History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v1.c28.34

v1.c28.34

Mr. Chakravarti states that Kapilendra ascended the throne with the help of the Bahmanī Sulṭān Aḥmad Shāh I on the authority of the Mādalā Pāñji, but Stirling states that he was adopted by the last Gaṅga king Bhānudeva IV, who was childless.⁴ Whatever be the truth, there cannot be any doubt about the fact that Kapilendra or Kapileśvara, the founder of the Sūryā Vaṁśa dynasty, was a man of very exceptional abilities. He assumed the crown and succeeded in maintaining his position in the midst of strong opposition, a distinct hint about which is recorded in the Jagannātha temple inscription of the 31st Aṅka=12th July 1459 A.D. After fighting long wars with the Bahmanīs of Bidar and Voḍeyars of Vijayanagara, he was faced with powerful rebels in his own country in his 35th Aṅka or 1464 A. D. Inspite of these troubles he succeeded in conquering the entire eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal from Hughly in Bengal to Trichinopoly in Madras. According to the Gopīnathpur inscription, he possessed Udayagiri, the seat of a Vijayanagara Viceroyalty, in the Nellore district of Madras and Conjeeveram in the Chingleput district. This vast empire broke up shortly after his death, partly on account of the rise of Sāḷuva Narasiṁha in Vijayanagara and, if Musalman historians are to be believed, partly on account of a war of succession in Orissa. To Kapilendra ought to be ascribed the issue of the Gajapati Pagoda, with the fine arabesque on the reverse.¹