Jeypore State
"Jeypore" or Kingdom of Jeypore Samasthanam was a princely state in the south of Odisha comprising several parts of Andhra Pradesh. It was ruled by the Suryavanshi kings from 1443 AD to 1947 AD originating from the zamindari of Nandapur, a feudatory under the Gajapatis of Cuttack. Later, Maharajah Vir Vikrama Dev shifted the capital from Nandapur to Jeypore in 1637 AD. The state covered an area of 31079km2 in 1901 and later stretched to 38849km2 in 1923 making Jeypore the largest state under Madras Presidency. The instrument of succession was signed by HH Maharajah Sri Sri Sri Vikrama Dev on 1948 in Visakhapatnam and the state later dissolved to the Republic of India.
History[edit]
The founder of the Suryavansh kingdom of Jeypore was Rajah Vinayaka Dev, the second son of Maharajah Kumbhiraj Dev of Jammu & Kashmir. This royal family was descendent of Maharajah Kanakasena who defeated Mubarak Shah of Sayyid Dynasty when the sultanate's army came to conquer the region of Jammu & Kashmir.
Vinayak Dev was the younger son and had very less chance of succeeding his father to the throne. Therefore, he went on a pilgrimage to Kashi (modern-day Varanasi) to seek blessings of Lord Vishweshvara. An ardent follower of Kashmir Shaivism, he spent twenty days fasting and doing penance in the ghats of river Ganges. Traditionally, it is believed that he had dream that encouraged him to go forth towards south in a small kingdom of Nandapur. He followed his dream and reached Nandapur after several difficulties reached Nandapur and took shelter in the Sarveshwar temple. Next morning the king of Nandapur Pratap Ganga Raju welcomed him and in a short period of time, married his only daughter to the Kashmiri prince. He later entrusted the kingdom and governance of Nandapur to Vinayak Dev.
Nandapur remained a feudatory under Rajah Vinayak Dev despite his struggle of forming an independent kingdom. The fourth king in line Maharajah Vishwanath Dev restarted the ages old struggle for independence and even assumed the title of 'Gajapati' as a rebellious act of signifying the apporximate power of the Kings of Cuttack and Nandapur. He conquered the territories of Bengal and Telangana which is mentioned by Carmichael in his records, "Vishwanath Dev Gajapati a powerful king of Orissa, having united under his sceptre all the ancient family domains, from the confines of Bengal to those of Telingana in the south, which contained in its fold innumberable feudatories that paid homage to the kingdom of Nandapur in those days."<<ref>>
HH Maharajah Sir Vikrama Dev III K.C.I.E. was the most influential king of Jeypore. He donated Rs.1,50,000 for the construction of bridges on Indravati river and a contribution of Rs.50000 was made for Victoria Memorial Hall fund. During his era, Jeypore paid the highest revenue in Madras Presidency.<<ref>> His successor, HH Lieutenant Maharajah Ramchandra Dev IV sent 21 ships to aid the British forces in the First World War and a huge number of infantry from Jeypore state.
The last king of Jeypore, HH Maharajah Sri Sri Sri Vikrama Dev Varma Varu took keen measures in improving the education of kingdom. He served as the pro-chancellor of Andhra University of Vishakhapattnam. Furthermore, he also established Vikrama Dev College in Jeypore and several other education centres. He was granted the title of 'Sahitya Samrat' due to his emphatic knowledge of languages and science.
