Utkala kingdom was located in the northern and eastern portion of the modern-day
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n
state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
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 ...
.
This kingdom was mentioned in the epic
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
, 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 (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
medieval literature says "उत्कृष्ट कलायाः देशः यः सः उत्कलः" (), meaning the land having an "excellent opulence of artists". The
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. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region.
Many South Asian and Southe ...
and to the west by
Mekala hills.
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
The Kurukshetra War (), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the Hindu Indian epic poetry, epic poem ''Mahabharata'', arising from a dynastic struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the thr ...
siding with the
Kauravas. Many Mekalas, Utkalas,
Kalingas, Nishadas, and Tamraliptakas, advanced against
Nakula
Nakula () is a major character in the ancient Indian epic, the ''Mahabharata.'' He is the elder twin brother of Sahadeva and the fourth of the five Pandava brothers. He is the son of Divine twins, twin physician gods, Ashvins, and Madri, the ...
, showering their
shafts and
lance
The English term lance is derived, via Middle English '' launce'' and Old French '' lance'', from the Latin '' lancea'', a generic term meaning a wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generic term meaning a spear">wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generi ...
s, 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 (7:4).
See also
*
Kingdoms of Ancient India
References
*
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
of
Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, translated to English by Kisari Mohan Ganguli
Kingdoms in the Mahabharata
Historical Indian regions
{{hindu-myth-stub