Odisha Review December - 2014

Kalinga, and Kalinga

Bijoyini Mohanty Indramani Jena

Early in the nineteenth century, India, no doubt, since 1803 that was matching with evidences of achieved excellence in most of the fields - literary, Kalinga being dug out from excavations. Kalinga spiritual and sculptural aspect of history and stood with so many synonyms: Calingae, Holing, chronological records. Literature, per se, cannot Kiling and half dozen of names. Genuine Kalinga account for authentic evidence of historical and is the ‘Ganga to Godavari and Kalingodra Sea to administrative legacies but only for few horizontal Amarakantak Mountain’ though the historical corroborations. So were the uncorrelated facts divisions and fractionations are so many. Kalinga of in eighteenth and nineteenth was distinct in India with its peculiarities, achieved centuries. Leave aside administration of the by Kalingans with their brave attitude supported 1 territories of India and the the royal lineage, trade by its geography. and religion of the places were totally obscure. It had its distinct administration, the way With huge volume of Sanskrit literature and the to its prosperity. Kalinga flourished under care of meaningful hymns of Vedas, the history of the nature with wings of natural winds, with its natural country was unascertained. flora and fauna, with excellence in the age of stone and iron. It formed the pace of religion in the globe In such a situation, people were new to for centuries with its foreign colonies. It is rare to the terminology of Kalinga. Gradual cite any other nation where people’s military archaeological excavations amassed a lot of participation forced the great Maurya king, Ashok evidence for anonymous yet powerful Kalinga. to form his destiny. The great Kalinga Empire Ashok’s Kalinga Tragedy not only astounded sustained on natural means succumbed to the archaeologists and historians, but association of mechanism of industrialization, colonialization, Kalinga at multiple remote locations provided commercialization and militarization. The British impetus to work out the geographical, historical could have noted that two millennia earlier than and administrative legacy of this State. Hard to them the Kalingans traded in South East Asia with be believed by the young British archaeologists commercial, cultural and religious expansions most to the then degenerated and devastated territory possibly with mass migration and administrative of newly acquired Mogulbandi Orissa Division links with motherland.

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1. Archaeological Progress in India and Emergence of Kalinga: Kalinga would have been totally forgotten if the epigraphical evidences had not been dug out from rock edicts and inscriptions. Archaeological and historical pursuits of India had started since 1784 with efforts of Sir William Jones who could identify of India with Sandrokottos of the Greek historians and thus Jones could get a chronological horizon of Indian history. Pataliputra was identified with Palibothra of classical descriptions. Also followed the decipherment of many scripts and the findings support an ancient long era of Kalingan inscriptions.2 hegemony in Indian subcontinent, Indian Ocean Towards 1833, James Prinsep could and South East Asia. decipher Brahmi and Kharoshthi scripts and could Rock Edict XIII of identify Piyadasi with Ashoka. Few more chronological benchmarks of Indian history could 2. Rock Edict XIII of Ashoka: Eye Opener be obtained from his research. of Glorious Kalinga During the period of 1829 to 1847, The rock edicts of Shahbazgarhi have Rock Edict was studied by Markham brought to focus a state named Kalinga that had Kittoe. Alexander Cunningham, appointed as the courage to face the mighty king of , Director General of Archaeological Survey of Ashok. The Kalinga War has been depicted by India chose to record Buddhist finds and historians as one of deadly battles ever fought in monuments plotting in a map that can indicate India. Ashok’s conquest of Kalinga in 261 BC is ancient trade routes. The journal, Indian an important marker of history of India and the Antiquity, carried the publication of important World. The Kalinga War is assumed as a terrible inscriptions with decipherment by eminent encounter of Kalinga (the Gangaridae Calingae, scholars of the field including that of Bhagawanlal the northern component of the Ganga to Godavari Indraji, who started fully translating the old Brahmi Kalinga) with the massive military force of script of Udayagiri Hathigumpha Inscriptions. Mauryan Empire composed of strong fighters Now, there emerged a parallel iceberg from larger part of India and its Uttar path of Kalinga along with the Magadha, Mauryan and stretching up to present Afghanistan. Ashokan findings and descriptions. Not merely Ashok’s inclination to Buddhism and the royal patronage yielded such a vast maritime spread of Buddhism from Kalingan base possibly trade and sea routes , it hinted at a strong internal leaves behind a missing link in the re-structured administration and basic rules of maritime activity history of Buddha and India, the connections of of Kalingah Sahasikah. In addition, there were Buddha and Kalinga. In own instructions, rich evidence of development of hinterlands and Devanam priya (Ashok) feels deep remorse for internal trade inside territory of Kalinga. No doubt, having conquered the Kalingas. He has

