Odisha In Epics

The epics of India tell tales of countries situated throughout the globe. With every new page, the epics transfer you into an entirely different zone. Come and explore the Itihaas of Odisha through the famous epics of the Indian subcontinent.

One state, many colours; Image Source: Odisha Bhaskar

Mahabharata is considered to be one of the major Sanskrit epics of India. With a huge variety of characters and situations, it explains to us the meaning of relations and their importance in our everyday lives. When it comes to the Pandavas and Kauravas conquering places in and around Bharatavarsha, we come across a place named Kalinga.

When the legendary Mahabharata started, there came a warrior clan named Kalinga. This tribe was settled in and around the Kalinga region, which then consisted of Odisha, West Bengal, Bangladesh, and certain parts of Andhra Pradesh. When it came to their participation in the Kurukshetra war, they took Duryodhana’s side. Though considered evil by all, the Kalingas took their side because of some matrimonial alliances between them and the Kurus. This alliance was formed way before the war was initiated.

Talking about Kalinga’s history, they were the founders of five eastern kingdoms including Angas, Vangas, Udra, Pundras, and Suhmas. All of these kingdoms shared common ancestry. In the epic of Mahabharata, the two capitals of Kalinga including Dantapura and Rajapura have also been mentioned. Many of the kings from the Kalinga region continued ruling on their homeland while several others migrated to different princely states.

Yet another story that revolves around the origin of the Kalinga region is that of the legendary king Bali. Bali was the emperor of either Kalinga or Magadha. But he was heirless. Dirghatamas was born in the lineage of Gautama and Angiras and was also known by the name of Gautama. However, he was blind and was ousted from his house by his wife and sons. King Bali saved him and gave him shelter in his royal abode. Happy at the gesture, the sage blessed him with five sons named Anga, Vanga, Kalinga, Sumha, and Pundra. All of them grew up to be able rulers and later on founded kingdoms after their names.

The famous swayamvara of Draupadi had many famous kings fight against each other for marriage. Out of all these kings, the King of Kalinga and Chandrasena too attended the function. Though they did not win, there is a mention of them attending the swayamvara.

According to the epic, King Sahadeva conquered many kingdoms and extracted tributes from them. These included the Paundrayas, the Dravidas, the Udrakeralas, the Andhras, the Talavanas, the Kalingas, the Ushtrakarnikas, the Yavanas, and the city of Atavi. Dantapura, which is the present-day Puri, has been mentioned as the capital of Kalinga. Apart from this, Kalinga was said to have another capital named Rajapura. Not only Sahadeva from the Pandava clan, but Karna from the Kaurava clan also conquered Anga and Vanga and included them under the joint umbrella of his rule.

In Mahabharata, we find the mention of Duryodhana’s marriage to the daughter of Chitrangada, who is the King of Kalinga. With his capital being Rajapura, he was considered to be the king of one of the most opulent kingdoms of India. However, this was not any normal marriage. King Duryodhana abducted Chitrangada’s daughter along with Karna to marry her.

When the Kurukshetra War began, King Srutayush accompanied by a huge army entered the war field. He along with many other rulers of Kalinga, thousands of elephants, and the entire Nishada army surrounded Bhimsena. However, the mighty Bhim was no less. He along with the Chedis, the Matsyas, and the Karushas came together to fight against the Kauravas. When the fight ensued, the Chedis afraid of losing their lives, left the battlefield abandoning Bhim. But Bhim was too headstrong to accept defeat without a proper fight. With his iron mace, he killed Sakradeva, the son of Srutayush and Prince Bhanumat of Kalinga.

Drawing his bow, Bhim killed the mighty King Srutayush with seven shafts.

While all these tales could be narrated during the tea-time, we come to yet another story of the famous ruler Mahapadma Nanda. Ruler of Magadha, Nanda conquered Kalinga around 350 BCE. The Nanda dynasty is said to be quite powerful with even more powerful kings sitting on the royal throne. One can see the inscriptions at Hathigumpha in Odisha that narrate the tales of Nanda's domination over Odisha. Not only this, but the Nanda kings also took up many developmental processes that raised Odisha to a new height.

Today, when we look back at Odisha’s history, we not only see the changing landscapes and panoramic scenery, but we also see its glorious past etched in the golden pages of epics and mythologies.

Stay tuned to read more about the Kalinga war and King Ashoka’s change of heart after seeing the disaster he caused!