27 Facts About Kapilendra Deva

Kapilendra Deva was the founder of the Suryavamsa Gajapati dynasty that ruled parts of eastern and southern India with the present-day Odisha as the center of the kingdom.

Kapilendra Deva ascended to the throne after staging a military coup against the preceding and the last ruler from the Eastern Ganga dynasty, Bhanudeva IV.

Kapilendra Deva defeated the Muslim forces like the Sultan of Jaunpur, Bahmani Sultanate and the young ruler of Bengal Samsuddin Ahmad Shah who were continuously preparing to invade Odisha and had continuous rivalry with powerful kings such as Deva Raya II of Vijayanagara along with Reddys of Rajmahendri.

Kapilendra Deva was the most powerful Hindu monarch of his time.

Kapilendra Deva used to graze cattle along with a Brahmin named Kasia.

Kapilendra Deva was later appointed in his younger days as a military general of the Ganga forces and was assigned the task to fight the Muslim forces of Bengal.

Raghudevapuram copper plate grant of Raghudeva Narendra who was the governor of Rajamahendravaram Rajya and a nephew of Kapilendra Deva gives valuable details about the family's history.

Kapilendra Deva had a son named Jageswara who was in the service and possessed a great number of elephants.

Kapilendra Deva was declared as the new Monarch with a Rajyabhisheka ceremony at Bhubaneswar.

Kapilendra Deva appointed his able minister Gopinath Mahapatra to deal with the Jaunpur threat, which he successfully executed, and Kapilendra Deva himself suppressed the internal rebels with force.

When Kapilendra Deva took over the throne, hostile Muslim powers like the Sultan of Jaunpur, Bahmani Sultanate and the young ruler of Bengal Samsuddin Ahmad Shah were continuously preparing to invade Odisha.

An inscription in the Jagannath temple of Puri that is dated to the year 1450 CE narrates the conquest of Gauda by Kapilendra Deva after defeating Malika Parisa which in short refers to the contemporary Persianate Sultan of Bengal by the name Nasiruddin Mahmud Shah.

Kapilendra Deva was invited by the Velama chiefs to rescue them from the Bahmani sultans.

The victory over the Bahmani Sultanate forces at Devarakonda in 1458 CE enabled Kapilendra Deva to assume the title of Kalavargesvara which meant the Lord of Kalaburagi.

In 1461, Kapilendra Deva orchestrated a significant military campaign during the reign of Nizam Shah Bahmani.

Hamvira Kapilendra Deva successfully captured the imperial capital city of Vijayanagara and forced it's weak emperor Mallikarjuna Raya to pay yearly tribute.

The inscriptions of Srirangam Temple near Trichinapalli dictate that Hamvira Kapilendra Deva conquered as far as Trichinapalli, Tanjore and Arcot in south before stopping his advance.

The Gajapati Empire which reached its height in 1464 CE under Kapilendra Deva was organised into two administrative divisions of Dandapata and Rajya.

Kapilendra Deva patronized Vaishnavite Hinduism and expanded the Jagannath temple at Puri.

Kapilendra Deva was a great patron of Vedic culture and himself wrote a Sanskrit play called Parshuram Bijaya.

Kapilendra Deva constructed the Shaivite Hindu Kapilesvara Temple in Bhubaneswar which shows that he was tolerant to every sectarian belief under the Hindu domain.

Kapilendra Deva had declared himself as a servant-ruler of the Lord Jagannath which reflects in his regnal title Routaray meaning the Lord's servant-king.

Kapilendra Deva himself donated a large amount of jewelry and utensils to the Puri temple during the 41 anka of his rule.

Kapilendra Deva ordered the abolition of Chaukidari tax paid by Brahmins previously and banned the resumption of waste and pasture lands.

Kapilendra Deva had ordered his officials to follow the path of justice, righteousness and Hindu spiritual teachings and had warned them that they will face the punishment of exile if they failed to do so.

Kapilendra Deva had taken an oath to punish all those who rebelled against him.

In 1472, Purushottam was defeated and Hamvira Kapilendra Deva ascended to the throne, but in 1476 CE, Purushottama fought back and recaptured the throne.