Rare sculpture of Kakatiya emperor Ganapatideva found in Telangana

Historians and heritage experts have identified a rare Kakatiya-era granite sculpture depicting Emperor Ganapatideva, his wife Somaladevi and royal preceptor Visveswara Sivacharya at Totapalli village in Siddipet district, marking the first such identification of the royal couple in Telangana.

HYDERABAD: Historians have spotted a rare sculpture representing Kakatiya Emperor Ganapatideva and his wife Somaladevi at Totapalli village, Bejjanki mandal in Siddipet.

E Sivanagireddy, Archaeologist and Sriramoju Haragopal, Convenor, Kotha Telangana Charitra Brindam (KTCB), noticed the sculpture during their survey and awareness programme on Preserve Heritage for Posterity on Sunday.

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According to them, the three sculptures of the panel represent Kakatiya Ganapatideva as a Saivite devotee wearing a typical head dress in a bun shape and Rudraksha malas on his body, with his wife wearing a Dhammilla type of hairdress. Both were engaged in worshipping a miniature Sivalinga under the spiritual guidance of Visveswara Sivacharya, the royal preceptor.

Dr Reddy and Haragopal said that the Royal Parasols(Chatris) on their heads denote the Royalty and facilitated the historians to identify the sculptures as Ganapatideva, Somaladevi and Visveswara Sivacharya.

Carved on a three-square-foot granite slab, all three sculptures and the Trikuta temples are in typical Kakatiya style datable to the Regnal period of Kakatiya Ganapatideva.

It was the first time to identify Kakatiya Emperor Ganapatideva and his wife from Telangana, they added.