->Reo kwon at 17:30, 29 October 2020

2020-10-29T17:30:06Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Kotilingala
| native_name =
| native_name_lang = te
| other_name =
| settlement_type = Holy Site
| image_skyline =
| image_alt =
| image_caption =
| nickname =
| pushpin_map = India Telangana#India
| pushpin_label_position = right
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Telangana, India
| coordinates = {{coord|18.861255|N|79.196488|E|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States and territories of India|State]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[List of districts of India|District]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Telangana]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Jagtial district|Jagtial]]
| established_title = 
| established_date =
| founder =
| named_for =
| government_type =
| governing_body =
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_footnotes =
| area_total_km2 =
| area_rank =
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m =
| population_total =
| population_as_of =
| population_footnotes =
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_rank =
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| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| timezone1 = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset1 = +5:30
| postal_code_type = 
| postal_code =
| registration_plate = TS
| website = {{URL|telangana.gov.in}}
| footnotes =
| demographics1_info1 = [[Telugu language|Telugu]]
| official_name =
}}

'''Kotilingala''' is a [[Hindu pilgrimage sites|Hindu pilgrimage site]] in [[Jagtial district]] of the [[Indian state]] of [[Telangana]]. It is situated in Velagatoor [[mandal]] of the district, on the [[Godavari river]].<ref name="info">{{cite news|title=Koti Lingala, a major pilgrim destination|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/koti-lingala-a-major-pilgrim-destination/article6446733.ece|accessdate=2 July 2016|work=The Hindu|date=26 September 2014|language=en-IN}}</ref> It is located on the bank of the [[Godavari River]], and has a traditional Shiva temple for [[Hindu]]s, the Koteswara Siddeswara Temple.<ref name="info" />

Archaeological discoveries at Kotilingala indicate that it was an important town during the period of the [[Assaka]] [[mahajanapada]] and the [[Satavahana]]s.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}

== History ==

Kotilingala has an archaeological site that was excavated by [[Veluri Venkata Krishna Sastry|V. V. Krishna Sastry]]. The site has a mud fort with several gates and running 1054 metres long and 330 metres wide. A watch tower located in the south-eastern corner measures 11.5 * 10.55 m.<ref>Material culture of Deccan: with special reference to Satavahana-Ikshvaku period, B.S. R. Babu, Agam Kala Prakashan, Hyderabad, 1999; p. 42</ref> Ancient pottery, beads, bricks [[quern-stone|querns]], and other artifacts have been found at the site.<ref name="VVKS_1983">{{cite book |author=V. V. Krishna Sastry |title=The Proto and Early Historical Cultures of Andhra Pradesh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=32JDAAAAYAAJ |year=1983 |publisher=Government of Andhra Pradesh |page=126 }}</ref> Two hoards of punch-marked coins attributed to 2nd and 3rd centuries BCE have been found at the site.<ref name="CMS_2001"/> These coins were issued by Gobhada and Samagopa, who are believed to be local pre-[[Satavahana]] rulers.<ref>{{cite book |author1=D. Raja Reddy |author2=P. Suryanarayana Reddy |title=Kotalingala coinage of Satavahanas and other local rulers: a profile |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8lBmAAAAMAAJ |year=1987 |publisher=Numismatic Society of Hyderabad |page=59 }}</ref>

Based on these discoveries, Kotilingala is believed to be a town of the ancient [[Asmaka]] (also Andhra or Assaka) [[Mahajanapadas|Mahajanapada]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Peter Bernholz |author2=Roland Vaubel |title=Explaining Monetary and Financial Innovation: A Historical Analysis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KFglBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA55 |year=2014 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-319-06109-2 |page=55 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=B. Subrahmanyam |title=Buddhist Relic-Caskets In South India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t-YGAAAAYAAJ |year=1998 |publisher=Bharatiya Kala Prakashan |isbn=978-81-86050-15-6 |page=9 }}</ref> The mud fortification, protected by a stream on its east and the Godavari river on its west, indicate its high political and commercial significance.<ref name="VVKS_1983"/>

