HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY: Kalinga
Introduction :
In order to make a
scientific study on the history of any land, a broad and thorough knowledge of
its geography is essential. It will be certainly not easy on the part of a
historian to look into the course of events unless he possesses accurate
information about the precise location of various places that figure
significantly in the narrative. On the other hand, no historian of a state can
overlook the immense influence of its physical features that play a vital role
in shaping the character of its people and their socioe conomic and political
condition of a state.
Historical geography:
The
Geographical importance of places in relation to historical significance brings
forward the concept of 'historical geography'. Historical geography essentially
aims at the reconstruction of geography of a region of a period which has
already passed. By putting together pieces of scattered evidence, all aspects
of geography of that period can be reconstructed. In this context, the
historical geography of ancient Odisha deserves special attention. The region
now known as Odisha, was known in ancient times under various names, the most
prominent of which were Kalinga, Utkala, Odra, Tosali , Kangoda and Kosala. To have
an idea about the ancient geography of Odisha it is necessary to have an idea
about the antiquity and extent of main ancient geographical units. Each of them
during its historical existence found mention in different sources which
provide interesting accounts about it. The ancient geographical units can be
discussed as follows:
Kalinga :
Among the different political
units of this ancient land, Kalinga occupied a prominent place. The fertile
coastal plains stretching from the mouth of the river Ganges up to Godavari,
with mountains and forests, gave a natural boundary to Kalinga. The name
Kalinga occurs in the Puranas in
association with Anga, Vanga, Pundra and Sumha. In the Mahabharata there is an
indication about the location and the extent of Kalinga. In the Vana Parva the
sage Lomasa pointed out, "This is the country of the Kalingas where flows
the river Vaitarani." This evidence clearly indicates that the land now
known as Odisha was included in the Kalinga country, but its extent in the
Mahabharata age cannot be determined. The epic account also finds
substantiation in the works of early Greek writers. In the description of
Megasthenes, the river Ganges forms the eastern boundary of Kalinga. Pliny
divides Kalinga into three parts Viz- Gangarides Calingae, Maceo Calingae and
Calingae. Its southern boundary, as per Pliny's description, is limited on the
bank of the river Godavari basing upon the puranas like Matsya, Kurma and
Skanda, the western frontier of Kalinga is supposed to have stretched upon the
Amrakantaka hills on the river bank of Narmada. Thus, as per the Puranic
tradition, Kalinga is said to have extended up to the Gangetic valley in the
north, the Godavari in the south, the sea in the east and the Amrakantaka hills
in the west.
In the list of the sixteen Mahajanapadas of the sixth century B. C.,
described in the Pali literature Kalinga does not appear as one, but this
omission does not mean that, Kalinga did not exist as a Mahajanapada or a great
state. In the fourth century B. C., Kalinga was under the suzerainty of the
Nandas. In the third century B. C. during the period between the Nandas and
Mauryas, it slipped away from the fold of Magadhan imperialism. With Ashok's Kalinga
war of 261 B. C., it came again under the authority of Magadha. His Special
Edicts (also known as Kalinga Edicts) at Dhauli near Bhubaneswar, are addressed
to the Mahamatras and the Kumaramatya (prince viceroy) of Toshali, while his
same edicts at Jaugada in the Ganjam district are addressed to only the
Mahamatras of Samapa. From these two inscriptions of Asoka now to be found in
Odisha, it becomes apparent that for the sake of administration he had divided
the Kalinga country into two broad divisions, northern and southern. In the
northern division the capital Tosali was situated, while Samapa formed the
second capital in the southern division. The evidence furnished by Asoka's
Inscription thus clearly proves that Kalinga in his time included the entire
region now known as Odisha, though its northern and southern boundaries cannot
exactly be determined. It seems, however, that its southern boundary extended
up to the river Godavari. The northern limits of Kalinga of Asoka's time cannot
be determined.
Duuring the second century B.C. the present state of Odisha was
certainly known as Kalinga as is evident by the fact that in the Hatigumpha
Inscription at Udayagiri near Bhubaneswar, Kharavela is described as
Kalingadhipati. During his reign, Kalinga expanded into an empire, the extent
of which is variously determined by scholars. We do not know when his empire
became dismembered, but even after the fall of his empire the land of Odisha
continued to be called Kalinga. By the fourth century A.D. when Kalidasa wrote
his Raghuvamsam, Kalinga seems to have been divided into two regions, of which
the northern region was known as Utkala. In the fourth stanza of his work it is
stated that the people of Utkala showed Raghu the path to Kalinga. In the
Allahabad Inscription of Samudragupta, it is stated that during his southern
campaigns Samudragupta conquered Kottura, Pishtapura, Erandapalli and
Devarashtra, which have been identified with Kothoor in the Ganjam district,
Pithapuram in the Godavari district, Erandapalli and Yellamachilli in the
Visakhapatanam district respectively. In one of the earliest copper plate
records of Odisha, known as Sumandala Copper Plates of Prithvivigraha, Kalinga
as a rashtra (kingdom) has found mention, but in the subsequent medieval
epigraphic records the name Kalinga does not appear. This does not, however,
mean that Kalinga as a geographical name became extinct. It continued to be
applied to the territory between Ganjam and the river Godavari in the
subsequent ages down to the Ganga and Suryavamsi periods.
Dantapura, one of the early capitals of Kalinga, has not been
identified. Various suggestions made by scholars about its location and its
identity still remains to be confirmed by archaeological evidences.
Kalinganagara which was capital of Kharavela, has tentatively been identified
with Sisupalagarh near Bhubaneswar. The Early Eastern Gangas established their
capital at a place which was also known as Kalinganagara and it has been
identified with Mukhalingam in the Srikakulam district by Mr. R. Subbarao,
though there are also other suggestions for its identification. Kalinganagara
ceased to be the capital of the Gangas when Chodaganga conquered Odisha about
A.D. 1110 and he chose Kataka (Cuttack), more centrally situated in his
extended kingdom, as his new capital.
