Kalinga is a historical region of India. It is generally defined as the eastern coastal region between the Mahanadi and the Godavari rivers, although its boundaries have fluctuated with the territory of its rulers. The core territory of Kalinga now encompasses a large part of Odisha and northern part of Andhra Pradesh. At its widest extent, the Kalinga region also included a part of present-day Chhattisgarh.
The relic of the tooth of Buddha is venerated in Sri Lanka as a cetiya relic of Gautama Buddha, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded.
The Kalinga War was fought in ancient India between the Maurya Empire under Ashoka and the state of Kalinga, an independent feudal kingdom located on the east coast, in the present-day state of Odisha and north parts of Andhra Pradesh. It is presumed that the battle was fought on Dhauli hills in Dhauli which is situated on the banks of Daya River. The Kalinga War included one of the largest and deadliest battles in Indian history. Kalinga did not have a king as it was culturally run without any.
Anga was an ancient Indian kingdom that flourished on the eastern Indian subcontinent and one of the sixteen mahajanapadas. It lay to the east of its neighbour and rival, Magadha, and was separated from it by the river Champa in the modern day Bhagalpur and Munger in the state of Bihar. The capital of Anga was located on the bank of this river and was also named Champa and Malini. It was prominent for its wealth and commerce. Anga was annexed by Magadha in the 6th century BCE.
Asmaka or Assaka (Pali) was a Mahajanapada in ancient India which existed between 700 BCE and 425 or 345 BCE according to the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya and Puranas. It was located around and between the Godavari river in present-day Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra. Its capital is variously called Potali or Podana, and is identified as present-day Bodhan in Telangana.
Vanga was an ancient kingdom and geopolitical division on the Ganges delta in the Indian subcontinent. The kingdom is one of the namesakes of the Bengal region. It was located in southern Bengal, with the core region including present-day southwestern Bangladesh and southern West Bengal (India). Vanga features prominently in the epics and tales of ancient India as well as in the history of Sri Lanka.
Kalinga is a tribe described in the legendary Indian text Mahabharata. They were a warrior clan who settled in and around the historical Kalinga region, present-day Odisha, west Bengal, Bangladesh and northern parts of Andhra Pradesh.
Kalinga Magha also known as Magha the Tyrant and Kulankayan Cinkai Ariyan, is identified as the founder of the Jaffna kingdom and first king of the Aryacakravarti dynasty. According to the Segarāsasekara-Mālai the first Aryacakravarti king of Jaffna belongs to the Eastern Ganga dynasty of Kalinga. His family was connected to the rulers of Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu. Kalinga Magha’s relatives of Ramanathapuram administered the famous temple of Rameswaram. He usurped the throne from Parakrama Pandyan II of Polonnaruwa, in 1215. His reign saw the massive migration of Sinhalese to the south and west of Sri Lanka, and into the mountainous interior, in a bid to escape his power. Magha was the last ruler to have his seat in the traditional northern seat of native power on the island, known as Rajarata; so comprehensive was his destruction of Sinhalese power in the north that all of the successor kingdoms to Rajarata existed primarily in the south of the island.
The Odia (ଓଡ଼ିଆ), formerly spelled Odiya, are native to the Indian state of Odisha and have the Odia language as their mother tongue. They constitute a majority in the eastern coastal state of Odisha, with significant minority populations in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
The name Odisha refers to the current state in India. In different areas the region and parts of the region were known by different names. The boundaries of the region also have varied over time.
Dantapura was mentioned as the capital of Kalinga in the epic Mahabharata (5:23). Sahadeva the Pandava general had visited this city. Kalinga is mentioned to have another capital named Rajapura.
The Taratarini Temple on the Kumari hills at the bank of the River Rushikulya near Brahmapur city in Ganjam District, Odisha, India is worshiped as the Breast Shrine and manifestations of Adi Shakti. The Tara Tarini Shakti Peetha is one of the oldest pilgrimage centers of the Mother Goddess and is one of four major ancient Tantra Peetha and Shakti Peethas in India.
The Kingdom of Dambadeniya was a medieval kingdom in what is present day Sri Lanka. The kingdom's rulers reigned from 1220–1345.
Nissanka Malla, also known as Kirti Nissanka and Kalinga Lokesvara was a king of Sri Lanka who ruled the country from 1187 to 1196. He is known for his architectural constructions such as the Nissanka Lata Mandapaya, Hatadage and Rankot Vihara, as well as for the refurbishment of old temples and irrigation tanks.
The Maritime history of Odisha, known as Kalinga in ancient times, started much before 800 BC according to early sources. The people of this region of eastern India along the coast of the Bay of Bengal sailed up and down the Indian coast, and travelled to Indo China and throughout Maritime Southeast Asia, introducing elements of their culture to the people with whom they traded. The 6th century Manjusrimulakalpa mentions the Bay of Bengal as Kalingodra and in ancient Classical India, the Bay of Bengal was known as Kalinga Sagar, indicating the importance of Kalinga in the maritime trade. The old traditions are still celebrated in the annual Boita Bandana festival including its major celebration at Cuttack on the banks of Mahanadi river called Bali Jatra, and are held for seven days in October-November at various coastal districts, most famous at Cuttack though.
According to Mahaparinibbana Sutta, after his death, the Buddha was cremated and the ashes divided among his followers.
House of Siri Sanga Bo was a powerful dynasty which ruled parts of Sri Lanka from Vijayabahu III of Dambadeniya (1220–1224) until Rajasinha I of Sitawaka (1581–1591). Vijayabahu III of Dambadeniya routed Kalinga Magha's armies from Maya Rata and established his fortress at Dambadeniya. This dynasty was able to protect their independence by facing so many foreign invasions thereafter. They had to change their capital city to Dambadeniya, Yapahuwa and Kurunagala because of continuous invasions from southern India.
The Transitional period of Sri Lanka spans from the end of the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa, in 1236, to the start of the Crisis of the Sixteenth Century. The period is characterised by the succession of capitals that followed the fall of the Polonnaruwa Kingdom and the creation of the Jaffna kingdom.
Lankapatuna Samudragiri Viharaya is a Buddhist temple situated in the Trincomalee District, Eastern province of Sri Lanka. This temple which is situated near the ocean near the historic Port of Lankapatuna where Prince Dantha and Princess Hemamala set foot in Sri Lanka bringing the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha. The ruins of the ancient Temple has been heavily damaged by the civil war and tsunami but ruins of an ancient Dageba, Korawak Gal, a pond and other ruins of the ancient temple scattered around an area of 50 acres are still visible but a new Temple complex has been built near the ancient Temple's ruins.
