Historic sites in Odisha

This article lists monuments and sites of historic importance in Odisha, India.

Prehistoric

Site	Date(s)	Picture	Location	Description	References
Gudahandi	c. 20000 BCE		Kalahandi district	Rock paintings from Upper Paleolithic.
Vikramkhol	c.3000 BCE		Jharsuguda	Prehistoric human rock shelter with inscriptions.	[1]

Ancient

Singhapura (In Jajpur Dist): Some historians said that it was the capital of Singha Bahu, a Kalinga King who was contemporary of Lord Buddh and Bimbisar of Rajgrih. His exiled son Prince Vijaya established Sinhalese dynasty in Sri Lanka. The Archaeological Survey of India has been requested to excavate this site to unravel the truth.

Site	Date(s)	Picture	Location	Description	References
Dhauli	262 BCE		Dhauli, Bhubaneswar	Site of the Kalinga War	[2]
Sisupalgarh	c.300 CE		Bhubaneswar 20°13′35.9″N 85°51′11.0″E	Ancient fort	[3]
Asurgarh	c.9th century BCE		Kalahandi	Asurgarh is an archaeological site in the Kalahandi district of Odisha, India. Asurgarh is one of the sites which has its beginning in around 8th-9th century BC and emerged as one of the early urban fortified settlements in the region and it is older than Sisupalgarh. Archaeologists have unearthed artefacts believed to be 2,300-year-old while carrying out excavation at the Asurgarh Fort in Odisha’s Kalahandi district. DB Gadanayak, Archaeological Survey of India, says Asurgarh is one of the sites which has its beginning in around 8th-9th century BC and emerged as one of the early urban fortified settlements in the region by the efforts of tribal and non-tribal inhabitants of the region.[4] Lokesh Durga, Department of History of Delhi University, says Asurgarh settlement is older than Sisupalgarh and the first Urbanization process in Odisha started from Asurgarh.[4][5][6]	[7] [8]
Bindusagar Tank	c. 7-8th century CE		Old Town, Bhubaneswar	A ritual tank with a shrine in the centre.	[9]
Chausath Yogini Temples	c. 9th century CE		Jharial, Bolangir	A hypaethral temple for 64 yoginis	[10]
Chausathi Jogini Temple	9th century CE		Hirapur, Khurda	Hypaethral temple for 64 Yoginis in the outskirts of Bhubaneswar	[11]
Anantashayana Vishnu	9th century CE		Sarang, Dhenkanal	15 metre long rock cut image of Vishnu lying in rest.	[12]

Medieval

Site	Date(s)	Picture	Location	Description	References
Ratnagiri	c.10th century		Jajpur	Buddhist monastery built by the Bhauma-Kara dynasty	[13]
Lalitgiri	c.10th century		Cuttack	A group Buddhist monasteries.	[14]
Brahmeswara Temple	1058 CE		Bhubaneswar	Shiva temple built during reign of the Somavamsis	[15]
Jagannath Temple	c.1090		Puri	Vaishnava temple built by Eastern Ganga dynasty kings.	[16]
Lingaraja Temple	c.1100		Bhubaneswar	Shiva temple built by Somavamsi kings.	[17]
Gundicha Temple	12th century		Puri	Built by the Eastern Ganga dynasty. Houses the main idols during the Ratha Yatra festival.	[18][19]
Barabati fort	c. 1230		Cuttack	Presumed to have been built by Anangabhimadev III of the Eastern Ganga dynasty	[20]
Kapilash Temple	1246		Dhenkanal	Shiva temple constructed by Narasingha Deva I.	[21]
Konark Sun Temple	c. 1250		Konark	Supposedly built by king Narasingha Deva I of Eastern Ganga Dynasty around 1250.	[22]
Ananta Vasudeva Temple	c.1278		Bhubaneswar	Vaishnava temple built by Queen Chandrika, daughter of Anangabhimadeva III, of the Eastern Ganga dynasty	[16][23]
Atharanala Bridge	c.1300		Puri 19°49′11″N 85°49′54.1″E	Bridge with 18 arches, purportedly built by Narasingha Deva II of Eastern Ganga Dynasty.	[24]
Biraja Temple, Jajpur	13th Century		Built originally by Jajati Keshari of Soma Dynasty
Annakoteshvara Temple	16th Century		Latadeipur, Gondia, Dhenkanal	Shiva temple built during the reign of the Gajapati dynasty	[25][26]
Alarnath Temple	1610 AD		Brahmagiri, Puri, 752011	[27]
Baladevjew Temple	1707		Kendrapara	Temple built during Maratha occupation of Odisha.	[28]
Qadam-e-Rasool	1718		Cuttack	Mosque built by Shuja-ud-Din Muhammad Khan. Purportedly contains a Qadam Rasul (footprint of Muhammad).	[29]

