Gold Coins of the Kakatiyas (Treasure Trove from Padmakshigutta, Warangal District, Andhra Pradesh)

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The Kakatiyas of Warangal is the second major dynasty after the Satavahanas who ruled the major parts of the Deccan for a period of nearly 200 years. Some scholars believed that the Kakatiya kings built magnificent temples and excavated large tanks, but failed to issue coins for circulation in their domains. This aspect has been studied by Dr. M. Rama Rao, Prof. R. subrahmanyam and Dr. P.V.P. Sastry, and solved this problem to some extent and concluded that the gold coins bearing the royal insignia i.e., Varaha at the center and the legend Day a ga ja ke sa ri, Raja ga ja ke sa ri and ray a ga ja ke sa ri belong to the imperial kings of Kakatiya dynasty. It is well supported by the epigraphical evidences. As similar titles occur both on the coins and epigraphs, the scholars have concluded that these gold coins were issued by the Kakatiya king Ganapati Deva and the queen Rudramadevi. Besides, there are several gold issues bearing the titles of chieftains, governors, bodyguards, lenkas, Mandalikas etc., with Sri Sri as honorphic titles as prefix. Titles Sri Sri Mahabala kesari, Sri Sri Lenkana Singama and Sri Sri Dharna singama with Varaha and Simha Lanchanas are reported form Kummragudem village in Khammam district. In the light of above the Treasure Trove received from Padmakshigutta in 1987 is taken up for detail study.

In the political history of the Deccan, the beginnings of 11th 12th Centuries A.D., appears to be a sunken Ship, because of a strange political and economic turmoil. The period witnessed the downfall of the Western Chalukya supremacy over the Deccan, which paved way for the adventurous subordinate families to rise to prominence. They are, the Paramaras of Malwa, the Chalukyas of Gujarat, the Kakatiyas of Warangal, the Hoyasalas of Dwarasamudra and the Yadavas or Seunas of Devagiri, who declared themselves as independent rulers over their respective regions. Of them, the Yadavas of Devagiri and the Kakatiyas of Warangal were the most powerful dynasties that ruled in the Deccan during the medieval times.