Utkala Kingdom was located in the northern and eastern portion of the modern-day
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
.This kingdom was mentioned in the epic
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...
, with the names ''Utkala'', ''Utpala'', and ''Okkal''. It is mentioned in India's national anthem,
Jana Gana Mana.
Early Sanskrit Literature
The early
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
medieval literature says "उत्कृष्ट कलायाः देशः यः सः उत्कलः" (), meaning the land having an "excellent opulence of artists". The
Puranic
Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...
division of ''Utkala desa'' was bounded on the north by the river Kapisa, on the south by the river
Mahanadi, on the east by the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line betwee ...
and to the west by
Mekala hills.
References in Mahabharata
The
Dasarnas, the
Mekalas (a kingdom to the west of Utkala) and the Utkalas were mentioned as kingdoms of Bharata Varsha (Ancient India) (6:9). Utkalas were mentioned as taking part in the
Kurukshetra War siding with the
Kauravas
''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic ''Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his w ...
. Many Mekalas, Utkalas,
Kalingas, Nishadas, and Tamraliptakas, advanced against
Nakula
In the Hindu epic Mahabharata, ''Nakula'' (Sanskrit: नकुल) was fourth of the five Pandava brothers. Nakula and Sahadeva were twins blessed to Madri, by Ashwini Kumaras, the divine physicians. Their parents Pandu and Madri - died e ...
, showering their
shafts
''Shafts'' was an English feminist magazine produced by Margaret Sibthorp from 1892 until 1899. Initially published weekly and priced at one penny, its themes included votes for women, women's education, and radical attitudes towards vivisection, ...
and
lances, desirous of slaying him (8:22).
The Utpalas, the Mekalas, the
Paundras, the
Kalingas, the Nishadas, the
Trigartas, and the
Valhikas, were all vanquished by
Karna
Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic '' Mahābhārata''. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the ...
(7:4).
See also
*
Kingdoms of Ancient India
The Mahājanapadas ( sa, great realm, from ''maha'', "great", and ''janapada'' "foothold of a people") were sixteen kingdoms or oligarchic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE during the second urba ...
References
*
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...
of
Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa
Krishna Dvaipayana ( sa, कृष्णद्वैपायन, Kṛṣṇadvaipāyana), better known as Vyasa (; sa, व्यासः, Vyāsaḥ, compiler) or Vedavyasa (वेदव्यासः, ''Veda-vyāsaḥ'', "the one who cl ...
, translated to English by Kisari Mohan Ganguli
Kingdoms in the Mahabharata
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