Balarama Deva

Balarama Deva or Balaram Deo (Odia: ବଳରାମ ଦେବ) was the first Chauhan ruler of Sambalpur State and the tenth in line ruler of the Chauhan dynasty in the Western Odisha region during the sixteenth century. He was a powerful ruler and an excellent military strategist who ruled the hilly and forest tracts of western Odisha that was mostly inhabited by different tribal or aboriginal communities. After his ascension to the throne in the year 1570 CE, he secured the region from the neighboring Ratanpur's Haihayas and build a strong state surpassing the glory of his ancestral Chauhan state of Patna (Bolangir). Balarama Deva had also provided military assistance to the Gajapati king Ramachandra Deva of Khurda Kingdom and help to defend Khurda kingdom from the invading Muslim armies who either belonged to the Mughal Dynasty or the Golconda Sultanate. After consolidation of his authority over the regions of western Odisha and now parts of the state of Chattishgarh, Balarama Deva himself installed the idol of Goddess Samleswari as the head family deity which began the era of cultural rejuvenation in the region.