From this point until Muhammadan times are reached, the MS. is silent, but it gives details of the lessees of the place under the Musalmans, The fort was apparently destroyed by the vigorous and cruel Rustum Khán (1730-37) referred to on pp. 29-30. Its ruins are still to be seen, and there is another ruined fortress at Kóti. On the Pándava hill west of Kórukonda are two rock-cut caves. The MS. says that the Pándavas lived in them during their exile.
Kottapalli: Twenty-two miles north-north-east of Rajahmundry. Population 3,900. Contains a travellers' bungalow and a large tank which irrigates some 970 acres. The village gave its name to one of the 'pergunnas' of the old Pólavaram zamindari. For many years this was divided from the rest of that estate and managed by a díwán; but in 1781 it was reannexed to it and shortly afterwards was placed under Narasimha, a brother of the Pólavaram zamindar. During the fighting in 1785 at Gútála, described in the account of Pólavaram, two usurpers wrested Kottapalli from Narasimha and the Government troops had to interfere. They captured the place and put Narasimha over it once more. He stood aloof from the disturbance of 1790 referred to in the account of Pólavaram, but joined in the more considerable rebellion of Mangapati at the close of the century. Kottapalli was then occupied by a company of sepoys to keep the hill people of Rampa in check, and the young zamindar was ultimately captured and deposed. His estate was then again united with Pólavaram. It was however once more separated from it afterwards, and its 36 villages were sold in 1808 for arrears of revenue. The purchaser himself fell into arrears in 1829, and the estate was attached and remained under management till 1841, in which year it was put up to auction and purchased by Government. The village now belongs to Government. It was formerly the head-quarters of a deputy tahsildar.
Rajahmundry, the head-quarters of the taluk, stands on the left bank of the Gódávari at the head of the great railway bridge (see p. 133) which carries the Madras Railway across that river. It is a municipality of 36,408 inhabitants, and the second most important town in the district.
The earliest mention of Rajahmundry in any extant literature is in the introduction to the Telugu translation of the Mahábhárata, which was composed by Nannayabhatta in the reign of the Eastern Chálukya king Rájarája (1022-62) who is known to popular tradition as Rájarája Naréndra. In this the town is called Rájamahéndrapattanam ('the city of Rájamahéndra') and is referred to as the capital of the Eastern
