Mystical Odisha’s Buddha Trail

Odisha has always become mystical and mysterious about its offering to global travellers. The state has been the custodian of more than 2000 years of cultural & historical legacy which people are yet to explore. The marvellous discovery of the Buddhist establishments of Ratnagiri, Udayagiri & Lalitgiri by Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI), abandoned around 1000 years before during the fall of Buddhism, is reframing the colourful glory of the grandeur of Kalingan architecture.

By visiting Odisha, one can pay homage to the ancient land of Kalinga which put all its resources and the entire maritime trade route to propagate Buddhism across the world. Though Lord Buddha spent his life in Nepal, Bihar and U.P., but without contribution of Odisha, the influence of Buddhism would have limited to Northern India. Buddhism became a world religion only after Kalinga-Asoka war and because of the vast maritime trade route of Kalinga. And all these happened only after 200 years of the Maparinirvana of Lord Buddha at Kushinagar. The great Kalinga war fought for the control over the trade route and its horrific consequences when millions sacrificed lives in defence of their motherland, changed  Chandasoka to Dhammasoka and he renounced violence. Hence, under patronage of Emperor Asoka, the maritime trade route of ancient Odisha was instrumental in propagation of Buddhism worldwide.

But association of Buddhism with Kalinga started during the life of Lord Buddha as his  first disciples, Tapusa and Bhallika, were honey traders from Ukkala (Odisha had several names in the past- Kalinga, Odra & Ukkala). Buddhism continued to be the religion of Odisha till 12^th century A.D. Two hundred years of Bhaumakara rule, from 8^th to the 10^th century AD, are considered as the golden epoch of Buddhism in Odisha when Tantric Buddhism with its offshoots of Vajrayana, Kalachakrayana and Sahajayana involving all sorts of esoteric practices dominated the religious life of people of Odisha. In the 8th century AD, Subhakara Simha, a prince of the Bhaumakara family of Odisha, accepted Buddhism  and went to China where he met Emperor Xuan Zung of the Tang dynasty and introduced esoteric Buddhism. In the Buddhist Jataka stories of the fourth and third centuries B.C., a kingdom of Kalinga is mentioned with Dantapura as its capital. From Dantapura, the most venerated relic of Buddhism, Buddha’s tooth, was brought to Sri Lanka. This tradition forms the basis of a lasting relationship between Kalinga and Sri Lanka. Recent archaeological explorations have reported more than 340 Buddhist sites of which nineteen sites have been excavated so far.

Famous Chinese pilgrim Huien Tsang, who visited Odisha in 639 CE, found more than hundred Buddhist monasteries which he elaborately mentioned in his travelogue Sie-yu-kie. Prominent  among them were the remnant of monasteries of Theravada Buddhism in Langudi hills and of Mahayana & Vajrayana  Buddhism at Ratnagiri, Udayagiri and Lalitgiri  which was recently excavated, restored and conserved by ASI for public view . Here, one could observe the evolution of Buddhism from the Theravada sect with its austere and plain worship of a stupa to the growth of Mahayana and Vajrayana (tantric) sects with their elaborate pantheon of Bodhisattvas and other deities.  Also the site of Dhauligiri in Bhubaneswar, is a major tourist attraction because of the modern Shanti Stupa (or Peace Pagoda) constructed by Kalinga Nippon Buddha Sangha in 1972 in commemoration of the Kalinga war. Dhauligiri is also famous for the Rock Edict of Asoka (or Kalinga Edicts). Other important Buddhist sites located near the Langudi hillock at Dharamsala block of Jajpur dictrict  are Vajragiri, Radhanagar, Kayama, Tarapur and Deuli.

The Buddhist monastic establishment at Ratnagiri dated  from 5^th century to 13^th century AD became one of the last shelters of Buddhism in the country when the religion declined in other parts of India. The finest relic of Buddhist art at Ratnagiri is a magnificent doorjamb adorning Monastery 1 which represents the highest watermark of decorative art of India. Numerous references to the site in Tibetan literature suggest that Ratnagiri was an important center in the development of the Kalachakratantra in the 10th century CE, an assertion supported by the discovery of a number of votive  stupas, plaques, and other artifacts featuring Kalachakra imagery. As per Taranatha’s History of Buddhism, Ratnagiri housed 3 copies each of the scriptural work of Mahayana and Hinayana (Theravada) Buddhism. Five hundred monks (from all over India & abroad) were resident here. 

