The temple of Jagannatha, begun by Anantavarman Chodaganga after 1112 (English Wikipedia's inference), with a donation recorded in 1134-35, and the largest endowment of the Ganga coast.
On English Wikipedia the Ratha Yatra is said to have been instituted about 1150 (unverified); the earliest attestation is the traveller Odoric of Pordenone in 1316 to 1318. Anangabhima III will dedicate the kingdom to the god and call himself Rauta in 1238. The Sabara and Daitapati servants, Brahman priests and the king share the cult.
Who holds it
- Name
- not named for 1200
- Title
- The servitors (Jagannath servitors) under the patronage of the Ganga king
- Since
- not known
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
What it holds
- The temple, the Narendra tank, the Gundicha ghara, the sasana villages (board)
How things stand that morning
Complete in its main mass and in daily use; the king's legitimacy rests on it.
Wealth
Offerings and endowed villages.
Threats
- Raids after 1205 (the Madala Panji speaks of invasions without dates)
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.
- 1238Anangabhima III dedicates the kingdom to Purushottama and calls himself Rauta.Depends on: The dynasty holds. Stopped by: Defeat.
Places of note
- Jagannatha: The temple.
Where the sources disagree
- English Wikipedia's infobox says completed 1161; the text says begun after 1112; Anangabhima III is credited with the finishing (1230s).
Evidence: A plate of 1134-35 and a modern page.
On the map: A small disc for the house and its home villages; the granted villages lay scattered.
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
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.