37 Odisha Review December - 2014 expressed his repentance on account of his epigraphical document of early historical India conquest of the Kalingas. After the Kalingas after Ashoka’s inscriptions. It records detailed had been conquered, Beloved-of-the-Gods came chronological, administrative and military accounts to feel a strong inclination towards the Dhamma of Kalinga. It also touches many sociological (, religion), a love for the Dhamma and aspects e.g. about his building activities, for instruction in Dhamma.3 remittance of taxes and that he recovered the 3. : The Banner of Kalinga Jina from Pataliputra which had been Kalinga captured by the Nandas in the early 4th century B.C. and that he revived popular festivals Much of Ancient Kalinga would have which had been suspended by the Mauryas in remained unexplored had there not been the Hathigumpha Inscription deciphered. In today’s the 3rd century B.C. The Hathigumpha inscription age of banners’, we can worth designate it as the is, in another context, a historical document, better Banner of Kalinga. With its age worn letters, it looked upon as Annual Administrative Record of definitely ascertains the geographical and historical Kalinga under Kharavel. Indeed, very few such vital components of Kalinga. administrative documents of contemporary period are there in history. It has substances to deal with A. Sterling in 1820 published eye copy of public administration of Ancient Kalinga. Hathigumpha Inscription in Asiatic Researches XV, also in his book entitled, An Account, In the very first year of his coronation (His Geographical, Statistical and Historical of Majesty) urged to have repaired the gate, rampart Orissa, Cuttack. Then the famous Indologist and and structures of the fort of Kalinganagari, Linguist, James Prinseps succeeded in deciphering seemingly a paura or municipal town of Chedi the inscription. In 1837, Prinseps reading along Kings, which had been damaged by storm. with a facsimile prepared by Kittoes was Kharavela seemed to have built flight of steps for published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society, the cool tanks and laid out all gardens at the cost Bengal. It was the first inscription written in of thirty-five hundred thousand (coins) and thus the early Brahmi script to be fully deciphered pleased all his subjects. He revived the followed by Ashoka’s inscriptions at nearby Tauryatrika included in sixty-four branches (of Dhauli. Prinseps could find out the term Aira. art) that had been suspended during the time of The authentic reading of Hathigumpha inscription the Mauryas. Thus reigned the King of Bliss, the is credited to the historian, Bhagawanlal Indraji, King of Prosperity, the Bhikshu King and the King th who presented the novel appreciation in 6 of Dhamma, the mighty conqueror Sri Kharavela. international Congress of Orientalists in 1885. He Strangely, Kharavela’s Hathigumpha inscription declared that the king referred by the inscription angularly faces exactly the Dhauli inscription of is Kharavela. No doubt, Kalinga, Kalinganagari Ashok, aerially 10 Kilometres away. 4 and the Kalingan potency have emerged out of rock inscription of Udayagiri and Khandagiri Dhauli Rock Edict during Maurya (Kumarigiri and Kumargiri). Administration Kalinga : Hathigumpha Inscriptions of Kharavela’s 4. Dhauli Rock Edict and Demystification Kalinga Administration : of Ashok’s Buddhism: Kharavela’s Hathigumpha rock edict of The early 19th century was to witness late first century B.C. is the most important some extraordinary developments that eventually

