Mayurbhanj State (;

colloquial Colloquialism (also called ''colloquial language'', ''colloquial speech'', ''everyday language'', or ''general parlance'') is the linguistic style used for casual and informal communication. It is the most common form of speech in conversation amo ...

ly ''Morbhanj'') was one of the princely states of India during the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

. It was one of the largest states of the

Eastern States Agency The Eastern States Agency was an agency or grouping of princely states in eastern India, during the latter years of the British Raj. It was created in 1933, by the unification of the former Chhattisgarh States Agency and the Orissa States Agenc ...

and one of the four

salute state A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Scouting ...

s of the Orissa States Agency. The emblem of the state was two

peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

s, for according to legend the ancestors of the rulers had originated from a peafowl's eyes. The state included a vast mountainous area inhabited by many different people, such as the

Santal The Santal (or Santhal) are an Austroasiatic languages, Austroasiatic-speaking Munda peoples, Munda ethnic group of the Indian subcontinent. Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand and West Bengal in terms of population and are also found ...

, Munda, Ho and

Kisan Kisan may refer to: * Kisan people The Kisan are a tribal group found in Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand. They are traditional farmers and a food gathering people. They speak Kisan, a dialect of Kurukh language, Kurukh, as well as Odia lang ...

. Its former territory lies in the present-day state of

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

, bordering

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. The capital of the state was the town of

Baripada Baripada () is a city and a municipality in Mayurbhanj district in the state of Odisha, India. Located along the east bank of the Budhabalanga river, Baripada is the cultural centre of north Odisha. In recent years, it has emerged as an e ...

since the 15th century. Daspur was another important town. Large tracts of Mayurbhanj state were covered with forest.

History

The rulers of Mayurbhanj state were descendants of the

Bhanj dynasty The Bhanja dynasty is a dynasty that originated in the northern and central regions of modern Odisha (in the Khiching region of Utkala Kingdom, Utkala and Khinjali mandalas) before the Gupta Empire became an imperial power. The dynasty, of ancie ...

of the Khijjinga mandala of the ancient local Kshatriya lineage. According to the early inscriptions of Ranabhanja and Rajabhanja, the dynasty has its origins from the mythical peahen likely pointing out to the early peafowl related traditions of the ancient Bhanja clans which is observed on their emblems which is also shared by the successive branches. Their influence likely declined with the dominance of the Somavamshis in the Utkal region, but centuries later came back to prominence in the region with the rise of the

Eastern Ganga dynasty The Eastern Ganga dynasty (also known as Purba Gangas, Rudhi Gangas or Prachya Gangas) were a large medieval era Indian royal Hindu dynasty that reigned from Kalinga from as early as the 5th century to the mid 20th century. Eastern Gangas rul ...

after uniting the three realms of Trikalinga with the Bhanjas as their feudatories. Traditions point to numerous origins of the dynasty but lack of records renders them unlikely although it is generally accepted that the founder, Adi Bhanja of the 12th century established the current dynasty of the Mayurbhanj state with his brother Jyoti Bhanja founding the

Keonjhar State Keonjhar State (), also known as Keunjhar, was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. The second largest of the states of the Orissa States Agency, it was located in present-day Kendujhar district Kendujh ...

succeeding from the Khijjinga Adi Bhanja dynasty. Mayurbhanj State had been under

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

rule during the 18th century and paid an annual tribute of 6000 rupees. It became a

British protectorate British protectorates were protectorates under the jurisdiction of the British government. Many territories which became British protectorates already had local rulers with whom the Crown negotiated through treaty, acknowledging their status wh ...

in 1829, many years after the

Third Anglo-Maratha War The Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1819) was the final and decisive conflict between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire, Maratha Confederacy in India. The war left the Company in control of most of India. It began with an in ...

. During the British Raj, the kings of Mayurbhanj pioneered the upliftment of the region. Under their enlightened rule Mayurbhanj became one of the most progressive areas. The Bhanj dynasty's kings established the first medical college of the state in

Cuttack Cuttack (, or officially Kataka in Odia language, Odia ), is the former capital, deputy capital and the 2nd largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. It is also the headquarters of the Cuttack district. The name of the city is an anglicised f ...

