The region of Kalinga in the eastern part of India is famous in history books for the great ‘Kalinga war’ contested between the emperor, Ashoka the Great and the kingdom of Kalinga. However, there is plenty of history about this glorious region that is worth remembering apart from this infamous war alone. Let us not forget that this land has seen empires, dynasties, kings, warriors, learned people, and the magnificent art and architectural aesthetics of this glorious land continues to inspire the world. ‘Utkal’ is often considered synonymous to Kalinga but according to literary and historical evidence it implies to the northern region of Kalinga which is now known Odisha. ‘Utkal’ is a conjoined form of two words – ‘Uttar’ (North) and ‘Kalinga’ which literally means ‘North Kalinga’.
In republican age, the region of Kalinga is distributed amongst the states of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Nevertheless, in historical terms, the names of Kalinga and Utkal have appeared in many ancient texts including Mahabharata. As mentioned in the celebrated Sanskrit poet Kalidasa’s ‘Raghuvamsam’, Utkala and Kalinga were two distinct regions, as it describes the victorious Chakravartin Samrat Raghu, the eminent ancestor of the Hindu god Rama, reaching Kalinga after conquering the kings of Utkal. It is worth mentioning that this fact has also been accepted by some prominent historians of the region.
Over the years, the extent of Kalinga eventually expanded and gradually declined in the reign of its many ruling dynasties. At times it was expanded over modern-day Chhattisgarh, Odisha, northern parts of Andhra Pradesh, while touching parts of Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. However, the well-recognised main centre of Kalinga as per significant historical evidence has always been the modern-day North Andhra and South Odisha regions with the capital being Srikakulam or Kalinga-Nagar as it was previously known.
Some of the eminent dynasties that ruled over the greater Kalinga were the Mahameghavahana, Kesari, Eastern Ganga and the Routaraya or Gajapati dynasty. The last Gajapati ruler, Prataparudra Deva was unfortunate enough to face an invigorated Vijayanagara empire under the illustrious, Krishna Deva Raya. The clash of the two colossal empires caused a major unrest in Kalinga and upon the death of Prataparudra, the empire faced many challengers endeavouring to claim control over the region. Several subsidiary vassals of the Gajapatis claimed sovereignty in their principalities and on the other hand, Govinda Vidyadhar, minister of the Gajapatis treacherously assassinated the last two heirs and claimed kinship over the deteriorating empire of Kalinga. Nevertheless, this tumultuous phase in the history of Kalinga was a silver lining for one dynasty that would rule over the domain for the next four centuries and they were the Suryavanshis of Jayapura.
Rise of the Suryavanshis
One such principality of Nandapur was administered by the rulers of Silavansh dynasty and were subordinate vassals of the Eastern Ganga empire. In 1434, Vinayak Dev, a Suryavanshi Rajput and a junior prince born in a small kingdom of northern Kashmir arrived in Nandapur. As per tradition, Vinayak was an ardent devotee of God Shiva who went on a pilgrimage to Kashi where he became a recluse for some time and was later motivated by a dream to cross the forests of Dandakaranya or Dakshin Kosala where he would eventually inherit the realm of a little kingdom. The prince upon crossing the Dakshina Kosala region arrived in Nandapur where he was welcomed by the ruler Pratap Ganga and married the only daughter of this Silavanshi chieftain named Lilavati. He received the domain in inheritance from his father-in-law and named his lineage as ‘Shankaravamsa’ or ‘Rudravamsa’ in respect of his Ishta-devta.
However, this succession proved challenging for Vinayak as the other members of Silavansh family forced the new king out of Nandapur. Nevertheless, Vinayak reached the court of the Gajapati emperor and with his help gathered an army and reclaimed Nandapur in 1443. He was a military expert and significantly increased the number of his soldiers. He then led an expedition to the land of Uttarandhra (North Andhra Pradesh) under the flag of Gajapati Kapilendra Deva and defeated the Reddy chiefs.
Vijaychandraksha, the son and successor of Vinayak, was a contemporary of Gajapati Purushottama Deva, and assisted the emperor in the victory over the Vijayanagara empire. The successor of Vijaychandraksha was Bhairava Dev who provided loyal assistance to Gajapati Prataprudra Deva in the defence of the Kondapalli fort against Krishna Deva Raya of Vijayanagara kingdom.
Bhairava Dev’s son was Vishwanath Dev, who became the ruler of Nandapur in 1527 and witnessed the fall of the Gajapati kings following the death of Prataprudra Deva. As a prince, Vishwanath had earned the confidence of the ministers and people when his father was away battling in Kondapalli fort. He was a shrewd administrator with a proclivity for military manoeuvres and enhancement which was his greatest attribute.
