![Boita- the larger boat](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Boita-_the_larger_boat.jpg)
The Maritime history of Odisha ( or, ଓଡ଼ିଶାର ସାମୁଦ୍ରିକ ଇତିହାସ; ''Oḍisāra Sāmudrika Itihāsa''), known as
Kalinga Kalinga may refer to:
Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology
* Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India
** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature
** Kalinga script, an ancient writin ...
in ancient times, started much before 800 BC according to early sources. The people of this region of eastern
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
along the coast of the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
sailed up and down the
Indian coast, and travelled to
Indo China
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
and throughout
Maritime Southeast Asia
Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor. Maritime Southeast Asia is sometimes also referred to as Island Southeast Asia, Insular Southeast Asia or Oceanic Sout ...
,
introducing elements of
their culture to the
people with whom they traded. The 6th century ''
Manjusrimulakalpa'' mentions the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
as ''Kalingodra'' and in ancient
Classical India
The middle kingdoms of India were the political entities in the Indian subcontinent from 200 BCE to 1200 CE. The period begins after the decline of the Maurya Empire and the corresponding rise of the Satavahana dynasty, starting with Simuka, ...
, the Bay of Bengal was known as ''Kalinga Sagar'' (Kalinga Sea), indicating the importance of Kalinga in the
maritime trade
Maritime may refer to:
Geography
* Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps
* Maritime Region, a region in Togo
* Maritime Southeast Asia
* The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Princ ...
. The old traditions are still celebrated in the annual
Boita Bandana
Boita Bandāna ( or, ବୋଇତ ବନ୍ଦାଣ ''boita bandāṇa'') also known as Dangā Bhasā ( or, ଡଙ୍ଗା ଭସା ''ḍaṅgā bhasā''), is a traditional Odia maritime and naval festival celebrated annually throughout Odisha ...
festival including its major celebration at
Cuttack
Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...
on the banks of
Mahanadi
The Mahanadi is a major river in East Central India. It drains an area of around and has a total length of . Mahanadi is also known for the Hirakud Dam. The river flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha and finally merged with Bay o ...
river called
Bali Jatra
Bāli Jātrā, () , is the major Boita Bandana festival held at Cuttack on Kartik Purnima. It is considered to be one of Asia's largest open trade fair. The festival is held in Odisha (a state in eastern India), in the city of Cuttack at ''Gadagad ...
, and are held for seven days in October-November at various coastal districts, most famous at Cuttack though.
[
]
Location
Located on the eastern coast of India, the ancient state of Kalinga extended from the Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
to the Godavari River
The Godavari (IAST: ''Godāvarī'' od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakeshw ...
, including parts of modern 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 ...
, Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
and surrounding areas. According to political scientist Sudama Misra, the Kalinga janapada
The Janapadas () (c. 1500–600 BCE) were the realms, republics (ganapada) and kingdoms (saamarajya) of the Vedic period on the Indian subcontinent. The Vedic period reaches from the late Bronze Age into the Iron Age: from about 1500 BCE to th ...
originally comprised the area covered by the Puri
Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, 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 als ...
and Ganjam
Ganjam is a town and a notified area council in Ganjam district in the state of Odisha, India. Brahmapur, one of the major city of Odisha is situated in this district.
Geography
Ganjam is located at in the Ganjam district of Odisha with an ...
districts. The navigable rivers, including the Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
, Mahanadi
The Mahanadi is a major river in East Central India. It drains an area of around and has a total length of . Mahanadi is also known for the Hirakud Dam. The river flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha and finally merged with Bay o ...
, Vamsadhara
River Vamsadhara or River Banshadhara is an important east flowing river between Rushikulya and Godavari, in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh states in India.
