THE RAJAS OF KHURDA :
From the year 1592 the political centre of gravity shifted
from Cuttack to Khurda when Ramachandra Deva I, the son of
Danai Bidyadhar, the Minister of the Bhoi king Govinda
Bidyadhar, was made the king of Khurda by Mana Singh.
Ramachandra Deva I was not only recognised as the successor
of the former Gajapati line of kings but also as the
controller of the Jagannath temple at Puri. The new Gajapati
king made sincere efforts to popularise and glorify his rule.
It is said that the image of Jagannath had been burnt by the
fanatic Kalapahar after the occupation of Orissa by the
Afghans of Bengal in 1568. Ramachandra Deva I constructed
the new images of the deities and installed them in the
sanctum of the Jagannath temple for which he was reputed as
the second Indradyumna. Sometime in 1596 he set the famous
Blue-wheel (Neela-chakra) on the crest of the temple of
Jagannath and this work was done by one Damodar Champatiray,
the son of Barjena Mahapatra, a temple accountant.
Ramachandra Deva I was also appointed as a Mansubadar of 3500
horses under the administration of Akbar. In 1599 Raja
Mukund Ray of Kassimkota took shelter in Khurda being driven
out by Sultan Muhammad Quli of Golconda. Ramanchandra Deva
was defeated by the army of Qutb-Shahi kingdom as a result of
which Mukunda Ray was forced to leave Khurda and fled away
towards Bengal.
Gajapati Ramachandra Deva I was a patron of Brahmins. He set
up many Brahmin villages in different parts of the district.
These villages were known as sasans. Not less than 16 sasans
are ascribed to the time of Ramachandra Deva I. It was
during his rule that the Muktimandap in Puri Temple was
constructed, probably by Gaura Rani, the wife of General Mana
Singh. Ramachandra Deva I died in 1607 A.D. and was
succeeded by his son Purusottam Deva.
After the death of Akbar, the Gajapati king of Orissa lost
the place of honour in the Mughal court of Delhi. During the
reign of Jahangir, Orissa was made a separate Subah and
Quasim Khan was appointed as the first Subdar. During his
rule one Keso Das came to Puri with a large following in the
guise of a pilgrimage and looted the temples with the
connivance of the Subadar. He quartered him men inside the
temple compound and overwhelmed the army sent by Purusottam
Deva. The worship of Jagannath was completely stopped and
the feeble Gajapati king being anxious for the restoration of
the sanctity of Jagannath worship surrendered to Keso Das.
He agreed to send one of his daughters to the harem of
Badshah Jagangir alongwith a present of 3 lakhs of rupees and
to give his sister in marriage to Keso Das. Emperor Jahangir
was highly pleased with Keso Das for this heroic adventure.
The Subadar Kalyan Singh, the son of Todar Mal, invaded
Khurda to exploit money from Purusottama Deva. Following the
example of Keso Das, he demanded another daughter and a
present of three lakhs of rupees for Empror Jahangir and
Purusottam Deva was forced to agree to this demand. After
Kalyan Singh, Mukarram Khan was made the Subahar of Orissa
and he too invaded the territory of Purusottam Deva. The
Gajapati king this time fled away from Khurda and took
shelter in the fort of Manitri. The images of Jagannath were
also taken away by the Gajapati near Banpur as a precaution
against the ravages of the Muslims. Purusottam Deva died in
the fort of Manitri in 1622 and was succeeded by his son
Narasimha Deva. Like his father, the new Raja also became a
prey to Muslim rapacity from the day of his accession to the
GADI of Khurda.
In 1645 he fought with considerable valour with Fateh Khan,
the General of Subadar Mutquah Khan, and died in the battle.
The sasan village Biranarasinghpur in Puri district is named
after him. The Subadar then placed Gangadhara Deva, the
nephew of Narasimha Deva, on the throne, but after about four
months Balabhadra Deva, the brother of Narasimha Deva,
murdered Gangadhara and usurped the gadi. The sasan village
Balabhadrapur was established by this ruler. He was
succeeded in 1655 by his son Mukunda Deva I who ascended the
gadi as a minor boy. he has been credited with the
establishment of the sasan village Mukundapur.
During his rule, the Car of Jagannath for the Car Festival
was constructed of the wood brought from Daspalla forest (now
under Nayagarh Forest Division) and the previous practice of
bringing wood from Banapur for the purpose was discontinued.
