Balangir

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Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

Balangir district map

Balangir (बलांगिर) or Bolangir (बलांगिर) is a city and district of Odisha, India.

Location

It is a district situated in the western region of Odisha. Named after the headquarter town of Balangir, this district was formed on 1st November 1949. It is flanked in the northwest by the Gandhamardan hill. Many hill streams traverse it. The name Balangir is said to have been derived from Balaramgarh, a fort built here in the 16th Century by Balram Deo, the 19th Raja of Balangir and founder of Sambalpur kingdom. The Balangir District is surrounded by Subarnapur district in east, Nuapada District in the west, Kalahandi District in the south and Bargarh District in the north. [1]

Jat Gotras Namesake

Origin of name

Balaram Deo, the 19th Raja of Patna (princely state), founded a town called Balramgarh and shifted the capital of Patna state from Patnagarh to Balramgarh in the early 16th century. Subsequently the town was renamed as Balangir from Balramgarh. After around 8 years of rule in Patna state, he was awarded the land from river Ang till the boundary of Bamra kingdom by his mother. Subsequently he founded a kingdom named Sambalpur, which went on to become a strong kingdom.[2]

History

Chedi Rulers of Balangir

The territory comprising the present district of Balangir was in ancient times a part of the South Kosala. According to tradition, the origin of South Kosala dates back to the time of Rama and scholars like Pargiter believe that Rama's long stay in that region gave rise to the name of South Kosala after his original homeland Kosala. According to Padmapurana, the kingdom of Kosala, after Rama, was divided between Lava and Kusa, his two son. Later Kusa founded the city of Kusasthalipura and ruled over the southern half of Kosala (that included modern day Western Odisha and Chhattisgarh State).

During the time of Grammarian Panini (5th Century B.C), a territory named Taitila Janapada flourished to the west of Kalinga and that territory has been associated by historians with the modern town of Titlagarh in Balangir district. Taitala Janapada was famous for trade in some commodities described by the Grammarian as "Kadru" the meaning of which may be either horse or cotton fabrics.[3]

According to Chetiya Jataka, the capital of the Chedi country was Sothivatinagara which is the same as Suktimatipuri of Harivamsa and Suktisahvaya of the Mahabharata (Vana Parva). The epic (Adi Parva) also states that the capital of the Chedis was situated on the bank of river Suktimati which is the Sukhtel river of Balangir district.[4]

Thus the ancestors of famous King of Kalinga Kharavela were from the Balangir district as they were ruling over the territory drained by the Sukhtel river in Balangir, wherefrom they advanced towards the east and became the master of Kalinga by the 1st Century B.C. In the Hathigumpha inscription, Kharavela refers to one Rajashri Vasu as his ancestor, who is probably the same as Vasu, the son of Abhichandra, the founder of Chedi Kingdom. This Vasu may also be identified with Uparichara Vasu of the Mahabharata (Adi Parva) where he is described as the King of the Chedis who were ruling in the modern district of Balangir and Subarnapur.[5]

Balangir region continued to be under the rule of Chedis during the 1st Century AD but in the 2nd century it came under the possession of the Satavahanas, whose king was Gautamiputra Satakarni. He is said to have built a magnificent vihara for his philosopher friend Nagarjuna on the Po Lo Mo Lo Ki Li or Parimalagiri identified with the modern Gandhamadana hills.

Early History: The earliest noted history of Balangir district dates back to the third century BC. The earliest introduction and spread of Aryan religious practice in Dakhin Kosala came with the initial incursion of the Jain religion. According to Bhagavati Sutra and Harivamsha Purana, Mahavir started his earliest preaching of Dharma at Nalanda, Rajgriha, Paniya Bhumi and Siddharthagrama.

According to some scholars, (D. C. Sircar) Punita Bhumi is a synonym of Paniya Bhumi as per Odra-Magadhi language. It is the same as Paniya Bhumi or Nagoloka, the present Nagpur, and it is further identified as Bhogapura, the modern Bastar, region of Chhattisgarh, Koraput, Kalahandi and Balangir district of Odisha.[6]

In some of the insctiptions found in Balangir and Sonepur district, it has been mentioned that this part of the land was known as Attavika during Ashoka’s invasion of Kalinga in 261 B.C.

