The Ashvamedha was a horse sacrifice ritual followed by the Śrauta tradition of Vedic religion. It was used by ancient Indian kings to prove their imperial sovereignty: a horse accompanied by the king's warriors would be released to wander for a year. In the territory traversed by the horse, any rival could dispute the king's authority by challenging the warriors accompanying it. After one year, if no enemy had managed to kill or capture the horse, the animal would be guided back to the king's capital. It would be then sacrificed, and the king would be declared as an undisputed sovereign.
Jagannatha is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra, and sister, Subhadra. Jagannath, within Odia Hinduism, is the supreme god, Purushottama, and the Para Brahman. To most Vaishnava Hindus, particularly the Krishnaites, Jagannath is an abstract representation of Krishna, or Vishnu, sometimes as the avatar of Krishna or Vishnu. To some Shaiva and Shakta Hindus, he is a symmetry-filled tantric form of Bhairava, a fierce manifestation of Shiva associated with annihilation.
Kalinga is a historical region of India. It is generally defined as the eastern coastal region between the Ganges and the Godavari rivers, although its boundaries have fluctuated with the territory of its rulers. The core territory of Kalinga now encompasses all of Odisha and some part of northern Andhra Pradesh. At its widest extent, the Kalinga region also included parts of present-day Chhattisgarh, extending up to Amarkantak in the west. In the ancient period it extended until the bank of the Ganges river.
The Odia (ଓଡ଼ିଆ), formerly spelled Oriya, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group native to the Indian state of Odisha who speak the Odia language. They constitute a majority in the eastern coastal state, with significant minority populations existing in the neighboring states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
The history of Odisha begins in the Lower Paleolithic era, as Acheulian tools dating to the period have been discovered in various places in the region. The early history of Odisha can be traced back to writings found in ancient texts like the Mahabharata, Maha Govinda Sutta and some Puranas. The region was also known to other kingdoms in region of East Indies due to maritime trade relations.
The birthplace of the twelfth-century Sanskrit poet Jayadeva, author of the Gitagovinda, has been disputed, with the neighboring states of Odisha, West Bengal in eastern India and the region of Mithila staking a claim. This had led to a bitter feud between people on both sides that lasted for over a century. The issue is still debated by scholars.
Mukhalingam, also known as Srimukhalingam or Mukhalinga, is a village panchayat in Jalumuru mandal of Srikakulam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Historically known as Kalinganagari, Mukhalingam served as the capital of Eastern Ganga Dynasty from 6th century AD to 12th century AD. Emperor Sri Ananthavarma Chodaganga Devara conquered Utkala in 1122 AD and shifted the capital from Kalinganagari to Caudwara kataka
The Eastern Ganga dynasty were a large medieval era Indian royal Hindu dynasty that reigned from Kalinga from as early as the 5th century to the mid 20th century. Eastern Gangas ruled much of the modern region of Odisha in three different phases by the passage of time, known as Early Eastern Gangas (493–1077), Imperial Eastern Gangas (1077–1436) and Khemundi Gangas (1436–1947). They are known as "Eastern Gangas" to distinguish them from the Western Gangas who ruled over Karnataka. The territory ruled by the dynasty consisted of the whole of the modern-day Indian state of Odisha, as well as major parts of north Andhra Pradesh, parts of Chhattisgarh and some southern districts of West Bengal. Odia language got official status in their regime following the evolution of the language from Odra Prakrit. The early rulers of the dynasty ruled from Dantapuram; the capital was later moved to Kalinganagara, and ultimately to Kataka and then to Paralakhemundi.
Dandabhukti was an ancient and medieval territory located between the two rivers, Dwarakeswar and Subarnarekha, and situated in the Rarh region of the ancient Bengal. It covered the present-day districts of Bankura, Hooghly, Paschim Medinipur, and Purba Medinipur in West Bengal, India.
Sinhapura was the capital of the legendary Indian king Sinhabahu. It has been mentioned in the Buddhist legends about Prince Vijaya. The name is also transliterated as Sihapura or Singhapura.
Gangesvara Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva was an Eastern Ganga monarch who reigned between 1077 CE to 1150 CE. He was the ruler of the Kalinga region from river Ganga to Godavari, and later the early medieval Odisha region with the incorporation of the constituent regions with the decline of the Somavamshis.
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.
The Mathara dynasty ruled in the Kalinga region of eastern India during 4th and 5th centuries CE. Their territory included parts of the area between the present-day Ganjam district of Odisha in north and the Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh in the south. They appear to have been overthrown by the Pitrbhakta dynasty.
The Pitrbhakta dynasty ruled in the Kalinga region of eastern India in the fifth century CE. Their territory included parts of the present-day northern Andhra Pradesh and the southern Odisha. They probably overthrew the Mathara dynasty.
The Vasishtha dynasty ruled in the Kalinga region of eastern India in the fifth century CE. Their territory included parts of the present-day northern Andhra Pradesh. They were one of the three minor dynasties that emerged after the decline of the Gupta power in the area, the other two being the Matharas and the Pitrbhaktas.
The Nalas were an Indian dynasty that ruled parts of present-day Chhattisgarh and Odisha during the 6th century CE. Their core territory included the areas around Bastar and Koraput districts. Their capital was probably Pushkari, identified with the modern Garhdhanora in Bastar district. At one point, they seem to have conquered the Vakataka capital Nandivardhana in the Vidarbha region, but suffered reverses against the Vakatakas as well as the Chalukyas. Sharabhapuriyas, their northern neighbours, also seem to have played a part in their downfall. They were probably supplanted by the Panduvamshi dynasty, although one branch of the dynasty seems to have ruled a small territory until the 7th or 8th century CE.
The Shailodbhava dynasty ruled parts of eastern India during the 6th-8th centuries. Their core territory was known as Kongoda-mandala, and included parts of the present-day Ganjam, Khordha and Puri districts in the Odisha state. Their capital was located at Kongoda, which is identified with modern Banapur.
The Bhauma dynasty, also known as Kara dynasty, ruled in eastern India between 8th and 10th centuries. Their kingdom, called Toshala, included parts of present-day Odisha.
The Somavamshi or Keshari dynasty ruled parts of present-day Odisha in eastern India between the 9th and the 12th centuries. Their capitals included Yayatinagara and Abhinava-Yayatinagara.
