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Dantapuram -the Symbol of Revolt against Aryan Expansion

K. S .Chalam

Dantapuram, a small undescriptive village with a huge 500 acres earthen rampart is situated nearly 6 Kms from Amadalavalasa in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh. The earthwork could be seen as a round structure from a satellite map is a mud fortification found to be once without any habitation in side. It is located in Kalinga country as Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam districts up to Godavari were part of it got bifurcated in 1936 as Orissa and Madras. The Mahabharata story refers to Dantavakrunikota and the Kaurav chief Duryodhana got his wife Bhanumathi from Kalinga.  Noted scholar Godavarthi Ram Das in one of his papers on Kalinga in 1928 citing ‘Sacred Books of the East’ explained that the Vedic Aryans considered the inhabitants of Kalinga were impious natives and retorted that those who enter the region should get themselves absolved through a fire ritual ( Baudhayana Sutra p148). As an eminent epigraphist Ramdas has discovered and  published Purle Plates of Indravarman of Ganga dynasty in the Epigraphia Indica in 1930 at page 360 Vol XIV  including the inscription in Sanskrit issued in the Ganga year 149 ( 496-535) from Dantapuram.  Ramdas has identified Dantapuram as the one that we have mentioned above. This is the inscriptional evidence to note that the capital of Kalinga was Dantapura at the time of Indravarman, the Eastern Ganga king of Trikalinga. It was also perhaps the capital when the left canine tooth of Lord Buddha was brought by a Brahmin (named Khema) to the place called Vetadipa at that time when BrahmaDatta was ruling Trikalinga. This is how Rhys Davids explained as to how the mortal remains of Buddha got distributed among 8 claimants citing Mahaparinibbana sutta. Dantapura now stands near the right bank of Vamsadhara river along which in another 20 Kms towards Kalinga sea (Bay of Bengal) Salihundam a 3rd century BC Buddhist structure exists (excavated by ASI in 1954). Thus the place was perhaps named as Dantapura after the pious Tooth Relic of Buddha was brought here, whatever may be its original name ( Simhapura, dvipa etc). After some years it is reported that there were several skirmishes about the relic as per DipaVamsa, Dalada Vamsa of Sri Lanka and therefore finally the relic was taken to Anuradhpura and the name Dantapura  remains with Kalinga. Dantapuram was mentioned in the records of Roman and Egyptian Geographers along with Kalinga. It was called as Dandagula and the boundaries were misplaced due to the typical Indian names and the reading of records of Megasthnes and others who came to India along with Alexander and had taken notes on places, kings, socio-economic strictures etc. It was Cunningham in his ‘The Ancient Geography of India’, 1871 noted as follows. Based on the records of Hwuen Tsang, he has mentioned that, “ in the seventh century, the capital of the kingdom of Kie-ling-kia, or Kalinga, was situated at from 1400 to 1500 li, or from 233 to 250 miles, to the south-west of Ganjam. Both bearing and distance point either to Rajamahendiri on the Godavari river, or to Koringa on the seacoast, the first being 251 miles to the south-west of Ganjam, and the other 246 miles in the same direction. But as the former is known to have been the capital of the country for a long period, I presume that it must be the place that was visited by the Chinese pilgrim. But, the original capital of Kalinga is said to have been Srikakola, or Chikakol, 20 miles to the south-west of Kalingapatam. The kingdom was 5000 li, or 833 miles, in circuit.”  Thus, the geographical accounts noted by erstwhile foreign visitors interpreted as late as 1871 by a British officer had cleared the air that Dantapuram was the capital of Kalinga for a longtime and it was in Srikakulam district. Yet, some scholars without verifying the archeological findings and historical data try to confuse by saying that Palur a Telugu place name now in Orissa was Dantapuram . Recently Michel Skinner a historian noted that, two particular Jâtakas, the CullaKâlinga-Jâtaka and the Kâlinga-Bodhi-Jâtaka, directly referred to Kalinga and revealed information about the early development of this region. Both Jâtaka stories described Kalinga as a powerful region possessing an internal monarchial government. Furthermore, these Jâtakas identified the Kalinga capital of Dantapur that indicated an urban center administered by a king. .. the Buddhavamsa and the Dathadhatuvamsa both relate the story of Buddha’s tooth relic being brought to Kalinga and placed in a stupa at the capital of Dantapura. Citing some Orissa writers, he has referred to Palur as Dantapuram. This is not contradicted by scholars perhaps no one took it as a serious finding.