Udayagiri or the “Sun rise Hill”, the most picturesque among the three is situated on the slope of a crescent shaped low hill. This site, a Mahayana-Vajrayana site was a vibrant center of  Buddhist learning and worship between 8th to 13th centuries AD. Here, the Mahastupa of a total height of 7m from the ground and 4.8m from pradakshinapatha  has niches in each cardinal direction which enshrines seated images of Dhyan Buddhas-Akshobhya (E), Amitabha (W), Amoghasiddhi (N) and Ratnasambhava (S); all  inscribed with Buddhist creeds.

 

Lalitgiri is one of the oldest Buddhist establishment in the world as the iconographic analysis indicates that this site had already been established during the Sunga period of the 2nd century BC. The hilltop Mahastupa at Lalitgiri is 15 meter in diameter, and is constructed in Sanchi style which is visible from afar. 

The excavation of Lalitgiri site led to the finding of sacred buddhist relic casket which contained relic or dhatu in the form of a small fragment of bone which is claimed to be of Lord Buddha. The relic casket is now at ASI office in Bhubaneswar. Odisha tourism is planning to erect a permanent structure at Lalitgiri for veneration of Buddhist relic by pilgrims.Another attraction at the site is the structural remains of a large brick built apsidal chaityagriha.

All the major sites of Buddhist circuit in Odisha fall within 100 kms from Bhubaneswar airport which takes around one & half hours to reach through well maintained roads.  The accommodation and hospitality infrastructure at the heritage sites are now provided by Gurgaon based Toshali Resorts International which is now managing three properties at the Diamond triangle all equipped with world class amenities and convention facilities. Toshali Ratnagiri Resort, situated in front of the museum of Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI) and the Ratnagiri Buddhist heritage site is equipped with 19 rooms and a state-of- art library cum interpretation centre along with a multi-cuisine a/c restaurant, conference hall for 70 pax and a coffee shop. Toshali Pushpagiri Resort situated at Pathrajpur on the national highway to Paradeep port, near the heritage site of Lalitgiri, has 24 rooms ,2 conference halls and a multi-cuisine restaurant.  Toshali Udayagiri Convention Centre which has a capacity of 6 rooms and a conference hall for 350 pax had hosted the first International Conference on Buddhist Heritage of Odisha last year which was organized by Department of Tourism and Culture, Government of Odisha  and was attended by a total of 1,547 domestic and 66 foreign scholars. This year also State Government is organizing a 3-day International Conference at the same venue on 1^st of February with an objective to promote Buddhist heritage of Odisha.

The advantage with Odisha is its proximity to Bodhgaya & Varanasi as compared to other states with Buddhist remnants. Together these three states can develop the Buddhist tourism corridor of India through emphasis on connectivity & infrastructure with an offering of sops to all those players who promote the circuit. Flight connectivity between Bhubaneswar and Varanasi or Gaya is highly imperative to offer a complete pilgrimage for Buddhist travellers from abroad. The challenge with Odisha’s Buddhist product is that tour operators (inbound, domestic & FTOs) are still ignorant about this circuit. Need of the hour is the aggressive promotion of the Buddhist circuit  through the help of professionals and simultaneously the development of infrastructure ( hotels, air connectivity, human resources etc) to cater the inbound tourist traffic. 

Frequent B2B roadshows, training workshops & fam tours for travel trade, aggressive branding exercise through out door advertising, social media & TV campaigns and effective management of trade relations are highly essential. Buddhist tourism can act as a window to attract global travellers to Odisha and subsequently other key attractions like beaches, temple, wildlife etc can be shown. Hence in all campaigns Buddhist product should be prominently visible as the current market for Odisha lies in Far East and South East Asian countries not in Europe because of Buddhism and Root Tourism. So, there is a need to revamp the entire marketing strategy to opt for a ‘Look East’ policy.

