Mayurbhanj State (or ''Morbhanj'') ( or, ମୟୁରଭଞ୍ଜ ରାଜ୍ୟ) was one of the

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, ...

s of India during the period of the

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 was one of the largest states of the

Eastern States Agency The Eastern States Agency was an agency or grouping of princely states in eastern India, during the latter years of the Indian Empire. It was created in 1933, by the unification of the former Chhattisgarh States Agency and the Orissa States Agen ...

and one of the three states of the

Bengal States Agency The Eastern States Agency was an agency or grouping of princely states in eastern India, during the latter years of the Indian Empire. It was created in 1933, by the unification of the former Chhattisgarh States Agency and the Orissa States Agen ...

. The emblem of the state were two

peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...

s for according to legend the ancestors of the ancient rulers originated from a peafowl's eyes. The state included a vast mountainous area inhabited by many different people groups such as the

Santal The Santal or Santhal are an Austroasiatic speaking Munda ethnic group in South Asia. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal state of India in terms of population and are also found in the states of Odisha, Bihar and A ...

, Munda, Ho and

Kisan people The Kisan or nagesia are a tribal group found in Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand. They are traditional farmers and a food gathering people. They speak Kisan, a dialect of Kurukh, as well as Odia and Sambalpuri. The tribe mainly lives in northw ...

. Its former territory lies in the present-day state 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 ...

, bordering

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

. The capital of the state was the town 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 ...

since the 15th century and

Daspur Daspur is a village, with a police station, in Daspur I CD Block in Ghatal subdivision of Paschim Medinipur district in the state of West Bengal, India. History Daspur is a very old establishment, British made their barrack in this area in ear ...

was another important town. Large tracts of Mayurbhanj State were covered with forest.

History

The rulers of Mayurbhanj state were descendants of the

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 ...

of the Khijjinga mandala of the ancient local Kshatriya lineage. According to the early inscriptions of Ranabhanja and Rajabhanja, the dynasty has its origins from the mythical peahen likely pointing out to the early peafowl related traditions of the Ancient Bhanja clans which is observed on their emblems which is also shared by the successive branches. Their influence likely declined with the dominance of the Somavamshis in the

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 ...

region but centuries later came back to prominence in the region with the rise of the

Eastern Ganga dynasty The Eastern Ganga dynasty also known as Purba Gangas, Rudhi Gangas or Prachya Gangas were a large medieval era Indian royal dynasty that reigned from Kalinga from as early as the 5th century to the mid 20th century. Eastern Gangas ruled much of ...

after uniting the three realms of Trikalinga with the Bhanjas as their feudatories. Traditions point to numerous origins of the dynasty but lack of records renders them unlikely although it is generally accepted that the founder, Adi Bhanja of the 12th century established the current dynasty of the Mayurbhanj state with his brother Jyoti Bhanja founding the

Keonjhar State Keonjhar State ( or, କେନ୍ଦୁଝର), also known as Keunjhar, was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. The second largest of the states of the Orissa States Agency, it was located in present-day Ken ...

succeeding from the Khijjinga Adi Bhanja dynasty. Mayurbhanj State had been under

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 ...

rule during the 18th century and became a British protectorate in 1829, many years after the

Third Anglo-Maratha War The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1819) was the final and decisive conflict between the English East India Company and the Maratha Empire in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an invasion of Maratha te ...

. During the British Raj the kings of Mayurbhanj pioneered the upliftment of the region. Under their enlightened rule Mayurbhanj became one of the most progressive areas. The Bhanj kings established the first medical college of the state in

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 ...

, donating funds and land for the establishment of higher education institutions such as

Ravenshaw College Ravenshaw University, formerly known as Ravenshaw college, is a co-educational state university situated in Cuttack, Odisha on the eastern coast of India. Founded as Ravenshaw College in 1868, the institution became a university in 2006. The un ...

and welfare schemes, such as the one undertaken by the

Evangelical Missionary Society of Mayurbhanj The Evangelical Missionary Society of Mayurbhanj (''EMSM'') was established in 1895 at the instance of Sriram Chandra Bhanj Deo, the then-Maharaja of Mayurbhanj State. It is a registered Non-Government Organisation (NGO) in India. The society is ...

