Early life He was born on 12 August 1817 in Satranji, the capital of Barkagah estate in then
Lohardaga present
Ranchi district. He was a member of the
Nagvanshi family. Barkagarh state was granted to Nathan Shah who was grand father of Vishwanath Shahdeo for maintenance by the Nagvanshi maharaja of Chhotanagpur. He married Baneswari Kunwar, the sister of King of
Rajgangpur. He succeeded his father as king of Barkagarh in 1840.
Independent from Company rule Thakur Vishwanath Shahdeo was anti-British and anti-missionaries. The British had established civil headquarters in Ranchi, and military headquarters of the Ramgarh Battalion at Doronda, without the consent or approval of the
zamindar of Barkagarh. Later German missionaries also established a church, thus the sanctity of the
Jagannath temple was believed to be violated and the zamindar of Barkagarh was virtually surrounded by outsiders. He disliked the authoritarian way of functioning of the officials. The Christian
Kol tribals had forcibly taken possession of his lands, encouraged by the
Christian missionaries. When he complained to British officials, they paid no heed and simply ignored him. King of
Pithoria,
Jagatpal Singh helped British forces. Viswanath Shahdeo attacked Jagatpal Singh in Pithoria. A fierce battle ensured in Pithoria for several days which resulted in defeat of rebels. He was caught and hanged in Ranchi on 16 April 1858. Pandey Ganpat Rai was hanged on 21 April 1858.
Aftermath British captured 97 villages of Barkagarh estate. They demolished Satranji Garh and Hatiagarh fort. They confiscated all properties of Viswanath Shahdeo. The wife of Viswanath Shahdeo Baneswari Kunwar fled to forest of Rani Khorha in
Gumla district with her one-year son Kapil Nath Shahdeo and trusted individuals. She knew that British can kill her and her son. She lived 12 years in exile in Khora village. After 12 year, Baneswari Kunwar demanded return of property of Barkagarh estate by forwarding her son. But British stated that the Barkagarh estate run by council created by British which run estate of Jagirdar, Jamindar who have no inheritors and it will continue. But they agreed to pay Rani Baneswari Kunwar Rs.30 per month from tax collected by Barkagarh property. ==Commemoration==