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Simhapura. The other Sri Lankan text, Chulavamsa mentions Simhapura as the capital of Kalinga. Further, the Samantapasadika reveals that, Sanghamitra went to Ceylon being accompanied by eight families of Kalinga with a sacred Bodhi tree. The Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa composed in 350 A.D. and 475 A.D. respectively, are a great source of history of both India and Ceylon. It also talks of the king of Kalinga giving the tooth relic of Gautam Buddha led to a unique breakthrough by James Prinsep, as a dowry to Dantakumara on his marriage to who could break the code of the Brahmi script the king’s daughter. Princes of Kalinga carried and thus helped to de-mystify Ashoka. This the relic with Dantakumara to Sri where it became possible by his careful study of the was enshrined in a stupa. similarities of characters in the Brahmi alphabet From Sri Lankan point of view Kalinga of inscriptions on rock faces, such as at Girnar in was famous for elephants. It is known that Ceylon Gujarat or Dhauli here. Ashok, the great has used to purchase elephants from India, mainly turned to be humane and expressed his concern from Kalinga. Thus Sri Lanka was the next for the “welfare of the whole world”. This preferred homeland of Kalingans from the point corroborates with the inscriptions of Ashok at of view of maritime trade and royal matrimonial different locations away from Kalinga. Ashok’s relationship. In course of history, the administration Inscriptions at Dhauli and Jaugada of Ganjam add and culture of the island had been closely authentic records of Kalingan specificity under the associated with Kalinga. No doubt, Kalinga had highly centralized Maurya administration.5 some means to influence the administration of 5. Decipherment of Sri Lankan Buddhist Tamraparni. Leave aside mutual trade, Records and Kalinga: intermigration of population between two kingdoms, religious pursuits, there were intimate The diverse data collected from rock royal and administrative nexus between them.6 edicts and inscriptions was then coordinated with the huge amount of information from Sri Lanka 6. Overseas Centrifugal Evidences focusing that became available after the translation of a upon Kalinga: major Buddhist text, the Mahavamsa or the Great BURMESE EVIDENCES: Dynastic Chronicle, by George Turnour in the They were also collectors of ancient early 1830s. The final deciphering of the script in accounts from abroad, be it from Burma, 1837 was not only Prinsep’s crowning glory but Indonesia or China, and studied them with it also gave birth to systematic Ashokan studies. diligence. Since many of British archaeologists It can certainly be said that by 5th century had originally been trained as army engineers or B.C., there existed close relationship between the draughtsmen, their first instinct on coming across two Kingdoms. According to Mahavamsa, any inscription was to prepare a meticulous line Vijaya, the first King of Ceylon who hailed from drawing; and the vast collection of these line Eastern India, was the son of Simhabahu of drawings are fundamental primary data of Indian

