Goswamini Mahadevi or Tribhubana Mahadevi – I; the Bhauma Kara Empress, who ascended the Throne of Odisha like a Katayayani (Warrior Goddess).

Odisha has been a land of emperors and conquerors but a few is celebrated in popular culture about the Bhaumakar dynasty’s powerful empresses. This dynasty that lasted from 736 A.D to 950 A.D saw a line of six female rulers that ruled the kingdom of ancient Kalinga with a firm grip despite the presence of male heirs. This era saw political and military power of the state being vibrantly managed by the female rulers and wives of feudatories. The Kalika Purana written about the same time, mentions Uddiyana or Odra Desa as the seat of Goddess Katayayani and lord Jagannath. Other prominent documents of Shakti cult like Brahmayamala Tantra dedicate a hymn “Aadya Stotra” to goddess Shakti which dictates that Vimala of Puri and Viraja (Girija) were the respective goddesses of Utkala Kingdom. The Tantra Chudamani enlightens the Utkala Kingdom to be one of the major Shakti shrines where the navel of the goddess landed and the exact location is described to be the Vaitarani River’s Oddiyana Shrine which is Viraja or Girija Khsetra. Overall the era of the Bhaumakar Dynasty saw the great uplift of female social status and the religious alignment of this social process was clearly visible in the documents of the time.

                           

Fig - Astabhuja Durga in the Vaital Deula built by Goswamini Mahadevi

Traditionally the Bhaumakara dynasty established by Kshemakara Deva, was a patron of Mahayana Buddhism and tantric Buddhism. The Dynasty’s patronage towards Shaktism, Shavism and Vaisnavism had a phenomenal growth after the ascent of female rulers. Jainism also flourished in the Prachi Valley and Podasingidi of Keonjhar district during this period. The Vajrayana Buddhism or Tantric cult of Buddhism centered in Odisha in the 7^th Century A.D under the protection of Bhaumakara Kings  including the founder Kshemakara Deva who had assumed Buddhist titles like Paramopasaka, Paramatathagata and Parama Saugata, etc. The Bhaumakara kings and queens donated lands for the Siva temples and Saivism flourished with Vaisnavism as its cult. However, the most astonishing fact of this era was the flourishing Hindu Shakti cult that was centered on the capital region of the Bhaumakars i.e. Jajpur. The image of Durga became eight-armed or Astabhuja. Eventually, this image became ten-armed towards the later part of the Bhaumakar dynasty. The ten armed or Dasabhuja Durga was depicted at that time as the war Goddess armed with the weapons of different Gods. This change was a significant reflection of women at the top in the administrative positions including the lordship of the empire towards the later part of the Bhaumakar dynasty when one after the other Queens started taking the control of the Throne.

      Fig - Rare Buddhist Idol of Bahumakar period excavated from Kendrapada

Goswamini Mahadevi was the first eligible empress of the Bhaumakar Dynasty who had been invited by a few feudatory rulers to ascend the throne after the political order in the kingdom had collapsed under repeated invasions from Palas and Rashtrakutas. She was the wife of the former king Shantikara Deva I and was the princess of Mysore’s king Rajamalla I. The feudatory rulers had indulged into civil war after the collapse of political order facing the external invasions. Goswamini Mahadevi has credited her father Rajamalla I to have vanished the invaders from her Odisha and re-establishing her husband as the emperor. She had bypassed the earlier king’s son, let her son rule after her husband and herself ascended the throne in the year 843 A.D after his death and as her grandson; the heir to the throne was still a child. She was in complete control of the kingdom and proved to be an intelligent and worthy ruler with a strong grip of control on the kingdom. Persian visitors and writers of the time have documented that she assumed the title of Katayani Tribhubana Mahadevi and ascended the throne with a strong Charisma.

The word Katayani means goddess of war and Odisha at the time known as Odra Desa was considered to be the deity’s shrine. This indicates the power that she enjoyed assuming the kingdom’s head deity’s name to justify her rule. Persian writers mentioned that she ensured that peace and prosperity lasted and the war ravaged kingdom returned to former glory with stability. She maintained an army of 3,00,000 soldiers and the feudal rulers bowed in front of her touching their foreheads on her feet as a supreme gesture of total submission and abstention from revolt against her supreme authority. It is an extremely rare phenomenon in the history of India were amongst a few mentioned female rulers, a remarkable woman like Goswamini Mahadevi I was commanding such a large army capable of carving out empires.

Fig - Vaital Deula built by Goswamini Mahadevi 

She was a Vaishnavite in faith but showed great interest in nursing other belief systems in her kingdom. She constructed the famous and uniquely built Khakhara style Vaitala deula (Temple) with the fierce tantric cult goddess Chamunda as the central deity. The Sakti worshipers of the Bhaumakar period visualized the concept of worshiping the seven mother Goddesses called Saptamatruka (Varahi, Indrani, Vaishnavi, Kaumari, Sivani, Brahmi and Chamunda). The idea of Human and animal sacrifice was common in this era.

Conclusion

Goswamini Mahadevi or Katayayani Tribhubana Mahadevi I abdicated the throne in 861 A.D after 18 years of successful rule in favor of her grandson Subhakara Deva II, who had grown to the eligible age mark to rule the kingdom. The story of her inspirational life is in shreds due to lack of proper research but it is amazing to think of a great personality like her could rule a powerful empire on her own will with a firm grip. We must not forget that it was not until the early 18^th and 19^th Century that the derogatory male dominant Indian society was suppressing women with self immolation ritual of sati and forcing them to stay behind the Purdah or home walls.  But there was a woman in Odisha nearly a thousand years back prior to all this who was feared, respected and bowed before by the most powerful warlords, feudal chiefs and enemies of her kingdom. She paved the tradition of female rulers in the dynasty and was followed by another line of six female rulers unlike any dynasty in any region of India or Asia. A remarkable feat that Odisha achieved at least a thousand years before even when the most modern nation like the United States was arguing over women rights to vote.