Colonial

Site	Date(s)	Picture	Location	Description	References
Joranda Gadi	Early 20th century		Joranda, Dhenkanal	Contains the samadhi of the founder of the Mahima Dharma sect.	[30]
Inchudi	1930		Balasore	Site of Salt Satyagraha in the state.	[31]

See also

• History of Odisha

References

1. "Ancient rock art starts to fade out: Engravings in Vikramkhol cave under threat". The Telegraph (India). 27 December 2011. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
2. Subodh Kapoor (2002). Indian Encyclopaedia. Cosmo Publications. p. 1137. ISBN 978-81-7755-257-7. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
3. Paul Yule. Early Historic Sites in Orissa (Delhi 2006) 19-22.
4. "'Asurgarh fort settlement belongs to Iron Age, older than Sisupalgarh'". The New Indian Express. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
5. Barik, Satyasundar (24 April 2022). "Carbon dating finds Asurgarh is Odisha's oldest fortified settlement". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
6. "Odisha Current Affairs 2024 : Download Free PDF & Practice Quiz". Testbook. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
7. L K Durga, 2018. Process of Peripheralization of Settlements in Early Historic Odisha: An Archaeological Perspective, Vol. 6, Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology http://www.heritageuniversityofkerala.com/JournalPDF/Volume6/26.pdf
8. D B Garnayak, 2020. Excavation at Asurgarh: An Early Historic Fortified Settlement in Odisha , Vol. 8.2, Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology, http://www.heritageuniversityofkerala.com/JournalPDF/Volume8.2/18.pdf
9. "Bindusagar Tank" (PDF). Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). Retrieved 8 August 2014.
10. "Ranipur-Jharial Yogini Temple: A Ninth Century Monument Remains in Ruins". The New Indian Express. 7 March 2014. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
11. "Yogini temple of Hirapur". The Hindu. 17 October 2003.^{[dead link‍]}
12. "Anantasayana Visnu" (PDF). Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). Retrieved 8 August 2014.
13. "Excavated Buddhist site, Ratnagiri". Archaeological Survey of India. Archaeological Survey of India. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
14. "Excavated Buddhist site, Lalitgiri". Archaeological Survey of India. Archaeological Survey of India. Archived from the original on 26 September 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
15. "Brahmeswara Temple" (PDF). Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). Retrieved 8 August 2014.
16. Prabhat Mukherjee (1981). The History of Medieval Vaishnavism in Orissa. Asian Educational Services. pp. 29–, 32. ISBN 978-81-206-0229-8.
17. Pabitra Mohana Nāẏaka (2011). Inscriptions of Orissa: With Special Reference to Subarnapur. Readworthy. p. vii. ISBN 978-93-5018-042-6. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
18. "Gundicha Temple" (PDF). Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). Retrieved 8 August 2014.
19. "Five Lakh Throng Gundicha Temple in Puri". The New Indian Express. 7 July 2014. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
20. Hemanta K. Mohapatra (January 2004). "Remembering the Great Barabati Fort" (PDF). Orissa Review. Government of Odisha. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
21. "Kapilash Temple". District Portal: Dhenkanal. Government of Odisha. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
22. Indian History. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. 1960. p. B3. ISBN 978-0-07-132923-1. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
23. Trilochan Dash. Story of Lord Sri Jagannatha in Srimandira at Sri Purusottam Kshetra. Trilochan Dash. p. 31. GGKEY:Y2TR84PZ0DD. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
24. O. M. Starza (1993). The Jagannatha Temple at Puri: Its Architecture, Art, and Cult. BRILL. p. 8. ISBN 90-04-09673-6. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
25. "Alphabetical List of Monuments - Orissa". Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Retrieved 8 August 2014.
26. "Annakotesvara Temple" (PDF). Indira Gandhi National Centre For The Arts (IGNCA). Retrieved 8 August 2014.
27. "alarnath temple - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
28. "30 lakhs were granted for the renovation of Baldevjew and Mausi Maa temples under heritage conservation project". The Indian Express. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
29. Mohammed Yamin (May 2011). "Islamic Monuments in Cuttack" (PDF). Orissa Review. Government of Odisha. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
30. "Joranda Gadi" (PDF). Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). Retrieved 8 August 2014.
31. "Satyagraha memory fades with time". The Telegraph (India). 12 September 2012. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.