History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v1.c19.2

v1.c19.2

The Bhañjas of Orissa are undoubtedly the oldest representatives of the Royal dynasties of Ancient Orissa. They are much older than the Gaṅgas or the Somavaṁśis and as such the modern States ruled over by them are far more important for the study of the ancient and mediæval history of that country than any of their neighbours. The present Chiefs of Mayurabhañja claim descent from the Kachhvāhā clan of Rajputs, because when the Mughals conquered Orissa, the people of Orissa found that the Rajputs were the principal Hindu nobles in the Mughal Empire and it became a fashion in Orissa to claim Rajput origin. Even dynasties which were ancient when the Hūṇas were being civilised into Rajputs, began to claim Rajput descent. Thus we find the Vizianagram House claiming to be descended from Rajputs in 591 A. D., a period when the very name Rajput was unknown in India. Following this fashion the Bhañjas of Orissa began to claim Rajput descent forgetting the fact that their ancestors were great kings in their own country when the Pratīhāras and Chāhamānas were uncouth barbarians. Therefore, we find in the Gazetteer of the Feudatory States of Orissa that, “the Mayurbhañj State was founded some 1300 years ago by one Jai Singh, who was a relative of the Raja of Jaipur in Rajputana. Jai Singh came on a visit to the shrine of Jagannāth at Puri and married a daughter of the then Gajapati Raja of Orissa and received Hariharpur as a dowry. Of his sons, the eldest, Adi Singh, held the *gadi* of the Mayurbhanj State. The annals of the Mayurbhanj Raj family, however, say that Jai Singh came to Puri with his two sons, Adi Singh and Jati Singh, the elder of whom was married to a daughter of the Puri Raja.