Eastern Ganga Dynasty of Odisha

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                                        Jagannatha temple of Puri 

Eastern Ganga dynasty was a kingdom in India, ruling over an area corresponding to present day Odisha, the coastal plain between the Ganga and the Godavari. Eastern Gangas, who had been ruling since the close of the 5th century, were great temple builders. The temples built by them survive to be awe-inspiring spectacles for the people who throng to them. Chief among them are Jagannatha temple of Puri and the Sun Temple (also known as Black Pagoda) at Konark. The dynasty is called Eastern Gangas to differentiate them from Western Gangas, a separate dynasty, ruling in Mysore. 

Nothing much can be said with certainty about the early history of the Eastern Ganga dynasty. One of the rulers of the dynasty was Vajrahasta III whose coronation took place in AD 1038. He adopted the titles of Trikalingadhipati and Anantavarman. He was succeeded by his son Rajaraja I who entered into a conflict with the Cholas. Peace was concluded by a marriage alliance under which Rajaraja I married a Chola princess, Rajasundari.

Rajasundari gave birth to Anantavarman Chodagangadeva who succeeded his father, Rajaraja I, in 1077. Anantavarman Chodagangadeva was so called because he was the son of Rajaraja I (a Ganga ruler) and Rajasundari (a Chola princess). Anantavarman Chodagangadeva is known for starting the construction of famed Jagannatha Temple at Puri. 

In 1206 Ghiyas-ud-din Iwaz Shah, a lieutenant of Afghan military chief Bakhtiyar Khilji, invaded Odisha and defeated Rajaraja III who had ascended the Eastern Ganga throne in 1198. However, his son Anangabhima III (A.D.1207-1238) succeeded in driving the Muslims from Odisha. Anangabhima III had dedicated his kingdom to Lord Purushottama Jagannath and proclaimed himself as the deputy of the divinity of Puri. After Anangabhima III his son Narasimha I came to the throne. Narasimha I built the famous temple of Sun God at Konark. With his death in A.D. 1264, the Ganga dynasty began to lose its prominence. 

Narasiriiha I was succeeded by his son Bhanudeva I, who after a reign of fifteen years, was succeeded by his infant son Narasiriiha II. Narahari Tirtha, the famous Vaishnava scholar and disciple of Madhvacharya (founder of Dvaita school of philosophy), acted as the regent of Narasiriiha II for the first twelve years of latter's reign. 

Another ruler of the dynasty was Bhanudeva III (reigned 1352–1378) during whose reign the kingdom was invaded by Tughlaq Sultan, Firuz Tughluq, resulting in the flight of Bhanudeva III and desecration of the famous temple of Jagannatha at Puri. 

The throne of Bhanudeva IV, the last ruler of the dynasty, was usurped by his minister Kapilendra who founded a new dynasty, the Suryavamsha dynasty or Gajapati dynasty in c. A.D. 1434-5.  


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