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The geographical location of Dantapuram, a city of Buddhist antiquity is on the East coast of India as an entry point for all visitors of the hinterland kalinga through Kalingpatnam port. The hinterland of Dantapuram consist of the whole of ancient Kalinga from Ganga on the North, Kalinga sea or Bay of Bengal on the East, Amarkantak and Kalajhar (Bundelkhand) on the West, Godavari river on the South West. This has been identified by several scholars and the archeological evidences have unequivocally established its location. Yet, some motivated scholars who wish to disrupt its importance create and produce all kinds of studies to say that it is not in the present location. But our intention here is not the place but the larger question of how it had spearheaded an anti -Aryan narrative.

The Archeological Survey of India, Delhi has taken note of the excavations conducted by the Department of Archeology and Museums of Government of Andhra Pradesh in three seasons at Dantapuram during 1994, 1998-99 and 2001-02 by B Subrahmanyam and have “brought to light some brick stupas at a depth of 2 to 3 feet. Incidentally, these stupas do ( does )not contain the Ayaka platforms as is common in the Krishna valley indicating the early nature of the stupas. The other finds include red ware, straight edged shallow bowls of burnished black ware, terracotta beads and bangles, red slipped ware and also black and red ware.” This is what is conveyed to the author by Director General of ASI, Delhi in a letter on 5 August 2010. In fact, the brief findings on Dantapuram substantiate what R. Subrahmanyam of ASI in his 330 pages excavation report on Salihundam (started in 1954 and completed in 1964) reported. The Buddhist remains in Srikakulam are very ancient and belong to the Hinayana set where for a long period there were no Ayakas or figures of Lord Buddha in the sites (chaitya/arama).

The above discussion on the historical and archeological evidence to prove that Dantapuram, an ancient Buddhist site once considered as a capital of Kalinga, physically exists in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh. This is very close to Kalingapatnam and SriMukhalingam capital of Trikalingadhipatis of Eastern Gangas who were responsible for the construction of Puri Jagannath temple, Konark and other Hindu temples now in Orissa. In addition to Dantapuram , the capital or headquarters of Trikalinga and Kalinga are found to be Simhapuram, Nagarikatakam, Kalinganagaram, Rajapuram, Sripuram, Pistapuram, Tosali, Sisupalgarh, Katak and others are recorded in inscriptions from time to time only to indicate that Trikalinga is a vast country in the subcontinent  when the aliens or Aryans crossed in to Sindhu or Indus and later expanding over the peninsula.

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Trikalinga as the Native Country
The references to Trikalinga or Kalinga were found in the writings of Greeks, Romans, Chinese and others who visited Sindhu India from time to time, apart from the references in Epics and Puranas. However, records of Megasthenes are found to be older compared to Hindu Puranas as the oldest purana, Vayupurana among the 18 is identified with  5th century AD and the youngest Naradapurana is of 17th century as per studies of S. M. Ali and others. The Roman geographer Pliny gives precise definition of this locality as per Vigasin Alexei of Moscow (2015) : “the river Ganges is the boundary of this region” (VI.64: finisque tractus eius Ganges). Immediately his itinerary transcends this limit, going to the South. On the coast of the Bay of Bengal was situated the country of Kalingas. According to Pliny, the king of this race (calingarum – VI.65) has 60 000 infantry, 1 000 cavalry and 700 elephants. But the next monarch is even mightier, he has 4 000 cavalry, 4 000 elephants and 50 000 infantry. He rules over the “spacious island” in the river (insula… magnae amplitudinis), containing a single race named the Modogalinga (gentem continens unam nomine Modogalinga). The term “insula” is misleading – it is difficult to imagine an island in the river so densely populated. Perhaps it was result of interpreter’s mistake: skr. Dvipa (Prakrit dipa) denotes not only “island”, but also a country   between two rivers (e.g. Kurudvipa – “the land of the Kurus”, cf. Brahmanda-purana 53.140: dvirapastvat smrto dvipah). The second element of ethnic name –Galinga is obviously with Kalinga identical. The first element (Modo) is more difficult to interpret. Latin “o” not rarely stands for Indian “u” (e.g. in the words: Pataliputra – Παλιβοθρα, Candragupta – Σανδροκοττοσ), So Indian original for modo must be mudu.  I agree with J. Filliozat, that Latin form Modogalinga may be reconstructed as Mudukalinga. The word mudu in Telugu language means “three”. Mudukalinga is nothing but skr. Trikalinga, i.e.Telugu speaking population of Andhra Pradesh, or Telingana. Cunningham noted that the original capital of Kalinga is said to have been Srikakola, or Chikakol, 20 miles to the south-west of Kalingapatam. “ ( p515 ). Thus, the veracity of Trikalinga or Kalinga, a region with inhabitants ( of the races) or people who are distinctly different from the North India or Bharat varsha or Hindusthan is made clear by the writings and references in inscriptions deciphered by scholars.  They have studied Kalinga not necessarily, the present Orissa which was once a part of Bengal, Bihar and Madras. Some disgruntled writers of Orissa who wrote on the history of Kalinga during the struggle for separate Orissa state in the 1930s like that of Nelakanth Das totally denied any link of Trikalinga with Telugu people.