The river originates in the border of Thuamul Rampur in the Kalahandi district and Kalyansin ...
and Godavari provided access to the interior, where precious and semi-precious stones were found, and their deltas provided natural harbours. From these harbours, the people of the region traded by sea with Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
in the south, with Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
in the east, and further afield with the states of the Maritime Southeast Asia
Maritime Southeast Asia comprises the countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and East Timor. Maritime Southeast Asia is sometimes also referred to as Island Southeast Asia, Insular Southeast Asia or Oceanic Sout ...
, Indochina
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...
and China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. The maritime activity of Kalinga was so extensive that what is now called the Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
was once called the Sea of Kalinga.[
The coastline is unstable. The southwest monsoon carries sediment along the coast, at times forming bars and spits that protect the harbours, at other times eroding the protective breakwaters. The rivers carry silt, extending their deltas and filling the former harbours.
For this reason, some of the ports named in ancient times are no longer in existence, or have greatly declined.][
For example, ]Chilika Lake
Chilika Lake is a brackish water lagoon, spread over the Puri, khordha and Ganjam districts of Odisha state on the east coast of India, at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of over . It is the bigge ...
was an important harbour, but later became unusable by deep water vessels due to silting.[
]
Ports
There were two types of ports in Early Odisha. The categorisation was made on the basis of the location. They are the following:
*Pattana- These ports were situated on the sea coast where cargos were loaded and unloaded.
*Dronimukha- These ports were situated near the confluence of the river and sea.
Some of the ports mentioned by the geographer Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
in the 2nd century AD were Nanigaina (Puri
Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, 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 als ...
), Katikardama ( Kataka) and Kannagara ( Konarak). The important ports on the Kalinga coastline were Tamralipta
Tamralipta or Tamralipti ( pi, Tāmaliti) was a port city and capital of Suhma Kingdom in ancient Bengal, located on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. The Tamluk town in present-day Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, is generally identified as the site ...
, Khalkatapatna, Manikapatna (Chelitalo Chelitalo was an important port in Ancient Odisha, in northeast India, lying on the Chandrabhaga river in Konark.
In ancient times, the Chandrabhaga and Kushabhadra rivers were navigable, and may have been used for the shipping of huge blocks of st ...
), Palur (Dantapura), Gopalpur (Mansurkota), Dosarene, Sonapur, Baruva
Baruva is a village and a beach resort located near Sompeta in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located at 18.53N 84.35E., at an average elevation of . The Mahendratanaya River merges into the Bay of Bengal at this place. This v ...
(Barua), Kalingapatnam
Kalingapatnam is a village in Srikakulam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Gara mandal of Srikakulam revenue division. It has one of the major beach sand deposits of the state. In medieval era it was famous for th ...
, Pithunda Pithunda was a port in the ancient kingdom of Kalinga on the eastern coast of India.
Pithunda, or Prithuda was the capital of an old kingdom. The region was situated adjacent to another kingdom, which is located in Bandar taluk, now the modern Kris ...
. Later in the 9th and 10th centuries CE, Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
sources mention Ganjam
Ganjam is a town and a notified area council in Ganjam district in the state of Odisha, India. Brahmapur, one of the major city of Odisha is situated in this district.
Geography
Ganjam is located at in the Ganjam district of Odisha with an ...
, Kalinganagar
Kalinganagar is a planned industrial and modern town in Jajpur district of coastal Odisha, India. It is rich in iron ore. Because of high global demand for steel, Kalinganagar is becoming a major global hub in steel, power and ancillary prod ...
, Keylkan, Al-Lava and Nubin. After the 15th century, ports included Balasore
Balasore or Baleswara is a city in the state of Odisha, about north of the state capital Bhubaneswar and from Kolkata, in eastern India. It is the largest town of northern Odisha and the administrative headquarters of Balasore district. It i ...
, Pipili
Pipili is a town and a NAC under jurisdiction of Puri district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is famous for designing beautiful Applique handicrafts. It is a town of artisans famous for their colourful fabrics.
Geography
Pipili is located a ...
, Ganjam
Ganjam is a town and a notified area council in Ganjam district in the state of Odisha, India. Brahmapur, one of the major city of Odisha is situated in this district.