The tradition of constructing the Car with the wood brought
from Daspalla is continuing till the present time. Mukunda
Deva died of smallpox in 1690 while he was at Jajpur, and was
succeeded by his son Dibysingha Deva I. During his rule,
there was a severe cyclone in the east coast of Orissa in
1700 A.D., when the discus on the top of the Jagannath temp
at Puri fell broken. Dibyasingha Deva I installed a new
discus on the temple in 1715 and it was then known as the
blue-discus (Nila Chakra). After the death of Dibyasingha
Deva I in 1720 his brother Harekrushna Deva became the Raja
and ruled for five years. He established Harekrushnapur
sasan, the first Brahmin donee, of which compiled a Smriti
work on religious rites in Orissa. Harekrushna Deva is known
to have white-washed the temple of Jagannath at Puri and the
flight of steps in the Jagamohan of Puri temple was
constructed by him.
After his death his son Gopinath Deva came to the gadi in
1725. The sasan village Gopinathpur near Atharnala of Puri
was established by his brother Bhramarbara Routray. Gopinath
Deva was a sickly person and during his rule the
administration was carried on by one of his brothers,
Ramachandra Deva, who succeeded him after his death in 1732.
By that time Muhammad Taqui Khan, the illegitimate son of
Sujauddin, the Nazim of Bengal, was made the Naib Nazim in
Orissa and he invaded the temple of Jagannath being attracted
by its wealth. The worshippers of Jagannath apprehending the
motives of Taqui Khan had taken away the idols of Jagannath
which they concealed in an island inthe Chilka lake. Taqui
Khan proceeded to Khurda from Puri and defeated and
imprisoned Raja Ramachandra Deva II whom he brought to
Cuttack. Ramachandra Deva was forcibly converted to Islam
after which he was renamed Hafiz Qadar Muhammad. Taqui Khan
died in 1734 which, according to Muhammadan superstition,
resulted by some witch-craft and after him Murshid Quli Khan
II became the Naib Nazim of Orissa. He was a well-meaning
administrator and because of his sympathy and goodwill
towards Orissa he was greatly loved by the people. he
rendered valuable help in reinstalling the images of
Jagannath and restoring their worship in the temple which
greatly pleased the people of Orissa. He gave his daughter
in marriage to Hafiz Qadar (Ramachandra Deva II), the
converted Raja of Khurda, who, however, was ousted from the
Hindu society and was also deserted by his own family because
of his change of religion.
In 1739 Shuja-ud-din, the Nazim of Bengal, died and was
succeeded by his son Sarfraj Khan. In 1740 Alivardi Khan,
the Naib Nazim of Bihar, defeated and killed Sazrfraj and
became the Nazim of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Murshid Quli
Khan II who was the Naib Nazim of Orissa did not recognise
Alivardi Khan as Nazim. So, after acquiring Bengal Alivardi
proceeded to Orissa to chastise Murshid Quli II. It was
during this period of danger that Ramachandra Deva II, the
Raja of Khurda rendered valuable help and assistance to his
father-in-law Murshid Quli, who, however was defeated and
driven away from Orissa and took shelter at Masulipatam. But
Murshid Quli II did not bend and he together with his trusted
General Mir Habib invited Raghuji Bhonsle I of Nagpur to come
to the rescue of Orissa against the Nazim of Bengal. From
this time onwards the Marathas began to ravage West Bengal
and parts of Orissa till 1751 when Alivardi Khan was forced
to cede the revenues of Orissa to the south of the river
Suvarnarekha.
Ramachandra Deva II died sometime in 1742-43 and after him
there was a struggle for succession. Mir Habib, who was then
conspiring against Alivardi Khan of Bengal, tried to install
one Padmanava Deva on the gadi of Khurda. Subsequently
Birakishore Deva, the grandson of Ramachandra Deva II,
succeeded in occupying the gadi. It was during the time of
this ruler that a treaty was made in 1751 between Alivardi
Khan and Raghuji Bhonsle by which the former agreed to pay
tweleve lakhs of rupees on condition that 'the Marathas would
not set their foot within his dominion'. As a result of this
treaty the Marathas became the virtual rulers of Orissa
although the appointment of Naib Nazim required the approval
of both Bhonsle of Nagpur and Nazim of Bengal. In 1760
Narayan Deva, the ruler of Khemendi, invaded the territory of
Khurda and Birakishore Deva not being able to driveout the
invader sought the help of Seo-Bhat Sathe, the then Maratha
Governor of Orissa. The Marathas came to the rescue of
Khurda and drove away the invaders. But the Raja could not
pay them the expenses of the campaign and was compelled to
mortgage to the Maratha Governor the best portion of his
territory including the Parganas of Lembai, Rahang, and
Purusottam Kshetra. Birakishore Deva is said to have become
mad towards the end of his rule and murdered four of his sons
and committed various excesses out of the feat of madness.