The references to non-kalinga regions or the people or inhabitants of the region other than those who lived beyond Mahanadi and Amarakantak were referred to by the great Trikalinga King Mahamegavahana, Kharavela in his Hathigumpha inscription near Bhubaneswar. It is strange some historians who claim to be using dialectical historical method called Kharavela as a barbarian and have paid scant attention to read what is inscribed on the Hathigumpha. Kharavela according to B.C Majumdar and reiterated by Gopal Halder is a Telugu name. Halder says that, “the name Kharavela is a famous one, it is likely that this name is a compound formed from two Old Telugu words, khara= black, vela=spear.”(p51 ‘Languages of India’). The Hathigumpha inscription is very significant for several reasons. It was Kharavela who recovered Kalinga from Magadhan dominance by defeating most probably Pushya Mitra Sunga (some refer to Brihaspati Mitra) and making the Indo-Greek king Demetrius retreating to Mathura. The second important expedition was against the Satakarni ( the satavahana king ) on the banks of venna benna ( Krishna) who was patronizing Vedic Hinduism by conducting Aswameddha yaga. The third important expedition was against ‘Bharatavarsha’ (the one beyond Mahanadi at that time was a Brahminical Hindu country). Two other important readings that the historians of a typical dispensation fail to recognize is that, it was in this inscription, Kharavela used the term Tramira( Tamil country) . The most important supplementary information provided by Romila Thapar is that he belongs to the same dynasty as that of Ravana, the chedi dynasty. The above references are from the inscription adopted and reproduced by Thapar in her Early India ( pp 212-213). Referring to the interpretations of some of the Indian historians, the German historians who specialized on Kalinga, Hermann Kulke and Dietmar Rothermund noted that, “Indian Marxist historians insist that the introduction of iron implements around 750-700 BC in Chota Nagpur and its better armament, which enabled the people to clear the jungle and reclaim the fertile land of the eastern Gangetic plains, led to the rise of the powerful mahajanapadas and finally to the emergence of the great Eastern empire. But, hitherto there is no archeological evidence nor are there references in the ancient texts which would clearly support this Marxist thesis of economic change as the main reason for the rise of Magadha….may have had … access to deposits of iron ore in  Chota Nagpur and its better armament.” (‘A History of India’ pp 57-58). Thus the history of Trikalinga particularly its non-Aryan component with probable Dravidian roots did not enthuse those who were following the ‘Aryans’ of Gordon Childe (he never touched his study after learning about Hitler) who had a profound influence on Hitler.

Non-Aryan and Non-Dravidians in Kalinga
The binary categories of Dravidian and Aryan, the former is said to have come first from Sumeria and the latter thereafter has overwhelmed the critical study of East Coast of India . The land in which the Trikalingans inhabited was considered as the most unholy place in all Vedic and Puranic writings and based on that even some scholars substantiated it by calling the Jain King KharaVela as a vicious ruler. The prejudice or bias in writing about the people of Trikalinga who were in the land of Dandaka or Mahadandaka or Mahakantara or Ravana bhumi etc at different points of time refer only to the original people of India, who could be termed as Native Indians or some as Pre-Aryan or Pre-Dravidian as they have different languages and different social institutions distinctly different from Sankritized Aryans.     