Geography
Ganjam is located at in the Ganjam district of Odisha with an ...
, Harishapur, Chandabali
Chandabali (or Chandbali) is an old town in the Bhadrak district of Odisha on the bank of the River Baitarani.
History
Before the 19th century AD, Chandabali was a small fishing village, and a natural river port. In 1866, trading began from this ...
and Dhamra
Dhamra (or Dhamara) is a small community on the banks of the Dhamra River in the Bhadrak district of Odisha state, India. They were Shoodars before independence, as it's in history. Others believe they're descendants of Clan Loot. It developed ...
.[
]
Early history
Excavations at Golbai Sasan have shown a Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
culture dating to as early as ca. 2300 BC, followed by a Chalcolithic
The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...
(copper age) culture and then an Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
culture starting around 900 BC.
Tools found at this site indicate boat building, perhaps for coastal trade.[
Fish bones, fishing hooks, barbed spears and harpoons show that fishing was an important part of the economy.][
Some artefacts of the Chalcolithic period are similar to artefacts found in ]Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, indicating possible contact with Indochina at a very early period.[
Early historical sources record that Kalinga became subject to ]Magadha
Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...
in 362 BC, regained independence during a civil war in Magadha around 320 BC, but around 261 BC was conquered by the Maurya emperor Ashoka
Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...
(269 BC to 232 BC).[
The site at Sisupalagarh, occupied from the 3rd century BC to the 4th century AD, has been identified with Tosali, the provincial capital of Ashoka, and with ]Kalinganagara
Mukhalingam, also known as Srimukhalingam or Mukhalinga is a village panchayat in Jalumuru mandal of Srikakulam district in indian state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Mukhalingam is derived from an Odia word ''Muhalinga'' which is the corrupt form ...
, the capital city of Kalinga after it regained independence from Mauryan empire early in the 1st century BC during the reign of Kharavela.[ The history of the following centuries is complex. At times the north and south of Kalinga were separate states, at times united. Sometimes Kalinga was independent, sometimes it was tributary to a more powerful neighbour.][
The Bhauma-Kara dynasty ruled over ]Utkal
Utkala Kingdom was located in the northern and eastern portion of the modern-day Indian state of Odisha.This kingdom was mentioned in the epic Mahabharata, with the names ''Utkala'', ''Utpala'', and ''Okkal''. It is mentioned in India's national ...
, as the northern and eastern part of Odisha was then known, from the 8th to 10th centuries AD.[
These rulers paid tribute to Gaudeshwar Devapala (810–850 AD), ruler of the ]Pala Empire
The Pāla Empire (r. 750-1161 CE) was an imperial power during the post-classical period in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. It is named after its ruling dynasty, whose rulers bore names ending with the suffi ...
of Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
[ For a period, the rulers of Utkal were forced to acknowledge the suzerainty of the ]Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nati ...
Chola dynasty
The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...
under their king Rajendra Chola I
Rajendra Chola I (; Middle Tamil: Rājēntira Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Rājēndradēva Cōla; Old Malay: ''Raja Suran''; c. 971 CE – 1044 CE), often referred to as Rajendra the Great, and also known as Gangaikonda Chola (Middle Tami ...
(1012–1044), with whom they became allied by marriage.[
After regaining independence, Anantavarma Chodagangadeva (1078–1191) established control over a wide region from the Ganges to the Godavari,] moving his capital from Kalinganagar to Cuttack
Cuttack (, or officially Kataka ) in Odia is the former capital and the second largest city in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised form of ''Kataka'' which literall ...
