03-16-2014, 10:46 AM
Greetings to all the readers of Indian history!!! In continuation of this thread, I would like to provide an overview of that lesser known period of Indian history which is much exciting and full of adventure derived from contemporary historical accounts that I am sure would influence all the readers deeply.
I am an avid follower of history both Indian and world history and cannot retrain myself from contributing to his interesting subject, "The Islamic aggression and the fitting reply by the Hindus of India".
While India witnessed the Islamic invasion and gradual occupation of certain regions of the sub continent, various Hindu kingdoms/empires preserved their independence and successfully defeated Islamic attacks of conquest. While we have spoken of the Rajputs in the North western and central parts of India, the Vijayanagar empire to the south of the Vindhyas and the Ahoms on the far east/north east, yet very few people are aware of the powerful eastern empire of Kalinga-Utkal which stretched from the Ganges in the north to the Cauvery in the south and was very successful in resisting the attempts of the various Islamic kingdoms to subjugate this part of India.
The empire of Kalinga-Utkal flourished right from the 10th century AD till the 16th century AD and was ruled by many illustrious emperors who expanded its frontiers at the expense of the Islamic kingdoms surrounding the empire. To the north was the sultanate of Bengal and to the west was the sultanate of Malwa. To the south was the Bahmani kingdom.
The first powerful dynasty for rule over this kingdom was the Eastern Ganga dynasty. Many rulers from this dynasty still have their exploits engraved in temple archives through out Odisha,Andhra Pradesh, Bengal. The Eastern Ganga emperors conquered and ruled over a vast territory comprising of the modern state of Odisha, northern Bengal till the Hooghly right upto Godaveri (entire Andhra, Telengana and parts of Rayalseema). To the west this empire stretched till the Malwa region and comprised almost half of Madhya Pradesh.
The founder of this empire is known to history as Chodagangadeva. He carved out an empire from a kingdom. This empire was established at a time when Bengal and Bihar were conquered by the Islamic armies of Bakhtiyar Khilji, general of Qutibuddin Aibak of the Delhi Sultanate. After conquering Bihar,Bengal and parts of preset day Bangladesh, the armies of Bakhtiyar Khilji turned south towards the Kalinga empire.
That army of Arabs and primarily Turks was cavalry based and the Turks were renowned horsemen from central Asia.It was met on the borders of the Kalingan empire by the emperor's army and defeated completely, forcing Bakhtiyar Khilji to retreat towards Delhi. This was another epochal moment in Indian history since during the 12-13th century, it was mostly the Islamic armies who had rapidly overwhelmed the Hindu armies of the period. The army of Hindu Odishan emperor primarly comprised of Kshtriyas and tribesmen from different corners of the empire and their skill in martial arts is still celebrated today during the annual Paik festival in odisha. Horsemanship and the art of using elephants in warfare was something for which the armies of Kalinga-Utkal were famous throughout India like the contemporary Rajputs of North west India.
The first confrontation between the Delhi Sultanate and the Hindu empire on the eastern sea board of India was only the start of centuries of warfare between these two powers and it only witnessed the inclusion of new powers on the side of the Delhi sultanate.
After the founding of the Sultanate of Bengal, the Odishan empire saw many raids into its territory from the north around Midnapore. Although these raids were frequent but they were an attempt by the Islamic powers to slowly wear out this powerful Hindu empire. Viewers would be reminded of similar tactics being followed by Islamic groups such as Hezbollah, Al Qaida, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Chechens, Uighurs etc. in the form of proxy wars to decrease the strength of a non-Moslem state.
It was during those times, that an emperor named Narasinghdeva took a bold initiative to invade the Bengal Sultanate. The invasion of the Bengal Sultanate lasted for over a year or two and culminated with the annexation of the frontier regions of that kingdom. The annihilation of the Islamic armies in two major engagements left the sultanate in ruins and no Islamic invasion/raid took place for over a decade into the territory of the Odishan emperor.
To commemorate his victory over the Islamic kingdoms, Narasinghdeva built the world famous Sun Temple of Konark with the proud war-horse of Konark standing majestically. This was a testament to the capabilities and the military prowess of the Hindu empire of Kalinga Utkal and the martial legacy of the Odiyas.
However as with all golden times which inevitably come to en end, the Eastern Ganga dynasty slowly declined and their followed a period of chaos during the times of the last emperor Bhanudeva III. The military system had fragmented and lost its efficiency which was compounded with the rise of powerful kingdoms in the south such as the Hindu Vijayanagara empire and the Islamic Bahmani kingdom. In this period of weakness, the Eastern Ganga empire was dealt a tragic blow by the invasion of Firuz Shah Tughlaq in the 14th century, which for a time gave the impression that the empire was doomed and would cease to exist.
