Sadhaba

Sadhabas (or Sadhavas) (Odia: ସାଧବ sādhaba) were ancient mariners from the Kalinga region, which roughly corresponds to modern Odisha, India. They used ships called Boitas to travel to distant lands such as South-East Asia to carry out trade.[1][2][3][4]

The early hours of Kartik Purnima (the full moon day in October and November) was considered an auspicious occasion by the Sadhabas to begin their long voyages.[5] Coconuts, earthenware, sandalwood, cloth, lime, rice, spices, salt, cloves, pumpkins, silk sarees, betel leaves, betel nuts, elephants, precious and semi-precious stones were the main items of trade.[6] Even women went on voyages as well and were known as Sadhabanis (Odia: ସାଧବାଣୀ sādhabāṇī). Odia navigators were instrumental in spreading Buddhism and Hinduism in East and Southeast Asia. In addition, they disseminated knowledge of Indian architecture, epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, Brahmic scripts writing system and Sanskrit loan words which are present in many Southeast Asian languages from different language families such as Khmer, Thai, Cham, Balinese etc.

Maritime trade declined only in the 16th century, with the decline of the Gajapati Empire.

  1. ^ Sila Tripati (2002), Early Maritime Activities of Orissa on the East Coast of India: Linkages in Trade and Cultural Developments (PDF), Marine Archaeology Centre, National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa, retrieved 3 April 2021
  2. ^ Sanyal, Sanjeev (2016). The Ocean of Churn: How the Indian Ocean Shaped Human History. Penguin UK. p. 84. ISBN 978-93-86057-61-7.
  3. ^ Uday Dokras (October 2020), Kalinga Maritime history, Indo Nordic Author's Collective, retrieved 9 February 2021
  4. ^ Kailash Chandra Dash (November 2011), Maritime Trade and Orissa (PDF), Orissa Review, retrieved 3 April 2021
  5. ^ Patnaik, Nihar Ranjan (1997). Economic History of Orissa. Indus Publishing Company. p. 117. ISBN 81-7387-075-6.
  6. ^ BB Bhatta & PK Pradhan (2005), MARITIME TRADITIONS OF ORISSA (PDF), ORISSA REFERENCE ANNUAL, p. 213, retrieved 3 April 2021