Dashapalla, also known as Daspalla, is an archaeologically important site situated in
Nayagarh district
Nayagarh district is one of the 30 districts of Odisha state in eastern India. It was created in 1st April 1993 when the erstwhile Puri District was split into three distinct districts, namely Khordha, Nayagarh and Puri.
The district is borde ...
,
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
, India.
History
Available records, writings, books reveal that at first there was no such place known as Daspalla. Rather it was a part of
Boudh State ruled by Bhanj Kings. During the rule of Bira Bhanj there was a rift in between Bira Bhanj and his cousin, Sal Bhanj. The dissident Sal Banj left Boudh and proceeded to meet the Gajapati of Puri through the ages old Jagannath Sadak. While resting with his followers at Padmlatola Forest, the king of Nayagarh got the news and made alliance with Sal Bhanj and declared him the king of that area. Getting the news, Bir Bhanj of Boudh got angry and sent a troop to capture Sal Bhanj. But the troop of Boudh got defeated at the hands of Sal Bhanj and
Nayagarh
Nayagarh is both a town and the municipality headquarters of the Nayagarh district in the Indian state of Odisha.
Geography
Nayagarh is located at with an average elevation of 178 metres (584 feet).
It was the Rukhi mountain to the south ...
soldiers. As Sal Bhanj got ''Yasha'' (Fame), he named his kingdom as ''Yashpalla'' or ''Daspalla''. Other historians tell that king Sal Bhanj had only ''das'' (oriya for 10) ''Pallies'' (villages) so ''Daspalli'' got renamed as Daspalla. This incident took place in 1495. King Sal Bhanj ruled for 3 years only and then his son Naran Bhanj ascended the throne.
But records found at Boudh state reveal that Daspalla was formed by Naran Bhanj in 1498 during the reign of Siddya Bhanj. However, it is a fact that Daspalla was formed during the last part of 15th century being separated from Baudh.
The headquarters of Daspalla changed from Badmul to Gania, Gania to Madhyakhand, Madhyakhand to Puruna Daspalla. The ninth king of Daspalla Padmanav Bhanj, during hunting, saw a wonderful thing that a wild dove was hunting and defeating a Chhanchan (Bird of prey). So, he thought the place a heroic one and decided to change his capital to that place. At that time there was a Kandha chieftain named Kunj Malik. King Padmanav Bhanj defeated Kunj Malik and started his capital here but after the name of Kunja Malik the capital got named as ''Kunjabanagarh''.
Guri Charan Deo Bhanj was crowned ruler in 1803. He was succeeded by a line of titular Rajas.
*1861 – 1873 Narsimha Bhanj
*1873 – 1896 Chaitan Deo Bhanj
*1896 – 1913 Narayan Deo Bhanj
*1913 – 15 Aug 1947 Kishor Chandra Deo Bhanj (b. 1908)
Geography
Geaographically, it is located at at an elevation of above
mean sea level
There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value (magnitude and sign) of a given data set.
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(MSL).
Map and weather of Dashapalla
Retrieved 9 October 2017.
During pre-independence era it was a small garhjat (princely state) named as Daspalla State with headquarters at Kunjabanagarh. Its boundary touches the district border of Cuttack, Angul, Boudh, Kandhamal and Ganjam. The Daspalla state has been divided into two Blocks namely Daspalla and Gania.
Previously, Daspalla State was divided into 14 parganas with a Sardar as its chief. Daspalla is a place of hills and mountains, forests, streams, rivers, falls, gorge, wild growth and wild animals predominantly occupied by Tribals of Kandha and Khaira Tribe. Presently, Daspalla Block has 19 Gram Panchayats and Gania Block has 8 Gram Panchayats.
Location
Daspalla is situated in the middle of Odisha. It is from Bhubaneswar, the state capital, via Khurda
Khordha is a town and a municipality area in Khordha district in the Indian state of Odisha. Bhubaneswar, is the capital of Odisha located within the Khordha district and is only 25 km from Khordha town. Odisha State Highway 1 and Nationa ...
and Nayagarh; from Puri
Puri () is a coastal city and a municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is also known as '' ...
by New Jagannath Sadak
New Jagannath Sadak (also known as Nua Jagannath Sadak/Jagannath Sadak )- The road to Jagannath Dham, Puri :
Total length: 96 km, covering three major districts of Odisha - Puri, Khurdha, and Nayagarh.
