Utkala Brahmins, also known as Odia Brahmins, are a

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

community who belong to the 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 ...

, India. Utkala Brahmins are the historical caretakers of the

Jagannath Temple The Jagannath Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Jagannath, a form of Vishnu in Hinduism. It is located in Puri in the state of Odisha, situated on the eastern coast of India. As per temple records, King Indradyumna of Avanti (reg ...

Puri Puri, also known as Jagannath Puri, () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state ca ...

. The Utkala Brahmins are one of the five Pancha Gouda Brahmin communities that originally resided to the north of the

Vindhyas The Vindhya Range (also known as Vindhyachal) () is a complex, discontinuous chain of mountain ridges, hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments in west-central India. Technically, the Vindhyas do not form a single mountain range in the ...

. Their population is very significant in Odisha and they constitute about 10-12% of Odisha's population as of 2025.

History

During ancient period Utkala was centre of

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

. Shailodbhava dynasty were follower of

Shaivism Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million H ...

who ruled the region from 6th century to 8th century. They had built Parashurameshvara Temple in 7th century which is oldest temple in

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...

. Shailodhava king Madhavaraja II in his inscriptions state that he performed the

ashvamedha The Ashvamedha () was a horse sacrifice ritual followed by the Śrauta tradition of Vedic religion. It was used by ancient Indian kings to prove their imperial sovereignty: a horse accompanied by the king's warriors would be released to wander ...

sacrifices to assert his independence from

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an Indian empire during the classical period of the Indian subcontinent which existed from the mid 3rd century to mid 6th century CE. At its zenith, the dynasty ruled over an empire that spanned much of the northern Indian ...

which indicates presence of Brahmin in Odisha in 7th century. Keshari dynasty ruled from 9th to 12th century in medieval period who constructed Lingaraj Temple, Mukteshvara Temple and

Rajarani Temple Rajarani Temple is an 11th-century CE Hindu temple located in Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Odisha (Orissa previously), India. Believed to be devoted to Lord Shiva, the shrine is called Raja Rani because it is made of yellow and red sandston ...

in Bhubaneswar. They introduced a new style of architecture in Odisha and their rule saw a shift from

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

. According to legend Yayati Keshri brought 10,000 Brahmin from

Kannauj Kannauj (Hindustani language, Hindustani pronunciation: ) is an ancient city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar palika, Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Ut ...

to his kingdom for Ashvamedha ceremony in 10th century. There are records of settlement of 200 brahmins by Subhakaradeva of

Bhauma-Kara dynasty The Bhauma dynasty, also known as Kara dynasty, ruled in eastern India between 8th and 10th centuries. Their kingdom, called Toshala (IAST: Toṣala), included parts of present-day Odisha. By the last quarter of the 8th century, the Bhauma-Karas ...

in Neulpur grant (c795 AD) and another 6000 brahmins settlement near

between 1151-1152 A.D.

References

Sources

* * *{{cite journal, last=Witzel, first=Michael, title=Toward a History of the Brahmins, journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society, volume=113, year=1993, pages=264-268, jstor=603031, issn=00030279 Brahmin communities of India Brahmin communities of Odisha Brahmin communities of West Bengal

History

See also

References

Sources