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The genome project and the Genetic studies conducted by scientists to classify and categorize people for medical pursuits did follow studies of Human Genetics and DNA. They have helped scholars to identify the ancient people who migrated to different parts of the world on the basis of technical details such as hap lop groups, y chromosomes etc found two separate groups ANI and ASI, ancestral North Indians and ancestral South Indians , the former with links with outside and the latter without any connection . In one of the studies, Tony Joseph in his book on “Early Indians: Our Ancestors and Where We Came from” (2018) citing published sources has established that the Aryans have migrated from outside and there were some indigenous people like the Tibeto Austric people inhabiting India mostly in the central and  South East India before the Aryans came here. Not only the present study but also several scholarly works by Indologists from 18th century onwards have anticipated the presence of distinct groups in India that are being supported by DNA studies now. Linguists from the time of William Jones are trying to establish different language speakers and the morphology to identify the original place of the speakers and their relationships are now helping historians to locate human migrations with precision. In 1923, Prof. Sylvain Levi, in a fundamental study on ‘Pre-Aryan and Pre-Dravidian in India’  tried to show that some geographical names of ancient India like Kosala-Tosala, Anga-Vanga, Kalinga-Trilinga, Utkala-Mekhala and 'Pulinda-Kulinda, ethnic names which go by pairs, can be explained by the morphological system of the Austro-Asiatic languages. Names like Accha-Vaccha, Takkola-Kakkola belong to the same category. He concluded his long study with the following observation, “We must know whether the legends, the religion and the philosophical thought of India do not owe anything to this past. India has been too exclusively examined from the Indo-European standpoint. It ought to be remembered that India is a great maritime country... the movement which carried the Indian colonization towards the Far East... was far from inaugurating a new route...Adventurers, traffickers and missionaries profited by the technical progress of navigation and followed under better conditions of comfort and efficiency, the way traced from time immemorial, by the mariners of another race, whom Aryan or Aryanised India despised as savages."  In fact, studies by archeologists and linguists have proved that Telugu is a derivative of Dravidian dialect of Kui of Khonds and is called so with the identity of the region as Trilanga, Telang, Telugu and Telangana later to indicate the use of the language. This language is spoken not only in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Orissa, but also in Burma, Bengal and on the East Coast regions from the 7th century BC as per records.  Telugu is identified by linguists like Bh. Krishnamurthy, Andree F.Sjoberg and others as South Central Dravidian and Tamil, Malayalam as South Dravidian to show that the presence of the language and the dynasties that ruled the region between Ganges and Godavari. In other words, the region or the East peninsular India was a non-Aryan and also habitat for non-Aryan, non-Dravidian languages like Mongoloid, Austro- Asian, Tibetan etc languages and the speakers. In other words, Kalinga or Trikalinga country stood as a strong contender to claim its nativity and ancestry to the peninsular India or dakshinapatha as distinct from Aryavarta and other aliens. Even Cunningham in his Geography notes Kalinga as part of South India. There are very few studies to show that it was almost parallel to that of  Indus-Saraswati, Kalibangan, Keeladi (Tamilnadu) ancient civilizations that persisted before the Aryans entered Indus in around 1600-1700BC.

Trikalinga - Origin of Non-Vedic Belief Systems
Ever since Sambara (a demon as per Aryan attribution) the Native Indian ruler fought with Devodas, the alien Aryan tribal king as per Rigveda ( V1.112.14) for 30 years, and finally succumbed to the termination of his 99 forts ( one near Jalandhar), the hegemony of Aryan imperialism became imminent. It is our conviction that once the aliens are allowed inside the Indus, it is very easy to reach Ganges by a horse driven felon just in 24 hours through the plains. The sapta sindhu of Rigveda got reduced to Pancha Sindhu or Punjab with the total control of the region by maiming the local leaders and make some of them to surrender with their guiles using an alien language. But, going down the Vindhyas was found impossible for them despite Khandava vana dahana ( the first environmental destruction) as it was an expansion of not only forests and mountains , but also  very arduous to inch inside due to the already well developed janapadas and local civilizations much superior than the alien tribes. Most probably the Indus- Keeladi civilization had already developed systems of governance and beliefs that are deep-rooted among different local groups speaking different languages ( are said to be Dravidian though not fully deciphered).