. The power of Odisha waxed and waned over the following centuries, but it was not until 1568 that Odisha finally lost its independence.[
]
Ships
Rules and regulations regarding construction of ships were recorded in the Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
''Juktikalpataru'' ('' Yukti Kalpa Taru''). The ''Madalapanji'' records that king Bhoja
Bhoja (reigned c. 1010–1055 CE) was an Indian king from the Paramara dynasty. His kingdom was centered around the Malwa region in central India, where his capital Dhara-nagara (modern Dhar) was located. Bhoja fought wars with nearly all h ...
built many ships with local wood.[ The recovery of many woodworking adzes and other artefacts from ]Chilika Lake
Chilika Lake is a brackish water lagoon, spread over the Puri, khordha and Ganjam districts of Odisha state on the east coast of India, at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of over . It is the bigge ...
shows that Golabai
Golabai Sasan (or Golbai Sasan) is a village in Khordha district, Khurda District, Odisha, India at .
It is known for its medieval temple architecture. This settlement site is located on the north bank of the Malaguni River, North of Chilika ...
was a boat-building center.[
Terracotta seals from ]Bangarh
Bangarh is an ancient city situated in Gangarampur, West Bengal, India. Bangarh was the ancient city which was the administrative centre of Kotivarsha Vishaya (territorial division), itself part of the wider administrative unit of Pundravardha ...
and Chandraketugarh
Chandraketugarh is a 2,500 years old archaeological site located near the Bidyadhari river, about north-east of Kolkata, India, in the district of North 24 parganas, near the township of Berachampa and the Harua Road railhead. Once it was a ...
(400 BC to 100 BC) depict seagoing vessels carrying containing corn. The ships have a single mast with a square sail.[ The earliest depiction of ships in Odisha is in a sculptured frieze showing two ships, found near the ]Brahmeswara Temple
Brahmeswara Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India,erected at the end of the 9th century CE, is richly carved inside and out. This Hindu temple can be dated with fair accuracy by the use of inscriptions ...
, 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 ...
, and now preserved in the Odisha State Museum. The first ship has standing elephants in the front part, two people seated in the center and two sailor with oars at the rear steering the ship.[
]
Sea routes
From June to September the summer monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...
s blow from the southwest, from Ceylon towards Kalinga. From December to early March, the retreating monsoons blow in the reverse direction.
Southeast Asia has similar seasonal wind patterns.
Over Indonesia, in July and August the winds blow from Australia in a northwesterly direction, shifting towards a northeasterly direction as they cross the equator. The pattern reverses during January and February.
Early navigators would have exploited these seasonal winds, navigating by the stars, the color of the water, the presence of sea snakes, and observation of the flights of sea crows and other homing birds.
The ships of Kalinga were not able to make long sea voyages without stopping along the way for food and water. Ships outbound from Tamralipta
Tamralipta or Tamralipti ( pi, Tāmaliti) was a port city and capital of Suhma Kingdom in ancient Bengal, located on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. The Tamluk town in present-day Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, is generally identified as the site ...
would have followed the Burmese coast, stopping at the Nicobar islands
The Nicobar Islands are an archipelagic island chain in the eastern Indian Ocean. They are located in Southeast Asia, northwest of Aceh on Sumatra, and separated from Thailand to the east by the Andaman Sea. Located southeast of the Indian s ...
, a one-month journey. From there, they continued to the southeast, then sailed down the Malay Peninsula
The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...
and through the strait of Malacca
The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, 500 mi (800 km) long and from 40 to 155 mi (65–250 km) wide, between the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connec ...
, and onward to Java or Bali, or headed northeast to Indochina or China.
An alternative route was southward down the coast of India, perhaps stopping in Ceylon, then southeast to Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
.[
]
Trade
Palur, near the Rushikulya River
The Rushikulya River is one of the major rivers in the state of Odisha and covers entire catchment area in the districts of Kandhamal and Ganjam of Odisha. The Rushikulya originates at an elevation of about 1000 metres from Daringbadi hills of the ...
in the Ganjam district, was an important port in the 2nd century AD.
Archaeological exploration has unearthed fragments of Chinese celadon
''Celadon'' () is a term for pottery denoting both wares glazed in the jade green celadon color, also known as greenware or "green ware" (the term specialists now tend to use), and a type of transparent glaze, often with small cracks, that was ...
ware, Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
rouletted pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...
and amphora
An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...
pieces, showing that the port carried out significant international trade.