In 1540, Quli Qutb Shah, Sultan of Golconda and the founder of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, led an expedition to Kalinga and battled Gajapati Prataparudra Deva and his feudatories including Vishwanath Dev, the king of Nandapur. The Turks emerged victorious and according to an inscription, the Gajapati king was forced to surrender the region of Vengi situated amidst two rivers – Godavari and Kaveri. This defeat was a massive blow to the power of the Gajapatis and soon led to their ultimate collapse.
Reign of the Gajapati Vishwanath
The corrosion of one dynasty signalled the rise of another as Vishwanath Dev claimed sovereignty from the fading Gajapati empire and went on to claim the title of “Nauna-Gajapati” (lit. meaning “Not less than a Gajapati”). He shifted the headquarters from Nandapur to the newly founded Rayagada, which became the capital of a kingdom that covered the South Odisha and the Uttarandhra region up to Godavari. A new fort was constructed with the temple of Majhighariani situated in the middle of the bastion.
Meanwhile, in Cuttack, Govinda Vidyadhar began his rule after despotically murdering the crown princes of the Routaraya Gajapati dynasty. This sudden change in kinship infused vulnerability in the domain of Kalinga and Utkala and seeing this opportunity, Vishwanath mustered a large army to subdue the strength of Cuttack. He was accompanied by his able general, Mukund Harichandan Bahubalendra of Krishnakotta (now Kasimkota, a village in Visakhapatnam district) belonging to the Bahubalendra branch of Chalukya clan of Vengi. Notably, the wife of Vishwanath hailed from the Bahubalendra Chalukya clan of Krishnakota which made him a relative of Mukund. Notably, Krishnakota was one of the many principalities of Uttarandhra that accepted the suzerainty of the Nauna Gajapati.
It has also been confirmed by the prominent historian, Dr. N.K. Sahu in ‘A History of Orissa’ that after the death of Prataprudra Deva, the empire saw a northern faction led by Govinda Vidyadhar and a southern faction led by another dominant king. This king was most likely Vishwanath Dev of Nandapur as he was the only dominant ruler of southern Odisha. Over the course of time, Vishwanath was successful in gaining control of the northern faction which could have been during the reign of Govind Vidyadhar or probably after his death. This was largely because Mukund Harichandan was appointed by Vishwanath as a minister cum military commander in the court of the Bhoi rulers to govern the northern territories up to Bengal. It has been mentioned earlier that Krishnakota, feudal seat of Mukunda Harichandan was not only under Nandapur’s hegemony but also had martial ties with the house of Suryavanshis. Therefore, it is more than sufficient to prove that his acolyte, Mukunda was governing the northern region as his administrator.
Vishwanath turned up to commemorate his supremacy over a newly built empire that extended from the confines of Bengal to the country of Telangana in south, as stated Ferishta – the prominent historian of the Qutb Shahi Sultanate and by a report of the East India Company that was prepared upon studying the inscriptions in Sri Varahalakshmi-Narasimha Swamy temple in Simhachalam. The king pompously performed the great ‘Vajapeya yagna’ (a vedic fire-sacrifice conducted by kings to celebrate their authority, second to Ashwamedha and Rajasuya). It was performed by a priest named Simha Vajpayee and the records of this yagna are conserved in his family genealogy with his descendants residing in a village called Bira-Narasimhapura near Puri. The place where this yagna was performed was named ‘Vishwanathpur’ (now Biswanathpur village in Ganjam district). Posthumously, in the end of the ceremony Vishwanath Dev adopted the title of ‘Gajapati’ and ‘Kalingadeshadhipati’ to ascertain his claim as the new Maharaja of Kalinga. In the reign of this great king, trade and commerce flourished in Rayagada and the coastal parts of the kingdom.
The first challenge that struck the empire of Vishwanath came from Jamshed Quli Qutb Shah, the then newly crowned Sultan of Golconda. The forces of Jamshed advanced in the coastal region of Godavari but were humbled by the army of Vishwanath Gajapati, the Maharaja of Kalinga. A peace treaty was signed between the two kings marking Godavari River as the boundary. However, following the death of Jamshed in 1550, the Qutb Shahi Sultanate fell under the leadership of Ibrahim Qutb Shah. His victory over the deteriorating kingdom of Vijayanagara triggered alarm in the region. On the other hand, Mukund Deva assassinated the Bhoi king, Raghuram Chottaraya and usurped the throne of Cuttack in 1559. It is a matter of debate whether Mukund Deva ruled as a sovereign ruler or continued being a subsidiary to the Gajapati Maharaja Vishwanath Dev.
The influence of the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was gaining prevalence in that age which had a considerable impact on Vishwanath. He was an ardent devotee of God Krishna and a faithful follower of Chaitanya. As per the royal genealogy or Vamsavali, the king was fortunate enough to meet the pious saint who gave him a black stone idol of Sri Madan Mohan Mahaprabhu and ever since then Sri Madan Mohan Mahaprabhu is worshipped by the dynasty as their Kul-Devta (family deity) of the Rudravansh Suryavanshis of Jayapur.
