Jaugada rock with Ashoka Major Rock Edict

Jaugada ("Jaugarh", ancient Samapa) is a ruined fortress in the Ganjam district in

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 India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. Jaugada lies 35 km north-west of Brahmapur and 160 km south-west of

Bhubaneshwar 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 ...

. Once a provincial

Mauryan The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

fortified capital of the newly conquered province of

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 ...

, Jaugada is famous for its version of the monumental stone-cut edicts in

Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...

of the Mauryan 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, s ...

. Despite J.D. Beglar's description during the later 19th century of the extant fortification towers and moat ("The walls had towers, also of earth, at each of the four corners, and also on each flank of each of the eight entrances"), without photos and drawings, the remains are difficult to visualize and comprehend. In 1956 Debala Mitra of 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 Alexand ...

transected the northern glacis with a trench. The now collapsed trench of this investigation appears to lie just east of the eastern gate of the north wall. It is near the great

Shiva temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

Kaleswar & Rameswar (which is known as a temple where

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...

and

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

are seen together). This site was first documented in 2001 by a team from the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

. ;Edicts of Ashoka Jaugada is the location of some of the Major Rock Edicts of

, inscribed circa 250 BCE: Major Rock Edicts 1-10 and 14 are inscribed on a central rock in the compound, as well as Separate Edicts 1&2.The Geopolitical Orbits of Ancient India: The Geographical Frames of the ... by Dilip K Chakrabart
p.32
/ref> This configuration is similar to that of the nearby

Dhauli Dhauli or Dhauligiri is a hill located on the banks of the river Daya, 8 km south of Bhubaneswar in Odisha, India. Significance Dhauli known for "Dhauli Santi Stupa", a peace pagoda monument which witnesses the great Kalinga War built ...

Edicts of Ashoka (250 km to the northeast). File:Jaugada rock inscription.jpg, Ashokan inscription File:Ashoka edict jaugada3.png, Ashoka's Rock Edict at Jaugada

References

* Yule, Paul, Early Historic Sites in Orissa (Delhi 2006)

External links

Photo Gallery of Jaugada

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{{Authority control History of Odisha Maurya Empire Archaeological monuments in Odisha