An unusual medallion has a Kushana
The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, 貴霜 ) was a syncretic empire, formed by the Yuezhi, i ...
-style king with a Brahmi
Brahmi (; ; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such ...
inscription on one side, and a Roman head with a Roman inscription on the other.[
A Roman coin of the emperor ]Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
has been found at Salihundam
Salihundam, is a village and panchayat in Gara Mandal of Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh. It is a historically important Buddhist monument of ancient Kalinga and a major tourist attraction It is a village lying on top of the hill on the s ...
, and other Roman coins have been found at other sites, giving further evidence of trade with the Roman Empire.[
Trade with Southeast Asia was established by the 1st century AD, and may have much earlier origins. Later findings include 12th-century Ceylonese coins and 14th-century Chinese coins. Similar coins from Kotchina in ]Sumatra
Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
point to a triangular trade between Odisha, Ceylon and Sumatra.[ Trading was not without risks. The kings of Kalinga, ]Siam
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 mi ...
and Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
had to periodically mount expeditions to put down Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
and Bugis
The Bugis people (pronounced ), also known as Buginese, are an ethnicity—the most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi (the others being Makassar and Toraja), in the south-western province of Sulawe ...
pirates operating in the Strait of Malacca
The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, 500 mi (800 km) long and from 40 to 155 mi (65–250 km) wide, between the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connec ...
and throughout Maritime Southeast Asia.[
Manikapatna was a port on the banks of Chilika that flourished from early historical times until the 19th century AD. Excavations have found many types of pottery from different parts of India, and coins from Ceylon and China. The more modern levels contain Chinese celadon and porcelain, and Arabic glazed pottery. An 18th-century Mosque has an inscription saying sailors and traders prayed there before setting out on their voyages.][
According to a 6th-century AD source, Kalinga was famous for its elephants, for which it found a market in Ceylon, along with precious stones, ivory, pepper, betel nuts and fine textiles. In return, Kalinga imported pearl and silver from Ceylon.][
Corn and rice were also exported.
Traders imported spices and sandalwood from the east, some if it destined for onward transport to the ]Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
market.[
A boat depicted in the Sun Temple of Konarak in the 13th century contains a giraffe, indicating trade with Africa, presumably carried on Arab vessels.][
]
Overseas contacts
Burma
Burma went by the name of Kalingarat (Kalinga Rastra) in the 7th century BC, and there is evidence of very early settlement in the southern Mon
Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to:
Places
* Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar
* Mon, India, a town in Nagaland
* Mon district, Nagaland
* Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India
* Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons
* An ...
portion. By the 2nd century AD, the Kalingans were ruling Kalaymyo
Kalay ( my, ကလေး), also known as Kale, is a town in the Sagaing Region of Myanmar. It is located upstream from Mandalay and Monywa on the Myittha River, a tributary of the Chindwin River. The town is the district headquarters of the Ka ...
, the Arakan River
The Arakan River is a river located in the municipality of Arakan in Cotabato province in the Philippines. It is one of the tributaries of the Pulangi River
The Pulangi River ( Cebuano pronunciation IPA uˈlaŋi, also spelled Pulangui, is on ...
valley and Pegu
Bago (formerly spelt Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon.
Etymology
The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon lang ...
, around the gulf of Martaban
Mottama ( my, မုတ္တမမြို့, ; Muttama mnw, မုဟ်တၟံ, ; formerly Martaban) is a town in the Thaton District of Mon State, Myanmar. Located on the west bank of the Thanlwin river (Salween), on the opposite side o ...
.
The remains of a ship excavated at Tante, near Yangon
Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
is thought to have belonged to Kalingan traders.
