Inscription At Anakapalli Temple Mentions Defeat Of Tughlaq Dynasty
The inscription is from the time of Choda III, a king of the Haihaya dynasty: Historian Deepak Kumar Naik
Visakhapatnam: A stone inscription at the Dharmalingeswar Temple at Panchadarla village in Rambilli mandal of Anakapalli district records the glorious victory of the combined Eastern Gangas and Haihaya armies over Delhi’s Firoz Shah Tughlak in the early 14th Century.
This information is in the recently published book “Relics of Kalinga in South India Part-I” documented by a team of Odisha chapter of INTACH team comprising project coordinator and author Deepak Kumar Nayak, epigraphist Bishnu Mohan Adhikari and surveyor Suman Prakash Swain.
Deepak Kumar Nayak said the inscription is engraved on three faces of a square black stone panel pillar at the eastern entrance of the temple. The inscription is from the time of Choda III, a king of the Haihaya dynasty. Inscribed in Telugu script and Sanskrit, it is dated to Saka Samvata 1325 that equals the year 1403 CE. The inscription runs into 93 lines.
As per epigraphist Bishnu Mohan Adhikari, verse number 16 from this long inscription talks about the real purpose of the inscription, that is Choda III built a gopura and laid out a grove at the entrance of the Dharmalingeswara Temple. It confirms the defeat of Delhi’s Tughlaq dynasty ruler Firoz Shah Tughlak at the hands of Choda II, an ancestor of Choda III, the latter being a subordinate ruler under Eastern Ganga King Bhanudeva III of Utkala.
Choda II led an army to Bengal to help Sultan of Panduva Haji Iliyas when Firoz Shah Tughlak attacked that kingdom in 1353 CE. The great hero Choda II had been the chief of Mahismati and belonged to the family of the Sahasrarjun Haihaya.
The Haihaya chieftains waged war against Muslim forces on behalf of the Eastern Gangas with whom they had matrimonial relationship. After this victory, Choda II gifted 22 elephants to the King of Utkala Bhanudeva III and some dancing girls to the Sultan of Panduva Haji Iliyas as Bijayashri – token of victory.
From the inscription, it may be gathered that the Sultan of Panduva (Bengal) gained victory over the Emperor of Delhi aided by the King of Orissa. So, it is likely that Choda II had been a vassal of the Utkala ruler or a general of his army.
The Haihayas of Panchadarla (Year 1200–1403 CE) ruled the regions of Simhachalam and Panchadarla in south Kalinga during the 12th and 14th centuries CE. Choda I, Upendra, Choda II, Bhima and Choda III are the important kings of this dynasty.