Bana Kingdom
Encyclopedia
The Banas were a dynasty of South India, who claimed descent from the asura Mahabali
. The dynasty takes its name from Bana, the son of Mahabali. The Banas faced opposition from several neighbouring dynasties and served some major dynasties such as the Cholas and Pandyas as feudatories, sometimes after they were subjugated by them. They also served as Samanta
s to some dynasties such as Chalukyas. The Banas had their capital at various places at different times, including Kolar
and Gudimallam
. The earliest mention of the Banas in authentic historical records is in the middle of the fourth century AD, and as the feudatories of the Satavahana
and early Pallava
s.
Chola after he defeated the Banas. After the Chola King, Parantaka I deprieved the Banas of their Andhrapatha kingdom between 909-916 AD, the Banas were subsequently found ruling various parts, such as Nellore, Guntur and Anantapur, as Chieftains in medieval Andhra.
.
Poets are leaving the palace with plenty of gifts from the King, while the arrested rulers of smaller regions of the Kingdom, who have failed to pay tribute to the King and waiting for the King's pardon happen to see the poets leaving with expensive gifts which are actually things seized by the King from them. One of them, seeing the gifts, says that its his horse that one the poet takes away, while another one points out to his elephant, similarly and so on goes the poem, capturing the might of ancient Vanars. This poem explains the wealth and power of Southern Vanars. Kalki
, in his historic novel Ponniyin Selvan
, describes a scene in which the protagonist, Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan
, who he claims to be of Vanar descent, broods over the fall of his clan, singing this poem.
Mahabali
Mahabali , also known as Bali or Māveli was a benevolent Asura King, and the grandson of Prahlada. The festival of Onam commemorates his yearly homecoming after being sent down to the underworld by Vamana, the fifth avatar of Vishnu.-Conquest of the Universe and banishment:Bali, an asura, was the...
. The dynasty takes its name from Bana, the son of Mahabali. The Banas faced opposition from several neighbouring dynasties and served some major dynasties such as the Cholas and Pandyas as feudatories, sometimes after they were subjugated by them. They also served as Samanta
Samanta
Samanta was a title and position used by the Indian nobility. The institution of Samanta finds mention for the first time in epigraphs of northern India dating to the 6th century...
s to some dynasties such as Chalukyas. The Banas had their capital at various places at different times, including Kolar
Kolar
Kolara is a city in the South Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Kolar District. It is known for being one of the gold mining sites in India....
and Gudimallam
Gudimallam
Gudimallam is a small village located in Srikalahasti Mandal, of the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is seven miles away from Renigunta Railway Junction of considerable significance...
. The earliest mention of the Banas in authentic historical records is in the middle of the fourth century AD, and as the feudatories of the Satavahana
Satavahana
The Sātavāhana Empire or Andhra Empire, was a royal Indian dynasty based from Dharanikota and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh as well as Junnar and Prathisthan in Maharashtra. The territory of the empire covered much of India from 230 BCE onward...
and early Pallava
Pallava
The Pallava dynasty was a Tamil dynasty which ruled the northern Tamil Nadu region and the southern Andhra Pradesh region with their capital at Kanchipuram...
s.
Boundries of the Kingdom
The Bana Kingdom was made up of various regions at different points in time and was known by the following names:- PerumbanappadiPerumbanappadiPerumbanappadi was the original home of the historic Bana Chieftains of the early Pallava period. It extended from the South Pennar to the Tirupati hills. Perumbanappadi was made up of sub-divisions such as the Thiruvenkata-Kottam , and many Nadus such as Tuy-nadu, Puli-nadu, Vada Pulinadu, and...
(the great Bana country), of the Sangam Period. It is the Tamil equivalent of the 'Country of Brihad-Bana' or 'country of the Brihad (great) Bana'. Perumbanappadi was a large tract of land which lay to the west of Andhrapatha. It had Punganur, Kolar and Srisailam in the west, Kalahasti and Sholingur in the east, while the river Palar formed its Southern boundary. Its capital was Thiruvallam, also known as Vanapuram. Perumbanappadi formed a part of the province of Jayakonda Sola Mandalam and also represented the north-western portions of Thondai-MandalamTondai NaduTondai Nadu is a historical region located in the northernmost part of Tamil Nadu. The region comprises the districts which formed a part of the traditional Pallava kingdom...