Sometimes the greatest of adversities lead to the rise of extra-ordinary personalities who lift the entire race and rescue the empire from decline.Such a man was Kapilendra Dev, the founder of the Surya Dynasty of Kalinga-Utkal in the 15th century. A man possessed with the greatest military genius and a lead par excellence in his days.A man immortalized in the annals of history as the Gajapati emperor and his empire came to be known as the Gajapati empire. The term Gajapati denotes "Lord of Elephants", an attestation to the famous war elephants of this empire and the skills of this army in wielding them in battles.
He was a general in the army of the Ganga emperor and initiated a coup against the weak ruler during whose time, the fortunes of the empire had decreased dangerously. After assuming power, he spent some time to subdue rebellions throughout the empire and annexed the regions that had declared their independence from the empire.He was helped in this effort by his illustrious son Hammira Deva and a great many generals of the army.
After consolidation of the empire, he turned his attention to the external enemies starting with the Bengal Sultan. His victory over the Bengal sultan was so complete and overwhelming that their never was a period during his lifetime of over 40 years during which an invasion from Bengal happened.
He then engaged the sultan of Malwa, the Sharqi rulers and after a period of war emerged victories on this western front of the empire. Not only did he recover the lost parts but annexed a major portion of Malwa and central Madhya Pradesh to his dominion.
Turning south he crushed the Reddy's of Andhra and re-conqured Andhra and Telegana regions. While he sent his son, Hammir Deva to the south of the Cauvery, he engaged the Bahmani sultans and conquered major forts such as Kondavidu, Kondapalli etc.the Krishna-Cauvery doab, the regions of Gulbarga from them.For sometime the capital of the Bahmani kingdom was occupied by his forces and after negotiating a truce was the Bahmani sultan allowed to govern from his fort. The Bahmani kingdom had been reduced to 3/4th its size.
During that period, his brave son Hammir Dev had conqured the entire coromandel coast and reached the farthest point, Thiruvenneli in Tamil lands, almost close to Rameshwaram. Returning from his Bahmani victories, Kapilendra Deva invaded the Vijanagara empire and conqured the the powerful forts of Udayagiri, Chandragiri Vinumakonda, Penukonda right till the banks of the Tungabhadra.
The Vijayanagara armies were defeated repeatedly on battle fields around this region and the final high point of this invasion was the subsequent seige and occupation of their capital Vijayanagara itself. Vijayanagara was occupied for a period of time and after negotiations of cessation of hostilities, the Kalinga army withdrew from Vijayanagara and returned to Odisha.
The era of Kapilendra Dev witnessed massive military and territorial gains for the Kalinga-Utkala empire which at one point stretched right upto Rameshwaram in the far south. This pan Indian empire lasted till the time Kapilendra Deva was alive. His achievements and military might not only discouraged the enemies present on all fronts but carried his name far and across his dominions to Delhi and beyond. The sultanate of bengal, Malwa, jaunpur etc. had bore the weight of his arms and in the south the Islamic Bahmani kingdom paid tribute to him. Exploits him and that of his brave son Hamvira Deva are etched in temples/palm leaf inscriptions across Odisha and Andhra, right from Srikakulam till the Tamil lands.
Post the demise of Kapilendra Deva and due to the fratricidal war of successon, many portions of this empire was lost to old enemies. Though his successor Purushottama Deva, his youngest son revived the territories and again subdued the Bengal, Bahmani sultanates and Vijayanagara empire, yet after his era, the fortunes of the dynasty declined. The period of Kapilendra Deva and his son Purushottama Deva witnessed the empire remained intact for well over eighty years.
During the reign of the last Gajapati emperor, prataparudra Deva, the son and successor of Gajapati Purushottama Deva, the first half of his period witnessed a period of military gains and peace. He advanced his frontier further into Bengal and down south into the Cauvery regions. Turning south west he supervised the seige of Vijayanagar and briefly occupied that city before being called into his northern territory. The period of Prataparudra Deva witnessed incessant acts of treachery and deception orchestrated by his lieutenants and naturally he was surprised when news reached him at Vijayanagara of the invasion of the sultan of Bengal and the fall of the northern forts. He rushed to the frontiers and defeated Mohammed Shah, the sultan of Bengal and chased him to Bengal. But the failure of his subordinates had many tales to tell. Subsequently the empire witnessed natural calamities with massive floods and epidemics which co-incided with the invasion of the powerful Krishnadeva Raya into the southern dominions of the Gajapati. Many forts were lost and the Gajapati army defeated in battles in the Krishna-Godaveri belt. After seven years of war with Krishna Deva Raya, cessation of hostilities took place owing to dangerous overtures from the Adil Shahi sultan against Vijayanagara. The Krishna river remained the boundary between the two Hindu empires.