Trikalinga being one of the most ancient civilizations on the continent with comparative and parallel cultural traits as that of Indus valley and Harappan people, had a different religious and philosophical trajectory, different from that of North West and Aryavarta may be contiguous to Mehargarh . Scholars like Bhandarkar D.R, R.D .Banerji , H.P .Sastry, B.M Barua, A.L.Basham, D.P Chattopadhyay  and others have published extensively on the original belief systems of  the people of India during the Pre-Vedic-Upanishadic period. Historical records of Ajivakas a heretic group contemporaneous to Mahavira, Buddha and found in Epic and puranic narratives had been examined by scholars to indicate that these belief systems were against the expansion of Vedic and Brahminical World Views. Some of the heretics among Charvakas and  Ajivakas did come from the Brahminical backgrounds but questioned the Vedic efficacy. B. M. Barua has given the following analysis of the Ajivaka sect that was elaborated by A.L.Basham in his Ph.D dissertation. It is said that the story of the Ajivakas can broadly be divided in to three periods with the three main stages of development in which their doctrines had passed. The general facts about these periods are summed up below with a View to indicate the precise nature of the problems that confront us in the study of each. ‘The hermit, known as Jotipala to his parents, is addressed in one of the Jataka verses by his family name as Kondanna (Sk. Kaundinya ). His hermitage was built on the banks of Godhavari, in the Kavittha forest. Seeing that his hermitage became crowded, and there was no room for the multitude of ascetics to dwell there he ordered most of his chief pupils to go elsewhere, taking with them many thousands of ascetics. But Kisa Vaccha was one of those who, following the instruction of their teacher, went away alone. He came to live in the city of Kumbhavati, in the dominion of King Dandaka.  ( it is located by geographers as Kumbhikota gedda near Raigarh, Orissa). It is related in the Jataka that this king having sinned against Kisa Vaccha, the guileless hermit, was destroyed with his realm, excluding its three subordinate kingdoms, of which the Kings Kalinga, Atthaka and Bhimaratha were among the lay followers of Sarabhanga.’

Enthusiasts like Das Kornel and Giridhar Gamang studied the lineages of Jainism in Trikalinga around the Muran-Telungari Rivers that join the river Indravati. The area around Muran river and Telungari River was one important centre of Jainism, which is well supported from the Bhairbasingpur Jain images and other related findings. Other important Jain centres are on both sides of the Kolab River. The Ambavalli River joins the Kolab River at Bansuli close to Kotpad town. The river name is derived from 'Amba' temple still in the place, which has been well referred to in many C.P and South India inscriptions. It was serving as an important Jain culture and religious centre influencing whole of Kotpad region also Bastar. It is noted by the authors that the 11th Thirthankara, Shreyam Santha was born in Simhapura, once capital of Kalinga.

It is not only the non-Vedic or non-Aryan belief systems and philosophies like Buddhism, Jainism and the iconoclastic system of Ajivakas or shravana traditions that had challenged Upanishad babble but also interrogated Buddha and Mahavira in the region. The region was part of Mahakosala and Mahakantara including Dandaka is known to the aliens who have been trying to enter and received rude shocks from the natives from time to time. Therefore all the native rulers are dubbed as Rakshasas by the epic writers and Vedic Scholars. Rakshas are interpreted as the Rakshaks , protectors of the land by Mahatma Jothi Rao Phuley. It was perhaps the transit route to reach Dakshinapath for Aryan tribes to pass through was foiled by the natives. It is still in practice that many Brahmins and their followers in the South go to Ganga to fetch water as a purifier even today. Further, Valmiki Ramayana had all narratives in the epic that revolves around Dandaka , Mahendragiri and  Godavari of  this region do carry significance for the perceptive scholar to interpret.

