Kalinga (region)
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 Kalingas have been mentioned as a major tribe in the legendary text Mahabharata. In the 3rd century BCE, the region came under Mauryan control as a result of the Kalinga War. It was subsequently ruled by several regional dynasties whose rulers bore the title Kalingādhipati ; these dynasties included Mahameghavahana, Vasishtha, Mathara, Pitrbhakta, Shailodbhava, Bhaumkara, Somavamshi, and Eastern Ganga. The medieval era rulers to rule over the Kalinga region were the Suryavamsa Gajapatis, Bhoi dynasty, Paralakhemundi Gangas and the zamindaris of Ganjam and Vizagapatam.
Extent
The Kalinga region is generally defined as the eastern coastal region between Ganges and the Godavari rivers. However, its exact boundaries have fluctuated at various times in the history. According to political scientist Sudama Misra, the Kalinga janapada originally comprised the area covered by the Puri and Ganjam districts. Confirming the existence till the river Ganga DK Ganguly used references from accounts of Pliny and the Mahabharata. He wrote " Pliny has evidently made an unnecessary duplication. Unfortunately the identification of these tribes and their location are rendered difficult by the nature of the description which appears to be erroneous and confusing. Pliny was guided by his notion about the existence of more than one Kalinga settlement from which the Indian writers are also not completely free. But the above account of Pliny is important for it shows that Kalinga extended in the north-east up to the Ganges. That the territory of the Kalingas stretched onwards from the Ganges seems to be corroborated by the following passages of the Trithyatra section of the Vanaparvam." Scholars like RC Majumdar mentions Kalinga was from Mahanadi to Godavari. However the simple mention of Ganga as the northern boundary of Kalinga by Pliny as stated above and Mahabharata talking about Baitarani, a river which is north of Mahanadi and borders Odisha and Jharkhand at one point and falls into Bay of Bengal in Bhadrak district of Odisha, passing through Kalinga, nullifies this claim. It looks like Prof. Majumdar has focused Gupta period when Kalinga indeed had shrunk till Mahanadi in north. Some Jain chronicles while describing about Jain Tirthankara Pasvanath notes, when he came to Kalinga to preach Jainism, he took rest in a place in Balasore district of Odisha. Balasore is north of Baitarani river and borders Bengal. This also confirms Kalinga extending north of Baitarani River.
In the ancient Indian literature, the Kalinga region is associated with the Mahendragiri mountain located in the Ganjam district of Odisha, near its border with Andhra Pradesh.
At times, the southern border of Kalinga extended further up to the Krishna River. The Kalinga region encompass the whole of present-day Odisha: the north-eastern part of Odisha was included in the distinct Utkala region. Utkala gradually lost its identity, and came to be considered as a part of Kalinga. In the Adiparva of Mahabharata it is mentioned that Arjuna moved to Kalinga crossing Ganga. Interestingly, it distinguishes Kalinga from Mahendragiri. That means only north of Mahendragiri till Ganga river was considered Kalinga then. Arjuna was moving from north to south in the eastern part of India. Adiparva mentions he moved from Gaya and Ganga then came to Anga, Vanga and Kalinga. In the Gupta period Kalinga was subdivided into smaller countries. After the decline of Guptas, the Matharas were one of the kingdoms who claimed to rule over Kalinga by acquiring the title of Kalingādhipati. The Mathara territory stretched from Mahanadi, which is believed to be Badanadi or Bara river in Southern Ganjam in the north to Godavari in south along the east coast, since all the inscriptions by them and the localities mentioned in them were within these two rivers. Like the Matharas, the Pitrbhaktas and subsequently the early Eastern Gangas continued to use the title of Kalingādhipati ruling over the same region. The Vigrahas of South Toshali whose territory comprised the region south of Mahanadi also claimed to rule over Kalinga-rashtra. The Vigrahas were ousted by Mudgalas of North Toshali or Utkala by 603–04 CE who themselves were invaded by Shashanka. The Shailodbhavas who emerged as Maha-Samanta of Shashanka declared themselves independent after 620 CE and acquired the title of Sakala-Kalingādhipati. The Bhauma-Karas took over the Shailodbhava territory and made the Eastern-Gangas their feudatories,
and the Somavamshis under Janmejaya made inroads into the Bhauma-Kara kingdom up to coastal Odisha and acquired the title of Trikalingādhipati. The Gajapati Empire of Odisha in 15-16th century was known as Kalinga in some of the contemporary sources.
