Kosalananda Mahakavya or Kosalananda Kavya is a palmleaf manuscript in Sanskrit written in AD 1664 by Pandit Gangadhar Mishra. Kosalananda Kavya is the first epic of Sanskrit literature in Odisha. Pandit Mishra was the court poet of Sambalpur King Baliar Singh (AD 1660–90). He was a descendant of Sambhukara, a famous poet of Puri.
Synopsis of the book
Kosalananda Kavya depicts the history of Chauhan rule in western Orissa or Kosal region. In particular, it defaced the reality of the political conditions of Chauhan rulers of Patna (now Balangir) and Sambalpur area. It describe that the founder of Chauhan rule in Patnagarh was Ramai Dev who belonged to the family of Prithvi Raj Chauhan of Delhi. After death and defeat of Prithvi Raj Chauhan in Delhi by Muhammad Ghori, a few members of his family escaped to a place called Manipuri (a place in Uttar Pradesh) and established a small kingdom there.
It was described that the Chauhan king of Manipuri was killed by a Muslim ruler. However, his wife who was pregnant at that time managed to escape to the South Kosal tract or western Orissa. She was given sheltered at Patnagarh or Balangir and gave birth to Ramai Dev. Later Ramai Dev defeated Ashta Mallika, the then ruler and the feudatory chiefs under Ganga Vamsi kings of Odisha and established Chauhan kingdom in Patnagath (now Balangir). According to Kosalananda Kavya Ramai Dev was married to a Ganga Vamsi princess, the daughter of Gajapati’s brother. Ramai Dev also build the Pataneswari temple who subsequently became the presiding deity of Chauhans.
This Kavya also describe the temple city of Sonepur as the second Varanasi of India. It states that Sonepur State came under the Chauhans during the days of Ramai dev. Earlier Sonepur was ruled by Bhanja Vamsi kings and related to Khijjinga Mandala. Pandit Gangadhara Mishra states that there were numerous temples at Sonepur prior to the Chauhan rule. Sonepur was the regional hub of Ganga Vamsi,Keshari/Soma Vamsi Kings of Orissa