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Gajapati Empire
The Gajapati Empire was a medieval Hindu monarchy in the Indian subcontinent, originally from the region of Odisha that reigned from c.1434 to 1541. It succeeded the Eastern Gangas as the Gajapati monarchs and was founded by Kapilendra Deva of Suryavamsa lineage after the death of the last ruler of Eastern Ganga king Bhanu Deva IV. At its peak, it ruled parts of modern-day West Bengal to Tiruchirappalli (modern-day Tamil Nadu). Gajapatis were great patrons of art, architecture and literature which during their time flourished and witnessed tremendous growth, they ruled over a vast stretch of land and had continuous rivalry with the Vijayanagara Empire. Their capital was Kataka.
20°31′25″N 85°47′17″E / 20.52361°N 85.78806°E
The Gajapati kings patronized Vaishnavite Hinduism and were ardent devotees of the God Vishnu. They also commissioned many temples dedicated to the God Vishnu. They established the Jagannath cult over kalinga.
In Odia, "Gaja" means elephant and "Pati" means master or husband. As such, Gajapati etymologically means a king with an army of elephants or master of elephants. Gajapati was one of the four titles adopted by kings who ruled in pre-colonial era India, the others being Narapati (e.g. Vijayanagara emperors), Aswapati (e.g. the Bahmani sultans), and Chhatrapati.
The region known as Kalinga (present-day Odisha) was ruled by the Eastern Gangas.The early Eastern Gangas ruled from Kalinga-nagara (currently Mukhalingam near Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh). They shifted their capital to Cuttack in the 13th century. The Hindu philosopher Ramanujacharya had a great influence on the Raja Choda Ganga Deva, who renovated the temple at Puri. Narasingha Deva I built the Sun Temple at Konark and Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha temple, Simhachalam at Visakhapatnam. The Gangas were succeeded by the Gajapati monarchs. 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. The enemy general encamped at Chiguru Kota located on the shores and tried to excavate a channel in the modern-day Upputeru, so that the water of the lake would empty into the sea and allow an attack on the Gajapati fort.
The Gajapatis at the height of their power in the 15th century, ruled over an empire extending from the Ganges in the north near Hoogly to the Kaveri in the south under Emperor Kapilendra Deva. But by the early 16th century, the Gajapatis lost great portions of their southern dominion to the Vijayanagara Empire and the Golconda Sultanate.
This period was marked by the influence of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and by the expansion of Jagannath temple across the length and breadth of the empire. One of the causes of the reduction in militarism among the population has been attested to the Bhakti movement initiated by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who arrived in the empire during the reign of Emperor Prataparudra and stayed for 18 long years at Puri. Emperor Prataparudra was highly influenced by the works of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and gave up the military tradition of the Kalinga emperors. He retired to the life of an ascetic leaving the future of the empire uncertain. Govinda Vidyadhara took the opportunity to assassinate the sons of the emperor and usurped the throne for himself.
The records of the Suryavamsi Gajapatis gives a picture of their military administration which they had inherited from the Eastern Gangas rulers. The Gangas had a vast and well-organised military which was improved upon by Kapilendra Deva. The empire was built on the lines of a military state, with the protection of the state and its expansion being the responsibilities of the state and population. Militarism had penetrated into different ranks of the society and the Emperor had a large standing army which included a large number of soldiers and local-militants in the standing army. Besides the feudal tributary states of the Gajapatis also provided a stipulated number of soldiers at the time of war and had to fight for the Gajapati in the battle field.
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Gajapati Empire
The Gajapati Empire was a medieval Hindu monarchy in the Indian subcontinent, originally from the region of Odisha that reigned from c.1434 to 1541. It succeeded the Eastern Gangas as the Gajapati monarchs and was founded by Kapilendra Deva of Suryavamsa lineage after the death of the last ruler of Eastern Ganga king Bhanu Deva IV. At its peak, it ruled parts of modern-day West Bengal to Tiruchirappalli (modern-day Tamil Nadu). Gajapatis were great patrons of art, architecture and literature which during their time flourished and witnessed tremendous growth, they ruled over a vast stretch of land and had continuous rivalry with the Vijayanagara Empire. Their capital was Kataka.
20°31′25″N 85°47′17″E / 20.52361°N 85.78806°E
The Gajapati kings patronized Vaishnavite Hinduism and were ardent devotees of the God Vishnu. They also commissioned many temples dedicated to the God Vishnu. They established the Jagannath cult over kalinga.
In Odia, "Gaja" means elephant and "Pati" means master or husband. As such, Gajapati etymologically means a king with an army of elephants or master of elephants. Gajapati was one of the four titles adopted by kings who ruled in pre-colonial era India, the others being Narapati (e.g. Vijayanagara emperors), Aswapati (e.g. the Bahmani sultans), and Chhatrapati.
The region known as Kalinga (present-day Odisha) was ruled by the Eastern Gangas.The early Eastern Gangas ruled from Kalinga-nagara (currently Mukhalingam near Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh). They shifted their capital to Cuttack in the 13th century. The Hindu philosopher Ramanujacharya had a great influence on the Raja Choda Ganga Deva, who renovated the temple at Puri. Narasingha Deva I built the Sun Temple at Konark and Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha temple, Simhachalam at Visakhapatnam. The Gangas were succeeded by the Gajapati monarchs. 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. The enemy general encamped at Chiguru Kota located on the shores and tried to excavate a channel in the modern-day Upputeru, so that the water of the lake would empty into the sea and allow an attack on the Gajapati fort.
The Gajapatis at the height of their power in the 15th century, ruled over an empire extending from the Ganges in the north near Hoogly to the Kaveri in the south under Emperor Kapilendra Deva. But by the early 16th century, the Gajapatis lost great portions of their southern dominion to the Vijayanagara Empire and the Golconda Sultanate.
This period was marked by the influence of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and by the expansion of Jagannath temple across the length and breadth of the empire. One of the causes of the reduction in militarism among the population has been attested to the Bhakti movement initiated by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who arrived in the empire during the reign of Emperor Prataparudra and stayed for 18 long years at Puri. Emperor Prataparudra was highly influenced by the works of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and gave up the military tradition of the Kalinga emperors. He retired to the life of an ascetic leaving the future of the empire uncertain. Govinda Vidyadhara took the opportunity to assassinate the sons of the emperor and usurped the throne for himself.
The records of the Suryavamsi Gajapatis gives a picture of their military administration which they had inherited from the Eastern Gangas rulers. The Gangas had a vast and well-organised military which was improved upon by Kapilendra Deva. The empire was built on the lines of a military state, with the protection of the state and its expansion being the responsibilities of the state and population. Militarism had penetrated into different ranks of the society and the Emperor had a large standing army which included a large number of soldiers and local-militants in the standing army. Besides the feudal tributary states of the Gajapatis also provided a stipulated number of soldiers at the time of war and had to fight for the Gajapati in the battle field.