Kota Vamsa

*Kota (Fort) + Vamsa (Dynasty)After the fall of the Vengi Chalukya empire Andhra was divided into a number of small dynasties. Amongst them were the Kalachuris, Parichedas, Kakatiyas, Velanati Cholas, Telugu Pallavas and the kings of Kota clan (Vamsa). The Kota kings ruled a small part of Andhra Pradesh (Guntur district) with Dharanikota/Amaravati as their capital. It is believed that after the death of Kota Dodda Raju in the battle of Palnadu in 1182, the Kotas dispersed and named themselves after the villages of their origin such as Datla, Pakalapati, Chintalapati, Jampana, etc. There were marital alliances between Kota kings and the Telugu Cholas and Kakatiya kings. Kota Betaraja married Ganapamba, daughter of Kakatiya king Ganapati Deva.

The Kakatiya dynasty eventually became the preeminent power of Andhra and it was the first empire since the Satavahanas to incorporate the entire Telugu speaking area. After the eventual fall of Warangal the Kotas became subordinates of Musunuri Nayaks and the Reddy kings of Rajamundry and eventually to the Vijayanagara Empire.

The Jampana, Dantuluri, Uppalapati, Pakalapati and Nallaparaju royal families of Dhananjaya Gotra, who were Zamindars of "Rama-Chandra-Puram", [Orissa Gov. NIC.IN [http://orissagov.nic.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/Aug2006/engpdf/aug-06.pdf] ] "Mogalthur", "Kotapalli", "Ghandavaram", "Kuppili," "Moida" and "Mutta Talaga Chirala", of which the current direct descendent is actor turned politician Krishnam Raju Uppalapathi, uncle of popular Telugu actor Prabas Uppalapathi, all claim descent from this ancient dynasty. [Studies in south India Jainism. M.S. Rama Swami Ayyangar, B. Seshagiri Rao [http://books.google.com/books?id=BBUdAAAAMAAJ&q=kota+dhananjaya&dq=kota+dhananjaya&lr=&pgis=1] ] [V. Ramachandra Rao: Vepachedu Education Foundation [http://indculture0.tripod.com/morekammas2.htm] ] =References=