.
- Balikula Nadu (Kingdom of the Banas). It was made up of parts of modern Chittor, Ananthapur and Cuddapah districts. A portion of Balikula Nadu later included parts of Nellore. The Banas were located in the said regions as early as the 7th century AD and were affiliated with the Tamil Cholas.
- Andhrapatha (aka Andhra-desa or Province of the Andhras) traditionally between the Godavari and Krishna rivers. This Bana Kingdom known as Andhrapatha, originally extended as far as Kalahasti in the west and covered the whole of present day North Arcot district. It also included present day Guntur and flourished under the SatavahanaSatavahanaThe Sātavāhana Empire or Andhra Empire, was a royal Indian dynasty based from Dharanikota and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh as well as Junnar and Prathisthan in Maharashtra. The territory of the empire covered much of India from 230 BCE onward...
s. Andhrapatha was known to the Tamils as Vadugavalli, Vadugavalli Merku or Vadugavalli 12,000. Andhrapatha was developed into Andhramandala by a grant given by the Bana king, Vadhuvallaba Malladeva Nandivarman in AD 338. Andhrapatha was ruled by IkshvakuIkshvakuIkshvaku pāli: Okkāka) was the first king of the Ikshvaku dynasty and founder of the Solar Dynasty of Kshatriyas in Vedic civilization in ancient India.-In Hinduism:He is remembered in Hindu scriptures as a righteous and glorious king...
kings, such as Virapurshadatta.
In Medieval Andhra
The Ganga king, Prithivipati II was conferred the title "lord of the Banas" by Parantaka IParantaka I
Parantaka Chola I ruled the Chola kingdom in southern India for forty-eight years. The best part of his reign was marked by increasing success and prosperity.-The Invasion of the Pandya Kingdom:...
Chola after he defeated the Banas. After the Chola King, Parantaka I deprieved the Banas of their Andhrapatha kingdom between 909-916 AD, the Banas were subsequently found ruling various parts, such as Nellore, Guntur and Anantapur, as Chieftains in medieval Andhra.
In Nellore
An inscription found in Sannamur brought to light a Bana family ruling in the north of Nellore district in the 11th century AD. The Bana king's name was Aggaparaju (also spelled Aggraparaju alias Aggappa). Aggappa claimed descent from Mahabali, and lordship over Paravipura and Nandagiri. Nothing is known of his predecessors. Aggappa may have ruled as a feudatory of the Chalukya prince, Vimaladitya.In Konidena
Churrabali I or Churaballiraja I of the Banas was ruling in Konidena in the 12th century AD. Churaballi II alias Churabbiraju II, served as a Mahamandaleshwara and bore a long prasasti and titles similar to that of Aggapparaju. Hence it is suggested that he was a descendent of Aggappa Raju. Churabbiraju's only record from Konidena dated 1151 AD mentions him as "Mahamandalesvara Berbaha Churraballi Raju". His epithets mention he belonged to Vashista gotra. He claimed lordship over Paravipura and Nandagiri and ruled in a part of KammanaduKammanadu
Kammanadu is an ancient geographical region in the present day South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh in India.- Geography :The region straddled from the southern bank of Krishna river up to Kandukur . The word Kammanadu is derived from Karmarashtram or Kammaratham . Buddhism flourished in this...
.
Other Banas
- Chittarasa, figuring in a record of 1122 AD record of Anantapur, was perhaps of Bana lineage.
- In the time of Prataparudra of the KakatiyaKakatiyaThe Kakatiya dynasty was an Indian dynasty that ruled most parts of what is now Andhra Pradesh, India from 1083 CE to 1323 CE, with Orugallu , now Warangal , as its capital. Orugallu is also called 'Eka Sila Nagaram'...
Dynasty, some Banas are heard of in the Telugu country. They have been mentioned in the work 'Prataparudra Yashobhushana' written by Vidyanatha. - Trivikramadeva claimed a Bana descent and flourished in the 15th Century. He wrote Trivikrama Vritti, a work on Prakrit grammar.
