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Raghunath Krishna Dev
Maharaja Raghunath Krishna Dev or Raghunath Krishna Deo was the king of Jeypore. His kingdom was geographically based in modern day South Odisha and Uttarandhra. He was adopted by Balaram Dev II from the dynasty's junior line of Gunupur. He is known for defeating the military commanders or Seer Lascers appointed by the Mughal Subedar and for starting an offence against the European settlements in Northern Andhra.

Early Life
Raghunath was born as ‘Krishna Dev’ in the junior line of the ruling 'Suryavamsa' dynasty based in the fiefdom of Gunupur. He was adopted by Balaram Dev II, then Maharaja of Jeypore and was given the name – ‘Raghunath’ upon adoption. He was referred to as ‘Samer Deo’ throughout the Visakhapatnam consultations.

Reign
Raghunath Krishna Dev was crowned in 1689 in the Jayapur fort (now Purnagado). He is described as a very powerful ruler, who consolidated his control over the territories he inherited from his predecessors. Many historical sources define his supremacy over the region where he maintained an absolute control with the help of his numerous feudatories.

As reported by Morris in the Vizagapatam gazetteer, Raghunath defeated the Nawab of Chicacole appointed by the Mughal subedar of the region based in Hyderabad and forced him into accepting a dishonourable treaty in 1694. As per the treaty, the Nawab was kept under house prison and was forced to pay tribute to the Maharaja of Kalinga. Raghunath was against foriegn settlement in his territory on one occasion he attacked the English and Dutch factories in Visakhapatnam and Bheemlipatnam. In 1697, he led a battle along with his feudatories against one Mahabat Khan, the Foujdar of Chicacole and slew him in the battlefield. Therefore, the Mughals could not enforce their rule over the kingdom of Jeypore.

Raghunath married two princesses of the Bahubalendra Chalukya family who were given the fiefdom of Potnore. Essentially, the Raja of Potnore allied Raghunath in his battles against the Mughal commanders and the European traders. The Maharaja had six sons from the two queens, namely – Ram Chandra Dev, Balaram Dev, Vishwambhar Dev (from senior queen) and Lal Krishna Dev, Vikram Dev, Mukund Dev (from junior queen). The king is known for his donations and invitation of Brahmins in Jeypore as mentioned in the Kechala Copper plate – "“On Saturday, the 30th day of Ashwin month and the 23rd day of Kanya, in the year called Bahudhanya, at the holy time of a solar eclipse, was granted to Narasing Misra of the Gaudia Brahmin sect, the village of Kechala, the free holding of Rautrai Mahapatra and situated in the hill district of Nandapur. This having been converted into a holding free from all dues shall be enjoyed by you, your sons and sons’ sons for generations as long as the sun and the moon last. No one shall hinder this. It is the will of the Rajadhiraja Vira Sri Krishna Dev Maharajah.”"

Death
Raghunath Krishna died in the year 1708 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Ram Chandra Dev. His successors were not as apt as him and their personal feuds led to the loss of territories.