Causes of Decline of Orissa

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 Causes of Decline of Orissa:

Rise and fall of ruling dynasties are the logic of history. The fall of the mighty empire of Orissa was not an escape to it. The Hindu kingdom maintained its independence up to 1568 when northern parts of India includ­ing Bengal and Bihar went to the grip of Turkish invaders.

Prof. R.D. Banerjee attributes that the long stay of the Vaishnava saint Sri Chaitanya in Orissa is the main cause of the decline of Medieval Orissa. The saint destroyed the structural pattern of the society of Orissa introducing a train of false faith in men. Sri Chatanya alone should not be blamed for this decline because of the fact that Oriyas of the sixteenth century did not accept the teachings of Sri Chaitanya blindly.

From the inscription it is clear that the king and the people of Orissa had already accepted the Sahajiya (Easy) form of Vaisnavism of the Gitagovinda prior to the coming of Sri Chaitanya to Orissa. It is thus not proper to say that the teachings of Sri Chaitanya demilitarised and demoralised the Oriya race in any manner. There is also no evidence to show that Prataprudradeva lost his military spirit under the influence of Sri Chaitanya. He was constantly engaged in warfare till his complete defeat by Krishnadeva Ray in 1519 A.D.

It is after the treaty with Krishnadeva Ray that he became intensely religious minded. The loss of the empire, the death of his son and the sad plight of his daughter married to Krishnadeva Ray must have all combined to depress the fighting spirit of the king and therefore he found solace in the teaching of Sri Chaitanya who had great influence on him.

Prataprudradeva’s army became exhausted in the long drawn war between him and Krishnadeva Ray and in fighting different fronts in the far-flung territory stretching from the Hoogly district in the north to the Nellore district in the south. His lenient behaviour towards Govinda Vidyadhar, a traitor has partially helped the process which hastened the decline of Orissa.

The new approach to the religion, the degradation of the Jagannath cult and the general degeneration of the Oriya society and the degradation of the moral conduct of the people combined became responsible for the fall of Orissa. The fall was so great that the people have not yet recovered the last glory of Orissa.

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