39 Odisha Review December - 2014 history of the period. The science of archaeology with eight hairs of the head of Buddha (given by was quite rudimentary in the early 19th century, the Buddha himself) and enshrined under the Shwe yet the explorers worked efficiently with simple Dagon Pagoda at Rangoon. Besides, there are tools with great care. Some relevant evidences evidences to prove that certain sections of the can be put down as: people who migrated from Kalinga had their G.E.Gerini in his researches on Ptolemy’s settlements there. Geography has pointed out that the mighty people The new Kalingarat in Burma was given of Kalinga had colonized Burma much before the designation Mudu Kalinga. (Mudu means emperor Ashoka led his victorious soldiers into three, thus, Mudu Kalinga is Trikalinga). Kalinga. 7 G. Coedes has also observed that in According to G.E. Gerini before Ptolemy lower Burma there were colonies of Indians who wrote his geography in the second century A.D., had come from Kalinga. According to R.F. St. the rule of the Kalingans centred around at least Andrew and St. John, somewhere around A.D. three places in Burma i.e. (i) Kale, (ii) the valley 300, people from the east coast of the Bay of of the Arakan river, and (iii) Pegu proper around Bengal founded colonies on the coast of the Gulf the gulf of Martaban. of Martaban, of which the principal appears to B.C.Majumdar advocates that the have been Thaton or Saddhammanagara. Kalingans had established an empire in Burma Thus evidences of historical findings from perhaps many hundred years before the rise of Burma point to a dominant Greater Kalingan Buddhism. Empire with sizeable population inhabiting Burma The Buddhagat, the sacred scripture of with trade, religious and cultural activities. Burma, describes trade with the Buddhist merchants of Kalinga, leading to missionaries JAVANESE EVIDENCES: coming to propagate the faith, and then to political Hindus from Kalinga took a leading role domination of parts of coastal Burma by Kalinga in establishing Hindu culture in Java. 8 An during the 4th to 7th centuries AD. expedition from Kalinga established a colony in Burma went by the name of Kalingarat Java in 75 B.C. with 20,000 colonists. These (Kalinga Rastra) in the seventh century B.C. The immigrants had introduced Hinduism, which was Buddhagat, the sacred Burmese scripture refers established throughout the island by the 4th to a steady commercial interaction with Burma century AD. by the Buddhist merchants of Kalinga, which soon Chinese historians use the name Ho-Ling led to the missionary undertakings for the (Kalinga) for the leading kingdom of Java in the propagation of their religion, and afterwards to Tang period (618–906 AD). Arab historians the assumption of political supremacy in the land. described Sailendra dynasty of 8th century AD Tapassu and Bhallika, the first lay Java originating from Kalinga. Kalingan influence disciples of Buddha, supposed to be two was immense on the administrative, cultural and merchant brothers of Utkal ( another name of religious life of not only Java, but also Cambodia Orissa ) went to the golden land (Burma) by sea and Champa.9

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EVIDENCES FROM AND OTHER 8. Why did the nomenclature of Kalinga was SOUTH ASIAN ISLANDS: changed to Odisha? Kalingan trade with Bali dates back to The state changed its nomenclature from centuries before the onset of Christian Era. ancient Kalinga to Odisha or Odisha Rashtra Possibly the island was named after Bali, a sometime when Kapilendradev annexed large legendary King of Kalinga. Bali island was an old portions of southern and northern areas to his seat of Indian seafarers. kingdom. It was more than the ‘Ganga to Godavari and Kalingodra Sea to Amarakantak CHINESE EVIDENCES: Mountain’ Kalinga that was under the eastern Fa Hien and Hiuen Tsang, the two Ganga rule and had achieved its limits to form the Chinese Travellers from China to India had Great Kalinga Empire. Possibly, at the height of intimate association of the then Kalinga and achievement the state in a jubilant mood accepted Kalingan Maritime trade. The latter had visited the new name of the State as Odisha Rashtra from Kalinga in the 7th century AD and his travel its many names like Odra Desh, Utkal, Kalinga, account throws light upon parts of Kalinga - Trikalinga etc. Udra, Kangoda and Kalinga. Also during that But it has so happened in the historical period Buddhism had been spreading far and events that original Ganga to Godavari Kalinga wide. The universities at Puspagiri Vihar, has witnessed a shift of the name Kalinga from Udayagiri and Dhauligiri were established to whole to southern half, ultimately to southern-most flourish Buddhism.10 Sarkar comprising of Raja Mahendry as Kalinga Dandapat. The disintegration of Kalinga Dandapat 7. Puranic and Literature Corroborations: from geographically devastated Orissa under the Restructuring history of Kalinga with Moghul and Marathas was most possible factor available evidences and corroborating with facts to ward off the name of Kalinga. The political from , Vedas, and Literature prepares a turmoil inflicted by Afghans, Mughals, Marathas powerful kingdom in course of Indian and and the British and the heavy torture on this land International history. Kalinga is mentioned in the witnessed the eclipse of past events from memory. Adiparva, Bhismaparva, Sabhaparva, Marks of Public Administration in Ancient Banaprava of . Kalinga King Kalinga Empire: Srutayu is stated to have fought the Mahabharat No nation can flourish without good war for the . Volumes, those deal with administrative nexus and public orientation. The ancient Kalinga, give an outline of its history, Kalingan Administration during the Mauryas, administration and culture.11 Kharavela and the Gangas must have multiple Sea and Ship are bases of Kalingan facets to embrace religious and philanthropic pride. Changing sea coast and importance of ports components designed for its colonies those thrived in course of history vary so much that not a single for centuries with connections of Kalingan roots. port withstood the fury of nature. In spite of it the In no way the ideology of Great Kalinga sea trade of Kalinga through centuries continued Empire is a reconstructed mimic of the Great unabated from changed locations.12 British Empire that came in the age of colonization,

