Raibania fort is a group of ancient

forts A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from ...

Baleswar district Balasore District, also known as Baleswar District, is an administrative district of Odisha state, in eastern India. Balasore is one of the coastal districts of Odisha and lies on the northernmost part of the state. Etymology Baleswar is sa ...

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 ...

, India. This fort complex is considered as the biggest medieval fort of eastern India. It was built during the reign of Eastern Ganga ruler

Narasingha Deva I Gajapati Langula Narasingha Deva I was an Eastern Ganga monarch and a warrior of the Kalinga region who reigned from 1238 CE to 1264 CE. He defeated the Muslim forces of Bengal who constantly threatened the Eastern Ganga dynasty's rule over ...

. There are 161 fort goddesses which are as "Durga devata" or "Iṣṫa devata" and Daṣasharu which is an

aniconic Aniconism is the cultural absence of artistic representations (''icons'') of the natural and supernatural worlds, or it is the absence of representations of certain figures in religions. The prohibition of material representations may only extend ...

form of the goddess Jayachaṇḍi. Although three forts were recorded in the

Ain-i-Akbari The ''Ain-i-Akbari'' (), or the "Administration of Akbar", is a 16th-century detailed document regarding the administration of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, written by his court historian, Abu'l Fazl, in the Persian language. It forms ...

, four forts have been found here: two of the larger ones are closer to the village Raibania, and the other two are closer to the village Phulta (Phulahatta). According to The Balasore Gazetteer, the forts were devastated after the Kalapahada invaded Utkala. Post-invasion remnants of the forts except Raibania have been utilized for construction by the local

Zamindars A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is th ...

and villagers of the locality.

Location

The Raibania fort complex is located in Laxmannath, from

Jaleswar Jaleswar is a town located in the Balasore district of Odisha, in India. It consists of 144 villages, with four major areas: Barabazar, Bada Bazar, Nua Bazar, Station Bazar, and Purana Bazar. Jaleswar is considered one of the new municipalit ...

and from the river Subarnarekha. *Hatigarh *Chudamanipur *Olmara *Garhsahi *Dolgram Fort:It is located at Nayagram Block under Jhargram district in West Bengal. Formally known as Deulgaon Fort in Kalinga History. It is famous for Pakshiraj statue, deul pukur, Dolmanch and ancient Jagannath Temple. Dolgram Pakshraj Fort was also a popular historical zone for playing the Pasha Game between Raja Narasingha Deb-iV (King Raibania fort ) and Raja Chandra Ketu (King of Chandrarekha-Dhumsai) on a very Big sized Royal Stone-stage at Dolgram Fort near Behrani Khal. A water emerged temple-pond(Raj-Deul) in middle of Padmapukur is a memorable significance of Maharaja Mukunda Deba at Royal Village Dolgram . Dolgram Balakesher High School is developed on Dolgram Pakshiraj Fort palace. A Pakhiraj (Winged horse-Pegasus )Statue situated near the cultural stage of School with a majestic tradition of culture and architectural innovation. Winged horse is a Rock art by an ancient King Maharaja Mukunda Deba. A Charak Festival was started from golden time of Dolgram which is very famous for Sharp weapon rule (Taloyar path) in every Chaitra month. Dol utsav also a famous festival of Dolgram region during dol purnima in every year on a stone made Dolmanch.A historical re-search organization named Dolgram Pakshiraj Trust(Nayagram) took initiative for Unhide the ancient history of Dolgram Pakshiraj Fort continuously.

History

, king 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 ...

of Utkala from 1238 to 1264, built the forts after conquering Humayun Khan to obstruct the entry of the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

into Odisha.The Fort of Barabati
Dr H.C. Das. pp.3

References

External links

Raibania fort
{{Forts in India Balasore district Forts in Odisha