Sidelights on History and Culture Of Orissa

by Manmath Nath Das | 1977 | 314,422 words

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Summary: This book deals with the rich cultural identity of Orissa (Odisha) which developed within Indian civilization but acquired distinctive traits. Its geographical location, bridging North and South India and serving as an overseas gateway, facilitated cultural assimilation and outward influence, evidenced in South and Southeast Asian art and religion. Physical features, from tribal hill-tracts to fertile river valleys, shaped diverse cultural growth. Deep religious faith, encompassing Jainism, Buddhism, Saivism, and Vaishnavism (with Jagannath as a mainstay), profoundly inspired artistic creativity.

The vibrant Orissan culture, sustained by economic prosperity and a societal preference for traditional customs, persists today, making Orissa a living museum of India's sculptural heritage despite historical vicissitudes.

Source 1: exoticindiaart.com
Source 2: archive.org

Contents of this online book ( + / - )

The full text of the Sidelights on History and Culture Of Orissa in English is available here and publically accesible (free to read online). Of course, I would always recommend buying the book so you get the latest edition. You can see all this book’s content by visiting the pages in the below index:

Warning! This document has not been proofread. However, for each page you can (and should) verify the text with the original source PDF file.

+ Part 1 - Land, People and History

. Chapter 1 - Land and people of Orissa

. Chapter 2 - The people of Orissa

. Chapter 3.1 - The Land of Oriya-speaking People

. Chapter 3.2 - The history of Kalinga

. Chapter 3.3 - The history of Trikalinga

. Chapter 3.4 - The history of Utkala

. Chapter 3.5 - The history of Kosala

. Chapter 4 - Prehistoric cultures of Orissa

. Chapter 5 - Prehistoric studies in Orissa

. Chapter 6 - Lost and forgotten places of Orissa: Introduction

. Chapter 6.1 - History of Tosali (Orissa)

. Chapter 6.2 - History of Samapa (Orissa)

. Chapter 6.3 - History of Kalinganagara (Orissa)

. Chapter 6.4 - History of Ganga-Kalinganagara (Orissa)

. Chapter 6.5 - History of Puspagiri (Orissa)

. Chapter 6.6 - History of Chelitalo (Orissa)

. Chapter 6.7 - History of Ratnagiri (Orissa)

. Chapter 6.8 - History of Palur (Orissa)

. Chapter 6.9 - History of Pipli (Orissa)

. Chapter 6.10 - History of Ganjam (Orissa)

. Chapter 7 - History versus Legends

. Chapter 8 - Ancient and Medieval Empires and Kingdoms

. Chapter 9 - Early state formation and Royal legitimation in late ancient Orissa

. Chapter 10 - Maritime trade in ancient Orissa

. Chapter 11 - Kalinga and Sinhala

. Chapter 12 - Decline and fall of Orissa’s medieval Hindu kingdom

. Chapter 13 - Muslim rule in Orissa

. Chapter 14 - Maratha administration in Orissa

. Chapter 15.1 - Early British Contact (with Orissa)

. Chapter 15.2 - British Conquest of Orissa (1803)

. Chapter 15.3 - Treaty of Deogaon (17 December 1803)

. Chapter 15.4 - The Paik Rebellion (1817)

. Chapter 15.5 - Famine of 1866

. Chapter 15.6 - Growth of National Consciousness

. Chapter 15.7 - Participation in the Indian National Congress

. Chapter 15.8 - Agitation for the Amalgamation of Oriya-speaking Tracts

. Chapter 15.9 - The Nagpur Congress and the Utkal Union Conference (December 1920)

. Chapter 15.10 - Non-Co-operation Movement in Orissa

. Chapter 15.11 - Madhu Sudan and His Liberal Statesmanship

. Chapter 15.12 - Civil Disobedience Movement in Orissa

. Chapter 15.13 - Orissa Boundary Dispute and Formation of Orissa Province (1930-1936)

. Chapter 15.14 - The First Congress Ministry

. Chapter 15.15 - War and the Non-Congress Ministry in Orissa (1939-1944)

. Chapter 15.16 - Formation of a Coalition Ministry

. Chapter 15.17 - The “Quit India” Movement in Orissa

. Chapter 15.18 - Merger of Feudatory States

. Chapter 16 - Details of the Orissa famine of 1866

. Chapter 17 - Economic life of Oriya people during the British period

. Chapter 18 - The princely states of Orissa in retrospect

. Chapter 19 - A brief study on the Feudatory states of Orissa and their consolidation

