Part 5 - Pottapi Kamadeva (C.M. A.D. 1106-1115)

Pottapi Kama’s relationship to Nannichoda is not known. His earliest record is from Tripurantakam dated A.D. 1106. His next two records dated A.D. 1111 and the 43rd year of Tribhuvana Chakravarti Kulottunga choda I, are also from Tripurantakam and mention his minister Bhimaya and dandanayaka Ramana. Kama C M. figures in an undated record at Kamepalle. A.D. 1115—the first date for Kama’s son. Kannara, was consequently the last date for Pottapi Kama.

His Political Relations

Pottapi Kama had a reign of about a decade. His identification with Kama, husband of Sriyadevi is wrong. From Pottapi prefixed to his name, Kama extended the kingdom to Tripurantakam as attested by his records. He was the first Telugu choda ruler to have acknowledged the chola suzerainty in his records. Kama’s loyalty to Kulottunga I is seen from his records dated in the 43rd year of the emperor. Probably along with other rulers of Vengi, Kama joined Kulottunga and Vikramachola in their wars against the Chalukyas and Kalinga Gangas.

Kama’s Velanandu contempories were Gonka I and Choda I. Probably he came into conflict with Gonka I whose sway extended up to Tripurantakan as evidenced from his records. And perhaps Tripurantakam formed the boundary between the Telugu Chola and Velanandu choda kingdoms at the time—both acknowledging Chola suzerainty.

In this period, Ballaya chola alias Choda Bayya chodu is heard of from a record of A.D. 1106-7. The Boppudi inscription mentions a Kama choda. Pottapi Kama choda’s son of Udayaditya and Kamaladevi, of A.D. 1266 was of obviously much later than his Pottapi Kama. The suggestion that Kama choda must have had an younger brother chodavalli is not supported by evidence.