The disastrous Bhoi dynasty was finally overthrown by Mukunda Deva Harichandana (1560-1568), a descendant from a Chalukya family. Mukunda Deva performed the Tulapurusha with gold and distributed it in charity, abolished the marriage tax and executed many public works, such as the building of the embankment on the road from Magra to the Triveni, still existing. Mukunda Deva also established 16 brahmana sasanas, the original villages of the brahmana families whose head members sit in the Mukti Mandapa in Puri temple.
Unfortunately Mukunda Deva involved himself in the politics of Bengal, by giving shelter to Ibrahim Sur, the enemy of Sulaiman Kararani the sultan of Bengal, and exchanged embassies with Akbar, who wanted to annex the sultanate of Bengal. However, Akbar did not send any help to Mukunda Deva when he was attacked by the sultan of Bengal. In 1568 the sultan of Gauda attacked Odisha, sending his son Bayazid with the general Sikandar Uzbeg and the famous Kalapahada, who conquered Cuttack, while Mukunda Deva fled to hide in Kotisami (Kotismul). Raghuhanja Chotaraya, then general under Mukunda Deva, took the opportunity to declare himself the King of Odisha, and killed Mukunda Deva, but he was in turn killed by the Muslims. Two other generals of Mukunda Deva’s army, Sikhi and Manai, betrayed the King and showed Kapalahada a path through the jungle so that he could attack the army from the rear.
Kalapahada’s name is still remembered with fear and horror by the people of Odisha. He was a Hindu of Brahmin caste of the name Kala Chand, who worked for the Bengali sultan Sulaiman Kararani. It is said that the daughter of the sultan, Dulari, fell in love with him and insisted to marry him although he already had two Hindu wives. Kala Chand came to Puri to consult the temple Pandas about his plight and to purify himself from the association with the Muslim sultan. He humbly prostrated himself in front of the priests, but instead of the all-encompassing mercy of Patita Pavana, the Lord of the entire universe, Kala Chand and even his wives received gross insults and rude words, kicks and other physical assaults from the priests. He was banned from entering the temple and having the Darshana of the Lord. Kala Chand had a serious crisis of faith not only about the priests’ mentality and behavior, but also about the cult of Jagannatha and the Vedic religion, that he now saw as a terrible fraud. He had no other option but to turn to Islam. He did it wholeheartedly and revengefully. When he came back to Odisha with the new name of Kalapahada, he was fiercely determined to destroy all the temples and deities of Odisha, and such was his ferocity that his mere name inspired terror into people. The history of the looting and desecration of Jagannatha temple is long, starting from 1510 with Hussein Shah, the sultan of Bengal. During the reign of Purushottama Deva, Jagannatha had to be hidden in the Chilika lake cave four times, two times during the reign of Mukunda Deva (1607-1622), once during the reign of Divyasingha Deva I (1688-1716) and again once during the reign of Ramachandra Deva II (1732-1743). However, the attack of Kalapahada was certainly the most violent. He systematically destroyed temples, chopping off the hands, feet, ears and noses of all deities and figures on the temples. He encouraged the Muslim soldiers to loot the temples.
The Makhzan-i-Afghana, written in 1612 by Niamat Ullah, says, “every Afghan who took part in the campaign obtained large quantities of gold”. Niamat Ullah also says that Kalapahada also pulled down a deity of Krishna, had it broken into pieces and cast into the gutter. Seven other gold images of various shapes which weighed five mounds each were also destroyed.” He also adds that many people including women took shelter inside the temple, unable to believe that the temple could be desecrated and occupied, but were captured”. Madala panji says that when the Jagannatha Deities were hidden in the cave in the Chilika lake, Kalapahada found out the place and captured them. Then he put them on an elephant and took them back to Bengal, where he hacked the Deities to pieces and burned them near the river Hoogly. Some consider this an exaggeration, saying that it was more likely that Kalapahada burned the deity of Jagannatha at the sea shore near Kujang (Chilika). It is said that a devotee named Bisara or Besara Mohanty collected the Brahma padartha, hid it into a mridanga drum and brought it back to Odisha at Kujanga Gada, Khurda, where he kept worshiping him with the help of king Narendra Deva. It is said that Bisara Mohanty had followed Kalapahada all the way and that he jumped into the fire to salvage the Nabhi Brahma, emerging unharmed from the flames in front of the astonished Muslims. Then, about 20 years later, in his 9th year of reign, Ramachandra Deva of Khurda had new deities made, retrieved the Brahma padartha from Bisara Mohanty, installed the new Deities, and brought them back to Puri. Niamat Ullah also writes, “Strange still was the fact that those who had carried off the idols as booty suffered from misfortune, affliction and disaster and died within a year”. Ahmad Razi writes in his Haft Iklim, “And believer or non-believer, whoever shows disrespect to the idol meets with instantaneous death”. He mentions one incident witnessed by his own grandfather, Maulana Lutful Ullah of Nishapur, who went to Puri with a number of friends and persuaded the priests to allow them to have a look at the idol on condition that they would not show any disrespect. When the party entered the temple, one of them spat towards the deity and he instantaneously died.
