. The Tiruppukkuli record of the 4th year mentions a native of Mahimandalam The record at Mambayan gottur, also of the 4th year mentions a grant of land in Kaliyayanallur in Tiruvelurnadu to the temple by M.P.C. Viragandagopala. Of the records of Viragandagopala’s 5th ye^r the Pulipakkam record gives the location of Pulipakkam in Velanandu, a subdivision of Kalatturkottam in Jayangondacolamandalam: the record from Villivalam (Conjeevaram taluq) records grants to the deity at Vilvalam alias Irasendivasolanallur in Kaliyurnadu, a sub-division of Kaliyurkottam in Jayangondacholamandalam; and the Kuvam record registeres a grant. The next record is from Mallam dated in the 9th year of Viragandagopala mentioning Tyagasamudrapattai Mallidevarasan.

His Political Relations

Viragandagopala calls himself M P.C. in a record of his 4th year. This Viragandagopala is district from Rajagandagopala and is contemporaneous with Prataparudra of the Kakatiyas Kerala Ravivarman and Jatavarman Vikrama Pandya. He is not identical with Viragandagopala of the Telugu Pallavas, who was the successor of Vijayagandagopala and the contemporary of Ganapati, Jatavarman Sundara Pandya and others. And a period of thirty years intervened between the Telugu Pallava and Telugu chola Viragandagopalas.

Virgandagopala does not seem to have owed allegiance to any suzerain lord. He assumed the title—Tribhuvanachakravarti. The continuance of the Chola influence, even after the cholas ceased to rule in the south, is seen from Viragandagopala’s records mentioning several chola districts, towns and villages. Viragandagopala’s rule lasted up to A.D.. 1302 and was contemporaneous with Manmagandagopala’s rule (A D. 1282-1279), and Rajagandagopala alias Ranganathan (A.D 1299-1325). Thus we find three Telugu chola rulers exercising sway at the same time, independent of one another and acknowledging no suzerain authority. No doubt this marks the beginning of the end of the Telugu chola power which finally fell a prey to the Kakatiya expeditions.

In A.D. 1316 the Pandyas claim to have invaded Kanchi and driven Viragandagopala, a subordinate of the Kakatiyas and occupied it. If the reference is to Viragandagopala of the Telugu cholas, as is probably it follows that he lived and ruled till that year and was subdued by the kakatiyas along with Manmagandagopala and Rajagandagopala in A.D. 1315. Probably, his capital was Kanchi, as his records show, that like Allutikka he was ruling in the southern portion of the Nellore Chola kingdom.

The Pandyan king at the time was Jatavarman Parakrama Pandya I. Viragandagopala was vanquished by the Pandyas in A.D. 1316. Between A.D. 1302—his 9th year and A D. 1316—the year of the Pandyan expedition, none of Viragandagopala’s inscriptions are known. Neither do we have any details about the subsequent career of Viragandagopala after the Pandyan expedition.