Gajapati Langula Narasingha Deva I () was an Eastern Ganga monarch and a warrior of the Kalinga region who reigned from 1238 to 1264. He defeated the Muslim forces of Bengal who constantly threatened the Eastern Ganga dynasty's rule over his kingdom of Kalinga from the times of his father Anangabhima Deva III. He was the first king from Kalinga and one of the few rulers in India who took the offensive against the Islamic expansion over India by Muslim invaders of Eastern India. His father had successfully defended his kingdom against the Muslim rulers of Bengal and crossed into Rarh, Gauda and Varendra in Bengal chasing the invaders on backfoot. He became the dominant ruler of the peninsula by defeating the Muslims, Gouda, and the powerful monarch of the south kakatiya Dynasty king Ganapati Deva, and was one of the most powerful Hindu rulers in India. He also built the Konark temple to commemorate his victories over the Muslims as well as other temples and the largest fort complex of Eastern India at Raibania in Balasore. He also built famous Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Temple at Simhachalam, Andhra Pradesh.The Fort of Barabati . Dr. H. C. Das. pp. 3. The Kendupatana plates of his grandson Narasingha Deva II mention that Sitadevi, the queen of Narasingha Deva I was the daughter of the Paramara king of Malwa.
Myths about the name 'Langula' The term Langula has been confused for many abrupt derivations about the name of Narasimha Deva I as many interpreters have compared the word with the Odia term Languda meaning tail in different ways. Some interpreters without looking at the living era depictions of the king himself from Konark sun temple, have abruptly narrated that the king was physically disabled which was significantly visible in the form of an extended spinal cord resembling a tail. However, some other interpreters have described that the king used to wear a very long sword which explained this name of his while others have associated the name with the river Vamsadhara which is also locally known as Languli or Languliya without any prevailing evidence.
One correct interpretation comes from the late medieval period work of Gangavashanucharitam compiled by Vasudeva Somayaji in the eighteenth century of the small princedom of the rulers who were the descendants of the Eastern Gangas in southern Odisha. In one of the sections of this work, one of the court poets known as Vidyaranava has narrated that there were six kings by the name of Narasingha or Narasimha in the Ganga dynasty lineage before his time out of which the first was the son of Anangabhima Deva III and used to wear a long robe. When he walked fast due to his aggressive nature, his long robe resembled a tail and hence the king came to be known as Langula Narasimha Deva. He ruled for 27 years. Besides this accurate historical evidence in sync with the Konark sun temple's multiple stone panel depictions of the king, there is no other existing evidence that support any of the other interpretations about the term 'Langula' as the name of the Narasingha Deva I.
Literary glorification by contemporary poets
Narasingha Deva I is glorified in multiple phrases and sections of literary works by some of the poets of his time besides being eulogized in the inscriptions of Kendupatna, Asankhali, Kenduli, Sikhareswara Temple, Panjabi math and Sankarananda Math found in Odisha. Poet Dimdima Jivadeva Acharaya in his work "Bhakti Bhagbata Mahakavyam" has praised him as a renowned warrior who was the only one to have destroyed the invading Delhi Sultanate. Vidyadhara, the court poet of the king himself in his work 'Ekavali' has praised the king's army as a victorious force, the glory of which reached great heights while invoking sorrowfulness in the mind of the Delhi Sultan. Narasingha Deva I is described to have caused apprehension in the ranks of the Turco-Afghan forces of Delhi that would surrender when they saw him appear on the battlefield with his sword. Multiple armies of regional kingdoms (Gauda, Lata, Gurjara, Karnata, Malwa, etc.) are described to have been decisively defeated due to the strength of his army.
Gajapati title Narasingha Deva I was the first king of Kalinga to use the title of Gajapati (Lord of the elephants) which would become the imperial title of the ruling monarchs of Trikalinga and its later manifestation as the region of Odradesha. The title was first used in the 1246 CE inscription at Kapilash Temple.
Conflicts with Mamluk dynasty in Bengal Narasimha Deva was victorious against the Muslim rulers of Mamluk dynasty in Bengal that had captured Bihar and Bengal. He not only repulsed their attacks, but pushed them as far back as Padma River in current-day Bangladesh. According to the Sanskrit work of Ekavali of the poet Vidydhara, Narasingha Deva I's military achievements against the Muslim forces are decorated with titles such as "Yavanabani Ballabha" meaning conqueror of Yavana or Muslim kingdom and "Hamira Mada Mardana" meaning vanquisher of the Muslim Amirs of Bengal. After his accession in 1238 CE, Narasimha I followed the policy of aggressive imperialism. By that time, Tughril Tughan Khan (1233 – 1246 CE) had become the governor of Bengal as a vassal of the Delhi Sultanate.
After ascending the throne of Kalinga, Narasingha Deva marched with his grand army, aided by Paramadrideva, who was his Haihaya brother-in-law, towards Bengal in the years 1242–1243 CE. Even when the Odia army reached the Bengal region, a number of semi-independent Hindu rajas of Saptagram and Nadia District didn't oppose as the Odishan army was only safeguard against the rapacity of the Turks. The Odia Army made a calculated move to northern Rarh, Gauda and Varendra, the subordinate territory of the Delhi Sultanate. At this juncture, Tughril Tughan gave a clarion call to all the Muslims for a jihad (holy war) against the Hindus. Even a Qazi (Muslim holy man) and chronicler by the name Minhaj-us-Siraj accompanied this holy war by the Muslims against the invading Hindus from the Odisha frontier.
