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Orissa
has a glorious and ancient history spanning a period of over 2000
years. In ancient times, it was the proud kingdom of Kalinga.
Kalinga was a major seafaring nation that controlled most of the sea
routes in the Bay of Bengal. For several centuries, a substantial
part of Southeast Asia, such as Kampuchea (Cambodia), Java, Sumatra,
Bali and Thailand were colonies of Orissa. In fact the name of the
country "Siam" is derived from Oriya/Sanskrit Shyamadesha. The
temple of Angkor Wat is a fine example of Orissan architecture, with
some local variations. Bali still retains its Hindu Orissan
heritage. A major turning point in world history took place in
Orissa. The famous Kalinga war that led emperor Asoka to embrace
non-violence and the teachings of Buddha was fought here in 261 BC.
Later on, Asoka was instrumental in spreading Buddhist philosophy
all over Asia. In the second century BC, Kalinga flourished as a
powerful kingdom under Kharavela. It is he who was built the superb
monastic caves at Udayagiri and Khandagiri.Subsequently, the kingdom
was ruled under various monarchs, such as Samudragupta and Sasanka.
It also was a part of Harsha's empire.
In 795 AD, the king Yayati united Kalinga, Kosala and Utkala into a
single empire. He also built the famous Jagannath temple at Puri.
King Narasimha Dev is reputed to have built the magnificent sun
temple in Konark. Although now largely in ruins, the temple would
easily have rivaled the Taj Mahal in splendor. The ruins of a major
ancient university and center of Buddhist learning, Ratnagiri, was
recently discovered in Orissa. Scholars from far away lands, such as
Greece, Persia and China used to study philosophy, astronomy,
mathematics and science at this famed University. Taxila, Nalanda
and Ratnagiri are the oldest universities in the world. The ruins of
Ratnagiri University have not been fully excavated yet.
During the dark ages of Indian civilization, Orissa was ruled by a
succession of Muslim kings. It was later annexed by emperor Akbar
and became part of the Mughal empire. After the fall of the Mughals,
the Marathas under Shivaji invaded the land and continued to rule
until 1803 AD when Orissa fell prey to the barbaric British. Modern
Orissa was carved out of Bihar in 1936. Contemporary Orissa has a
proud cultural heritage that arose due to the intermingling of three
great religious traditions - Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. It has
been further enriched by Islam and Christianity.
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