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, via RAJA-RANPUR, Nirakarpur and Chandanpur; from Sambalpur
Sambalpur () is the fifth largest city in the Indian State of Odisha. It is located on the banks of river Mahanadi, with a population of 335,761 (as per 2011 census). Prehistoric settlements have been recorded there. It is the home of the Sam ...
via Rairakhol and Boudh; from Berhampur
Brahmapur (; also known as Berhampur) is a city on the eastern coastline of Ganjam district of the Indian state of Odisha. Bramhapur is most famous for its street food, silk sarees or pato sarees, temples and many historical places. Bramhapur al ...
via Aska and Bhanjanagar; from Anugul via Hindol and Narasinghpur; from Bhawanipatna via Kandhamal
Kandhamal district is a district in the state of Odisha, India. The district headquarters of the district is Phulbani. Kandhamal is famous for its local turmeric renowned as 'Kandhamal Haldi' which has earned the Geographical indication (GI) tag ...
, Phulbani; and from Bolangir
Balangir also known as Bolangir, is a city and municipality, the headquarters of Balangir district in the state of Odisha, India. Balangir has one of the best cultural heritage in India. It is also known as one of the finest places for tourists ...
via Subarnapur and Boudh.
National Highway 224 passes through Dashapalla. Nearest airport is Biju Patnaik Airport at Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...
. The nearest Railway station is Nayagarh town railway station.
Administration
Dashapalla falls under the Kandhamal (Lok Sabha constituency)
Kandhamal Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 21 Lok Sabha constituencies in Odisha state in eastern India. This constituency came into existence in 2008, following the implementation of delimitation of parliamentary constituencies based on t ...
and Daspalla (Odisha State Legislative Assembly).
Festivals
Daspalla is famous for Lankapodi Yatra and Kuanria Mahotsav. The Lankapodi Yatra commences on the day of Ram Navami
Rama Navami () is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birthday of Rama, the seventh avatar of the deity Vishnu. people from different parts of Jharkhand attended the world famous international Hazaribagh procession organized in the city every ...
and continues for a fortnight. Lanka podi Yatra (festival) is celebrated across different places of the state, but Daspallah in Nayagarh district is the most popular and the oldest which continues to attract the admires of mythology and folk culture since 1802.
The Kuanria Dam is a water reservoir for irrigation and fishery purpose with a deer park alongside which makes it a visiting and picnic place as well.
Places of interest
* Satkosia Gorge – It is the deepest river Gorge of Odisha in the river Mahanadi. Its length is about in between Angul and Daspalla boundary. The Gharial crocodile and many aquatic birds and animals are found here.
Notable people
Daspalla bears the foot prints of a number of famous personalities. Some of them are following-
*Bhakta Charan Das
Bhakta Charan Das (born 26 November 1958) is an Indian politician. He was a member of the Indian Parliament and represented the Kalahandi constituency in the 15th Lok Sabha.
Das graduated from the Sambalpur University and, with a backgroun ...
– lived here at village Madhyakhanda for some time where he had started his famous book "''Mathura Mangal''"
*Jadumani Mahapatra
Jadumani Mahapatra (alternatively spelled ''Mohapatra''; ; 1781–1866) also known as ''Utkala Ghanta'' was an Odia language poet, humorist and satirist, who was principal poet during the rule of King Vinayak Singh Mandhata of Nayagarh princel ...
had spent his childhood here at Daspalla, had his love and married here too. He has composed so many verses here
* Fakir Mohan Senapati – served here as dewan of Raja Chaitanya Bhanj Deo. Here he had written his famous ''Dhulia Baba'' story and many more
References
External links
maplandia.com: Satellite map of Dashapalla
{{Municipalities of Odisha
Cities and towns in Nayagarh district