'Women are the most creative creatures to exist.'
We have a history of influential women, who have led from the front when their people needed.
For leadership, doesn't differentiate between gender.
When a queen takes charge, the calamity is bound...
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“We consider the children who drink the milk of the same women as siblings then why can’t we accept all the citizens who drink the same water of the river as sisters and brothers?”
– Rani Rudrama Devi
Our history has seen so many warriors and so many kings rule and wage wars but there are very few tales that say that the kingdoms were ruled by women. One such tale is the tale of the 13th century Warrior Queen of Kakatiya Dynasty, Rudrama Devi.
Rudrama Devi was also known as Rudradeva Maharaja or Rani Rudrama, she belonged to the Kakatiya dynasty in the Deccan Plateau from 1263-1289 until her death. She was one of the very few women who ruled a kingdom by taking over the reins of the kingly duties from her father after his death.
Rudrama Devi was born as Rudramba to King Ganapathideva. She was the only child of King Ganapathideva, who was the ruler of the Kakatiya Dynasty. He ruled the entire territory from Warangal, the capital of the Dynasty. Ganapathy deva did not have kids for a long time, and as there was a prediction that he would only have a daughter, he worshipped his family goddess, who was a form of Durga, for a daughter by performing a “Putrika ceremony”. After the birth of Rudrama Devi he did not expose the fact that he had a daughter, instead he announced that his wife had given birth to a healthy baby boy so that he wouldn't face any opposition. Rudrama Devi was hence brought up like a prince. She used to dress up like a boy and undergo all the training in warfare, politics and political science.
She rose to power in her early teens when she was appointed co-regent and ruled alongside her father. She maintained the designation that was bestowed on her and ruled as a King. She wore male attire and maintained a similar demeanour.
She was later married to Veerabhadra, prince of Nidadavolu, with whom she had two female children. Some say that Veerabhadra was the son of a commander of the Kakateeya army and was of a low caste. The marriage was a strategic move so that the citizens believe that the king and his family do not believe the descrimination of the castes.
In the first few years of the conjoined rule with her father, Rudramadevi saw the kingdom falling into utter chaos during the Pandya invasion. Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I invaded their empire, throwing it into disorder and confusion. The Kakateeyas along with their allies were disastrously defeated on the battlefield of Muttukur near Nellore. Following the loss of prestige after the Pandya invasion, her father retired from the public sphere passing on the control to Rudrama. The powers now were vested in the hands of Rani Rudrama Devi. Scriptures suggest that she individually started ruling from 1261.
Around 1266 she lost both her father and her husband. After the demise of her father, Rudrama was finally crowned in 1269. She was now officially the Queen of the Empire.
Even after officially crowned she faced opposition in her court as well as from her step brothers and cousins as they did not like the idea of working under the rule of a woman. Even in such politically hard situations Rudrama Devi did not back off from her duties and started to focus on main issues like the drinking water management. She mainly focused on the improvements of the army and she chose to recruit warriors who were not aristocratic, granting them rights over land tax revenue in return for their support.
Rudrama Devi faced challenges from the Eastern Ganga dynasty and the Yadavas soon after beginning her rule. She was able to repel the former, who retreated beyond the Godavari River in the late 1270s, and she also defeated the Yadavas, who were forced to cede territory in western Andhra. She was, however, unsuccessful in dealing with the internal dissent posed by the Kayastha chieftain, Ambadeva, after he became head of his line in 1273. Ambadeva objected to being subordinate to the Kakatiyas and he gained control of much of southwestern Andhra and what is now Guntur District.
Rudrama Devi may have died in 1289 while fighting Ambadeva, although some sources say she did not die until 1295.[a] She was succeeded by Prataparudra, a son of one of her daughters, who inherited a kingdom that was smaller than it had been when Rudrama Devi had ascended her throne.
Despite the antagonism she faced because of her gender, she rose up as one of the greatest warriors of her time. She drove back the Yedava King of Devagiri forcing him to finally sign a peace accord. She also captured important forts like Renadu, Eruva Mulikinadu, and Satti.
Rudrama Devi had great interest in architecture. She made sure the fort of Warangal was grand as well as well protected. The main architectural beauty of her garden was “Sila Thoranam” which is called as the “Rock Arch” in English. There are four such arches each facing the four directions.
The Venetian traveller Marco Polo on his visit to the kingdom later spoke of her administrative qualities in high capacity. He appreciated her benign rule and greatness. He described her as a lady of discretion and appreciated her manners of justice and equity.
The great queen of India, though ruling, faced so many hurdles in her life not because she was incapable or incompetent, but only because she was a female. She was an exemplary leader, strategist and a valorous warrior but her gender brought a question mark on her capabilities. She was “made” to behave and grow up as a male for succession to avoid clashes and opposition. Only if the society would have been open to be under the leadership of women there would have been more women like Rani Rudramadevi, and Rani Rudrama Devi would’ve been more successful in the tenor she ruled.