So why is Vishwanath Dev Gajapati missing from the history books?
There is no definite answer to this question, however, it is assumed that the historians writing about Kalinga and Utkal in the post-independence era heavily relied on one source and that was ‘Madla Panji’. This popular hagiographical book was maintained by members of the Karan caste that excelled in the occupation of record-keeping (including historical records). However, modern scholars and historians have confirmed these records as bardic and sycophantic in nature developed under the patronage of the Cuttack-Puri kings only and thus revolves mostly around the history of North Odisha or Utkala.
The history of Vishwanath Dev and South Odisha was abruptly ignored by researchers and historians of the post-independence era. There are various sources based on authentic historical research that mention the existence of Vishwanath and the wide extent of his territories, like Ferishta’s account translated by John Briggs in ‘History of the Rise of the Mahomedan Power in India till the Year AD 1612’ or in ‘The Fifth Annual Report from the Select Committee on the Affairs of the East India Company’ and ‘The Godavary District’ by Henry Morris. The first research throwing light on the empire of Vishwanath Dev Gajapati was conducted by Kumar Vidyadhar Singh Deo and recorded in his book ‘Nandapur – A Forsaken kingdom’. These sources have confirmed the territories of Vishwanath Dev Gajapati upon researching various inscriptions including a copper-plate treaty between Jamshed Quli Qutb Shah and Vishwanath Dev Gajapati, which is now stored in the Nizam’s Museum in Hyderabad.
AFTERMATH
In the last years of his regime, he may have lost control over Utkala but he maintained firm grip over Kalinga viz. the South Odisha and Uttarandhra regions. When the ambitious king died in 1571 the peace treaty was rescinded by Ibrahim Qutb Shah who sent forces and conquered the Uttarandhra territories by defeating Balaram Dev, the son and successor of Vishwanath and his Sirdars.
The kingdom under Balaram Dev fought bravely against the intrusion and following his death the retaliation was continued by his son – Yashasvan or Yashovant Dev, who formed alliances with the local chiefs and battled the Qutb Shahis twice but suffered heavy defeat and casualties on both occasions. The Qutb Shahi forces seized Nandapur with the help of Krishna Raj Dev, the younger brother of Yashasvan, who betrayed his brother for kingship. Apparently, this new ruler was disliked by the people including his own ministers and soldiers and was removed in less than a year by Veer Vikram Dev, son of Yashasvan and nephew of Krishna Raj.
In 1649, Veer Vikram Dev shifted his capital due to the ongoing skirmishes with the Qutb Shahis and settled in a new place as per the instructions of the astrologers and named it – Jayapur (City of Victory). He remained a tributary under the Qutb Shahis on peaceful terms. The two kingdoms in this period worked effortlessly to maintain peace in the region by promoting religious tolerance in their respective territories. The Sultan of Golconda, Abul Hasan Qutb Shah, contributed to the construction of Sri Ramachandraswamy temple in Bhadrachalam. Similarly, Veer Vikram Dev invited many Turkish and Persian scholars to his court, with some settling permanently in Jayapur. The Maharaja also acquired services of Mohammedan soldiers and officers who permanently settled in Jeypore. He received much honor and recognition in the court of Golconda and upon considering his harmonial approach, the Sultan bestowed upon him a prestigious title – “Azeem Maharajah Yujajud Dowla Mahabat Assar Yedal Yemeenay Sultanat Sam-samay Qilapathey Islam Sri Jhadkhand Badshah Rajadhiraja” along with a well-decorated elephant, a sword studded with precious jewels and a golden howdah.
During this period, Golconda gained wide-reaching popularity for its diamonds and the Sultanate became a merchant hub which was busy trading diamonds with the Europeans. Ultimately, the Sultanate began losing grip on its far distant territories including Kalinga. When Krishna Dev succeeded his father Veer Vikram Dev, he claimed sovereignty and stopped paying tributes to the Qutb Shahi Sultanate. He established a few feudatories and granted one fief to the Pusapatis of Vizianagaram. He managed to rule for a couple of years and was succeeded by his eldest son, Vishwambhar Dev, who took drastic measures and annexed the Uttarandhra region back to the kingdom after defeating the Faujdar of Chicacole, an administrator of the Qutb Shahi Sultanate. The reign of Vishwambhar Dev was of much importance as he is considered the father of the feudal system of Jeypore. Most of the prominent zamindaris of Uttarandhra like Kurupam, Sangamvalasa, Salur, Pachipenta and many others were established and granted titles by Maharaja Vishwambhar Dev. The rule and achievements of this young king shall be discussed in next article.
