Rudrama was the daughter of the Kakatiya king Ganapati Deva, who ruled much of the Telugu country from Warangal (Orugallu). Having no son, Ganapati Deva brought her up to rule — training her in arms and statecraft — and made her co-ruler, and then queen, around 1263.
Marco Polo, who visited the kingdom's port of Motupalli, wrote that it was ruled by a queen much loved by her people, who governed as well as any king.Marco Polo's account (paraphrased)
She took the masculine title Rudradeva Maharaja and, tradition says, often appeared in male royal dress at court and in battle.
Holding the kingdom
Some nobles refused to accept a woman on the throne, and neighbouring powers tried to take advantage. Rudrama put down rebellions and fought off the Yadavas of Devagiri, whose king Mahadeva invaded and was driven back; she also faced the Eastern Gangas and the Pandyas. She completed the great fortifications of Warangal begun by her father.
Rule and prosperity
Her reign was a time of temple-building, irrigation tanks and trade; Kakatiya tanks still water fields in Telangana. The Venetian traveller Marco Polo, who visited Motupalli on the coast around 1292, described a kingdom ruled wisely for many years by a widowed queen, rich in diamonds and fine cloth.
Her end
An inscription found at Chandupatla records her death in 1289, apparently in battle against the rebel chief Ambadeva. She had prepared her grandson, Prataparudra, to succeed her, and he ruled until the Delhi Sultanate overran the kingdom in 1323.
How they are remembered
The Warangal fort with its carved Kakatiya gateways, long a symbol of Telangana, recalls her age, and she is a heroine of Telugu ballads, novels and films. Historians count her among the very few women in Indian history to reign as sovereign.
Ekatmata Stotra · Stanza 11
Named in Stanza 11 of the Ekatmata Stotra — six women of the last four centuries.
लक्ष्मीबाई अहल्या च चेन्नम्मा रुद्रमादेवी।
निवेदिता शारदा मातृविभूत्य: नमो नमः॥
Sources: Wikipedia: Rudrama Devi · Wikipedia: Kakatiya dynasty. Written afresh for The Hindu Book; corrections welcome at [email protected].
