Musunuri Nayaks - The Valiant Cousins

The Valiant Cousins

King Pratapa Rudra’s Kakatiya kingdom was ably served by seventy five chieftains called Nayaks. The Nayaks who belonged to various castes were divided by mutual jealousy and rivalry. However, the Nayak chiefs valiantly fought during the hour of the need. Many Nayak chiefs were captured, converted to Islam and sent back as governors. These included Harihara and Bukka who later established Vijayanagar kingdom at Hampi. Some like Minister Jagannatha Pandit occupied exalted positions in Delhi Durbar.

The year 1323 was a turning point in the history of Telugu country. After the fall of Warangal, Muslim armies marched forward and captured Kondapalli, Kondaveedu, Rajahmundry, Nidadavole, Nellore, and Kolanuveedu forts. The conquest spread up to Madhura (Tamil Nadu) . The Hoysala and Kampili kingdoms in Karnataka also became part of the Delhi Sultanate. The conquest of South India was complete. Ulugh Khan ascended the Delhi throne under the name Muhammad bin Tughluq.

. The Telugu country was in great turmoil and ferment. Seeds of revolution were sown. Two patriotic souls, Annaya Mantri and Kolani Rudradeva exhorted and united the remaining Nayak chieftains. They instilled a sense of unity and sacrifice to protect the Telugu country and Hindu Dharma. A dynamic and valiant Nayak hailing from Vengi (in modern-day West Godavari district) was chosen as their leader. He was Musunuri Prolayanayak (Prolaaneedu), a brave and battle-hardy warrior. Prolaynayaka was the son of Pochinayaka who had three brothers namely Devanayaka, Kammanayaka and Rajanayaka. The son of Devanayaka was Kaapayanayaka (Musunuri Kaapaaneedu) who was the right hand man of Prolaya. The other cousins of Prolaya also ably assisted him in his endeavours. Prolaya galvanized all the Nayaks and their progeny and united them with his organizational skills. The Nayaks set aside their differences and rallied under the leadership of Prolaya to safeguard the Hindu religion and the empire. Some of the prominent Nayaks included Addanki Vemareddy, Koppula Prolayanayaka, Recherla Singamanayaka, Manchikonda Ganapatinayaka, Vundi Vengabhupathi etc., They all had a singular objective of liberating Telugu country from the alien invaders.