Kalahandi district is a district of Odisha in India. Archaeological evidence of Stone Age and Iron Age human settlement has been recovered from the region. Asurgarh offered an advanced, well civilised, cultured and urban human settlement about 2000 years ago in the region. In South Asia it is believed that the lands of Kalahandi district and Koraput district were the ancient places where people started cultivation of paddy. In ancient time it was known as Mahakantara and Karunda Mandal, which means treasure of precious stones like karandam (corundum/manik), garnet, beruz, neelam, and alexandrite, etc. Manikeswari is the clan deity of Kalahandi may also signify its historical name.
Bhawanipatna is a city and the headquarter of Kalahandi district in the state of Odisha, India. Bhawanipatna has numerous temples dedicated to different deities of the Hindu pantheon. It is named after the presiding deity, Bhawani-Shankar, and Patna, which means "place" in Odia.
Kalahandi Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 21 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Orissa state in eastern India.
Patna State was a princely state in the Eastern States Agency of India during the British Raj. It had its capital at Balangir. Its area was 6,503 km2 (2,511 sq mi).
Dharakote is a semi-urban village and former princely state in Dharakote Block of Ganjam district in the Indian state of Odisha.
Maharaja Sir Rajendra Narayan Singh Deo KCIE was an Indian politician and the last ruler of the princely state of Patna in Odisha before Indian independence in 1947. He was the President of the Ganatantra Parishad political party from 1950 to 1962 and the President of the Odisha state unit of the Swatantra Party after its merger with the Ganatantra Parishad in 1962. He was the Chief Minister of Orissa from 1967 to 1971.
Manikeshwari Temple is located in Kalahandi district of Odisha, India. The temple is located to the south of Bhawanipatna. The main deity here is Goddess Manikeshwari. She is the Ishta Devi of Nagavanshi Khyatriya's. During Dussehra festival, animal sacrifice is offered at this temple. A film is also documented showing the ritual of animal sacrifice, before Goddess Manikeshwari. Karlapat, which is famous for its charming wild life, is near the temple.
The history of Kalahandi goes back to the primitive period where a well-civilized, urbanized, and cultured people inhabited this land mass around 2000 years ago. The world's largest celt of Stone Age and the largest cemetery of the megalithic age have been discovered in Kalahandi. This shows the region had a civilized culture since the pre-historic era. Asurgarh near Narla in Kalahandi was one of the oldest metropolises in Odisha whereas the other one was Sisupalgarh near Bhubaneswar. Some other historical forts in the region includes Budhigarh, Amthagarh, Belkhandi and Dadpur-Jajjaldeypur. This land was unconquered by the great Ashoka, who fought the great Kalinga War, as per Ashokan record. In medieval period the region had played a prominent role to link South India, Eastern India and Central India region and witnessed the battle ground for Somavamsi, Chola, Kalachuris of Kalyani and Eastern Ganga dynasty. Kalahandi region was the main route for Chola to attack Subarnapur.
Gangpur State, also known as Gangpore State, was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. Until 1905 it was one of the Chhota Nagpur States under the Eastern States Agency.
Saraikela State also spelt Seraikela, Saraikella or Seraikella, was a princely state in India during the era of the British Raj, in the region that is now the Jharkhand state. Its capital was at Saraikela.
Bhawanipatna is classified as one of the major tourist destinations by the tourism Department of Government of Odisha. All the tourist attraction in Kalahandi region comes under Bhawanipatna jurisdiction. Though tourist potential of Kalahandi has not been exploited optimally due to poor marketing, political negligence and infrastructure development, the land is very rich in terms of water fall, forest and wild life, natural and scenic beauty, tribal life, mountains, agriculture field, historical sites and handicrafts. The best time to visit Kalahandi region is from October to March. April–June is hard Summer and the mercury may rise to 45 degree C and June to August is the Monsoon Season. It occasionally rains in September, but do not miss the great festival like Nuakhai in September and Dassara in end of September or early October. Beginning of Dessara marks the pleasant weather condition till the celebration of Chaitra in February/March.
Manikeswari is one of the popular Hindu deities in Odisha. There are many Manikeswari temples present in Western and Southern part of Odisha.
Hindol State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. Its former territory is now part of Dhenkanal district. The state's former capital was the town of Hindol, Odisha. Until 1947, it was not part of British India but was subject to the suzerainty of the British crown, under the Orissa States Agency.
Soroda Estate present day Sorada or Surada, was a zamindari in the North-Western side of Ganjam district of Odisha, India.
The Bhanja dynasty is a dynasty that originated in the northern and central regions of modern Odisha before the Gupta Empire became an imperial power. The dynasty, of ancient local Kshatriya lineage as documented by Hermann Kulke, succeeded the Vindhyatabi branch of the Nagas of Padmavati, who ruled from the Keonjhar district of Odisha and included Satrubhanja of the Asanpat inscription. The Bhanj later became feudatories of the Bhauma-Kara dynasty.
Mayurbhanj State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. It was one of the largest states of the Eastern States Agency and one of the three states of the Bengal States Agency. The emblem of the state were two peacocks for according to legend the ancestors of the ancient rulers originated from a peafowl's eyes.
Keonjhar State, also known as Keunjhar, was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. The second largest of the states of the Orissa States Agency, it was located in present-day Kendujhar district, Odisha.
Maharaja Pratap Keshari Deo was an Indian politician. He was the last ruler of Kalahandi State from 1939 to 1947. Post-independence, he was elected from the Kalahandi in Odisha to the Lower House of the Indian Parliament the Lok Sabha. He was deputy Leader of the Opposition, Orissa Legislative Assembly, 1952—1956.
