Chodaganga Deva

Gangesvara Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva (reigned 17 February 1078 – 1150) was an Eastern Ganga monarch who reigned between 1078 and 1150. He was a great patron of arts and architecture who built many temples, one of them being the magnificent Jagannath Temple in Puri. He was the ruler of the Kalinga region from river Ganga to Godavari and later the early medieval Odisha region with the incorporation of the constituent regions with the decline of the Somavamshis. He is often considered as the founder and significant ruler of Eastern ganga dynasty. He is related to the Chola dynasty through his mother's side and the Eastern Gangas through his father's side. His mother, Rajasundari, was a Chola princess and the daughter of emperor Virarajendra Chola and granddaughter of Chola king Rajendra Chola I.His father was king Rajaraja I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. He possessed a vast number of elephants which made him used the title ''navanavati sahasta kunjaradhisvara'' or the lord of ninety-nine thousand elephants, though this is an exaggeration but it is likely that he possessed a vast number of elephants.

According to ''vallala-charitam'' Anantavarman had diplomatic relations with Vijayasena of bengal.

Anantavarman ruled for a very long reign of 72 years according to his own inscription. This makes him one of the longest ruling monarchs in the Middle ages. He was succeeded by his son Kamarnava Deva from the queen Kasturikamodini.

Life and reign

He was the son of Rajaraja Deva I alias Devendravarman and Kalinga Mahadevi Rajasundari and grandson of Trikalingadhipati Anantavarman Vajrahasta Deva V. Anantavarman's mother Rajasundari was the daughter of emperor Virarajendra Chola and granddaughter of Chola king Rajendra Chola I. However, historian S.N. Sen states that Anantavarman was the maternal grandson of Kulottunga I.

The Jagannath Temple at Puri was rebuilt in the 11th century atop its ruins by Anantavarman Chodaganga. He was known as the first Gajapati/Kunjaradhiparti as per Ronaki Stone inscription. Emperor Chodaganga was originally a Shaivite from Srimukhalingam. But he embraced Sri Vaishnavism under the influence of Ramanuja when the latter visited the Sri Jagannath Puri temple.

In his Sindurapura grant (1118 A.D) Anantavarma styles himself ''Paramavaishnava''. He re-established Kurmanathaswamy temple, Srikurmam after Ramanuja's visit to Kalinga. Despite being related to Anantavarman, Kulothunga Chola I did not stop from burning Anantavarman's empire. Tamil historians propose that it was probably because the king failed to pay his rent for two consecutive years. He was ousted by Kulothunga's general Karunakara Thondaiman and this victory is detailed in the Tamil classic ''Kalingattupparani''. However, this could be a far fetch from the actual truth considering that such poems often exaggerate the Kings they are praising and often overlook the defeats the Kings have faced. Monarchs from this region of the subcontinent regularly assumed the title Chodaganga Deva throughout the ancient and medieval periods to allude to their Chola and Eastern Ganga heritage.

From various inscriptions it is known that King Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva established the present temple some time near the end of the eleventh century. A copper plate inscription made by King Rajaraja III found on the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple near the north entrance states that Jagannath temple was built by Gangesvara, i.e., Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva.

Later, King Ananga Bhima Deva II (1170–1198) did much to continue the work of Chodaganga Deva, building the walls around the temple and many of the other shrines on the temple grounds. He is thus often considered one of the builders of the temple. He also did much to establish the regulations around the service to the Deity.

A scion of this dynasty made extensive donations to the Koneswaram temple, Trincomalee on Puthandu, 1223 CE in the name of King Chodaganga Deva. Shortly afterwards, the Konark temple

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