Place names and similarities in architecture also indicate close contacts across the gulf of Bengal.[
The Buddhagat, the sacred scripture of Burma, describes trade with the Buddhist merchants of Kalinga, leading to missionaries coming to propagate the faith, and then to political domination of parts of coastal Burma by Kalinga during the 4th to 7th centuries AD. Coins with Hindu symbols found in ]Pegu
Bago (formerly spelt Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon.
Etymology
The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon lang ...
confirm this contact.[
]
Cambodia
Emigrants from Kalinga came to Cambodia in the 3rd century BC, fleeing from the emperor Ashoka.
However, after Ashoka had converted to Buddhism and sent missionaries to Cambodia, they accepted the teachings and helped establish the religion in the region.[
The early monuments of the ]Khmers
The Khmer people ( km, ជនជាតិខ្មែរ, ) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Cambodia. They comprise over 90% of Cambodia's population of 17 million. (of modern Cambodia) appear to be of Andhra
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
origin rather than from Kalinga.[
However, although some of the inscriptions at ]Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat (; km, អង្គរវត្ត, "City/Capital of Temples") is a temple complex in Cambodia and is the largest religious monument in the world, on a site measuring . Originally constructed as a Hinduism, Hindu temple dedicated ...
in Cambodia are in Sanskrit, others are in the Kalinga script.[
The design of the Angkor Wat temple shows influences from the Jagannath Puri temple of Odisha.]
China
The first record of trade with China is found in the account of Fa Hien
Faxian (法顯 ; 337 CE – c. 422 CE), also referred to as Fa-Hien, Fa-hsien and Sehi, was a Chinese Buddhist monk and translator who traveled by foot from China to India to acquire Buddhist texts. Starting his arduous journey about age 60, ...
(399–411 AD) who sailed in a merchant vessel from the port of Temralipti back to China.[
The Chinese pilgrim ]Hieun Tsang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
(645 CE) tells of sea voyages from the ports of Tamralipta
Tamralipta or Tamralipti ( pi, Tāmaliti) was a port city and capital of Suhma Kingdom in ancient Bengal, located on the coast of the Bay of Bengal. The Tamluk town in present-day Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, is generally identified as the site ...
(modern Tamluk
Tamluk () is a town and a municipality in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Purba Medinipur district. Though there is some controversy, scholars have generally agreed that present ...
) and Chelitalo to Simhala
Sinhalese people ( si, සිංහල ජනතාව, Sinhala Janathāva) are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the island of Sri Lanka. They were historically known as Hela language, Hela people ( si, හෙ ...
(modern Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
) and China.[ A former king of Odra (Odisha) named Subhakararisha, who had abdicated in order to become a monk, voyaged to China in 716 AD. and introduced ]Tantric Buddhism
Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...
.[ There is an account of the carriage by sea in 794 AD of a present by the King of Udra to the Emperor of China.][
Odisha imported silk from China, and a Chinese coin from the 8th century has been found at Sirpur.][ Between 813 and 818, three missions were sent from the Javanese nation of Kalinga to the court of Hsien Tung in China, bringing rarities such as a live rhinoceros, a five-coloured parrot and some black boys and girls from East Africa.][
]
Sri Lanka
Kalinga had strong ties with Simhala (Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
).
Some scholars say that the first king of Simhala, Vijaya
Vijaya may refer to:
Places
* Vijaya (Champa), a city-state and former capital of the historic Champa in what is now Vietnam
* Vijayawada, a city in Andhra Pradesh, India
People
* Prince Vijaya of Sri Lanka (fl. 543–505 BC), earliest recorde ...
, came from Simhapura
Sinhapura ("Lion City" for Sanskrit; IAST: Siṃhapura) was the capital of the legendary Indian king Sinhabahu. It has been mentioned in the Buddhist legends about Prince Vijaya. The name is also transliterated as ''Sihapura'' or ''Singhapura'' ...
in eastern India, the capital of Kalinga, and that his grandmother was the daughter of the king of Kalinga. The emperor Ashoka sent his son to Ceylon to establish Buddhism, and later sent his daughter Sanghamitra
Saṅghamittā (Saṅghamitrā in Sanskrit, nun's name Ayapali; 282 BC – 203 BC) was the eldest daughter of Emperor Ashoka (304 BC – 232 BC) and his first wife, Devi. Together with her brother Mahinda, she entered an order of Buddhist m ...
to organise the nuns. The ''Samantapasadika
Samantapāsādikā refers to a collection of Pali commentaries on the Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is ...