Based on the travelogue of Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang  which informs us that emperor Asoka built ten stupas in Odra desa at places where Buddha visited and he had seen  such stupa near the capital of Kalinga, we can infer that Lord Buddha might have visited Odisha on invitation of his first disciples Tapussa & Bhallika for preaching keeping in view the long life span of Tathagata.  At present,  although archaeologists and historians might be unable to justify visit of Lord Buddha to Odisha, but as I mentioned at the beginning that Odisha holds numerous mystery in the womb of mother earth. So, there exists plethora of opportunities for the upcoming scholars to explore the treasure of an ancient civilization whose prosperity had influenced several countries like Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, China etc where millions of people still claim that their ancestral root is in the land of Kalinga in India, which is none other than Odisha. Hence, a visit to the land of ancient Kalinga known for its rich cultural legacy is a must for all those who want to connect to their roots and pay homage to  the place for which Buddhism is known across the world and is today the fastest growing religion.

 http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/mystical-odishas-buddha-trail-sameer-kumar-das-22995

(The author Sameer Kumar Das is a Delhi-based Travel Consultant who writes the blog ‘Kalinga Calling’ to promote the glorious legacy of ancient Odisha)

ODISHA & BALI (INDONESIA): CULTURAL SIMILARITIES

Irrespective of religion, the Indonesian culture was essentially Hindu culture and most of the people were Hindus (or Buddhists) at one time or the other. The term “Hindu” is used in Indonesia in a very broad sense. It is meant for both Buddhist and Brahmanical religion. So Buddhists are also treated as Hindus. The language of Indonesia which is also now the National language of Malaysia and Singapore is the Bahasa (i.e. ‘Bhasa’ of Sanskrit) Indonesia. That is primarily based on Sanskrit words but is not indebted as much to Arabic or Persian or a European language. So, we can find Muslims and Christians having Hindu names in Indonesia. But there are different dialects and scripts for different provinces, especially for Bali and Java. Javanese sounds much like Odia, ending in ‘O’, but not in Balinese. The old Balinese script and the old Javanese script were modelled after Pallava script.

The trading contacts between India and Indonesia along with Malaysia, Indo-China and the Philippines, resulted in the rise of the first Buddhist empire of Sri Vijay centred in Sumatra, or the Suvama Bhumi, about the 5^th century A.D. This empire spread over Western Indonesia and the present Malaysia. It was succeeded by the Hindu Kingdom of Sanjaya (Brahmanic) and Sailendra (Buddhist) dynasties in Java (Yawa Dwipa), succeeded by the Mataram (Hindu) empire till about the 10^th century. Then Indonesia was divided into small kingdoms till the 14^th century when the mighty Hindu empire again fell apart. Bali again not only became independent but the Javanese ruling family along with its retinue and Brahmanas fled and took shelter in Bali. It happened so because the son of a concubine of the king adopted Islam and by raising an army, attacked and usurped the throne, setting up thereby the first Muslim rule, though by a native Muslim. Under the Muslim Majapahit dynasty, Islam spread rapidly in the rest of the empire except Bali. Bali was frequently attacked, but it withstood, till it fell to the Dutch invaders only in 1908.

 

But study of Chinese records by scholars suggests that in the beginning there was also a flourishing Hindu kingdom around the 3^rd -4^th century A.D. in Indonesia, especially in Bali and Java, set up as believed, by the Kings of people from Kalinga in India. The Brahmana Odia emigrants are still called “Brahmana Buddha Kalinga” by the Balinese. It indicated that emigrants were from Kalinga(Odisha). Legends and traditions mention about the early Kalinga settlements in Indonesia. It is said that the Prince of Kalinga (Odisha) sent twenty thousand families to Java. In due course of time, they multiplied the population. They obeyed the almighty king named Kano. His successors continued to rule for about four hundred years.

 

 Since then, all over Indonesia and Malaysia all people from India had been described as “Kling’, whether they come from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bengal or Punjab. People in Indonesia or in Bali, have no idea as to the identity and location of the Kalinga country in India, and India has been synonymous with Kalinga. Islam came to Indonesia also from or via India, mainly through the Muslim traders from Gujarat in India around 10^th -11^th century. They had followed the Gujarati Hindus. People from Gouda or Bengal in India had also come to Indonesia by then. However, all Hindus coming from India were known as Klings; but it is being thought most Indians had come from Gujarat in India. Few people in Indonesia even know that Kalinga is Odisha, or the Odias were ever known as Kalingans.

