In ancient Indian literature, Odisha finds mention as Kalinga. The Mahabharata describes it as the land inhabited by Rishis (seers)
and a famous scriptural work, the Brahma Purana, calls it the land of “the blessed & adorned with all the virtues.” The first chronicler
of British India, W.W. Hunter, found traces of neolithic life here and described Juang tribe as one of the last surviving tribes among
the vanishing descendants of the Stone Age.
History: Odisha has glorious history. The origins of Odisha are hidden in the dawn of history as is narrated in detail in most ancient
Indian epics. Odisha was in the earliest history was known as Kalinga, named after one of the five sons of a sage. Kalinga found the
landscape of the region around Eastern Ghat inhabitable and settled down there with his people. As per modern historians, the recorded
history of Odisha can be traced back to 260 BC. Edicts of Ashoka, engraved on rocks, are found in Dhauli, about 10 kms from the present
capital, Bhubaneswar. These tablets, impervious to the suns and rains of 23 centuries, seem to symbolize the lasting influence of Asoka
on Indian thought and life. The powerful Maurya Empire had not succeeded in conquering Kalinga. Ashoka made a determined effort. A
bloody battle, famous as the Kalinga War, was fought on the outskirts of the modern Bhubaneswar. Ashoka had never faced such stiff
resistance. Over 1,00,000 people were killed; 1,50,000 were taken captives; the aftermath was- responsible for the death of many more.
Having fought a bloody war of conquest for Kalinga he repented and became converted to the Buddhist way of non-violence. The people
of Odisha whom he had conquered were already Buddhist, and by their gentleness and passivity contributed to his new philosophical
outlook. The horrors of the war changed Ashoka’s heart completely. From Chandashoka, Ashoka the Terrible, he became Dharmashoka —
Ashoka the pious. But though the fire of Buddhism spread far beyond the frontiers of Odisha following the emperor’s support, strangely
enough it did not last in the province itself. Luckily for Kalinga, a great ruler emerged a century later who boosted the morale of
Kalinga. He was Kharvela, a great champion of the Jain faith. Only 100 years after death of Ashok, the country came under Jain influence
and rose to new heights under the Jain King Kharavela who extended his empire from Mathura, near Agra, in the north to as far as Cape
Comorin in the south. After Kharvela the Kalinga dynasty declined, and in about the second century A.D. Jainism was again replaced by
Buddhism which flourished until around 640.
Odisha reached the height of its glory during the reign of rulers of the Kesari and the Ganga dynasties. Between 4th -13th centuries, the Kesari and the Ganga kings built innumerable temples and monuments. Odisha resisted the Muslim onslaught for many centuries. Even while the intolerant and vehemently opposed to other faiths Muslim rulers reigned from Delhi over much of India, Odisha was ruled by the Ganga kings. But, Muslims kept on attacking Odisha to rule the land, destroy refined and developed culture, raze Hindu temples and secure supply of battle elephants to continue their conquests Finally Odisha succumbed to continuous, reckless and barbaric attacks of the Muslim rulers in the 16th century. And, the hatemongering & atrocious Muslims destroyed out of typical bigotry most of the temples. The scale of destruction can be gauged from the fact that the 7,000 temples that once lined the banks of the sacred lake at Bhubaneswar some 500 remain in various stages of preservation.
The first westerners to arrive in Orissa were the Portuguese, in 1514 AD. The Dutch came in 1625 AD. In the first decade of the 19th century the British took possession of the state. The British appeared on the scene in 1803 AD, but because Odisha’s strategic position in India was not very important to them, they did little to improve the economic condition of the country or of the people. After India’s independence, Odisha again achieved a politically coherent shape. It is now undertaking vast industrial development programs to tap its equally vast potential of water power and natural resources.
An enterprising and affluent race inhabited Odisha in the olden days and it carried on regular trade with Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia, East Indies, and islands of the Pacific. Quite a number of them settled down in Malaysia and elsewhere and were known as the Klings (from Kalinga).
Jainism and Buddhism flourished in Odisha with equal vigour. Hiuen-Tsang, the renowned Chinese savant of the 7th century, was surprised to see the great Buddhist university of Pushpagiri, the remains of which are seen scattered or buried over the Ratnagiri- Lalitgiri-Udaygiri area. Buddhism in Odisha is as old as the religious itself. The Kalinga war of 261 BC fought at the foothill of Dhauli near Bhuabneswar, the rock edicts of Ashoka three and the present Shanti Stupa (peace pagoda) made by the Kalinga Nippon Buddha Sangha speak about the Buddhist legacy of the land. Archaeological excavations brought to light the flourishing centre of Buddhism in Ratnagiri, Lalitagiri, Udayagiri and the adjacent Langudi hills. This forms the 'diamond triangle'. Odissa Tourism is emphasizing to develop these Buddhist sites with the help of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Union Government and State Government, for these sites mark the evolutions of Buddhism from the 3rd century BC to the 12th century AD.
For nature and wildlife lovers, Odisha offers lot of opportunities to watch rich bio-diversity of flora & fauna. For the visitors who want to visit the tigers in their dens, elephants in the wild, birds in the lakes, crocodile and giant tortoises in the swamp filled with mangrove forests, Odisha can be the ultimate destination. If pristine beaches, exotic birds, thousands of turtles, fearsome crocodiles, narrow creeks that meander past deltaic islands, mangrove forests is what Bhitarkanika is, then the magnificent dense forest spreading iis what Bhitarkanika dense forest spreading over 2750 square kilometers, rugged hilly terrain, majestically roaming tigers and waterfalls inside the lush green forest is what Similipal Tiger Reserve is. While Similipal, Bhitarkanika, Chilika, Gahirmatha and Nandankanan are some of the exciting destinations, Sunabeda, Balukhanda, Koraput, Ushakothi, Debrigarh, Baisipali and Hadagarh Sanctuaries are also some of the excellent wildlife sanctuaries in the State.