'' says that she was accompanied by eight families from Kalinga. The ''Dathavamsa'' talks of the friendship between king Guhasiva of Kalinga and king Mahasena Mahasena or Mahāsena may refer to:
*Mahasena, a name for Murugan, Hindu god of war
*Mahasena of Anuradhapura, a historical king of Sri Lanka who ruled from 275 to 301 CE.
*Mahasena, a legendary king of the Kataragama region in Sri Lanka said to hav ...
of Ceylon (277 – 304 AD). It also talks of the king of Kalinga giving the tooth relic
The relic of the tooth of Buddha (Pali ''danta dhātuya'') is venerated in Sri Lanka as a sacred cetiya relic of Lord Buddha, who is the founder of Buddhism, the fourth largest religion worldwide.
History The relic in India
According to Sri Lanka ...
of Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
as a dowry to Dantakumara on his marriage to the king's daughter. Dantakumara took the relic to Ceylon where it was enshrined in a stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In Buddhism, circumamb ...
.[
Hinayanic Buddhism flowered in Ceylon in the 4th and 5th centuries AD, and the influence of scholars from Ceylon spread through Burma, Siam and Cambodia, establishing the beliefs and practices that continue in these countries today. Kalinga was also strongly affected by Ceylonese culture, in particular by the ]Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
teachings of Buddhaghosa
Buddhaghosa was a 5th-century Indian Theravada Buddhist commentator, translator and philosopher. He worked in the Great Monastery (''Mahāvihāra'') at Anurādhapura, Sri Lanka and saw himself as being part of the Vibhajjavāda school and in t ...
, since it lay on the route followed by pilgrims from Ceylon visiting holy places in India. Pilgrims from Kalinga sailed to Ceylon to honour the sacred tooth and visit the monasteries.[ The Chinese pilgrim ]Hieun Tsang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
describes these sea voyages from the port of Tamralipta and Chelitalo to Simhala.[
According to the '' Chulavamsa'', the king of Kalinga visited Ceylon during the reign of Aggabodhi II (610–611 AD). King ]Vijayabahu I
Vijayabahu I (born ''Prince Keerthi'') (ruled 1055–1110), also known as Vijayabahu the Great, was a medieval king of Sri Lanka. Born to a royal bloodline, Vijayabahu grew up under Chola occupation. He assumed rulership of the Ruhuna principalit ...
of Ceylon (1055–1110 AD) married the daughter of the king of Kalinga. Nissanka Malla
Nissanka Malla ( si, නිස්සංක මල්ල), also known as Keerti Nissanka and Kalinga Lokesvara was a king of Polonnaruwa ( Sri Lanka) who ruled the country from 1187 to 1196. He is known for his architectural constructions such as t ...
, son of king Gaparaja of Kalinga became ruler of Ceylon (1187–1196 AD). A prince of Kalinga named Magha invaded Ceylon with a fleet carrying 24,000 soldiers and ruled the island from 1214 to 1235 AD.[
]
Later history
Between the 11th and 16th centuries CE, the name Kalinga was gradually replaced by Odra Desa, Uddisa and eventually Odisha.[
During the rule of ]Kapilendradeva
Kapilendra Deva (Odia: କପିଳେନ୍ଦ୍ର ଦେବ; r. 1434–1467 CE), was the founder of the Suryavamsa Gajapati Empire that ruled parts of eastern and southern India, including present-day Odisha as the center of the empire. He cam ...
