Orphaned children and widows mourned the loss of their near and dear ones. People looked listless and filled with despair, unable to recover from the damage this rampage had inflicted on their lives. Ashoka felt he was solely responsible for the destruction caused by this war. The next era of his rule was filled with harmony, prosperity and peace. The Nandas were one of India's most prosperous dynasties, done in by arrogance and greed. Lord Krishna, always helpful, agreed to confront the enemy.
Would his gleaming discus ever find its mark? This is the story of why the first of four days of Diwali - the Festival of Lights is named after Naraka! Close Menu Read. For Grade For Everyone. Excavation at Sisupalgarh The Geography of Kalinga Tucked away, with a cover of thick forests around it and a network of rivers and rivulets draining into the Bay of Bengal, the area of present-day coastal Odisha was ideal for habitation and settlement.
The rich alluvial soil allowed communities to thrive and there are many sites here dating back to the early neolithic period. Further inland, the rich mineral deposits in the North and West helped communities take the leap as chalcolithic cultures evolved and eventually the use of iron became prolific.
While there is evidence of numerous mesolithic and neolithic sites across the state, recent archaeological excavations give us a sense of how early agricultural settlers evolved with the use of copper in the chalcolithic copper age period. Areas of ancient domestic habitation from excavations from background and foreground The evidence of chalcolithic cultures in Odisha became well known after the excavation of Golbai in coastal Odisha.
It was further strengthened in when archaeologists found the remains of an adult human being who might have lived around 4, years ago in the Banga village near Harirajpur, around 15km from Bhubaneswar. What was interesting is that the site yielded a lot of tell-tale signs of a chalcolithic site — pottery sherds, stone artefacts, animal bones, copper fragments and living areas indicative of ancient habitation. The copper ornaments on the skeleton also indicated that the skeleton belonged to someone of local importance, probably a chieftain.
This discovery made at Banga as well as other sites showed the evolution of cultures in Odisha as It threw light on the emergence of early farming communities, their settlements and exploitation of natural resources. Mohanty, from the Deccan College, believes that sites like this provide a background to the emergence of urban settlements. Besides, they indicate the continuous evolution of communities in the area.
In fact, he says that many of these sites simply evolved into urban settlements and the early urbanisation of Odisha has to be looked at in context of sub-regional specificities — the rich alluvial soil of the coast, the abundance of minerals in the north and the large supply of semi-precious stones in the south.
It is interesting to note that even today, areas like Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Sundargarh in the region, have some of the richest iron ore and copper mines in the subcontinent. Satellite image of Chilika Lake Google The natural resources and fertile soil of the Kalinga helped settlements prosper but what would have added fuel to growth must have been trading. To understand this, you have to head to the Chilika Lake, a brackish water lagoon stretching 64 km from the Khurda district to Ganjam district in Odisha.
Connected to the Bay of Bengal through a narrow sea mouth, this lake acted as a window, connecting the region to the world — East. The earliest habitation around the Chilka also goes deep into prehistory. Interestingly, by the early historic period there is also evidence of a clutch of ports around the lake — from Palur, referred to by the Greek geographer Ptolemy CE as Paloura and Manikapatna a port that was active all the way from the 2nd BCE.
If this was the maritime base around the Chilka lake, further north you had the important port of Tamralipti — literally the copper port, that was the centre of trade through the early historic period and further south Kalingapatnam, perhaps the largest of all the regions ports. Map showing sea routes between Kalinga and trading partners The material found across South East Asia — Indonesia, Thailand, Burma and Ceylon of the famous Rouletted Ware pottery, which is also found in these Odisha ports indicate a wide network of trade contacts between Kalinga and South East Asia, Ceylon and even perhaps indirectly Rome.
Dr Kishor Basa believes that the region of Kalinga played a crucial role in the larger Bay of Bengal trade world. It was a conduit for ideas, people and material, for centuries — long after King Vijaya set sail. In fact till much later Kalinga was known mostly for its overseas connections. In the year BCE when Ashoka decided to attack Kalinga, it would undoubtedly have been a prize catch. The region, close to Pataliputra his capital, would have been prosperous and rich in resources — essential to feed the ambitions of an empire constantly at war, and it would have also been strategic, given the string of ports it boasted of.
Ruins at Sisupalgarh Shantanu Subramaniam What Sisupalgarh Tells us On the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, in a village which is fast turning into a suburb of the city, you will find the ruins of a much older one. Spread over an area of 1. Not all battles that are fought result in glorifying victory and violence. One such war, fought by King Asoka, was the battle that resulted in something different altogether.
The famous Kalinga War is regarded as one of the deadliest and catastrophic battles we know. It was the first and last war of Ashoka that took him to the path of enlightenment and Buddhism. This blog profoundly explores the history of the Kalinga War. One of the most talked-about wars in Indian history, the Kalinga War was fought between Ashoka, the emperor of the Mauryan empire, and the state of Kalinga, presently located near Odisha.
Kalinga was a prosperous and wealthy nation with talented artists and peaceful people. With important ports for trade and a strong navy, Kalinga controlled its coastline and played a crucial role in trading.
The Mauryan Empire perceived Kalinga as a threat because they could interrupt communications between Patliputra, the Mauryan capital and its possessions in the central Indian peninsula. Hence, that is why Ashoka wanted to conquer Kalinga. But the Kalinga King refused to surrender which prompted Ashoka to wage a war against the empire.
It involved bloodshed and cost a staggering 2,50, casualties. Also Read: Battle of Khanwa. Historians have different views about the causes of the Kalinga War. The definite causes behind the deadliest battle in Indian history, have been elucidated below-. Also Read: Battle of Haldighati. There were only 60, infantry, 1, cavalries, and elephants in the Kalinga army. Also Read: Battle of Plassey
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