Sonepur, also known as Subarnapur, is a city and district headquarters of

Subarnapur district Subarnapur District, also called Sonepur District or Sonapur District, is an administrative district in Odisha state in eastern India. The city of Sonepur is the district headquarters. Sonepur is known as the Mandiramalini town (city of temples) ...

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

in India. The district spreads over an area of 2284.89 km². It is also known as Second

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

of India for its cluster of temples having architectural importance and also of tantricism and second

Allahabad Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...

for the Meeting Point (Sangam) of two rivers

Mahanadi The Mahanadi River 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 which was the first major multipurpose river valley project after India's independenc ...

and Tel in place just like in

. Subarnapur is also famous for

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

handloom A loom is a device used to weaving, weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the Warp (weaving), warp threads under tension (mechanics), tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of ...

, prawns, terracotta etc.

History

Sonepur was formerly the capital of

Sonepur State Sonepur, also known as Sonpur State, was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. Its ruler was entitled to a nine-gun salute. Formerly it was placed under the Central India Agency, but in 1905 it was transferr ...

, a princely state of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

Demographics

India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Sonepur city had a population of 17,535. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Sonepur has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 82%, and female literacy is 65%. In Sonepur, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Education

* Sonepur College, Sonepur

Temples of Sonepur

* Kosaleswara temple * Lankeswari Temple * Manikeswari temple *

Narayani Temple Narayani Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the goddess Durga, located in Bakutagaon village, near Khalikote, Odisha, India Odisha (), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is a state located in Eastern India. It is the eight ...

Ramachandi Temple Ramachandi Temple is located at a spot on the banks of the Kusabhadra River where it flows into the Bay of Bengal. It is only 5 km away from Konark in the Puri District of Odisha, India. Goddess Ramachandi, the deity of Konark is thought by s ...

* Samleswari Temple * Subarnameru Temple * Sureswari temple * Balaji Temple, Subarnapur * Bhagavati Temple * Budhima Temple * Budhi Somalai Temple * Dadhibaban Temple * Dasamati Temple * Gokarneswar Temple * Gundicha / Nrusimhanath Temple *

Jagannath Temple The Jagannath Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Jagannath, a form of Vishnu in Hinduism. It is located in Puri in the state of Odisha, situated on the eastern coast of India. As per temple records, King Indradyumna of Avanti (reg ...

* Khambeswari Temple * Maa Chardei Temple Charda * Pancharatha Temple * Paschima Somanath Temple * Rameswar Temple * Shree Kapileshwar Temple Charda * ShreeRam Temple

Notable people

Kailash Chandra Meher Kailash Chandra Meher (born 22 January 1954) is an Indian artist, inventor, and social activist. He is a painter of contemporary modern art paintings and traditional Tussar Pattachitra paintings of Odisha. He was a recipient of the Padma Shri b ...

, painter, awarded

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

by Govt. of India.

Sari

* Sonepuri Sari

Politics

Current MLA from Sonepur (SC) Assembly Constituency is Niranjan Pujari of BJD, who won the seat in State elections in 2014. Previous MLAs from this seat were Binod Patra of INC, who won the seat in 2004, Kunduru Kushal who won this seat representing BJD in 2000, representing JD in 1995 and in 1990, Achyuta Biswal of INC in 1985, Dhaneswar Kumbhar of INC(I) in 1980, and Debraj Seth of JNP in 1977. Sonepur is part of

Balangir (Lok Sabha constituency) Bolangir Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 21 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Odisha state in eastern India. Assembly Segments Following delimitation, at present this constituency comprises the following legislative assembly se ...

Transport

Sonepur is well connected by road and railways with the major cities and towns of Odisha. NH 57 passes through this city. NH 126A, State Highway 41 and State Highway 15 in

starts from this city. •Buses: Sonepur is well connected to cities like

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...

Puri Puri, also known as Jagannath 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 ca ...

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka in Odia language, Odia ), is the former capital, deputy capital and the 2nd largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. It is also the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised f ...

Berhampur Berhampur (; also known as Brahmapur) is a city on the eastern coastline of Odisha, India. Known as the "Silk City" it is the headquarter of Ganjam district, Ganjam district and home to Odisha's one of the major and the oldest railway station ...

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 Samb ...

Balangir Balangir also known as Bolangir, is a town and a municipality, the headquarters of Balangir district in the state of Odisha, India. Balangir's cultural heritage makes it one of the finest places for tourists in Odisha. Balangir municipality ...

Keonjhar Kendujhar, also known as Keonjhar, is a town with municipality in Kendujhar District in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kendujhar district, and it is one of the fifth scheduled areas of Odisha ...

Phulbani Phulbani is a municipality and administrative headquarters of Kandhamal district in the state of Odisha in India. Geography Phulbani is located at . It has an average elevation of 485 metres (1591 feet). It is located 211 km fr ...

