Parlakhemundi estate was a Zamindari of

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

in the British Raj period .Before odisha province formation it was under

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

.The state was ruled as an independent kingdom till 1769.The royal family belong to the Krishnatreya gotra Odia Kshatriya and traced their lineage to

Eastern Ganga Dynasty The Eastern Ganga dynasty also known as Purba Gangas, Rudhi Gangas or Prachya Gangas were a large medieval era Indian royal dynasty that reigned from Kalinga from as early as the 5th century to the mid 20th century. Eastern Gangas ruled much of ...

.It was a zamindari estate lying in the southwestern portion of Ganjam district, covering an area of 615 square miles. It was bounded in the south by the district of Vizagpatnam and on the west by the jeypore zamindari and the tribal agencies of the

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...

. They were a branch of the

that survived as the rulers of the

Paralakhemundi Paralakhemundi shortly known as Parala is district Headquarter of Gajapati district and one of the oldest Municipality established in 1885, in the Indian state of Odisha. Majority of the people in the town speak Odia. The city and the Distri ...

estate, currently part of the

Gajapati district Gajapati district is a district of Odisha State in India. It was created from Ganjam District on 2 October, 1992. Gajapati district was named after Krushna Chandra Gajapati, Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayan Deb, the King of the Paralakhemundi Est ...

, Odisha.

History

A panoramic view of Jagannath temple, Puri

The Khemundi kingdom was established by a branch of the Eastern Gangas before the reign of the Suryavamsa

Gajapatis The Gajapati Empire or the Suryavamsa (IAST: Sūryavaṃśa, "Solar dynasty") dynasty was a medieval dynasty from the Indian subcontinent, it originated in the region of Trikalinga (most of the present-day Odisha and North coastal Andhra) ...

, who had ruled the

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writ ...

region with the dynasty chiefs calling themselves as Chandravamshis. This is traced to the foundation of the Khemundi kingdom by Narashingha Deba, a son of the Eastern Ganga monarch Bhanudeva II during the early 14th century. His descendants would inherit the Khemundi territory while the main Imperial Eastern Ganga line would end after being overthrown by the Suryavamshi

Gajapati Empire The Gajapati Empire or the Suryavamsa (IAST: Sūryavaṃśa, "Solar dynasty") dynasty was a medieval dynasty from the Indian subcontinent, it originated in the region of Trikalinga (most of the present-day Odisha and North coastal Andhra) a ...

. During the 16th cen, the Raja of Parlakhemundi, Subarnalinga Bhanu Deba granted parts of the Khimedi areas to his son Ananga Kesari Ramachandra Deba, whose son Chodanga Deba in turn divided the zamindari among his sons, splitting into two branches-

Pedda Khimedi Badakhemundi estate, also known as Pedda Khimedi estate, was a zamindari in the Ganjam district in the British period. It was an offshoot of Parlakhemundi. It had an area of 505 km2 and a population of 40,650 inhabitants (1871) in 194 villages. ...

(Badakhemundi) and Chinna Khimedi (Sanakhemundi) in 1608. Two scions of the Bodokhemundi family were also instrumental in the foundation of the princely state of

Hindol Hindol is a Hindustani classical '' raga'' from the Kalyan Thaat. According to Indian classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj, Hindol is an ancient raga associated with the spring season and is sung during the first part of the day. Origin The ra ...

in 1554. Parlakhemundi came under British influence in 1768. The

zamindari state has played much of an important role in assembling the Odia speaking parts, propagating modern education system, building state infrastructures etc. A a large part of the estate now lies in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

, even though the Gangas were based in

. The last king of Paralakhemundi, Maharaja

Krushna Chandra Gajapati Krushna Chandra Gajapati KCIE (26 April 1892 – 25 May 1974), also known as Captain Maharaja Sri Sri Sri Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayana Deba KCIE, was a key personality and regarded as the architect , founding father of an Independent Od ...

, played a key role in the Odisha state movement and is regarded as one of the architects of an independent united Odisha State and also went on to become the first Prime Minister of

Orissa Province Orissa Province was a province of British India created in April 1936 by the partitioning of the Bihar and Orissa Province. Its territory corresponds with the modern-day State of Odisha. On 22 March 1912, both Bihar and Orissa divisions were s ...

formed in 1936. The present-day

of Odisha which was earlier a part of the historic Ganjam district was named after him.

Rulers

The rulers of this line include:

Khemundi Kingdom

* Narasingha Deba (1309–1320) * Madanrudra Deba (1320–1339) * Narayana Rudra Deba (1339–1353) * Ananda Rudra Deba (1353–1354) * Ananda Rudra Deba (1354–1367) * Jayarudra Deba (1367–1399) * Lakhsmi Narasingha Deba (1399–1418) * Madhukarna Gajapati (1418–1441) * Murtunjaya Bhanu Deba (1441–1467) * Madhaba Bhanu Deba (1467–1495) * Chandra Betal Bhanu Deba (1495–1520) * Subarnalinga Bhanu Deba (1520–1550)

Rulers of Paralakhemundi

Rulers of the Paralakhemundi state following the establishment of the Bodokhemundi and Sanakhemundi branches: * Sibalinga Narayan Bhanudeo (1550–1568) * Subarna Kesari Govinda Gajapati Narayan Deo (1568–1599) * Mukunda Rudra Gajapati Narayan Deo (1599–1619) * Mukunda Deo (1619–1638) * Ananta Padmanabh Gajapati Narayan Deo I (1638–1648) * Sarbajgan Jagannatha Gajapati Narayan Deo I (1648–1664) * Narahari Narayan Deo (1664–1691) * Bira Padmanabh Narayan Deo II (1691–1706) * Prataprudra Gajapati Narayan Deo I (1706–1736) * Jagannatha Gajapati Narayana Deo II (1736–1771) * Goura Chandra Gajapati Narayan Deo I (1771–1803) * Purushottam Gajapati Narayan Deo (1803–1806) * Jagannath Gajapati Narayan Deo III (1806–1850) * Prataprudra Gajapati Narayan Deo II (1850–1885) * Goura Chandra Gajapati Narayan Deo II (1885–1904) * Krushna Chandra Gajapati Narayan Deo (1913 – 25 May 1974) * Gopinath Gajapati Narayan Deo (25 May 1974 – 10 January 2020) * Kalyani Gajapati (10 January 2020–present)

References

General references

* Patel, S.K. (1991). Cultural history of early medieval Orissa: Åšulki rule. Sundeep Prakashan. p. 48. {{ISBN, 978-81-85067-71-1. Retrieved 2020-04-13. Odisha-related lists History of Odisha History of Andhra Pradesh India history-related lists Lists of Indian monarchs