History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v1.c28.7

v1.c28.7

During the last days of its existence the power and prestige of the Eastern Gaṅga dynasty had declined considerably. They were being hard pressed by the independent Sulṭāns of Bengal from the north and by the Bahmanī Sulṭāns from the south-west. The emperors of Vijayanagara had also conquered the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal as far as, at least, the mouth of Godāvarī. A clear instance is to be found in the list prepared by Sewell of the rulers of Koṇḍavīḍu. One Lāṅguliyā Gajapati was succeeded by the Reḍḍi king Rācha Veṅka (1420-31). Then came two sovereigns of Vijayanagara who are called Pratāpadeva (Devarāya II) and Harihara. They were succeeded by Kapileśvara of Orissa. This sequence clearly indicates that Koṇḍavīḍu had been conquered by the emperors of Vijayanagara from some of the later Eastern Gaṅga kings, but it was reconquered from them by the emperor Kapileśvara.¹ The date of the rise of Kapilendra coincides with the commencement of the decline of the Yādava or Voḍeyar dynasty of Vijayanagara. Kapilendra ascended the throne of Orissa during the lifetime of Devarāya II and continued to reign till its fall. The Sāḷuva usurpation and the declining power of the Bahmanī Sulṭāns favoured his widespread conquest of Southern India and the establishment of the prestige and power of the monarchy of Orissa. In 1464-65