About Orissa

Orissa is known since the time of Vedas, as chroniclers and scriptures belonging to this period repetitively mentions Kalinga, the name by which this region used to be referred to in that era. These sources also indicate that Kalinga had remained untouched by the influences of Vedic culture and maintained its identity as a land of tribal customs and traditions. The political and social environments of the region continued to be controlled by the tribal beliefs and practices for a long period. Kalinga is famous in history as the place where the bloodiest war of the time was fought between the Mauryan emperor Ashoka and the local kingdom.

The bloodshed caused during the Kalinga war brought a complete change in the heart of Ashoka, who vowed not to fight more, and instead took up the path of ahimsa as preached by Gautam Buddha. This event has a significant place in the world history also, as the Buddhist philosophy promoting peace and non-violence reached far and wide in Asia, after the missionary zeal shown by a changed Ashoka.

The vital role played by Asoka in spreading Buddhist philosophy expanded the base of this religion to a great number of Asian countries, which still exist to bear the testimony of this historical event.

Kalinga was made a powerful kingdom by the Jaina king, Kharavela who ruled it in the third century BC, and expanded its boundaries southward to touch the Tamil country. The monastic caves built by Kharavela at Udayagiri and Khandagiri are excellent memorials of this period. The kingdom continued to survive for a much longer time with rulers, like Samudragupta and Sasanka. The unification of Kalinga, Kosala and Utkala was done by the king Yayati Kesari, who began a new dynasty by name of Soma dynasty at the end of the eighth century AD. The Jagannath Temple at Puri, the Lingaraja Temple at Bhubaneshwar and the Sun Temple at Konark have been built by the rulers of this dynasty at different time periods. The Jagannath Temple got a new structure in the twelfth century, during the reigns of Choda Gangadeva and Ananga Bhimadeva of the Eastern Ganga dynasty.

After the defeat of Gajapati Mukunda Deva in the battle of Gohiratikiri in 1576, the Mughals gained control of Orissa and divided it into two parts, namely Garjat and Mughalbandi. While the areas of Garjat were allowed to be ruled by its independent rulers, Mughalbandi came under the direct control of the Mughals. Parts of Orissa were also ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad in sixteenth century and the Marathas in eighteenth century.

When the British won the Carnatic wars in 1750, the southern coast of Orissa came under their control and they made it a part of the Madras Presidency. Subsequent victories of the British against the Marathas led them to extend their full control over the whole of Orissa. The Provinces of Bihar and Orissa were created in 1912, and the latter was made a homeland for the Oriya-speaking people. Today there are thirty districts in the state of Orissa, each governed by an administrative official known as the district magistrate.