 

The Bali-Yatra ceremony in Odisha on the auspicious day of Kartik Purnima when people across the state float tiny vessels lighted with lamps along with offerings of fruits as food in memory of starting to sail trading ships from Odisha, i.e. Kalinga to Bali, etc has some similarity with a South Balinese Hindu custom (Masakapam Kepesih ceremony) where every child floats a tiny vessel into the sea along with a lamp and fruit-offerings when he /she is six months old, perhaps this is a custom born out of a belief of sending the child to the ancestors in the original homeland of the Kalinga country in India.

 

 

 A number of basic words used in Odia, some crafts, some forms of worship and some peculiar food-habits prevalent in Odisha are common with Indonesia, especially with Bali and Java. For instance, mother is called Boo (bu) in Indonesia like Bou in Odia and father as Bopo (in Javanese) or Bapa (in Balinese as in Odia). Ground-nut is called Kacang China in Bali like Chinabadam in Odia.

In Bali three deities, represented by masks are worshipped which has very much resemblance to the trinity, Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra in Odisha. The masks are fitted to a wooden-body-like contraception and after worship; three persons get into these and move in a procession accompanied with dancing and singing. The visages of the masks are, one basically black, another white and the third green in colour. In fact, all worship in Bali is accompanied with dancing and singing, performed mostly by unmarried girls.

 Balinese are especially fond of leaves of sag as in Odisha, especially the young leaves of the drum-stick tree, known in Odisha as Sajana. They love to cook its sag along with mashed coconut as is done in Odisha. They also love to eat cooked banana-flowers and the core-stem of the banana plant, and also have their food on banana leaves as in Odisha and Bengal. They also prepare and eat a cake made of rice-flour with stuffings like those known as Manda and Enduripitha in Odisha, among other such cakes made of rice-flour. People of Bali worship a knotted bundle of paddy-sheaves as Shridevi, the goddess of crops or harvesting, who is worshipped with the same connotation as Lakshmi, in the month of Margasira in Odisha. Goddess Shri Lakshmi receives regular propitiation when the harvest is over. Lakshmi is regarded as the real owner of the rice fields.

 

 The Balinese and the Javanese, up to the present day, have betel chewing habit and every house have arrangements to prepare betel like the Odias. Most peculiar is the similarity of having a small wooden box moving on wheels containing the nut-cracker and containers, with ingredients of betel preparation and Catechu (Khair), as practiced in houses of middle-class Odias.

 

 The most salient feature of a common heritage is the old writings on palm-leaf with an iron stylus and the ancient Balinese manuscripts are all in palm-leaves as are the old Odia manuscripts. The practice is even now maintained in Bali by the Hindu pundits.

 

 The Balinese are celebrated for their arts and crafts all over the world now. The designs and special type of tie and dye weaving for which Bali only is noted in Indonesia, known as Patata designs in Bali, is same as the Sambalapuri design and style of weaving in Odisha.

Javanese women have the practice of rounding up hair in a typical bun the same way as the common Odia women do in villages. Youngsters of Java and Bali follow a habit of bending down and separating themselves notionally by stretching down the right hand towards the earth while passing among elders standing or sitting  on the way which is a common practise among Odias.

 

Hindus in Bali or Java, salute or pay obeisance to others by way of ‘Namaskara’ that is by raising folded hands and uttering ‘om swosti astu’ but not by touching the feet of an elder. The salutation is three-fold, like that of the Odias, that is saluting (a) deities by raising the folded hands to the forehead or above, (b) Brahmins, the King, or other superiors or elders by raising the folded hands up to the tip of the nose, and (c) equals or inferiors by raising the folded hands only up to the chest or ‘hridaya’.  While answering a query in the affirmative, like the Odias again, Balinese use ‘inge’ like ‘ajna’ in Odia, in case of replying to elders, and ‘hayn’ in case of equals or inferiors.

