somadeva

(somideva) of rAyalasImA, son of gonkaladevI and pinnayya, and claimed descent from the ancient line of the kShatriya chAlukyas from pulakeshin I, who in 1331 started fighting muslim forces, scaling fort walls himself, and recovering forts, restoring agrahAra-s and temples. [M]

  • he managed to raise a formidable force of 6000 cavalry
  • launching surprise assaults on the line of forts
  • launched a lightning strike on Satanikota at night and defeated the Moslem army and drove them out
  • destroyed the Moslem troops and merchant caravans distributed over the Kurnool region
  • carried out the war of 7 forts where he cutoff the Moslem line of supplies: capturing the Mosalimadugu, Kandanavolu, Kalvakolanu, Etagiri and Ganganenikonda (In the battle of Ganganenikonda the chronicle states that somadeva scaled the fort wall personally and conducted an assault on the garrison leading the troops from front.)
  • destroyed the Moslem army at Raichur
  • attacked by the Majir and his forces from Gosangi - Majir was decapitated, and somadeva offered his head as a bali to aghora bhairava
  • recaptured the mighty fort of Anegondi which had fallen to Tughlaq by scaling the walls secretly and letting in his troops to storm the fort
  • liberated Mudgal after capturing the fort from Tughlaq’s Naib
  • had a showdown with the main army of Maliq Muhammad who was advancing from Kampili - The Maliq was captured, but foolishly somadeva let him return to Delhi after he had forsaken Kampili.
  • founded the famed AravIDu line, which was to serve the Vijayanagara rulers through many deed of valor in war. Finally his descendent rAmarAya became the ruler of Vijayanagara itself after the clan of kR^iShNadeva.