Coronation Day Of Gajapati Kapilendradeva Celebrated

Coronation Day Of Gajapati Kapilendradeva Celebrated

The 587th coronation anniversary of Kaplendra Dev was celebrated in an event jointly organised by INTACH, Rediscover Lost Heritage and Maa Jageswari Youth Club  at  Old Town today. Gajapati Kapilendradeva was the founder of the Survamsi Dynasty of Odisha and was the last emperor of Odisha. He had ascended the throne on 29th June 1435 C.E. at Bhubaneswar. His coronation (Rajabhishek) was celebrated at the inscription depicted on the back wall of the Kapali Mutt of Old Town. Members of INTACH, Rediscovering Lost Heritage and Maa Jageswari Club of the Old Town will perform  the coronation at the place.

The Odia ‘crash of thunder’, Kapilendradeva, shook the Eastern, Southern and Deccan lands of India with his powerful army of elephants, horses and men. Fighting numerous wars in all directions, Kapilendradeva’s empire eventually included all of today’s Odisha, as well as parts of Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Chhattisgarh etc.  “Birashree Gajapati Gaudeswara Navakoti Karnata Kalabargeswara Kapilendradeva Rautaray”, undoubtedly the greatest Odia emperor after Kharavela. History has not given the due respect and accolades this great Odia Samrat deserves. Undoubtedly the greatest Odia emperor after Kharavela. 

An image of the King had been identified by Deepak Nayak of the Rediscovering Lost Heritage group under a tree inside the Gadagadia temple complex on the Mahanadi bank last year. The forgotten image had been under the tree for centuries. It was removed and kept inside the temple. Today, an abhishek (coronation) ceremony was held in the temple with the participation of priests and heritage lovers of the RLH group. Later in the day, abhishek on the image of Kapilendradeva found on the rear of the Kapali Mutt in the Old Town of Bhubaneswar too was done by members of INTACH, RLH and Maa Jageswari Club.

Like all Odia rulers, he too believed that the ultimate sovereign of Odisha was Lord  Jagannath. Both the inner wall Kurma Pachiri and the outer wall Meghananda Pachiri of the temple had been built by him. He was an accomplished scholar of Sanskrit and wrote plays which were performed at the Jagannath temple. It was during his reign that Sarala Das wrote the Mahabharata in the Odia language.

According to Deepak Nayak  of RLH, Odisha gave the country one of its most glorious rulers in the form of Kapilendradeva. Deepak has identified many of the images of the King in different places and also deciphered the inscriptions attributed to him in his erstwhile kingdom.

According to historian Anil Dhir, Kapilendradeva has not been given his proper and rightful place in history. He was no less a warrior then Shivaji or Ranjit Singh, and  his reign  saw the pinnacle of the military might of the Kalingans. Proper studies of the iconography and inscriptions found in various temples in South India should be done.

Dr. Biswajit Mohanty of INTACH is of the opinion that the state government should observe the coronation day of the great emperor in a fitting manner. The pomp and pageantry of the era should be recreated in ceremonies. All places associated with this great conqueror king should be identified and listed.