The Hindus of Indonesia including Bali, offer prayer as a part of daily ritual, to the Sun as ‘Aditya’, and to the ‘Sapta Kula-Parvatas’ of India, viz., Mahendra, Malay, Sahya, Vindhya, etc . and the seven, sometimes nine Gangas. It is peculiar that  especially the Mahendra range of mountains on the Odisha-Andhra border and the river Mahendratanaya flowing nearby in Odisha are venerated. The famous rivers mentioned in the rhyme for daily ablution include the Mahanadi of Odisha.  Mahanadi is considered one of the nine sacred rivers, with Ganga, Yamuna, Kaveri, Sarayu, Narmada and Godavari. The rhymes are only variants of those in vogue in India.

 

 

  But, people in Bali or Indonesia, in general, have no idea that either the mount Mahendra or the rivers as the Mahendratanaya or the Mahanadi are in Odisha. Only after coming to India and reading books written by historians like R.C. Majumdar, that I could learn about Ashoka’s Kalinga war and that the Kalinga country had spread around the present day Odisha in India, and only after visiting Odisha, I could learn that the mount Mahendra or the rivers Mahendratanaya, Mahanadi or Baitarani or Brahmani are situated mainly or wholly in Odisha.

Courtesy:   “Hinduism in Bali” an article written by Dr. I.G.P.Phalgunadi, eminent Hindu scholar from Bali (Indonesia) who conducted field work in Odisha and while staying with Odia families he studied the similarities between Odia and Indonesian culture. He spent more than decade in India for research on Hinduism and Indian immigration to Indonesia. He is the author the book “Evolution of Hindu Culture in Bali”.

ASOKAN ERA ROCK EDICT AT DHAULIGIRI HILLS, ODISHA (INDIA)

Discovered in the year 1837 by Lt. M. Kittoe, the set of Rock Edicts contain eleven out of the well known fourteen Rock Edicts of Asoka (BC. 273-236). The language of the edicts is Magadhi Prakrita and the script being the early Brahmi. Here the omission of the thirteenth edict is deliberate as it describes Asoka’s conquest of Kalinga involving a great carnage, captivity and misery to the people. The Kalinga War was the turning point in his career and he not only gave up his ambition of Digvijaya but also converted him into Dharmasoka from Chandasoka. In place of the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth rock edicts, two special edicts known as Separate Rock Edicts or Kalinga Edicts have been incorporated here, which are conciliatory in nature and meant for the pacification of the newly conquered people of Kalinga.

On the rock above the inscription, is the sculpted forepart of an elephant carved out of live rock which symbolizes Buddha, ‘the best of elephants’ (Gajottama) as in this form he was believed to have entered his mother’s womb in dream.

Gotipua, the majestic folk dance of Odisha – India

In Odia language, “Goti” means “single” and “Pua” means “boy”.

Gotipua (dance) is a form of Odissi. It has been performed in Orissa, for centuries, by young boys who dress up as female to praise Lord Jagannath and Lord Krishna. The actual form of the dance is executed by a group of boys who perform acrobatic figures inspired by the life of Radha & Krishna. The boys start to learn the dance at an early age until the adolescence, when their androgynous look is fading.

The costume and make-up

To transform into graceful feminine dancers, the boys do not cut their hair to make an elaborate hair-do in a knot. Garlands of flowers are woven into the hair. They apply make-up on their face with white and red powder mixed together. Kajal (black eyeliner) is applied around the eyes with a broad outline to give them an elongated look. The Bindi (red dot) is applied on the forehead with a pattern made from sandalwood around it. Traditional paintings adorn the face and are the identity of every dance school.

The dance costume has evolved over time. The traditional dress is a "Kanchula", bright coloured blouse with shiny embellishment. An apron-like and embroidered silk cloth is tied around the waist like a frill worn around the legs: it is called "nibibandha". The gotipua dancers have given up their traditional costume due to the influence of modernity. In some cases, they still adhere to the tradition: they use the pattasari made with one piece of tissue around four meters long, which is worn tightly by having equal lengths of material on both sides, and by tying a knot on the navel. Those traditional dresses are often replaced by a new designed cloth easier for dressing.

