Historical Geography Of Odisha

Naming of Odisha

Orissa is the English form of the Odia word Odisha. The name Odisha became popular from the early medieval period. Odisha in course of her history was variously known as Odra, Utkala, Kalinga, Tosala & Kosala at different ages. The modern term Odisha seems to be derived from Odra, which at one time, was the name of a very small part of the present Odisha. It was situated in the central highlands of Odisha and comprised the whole of the present Dhenkanal and Phulbani districts and parts of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Bolangir, Kalahandi & Koraput districts.

Historical Geography

In ancient and medieval times, Odisha was much bigger than modern Odisha, At the height of Odisha's imperial expansion its territory extended to the mouth of the Ganges in the north, the Godavari in the south, the Bay of Bengal in the east & the Amarkantak in the west. Thus it included Raipur & Bilaspur districts, Chota Nagpur region, Midnapore district & Srikakulam, Vizianagaram & Visakhapatnam districts. This extent of Odisha was not constant or fixed and that it did not always constitute a single state having the same entity, throughout her history. It was divided into several political units from time to time. In ancient times the vast area from the river Ganges in the north to that of the Godavari in the south and from the Bay of Bengal in the east to the Amarkantaka hill in the west was occupied by four important tribes and it is after them that the political units were named as Kalinga, Kosala, Odra & Utkala. Of these four Kalinga in ancient times exercised her control over the rest of the three units, but later on, it was confined to the region between the Mahanadi and the Godavari rivers. Kosala on the western sector, comprised the territories, now in Raipur&Bilaspur districts of Chhatisgarh & Sambalpur, Sundargarh, Bolangir & Kalahandi districts of modern Odisha.The rest of Odisha to the north of the river Mahanadi up to the Ganges in ancient times was known as Utkala and Odra - the land of the Utkalas and Odras. From about the third century A.D., this region underwent a transformation as a result of which there emerged a new country called Tosala or Tosali which for some time, eclipsed the other two, Odra & Utkala.

The extent of the kingdoms of Odra, Utkala, Kalinga & Kosala underwent many changes in course of time and by and by it became politically unified in the 12th century A.D., in the shape of modern Odisha. Considerable cultural unity had prevailed over the area extending from the river Ganges in the north to the river Godavari in the south and from the Bay of Bengal in the east to the Amarkantaka hill in the west. The political union of the Odia-speaking people facilitated a long period of unprecedented cultural efflorescence. In this natural geographical boundary, Odisha played a commanding geographical position from time immemorial.

(Reference-HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY Of Odisha, CHAPTER-II).