Orissa Review * April - 2008

Odradesa in the Inscriptions

Bharati Pal

Orissa was famous as Kalinga, Kosala, Utkala As mentioned in the Pasupati inscription the and Odradesa during ancient days. This part of invasion of Odra along with Gauda by the country which at present is known to us as Harshavarman the king of Kamarupa, came as a Orissa, derive its name from Odra of ancient blessing for Odra. The conquest of Odra (Utkala) times.The great Sanskrit epics like the by the Assamese king resulted in the Mahabharata and Ramayan and Pali literature amalgamation of small kingdoms into a larger repeatedly mention Oddaka or Odra respectively, political unit and the destruction of warring tribes. while the Greeks speaks of Orates, which can be Odra and Utkala emerged as a full-fledged state equated with Sanskrit Odra. The Matsya Purana under the suzerainty of Harshavarman who speaks of the Odra as people inhabiting the probably appointed Kshemankara to rule over it Vindhyan mountain range. as his vassal. The earliest epigraphic evidence to The Pasupati Temple Inscription of Nepal Odradesa is found from the Soro copper plate describe that Jayadeva the king of Nepal married grant of Somadutta.The charter records the grant to Rajyamati who possessed virtues befitting her of a village called Adayara situated in Sareph- race, the noble descendant of Bhagadutta's royal ahara Vishaya in Uttar-Toshali which again line and daughter of Sri Harshavarman, lord of formed a part of the Odra Vishaya in favour of Gauda, Odra, Kalinga, Kosala and other land, Arungasvamin, Dhruvamitrasvamin and others of who crushed the heads of hostile kings with club the Vatsya gotra and the Vajasaneya Charana. like tusks of his rutting elephants. The Chinese pilgrim Hiuen-Tsang who In the centuries that followed we find a visited Orissa in 7th century A.D. informs us that significant change in the denotion of the term Odra. "proceeding eastwards the great king Siladitya It was no longer confined to the coastal region of (Harsha) invaded the states, which had refused Orissa. Under the Bhaumakaras who ruled over allegiance to him and waved incessant warfare Orissa in circa 8th century A.D. it expanded to until six years he had brought the five Indians under the entire sea-coast from Midnapore to Ganjam. his allegiance. The pilgrim further states that after the subjugation of Kung-ya (Kangoda) Harsha Under the Somavamsis the Odra kingdom camped in U-cha (Odra) for a time and assign also extended as revealed from their copper plate the revenue of eighty large towns of U-cha(Odra) grants. The Kataka copper plate grant of to the Buddhist philoshoper Jayasena, who Mahasivagupta Yayati states about the grant of declined the offer." Thus both Kangoda and Odra the village Chandagrama in the Marada Vishaya came within the pale of Harsha Sovereignty. in Dakshina Kosala in favour of a Brahmana

25 Orissa Review * April - 2008 named Sankhapani son of Dinakara and Grandson very near the boundary between it and Tikali. The of Ananta, an immigrant from Srivallagrama in Nandava hills are full of natural beauties and Madhyadesa, a resident of Silabhanja Pati in the connected with Mahendra mountain by a range Odra country. of hills called Durga and Lavanyagada and they The Nagpur Museum Plate of Janmejaya are rightly called crest jewel of Odradesa. Mahabhavagupta describes that king Janmejaya The mention of Odda Vishaya "the land granted the village Satallama to Bhattaputra which was difficult to approach on account of the Santakara, son of Dhrutikara, who belonged to dense forest defense, along with the neighbouring the Gautama gotra, who had three pravaras, and country of Chitrakuta in Bastar and Kosalainadu immigrated from the village of Purushamandapa or Dakhina Kosala in the Tirumalai Inscription of of the Odra country(desa). Rajendra Chola. It is stated in the Sanjan Plate of The Brahmesvara Temple Inscription of Amoghavarsha that Govinda III conquered Udyotakesari mentions of Janmejaya, the king Odraka(Odra) along with Kosala, Kalinga, Vanga of Trikalinga, whose bright fame was and Dahala. incomparable among the kings. He was the The Dirghasi Inscription describes that a destroyer of enemies and he drew the fortune of provincial chief or Mandalika of king the king of the Odra country who was killed by Rajarajadeva of Ganga dynasty named Vanapati his Kunta in a battle where his enemies elephants of Brahmana family, who resembled Indra in were over come with fatigue fighting with their enjoyments, who possessed the virtue of kindness tusks and trunks. and who was celebrated as Chalamartiganda, The Narasinghapur charter of Udyotakesari defeated in battle the kings of Vengi country, Mahabhavagupta mention the villages of Kimidi, Kosala and Odda country and caused a Kontalanda and Lovakarada as being situated in Mandapa to be built with great splendor in front Airavatta Mandala which again formed a part of of temple of goddess Bhagavati Durga in Dirghasi. Odra country. The villages have been identified with Kantilo in Khandapara and in Baramba and References: the mandala with the region comprising the 1. Epigraphia Indica,Vol-XXIII, P.197ff southern portion of Dhenkanal district. 2. Orissa, Social Cultural and Religious Aspects- B.Das, P.7 The Samangad Inscription states that the Rastrakuta king Dantidurga who laid the 3. IA,vol-IX, P.179ff foundation of the greatness of his family fought 4. Epigraphia Indica,vol-III, p.352ff on the banks of the Mahanadi and won victory 5. Epigraphia Indica,vol-III, P.138ff over Kalinga and Kosal, but did not venture to 6. JASB, vol-VII, P.557 attack Odra kingdom. 7. JBORS, vol-XVII, P.1-12 The Upalavada copper plate grant of 8. IA, vol-XI, P.108 Ranaka Ramadeva of Tailapa family describes 9. JAHRS, vol-X. P.161ff that one Pattavyallaparaja the brother of 10. Epigraphia Indica, vol-XI, P.232 Ranaksobha, became king in Odradesa, where 11. EI, vol-IV, P.314ff the peak of Nasunda Parvata shine as the crest jewel of Odradesa. The Nasunda Parvata of the inscription may be taken to be the hill near Bharati Pal is working as the Assistant Curator Nandava forest in the former Parlakimedi Estate (Epigraphy) in the Orissa State Museum, Bhubaneswar.

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