Gajapati Empire

The Gajapati Empire, was an empire established by the Suryavamsa (IAST: Sūryavaṃśa, "Solar dynasty") dynasty, which was a medieval dynasty from the Indian subcontinent, it originated in the region of Trikalinga (most of the present-day Odisha and North coastal Andhra) and reigned from 1434 to 1541 CE. It succeeded the reign of the Eastern Gangas. Under Kapilendra Deva, Gajapati empire stretched from lower Ganga in the north to Kaveri in the south. The Gajapati dynasty was established by Emperor Kapilendra Deva (1434–66 CE) in 1434. During the reign of Kapilendra Deva, the borders of the empire expanded immensely; Gajapati Empire acquired large parts of Andhra Pradesh and western regions of West Bengal, it also included the eastern and central parts of Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand. Purushottama Deva and Prataparudra Deva are the significant rulers of this dynasty. The last ruler Kakharua Deva was killed by Govinda Vidyadhara in 1541, who founded the Bhoi dynasty. The Gajapati kings patronized Vaishnavism and were ardent devotees of Lord Vishnu. They also build many temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu. In Odia, "Gaja" means elephant and "Pati" means master or husband. As such, Gajapati etymologically means a king with an army of elephants. The region known as Kalinga (present-day Odisha) was controlled by the Odia rulers Eastern Gangas.The early Eastern Gangas ruled from Kalinga-nagara (Mukhalingam near Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh). They shifted their capital to Cuttack in the 13th century. Religious leader Ramanujacharya had a great influence on the Raja Choda Ganga Deva, who renovated the temple at Puri. Narasingha Deva built the Sun Temple at Konark and Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha temple, Simhachalam at Visakhapatnam. The Gangas were succeeded by the Gajapati rulers. Two copper plates of the early Pallava dynasty have been found in the Kolleru Lake, traced to Gajapati Langula Narasimha Deva, an Oriya ruler (Odia Raja). According to legend, the Gajapati fort was located at Kolleti Kota on one of the eastern islands of the lake, which protected the Odia forces.