The temple of Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha on a spur of the hills behind Visakhapatnam is the southernmost great Ganga foundation and marks how far south the dynasty's writ truly runs.
The Simhachalam article (read) gives the earliest temple inscription as 1087 (a private gift of a garden), the Chola king Kulottunga I as the first great patron, and Eastern Ganga inscriptions from 1150 to 1430. The present temple is the work of Narasingha Deva I and was consecrated by his son Bhanudeva I in 1268: on 1 January 1200 an earlier, smaller temple stands here and the great building is sixty-eight years off. Below this the country is Telugu, worked by Velanati chiefs.
Who holds it
- Title
- Temple trustees of Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Confidence
- low
The Simhachalam article (read) names no head for 1200.
What it holds
- The temple and its villages
How things stand that morning
Ganga temple on the seam of the Telugu country.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1268The present Simhachalam temple is consecrated by Bhanudeva I.Depends on: A Ganga king in power, Narasingha Deva I's work. Stopped by: A Ganga collapse or a Telugu conquest of the coast.
Where the sources disagree
- Board 'simhachalam' cites an inscription of Chodaganga dated 1098; the Simhachalam article gives the earliest inscription as 1087 and says nothing of Chodaganga. The present temple (1268) is far later than the campaign board's wording suggests.
Evidence: The Simhachalam article (read) gives the dated inscriptions and the 1268 consecration; the campaign board's Chodaganga inscription of 1098 is not on the page.
"The campaign board" is OMNIA's working map. These notes record where its earlier claims were checked against the sources.
Primary sources for Eastern Gangas
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Lesser Chronicle (the continuation of the Mahavamsa), Dhammakitti and later monks of the Mahavihara tradition (the first continuation about the 13th century (chapters 37 to 79), carried on in stages to the 18th century). The only narrative source for Lanka in 1200. Read online
- Inscriptions of Bengal, vol. 3, Various (the Sena kings' chanceries), edited by N. G. Majumdar (copper plates of the 10th to early 13th centuries; edited 1929). The one-volume edition of the Sena copper plates, the main documentary evidence for Bengal around 1200. Read online
- Epigraphia Indica: inscriptions of the Chandelas, Paramaras, Gahadavalas, Chaulukyas, Senas and Eastern Gangas, Various (edited for the Archaeological Survey of India by J. Burgess, E. Hultzsch, F. Kielhorn, Sten Konow, F. W. Thomas and successors) (inscriptions of the 1180s to 1210s; the series ran from 1892). The main record series for the Hindu kingdoms of northern India around 1200. Read online
- Epigraphia Zeylanica: lithic and other inscriptions of Ceylon, Various (the Polonnaruwa kings' chanceries), edited by D. M. de Zilva Wickremasinghe, H. W. Codrington and S. Paranavitana (inscriptions of the 3rd century BC to the 18th century; the series ran from 1904). Prints with translation the stone records of the Polonnaruwa kings who held or lost the throne around 1200. Read online
- The Song of Govinda, Jayadeva (late 12th century, by tradition at the court of Lakshmanasena of Bengal). A literary witness, not a chronicle. Read online
Sources and studies
- Wikipedia: Simhachalam (read this session)
- Wikipedia: Eastern Ganga dynasty (read this session)
- OMNIA board notes for this place (a lead only, checked against the sources above)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.