(EMSM), established in 1895 at the instance of Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanj Deo.

Mayurbhanj Palace Mayurbhanj Palace was the royal palace of Maharajas of Mayurbhanj, which was a princely state in British Raj. It is a heritage architectural monument and landmark of Baripada town, which was the erstwhile capital of the Mayurbhanj State. History ...

was built by Maharani Sumitra Devi Bhanj Deo in 1804. The

Mayurbhanj State Railway Mayurbhanj State Railway (MSR) was a narrow gauge railway owned by Mayurbhanj State in British India. History The railway was built by the erstwhile ruler of Mayurbhanj State, Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanj Deo. The first section of 52 ...

was started by the erstwhile ruler of Mayurbhanj Maharaja Shri Sriram Chandra Bhanj Deo. The first section of 52 km from

Rupsa Rupsa is a Village development committee (Nepal), village development committee in Kalikot District in the Karnali Zone of north-western Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 2659 people living in 423 individual hous ...

to Baripada railway station being opened for traffic on 20 January 1905. After the

independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

, Mayurbhanj state under Maharaja Pratap Chandra Bhanjdeo acceded to the Indian Union on 1 January 1949 and was merged with

Orissa Province Orissa Province was a province of British India created in April 1936 by the partitioning of the Bihar and Orissa Province. Its territory corresponds with the modern-day State of Odisha. On 22 March 1912, both Bihar and Orissa divisions were s ...

, which became later the state of

Rulers

The rulers of Mayurbhanj State of the

. They were entitled to a 9

gun salute A gun salute or cannon salute is the use of a piece of artillery to fire shots, often 21 in number (''21-gun salute''), with the aim of marking an honor or celebrating a joyful event. It is a tradition in many countries around the world. Histo ...

. The rulers of Mayurbhanj are; #Succession from the Khijjinga mandala Bhanjas (8th–10th cen) #Adi Bhanja of Mayurbhanj #Santai Bhanja #Chakkai Bhanja #Lakshmana Bhanja #Kalpi Bhanja #Surjya Bhanja #Ramachandra Bhanja #Batuli Bhanja #Iswanath Bhanja #Jagannath Bhanja #Nilakantha Bhanja #Baidyanath Bhanjadeba (1556–1600) #Jagannath Bhanjadeba (1600-1643) #Harihara Bhanjadeba (1643–1668) #Sarvesvara Bhanjdeba (1688–1711) #Viravikramaditya Bhanjadeba (1711–1728) #Raghunath Bhanjadeba (1728–1750) #Chakradhar Bhanjadeba (1750–1761) #Damodar Bhanjadeba (1761–1796) #Rani Sumitra Devi (f) - Regent of Mayurbhanj (1796–1810) #Rani Jamuna Devi (f) - Regent of Mayurbhanj (1810-1813) #Tribikram Bhanja Deo (1813–1822) #Jadunath Bhanja Deo (1822–1863) #Shrinath Bhanja Deo (1863–1868) #Krushna Chandra Bhanja Deo (1868–29 May 1882) # Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo (29 May 1882– 22 February 1912) #Purna Chandra Bhanja Deo (22 February 1912–21 April 1928) #Pratap Chandra Bhanja Deo (21 Apr 1928–1 January 1949)

Titular

*Pratap Chandra Bhanja Deo (1 January 1949–1968) *Pradeep Chandra Bhanja Deo (1968–15 September 2000) *Praveen Chandra Bhanja Deo (15 September 2000–current)

External Link

"Indian royal princesses transform family palace into hotel dubbed 'a living museum'. The Belgadia Palace is located in the princely province of Mayurbhanj, in the country's eastern Odisha state". By Neeta Lal, "The National", Nov. 4, 2021

References

External links