|
Orissas territory formed a part of the ancient Kalinga of Mahabharat fame. Ashoka the Mauryan King invaded Kalinga in 261 BC and was filled with remorse at the bloodshed he caused. This is supposedly when he turned to Buddhism.
The ancient state rose to prominence as a kingdom under Kharavela, a great conquerer and patron of Jainism, in the 2nd century BC. Other great rulers belonged to the Keshari dynasty and the Eastern Ganga dynasty who were great builders.
At one time the vast kingdom spanned from the Ganga to the Godavari. The flourishing maritime trade with South-East Asian countries like Java and Borneo brought in a golden era of affluence and opulence.
Famous Kings like Samudra Gupta and Harsha came to Orissa on political missions while scholars like Prajna and Hiuen-Tsang came to learn at centers of learning.
Various prophets visited Orissa, significant among them is the visit of Adi Sankaracharya in 9th century to Puri. He made it a center of his mission and a towering citadel of his spiritual ideology and message.
He established four monasteries in four corners of the Indian Peninsula, of which the Gobardhan Pitha of Puri was one of the most significant. Another great saint Ramanujacharya, the propounder of Visista Dwaita philosophy also visited Puri and established the Emar Matha.
In the 16th century, Sri Chaitanya, the exponent of the Bhakti Cult made Puri his abode for the last 18 years of his life. His contemporaries were the Pancha Sakha- Sri Jagannath Das, Sri Achyutananda Das, Sri Balaram Das, Ananta & Yasobanta- spiritual stalwarts and literary luminaries of the time.
The 16th century was also when the last Hindu ruler of Orissa was defeated and the region became part of the Mughal Empire in 1592. With the Mughal decline Orissa came under the Nawab of Bengal. In 1803, it became part of the British dominions.
|
