Global InformationSivakara Deva I information
| Sivakara Deva I | |
|---|---|
| Unmattasimha or Unmattakeshari, Paramaposhaka, Paramatathagata | |
| Predecessor | Ksemankara Deva |
| Successor | Subhakara Deva I |
| Spouse | Jayavallabhi (Princess of Rarh) |
| House | Bhauma-Kara dynasty |
| Religion | Buddhism |
Maharaja Sivakara Deva I or Sivakara Unmattasimha/ Unamattakeshari was a powerful monarch of the Bhaumakara dynasty who ruled in the late tertiary part of the 8th century A.D. He was the descendant of Ksemankara Deva who is believed to be the founder of the Bhaumakara rule in ancient Odra and also the earliest organizer of the Varna system in the region. Sivakara Deva I pursued a career of conquest in the eastern part of India establishing the Bhaumakaras as the supreme power in the whole region during his lifetime. According to the Talcher plate of Sivakaradeva III, Sivakaradeva I alias Unmattasimha defeated the king of Radha(south-West Bengal).[1] When Unmattasimha was ruling in Orissa, Bengal was still in a state of disorder, and therefore the Radha king defeated by him can not be identified.[2] However, Sivakara I either started ruling from 756 CE or 786 CE.[3] He subjugated the Eastern Ganga rulers of Kalinga as his vassals. His dominions stretched from the border of Bengal in the north to the river Godavari in the south.[4] He was a devout Buddhist who in 790 built the Sholampura Buddha Vihara[5] and who adopted the epithets of Paramopasaka and Paramatathgata meaning a devout worshiper of Buddha which has been mentioned in the Neulpur charter of the Bhaumakaras.[6] He sent a Buddhist scholar as an emissary to the Chinese emperor Te-tsong or Dezong with valuable Mahayana Buddhist manuscripts and established a new era of maritime trade and cultural relationship between ancient Odisha and China.
- ^ Panigrahi, Krishna Chandra. History of Orissa. p. 76.
- ^ Panigrahi, Krishna Chandra. History of Orissa. p. 77.
- ^ Panigrahi, KC (1961). Chronology of Bhaumakaras and Somavamsis of Orissa. p. 18.
- ^ Panigrahi, Krishna Chandra. History of Orissa. p. 77.
- ^ "Sholampur Buddha Vihar cries for attention, tourist tag". 15 December 2021.
- ^ History of Orissa, From the Earliest Times to the British Period by R.D.Banarji. Subham Printers, Cuttack -10: New Age Publications. 2006. pp. 132–134. ISBN 81-88337-47-1.
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