The dancers wear specially designed jewelry made with beads: necklaces, bracelets, armbands and ear ornaments. The nose piercing jewelry has been replaced nowadays by a painted motive. They add ankle bells to accentuate the beats tapped out by the feet. Palms and soles are painted with a red liquid called "Alta".

The costume, jewelry and bells are sacred items.

History of the Gotipua Dance

In ancient times, the temples of Orissa had female dancers called “Devadasi or Mahari (in Orissa)” who were devoted to Lord Jagannath. The sculptures of the dancers on the bas-reliefs of the famous temples of Orissa (the Sun Temple in Konark and the Jagannath temple in Puri), show the evidence of this very ancient tradition.

Around the 16th century, with the decline of the Mahari dancers, the class of these boy dancers came into existence in Orissa, to carry out the tradition. This was during the time of Bhoi king Rama Chandra Dev, founder of Bhoi dynasty.

The Gotipua dance is in Odissi style, but their technique, costumes and presentation differ from those of the Mahari. The singing is done by the dancers themselves.

It is largely from the Gotipua dance that the present form of Odissi dance has been inspired. Most of the present-day Gurus of Odissi dance (like the famous Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra from Raghurajpur village) were Gotipua in their young days.

The captivating style of Odissi dance is based in tandava (vigorous, masculine) and lasya (graceful, feminine) dance, and has two basic postures: "Tribhangi" where the body is held with three bends of the head, torso and knees, and "Chouka", a square-like stance that symbolizes Lord Jagannath.

The fluidity of the upper torso is characteristic for Odissi, and is often compared to the gentle waves of the sea that forever caress the Orissa beaches.

The repertoire of the dance includes:

• Vandana Prayer (worship prayer) of God or Guru (a customary invocation, offering prayers of gratitude to the Mother Earth, the Divine Lord Jagannath and one's Guru, and welcoming the audience). The dancers perform a 3 step-salutation, the first one above head towards God, the second in front of the face for the Guru, and the third in front of the chest for the audience.

• Sa ri ga ma (a pure dance number, celebrating beauty and highlighting mastery of technique). This dance is portraying the elegant dancers and musicians carved into the outer walls of ancient temples.

• Abhinaya (enactment of a song, interpretation of poetry of ancient writings). This dance depicts the Radha-Krishna oriented poems such as the famous Gita Govinda from the 12th century. The verses used for narration are extremely ornate in content and suggestion. Graceful, fluid, and sensual, the Abhinaya is like a moving love poem with facial expression, eye movement and mudra gestures:

"Come and see, my love

Here comes Krishna, the flute player, the Supreme Performer

Come and see, my love

He dances wearing ankles bells

So lovely rhythmic patterns he makes

Listen to his melodies, the mardala beats

Listen to his flute and clappings"

• Bandha Nrutya (presentation of acrobat yogic postures, creation of figures of Radha Krishna, having similarity to visual presentation drawn up by Pattachitra artists, the traditional painting of Orissa).

  

Musical accompaniment is provided with

• Mardala (two heads drum, rhythm percussion instrument of Orissa)
• Gini (small cymbals)
• Harmonium
• Violine
• Bansuri (alto bamboo flute)
• and one or two vocalists.

  

Bandha Nrutya (Acrobatic Dance)

The most interesting part of Gotipua is “Bandha Nrutya”, a dance with acrobatic figures and movements. The difficult and intricate poses of the body with supplying of various limbs, are known as “Bandha” (acrobatic in Oriya language). To be able to perform these figures, the boys need to start learning the dance at the early age of five or six. The postures mostly refer to mythological scenes from the life of Krishna.

"Abhinaya Chandrika", an ancient text on Odissi Dance written by Maheshwar Mahapatra during the 15th century, gives a detailed study of the various movements of the feet, hands (mudras), the standing postures, the movement and dance repertoire.

"Sangita Darpana", an ancient text from the 17th century about music and dance, gives a complete repertory and overall style of presentation.

