into Utkala, now coastal Odisha. Although he failed, he kept control of Kosala. In the last decades of the 9th century, the Somavamshis ruled over present-day Kosala. Janamejaya I expanded his domain south and east, and defeated the Kalachuris. His son Yayati was blocked by the Kalachuris when attempting to expand into the north and west of Kosala. The Somavamshis were defeated during Rajendra Chola's northern expedition. In the chaos that followed, Yayati II stabilized the kingdom, which corresponded to modern Odisha. His son beat off Kalachuri invasions during his reign, but the kingdom soon collapsed. Kosala fell into Telugu Choda hands, who had aided a rival king who defeated the Somvamshis. The Telugu Chodas were soon driven out by the Kalachuris. The Kalachuris soon began a long struggle with the Eastern Ganga dynasty, which ended 100 years after when the Gangas drove the Kalachuris out around 1211.After Eastern Ganga dynasty , this area ruled by mighty Gajapati Empire.Under Kapilendra Deva, Gajapatis became an empire stretching from the lower Ganga in the north to the Kaveri in the south.But,continued aggression of the Bengal sultanate from the north and Vijayanagara and Bahmani empires from the south weakened Gajapati empire ,Ultimately Balarama Deva, a Chauhan Rajput from North India founded Chauhan rule in western Orissa.The Chauhans continued ruling independently until the mid 18th century. The rulers then were weak, and real power rested in the diwans. Akbar Ray was the most powerful of these diwans. Ray soon took Sambalpur by force, and antagonised the Marathas of Nagpur. However he was soon overthrown by Jayant Singh in 1781. However, the state faced constant attack by the Marathas of Nagpur, who attempted to subdue the kingdom by force. Eventually, in 1800, they conquered the kingdom and placed a governor there and imprisoned the Chauhans in Chandrapur. During the Second Anglo-Maratha War in 1804, Sambalpur fell into British hands. However these territories were returned to the Marathas in 1806. After the Third Anglo-Maratha war in 1817, Sambalpur became officially British territory and the Chauhans were restored to the throne. However they lacked the former authority over their feudal lords which they had before. In 1827, the king Maharaja Sai died and his widow was placed on the throne. Incensed by the breach of custom of letting a woman rule, many of the Gond and Binjhal landlords, threatened by caste Hindu favourites of the rani, supported