The eastern boundary of Kalinga was formed by the sea. Its western boundary is difficult to pinpoint, as it varied with the political power of its rulers. However, the Puranic literature suggests that Kalinga extended up to the Amarakantaka hills in the west.
Several ancient inscriptions mention the term "Trikalinga", which has been interpreted in several ways. According to one theory, Trikalinga refers to the widest extent of Kalinga. However, the Eastern Chalukya records suggest that Kalinga and Trikalinga were two distinct regions, with Trikalinga denoting the hilly region to the west of Kalinga.
Some scholars have misinterpreted the text of Mahabharata and have said river Vaitarani was the northern border of Kalinga. However the text says river Vaitarani passes through Kalinga and Pandavas came to Kalinga after crossing Ganga. Therefore, this assumption is wrong. In the south it was bounded by the country of the Āndhras, although its southern border varied often and reached Elamanchili and Cheepurupalli in the Visakhapatnam district or even Piṣṭapura or Pithapuram to the north-east of the Godāvarī river, although it did not reach the river itself, which was in Āndhra territory. On the west, Kaliṅga had established its suzerainty over the tribes in inland hills so that its authority reached till the Amarakaṇṭaka range.
History
Antiquity
The name of the region is derived from a tribe of the same name. According to the legendary text Mahabharata, the progenitors of the Kalingas and of their neighbouring tribes were brothers. These neighbours included the Angas, the Vangas, the Pundras, and the Suhmas.The Kalingas occupied the extensive territory stretching from river Baitarani in Odisha to the Varahanandi in the Visakhapatnam district. Its capital in the ancient times was the city of Dantakura or Dantapura.
The kingdom of Kaliṅga was already existent at the time of the Brahmana texts, which mention its king Karaṇḍu as a contemporary of Nagnajit of Gāndhāra and of Bhīma of Vidarbha.
According to the, the king Sattabhu of Kaliṅga was a contemporary of Reṇu of Videha and Dhataraṭṭha or Dhṛtarāṣṭra of Kāsī.
Kaliṅga was mentioned by both Pāṇini and Baudhāyana, with the latter considering it as an part of India.
Ancient Kalinga : Kalinga kingdom (c. 1100 – 261 BCE)
Kalinga dynasty (I) (c. 1100 – 700 BCE)
According to Mahabharata and some Puranas, the prince 'Kalinga' founded the Kalinga kingdom, in the current day region of coastal Odisha, including the North Sircars. The Mahabharata also mentions one 'Srutayudha' as the king of the Kalinga kingdom, who joined the Kaurava camp. In the Buddhist text, Mahagovinda Suttanta, Kalinga and its ruler, 'Sattabhu', have been mentioned.;Known rulers are –
- King Kalinga,
- King Odra,
- Srutayudha
- Srutayush
- Manimat
- Chitrangada
- Subahu
- Virasena
- Sudatta
- Nalikira
- Yavanaraj
- Dantavakkha or Dantavakhra
- Avakinnayo Karakandu
- Vasupala
Kalinga dynasty (II) (c. 700 – 350 BCE)
;Known rulers are –
- Dandaki
- Mahakalinga
- Chullakalinga
- Kalinga II
This was probably another dynasty or late rulers of Second Kalinga dynasty, which is mentioned in Dāṭhavaṃsa.
;Known rulers are –
- Brahmadatta
- Sattabhu
- Kasiraja
- Sunanda
- Guhasiva
Suryavamsha of Kalinga (c. 350 – 261 BCE)
- Brahmaadittiya
Pre-classical Kalinga
Annexation by Nanda Empire (c. 345 – 322 BCE)
Kalinga was believed to be briefly annexed by Nanda ruler Mahapadma Nanda between 345 and 340 BCE.The Nanda empire appears to have stretched from present-day Punjab in the west to Odisha in the east. Nandas control of Kalinga region is corroborated by the Hathigumpha inscription of the later king Kharavela.
When Chandragupta Maurya rebelled against the Nandas, Kalingas broke away from the empire of Magadha in 322 BCE.