Berhampur: The great contributions of Chodaganga Deva (1078–1147 CE), who built the world-famous Sri Jagannath Temple at Puri, played a crucial role in shaping Odisha’s distinct cultural and linguistic identities and laid the groundwork for emergence of Odia as a dominant language, seem to have been overlooked.

Chodaganga’s Korni copper plate grants confirm the fact that the coronation of this great King took place in Mukhalingam on February 17, 1078 CE, said Deepak Kumar Nayak, founder member of the Rediscover Lost Heritage (RLH) group. Mukhalingam, identified as ‘Kalinga Nagara’, presently situated in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh and 30 km from Paralakhemundi in Odisha, was the early capital of Eastern Ganga dynasty of Kalinga before Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva shifted his capital to present day Cuttack (Abhinaba Baranasi Kataka) after his Utkala Vijaya.

Bishnu Mohan Adhikari, a member of Kalinga Epigraphical Research Society (KERS), said during the reign of Chodaganga Deva, the vast empire of Kalinga kingdom stretched from the Ganges river in the North to the Godavari river in the South. Kalinga and Utkala, two separate territories, were integrated into a single huge empire by Chodaganga Deva. The present-day Odisha was possible due to that important integration by Emperor Chodaganga, said Adhikari. This laid the foundation for the later powerful Gajapati rule, he said.

But there is no statue of Chodaganga Deva anywhere, not even in Mukhalingam and Puri. The younger generation of Odisha know little about the founder of the Ganga dynasty and his name has been confined only to the pages of history.

The 947th coronation day of Chodaganga Deva was celebrated by the heritage lovers at Mukhalingam for the first time at a simple function on February 17. Prabhakar Mahodaya, the Executive Officer (EO) of Srimukhalingam Deva Temple, has assured that such celebrations would continue in the coming days.

“We have celebrated this event in Puri town for the last couple of years. However, Mukhalingam has its own significance for being the earlier capital of Kalinga. Many relics related to the Eastern Ganga King, especially Chodaganga Deva, are still found in Mukhalingam,” said Deepak Kumar Nayak.

Heritage enthusiasts and history lovers, who launched their journey from Royal Palace in Paralakhemundi, participated in the 947th coronation of Chodaganga Deva at Mukhalingam and appealed to the governments of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh to celebrate this day officially. They also requested the two governments to erect statues of this great Emperor at important places such as Puri, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Mukhalingam to honour his legacy and contributions towards Kalinga.