During those days, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu fled Bengal and arrived in Puri, Odisha to spend his days at the Jagannath temple. The atrocities of the Sultan of Bengal against Hindus was more vigorous than ever a like in the past many great Hindu saints arrived in Puri seeking peace and protection from the powerful Gajapati emperors. The empire of Utkala-Kalinga had provided sanctuary to many Hindu scholars/saints/princes and commanders over the centuries during the Hindu struggle against the Islamic invaders.
With the influence of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the emperor and many of his commanders and army slowly became passive to war and neglected the well being of the frontier regions. Two of the sons of Prataparudra deva were murdered by his minister and the empire fell into disarray and chaos. This perhaps was a reason for him turning into spirituality and neglecting state affairs and the military machinery.
Though Pratarudra Deva outlived many of his contemporary enemies like Krishnadeva Raya and Mohammed Shah, yet given the dispassionate attitude of his character towards the fag end of his life, he did not initiate any actions to undertake military initiatives and detested an aggressive approach that was the need of the hour. This tragic period of Odishan history laid the stage for the disintegration of the empire which finally fell in the year 1568 AD which the fall of Cuttack to the invading Afghans and later to the Mughals led by Raja Mansingh of Amber.
The purpose of the above depiction of the period of Odishan history from the 10th century AD to the 16th century AD aimes at giving the readers an insight into the relatively unknown historical accounts of the eastern part of India in the context of the Hindu wars against Islamic invaders and heights of military achievement our ancestors possessed that ensured that Hinduism not only survived but flourished during the era of such illustrious emperors and leaders of men.
Odisha to this day continues to be a bastion of Hinduism thanks to its mighty ancestors whose brave exploits are respected and remembered by every Odia family.
Sources:
1) The Gajapati empire By R.Subrahmanyam
2) Indian council of Historical Research
3) Military History of Odisha by R.P.Mahapatra
4) History of Odisha by K.C.Panigrahy
5) Madalapanji of the temple of Sri Jagannath Puri
6) The lost empire of Vijayanagara by Robert Sewell
I am an avid follower of history both Indian and world history and cannot retrain myself from contributing to his interesting subject, "The Islamic aggression and the fitting reply by the Hindus of India".
While India witnessed the Islamic invasion and gradual occupation of certain regions of the sub continent, various Hindu kingdoms/empires preserved their independence and successfully defeated Islamic attacks of conquest. While we have spoken of the Rajputs in the North western and central parts of India, the Vijayanagar empire to the south of the Vindhyas and the Ahoms on the far east/north east, yet very few people are aware of the powerful eastern empire of Kalinga-Utkal which stretched from the Ganges in the north to the Cauvery in the south and was very successful in resisting the attempts of the various Islamic kingdoms to subjugate this part of India.
The empire of Kalinga-Utkal flourished right from the 10th century AD till the 16th century AD and was ruled by many illustrious emperors who expanded its frontiers at the expense of the Islamic kingdoms surrounding the empire. To the north was the sultanate of Bengal and to the west was the sultanate of Malwa. To the south was the Bahmani kingdom.
The first powerful dynasty for rule over this kingdom was the Eastern Ganga dynasty. Many rulers from this dynasty still have their exploits engraved in temple archives through out Odisha,Andhra Pradesh, Bengal. The Eastern Ganga emperors conquered and ruled over a vast territory comprising of the modern state of Odisha, northern Bengal till the Hooghly right upto Godaveri (entire Andhra, Telengana and parts of Rayalseema). To the west this empire stretched till the Malwa region and comprised almost half of Madhya Pradesh.
The founder of this empire is known to history as Chodagangadeva. He carved out an empire from a kingdom. This empire was established at a time when Bengal and Bihar were conquered by the Islamic armies of Bakhtiyar Khilji, general of Qutibuddin Aibak of the Delhi Sultanate. After conquering Bihar,Bengal and parts of preset day Bangladesh, the armies of Bakhtiyar Khilji turned south towards the Kalinga empire.