These writings give details about Bandha Nrutya. Abhinaya Chandrika mentions more than 25 varieties of Bandha: They are Gagana, Dhurmukha, Torona, Shayana, etc…

Some Bandhas are found in oral tradition and are known as

• Chira (welcome pose)
• Padmasana (lotus pose)
• Hansa (swan: represents wisdom, grace and beauty, and is the vehicle of Saraswati, goddess of knowledge, music & arts)
• Mayura (peacock: sacred bird of the Hindu mythology, whose feathers were adorning the head of Krishna)
• Chara Mayura (grazing peacock: represents splendor and majesty)
• Keli kadamba (holy tree under which Krishna was playing)
• Garuda (mythical eagle, vehicle of Vishnu)
• Kandarpa Ratha (chariot of Kandarpa, the God of Love)
• Sagadi (wheel, compared to the wheels of Jagannath chariot)
• Nauka (boat)
• Kaliyadalan (defeat of Blacksnake by Krishna)
• Bakasura Badha (Krishna killing Bakasura demon)
• Radha Krishna, etc…

Note : The above Gotipua dance pictures are from the performance of the students of Guru Sri Budhanath Pradhan staged at Toshali Sands, Puri. Guru Budhanath runs his gurukul Maa Santoshi Gotipua Kala Kendra with 14 resident students at Balipokhari (Kothasahi) in Puri district of Odisha.  Today, this traditional dance form is only practiced in few gurukuls of Puri. The modern economic avenues and lack of financial support to Gotipua Dance is letting people to forgo this traditional art form of Odisha. Still then, the existing gurukuls are struggling to keep up this tradition through there paltry income. The Govt must come out to preserve the age-old cultural heritage of Odisha. Also people who are rich and famous must shed some of their wealth as a CSR initiative to patronize this dwindling art form and earn accolades of public as well as dancers.

Maritime Relations of Kalinga (Odisha) with Indonesia

The sailors of Kalinga reached South-East Asia in very early times but unlike Tamil texts of Sangam period, they have not left any records of their trading voyages. In the absence of any direct evidences to Orissa we will have to depend upon the scattered reference of foreign countries. The available evidences indicate, from the beginning of Christian era, monks, merchants and adventurers continued to visit South-East Asia.

• Kalinga and Java

According to R.D. Banarjee, Hindus from Kalinga took a leading role in establishing Hindu culture in Java. An expedition from Kalinga established a colony in Java in 75 BC.

(a)   Early legends of Java mentions that “twenty thousand families were sent to Java by the prince of Klinga. These people prospered and multiplied.” Even King Jayabhaya (12^th century A.D.) believed himself to be descendant of Kalinga family.

(b)   Java was styled as Ho-Ling in the annals of the Tang period (618-906) in the Chinese record. Central Java was occupied by the people of Holing. According to Chinese sources regular embassies were sent to Ho-Ling. Scholars usually believed the Ho-Ling of the Chinese is equivalent to Kalinga.

(c)   Ho-Ling was visited be several Buddhist monks of China including I-Ching in the 7^th century A.D.

(d)   Arab historians described the 8th century AD Sailendra dynasty of Java as originating from Kalinga, and said that Sailendra was also powerful in Cambodia and Champa (Annam).

(e)   Inscriptional evidences ;

(I)                  The Canggal inscription of King Sanjaya (A.D. 732) of Java led scholars belief that the epithet “Kunjara Kunjadesa” may be located in Kalinga which was famous for elephants. Even the king styled themselves as ‘Gajapati’ in later period.

(II)                In Old-Javanese epigraphy Kling, i.e. Kalinga appears for the first time in the Java inscription from A.D. 840. Three others are from the reign of King Airlangga, who ruled during A.D. 1019-42, but the most interesting feature of these inscriptions is the fact that the charters mention the names of countries from which traders and others came to his kingdom. One such representative list states that people came from : “Kling, Aryya, Singhala, Pandikira, Dravida, Campa, Kmir, Rmen….” In all cases, excepting one, the list is headed by Kling i.e. Kalinga people, immediately followed by the Aryya people.

(III)               In an East Javanese inscription dated A.D. 1194 mention is made of a Juru Kling i.e. headman of the Kalinga people.