Bargarh Bargarh is one of the major towns of Western Odisha and a municipality in Bargarh district in the state of Odisha in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Bargarh District and an important town of Odisha because it is known as the ...

Bhawanipatna Bhawanipatna is a city and the headquarter of Kalahandi district in the state of Odisha, India. Bhawanipatna has numerous temples dedicated to different deities of the Hindu pantheon. Geography and climate Bhawanipatna is located at . It h ...

Jeypore Jeypore is a city in Koraput district in the Indian state of Odisha. It was established by Vir Vikram Dev in the mid 17th century. Dev's kingdom was defeated by the East India Company in 1777 who declared it a Zamindari or Feudatory of the ...

Koraput Koraput is a town and a Municipality in Koraput district in the Indian state of Odisha. Koraput town is the district headquarter of Koraput district. History The district of Koraput derives its name from its headquarters in the present town o ...

Nabarangpur Nabarangpur is a town and municipality in Nabarangapur district in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the headquarters of Nabarangpur district. Nabarangpur is the largest producer of maize in Odisha. Papadahandi, Umerkote, Kosagumuda blocks a ...

, Umerkote,

Jharsuguda Jharsuguda (ଝାରସୁଗୁଡ଼ା) is a city and district headquarters of Jharsuguda district of Odisha, India. It is an industrial hub, consisting mainly of metallurgical industries. It is well connected to major cities of India t ...

Angul Angul (also known as Anugul) is a city, municipality and the headquarters of Angul district in the state of Odisha, India. Angul has an average elevation of above sea level and total area of 6232 km2. Geography Angul is located at . I ...

Sundargarh Sundargarh is a town in Sundergarh district of the Indian state of Odisha. As of 2011 census, the municipality had a population of 45,036. Sundargarh is recognized as an industrial district in Odisha. Steel, fertilizer, cement, ferrovanadium, ...

Bhanjanagar Bhanjanagar is a town and Municipality in Ganjam district in the state of Odisha, India. Geography Bhanjanagar is located at with an average elevation of 69 metres (226 feet). Bhanjanagar hosts the headquarters for the Bhanjanagar S ...

Khurdha Khordha district is an administrative division of the state of Odisha, India. It was formed on April 1, 1993, by the division of former Puri District into Puri, Khordha and Nayagarh districts. In the year 2000 the district name was changed to K ...

Nayagarh Nayagarh is both a town and the municipality headquarters of the Nayagarh District, Nayagarh district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Odisha. Geography Nayagarh is located at with an average elevation of 178 metres ( ...

and many more places with both private and government bus services. It has interstate bus service to Chhattisgarh's

Raipur Raipur ( ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Chh ...

. •Railways: Sonepur railway station is a part of the

Railway project and is now well connected to cities like

Rairakhol Redhakhol or Rairakhol is a town and a Notified Area Council in Sambalpur district in the Indian state of Odisha. Redhakhol town, which is the Sub-Divisional headquarter of Rairakhol Sub-division surrounded by a green belt of reserve forest, ...

Talcher Talcher, known as the "City Of Black Diamond" in Odisha, is a major industrial coal city and municipality. Talcher is one of the 4 sub-divisions of Angul district in the Indian state of Odisha. History During the British Raj Talcher was the c ...

Dhenkanal Dhenkanal is a town and a municipality in Dhenkanal district in the state of Odisha, India. Geography Dhenkanal is at . It has an average elevation of 80 metres (262 feet). Demographics As per the 2011 India census, Dhenkanal had a p ...

and

Jatani Jatani (or Khurda Road, name of the railway station) is a town in the Indian state of Odisha. It is also a municipality in Khordha district in Odisha. Jatni is famous for its celebration of the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. Geography Jatani ...

also known as Khurdha Road Junction. •Airways: Currently, the nearest airports to Sonepur are: Veer Surendra Sai Airport-

Biju Patnaik International Airport Biju Patnaik Airport is an international airport serving Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha, India. It is situated around south-west of Bhubaneswar Railway Station and from the city center. Named after Biju Patnaik, the former Chi ...

- Swami Vivekanand Airport-

References

* Pasayat, C. and Sudam Naik (2008), ''Subarnapur Darabari Sahitya'' (in Oriya), Bhubaneswar: Gyanajuga Publications. * Pasayat, C. (Ed.) (2008), ''Paschima Odisara Lokageeta'' (in Oriya), Bhubaneswar: Folklore Foundation. * Padhy, S.K. ''History and Culture of Sonepur'' Ph.D. thesis, Berhampur University, 2000 . *Accommodation in Sonepur "HOTEL KASTURI" {{Odisha Cities and towns in Subarnapur district