Purba Ganga

The Eastern Gangas, also called the Purba Gangas, were a Hindu dynasty that ruled Kalinga from the late fifth century to 1434. Probably an offshoot of the Western Gangas of Karnataka, they moved their capital from Dantapura to Kalinganagara and finally Kataka, and made Odia the court language.

The imperial line began with Anantavarman Chodaganga, who reigned from about 1077 to 1150, united Kalinga and built the Jagannath temple at Puri. Narasimhadeva I carried Ganga arms to Lakhnawati in 1245 and raised the Sun Temple at Konark, taking the title Gajapati.

After Firuz Shah Tughlaq's invasions of 1353 to 1358 the kings paid tribute to Delhi. In 1434 the last ruler Bhanudeva IV was set aside by his minister Kapilendra, who founded the Suryavamsha dynasty; a Ganga branch continued to hold Paralakhemundi for centuries afterward.