Kapilendradeva

Kapilendra Deva or Kapileshvara Deva (ruled 1434-1470 AD) was the emperor of Kalinga-Utkal (Orissa) and the founder of the Gajapati dynasty which annexed large swathes of territory in Telangana, Andhra in the south to Madhya Pradhesh in central India and most of present day Bengal in the north. His name is also written as Kapilendra Routray or Sri Sri Kapilendra Deva. In claiming descent from the surya-vaMsha (Sun dynasty) of the mahabharata, he also took the title shri shri ...(108 times) gajapati gauDesvara naba koTi karnATa kalbargesvara This title is still used by the sun dynasty kings of Puri on ritual occasions.

Kapilendra's ancestors were feudatory chiefs under the Ganga dynasty, but with the weakening of their authority, Kapilendra mounted a rebellion and seized power in 1434. In his early years, he overcame a number of challenges from other chiefs, and also an invasion by Sultan Ahmed Shah of Bengal. By 1443, with the help of his able minister Gopinath Mahapatra, he had consolidated his power. In 1444, while Kapilendra was fighting the Sultan of Jaunpur Mahmud Shah in the north, the kingdom was invaded from the south by the Reddy kingdom of Rajamundry and king Devaraya II of Vijayanagar. His son Hamvira defeated the Reddys and the Gajapati kingdom eventually came to occupy a large region from Midnapore in Bengal till Guntur in Andhra. In the meanwhile Gajapati Kapilendra Deva defeated the Sultan of Jaunpur and crushed the Bengal Sultan, Ahmed Shah to secure the northern and north western frontiers of the empire.The sultanates of Jaunpur and Bengal were supported by the sultanate at Delhi. The victories of Kapilendra Deva echoed right up to the walls of the Siri fort and was instrumental in checking the ambitions of the Delhi sultanate.

In 1448 Hamvira Deva defeated the Bahmani Sultan Aladdin Ahmad Shah II. In 1459, Aladdin's son Humayun Zalim Shah invaded Debarkonda and was defeated by Hamvira, after which Telangana was occupied by Kapilendra's forces and the Velama Chief of Debarkonda became a feudatory. After the death of Devaraya II, Kapilendra Deva invaded the Vijayanagara territories in the far south and defeated the Vijayanagara army of Mallikarjuna, the successor of Devaraya II. Prince Hamvira led the Gajapati armies to victory along the entire coromandel coast up to Tiruchirappali in modern Tamil Nadu. The Gajapati empire extended from the Ganges in the north till the Cauvery in the south. Emperor Kapilendra Deva mounted successive invasions of Vijayanagara and is said to have marched deeper into Vijayanagara territory a few miles from the imperial capital. He was the most powerful emperor of India during his rule.

Kapilendra Deva also patronized vaishnavism and expanded the Jagannath temple at Puri. Although his entire life was spent in warfare, the Jagannath temple became the center for an efflorescence of drama and dance (Odissi) and other forms of art during Gajapati rule.

After his death in 1466, he chose his youngest son Purushottama Deva, as heir, resulting in a rebellion by Hamvira Deva. In 1472, Purushottam was defeated and Hamvira Deva became king, but in 1476 Purushottam fought back and recaptured the throne.