(IV)             A late inscription from East Java describes king Girindra Vardhana as Bhatara Kling, i.e. Lord of Kling, while his queen Kamalavarnadevi has been designated queen of Kalingapura.

From these details, it appears that Kling and Kalingapura, if they are not identical, must have been administrative units of the Majapahitan empire laying to the north-west of Kediri by the side of the river Kali Kling. The very name of the East Javanese river Kali Kling and the administrative divisions referred to above make Ho-ling or Kalinga a hard reality.

Kalingga or Holing of Central Java, Indonesia

Kalingga or Holing was an Indianized kingdom on the north coast of Central Java, Indonesia. The kingdom's location is thought to be somewhere between present-day Pekalongan and Jepara. Kalingga existed between the 6th and 7th century. The historical record of this kingdom is scarce and vague, and comes mostly from Chinese sources and local traditions.

The Chinese sources come from China and date back to the Tang Dynasty. According to I-tsing, in 664 CE a Chinese Buddhist monk named Hwi-ning had arrived in Holing and stayed there for about three years. During his stay, and with the assistance of Jnanabhadra, a Holing monk, he translateded numerous Buddhist Hinayana scriptures.

In 674 CE the kingdom was ruled by Queen Shima, notorious for her fierce law against thievery, which encouraged her people to be honest and uphold absolute truth. According to tradition, one day a foreign king placed a bag filled with gold on the intersection in Kalingga to test the famed truthful and honesty of Kalingga people. Nobody dared to touch the bag that did not belong to them, until three years later when Shima's son, the crown prince, accidentally touched the bag with his foot. The queen issued a death sentence to her own son, but was overruled by a minister that appealed the queen to spare the prince's life. Since it was the prince's foot that touched the bag of gold, so it was the foot that must be punished through mutilation. Shima's great-grandson is Sanjaya, who is the king of Sunda Kingdom and Galuh Kingdom, and also the founder of Medang Kingdom.

• Kalinga and Bali

Bali deserves special mentions for bearing stamps of Kalingan culture even to these days. Till date it is primarily a Hindu land. Like Bhubaneswar or Kanchipuram, it is a land of temples popularly called “Island of thousand temples”. It is believed, the famous, “Bali-yatra’ festival of Odisha is observed in many parts of the State to commemorate the “sea voyages of Kalingan people to Bali.”

Even now some Brahmans of Bali called themselves as “Brahman Buddha Kalinga”. As in Orissa Sri Lakshmi is worshipped as Goddess of wealth, in Bali worshipped as prosperity. Dance form of Bali particularly the performing Ramayan and the shadow-dance has close affinity with the dance form of Orissa (Ravana Chaya of Orissa). The tie and die weaving traditions of Orissa (western Orissa) have also close resemblance with Balinese textiles traditions.

 Trade with Bali appears to have started before the Christian Era. Bali had many products that were attractive to Kalinga's traders, including cinnamon, long pepper, white pepper and cardamon, pearls and gems, silk, camphor, bees wax and sandalwood. Traders from Kalinga brought muslin and other fine cloths, rugs, brocade, armour, gold and jewelry. There is a tradition that the first ruler of Bali was an Indian named Kaudinya, around 600 AD, and this name later became the title for future rulers. It is possible that the island is named after Bali, a legendary king of Orissa. Traditional masked dances that are performed in Orissa and Bali for the purpose of removing evils and bringing good fortune have many similarities that point to ancient cultural exchanges. The trade began to decline in the 8th century AD, as Arabs became the predominant maritime power in the region.The festival of "Bali Jatra", or "Journey to Bali", is still celebrated throughout coastal Orissa in memory of the ancient trading links.

   (Photocaption : Sea routes between Kalinga and trading countries)

Kalingan Lion crushing the Mighty Elephant

   Courtesy : Konark Sun Temple, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Odisha

Awakening Kalinga (The Lion) in You.

Kalinga means ‘Valor, Opulence, Enterprise, Adventure and Pride.’ It is not just a historical territory to be remained in the textbooks, it is a thought, a belief, a spirit of dauntless vivacity to be lived upon. There is a sleeping Lion named Kalinga within everyone among us which need to be awaken to show his Majestic Aura to the world.