Damarla Chennappa Nayakudu

Damarla Chennappa Nayakudu (Telugu: దామర్ల చెన్నప్ప నాయకుడు) was a Telugu Nayaka of Srikalahasti and Vandavasi belonging to the Velama community who served as a general under Sriranga Deva Raya of the Aravidu Dynasty. The historical city of Chennai is believed to have been named after him.^[1][2]

Service under Sriranga Deva Raya

Chennappa served under Sriranga Deva Raya assisting him against the Golkonda forces of Ibrahim Qutb Shah in several battles,notably in 1576 when Penukonda was captured by Ali Adil Shah and in 1579 when he captured the Golkonda Commander Murari Rao.

Death

In 1580, Ibrahim Qutb Shah invaded Kondavidu. Later he took the Udayagiri Fort and began to massacre the locals. However he was defeated after a brief fight with the Raya's army. Qutb Shah later took the fort of Vinukonda. Sriranga defeated the Sultan's forces with the assistance of his generals Chennappa and Kasturiranga. During this fight, Chennappa lost his life. He was succeeded by Kasturiranga. His son Damarla Venkatadri Nayakudu later named Chennai as Chennapattnam in his honor.

References

Further reading

• Rao, Velcheru Narayana, and David Shulman, Sanjay Subrahmanyam. Symbols of substance : court and state in Nayaka period Tamilnadu (Delhi ; Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1998) ; xix, 349 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., maps ; 22 cm. ; Oxford India paperbacks ; Includes bibliographical references and index ; ISBN 0-19-564399-2.
• Sathianathaier, R. History of the Nayaks of Madura [microform] by R. Sathyanatha Aiyar ; edited for the University, with introduction and notes by S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar ([Madras] : Oxford University Press, 1924) ; see also ([London] : H. Milford, Oxford university press, 1924) ; xvi, 403 p. ; 21 cm. ; SAMP early 20th-century Indian books project item 10819.
• K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, History of South India, From Prehistoric times to fall of Vijayanagar, 1955, OUP, (Reprinted 2002) ISBN 0-19-560686-8.