Vishwanath Shahdeo (12 August 1817 – 16 April 1858) was the king of the Barkagarh estate and a rebel in the Indian rebellion of 1857.

[1][2] He was born on 12 August 1817 in Satranji, the capital of Barkagah estate in then Lohardaga present Ranchi district.

Barkagarh state was granted to Nathan Shah who was grand father of Vishwanath Shahdeo for maintenance by the Nagvanshi maharaja of Chhotanagpur.

Later German missionaries also established a church, thus the sanctity of the Jagannath temple was believed to be violated and the zamindar of Barkagarh was virtually surrounded by outsiders.

The rebels dispatched a letter to Vishwanath Shahdeo to lead the rebellion and he readily accepted this offer.

Vishwanath Shahdeo and Pandey Ganpat Rai flee and came to Ranchi and continued their struggle against Company rule.

A fierce battle ensured in Pithoria for several days which resulted in defeat of rebels.

After 12 year, Baneswari Kunwar demanded return of property of Barkagarh estate by forwarding her son.

But they agreed to pay Rani Baneswari Kunwar Rs.30 per month from tax collected by Barkagarh property.

[1] A statue of Thakur Viswanath Shahdeo is installed in Ranchi and every year on his birth anniversary, people gather to tribute him.