He died in 1780 after a long rule and was succeeded by his
grandson Dibyasingha Deva II. The Marathas acknowledged the
accession on the condition that the Raja was to pay an annual
tribute of Rs.10000 to them. Dibyasingha Deva constructed a
big fort in the pass of the Barunai Hill and shifted his
headquarters from Khurda. After his death in 1795 his son
Mukunda Deva II succeeded to the gadi.
BRITISH CONQUEST OF ORISSA :
Lord Wellelsley, after becoming the Governor-General of
India, adopted a vigorous policy to break the power of the
Marathas by his policy of subsidiary alliance. He wrote to
Col. Brooke, the Resident of Nagpur, to ask the Raja to
maintain the British subsidiary force and to assign the
coastal tract of Orissa for the maintenance of that force so
as to establish the continuity of the British domonion from
Bengal to Northern circars. The Raja of Nagpur declined to
accept such an inglorious alliance and Wellelsley persuaded
the Court of Directors to approve his plan of declaring war
against the Maratha Confederacy. The war was declared on the
3rd August, 1803 and the British force invaded Orissa both
from the north and the south. The main force under Commander
Col. Campbell was to march from Ganjam with the instruction
that it would bring under control the coastal area of Puri
and then to push trhough the tract up to Cuttack to take
possession of the fort of Barabati. The force consisting of
about 1500 native troops started from Ganjam towards Puri but
as Col. Campbell, the Commander, suddenly got high fever the
command of the army was transferred to Gen. Harcourt. The
new Commander on instruction from the Governor-General tried
to appease the Hindu population of Orissa by circulating a
declaration that henceforward the British Governor would be
the guardian of the temple of Jagannath. he issued numerous
messages to the Zamindars of Orissa in order to impress upon
them that the Christian Government was not alien to Hindu
religion and that far from doing harm to the Jagannath
worship their intention was to glorify it under their
benevolent administration.
The Marathas stationed their main force at Barabati and small
detachments wer placed at Pipli and Manikapatna to oppose the
advance of the British troops. The Maratha army at
Manikapatana were easily driven away and Fateh Muhammad, the
Maratha Faujdar of Malud, was won over to the side of the
British. The help of Fateh Muhammad was of great importance
to the british troops and his knowledge about the routes in
that part of the terriotory facilitated them to march
onwards. From Manikapatna the force marched up to
Narsinghapatana which was not far from the territoryof the
Raja of Khurda. Harcourt apprehended that the Raja was in
secret league with the Marathas and he offered one lakh of
rupees to him in exchange of his help in transporting the
baggage and artillery and also in sending 3000 fighting men
to co-operatve with the British troops. Mukunda Deva II was
chaffing under the control of Marathas and was resenting
their hold over the Jagannath temple. He readily agreed with
the British proposals and with his help Harcourt could easily
occupy Puri on the 18th September, 1803. The priests in a
body welcomed the British rule and Harcourt placed the
Jagannath temple under a guard consisting of Hindus only.
Harcourt left two detachments of infantry at Manikapatna and
Puri under the command of Lt. Ogivile and Major Fletcher
respectively to safeguard against the Maratha attack and
himself proceeded towards Cuttack. The march from Puri to
Cuttack was strongly opposed by the Marathas and severe
fighting took place at Ahmadpur and Mukundapur. But inspite
of their best efforts the Marathas could not check the
advance of the British and subsequently they had to return
back to the fort of Barabati. This last Maratha stronghold
was occupied on the 14th October and with this the British
occupation of Orissa was almost an accomplished fact.