Mukunda Deva was the last independent king of Odisha, as in 1568 the Karabani Sultans of Bengal incorporated Orissa into their kingdom. The Turks had occupied north India including Bengal and Bihar already in the 1200s, but Odisha somehow succeeded in remaining independent until 1568.
Unfortunately Mukunda Deva involved himself in the politics of Bengal, by giving shelter to Ibrahim Sur, the enemy of Sulaiman Kararani the sultan of Bengal, and exchanged embassies with Akbar, who wanted to annex the sultanate of Bengal. However, Akbar did not send any help to Mukunda Deva when he was attacked by the sultan of Bengal. In 1568 the sultan of Gauda attacked Odisha, sending his son Bayazid with the general Sikandar Uzbeg and the famous Kalapahada, who conquered Cuttack, while Mukunda Deva fled to hide in Kotisami (Kotismul). Raghuhanja Chotaraya, then general under Mukunda Deva, took the opportunity to declare himself the King of Odisha, and killed Mukunda Deva, but he was in turn killed by the Muslims. Two other generals of Mukunda Deva’s army, Sikhi and Manai, betrayed the King and showed Kapalahada a path through the jungle so that he could attack the army from the rear.
Kalapahada’s name is still remembered with fear and horror by the people of Odisha. He was a Hindu of Brahmin caste of the name Kala Chand, who worked for the Bengali sultan Sulaiman Kararani. It is said that the daughter of the sultan, Dulari, fell in love with him and insisted to marry him although he already had two Hindu wives. Kala Chand came to Puri to consult the temple Pandas about his plight and to purify himself from the association with the Muslim sultan. He humbly prostrated himself in front of the priests, but instead of the all-encompassing mercy of Patita Pavana, the Lord of the entire universe, Kala Chand and even his wives received gross insults and rude words, kicks and other physical assaults from the priests. He was banned from entering the temple and having the Darshana of the Lord. Kala Chand had a serious crisis of faith not only about the priests’ mentality and behavior, but also about the cult of Jagannatha and the Vedic religion, that he now saw as a terrible fraud. He had no other option but to turn to Islam. He did it wholeheartedly and revengefully. When he came back to Odisha with the new name of Kalapahada, he was fiercely determined to destroy all the temples and deities of Odisha, and such was his ferocity that his mere name inspired terror into people. The history of the looting and desecration of Jagannatha temple is long, starting from 1510 with Hussein Shah, the sultan of Bengal. During the reign of Purushottama Deva, Jagannatha had to be hidden in the Chilika lake cave four times, two times during the reign of Mukunda Deva (1607-1622), once during the reign of Divyasingha Deva I (1688-1716) and again once during the reign of Ramachandra Deva II (1732-1743). However, the attack of Kalapahada was certainly the most violent. He systematically destroyed temples, chopping off the hands, feet, ears and noses of all deities and figures on the temples. He encouraged the Muslim soldiers to loot the temples.
The Makhzan-i-Afghana, written in 1612 by Niamat Ullah, says, “every Afghan who took part in the campaign obtained large quantities of gold”. Niamat Ullah also says that Kalapahada also pulled down a deity of Krishna, had it broken into pieces and cast into the gutter. Seven other gold images of various shapes which weighed five mounds each were also destroyed.” He also adds that many people including women took shelter inside the temple, unable to believe that the temple could be desecrated and occupied, but were captured”. Madala panji says that when the Jagannatha Deities were hidden in the cave in the Chilika lake, Kalapahada found out the place and captured them. Then he put them on an elephant and took them back to Bengal, where he hacked the Deities to pieces and burned them near the river Hoogly. Some consider this an exaggeration, saying that it was more likely that Kalapahada burned the deity of Jagannatha at the sea shore near Kujang (Chilika). It is said that a devotee named Bisara or Besara Mohanty collected the Brahma padartha, hid it into a mridanga drum and brought it back to Odisha at Kujanga Gada, Khurda, where he kept worshiping him with the help of king Narendra Deva. It is said that Bisara Mohanty had followed Kalapahada all the way and that he jumped into the fire to salvage the Nabhi Brahma, emerging unharmed from the flames in front of the astonished Muslims. Then, about 20 years later, in his 9th year of reign, Ramachandra Deva of Khurda had new deities made, retrieved the Brahma padartha from Bisara Mohanty, installed the new Deities, and brought them back to Puri. Niamat Ullah also writes, “Strange still was the fact that those who had carried off the idols as booty suffered from misfortune, affliction and disaster and died within a year”. Ahmad Razi writes in his Haft Iklim, “And believer or non-believer, whoever shows disrespect to the idol meets with instantaneous death”. He mentions one incident witnessed by his own grandfather, Maulana Lutful Ullah of Nishapur, who went to Puri with a number of friends and persuaded the priests to allow them to have a look at the idol on condition that they would not show any disrespect. When the party entered the temple, one of them spat towards the deity and he instantaneously died.
Mukunda Deva was the last independent king of Odisha, as in 1568 the Karabani Sultans of Bengal incorporated Orissa into their kingdom. The Turks had occupied north India including Bengal and Bihar already in the 1200s, but Odisha somehow succeeded in remaining independent until 1568.
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