(1435–1466 AD), the Odia kingdom established political supremacy over a vast territory outside the limits of geographical Odisha, ruling from the Ganges to Arcot
Arcot (natively spelt as Ārkāḍu) is a town and urban area of Ranipet district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Located on the southern banks of Palar River, the city straddles a trade route between Chennai and Bangalore or Salem, between t ...
in the south. His successors retained their hold over an extensive territory. During the rule of Prataprudradeva, from 1497 AD to 1541 AD, the kingdom extended from the Hooghly and Midnapore districts of West Bengal to the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh.[
]
Arabian sailors began to intrude into the Bay of Bengal as early as the 8th century, and later Portuguese, Dutch, English and French ships became dominant, reducing the sailors of Odisha to the coastal trade.[
In 1568, the Muslim ruler of Bengal, ]Sulaiman Khan Karrani
Sulaiman Khan Karrani ( bn, সুলায়মান খান কররানী, fa, ; reigned: 1565–1572) was a Sultan of Bengal. He ascended to the throne after the death of his brother Taj Khan Karrani. According to the ''Riyaz-us-Sala ...
and then the Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
succeeded in conquering the land, ending its independence.
Odisha was subsequently ceded to the Maratha
The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...
s in 1751, and came under British rule during the Second Anglo-Maratha War
}
The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) was the second conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India.
Background
The British had supported the "fugitive" Peshwa Raghunathrao in the First Anglo-Maratha War, ...
(1803–1805).[
Maritime trade declined post the reign of ]Gajapati Empire
The Gajapati Empire or the Suryavamsa (IAST: Sūryavaṃśa, "Solar dynasty") dynasty was a medieval dynasty from the Indian subcontinent, it originated in the region of Trikalinga (most of the present-day Odisha and North coastal Andhra) an ...
and also with the rising dominance of European naval powers in Asia, although minor contacts continued under the reign of Bhoi dynasty
The Bhoi dynasty or the Yaduvamsa (IAST: Yaduvaṃśa) dynasty
were a medieval Hindu dynasty from the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Odisha that reigned from 1541 to 1560 CE. Govinda Vidyadhara had usurped the throne fr ...
at Khurda such as noted from the Manchu language memorials and edicts depicting contacts under the reign of Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
in China, when the Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...
received a gift from the Brahmin (Ch. Polomen 婆羅門, Ma. Bolomen) envoy of a ruler whose Manchu name was Birakišora han of Utg’ali (Ch. Wutegali bilaqishila han 烏特噶里畢拉奇碩拉汗), who is described as a ruler in Eastern India. Hence referring to Birakisore Deva I of Khurda (1736–1793) who styled himself as Gajapati, the ruler of Utkala. Many of the gosains
Gosains, (गोसाईं) who are also known as Gossains and as Goswami, are Hindu ascetics of India. The term can be translated as ''master of passion''. They are sometimes referred to more generally as Sannyasis.
The Gosains were powerful ...
entering Tibet from China passed through his territory when visiting the Jagannath temple at Puri. With the defeat of the Marathas in the Second Anglo-Maratha War
}
The Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) was the second conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India.
Background
The British had supported the "fugitive" Peshwa Raghunathrao in the First Anglo-Maratha War, ...
in 1803 and the resulting annexation of Odisha into the British Empire, ended whatever remained of the maritime trade links.
See also
*Indian maritime history
Indian maritime history begins during the 3rd millennium BCE when inhabitants of the Indus Valley initiated maritime trading contact with Mesopotamia. As per Vedic records, Indian traders and merchants traded with the far east and Arabia. D ...
*Sadhaba
Sadhabas (or Sadhavas) ( or, ସାଧବ sādhaba) were ancient mariners from the Kalinga region, which roughly corresponds to modern Odisha, India. They used ships called Boitas to travel to distant lands such as South-East Asia to carry out tra ...
s, ancient mariners from the Kalinga empire at eastern India
References
External links
Odisha State Maritime Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maritime History of Odisha
Maritime history of India
History of Odisha