List of Rulers 1443-1948[edit]
| Name | Notes | Reign began | Reign ended | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rajah Vinayaka Dev | Founder of the Jeypore line of kings and a feudatory under the Gajapatis of Cuttack. | 1443 | 1476 |
| 2 | Rajah Vijaychandrakhya Dev | Confiscated the golden idols of Kanaka Durga and Madan Mohan from Purshottam Dev Gajapati | 1476 | 1510 |
| 3 | Rajah Bhairava Dev | chief feudatory who played his best part in the historical defence of the Kondapalli fort against the powerful king of the Tulava dynasty of 'Bisanga'. | 1510 | 1527 |
| 4 | Maharajah Vishwanath Dev Gajapati | assumed the title of 'Gajapati' to start a rebellion against the kings of Cuttack and finally succeeded in establishing a sovereign kingdom. | 1527 | 1571 |
| 5 | Maharajah Balaram Dev I | Lost the far reaching territories of Rajahmundry, including other parts of Telangana and Bengal to the Qutub Shahis. | 1571 | 1597 |
| 6 | Maharajah Yesovanta Dev | faced rebellion from his own son Krishna Raj Dev. | 1597 | 1637 |
| 7 | Maharajah Krishna Raj Dev | usurped the throne from his uncle Yesovanta Dev. Removed by his nephew Vir Vikrama Dev within four months. | 1637 | 1637 |
| 8 | Maharajah Vir Vikrama Dev | shifted his captial from Nandapur to Jeypore. | 1637 | 1669 |
| 9 | Maharajah Krishna Dev | son of Vir Vikrama Dev | 1669 | 1672 |
| 10 | Maharajah Vishwambhar Dev I | formed the navy and defeated the dutch and other european traders who were ensalving the people of villages. | 1672 | 1676 |
| 11 | Maharajadhiraj Mallakimardhana Krishna | a shrewd military strategist, he defeated the allied forces of the Sultan of Golconda and the French. Was granted the title of 'Mallakimardhana' meaning 'the destroyer of Mallik' who was the commander of the Sultan's army. Also, captured fourteen french cannons. | 1676 | 1681 |
| 12 | Maharajah Hari Dev | younger brother of Vishwambhar Dev and Mallakimardhana Krishna | 1681 | 1684 |
| 13 | Maharajah Balaram Dev II | had no issue so adopted his cousin Rajah Vishwanath Dev's son Raghunath Krishna Dev of Gunupur feudatory. | 1684 | 1686 |
| 14 | Maharajah Raghunath Krishna Dev | defeated Nawab of Chicacole. | 1686 | 1708 |
| 15 | Maharajah Ramchandra Dev I | son of Maharajah Raghunath Krishna | 1708 | 1711 |
| 16 | Maharajah Balaram Dev III | succeeded his elder brother Maharajah Ramchandra Dev | 1711 | 1713 |
| 17 | Maharajah Vishwambhar Dev II | succeeded his elder brother Maharajah Balaram Dev after defeating him in a battle with the help of tribals | 1713 | 1752 |
| 18 | Maharajah Lala Krishna Dev | usurped the throne after the death of his elder brother Maharajah Vishwambhar but was taken down by his younger brother Maharajah Vikrama Dev I | 1752 | 1758 |
| 19 | Maharajah Vikrama Dev I | defeated the king of Bastar in 1777AD and received five forts of Omerkote, Churchunda, Raigarh, Hotpad and Podagada. | 1758 | 1781 |
| 20 | Maharajah Ramchandra Dev II | kingdom got annexed by the East India Company | 1781 | 1825 |
| 21 | Maharajah Vikrama Dev II | son of Maharajah Ramchandra II | 1825 | 1860 |
| 22 | Maharajah Ramchandra Dev III | helped the British government in quelling the Savra rising in the Gunupur Taluq and the well known Rampa rebellion in Godavari district. Was granted a medal of honour by H.R.H. King Edward VII when he visited Madras. | 1860 | 1889 |
| 23 | HH Maharajah Sir Vikrama Dev III | was granted the grade of K.C.I.E. and the royal title of 'His Highness'. Also received the title of 'Azeem Maharajah, Yujadud Dowla, Mahabat Assar, Yedal Yemeenay, Saltanut Samsaamany, Killapathy-e-Islam, Sri Jhadkhand Badusha' by his H.E.H. The Nizam of Hyderabad as a token of friendship. Me | 19 October 1803 | 4 September 1843 |
| 24 | Lieutenant HH Maharajah Ramchandra Dev Bahadur IV | son of Vikrama Dev III, served as the Lieutensnt for the British forces in the First World War, sent troops and ships to aid the British. | 1920 | 1931 |
| 25 | HH Maharajah Sahitya Samrat Sri Sri Sri Vikrama Dev Varma Varu | was granted the title of 'Sahitya Samrat' for his great works in literature consisting of telugu, odia, sanskrit and english. Moreover, he donated his properties to Andhra University and for the education of tribals all over his kingdom. Later, adopted the second son of his only daughter. | 1931 | 1951 |
| 26 | HH Maharajah Ramkrishna Dev | adopted by Vikrama Dev IV , had two sons - Yuvraj Shakti Vikrama Dev (died 2006 without getting coronated) and Maharajkumar Vibhuti Bhusan Dev (died 1997) | 1951 | 2006 |
| 27 | HH Maharajah Vishveshvar Chandrachud Dev | son of Vibhuti Bhusan Dev and the current Maharajah of Jeypore | 13 January 2013 | |
References[edit]
Carmicheal, D.(1889) A Manual of the District of Vizagapatanam in the Presidency of Madras. The Asylum press, Mount Road, Madras.
Vadivelu, A. (1903) The aristocracy of Southern India. Vest & Co. , Mount Road, Madras.
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