Dibyasingha Deba, known by the symbolic regnal title as
Gajapati Maharaja Divyasingha Deva IV is the current titular Gajapati Maharaja and the King of
Puri
Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is als ...
. He is the current head of the house of
Bhoi dynasty
The Bhoi dynasty or the Yaduvamsa (IAST: Yaduvaṃśa) dynasty
were a medieval Hindu dynasty from the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Odisha that reigned from 1541 to 1560 CE. Govinda Vidyadhara had usurped the throne fr ...
,
who were the hereditary rulers of the ancient realm of Trikalinga (regions of Kalinga, Utkal, Dakshin Koshala), medieval era
Khurda Kingdom
The Bhoi dynasty or the Yaduvamsa (IAST: Yaduvaṃśa) dynasty
were a medieval Hindu dynasty from the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Odisha that reigned from 1541 to 1560 CE. Govinda Vidyadhara had usurped the throne fr ...
and the rulers of the
Puri Estate
The Puri Estate was an estate ruled by the main branch of the Bhoi dynasty, who were reinstated in Puri in 1809 following the 1804 rebellion against the British and annexation of the Khurda Kingdom which were under their control. After the rebell ...
, with their current capital located at Puri.
The Gajapati Maharaja is the current ''Adhyasevaka'' (known as the first and foremost servitor) of Lord Jagannatha and according to customs also considered to be the living reflection of the Lord. He is also the chairman of the Shri Jagannatha Temple Managing Committee of the
Jagannath Temple
The Jagannath Temple is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Vishnu - one of the trinity of supreme divinity in Hinduism. Puri is in the state of Odisha, on the eastern coast of India. The present temple was rebuilt f ...
at Puri.
Early life
Dibyasingha Deba ascended the throne in 1970 at the age of 17 after the death of his father, the then Maharaja of Puri, Gajapati Birakishore Deba. Before taking the titular name of Dibyasingha Deba, he was named Jenamani Kamarnaba Deba.
He did his schooling from Convent School, Puri and Rajkumar College, Raipur in Chhattisgarh. He went on to pursue his graduation in History from the St. Stephens College from where he graduated in 1972 and then pursued LLB from Law Faculty at University of Delhi (1971-1975). He then pursued LLM from the North Western University of Law (1975-1976), Chicago before eventually taking on the traditional role of the titular King of Puri and hence the chairman of the Temple committee.
Regnal year (Anka year)
The Regnal year (known as Anka year) of the Maharaja used for the corresponding Odia year in the
Odia calendar The Odia calendar ( or, ପାଞ୍ଜି Pāñji) is a lunisolar calendar followed in the state of Odisha, India. The calendar follows the sidereal solar cycle while using the lunar Purnimanta phase for the religious dates. The New Year in the Od ...
(panjis):
Temple administration and roles
As the titular head of the dynasty, the Gajapati Maharaja acts as the Chairman of the Shri Jagannath Temple Managing Committee and also attends to the rites and rituals of the temple during the festivals and religious occasions like Ratha Jatra, Bahuda Jatra, Pusyabhiseka, Snana Jatra and many other important socio-religious and cultural events. He also leads a team of scholars under the aegis of the Temple Administration named ''Shri Jagannatha Tatwa, Gabeshana O Prasara Upasamiti''.
References
External links
Jagannath Temple Management
1953 births
Living people
People from Puri
St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni
Faculty of Law, University of Delhi alumni
Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni
Indian royalty
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