That army of Arabs and primarily Turks was cavalry based and the Turks were renowned horsemen from central Asia.It was met on the borders of the Kalingan empire by the emperor's army and defeated completely, forcing Bakhtiyar Khilji to retreat towards Delhi. This was another epochal moment in Indian history since during the 12-13th century, it was mostly the Islamic armies who had rapidly overwhelmed the Hindu armies of the period. The army of Hindu Odishan emperor primarly comprised of Kshtriyas and tribesmen from different corners of the empire and their skill in martial arts is still celebrated today during the annual Paik festival in odisha. Horsemanship and the art of using elephants in warfare was something for which the armies of Kalinga-Utkal were famous throughout India like the contemporary Rajputs of North west India.
The first confrontation between the Delhi Sultanate and the Hindu empire on the eastern sea board of India was only the start of centuries of warfare between these two powers and it only witnessed the inclusion of new powers on the side of the Delhi sultanate.
After the founding of the Sultanate of Bengal, the Odishan empire saw many raids into its territory from the north around Midnapore. Although these raids were frequent but they were an attempt by the Islamic powers to slowly wear out this powerful Hindu empire. Viewers would be reminded of similar tactics being followed by Islamic groups such as Hezbollah, Al Qaida, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Chechens, Uighurs etc. in the form of proxy wars to decrease the strength of a non-Moslem state.
It was during those times, that an emperor named Narasinghdeva took a bold initiative to invade the Bengal Sultanate. The invasion of the Bengal Sultanate lasted for over a year or two and culminated with the annexation of the frontier regions of that kingdom. The annihilation of the Islamic armies in two major engagements left the sultanate in ruins and no Islamic invasion/raid took place for over a decade into the territory of the Odishan emperor.
To commemorate his victory over the Islamic kingdoms, Narasinghdeva built the world famous Sun Temple of Konark with the proud war-horse of Konark standing majestically. This was a testament to the capabilities and the military prowess of the Hindu empire of Kalinga Utkal and the martial legacy of the Odiyas.
However as with all golden times which inevitably come to en end, the Eastern Ganga dynasty slowly declined and their followed a period of chaos during the times of the last emperor Bhanudeva III. The military system had fragmented and lost its efficiency which was compounded with the rise of powerful kingdoms in the south such as the Hindu Vijayanagara empire and the Islamic Bahmani kingdom. In this period of weakness, the Eastern Ganga empire was dealt a tragic blow by the invasion of Firuz Shah Tughlaq in the 14th century, which for a time gave the impression that the empire was doomed and would cease to exist.
Sometimes the greatest of adversities lead to the rise of extra-ordinary personalities who lift the entire race and rescue the empire from decline.Such a man was Kapilendra Dev, the founder of the Surya Dynasty of Kalinga-Utkal in the 15th century. A man possessed with the greatest military genius and a lead par excellence in his days.A man immortalized in the annals of history as the Gajapati emperor and his empire came to be known as the Gajapati empire. The term Gajapati denotes "Lord of Elephants", an attestation to the famous war elephants of this empire and the skills of this army in wielding them in battles.
He was a general in the army of the Ganga emperor and initiated a coup against the weak ruler during whose time, the fortunes of the empire had decreased dangerously. After assuming power, he spent some time to subdue rebellions throughout the empire and annexed the regions that had declared their independence from the empire.He was helped in this effort by his illustrious son Hammira Deva and a great many generals of the army.
After consolidation of the empire, he turned his attention to the external enemies starting with the Bengal Sultan. His victory over the Bengal sultan was so complete and overwhelming that their never was a period during his lifetime of over 40 years during which an invasion from Bengal happened.
He then engaged the sultan of Malwa, the Sharqi rulers and after a period of war emerged victories on this western front of the empire. Not only did he recover the lost parts but annexed a major portion of Malwa and central Madhya Pradesh to his dominion.
Turning south he crushed the Reddy's of Andhra and re-conqured Andhra and Telegana regions. While he sent his son, Hammir Deva to the south of the Cauvery, he engaged the Bahmani sultans and conquered major forts such as Kondavidu, Kondapalli etc.the Krishna-Cauvery doab, the regions of Gulbarga from them.For sometime the capital of the Bahmani kingdom was occupied by his forces and after negotiating a truce was the Bahmani sultan allowed to govern from his fort. The Bahmani kingdom had been reduced to 3/4th its size.
During that period, his brave son Hammir Dev had conqured the entire coromandel coast and reached the farthest point, Thiruvenneli in Tamil lands, almost close to Rameshwaram. Returning from his Bahmani victories, Kapilendra Deva invaded the Vijanagara empire and conqured the the powerful forts of Udayagiri, Chandragiri Vinumakonda, Penukonda right till the banks of the Tungabhadra.
