Dibyasingha Deb

Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb is the current titular King of Puri. He is also the 19th head of the Bhoi dynasty, which succeeded the Gajapati dynasty as the ruling chiefs of Odisha and eventually due to power struggles in medieval India during Mughal, Maratha and British rule, shifted its reign to Khurda and later to Puri where the royal family currently resides.[2] The Gajapati Maharaja is the current "Adhyasevak" (treated as the first and foremost servitor) of Lord Jagannath and according to some customs also considered to be the living reflection of the Lord. He is also the chairman of the Shri Jagannath Temple Managing Committee.[3]

Dibyasingha Deb
Gajapati Raja of Puri
Reign7 July 1970 – current (titular)
PredecessorBirakisore Deva III
BornKamarnab Deb
(1953-01-01) 1 January 1953
Puri, Odisha
SpouseLilabati Patamahadei[1]
HouseBhoi
ReligionHindu

Early life

Dibyasingha Deb ascended the throne in 1970 at the age of 17 after the death of his father, the then Maharaja of Puri, Gajapati Birakishore Deb. Before taking the titular name of Dibyasingha Deb, he was named Jenamani Kamarnab Deb.[4] He did his schooling from Convent School, Puri and Rajkumar College, Raipur in Chhattisgarh. He went on to pursue his graduation in History from the St. Stephens College from where he graduated in 1972 and then pursued LLB from Law Faculty at University of Delhi (1971-1975). He then pursued LLM from the North Western University of Law (1975-1976), Chicago before eventually taking on the traditional role of the titular King of Puri and hence the chairman of the Temple committee.[5]

Regnal year (Anka year) of the Maharaja

The Regnal year (known as Anka year) of the Maharaja used for the corresponding Odia year in the Odia calendar (panjis):

Regnal & Anka year of Gajapati king of Puri
(titular reign since 7 July 1970)
Gregorian yearRegnal yearOdia yearAnka year
2020 CE50୧୪୨୮ ଉତ୍କଳାବ୍ଦ
1428 Utkaḷābda		୬୩ ଅଙ୍କ
63

References
  1. "Puri queen offers special puja in Jagannath temple - News - Webindia123.com". news.webindia123.com. 2007. Retrieved 28 September 2012. Puri queen Lilabati Patamahadei, accompanied by her husband Puri King Gajapati Dibya Singh Dev,
  2. Bhaskar Mishra (July 2011), The Traditional Role of Gajapati Maharaja in Shri Jagannath Temple (PDF), Orissa Review
  3. Abhimanyu Dash (June 2012), The Legitimacy of the Maharaja of Puri Relating to Feudatories and the Car Festival (PDF), Odisha Review
  4. "The Maharaja Of Puri", Upper Crust, retrieved 7 May 2017.
  5. "Here's All You Need To Know About The King Of Puri". Sambad. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2021.


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