Sonepur- The Lost Capital of Ancient Odisha

Sonepur, the ancient Suvarnapura or Sunapura Kataka, played a leading role in the history and culture of Odisha since prehistoric days. Ruled by the Somavamsis, Telugu-Chodas, Gangas, Bhanjas and the Chauhans, it was, for centuries, the center of administration of western part of Odisha, the provincial headquarter of Paschimadesa and the capital of Kosala country. Known as the second Varanasi, it was a famous centre of pilgrimage. Adorned with numerous temples in ancient times remains of which are still found. Even today, there are about thirty-five temples. Though these temples, prima facie, exhibit Kalinga style of temple architecture, a closer look reveals certain central Indian characteristics and the synthesis of both.

Dr. Sangeeta Mishra (b. 1977) has obtained her M.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D. degree from the Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture & Archaeology, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, and Post-Graduate Diploma-in-Archaeology from the Institute of Archaeology, Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi. She is a recipient of Junior Research Fellowship from the Indian Council of Historical Research, New Delhi. She was associated with the Research project, "Religious History of Odisha" funded by the Tubingen University, Germany.

I am happy to introduce "Sonepur: The Lost Capital of Ancient Odisha by Dr. Sangeeta Mishra to the scholarly world as well as the general readers. The work is a novel attempt by the author for the first time to make an elaborate study on the present district of Subarnapur in western Odisha. Earlier works on Sonepur area were broad based and dealt with the political history of the region mainly with limited reference to its archaeological and architectural details. The present work is a good micro study of the region from very early times.

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