41 Odisha Review December - 2014 industrialization and militarization of the globe. It 6. Ceylonese Chronicles, Dathvamsa, Dipwavamsa, existed in an age of competition with shrewd Mahavamsa, Nikayas, Jataka Tales methodology of colonialism. The military 7. Ancient India as Described by Ptolemy, John W. hegemony for British counted heavily for its McCrindle colonial administration. 8. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Wilfred H. Schoff But the Great Kalinga Empire that we presume today was the outcome of courageous 9. Sahoo,P. "Kalinga’s Relation with Indonesia”, Orissa Review * November – 2007, P. 23-24 maritime activity of a nation in an ancient age of darkness, sailing incapability with eager aim of 10. Travel Accounts Si-Yu-ki of Hiuen-Tsang the religious propagation of ideals of Buddhism. Mass Chinese Buddhist monk migration, possible trade and commerce and royal 11. Bharatmuni’s Natyasastras, Kautilya’s linkage with administrative links would have been Arthasastra, Raghuvamsa and Kumarsambhabam by Kalidas, Skanda Puran, Vayu Puran, the outcome. Contrary to the British, the Kalingan Mahabharata and Ramayan etc. hegemony was purely on religious power 12. The ports of Dantapura, Kalinganagar, Tosali, strengthened by cultural elements. Singhpur etc, have been highly emphasized References: besides Pithunda, Tamralipta, Poloura, Apheterian, Kantakasila, Chelitalo, Chilika, , Konark, 1. Ptolemy’s Geography, Pliny’s Natural History Subarnrekha, Narekha, Sarogo, Chhaluya, Baleswara, Loichanpur, Chudaman, the present 2. Charles Allen, Ashoka: The Search for India’s Lost Chudamani in Baleswar district etc. referred as the Emperor, London, Little Brown, 2012. important ports of ancient Kalinga. 3. Edict XIII of Ashoka’s Great Rock Inscriptions: [ This article is derived from unpublished document of The Kalinga War and Dhamma-vijaya. This Rock late Prof. Bijoyini Mohanty, Department of Public Edict XIII glorifies the ancient Kalinga and its Administration, Utkal University named Marks of competence. (Edict XIII, Shahbazgarhi version of Public Administration of the Great Kalinga Empire, the Great Rock Inscriptions, quoted from E. edited by Dr. Indramani Jena, Indramani_jena@ Hultzsch, Inscriptions of Asoka, Inscriptionum yahoo.com. ] Indicarum, vol. I, Oxford 1925, pp. 68-70). 4. N. K. Sahu, Kharavela, 1984, pp. 315-346 5. E.Hultzsch, Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Dr. Indramani Jena, Hillside Nursing Home, Khandagiri, vol.I, Oxford, 1925, pp 92-98 Dumduma-A, Bhubaneswar.

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