- The last date for the Vijayanagar Viceroys (Nayaks) of MaduraiMadurai Nayak DynastyThe Madurai Nayaks or Nayak Dynasty of Madurai were rulers of a region comprising most of modern-day Tamil Nadu, India, with Madurai as their capital...
claiming a Bana descent is 1546 AD. The Bana Viceroys of Madurai later ruled the Madurai Kingdom independently.
Brihatphala
Based on the copper plates of Jayavarman Brihat-Phalayana, it has been suggested that Brihat-Phala means the same as Brihad-Bana, where 'phala' and 'bana' both have the same meaning as 'arrowhead'. The Brihat-phalayanas ruled in regions around Masulipatnam around the 3rd century AD. Additionally, the Saka Mahakshatrapas of Ujjain claimed Brihatphala (Bahaphala) gotra and were linked with the Ikshvakus. A record of the Ikshvakus of the Guntur-Krishna region mentions that a queen named Varma Bhatarika, the wife of Maharaja Ehuvula Chantamula, and daughter-in-law of Maharaja Chantamula, is said to have belonged to Bahapala (that is, Brihat-phala or Brihatphalayana) gotra and is said to have been the daughter of a Mahakshatrapa. It may therefore be surmised that Brihatphala was possibly used as a gotra name to indicate descent from Brihad-Bana.Bana Kings
Some Bana Kings mentioned in various historical sources are:- Jayanandivarman
- Vijayaditya I, Son of Jayanandivarman
- Malladeva, Son of Vijayaditya I
- Bana Vidhyadhara, son of Malladeva (Married a granddaughter of the Ganga King Siva maharaja, who reigned between 1000 and 1016 AD)
- Prabhumerudeva, son of Banavidhyadhara
- Vikramaditya I, Son of Prabhumerudeva
- Vikramaditya II or Pugalvippavar-Ganda, Son of Vikramaditya I
- Vijayabahu Vikramaditya II, Son of Vikramaditya II
- Aragalur udaiya Ponparappinan Rajarajadevan alias Magadesan (MagadaiMagadaiMagadai or Magadai Mandalam was a Tamil dynasty that flourished during the 13th and 14th centuries near the modern-day Aragalur. Aragalurudaiya Ponparappinan Rajarajadevan, alias Magadesan, was the Bana chief who ruled this region around 1197...
Mandalam chief) of AragalurAragalurAragalur is a village in Salem district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is about 6 km from Thalaivasal and 70 km from Salem.-Etymology:...
In Sangam literature
An ancient Tamil poem of the Sangam period, describes a scene in front of a Vanar Palace as below:Poets are leaving the palace with plenty of gifts from the King, while the arrested rulers of smaller regions of the Kingdom, who have failed to pay tribute to the King and waiting for the King's pardon happen to see the poets leaving with expensive gifts which are actually things seized by the King from them. One of them, seeing the gifts, says that its his horse that one the poet takes away, while another one points out to his elephant, similarly and so on goes the poem, capturing the might of ancient Vanars. This poem explains the wealth and power of Southern Vanars. Kalki
Kalki
In Hinduism, Kalki is the tenth and final Maha Avatar of Vishnu who will come to end the present age of darkness and destruction known as Kali Yuga. The name Kalki is often a metaphor for eternity or time...
, in his historic novel Ponniyin Selvan
Ponniyin Selvan
Ponniyin Selvan is a 2400 page 20th-century Tamil historical novel written by Kalki Krishnamurthy. Written in 5 volumes, this narrates the story of Arulmozhivarman , one of the kings of the Chola Dynasty during the 10th-11th century CE period.-Historical background:Ponniyin Selvan is a historical...
, describes a scene in which the protagonist, Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan
Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan
Vallavarayan Vandiyadevan was a feudatory of the Chola kings Raja Raja Chola I and Rajendra Chola I and chief of the Samanthas of North Arcot. He was married to Kundavai, the elder sister of Raja Raja I. The territory under his authority was known as Vallavaraiyarnadu...
, who he claims to be of Vanar descent, broods over the fall of his clan, singing this poem.