It is certainly a fact that Narasingha Deva I had extended his sway up to Rarh by defeating Tughril-Tughan Khan. He intended to extend his sway up to Varendra by repeatedly invading it. By that time, Lakhnauti consisted of two main divisions- Rarh and Varendra, situated on either side of the Ganges. Lakhnor was the headquarters of Muslim expansionist operations in Bengal, consisting mainly of Rarh and Varendra subdivisions under direct authority of the Delhi Sultanate. Having his sway over Rarh and southern parts of Gauda, Narasingha Deva I, directed his army against Varendra. The Odishan army ransacked the Muslim territory at Bengal and created panic in the minds of the Muslims. Being fearful, Tughril Tughan Khan appealed to Sultan Alauddin Masud Saha of Delhi to come to his rescue; the Sultan sent Quamuruddin Tamur Khan, the governor of Oudh to help Tughan Khan. However, after reaching Bengal, Tamur had a sharp difference of opinion with Tughril Tughan, who was ultimately driven away from Bengal and Tamur Khan continued as its governor till his death in 1246 CE.
First seizure of Lakhnauti or Battle of Katasin (Contai) (1243 CE)
In the initial phase of the expedition, a siege was laid on the fort of Lakhnauti which was a strategic point of entrance into the territory of the Mamluks Muslims from the west and also a point of communication with other Muslim-dominated kingdoms of North India, especially the Delhi Sultanate. In his work known as Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, chronicler Minhaj-I-Siraj Juzani, who accompanied the Muslim forces, gives live accounts and a vivid picture of the war. By 1244 CE, Tughril Tughan launched a counterattack on the invading Odia army. Gaining some initial success, the Muslim army followed the forces of Narasingha Deva who were on a tactical retreat at this point towards the frontier fort of Katasin (Contai in the Southern part of today's West Bengal) that was surrounded by jungles and thick cane-bushes and provided a strategic defence. The Odia army had dug trenches to force the advancing Muslim cavalry to slow down and halt, and also left some of their elephants unattended along with fodder in open field to lure the advancing enemies and expose them to capture.
After the initial defensive confrontation, the Odia forces followed guerrilla warfare tactics, initially staying hidden from the vision of the approaching Muslim forces. In the middle of the raging battle, a retreating Odia force led Tughral Tughan to believe that the Odia army had left the area and halted the army in ease who in turn settled down for midday meals. A sudden and unprecedented attack was launched by the forces of Narasingha Deva, ensuring a massive slaughter of the enemy forces. According to the Minhaj, a section of the massive Hindu army charged from the direction of the fort, while a concealed detachment of 200 soldiers, 50 horsemen and 5 elephants pounced on the unsuspecting Bengal Muslim army of Tughan, emerging from the thick cane bushes behind the camp. Several Muslims soldiers were killed in this attack and Tughan himself had a narrow escape with his life and was possibly wounded. The march of Narasingha Deva I's forces over the Muslim army has been described in the Ananta Vasudeva temple inscription. In a dramatic description of these events of slaughtering of a whole Muslim army by the Odia forces, the descendant of Langula Narasingha Deva, Narasingha Deva II in his Sanskrit bronze inscription of Kendupatna, mentioned;
"Radha Varendra Yabani Nayanjanaasru,
Pureya Dur Binibesita Kalima Srihi,
Tadh Bipralamm Karayadrabhuta Nistaranga,
Gangapi Nunamamuna Yamunadhunavut"
Which means- The Ganga herself blackened for a great extent by the flood of tears which washed away the collyrium from the eyes of the Yavanis [Muslim women] of Radha and Varendra [west and north Bengal] whose husbands have been killed by Narasimha's army.
Second seizure of Lakhnauti
In 1244 CE, the victorious Odia forces again seized two provinces of Varendra and Rarh situated side by side on the river Ganga and surrounded the Lakhnauti fort. The Muslim commander of the Lakhnauti fort, Fakr-Ul-Mulk-Karimuddin-Laghri, was killed along with his detachment, who tried to battle with the Odia army in the open field. According to certain records, the two provinces of Bengal were ransacked and plundered by invading forces. Many battle weapons were also seized from the Muslim Bengal Army. The Muslim governor of Awadh and a vassal of the Delhi Sultanate, Qamruddin Tamur Khan arrived to rescue of Tughan Khan by the orders received from Delhi. Minhaj Juzani notes that on hearing the arrival of this large force from Awadh, the Odia forces left on the second day, which seems to be incorrect as he himself notes that a quarrel ensued between the two Muslim generals as Qamaruddin was enraged to see the Odia army surrounding the fort of Lakhnauti, which directly contradicts Minhaj's notes, as the Odia forces were still present by the time the Awadh reinforcements had already reached the fort. Further records on the successive events is missing from Tabaqat-I-Nisari. Tughan Khan was discharged from his governorship of Bengal by Qamruddin with the authority of the Delhi Sultanate. Qamruddin Tamur Khan himself assumed the governorship of Bengal after this incident.
Battles of Umurdan (1247 to 1256 CE)