Kalinga (Mahabharata)

This article is about the kingdom of Kalinga in Indian epic literature. For the historical kingdom, see Kalinga (historical kingdom).

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South Asia circa 500 BCE, with location of Kalinga.[1][2]

Kalinga is a kingdom described in the legendary Indian text Mahabharata.[3] They were a warrior clan who settled in and around the historical Kalinga region, present-day Odisha and northern parts of Andhra Pradesh. According to political scientist Sudama Misra, the Kalinga janapada originally comprised the area covered by the Puri and Ganjam districts.reference-Sudama Misra (1973). Janapada state in ancient India. Bhāratīya Vidyā Prakāśana. p. 78.

Kalinga clan warriors sided with Duryodhana in the Kurukshetra War due to matrimonial and harmony alliances between both kingdoms of Kalinga & Kuru existing even before the Great War of Mahabharata was to happen. Kalinga is the founders of five eastern kingdoms, which included: Angas (east, central Bihar), Vangas (southern West Bengal and Bangladesh), Udra (Odisha, East Madhya Pradesh and South Jharkhand), Pundras (western Bangladesh and West Bengal, India), Suhmas (north-western Bangladesh and West Bengal) shared common ancestry. Two capitals (Dantapura and Rajapura) of Kalinga were mentioned in Mahabharata. It is likely that there were many Kalinga kings, ruling different territories of Kalinga, with many migrated outside to form new kingdom.

  1. ^ Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 145, map XIV.1 (d). ISBN 0226742210.
  2. ^ Content mirrored from this map
  3. ^ Annapurna Chattopadhyaya (2006). The people and culture of Odisa and Bengal, a study in origins. Firma K.L.M. p. 988. ISBN 978-81-7102-144-4. ...in the Mahabharata wherein the Kalingas have been included amongst the tribes...