. Chapter 20 - The formation of the province of Orissa

. Chapter 21 - The freedom struggle in Orissa

. Chapter 22 - The story of Freedom movement in Orissa states

. Chapter 23 - Merger of Orissa states: explosion of the myth

+ Part 2 - Religious Developments

. Chapter 24 - Jainism in Orissa

. Chapter 25 - Buddhism and Orissa

. Chapter 26 - Shaivism in Orissa (Introduction)

. Chapter 27 - Shaivism in ancient Orissa

. Chapter 28 - The Shakti cult in Orissa (Introduction)

. Chapter 29 - Development of Shaktism at Jajpur

. Chapter 30 - Rise and growth of Vaishnavism in Orissa

. Chapter 31 - The cult of Jagannath

. Chapter 32.1 - The Navakalevara Ritual and Hinduization

. Chapter 32.2 - Tribals Examples of the Ritual of Renewal: The Khonds

. Chapter 32.3 - The Ritual in a Hindu Lineage Cult: The Dumals

. Chapter 32.4 - The Ritual in Hindu Village Cults

. Chapter 32.5 - The Ritual attending the level of a Temple Cult

. Chapter 32.6 - The Ritual in a Temple Cult: Sonepur

. Chapter 32.7 - Prototypes of Navakalevara and the Origin of Jagannatha

. Chapter 32.8 - Ramachandra’s probable Impact on the Navakalevara Ritual

. Chapter 33 - Jagannath during the rule of the Gangas and Suryas

. Chapter 34 - Jagannath and Kingship

. Chapter 35 - Guru Nanak in Orissa

. Chapter 36 - Monasteries in Puri

. Chapter 37 - Description of Mahima Dharma

. Chapter 38 - Evangelization in Orissa and its impact

+ Part 3 - Monuments, Art and Architecture

. Chapter 39.1 - Introduction to Orissan Folk Art

. Chapter 39.2 - Introduction to Orissan Sculptures

. Chapter 39.3 - Introduction to Orissan Painting

. Chapter 39.4 - Introduction to the Orissan art of Palm leaf etching

. Chapter 40 - Archaeological sites and monuments of Orissa—a brief survey

. Chapter 41 - Rock-cut monuments of Bhubaneswar

. Chapter 42 - Historic monuments in the Kshetra of Jagannatha

. Chapter 43 - The date of the Jagannatha temple

. Chapter 44 - Antiquities of Ganjam

. Chapter 45 - Recent archaeological excavations in Orissa

. Chapter 46 - The Temples of Bhubaneswar

. Chapter 47.1 - The superstructure on the Orissan Rekha-deul (Introduction)

. Chapter 47.2 - The Bhauma period (A.d. 736-931)

. Chapter 47.3 - The Somavamsi period (A.D. 931-1110)

. Chapter 47.4 - The Ganga period (A.D. 1110-1435)

. Chapter 47.5 - Glossary of Architectural Terms

. Chapter 47.6 - Plates and References

. Chapter 48 - Decorative motifs of Orissan temples

. Chapter 49 - Muslim monuments at Cuttack

. Chapter 50 - Graphic art—a bird’s eye view on its development in Orissa

. Chapter 51 - Bhanjas of Khijjingakotta and their monuments

+ Part 4 - Language, Literature and Education

. Chapter 52 - Orissa as known to the Puranas

. Chapter 53 - Orissan palm leaf manuscripts

. Chapter 54 - Contribution of Utkal to Sanskrit literature (a general survey)

. Chapter 55 - The Panchasakha of Odisha (Orissa)

. Chapter 56 - Description of Upendra Bhanja

. Chapter 57 - Literary and cultural societies in the nineteenth-century Orissa

. Chapter 58 - Development of Oriya lyrics (till 1850 A.D.)

. Chapter 59 - Development of modern Oriya literature (1803-1977)

. Chapter 60 - Landmarks in post-independence Oriya literature

. Chapter 61 - Origin of higher education in Orissa

+ Part 5 - Music, Dance and Drama

. Chapter 62 - Development of the Odissi music

. Chapter 63 - The Chhau dance of Odisha (Orissa)

. Chapter 64 - The Jatra of Orissa (Odisha)

. Chapter 65 - Orissi as a form of Indian classical music

. Chapter 66 - A glimpse of Odissi dance

Index

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Last Updated: 10 December, 2025

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