Antiquities of Gandhamardan Mountain in Orissa

The book "Antiquities of Gandhamardan Mountain in Orissa" is the thesis on the merit of which the degree of Ph.D was awarded to the author. The book is a comprehensive and critical treatment of the cultural and civilization of ancient and medieval periods of the south Kosala kingdom, i.e. The modern western Orissa region as per the available records.

The people of western Orissa during medieval period constructed innumerable temples of sustained quality and in remarkable homogenous style. Indeed the area of western Orissa during medieval times provides are of the fine expressions of Indian temple architecture. This book expresses the architectural style prevalent in this region during medieval periods with a specific reference to the Narasingha Nath temple. A penetrating and profusely illustrated work. In begins with the survey of the sources, geographical features of ancient south Kosala kingdom; the history and the religious climate of the ancient and medieval periods. It then concentrates on an analysis of the architectural and sculptural features, the development of kosali style and kalings style of temple architecture. The main aspect and focus of this dissertation is the location of the Jagaddala Buddhist Vihar at Bhojpur garh.

The last chapter combines the sequences provided by architecture and sculpture with the information that has been collected from the study of incriptions, history and religion to yield the final conclusions on the archaeological remains at Gandhamardan Mountain.

Shashanka Sekhar Samal (Tarani) born 05th June 1956. He passed in P.G. Examination in History with 1st Class from Jyoti Vihar Sambal Pur University, Burla, Orissa in the year 1980. Passed M.Phill degree from Vani Vihar, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar Orissa 1988. He was awarded Ph.D. Degree by Utkal University, Orissa in the year 2005. Passed L.L.B degree from L. R. Law College, Sambalpur in the year 1987 and also Passed the Kovid Examination in Hindi in the year 1972, conducted by Rastrabhasa Pracharini Sabha, Wardha. Succeeded in P.Sc. Examination in 1989 and joined in OES (Orissa) Education Service) as a history lecturer in 1990. Presently posted in Khalikote: (Auto) College Brahma Pur, Ganjam, Orissa and serving as the history lecturer in the P.G. Teaching department of the college.

Despite its hoary past and rich culture, Orissa still remains largely outside the main stream of Indian culture. Except few famous temples, the historians of India have paid less attention to the cultural treasures of this state, which are really fascinating and afford ample opportunities for the diligent student of historical research. Thanks to the selfless efforts of a few scholars, certain areas of Orissan culture have been adequately explored; but many aspects still remain untouched. One of those aspects is cultural remains in Gandhamardan Mountain. Excavation of historical sites has gained interest in recent years in Orissa. But no serious attention has been paid to the history and historical monuments of Gandhamárdan of western Orissa except the study of temples of Narsingha Nath and Harisankar.

Western Orissa generally comprises of the nine districts of Kaláhándi, Núápadá, Bolangir, Sonepur, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Deogarh, Jharsuguda and Sundergarh. The areas formed a part of South Kosala in ancient and medieval periods. Pre-historical findings and scattered antiquities have been explored from this area and published in different journals from time to time. Šāralā Das a famous poet of Orissa and the author of Mahabharata in Oriya, suggests that Jagannatha was brought to Puri from Savarinarayana', situated within a distance of about 4 K.Ms from the confluence of the river Jonk and Mahanadi. Hence Dr. K.C. Mishra² suggested that the civilization might have progressed through the course of this river to the coastal regions of Orissa.

**Contents and Sample Pages**