Perfidy to End Significance of Kalinga to launch Vishnu cult
Muir. J was the first British scholar who published on the religion and mythical legendary of castes in India in 5 volumes prior to Max Muller in 1868. Social Anthropologists have been publishing studies on caste, race and cultural transformation in the region indicating the significance of the Eastern Ghats or Trikalinga in Indian society. These studies have stated the nature of Kalinga region and its Non-Aryan identity. It is typical of certain historians who did not refer to the Kalinga dynasties prior to Eastern Gangas as the Non-Aryan or tribal realms protecting and guarding the native Indian culture and philosophy. The mythical story of Kalinga being an illegitimate son of Bali born to his wife Sudeshna through Dirghtamas along with Anga, Vanga and Pundra is a routine mythical creation to belittle the Non-Aryan dynasties or rulers that survived the onslaught of the Aryan incursions. In this case we can notice that all the four so called kingdoms are tribal and or Dravidian rulers, some of them like pundra being identified as dalits in Bengal. Similarly, the Mallas who gave shelter on the last days of Lord Buddha were considered as the predecessors of Malas of South India as Kalinga was contiguous to that region in the past. These can be considered as counter narratives of indigenous scholars of recent period that build pressure to encounter the hegemony of the Brahminical dominance. In fact a vast gap in research studies on the indigenous or native Indian subjects as distinguished from that of post -colonial Orientalism (of a particular social group) is identified by Native Indian scholars, might bring more studies in future. We wish that Trikalinga will be a part of the research agenda of the group. It is in this context, the studies of Giovanni Verardi an Italian Professor of Archaeology and History noted that, “ a few nationalist scholars followed an entirely different approach to the India past in the effort to shape Hindu identity, directly or indirectly recognising that India had not a unified history but many histories..  Buddhism was an alien system and antinational movement, fought against not only the Sungas but also by many other dynasties.” ( P52) He has further noted that, “Orissa ( Trikalinga) and the adjoining regions of Bihar, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh are privileged vantage points. Here logic of the battlefield appears with gruesome evidence from the eighth century onwards, and an additional analysis… should persuade us that the battlefield in question was where Brahminical power was at stake.” It appears as if he was referring to the Kings of Trikalinga from Brahma Dutt of Dantapuram down to Visakha Varman (in whose name the city of Visakha exists) a sabara or tribal king was eliminated in 5th century AD (inscription in S.Tripathy), to facilitate the installation of a Brahminical realm of Eastern Gangas that ruled almost thousand years in the region. The copper plate charters issued by the Mathara dynasty starting from Visakha Varman , Uma Varman, Chandra Varma , Prabhanjana varma and others amounting 17 plates in the region, indicate the beginning of Agrahara system of Brahminical patronage. The Matharas had their headquarters first at Simhapuram and around Mahedragiri show their valour of opposing the expansion of Kanishka from the North and Vishnukundins from the West ultimately to get crushed. Thus the indigenous rule came to an end. Though Pulinda Sena name was mentioned in the records, the information was scanty. In fact, the whole region was considered both by the Brahminical writers and historians as an untouchable abode not to be uttered or recorded till the whole region was cleared off the Buddhists who migrated to East Asia.

The emergence of Vishnu cult during the Eastern Ganga period ushered in a new phase in the history of India. This is narrated by Giovanni Verardi in graphic details with iconography as developed in the region. He has produced iconographic evidence to show how camunda is seated on dead Buddha ( p291), Bhairava (p290) dancing on several heads of Buddhist monks etc in the old Kalinga region that stood for Non-Aryan systems of beliefs. In fact the migration of Kalingans to other lands started from this period as revealed in the story of Sri Vijaya of Simhapura ( Singupuram) had gone to establish a dynasty in Sri Lanka and others leaving mostly Buddhist monks, show the tyranny of Brahminical Hindu expansion on the East coast and its continuation  in the South.

In fact, the Ajivaka , Buddhist and Jain monks were respected and patronised by all the rulers of Kalinga from the time of Brahma Dutt, Asoka, Kharavela and the tribal kings or the so called jungle kings precisely to oppose Brahminical  Hinduism and Upanishadic bigotry. The shamanic creed and their preaching survived in the South till 14th century AD ( Basham.A.L) precisely due to the resistance provided by the generation of Kalinga dynasties that fought either from Dantapuram or Simhapuram . But finally they are thrown in to oblivion and Vishnu cult promoted as an alternative realm first in the region and slowly travelled to the South later. You can find the first Vishnu temple in the form of Purushothama at Puri (grabbing Savara wooden deities), Sun temple; Kurmavtara, Narasimha etc were created in Kalinga, including the old Ganjam and Visakhapatnam districts of Madras presidency.

Socio-historical Significance of Dantapuram
The ancient city of Dantapura creates ripples in the consciousness of some Brahminical intellectual sections even today as they speak very low of Kalinga and try to avoid it if necessary. This is the experience of several writers in the South except those who have come from present day Orissa indolently accept it for historical identity. Andhra scholars have completely ignored that the capital of ancient Kalinga was in Andhra Pradesh and the name of the language owes it to Trikalinga. It is not difficult to look in to the reasons why some writers and scholars try to create confusion about the location of Dantapuram (despite archaeological and historical records). Dantapuram, the name and its hinterland of indigenous people from Dravidian, Mongoloid, Austro-Asiatic etc stocks who fought against the Aryan incursions haunt them. It is not just the non- Brahminical religious faiths but the intellectual calibre of scholars of the status of DharmaKirti , great Buddhist scholar of 7th century AD who migrated to Nalanda from this region and even perhaps the leaders of Justice party in  recent times disturb them. Therefore, Dantapuram should be protected not only as a historical place but also to demonstrate the valour, indigenous knowledge and recalcitrant character of the region for posterity.

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Aug 13, 2020


K S Chalam chalamks@hotmail.com

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