Anangabhima Deva III

Ruins of Barabati Fort in Cuttack, the construction of which started during the rule of Anangabhima Deva III

Anangabhima Deva III was at the threshold of the continuous conflict with the eventually depleting Ratnapura Kalachuri dynasty which had defeated the Somavamshis and occupied the western tracts of ancient Kalinga kingdom at its height in the past or the complete Tri Kalinga region. The southern Haihaya kings of Tumana in modern Bilaspur district were also to a certain extent fighting against the Ganga forces.[5] Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva , the ancestor of Anangabhimadeva III was unsuccessful in reclaiming these lost territories despite his numerous military achievements. The Kalachuri king, Pratapmalla continued his attempts to invade the frontiers of the Ganga territory along with his son Paramardi Dev. Anangabhima send a large force under the command of his able Brahman commander, Vishnu. The two forces met face to face at the Seori Narayana village in undivided Sambalpur district on the banks of the river called Bhima near the Vindhya hills and the Kalchuris were defeated for the first time in a major way by the Gangas.

According to the Chateswara Temple Inscription of Anangabhima mentions that Vishnu terrorized the Kalachuri king to an extent when he lost his psychological balance.[6]

Vindhyadreradhisima-Bhimatatini-kunje....Vishnu-Vishnu-.

Rasavasaviti-Bhayadvai-Tandisah-Pasyatah....Visvam-

Visnumayam Yatha Parinatam Tummana Prithivipateh

Which means: Vishnu, the Brahamin minister and general of Anangabhima Deva III frightened the king of Tummana on the bank of the Bhima river near Vindhyas so much so that the latter perceived Vishnu every where through out his kingdom.

Pratapmalla was taken prisoner and forced to cede the Sambalpur-Sonepur-Bolangir tracts along with parts of what is now Chhattishgarh state to the Ganga kingdom. Later with the advise of his minister Vishnu, Anangabhima established a diplomatic and matrimonial alliance with the Kalachuris by offering the hand of his daughter Chandrika in marriage to the Kalachuri prince, Parmardi Dev. Once the alliance was secured, the Ganga forces multiplied in strength. This diplomatic decision was made keeping in eye the long term prospects of a major threat from the Muslim rulers of Bengal.

Chandrika, the daughter of Anangabhima III was an expert in music and dance. She was a devout Vaishnavite and later built the Ananta Vasudeva temple at Bhubaneswar with the permission of his brother Narasingha Deva I after he inherited the throne. She was married to the Haihaya prince Parmardi Deva by the wishes of her father for the foundation of a military alliance through a marital relation between the Eastern Gangas and the Kalachuri-Haihaya princedoms of Tumana. She lost her gallant Haihaya husband in the final recorded battle of Narasingha Deva I's invasion of Bengal at Umurdan (Amarda in Mayurbhanj district). Paramardi Deva had led the Eastern Ganga forces with possibly the other conscript soldiers from the independent and Semi independent Hindu kingdoms in Eastern India against the Muslim rulers of Bengal under the command of his Eastern Ganga brother in law.

Sanskrit Inscription of Anangabhima Deva III at Chateswara Temple built during his rule

After defeating the Kalchuris, Anangabhima faced a major threat from the invading Muslim forces of Khilji Maliks from Bengal. His prime enemy Ghiyasuddin Iwaj Shah, the ruler of Bengal was a successor of Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji who was a successful military general of Qutb Ud Din Aibak. Ghiyassuddin had built a powerful navy and set out for conquest of neighboring kingdoms like Kamarupa and Odisha. He invaded the northern territories and also sent naval armadas over the river Mahanadi to capture his newly founded capital, destabilize his military strength and occupy lands. During the series of these events the newly built Barabati Fort was successfully used to repulse the enemy attacks from the river. His able minister and military adviser, Vishnu commanded a force that chased the invading Muslims on the land out of northern Odisha. The inscriptions of Chateswar temple (Salepur in Cuttack district) and Ananta Vasudeva temple confirm that the Muslim forces of Bengal were defeated by the able commander Vishnu who was able to pull his bow string until his ears and shot arrows killing many enemy soldiers.[7][8] Odia forces are noted to have crossed over into Bengal, giving chase to the fleeing Yavanas during the conflict as mentioned in the inscriptions.

Chateswara Temple Inscription Statements Indicating the Role of Vishnu in the Battle Against the Yavanas (Muslims) :

Karnottam- Sita-Savakasya-Subhata-Nekakina Nighnatah

Kimbruna-Yavanavanindra-Samare Tattasaya-Varabratam

Anantavasudeva Temple Inscription Statements:

Yadvamse-Vaijayanti-Patamiva-Subhato-Anangabhimah Pravavah

-Pradhvastaratiraja Vraja -Yuvati-Yanodgita Gambhirasarah

Asidasivisire-Radhikataratarasta Drugarvorugarobah-Svante

Svantapasarpata Yavamapi Yavanam Sangare Sanjahara.

Which Means: In Chodaganga Deva's lineage was like a flag the heroic Anangabhima, whose profound strength was celebrated by the damsels of a multitude of hostile kings destroyed by his power, and who was exceedingly proud of his swift horses, the speed of which surpassed that of snakes' foes Garuda. He made an end of the war by defeating the Yavanas with impetuosity after entering into their territory beyond the frontier.

In the first stage of this campaign on his southern rival Ganapatideva, Anangabhima advanced until the Krishna river and camped there. The territories were included in the Odisha in the year 1230 A.D. However, in the second stage the Kakatiya king by the name Narasimha II defeated his forces and the territories until East Godavari were lost to the Kakatiyas. Taking advantage of the Kakatiya king Ganapati Deva's invasion on the Chola territory and according to Allalanatha temple inscription, Anangabhima III overran the Kanchipuram and Srirangam towns in south India. His queen Somaladevi Mahadevi is recorded to have made a valuable gift to the temple of Allalanatha. Anangabima became the first Eastern Ganga ruler to place his inscription in the Simhanchalam temple.[9]

Historian T.V. Mahalingam states that Anangabhima Deva III took the advantage of political situation in the Chola kingdom during the rule of Rajaraja III and occupied Kanchipuram. Anangabhimadeva might have been invited by the rebellious vassal of the Chola ruler Kopperunjinga who had imprisoned Rajaraja III at Sandamangalam in the south Arcot district. Vira Narasimha II of the Hoysala dynasty who reinstated Rajaraja III back on the throne has also inscribed that he uprooted a contingent of Kalingan forces from the city of Kanchipuram.This eventful conflicts in the southern regions let the Odishan forces extend their hegemony till the Krishna river in the south.[10][11] According to the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple inscriptions at Srirangam, the Pandyan king Maravarman Sundara Pandyan I liberated the temple situated today in the heartland of Tamil Nadu state from the occupying Odia soldiers in 1225 A.D.[12] This indicates that the empire of Anangabhima Deva III had briefly expanded till extreme southern ends of the Indian subcontinent from Bengal in the east.