The Vijayanagara armies were defeated repeatedly on battle fields around this region and the final high point of this invasion was the subsequent seige and occupation of their capital Vijayanagara itself. Vijayanagara was occupied for a period of time and after negotiations of cessation of hostilities, the Kalinga army withdrew from Vijayanagara and returned to Odisha.
The era of Kapilendra Dev witnessed massive military and territorial gains for the Kalinga-Utkala empire which at one point stretched right upto Rameshwaram in the far south. This pan Indian empire lasted till the time Kapilendra Deva was alive. His achievements and military might not only discouraged the enemies present on all fronts but carried his name far and across his dominions to Delhi and beyond. The sultanate of bengal, Malwa, jaunpur etc. had bore the weight of his arms and in the south the Islamic Bahmani kingdom paid tribute to him. Exploits him and that of his brave son Hamvira Deva are etched in temples/palm leaf inscriptions across Odisha and Andhra, right from Srikakulam till the Tamil lands.
Post the demise of Kapilendra Deva and due to the fratricidal war of successon, many portions of this empire was lost to old enemies. Though his successor Purushottama Deva, his youngest son revived the territories and again subdued the Bengal, Bahmani sultanates and Vijayanagara empire, yet after his era, the fortunes of the dynasty declined. The period of Kapilendra Deva and his son Purushottama Deva witnessed the empire remained intact for well over eighty years.
During the reign of the last Gajapati emperor, prataparudra Deva, the son and successor of Gajapati Purushottama Deva, the first half of his period witnessed a period of military gains and peace. He advanced his frontier further into Bengal and down south into the Cauvery regions. Turning south west he supervised the seige of Vijayanagar and briefly occupied that city before being called into his northern territory. The period of Prataparudra Deva witnessed incessant acts of treachery and deception orchestrated by his lieutenants and naturally he was surprised when news reached him at Vijayanagara of the invasion of the sultan of Bengal and the fall of the northern forts. He rushed to the frontiers and defeated Mohammed Shah, the sultan of Bengal and chased him to Bengal. But the failure of his subordinates had many tales to tell. Subsequently the empire witnessed natural calamities with massive floods and epidemics which co-incided with the invasion of the powerful Krishnadeva Raya into the southern dominions of the Gajapati. Many forts were lost and the Gajapati army defeated in battles in the Krishna-Godaveri belt. After seven years of war with Krishna Deva Raya, cessation of hostilities took place owing to dangerous overtures from the Adil Shahi sultan against Vijayanagara. The Krishna river remained the boundary between the two Hindu empires.
During those days, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu fled Bengal and arrived in Puri, Odisha to spend his days at the Jagannath temple. The atrocities of the Sultan of Bengal against Hindus was more vigorous than ever a like in the past many great Hindu saints arrived in Puri seeking peace and protection from the powerful Gajapati emperors. The empire of Utkala-Kalinga had provided sanctuary to many Hindu scholars/saints/princes and commanders over the centuries during the Hindu struggle against the Islamic invaders.
With the influence of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the emperor and many of his commanders and army slowly became passive to war and neglected the well being of the frontier regions. Two of the sons of Prataparudra deva were murdered by his minister and the empire fell into disarray and chaos. This perhaps was a reason for him turning into spirituality and neglecting state affairs and the military machinery.
Though Pratarudra Deva outlived many of his contemporary enemies like Krishnadeva Raya and Mohammed Shah, yet given the dispassionate attitude of his character towards the fag end of his life, he did not initiate any actions to undertake military initiatives and detested an aggressive approach that was the need of the hour. This tragic period of Odishan history laid the stage for the disintegration of the empire which finally fell in the year 1568 AD which the fall of Cuttack to the invading Afghans and later to the Mughals led by Raja Mansingh of Amber.
The purpose of the above depiction of the period of Odishan history from the 10th century AD to the 16th century AD aimes at giving the readers an insight into the relatively unknown historical accounts of the eastern part of India in the context of the Hindu wars against Islamic invaders and heights of military achievement our ancestors possessed that ensured that Hinduism not only survived but flourished during the era of such illustrious emperors and leaders of men.
Odisha to this day continues to be a bastion of Hinduism thanks to its mighty ancestors whose brave exploits are respected and remembered by every Odia family.
Sources:
1) The Gajapati empire By R.Subrahmanyam
2) Indian council of Historical Research
3) Military History of Odisha by R.P.Mahapatra
4) History of Odisha by K.C.Panigrahy
5) Madalapanji of the temple of Sri Jagannath Puri
6) The lost empire of Vijayanagara by Robert Sewell