=== Satavahanas ===

Coins of [[Satavahana]] kings have also been found at Kotilingala. A few of these are copper and [[potin]] coins bearing the legend "Rano Siri Chimuka Satavahanasa". Some scholars such as A. M. Sastry and K. D. Bajpai have identified the issuer of these coins with [[Simuka]], who is considered as the founder of the Satavahana dynasty based on the [[Puranas|Puranic]] genealogies.<ref name="HPR_1986">{{cite book |author=Himanshu Prabha Ray |title=Monastery and guild: commerce under the Sātavāhanas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3zVGAAAAMAAJ |year=1986 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=43 }}</ref> However, others such as P. L. Gupta and [[I. K. Sarma]] have disputed this identification, arguing that the Kotilingala coins belonged to a later ruler with a similar or same name.<ref name="HPR_1986"/><ref>{{cite book |author=Inguva Karthikeya Sarma |title=Coinage of the Satavahana Empire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ilBmAAAAMAAJ |year=1980 |publisher=Agam |pages=126–30 }}</ref> [[P. V. Parabrahma Sastry|P.V.P. Sastry]], who first discovered these coins and attributed them to Simuka in 1978, also changed his view and later stated that Chimuka or Chhimuka of Kotilingala was not same as the Simuka mentioned in [[Naneghat]] inscription.<ref>{{cite book |author=Ajay Mitra Shastri |title=The Age of the Sātavāhanas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LRpuAAAAMAAJ |year=1999 |publisher=Aryan Books |isbn=978-81-7305-158-6 |page=306 }}</ref>

Other coins include those issued by [[Kanha (Satavahana dynasty)|Kanha]] and [[Satakarni]].<ref>Indian History, Krishna Reddy; Tata-McGraw Hill Education, New Delhi, 2011. p. A-250</ref> The inscriptions of the early Satavahanas have been found only in present-day [[Maharashtra]] (at [[Nashik]] and [[Naneghat]]), based on which western [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]] has been proposed as the original home of the Satavahanas. However, the discovery of coins at Kotilingala and other sites in present-day [[Andhra Pradesh]] and Telangana has prompted some historians such as M. Rama Rao to theorize that the eastern Deccan was also a part of the early Satavahana territory.<ref>{{cite book |author=P. Raghunadha Rao |title=Ancient and medieval history of Andhra Pradesh |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientmedievalh0000ragh |url-access=registration |year=1993 |publisher=Sterling Publishers |isbn=978-81-207-1495-3}}</ref> V. V. Krishna Sastry theorized that the site was once a stronghold of the early Satavahanas.<ref name="VVKS_1983"/> D. R. Reddy and S. Reddy proposed that Kotilingala was the original homeland of the Satavahanas. However, the Satavahana coin samples from Kotilingala are small in size, and it is not known where these coins were minted.<ref name="CMS_2001">{{cite book |editor=Susan E. Alcock |title=Empires: Perspectives from Archaeology and History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MBuPx1rdGYIC&pg=PA169 |year=2001 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-77020-0 |author=Carla M. Sinpoli |pages=168–169 }}</ref> S. Chattopadhyaya argues that coins can travel via trade, and this is not conclusive evidence of the early Satavahana presence in eastern Deccan.<ref>{{cite book |author=Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya |title=Some Early Dynasties of South India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mdNAAAAAMAAJ |year=1974 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-0-8426-0618-9 |pages=18–19 }}</ref> The archaeological evidence at Kotilingala suggests existence of long-distance trade.<ref name="CMS_2001"/>

== Developments ==
The State government has decided to construct a protection wall along the shores of river [[Godavari]] to protect the site from submergence under the backwaters of the [[Sripada Yellampalli project]].<ref name=brief>{{cite news|title=Protection wall for Koti Lingala temple|publisher=The Hindu|author=Special Correspondent|date=11 September 2014|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/protection-wall-for-koti-lingala-temple-in-karimnagar/article6401870.ece|accessdate=11 September 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Koti Lingala on the verge of Submergence|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/koti-lingala-on-verge-of-submergence/article6210096.ece|publisher=The Hindu|accessdate=14 July 2014}}</ref>
There were transportation facilities to the towns located on the bank of the river Godavari such as [[Godavarikhani]], [[Jagtial district|Jagtial]], [[Mancherial district|Mancherial]], and [[Karimnagar district|Karimnagar]].

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Hindu Temples in Telangana}}

[[Category:Hindu temples in Telangana]]
[[Category:Former capital cities in India]]
[[Category:Karimnagar district]]

Kotilingala - Revision history

->Reo kwon at 17:30, 29 October 2020