Maharajah Vikram Dev IV or Vikram Deo Varma (28 June 1869 – 14 April 1951) was the 25th king of the Suryavansh dynasty that ruled over Kalinga and later Jeypore Samasthanam under the British. A patron of the arts and literature, he was also a writer and playwright himself. He was also an administrator, a magistrate for Visakhapatnam by the Madras government in 1914 and involved in the delineation of the state of Odisha. Early life Vikram Dev was born in Sri Mukhalingam Parvatalapeta of Srikakulam Taluk to Rekha Devi and Maharajkumar Krishna Chandra Dev, the junior prince of Jeypore and the younger brother of Maharaja Ram Chandra Dev III. Evidently, due to a family quarrel Krishna Chandra stayed away from Jeypore in the village of Sri Kurmam in Srimukhalingam, Andhra Pradesh. Vikram’s mother died when he was nine and his father died six years later. He was adopted by the Queen of the Matsya Dynasty of Madugula and was known as 'Raja of Vaddadi-Madugula' although this adoption was challenged in court in 1881, the judges retained its validity. He learned English from J.S. Bard at Vizag and became an expert in Telugu, Odia and Sanskrit. He became a writer in all these languages and was awarded an honorary doctor of literature and made a Sahitya Samrat by the Andhra Bharati Tirtha Research University on 6 May 1933. He married the daughter of Sulochana of Nawrangpur who belonged to the royalty of Patna. A philanthropist, he donated to the cause of Andhra University and helped establish various cultural and educational institutions. Contribution to Art and Literature Long before he was crowned as the king of Jeypore, Vikram Dev was a renowned scholar who gained expertise in five languages - Sanskrit-Hindi, Odia, Telugu, Bengali and English. He acquired enough fame through his contribution to the combined literature of all these languages. He was awarded the doctorate degree of ‘Kala-Prapūrna’ and the honorary title of 'Sahitya Samrat' by the Andhra Bharati Tirtha Research University in 1933. He wrote Telugu dramas like ‘Shree Nivas Kalyan Natak’, ‘Krushnarjuna Charitam’ and ‘Manavati Charitam’ that were staged in the iconic 'Jagannmitra Hall' established by the king which was seen as a noble attempt to flourish art and culture among the populace of the city. He annually invited and honored 100 learned scholars from all over India and donated one lac every year to the Andhra University.