Mayurbhanj Palace was the royal palace of

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

s of

Mayurbhanj Mayurbhanj district is one of the 30 districts in Odisha state in eastern India. It is the largest district of Odisha by area. Its headquarters are at Baripada. Other major towns are Rairangpur, Karanjia and Udala. , it is the third-most-popu ...

, which was a

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. It is a heritage architectural monument and landmark of

Baripada Baripada () is a city and a municipality in Mayurbhanj district in the state of Odisha, India. Located along the east bank of the Budhabalanga river, Baripada is the cultural centre of north Odisha. In recent years, it has emerged as an educ ...

town, which was the erstwhile capital of the

Mayurbhanj State Mayurbhanj State (or ''Morbhanj'') ( or, ମୟୁରଭଞ୍ଜ ରାଜ୍ୟ) was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. It was one of the largest states of the Eastern States Agency and one of the thre ...

History

The extravagantly decorated palace of the Maharaja of Mayurbhanj is a heritage building depicting the rarest engineering skill and architectural excellence of a bygone era. The construction of the first phase of the palace began on orders of Maharani Sumitra Devi Bhanj Deo in 1804, who ruled the state from 1796 to 1810. In phased development, the palace could get its aura of majesty with intricate designs during the rule of Maharaja Krushna Chandra Bhanj Deo (1868-1882), Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanj Deo (1882-1912) and finally during the rule of Maharaja Pratap Chandra Bhanj Deo (1928-1948). It is a brick-built double-storey structure in the classical Western style having of

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

Corinthian column The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

and a mixture of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Victorian architecture Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian we ...

Lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

- mortar has been used in construction of this palace.

Sriram Chandra Bhanj Deo Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanjadeo (; 17 December 1870 – 22 February 1912) was the Maharaja of Mayurbhanj State of India. Personal life Early life He was only eleven years old when his father and ruler of the Mayurbhanj State, Maharaja Krishn ...

did major additions to palace in 1892, which has 126 rooms. The front of the palace, which resembles the

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

, was also built during his reign in 1908. Local people address this palace as ''Rajbadi''. The huge wooden doors have royal insignia carved of them. The palace is surrounded by

acre The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imp ...

s of lush green ground marked by boundary. The walls of the royal bathing ghat was studded with mirrors reflecting the sun's rays on the water sprouting from a fountain illuminating the already ghat. This wonderful specimen of engineering was short-lived when the heritage building was taken over by the government. The pool was covered with wooden floors and converted into a library-cum-reading room for Maharaja Purna Chandra College that shifted to the palace in 1960. An old

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

behind the main college building is on the verge of collapse. It is built like a

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

housing several

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

and

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

icons. The Mayurbhanj Palace also once housed the temple of their

kuladevi A kuladevatā (), also known as a kuladaivaṃ, is an ancestral tutelary deity in Hinduism and Jainism. Such a deity is often the object of one's devotion (''bhakti''), and is coaxed to watch over one's clan (''kula''), gotra, family, and child ...

, Goddess Kichakeshwari, which was not only ishtadevata of

Bhanj dynasty The Bhanja dynasty is a dynasty that originated in the northern and central regions of modern Odisha (in the Khiching region of Utkala and Khinjali mandalas) before the Gupta Empire became an imperial power. The dynasty, of ancient local Kshatr ...

but also the State deity. Its idol was brought here from their old palace in

Khiching Khiching is an ancient city and largely in ruins is situated in Panchpir sub-division of Mayurbhanj district in Odisha State of India. It is the location of the Kichakeshwari Temple made from black stone. Khiching is located about 50 km ...

Transfer of ownership

The Palace was home to six generations of rulers of

of Mayurbhanj since its foundation in 1804 till 1956. But after independence of India, Maharaja Pratap Chandra Bhanj Deo, the last ruler of the Bhanj dynasty, sold the palace along with the royals' bathing

ghat Ghat, a term used in the Indian subcontinent, depending on the context could refer either to a range of stepped hills with valleys (ghati in Hindi), such as the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats; or the series of steps leading down to a body of ...

at a throw-away price of in 1956, to the government of

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 ...

Fading Splendor

The palace needs urgent conservation and protection of this two century old heritage by the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...

, historians feel. The historical palace, an example of opulence, is facing a bleak future sans proper up-keep. The double ceiling roofs have become the abode of numerous

pipistrelle ''Pipistrellus'' is a genus of bats in the family Vespertilionidae and subfamily Vespertilioninae. The name of the genus is derived from the Italian language, Italian word , meaning "bat" (from Latin "bird of evening, bat"). The size of the ge ...

and

pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

s. The leaky roof and decaying walls characterize the once palatial building, which now houses two colleges. The colleges the erstwhile Palace building houses are Maharaja Purna Chandra College with more than 2,000 students and Government Women's College with about 500 students. There is a growing demand since 2011, for conservation of the priceless heritage raised by town's population, historians, researchers, cultural bodies and even student's body of the college. At present the monument is repaired and looked after by

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

of Odisha, which lacks expertise to handle the maintenance of the palace and such people are demanding that government should handover the repair and rehabilitation works to the

References

External links

Photo of Mayurbhanj PalaceMayurbhanj Palace - photos on Panoramio
\ {{coord , 21.933909, 86.722063, display=title Royal residences in India Palaces in Odisha Mayurbhanj district