Ananga Bhima Deva III (Odia: ତୃତୀୟ ଅନଙ୍ଗଭୀମ ଦେବ) was a ruler of the Ganga Dynasty, which was located in India. His brother or brother in law, Rajaraja II became the ruler of the Dynasty in 1198, and was overrun by the Muslims of Bengal, who invaded Odisha in 1206. When Anangabhima III came into power, he expelled the Muslims from his kingdom, and built the temple of Meghesvara at Bhuvanesvara. He had a son, Narasimha Deva I, who would later invade Bengal in 1243, and captured the capital city, Gauda.
Contents
- Foundation of Abhinava Baranasi Katak or Cuttack City
- Battle of Seori Narayana and victory over Sambalpur Sonepur Bolangir Tracts
- Chandrika the Ganga Princess
- Warding off the Invasion by Muslim forces of Bengal
- Southern Invasion on the Kakatiya kingdom of Ganapatideva 1230 AD
- References
He assumed the title of Anangabhima-Rauta-Deva and declared himself as the sole deputy of Lord Purushottama or Lord Jagannath. He also assumed the titles of Parama Vaishnava and Parama Mahesvara to legalize his higher spiritual position in the state. It was during his rule that Lord Jagannath of Puri was officially accepted as the national deity. In the year 1238 A.D. he declared his regnal year or Anka as the regnal year of Lord Purushottama. He also build a new Jagannath temple at Cuttack, his newly founded capital city along with two Shiva temples. He financed and monitored constructions along with serious maintenance activities of the old structures within the Jagannath temple complex at Puri.
Foundation of Abhinava Baranasi Katak or Cuttack City
Ananga Bhima Deva III became the ruler of the ancient land of Kalinga in the year 1211 A.D. At the time of his coronation, his kingdom faced repeated attacks from the Muslim forces of Ghiyasuddin Iwaj Shah, the ruler of Bengal. The Kalachuri kings had been struggling to take over the territory of Odisha from the times of the Somavanshi rulers and the western frontier of Anangabhima's kingdom was repeatedly violated by them. Anangabhima first chose a strategic location on the bifurcation of rivers Mahanadi and Katthajodi for the foundation of a new capital called Abhinava Baranasi Katak. In 1230 A.D he moved his headquarters to the new capital. Katak literally means a fortification. The city was named as Abhinav Varanasi Katak (new Varanasi fort) replicating the holy Varanasi city of north India and a new fort complex called Barabati was constructed to build up his military force under the guidance of his able Brahman minister and military adviser named as Vishnu.
Battle of Seori Narayana and victory over Sambalpur-Sonepur- Bolangir Tracts
Anangabhima Deva III was at the threshold of the continuous conflict with the eventually depleting Kalachuri dynasty which had defeated the Somavamshis and occupied the western tracts of ancient Kalinga kingdom at its height in the past or the complete Tri Kalinga region. Ananta Varman Chodagangdeva, the ancestor of Anangabhimadeva III was unsuccessful in reclaiming these lost territories despite his numerous military achievements. The Kalachuri king, Pratapmalla continued his attempts to invade the frontiers of the Ganga territory along with his son Paramardi Dev. Anangabhima send a large force under the command of his able Brahman commander, Vishnu. The two forces met face to face at the Seori Narayana village in undivided Sambalpur district on the banks of the river called Bhima near the Vindhya hills and the Kalchuris were defeated for the first time in a major way by the Gangas.
Pratapmalla was taken prisoner and forced to cede the Sambalpur-Sonepur-Bolangir tracts along with parts of what is now Chhattishgarh state to the Ganga kingdom. Later with the advise of his minister Vishnu, Anangabhima established a diplomatic and matrimonial alliance with the Kalachuris by offering the hand of his daughter Chandrika in marriage to the Kalachuri prince, Parmardi Dev. Once the alliance was secured, the Ganga forces multiplied in strength. This diplomatic decision was made keeping in eye the long term prospects of a major threat from the Muslim rulers of Bengal.
Chandrika, the Ganga Princess
Chandrika, the daughter of Anangabhima III was an expert in music and dance. She was a devout Vaishnavite and later built the Ananta Vasudeva temple at Bhubaneswar with the permission of his brother Narasimhadeva I when he inherited the throne. She lost her gallant husband Parmadri Dev in the final battle of Umurdan (Amarda in Mayurbhanj district) who led the Ganga forces against the Muslim rulers of Bengal.
Warding off the Invasion by Muslim forces of Bengal
After defeating the Kalchuris, Anangabhima faced a major threat from the invading Muslim forces from Bengal. His prime enemy Ghiyasuddin Iwaj Shah, the ruler of Bengal invaded the northern territories and also sent naval armadas over the river Mahanadi to capture his newly founded capital, destabilize his military strength and occupy lands. During the series of these events the newly built Barabati Fort was successfully used to repulse the enemy attacks from the river. His able minister and military adviser, Vishnu commanded a force that chased the invading Muslims on the land out of northern Odisha. The inscriptions of Chateswar temple (Salepur in Cuttack district) and Ananta Vasudeva temple confirm that the Muslim forces of Bengal were defeated by the able commander Vishnu who was able to pull his bow string until his ears and shot arrows killing many enemy soldiers.
Southern Invasion on the Kakatiya kingdom of Ganapatideva (1230 A.D.)
In the first stage of this campaign on his southern rival Ganapatideva, Anangabhima advanced until the Krishna river and camped there. The territories were included in the Odisha in the year 1230 A,D. However, in the second stage the Kakatiya king by the name Narasimha II defeated his forces and the territories until East Godavari were lost to the Kakatiyas.