Jainism in Odisha (Orissa)
by Ashis Ranjan Sahoo | 2015 | 106,639 words
This essay studies the presence of Jainism in Odisha or Orissa by documenting the Art, Architecture and Iconography of Jaina images, relics, structures and establishments from different districts. In Odisha, archaeological evidences show how Jainism flourished during the 1st century BCE during the reign of emperor Kharavela, stating that Jainism wa...
Jaina Antiquities in Cuttack District (Introduction)
Cuttack district is named after the principal town as well as the headquarters of the district of the same name. The word “Cuttack” is an agnlicized form of the Sanskrit word ‘Kataka’ that assumes different meanings out of which two, namely, the ‘military camp’ and ‘the fort of Capital or the seat of the government protected by the army’. Cuttack, which is one of the oldest cities of India and the capital city of Odisha for almost ten centuries, was built as a military cantonment in the 989 CE by the king Nrupa Keshari[1]. The city, however, attained prominence in the 12th century CE as the capital of imperial Gangas whose empire stretched from the river Ganga in the north to the river Godavari in the south. This capital town continued to prosper during the rule of the successive dynasties, except for a brief period. After the killing of Mukundadeva by Ramchandra Bhanja who was subsequently defeated and killed by Bayazid, the suzerainty of Cuttack passed on to the hands of the Afghans in the 1568 CE and later to the Mughals[2].
The district Cuttack forms a part of the Mahanadi delta and extends from 840 58' to 860 20' east longitudes and from 200 03' to 200 40' north latitudes. It is bounded on the north by Jajapur district, on the east by Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts, on the west by Dhenkanal district and on the south by Khordha and Nayagarh districts.
The city had originally quite a good number of temples, however their structural and sculptural remains are only found now. Some of them were attached to the modern temples and some of them are kept in personal collection. A large number of Jaina relics have been reported from different parts of the district. Even in recent years several Jaina shrines are built by Marwari communities in the town itself. They preserve in them not only a series of marble and bronze idols of recent made but also several Jaina relics of ancient past.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
N.C. Behuria (ed.), Orissa District Gazetteer, Cuttack, 1992, pp.85-89.
[2]:
M.A. Haque, “Muslim Rule in Orissa” in M.N. Das(ed.), Sidelights on History and Culture of Orissa, Bhubaneswar, 1977, pp.137-144.