Kalinga is a historical region of India. It is generally defined as the eastern coastal region between the Ganges and the Godavari rivers, although its boundaries have fluctuated with the territory of its rulers. The core territory of Kalinga now encompasses all of Odisha and some part of northern Andhra Pradesh. At its widest extent, the Kalinga region also included parts of present-day Chhattisgarh, extending up to Amarkantak in the west. In the ancient period it extended until the bank of the Ganges river.
The Kalingas have been mentioned as a major tribe in the legendary text Mahabharata. In the 3rd century BCE, the region came under Mauryan control as a result of the Kalinga War. It was subsequently ruled by several regional dynasties whose rulers bore the title Kalingādhipati ("Lord of Kalinga"); these dynasties included Mahameghavahana, Vasishtha, Mathara, Pitrbhakta, Shailodbhava, Bhaumkara, Somavamshi, and Eastern Ganga. The medieval era rulers to rule over the Kalinga region were the Suryavamsa Gajapatis, Bhoi dynasty, Paralakhemundi Gangas and the zamindaris of Ganjam and Vizagapatam.
Extent
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The Kalinga region is generally defined as the eastern coastal region between Ganges Confirming the existence till the river Ganga DK Ganguly used references from accounts of Pliny and the Mahabharata. Balasore is north of Baitarani river and borders Bengal. This also confirms Kalinga extending north of Baitarani River.
In the ancient Indian literature, the Kalinga region is associated with the Mahendragiri mountain located in the Ganjam district of Odisha, near its border with Andhra Pradesh.
At times, the southern border of Kalinga extended further up to the Krishna River.The Kalinga region encompasses the whole of present-dayOdisha: the north-eastern part of Odisha was included in the distinct Utkala region. Utkala gradually lost its identity, and came to be considered as a part of Kalinga. In the Adiparva of Mahabharata it is mentioned that Arjuna moved to Kalinga crossing Ganga. Interestingly, it distinguishes Kalinga from Mahendragiri. That means only north of Mahendragiri till Ganga river was considered Kalinga then. Arjuna was moving from north to south in the eastern part of India. Adiparva mentions he moved from Gaya and Ganga then came to Anga, Vanga and Kalinga. In the Gupta period Kalinga was subdivided into smaller countries. After the decline of Guptas, the Matharas were one of the kingdoms who claimed to rule over Kalinga by acquiring the title of Kalingādhipati. The Mathara territory stretched from Mahanadi, which is believed to be Badanadi or Bara river in Southern Ganjam(literally meaning "big river", same as Mahanadi, Badanadi or Badanai was also locally called Mahanadi until 20th century) in the north to Godavari in south along the east coast, since all the inscriptions by them and the localities mentioned in them were within these two rivers. Like the Matharas, the Pitrbhaktas and subsequently the early Eastern Gangas continued to use the title of Kalingādhipati ruling over the same region. The Vigrahas of South Toshali whose territory comprised the region south of Mahanadi also claimed to rule over Kalinga-rashtra ("Kalinga kingdom"). The Vigrahas were ousted by Mudgalas of North Toshali or Utkala by 603–04 CE who themselves were invaded by Shashanka. The Shailodbhavas who emerged as Maha-Samanta of Shashanka declared themselves independent after 620 CE and acquired the title of Sakala-Kalingādhipati ("Lord of whole of Kalinga"). The Bhauma-Karas took over the Shailodbhava territory and made the Eastern-Gangas their feudatories,
and the Somavamshis under Janmejaya made inroads into the Bhauma-Kara kingdom up to coastal Odisha and acquired the title of Trikalingādhipati ("Lord of the three Kalingas"). The Gajapati Empire of Odisha in 15-16th century was known as Kalinga in some of the contemporary sources.
The eastern boundary of Kalinga was formed by the sea (the Bay of Bengal). Its western boundary is difficult to pinpoint, as it varied with the political power of its rulers. However, the Puranic literature suggests that Kalinga extended up to the Amarakantaka hills in the west.
Several ancient inscriptions mention the term "Trikalinga", which has been interpreted in several ways. According to one theory, Trikalinga refers to the widest extent of Kalinga. However, the Eastern Chalukya records suggest that Kalinga and Trikalinga were two distinct regions, with Trikalinga denoting the hilly region to the west of Kalinga.
Some scholars have misinterpreted the text of Mahabharata and have said river Vaitarani was the northern border of Kalinga. However the text says river Vaitarani passes through Kalinga The Mahabharata also mentions one 'Srutayudha' as the king of the Kalinga kingdom, who joined the Kaurava camp. In the Buddhist text, Mahagovinda Suttanta, Kalinga and its ruler, 'Sattabhu', have been mentioned.
;Known rulers are –
- King Kalinga, (founder of Kalinga kingdom)
- King Odra, (founder of Odra kingdom)
- Srutayudha
- Srutayush
- Manimat
- Chitrangada
- Subahu
- Virasena
- Sudatta
- Nalikira
- Yavanaraj
- Dantavakkha or Dantavakhra (c. 9th century BCE)
- Avakinnayo Karakandu (c. late 9th to early 8th century BCE)
- Vasupala (c. 8th century BCE)
Kalinga dynasty (II) (c. 700 – 350 BCE)
This dynasty is mentioned in Chullakalinga Jataka and Kalingabodhi Jataka. The last ruler of First Kalinga dynasty is said to have broken away from the Danda kingdom along with the kings of Asmaka and Vidarbha as its feudal states, and established rule of Second Kalinga dynasty.
;Known rulers are –
- Dandaki
- Mahakalinga
- Chullakalinga
- Kalinga II (c. 7th – 6th century BCE)
;Other or late Kalinga rulers according to Dāṭhavaṃsa are –
This was probably another dynasty or late rulers of Second Kalinga dynasty, which is mentioned in Dāṭhavaṃsa.
;Known rulers are –
- Brahmadatta (c. 6th – 5th century BCE)
- Sattabhu
- Kasiraja
- Sunanda
- Guhasiva
Suryavamsha of Kalinga (c. 350 – 261 BCE)
;Known rulers are –
- Brahmaadittiya (c. 4th century BCE)
His son, prince 'Soorudasaruna-Adeettiya' was exiled and as per Maldivian history, established the first kingdom Dheeva Maari and laid the foundation of the Adeetta dynasty (Aditta Vansa).
Pre-classical Kalinga
Annexation by Nanda Empire (c. 345 – 322 BCE)
Kalinga was believed to be briefly annexed by Nanda ruler Mahapadma Nanda between 345 and 340 BCE.
thumb|Possible extent of the Nanda Empire under its last ruler [[Dhana Nanda]]
The Nanda empire appears to have stretched from present-day Punjab in the west to Odisha (Kalinga) in the east. Nandas control of Kalinga region is corroborated by the Hathigumpha inscription of the later king Kharavela (c. 2nd or 1st century BCE).
When Chandragupta Maurya rebelled against the Nandas, Kalingas broke away from the empire of Magadha in 322 BCE.
Hathigumpha Inscription of Kalinga
The Hathigumpha inscription suggests that a king named Nandaraja had excavated an aqueduct there in the past. Assuming that Nandaraja refers to a king of the Nanda dynasty, it appears that the Kalinga region was annexed by the Nandas at some point. It appears to have become independent again after the fall of the Nandas. It is described as "Calingae" in Megasthenes' Indica (3rd century BCE):