Vishwanath Dev Gajapati was the king of

Jeypore Jeypore is a city in Koraput district in the Indian state of Odisha. It was established by Vir Vikram Dev in the mid 17th century. Dev's kingdom was defeated by the East India Company in 1777 who declared it a Zamindari or Feudatory of the ...

who established a kingdom in the region of southern Odisha and northern

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. The Silavamsa king Pratap Ganga Raja died without any male heir, only leaving behind his wife and daughter Lilavati who married Vinayak Dev, the ruler Gudari and Great Grandfather of Vishwanath Dev Gajapati.

Early life

Vishwanath Dev was the son of Bhairav Dev of Nandapur, a feudatory of

Prataprudra Deva Prataparudra Deva ( Odia: ଗଜପତି ପ୍ରତାପରୁଦ୍ର ଦେବ) was the third Gajapati emperor of Odisha from the Suryavamsa Gajapati Empire founded by his grandfather Kapilendra Deva. He reigned from 1497 to 1540 CE. ...

who defended

Kondapalli Fort Kondapalli Fort, also locally known as Kondapalli Kota and Kondapalli Quilla, lies to the west of Kondapalli in Ibrahimpatnam mandal of NTR district in Andhra Pradesh, India was built by Prolaya Vema Reddy of Reddi Kingdom during the 14th ce ...

against

Krishna Deva Raya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1509 to 1529 and the third ruler of the Tuluva dynasty. Widely regarded as one of the greatest rulers in Indian history, he presided over t ...

's invasion in 1516 CE and constructed a reservoir called ''Bhairava Sagar'' in Bobbili. He shifted his capital to

Rayagada Rayagada is a municipality in Rayagada district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the administrative headquarters of Rayagada district. History The city of Rayagada was founded by King Vishwanath Dev Gajapati (1527-1531 CE) of the Suryava ...

for better economic prospects in trade and agriculture and built a mud fort. He also constructed many temples along

Nagavali River The River Nagavali also known as Langulya is one of the main rivers of Southern Odisha and Andhra States in India, between Rushikulya and Godavari River, Godavari basins. Origin and course Nagavali River originates from a hill near Lakhbaha ...

including the

Majhighariani Temple Majhighariani Temple is a shrine to a goddess in the Rayagada township of Odisha. It was built by King Vishwanath Dev Gajapati of the Suryavansh dynasty of Nandapur - Jeypore kingdom. It is believed that he made Rayagada his capital and after the ...

. During his reign

Shri Chaitanya Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; ), born Vishvambhara Mishra () (18 February 1486 – 14 June 1534), was an Indian Hindu saint from Bengal and the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna with bhajan-kirt ...

migrated southwards and the title of ''Nauna Gajapati'' or "no less than a Gajapati" was adopted by the royal dynasty of Nandapur, but after the accession of

Govinda Vidyadhara Govinda Vidyadhara was the founder of Bhoi Dynasty in Eastern India. Early life He belonged to writer caste and came from a community of accountants or Bhoi. According to Historian KC. Panigrahi Bhoi rulers belonged to Karana caste. Hi ...

he seems to have submitted to the sovereign authority of the

Bhoi dynasty The Bhoi dynasty or the Yaduvamsa (IAST: Yaduvaṃśa) dynasty were a medieval Hindu dynasty from the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Odisha that reigned from 1541 to 1560 CE. Govinda Vidyadhara had usurped the throne f ...

Death and Aftermath

Vishwanath Dev consolidated his kingdom but by 1550 lost the regions between Krishna and Godavari to

Qutb Shahi dynasty The Sultanate of Golconda (; ) was an early modern kingdom in southern India, ruled by the Persianate, Shia Islamic Qutb Shahi dynasty of Turkoman origin. After the decline of the Bahmani Sultanate, the Sultanate of Golconda was established ...

. After his death in 1571, Ibrahim Qutb Shah invaded the kingdom and incorporated their territories into

Golconda Sultanate The Sultanate of Golconda (; ) was an early modern kingdom in southern India, ruled by the Persianate, Shia Islamic Qutb Shahi dynasty of Turkoman origin. After the decline of the Bahmani Sultanate, the Sultanate of Golconda was established i ...

References

{{Authority control 1500 births 1571 deaths People from Odisha