𝗠𝗮𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗷𝗮𝗱𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗮𝗷 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗵𝘄𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗲𝘃 𝗚𝗮𝗷𝗮𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶 :
The greatest king of the Sankarvansh~Suryavansh dynasty of Kalinga.
Vishwanath was crowned as the fourth ruler of Nandapur principality, succeeding his father, Rajah Bhairav Dev in 1527.
THREAD 🪡
Vishwanath’s predecessors were vassal chiefs or ‘Bhupati’ under the Gajapati kings. They maintained the title of ‘Raja’ and assisted the Gajapatis in several military adventures.
In a young age, he saw his father, Bhairav Dev participating in the defence of the Kondapalli fort.
When Vishwanath was crowned in 1527, he remained a loyal ally of the Gajapati, Pratap Rudra Deva.
However, after the death of Pratap Rudra, he claimed independence from the weakening Gajapati kingdom and adopted the title of “Nauna-Gajapati” meaning “not less than a Gajapati”.
After forming an independent kingdom he strengthened his position in the Coastal Andhra region up till Eluru (Vengi).
He did this by forcing the Bhupatis (former chiefs of Gajapatis) of Madugula, Krishnakotta (now Kasimkota), Rajahmundry etc to accept his suzerainty.
The chief of Krishnakotta was Mukund Deva Harichandan of the Bahubalendra Chalukya clan, who attained a high respectable rank in the army of Vishwanath Dev.
After consolidating his position in the South, he marched towards the Northern territories of Utkala.
Meanwhile in Cuttack, one Gobinda Bidyadhar, the prime minister of Gajapatis murdered the last scion and usurped the throne in 1541.
Historically, this tyranny weakened the already deteriorating Cuttack Gajapati kingdom and in 1545-46, the army of Vishwanath Dev reached Utkala.
Vishwanath Dev was successful in conquering the Bhoi ruler, Gobinda Bidyadhar and forced him to surrender the territories of the Gajapatis up to the confines of Bengal, forcing its chiefs to become his vassals.
Report of the East India Company after studying the inscriptions 👇
Vishwanath Dev appointed Mukund Deva as the minister of the Bhoi rulers to govern the northern territories of his extended empire. Bhoi rulers were given due respect and maintained their cultural position as the King of Puri.
Vishwanath Dev returned to his mainstay in Nandapur.
Vishwanath and his army had a pompous return and to celebrate his magnificent victory, he performed the royal “Vajapeya Yagna” in a coastal area that was named as “Biswanathpur”.
The Yagna was performed by a learned Brahmin named Simha Vajapeya from Bira-Narasimhapur near Puri.
Following the successful completion of the Vajapeya Yagna, Vishwanath Dev claimed the title of “GAJAPATI” and established his new capital in the newly founded city of Rayagada.
He constructed a robust fort on the banks of Nagavali river and many temples including Majhighariani.
Vishwanath Dev Gajapati was a staunch Vaishnavite. He had the opportunity to personally meet and seek blessings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
He also had many queens and his Patta-Rani belonged to the Bahubalendra Chalukya family, sister of Mukund Deva Harichandan.
The reign of Vishwanath Dev Gajapati was relatively a peaceful and prosperous one. His new capital Rayagada flourished in trade & commerce.
However, this peace and prosperity was short lived as Ibrahim Qutb Shah had his eyes set on Kalinga after subduing Vijaynagara in 1565.
The assassination of the Bhoi ruler and the usurpation of Northern territories by Mukund Deva in 1559 was known to Vishwanath which made him an ally of Ramchandra.
The invasions and conspiracies in Utkala was due to the ambitions of Mukunda Deva, who could not survive for long.
Vishwanath Gajapati was successful in stopping the advance of Ibrahim Quli Qutb Shah in 1567 and signed a treaty on banks of Godavari.
John Briggs has mentioned this from Ferishta’s accounts & also the extent of his empire. The copper plate is now stored in Nizam’s Museum.👇
Vishwanath also backed Raja Ramchandra in his battle against the tyrannical Mukunda Deva in 1568.
However, the great king died in 1571 and was succeeded by his son, Balaram Dev I, who defended his kingdom valiantly but lost to the mighty forces of the Ibrahim Qutb Shah.
The anecdotes of the royal genealogy of Jeypore describes Maharajadhiraj Maharajah Vishwanath Dev Gajapati as:
स विश्वनाथं स्वसुतं सदा रतं सदारमाराधनया रमापतौ।
सुरै: समाराधि न ये धुरंधरं धुरंधराया: समये समन्वयन् ॥
(१७४/श्रीजयपुराज्यवशांवली)
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.