Bhoi dynasty

Govinda Vidyadhara had usurped the throne from the later weaker Suryavamsa Gajapati Empire rulers as the kingdom started weakening but had a short-lived reign as ruling chiefs of Odisha as the ensuing internal rivalries and constant threats of invasions rendered them weak and were eventually overthrown by Mukunda Deva of Chalukya Dynasty in 1560.

Under his reign, the kingdom was still undergoing political upheaval as there were rebellions in different provinces and conflicts with the neighbouring Qutb Shahi rulers of the Golconda Sultanate.

The short-lived nearly two decade old reign of Bhoi dynasty as the ruling Kings of Odisha finally came to an end when Mukunda Deva assassinated Raghuram Ray Chotaraya and crowned himself in 1560.

[19][20][21] Hence the Bhoi dynasty lays the foundation and legitimation of a political institution through the possession of a sacred temple-city thus deriving its legitimacy from an older imperial tradition.

[16][15] The Bhois also maintained minor maritime and international trade links, albeit much reduced from the heydays of the Eastern Ganga dynasty and Gajapati Empire.

This is noted from the Manchu language memorials and edicts depicting contacts under the reign of Qing dynasty in China, when the Qianlong Emperor received a gift from the Brahmin (Ch.

Eventually after the Maratha defeat in the Second Anglo-Maratha War, the British ultimately took over the region following the Treaty of Deogoan in 1803 and created the Orissa division within the Bengal Presidency.

The kingdom's minister Jayi Rajaguru was executed for his role in the rebellion and following petitions, Mukunda Deva II was released and exiled to Cuttack and Midnapore but later was reinstated in 1809 and was allowed to retain his title.

[15][26] Following the 1804 rebellion of Mukunda Deva II, the British decided to take control of the administration of the Khurda kingdom which was hence annexed to the Orissa division.

However due to uncertainties regarding the administration of the temple and other religious endowments, Mukunda Deva II was allowed to return but was pensioned off to Puri in 1809 to remain as a titular head of the dynasty albeit reduced to the status of a Zamindar.

[8] He was however successful in persuading the British to allow him to retain control of the administration of the Jagannath temple in the sacred temple-city of Puri as it was an important socio-political institution in the Orissa region.

Thus as Rajas of Puri, the Bhoi dynasty managed to compensate for the loss of political power by building a religious institution through the superintendence of the hereditary temple of the Gajapati kings of Orissa.

Forts located in the Khurda kingdom