Page:The Aristocracy of Southern India.djvu/129

Rh the authorities suspecting the Rajahs to have had a hand in it, curtailed their powers, and ranked them among Zemindars.

Jagannadha Marda Raja Deo, who came next was of a religious turn of mind. He spent the major portion of his time at Puri, where he died. Bala Keswara Singh Marda Raja Deo who married the daughter of the Rajah of Surangi, made many additions to the estate. His successor, Narayana Marda Raja Deo, married the first daughter of the Raja of Boudh.

Sri Raja Sahib Mehrban-i-dostan Narayana Marda Raja Deo, the father of the present Rajah, was the next prominent member of the family; he had a brother and a sister; the latter was married to Bhraja Rajah Singh, the Rajah of Dharakota. Sri Narayana Marda Raja Deo was highly accomplished in Sanskrit and Oriya, and in matters military, was an expert. He married the daughter of the Rajah of Boudh. As he was childless by this wife, he married another, the daughter of the Bardana Samanth of Ramapur, a member of the Routh family in Orissa. His third wife was the daughter of Biswanath Singh of Tekkali, a member of the Chohanu community. The second wife had three sons and four daughters, the eldest of them being the present Rajah. The other two sons died and the first of the daughters has married Raja Raghunath Singh of Bali Atagada in Orissa. The second is still unmarried, whilst the third has married the present Rajah of Dharakote in the Ganjam District. By the first wife, Sri Narayana Marda Raja Deo has a daughter, who is the wife of the Rajah of Surangi in the Ganjam District. The building of the temple of Jaganatha,in Kallikote, which was begun seven generatious