, donating funds and land for the establishment of higher education institutions such as

Ravenshaw College Ravenshaw University, formerly known as Ravenshaw College, is a co-educational state university situated in Cuttack, Odisha on the eastern coast of India. Founded as Ravenshaw College in 1868, the institution became a university in 2006. The u ...

and welfare schemes, such as the one undertaken by the Evangelical Missionary Society of Mayurbhanj (EMSM), established in 1895 at the instance of Maharaja Shree Rama Chandra Bhanja Deo. Mayurbhanj Palace was built by Maharani Sumitra Devi Bhanja Deo in 1804. The Mayurbhanj State Railway was started by the erstwhile ruler of Mayurbhanj Maharaja Shree Rama Chandra Bhanja Deo. The first section of 52 km from Rupsa to Baripada railway station being opened for traffic on 20 January 1905. After the

independence of India The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

, Mayurbhanj State under Maharaja Pratap Chandra Bhanja Deo acceded to the

Dominion of India The Dominion of India, officially the Union of India, * * was an independent dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations existing between 15 August 1947 and 26 January 1950. Until its Indian independence movement, independence, India had be ...

on 1 January 1949, and was merged with

Orissa Province Orissa Province was a province of British India created in April 1936 by the partitioning of the Bihar and Orissa Province and adding parts of Madras Presidency and Central Provinces. Its territory corresponds with the present-day state of Odi ...

, which became later the state of

Rulers

The rulers of Mayurbhanj State of the Bhanja dynasty. They were entitled to a 9

gun salute A gun salute or cannon salute is the use of a piece of artillery to fire shots, often 21 in number (''21-gun salute''), with the aim of marking an honor or celebrating a joyful event. It is a tradition in many countries around the world. Histo ...

. The rulers of Mayurbhanj are: #Succession from the Khijjinga mandala Bhanjas (8th–10th cen) #Adi Bhanja of Mayurbhanj #Santai Bhanja #Chakkai Bhanja #Lakshmana Bhanja #Kalpi Bhanja #Surjya Bhanja #Ramachandra Bhanja #Batuli Bhanja #Iswanath Bhanja #Jagannath Bhanja #Nilakantha Bhanja #Baidyanath Bhanjadeba (1556–1600) #Jagannath Bhanjadeba (1600-1643) #Harihara Bhanjadeba (1643–1668) #Sarvesvara Bhanjdeba (1688–1711) #Viravikramaditya Bhanjadeba (1711–1728) #Raghunath Bhanjadeba (1728–1750) #Chakradhar Bhanjadeba (1750–1761) #Damodar Bhanjadeba (1761–1796) #Rani Sumitra Devi (f) - Regent of Mayurbhanj (1796–1810) #Rani Jamuna Devi (f) - Regent of Mayurbhanj (1810-1813) #Tribikram Bhanja Deo (1813–1822) #Jadunath Bhanja Deo (1822–1863) - became a

during his reign #Shrinath Bhanja Deo (1863–1868) #Krushna Chandra Bhanja Deo (1868–29 May 1882) # Sree Rama Chandra Bhanja Deo (29 May 1882 – 22 February 1912) #Purna Chandra Bhanja Deo (22 February 1912 – 21 April 1928) #Pratap Chandra Bhanja Deo (21 Apr 1928 – 1 January 1949)

Titular

*Pratap Chandra Bhanja Deo (1 January 1949 – 16 July 1968) *Pradeep Chandra Bhanja Deo (16 July 1968 – 15 September 2000) *Praveen Chandra Bhanja Deo (15 September 2000 – till date) *

Dewans and Superintendents

References:

Demographics

References

Gazetteers

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External links

* {{Authority control Princely states of Odisha Mayurbhanj district Bengal Presidency 12th-century establishments in India 1949 disestablishments in India Gun salute princely states