A small British force under Captain Morgan was sent from
Calcutta to Balasore by boat in the sea and after landing at
Balasore, Morgan entered into an 'treaty' with Moro Pandit,
the Maratha Faujdar of that place. The town Balasore was
occupied by Morgan and after that Capt. Slye and Ensign Scot
jointly drove away the Marathas towards Bhadrak and therefrom
towards Jajpur. By this time Col. Fergusson marched from
Jaleswar and drove away the Marathas from the Ghats between
Jaleswar and Balasore. Fergusson proceeded towards Cuttack
to help Harcourt and on the way he received the news of the
fall of Barabati. Thus by the co-ordinated action of
Harcourt, Morgan and Fergusson, the British could occupy the
Maratha territories from jaleswar on the river Suvarnarekha
in the north to lake Chilka in the south, and the long
desired coastal tracts of Orissa came under British
occupation.
It has been pointed out above that Mukunda Deva II, the then
Raja of Khurda, was negotiated by Harcourt to help the
British troops by men and supplies in exchange of one lakh of
rupees. The Raja while agreeing to this proposal strongly
represented that after the British occupation, the
territories consisting of Lembai, Rahang, and Purushottam
Khetra which had been taken away from him by the Marathas
since 1760 should be restored to him. Although Harcourt did
not accept his proposal, the Raja had a fond hope of getting
back those territories at some future date from the British
Government. As the British could reduce the fort of Barabati
with less difficulty than was apprehended before, there was
no need of the full help of the Raja stipulated under the
terms of the agreement. The Raja by the time of the fall of
Barabati had received from the British about Rs.50000 out of
one lakh promised to him. In March 1804, Jayi Rajaguru, the
Minister of the Raja, proceeded to Cuttack with 2000 armed
men and requested Harcourt to restore the Mahals mentioned
above and to pay the balance of stipulated amount. Harcourt
agreed to pay Rs.20000 and promised to pay the rest at some
future date, but as regards the restoration of the Mahals he
remarked that 'not a span of land could be given up'. At
this, the Raja of Khurda was greatly annoyed and became
hostile towards the British Government. When the Feudatory
Chiefs of Orissa signed agreements with the new Government,
the Raja of Khurda evaded for a long time to put his
signature on such agreement. After making peace with the
English, he secretly sought help of the Raja of Nagpur for
taking possession of the Mahals. He began to reorganise his
troops and improved internal defence of his territory by
appointing Maratha Sardars. Moreover, he began to induce the
Chiefs of the Tributary States to make a common cause with
him against the British. One Sambhu Bharati, a religious
mendicant, was engaged by the Raja to unite the Tributary
Chiefs against the new British regime and gradually the Raja
of Kanika and Kujang and other Chiefs joined hands with
Khurda.
In September 1804, the Raja of Khurda was forbidden to
exercise his traditional right of issuing orders to persons
residing within the limits of Mughalbandi territory without
the express sanction of the British Commissioners. Moreover,
he was deprived of the management of the Jagannath temple
which came to him as a rude shock.
In October, exactly one month after the issue of the above
order, the Paiks of Khurda and the Raja's troops rose in
rebellion, presumably with a view to overthrow the British
authority, and captured the villages in the vicinity of
Pipli. This alarmed the Britishers who apprehended that
these local troubles might assume serious propotions and they
immediately took quick preventive measures.
Troops were sent from Ganjam and a detachment marched from
Cuttack. The rebels being quickly driven out of Pipli
retreated to the fort of Khurda, followed by the British
troops. This fort, the ruins of which still remain, was
situated at the foot of a hill at the east end of the valley
of Khurda. The approaches from the south lay through a
difficult pass between the Barunai hills which was stockaded
and fortified with strong masonary barriers. It was three
weeks before the British were in a position to carry these
works by storm. When this was at length achieved, the Raja
made good his escape southwards with a handful of his
followers, the British troops being too exhausted to pursue,
but he surrendered a few days afterwards. His territory was
confiscated and placed in charge of Major Fletcher who
erected the first civil building at Khurda. The estate has
since been managed as a Government Estate, the Raja receiving
an allowance of Rs.2133-5-4(Rs.2133.33) per mensum out of the
revenue. Mukunda Deva was sent a prisoners to fort Barabati
at Cuttack, from where he was shortly removed to Midnapore.
He was released in 1807, allowed to live in the landed at
Balisahi in Puri town, and vested with the superintendentship
of the Jagannath temple; but in 1817 he was again made
prisoner in consequence of another rebellion.
Source : Orissa District Gazetteers (PURI), 1977