The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang visited Po Lo Mo Lo Ki Li monastery at modern Paikmal in the 7th Century AD. It was then having cloisters and lofty halls and those halls were arranged in five tiers each with four courts with temples containing life-size gold images of Buddha. [7]

Utkal University Archaeology Prof. Dr. Sadasiva Pradhan excavated the Gumagad site under Gudvela block near the Tel river valley in Balangir district, where he found that a strategic military hub existed in the 1st century BC.[8] It was set up by a king contemporary to king Kharavela. Four copper plates were also found at Terssingha village which speaks of the Tel valley civilisation. Those plates had information regarding the two capitals – Udayapur and Parbatadwaraka – which were under the rule of Rashtrakutas and local chieftains belonging to different clans. The Udayapur area, the capital of Rashtrakuta kings, who ruled in the valley, still does have standing structures and also the ruins. These are mostly found at Amathgad. Ruins of a medieval fort is also found there.[9]

According to eminent historian and pigraphist Sadananda Agrawal, copper plates were recently found in Kapsila village near Balangir. The found materials were three copper plates tied together by a circular ring and issued by a king named Khadgasimha. It has been dated to the 8th century AD and it informs about new rulers and history of the Tel valley civilization.[10]

Important towns

The important big & small towns in Balangir district are Titlagarh, Patnagarh, Kantabanji, Loisingha, Saintala, Belpada, Tushra, Agalpur, Deogaon, Chudapali, Biripali.

बलांगिर ज़िला

बलांगिर ज़िला या बलांगीर ज़िला भारत के ओड़िशा राज्य का एक ज़िला है। ज़िले का मुख्यालय बलांगिर है। बलांगीर ओड़िशा के पश्चिमी भाग के प्रमुख व्यापारिक नगरों में से एक है। यह शहर महाराजाओं के काल में सुन्दर रीति से बसाया गया था। बलांगीर सम्बलपुर से 141 किलोमीटर दूर है और यहाँ अभी भी पुराने फैशन के सुन्दर और शान्तिपूर्ण स्थल विद्यमान हैं। बलांगीर अनेक सांस्कृतिक कार्यक्रमों के आयोजन का स्थल रहा है। सौन्दर्यपूर्ण और आकर्षक दृश्यों के लिए गन्धमार्दन के पहाड़ी झरने और महानदी के पर्वतीय स्थल प्रमुख हैं। यहाँ वर्ष के अधिकांश समय में गर्म और शुष्क जलवायु रहती है। यहाँ सर्दियाँ भी कठिन किन्तु सुखद होतीं हैं। इसलिए यहाँ सर्दियों में आना अच्छा होता है।

दर्शनीय स्थल:

हरिशंकर- यह बलांगीर से लगभग ८१ किमी की दूरी पर स्थित है। यह स्थान हरिशंकर मंदिर के लिए प्रसिद्ध है जो गन्धमार्दन पर्वत की दक्षिणी ढाल पर अवस्थित है। गन्धमार्दन पर्वत का यह स्थान औषधीय पौधों के लिए प्रसिद्ध है।

सोनपुर- सोनपुर का नाम जैसा प्रतिबिम्बित करता है, इस अनुपम शहर के विभिन्न भागों में पुराने सोने के सिक्के पाए जाते थे। यह महानदी और तेल नदी के संगम के मध्य स्थित बसाया गया एक प्राचीन नगर है। यह बलांगीर से ४८ किलोमीटर दूर है और चारों ओर मन्दिरों से घिरा है।

रानीपुर झरियाल- ये जुड़वाँ शहर हैं जो बलांगीर से १०४ किलोमीटर दूर स्थित हैं। यह बलांगीर जिले के टिटलागढ़ सब-डिवीजन में हरे-भरे पर्यावरण के मध्य स्थित है जो प्राचीन धरोहरों से परिपूर्ण है। यह एक प्राथमिक साक्ष्य है कि यहाँ तीर्थाटन करनेवालों के द्वारा कुछ पुराने मन्दिरों की खोज की गई थी जिस स्थान को 'सोमतीर्थ' कहा जाता है। प्रसिद्ध 64 योगिनी मन्दिर भी यहाँ स्थित है।

पटनागढ़- पटनागढ़, पटना राज्य की प्राचीन राजधानी था, जहाँ कुछ अनुपम स्मारक हैं। यह बलांगीर से ३८ किलोमीटर दूर स्थित है।

References

  1. https://balangir.nic.in/about-district/
  2. Orissa District Gazetteers: Balangir, Printed by the Superintendent, Orissa Government Press, 1966
  3. Panini's Ashtadyayi VI. 2. 42
  4. D. C. Sircar Ancient Geography of India Pg.55
  5. D. C. Sircar Ancient Geography of India
  6. D. C. Sircar, Inscription of Orissa, Pg. 263
  7. Yuan Chawng 'Journey of the West'
  8. http://kddf.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/gumagod.png
  9. "Riverside kingdom traced in copper plates". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India
  10. http://newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/article293270.ece

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