Sambalpur (), also known as Sambalpore, is the fifth-largest city in the Indian State of Odisha. It is located on the banks of river Mahanadi, with a population of 335,761 (as per 2011 census). Prehistoric settlements have been recorded there. It is the home of the Sambalpuri sari.
Overview
The city contains many temples, historic buildings and parks. Educational institutes include Sambalpur University, Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR), Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT), Gangadhar Meher University, Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur and Odisha State Open University (OSOU). Hirakud Dam, the longest earthen dam in the world and the largest artificial lake of Asia, is at Sambalpur.
After the independence of India, many commercial and government establishments sprung up in and around Sambalpur. It is a major railway junction of Odisha with the headquarters of Sambalpur Railway Division under the East Coast Railway Zone. National Highway 53, National Highway 55 pass through the City and State Highway 10 & 15 originate from the city.
Etymology
Sambalpur derives its name from the Hindu Goddess Samalei (), who is regarded as the reigning deity of the region. The region in which Sambalpur city is located was also known as Hirakhanda from ancient times. Historically, it has also been known as "Sambalaka". Claudius Ptolemy called it "Sambalak".
History
Artifacts have been discovered that indicate settlement in prehistoric times. Some historians identify it as the city of "Sambalaka" mentioned by the second century CE Roman geographer Ptolemy, who mentioned that the city produces diamonds. In the fourth century CE, the Gupta emperor conquered the territory of "Dakshina Koshala", comprising roughly present day Sambalpur, Bilaspur, and Raipur. In the early sixth century CE Chalukya king Pulakesin II is said to have conquered south Kosala by defeating the then Panduvamsi king Balarjuna Sivagupta. The next dynasty to rule South Kosala was the Sombvamsi dynasty. Somavamshi King Janamajaya-I Mahabhavagupta (Circa 882–922 CE) consolidated the eastern part of Kosala comprising the modern undivided Sambalpur and Bolangir districts and established matrimonial relationship with the Bhauma-Kara dynasty ruling over the coastal modern Odisha. After Uddyotakeshari (c. 1040–1065 C.E.), the Somavamshi kingdom declined gradually. The dynasty lost its territories to the Nagas in the north-west, and the Gangas in the south. After the decline of Somvamshis the area came under Telugu Chodas for a short period. The last Telugu Choda king of south Kosala was Somesvara III who was defeated by Kalachuri king Jajalladeva-I around 1119 CE. The kalachuris had an intermittent conflict with the Ganga Dynasty of Utkala (present-day coastal Odisha). Ultimately Kalachuris lost the Sambalpur Sonepur region to Gangas during reign of Anangabhima Deva-III (1211–1238 C.E.). The Ganga kingdom ruled the Sambalpur region for two more centuries, but faced aggression of the Bengal sultanate from the north and Vijayanagara and Bahmani empires of the south. These struggles weakened the Ganga hold on Sambalpur. Ultimately Ramai Deva, a Chauhan Rajput from North India founded Chauhan rule in western Orissa.
Sambalpur came under the Bhonsle of Nagpur when the Maratha conquered Sambalpur in 1800. After the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1817, the British Government returned Sambalpur to the Chauhan king, Jayant Singh, but his authority over the other princely states was taken out.Sambalpur . Remunda.com. Retrieved on 20 January 2011.
In January 1896, Hindi was made the official language of Sambalpur, replacing the Odia language, which after violent protests was reinstated again.Untitled-13 . (PDF). Retrieved on 20 January 2011. During the partition of Bengal in 1905 Sambalpur and the adjacent Odia-speaking tracts were amalgamated with the Odisha Division under Bengal Presidency. Bengal's Odisha division became part of the new province of Bihar and Odisha in 1912, and in April 1936 became the separate province of Odisha, with addition of Undivided Ganjam and Koraput districts from Madras Presidency. After Indian Independence on 15 August 1947, Odisha became an Indian state. The rulers of the princely states of Western Odisha acceded to the Government of India in January 1948 and became part of Odisha state.
From 1825 to 1827, Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert (1785–1853), later Lieutenant General Sir Walter Gilbert, 1st Baronet, G.C.B., was the political agent for the South West Frontier with headquarters at Sambalpur. Several paintings made during his stay at Sambalpur by an unknown artist are currently in the British Library and Victoria and Albert Museum.
Vajrayana Buddhism Although it is generally accepted that Tantric Buddhism first developed in the country of Uddiyana or Odra Desha under King Indrabhuti, there is an old and well known scholarly dispute as to whether Uddiyana or Odra was in the Swat valley, Odisha or some other place.
Indrabhuti, the oldest known king of Sambalpur, founded Vajrayana, while his sister, who was married to Yuvaraja Jalendra of Lankapuri (Suvarnapur), founded Sahajayana. These new Tantric cults of Buddhism introduced the mantra, mudra and mandala along with six Tantric Abhicharas (practices) such as Marana, Stambhana, Sammohana, Vidvesan, Uchchatana and Vajikarana. The Tantric Buddhist sects made efforts to raise the dignity of the lowest of the low of the society to a higher plane. It revived primitive beliefs and practices a simpler and less formal approach to the personal god, a liberal and respectful attitude towards women and denial of caste system.Bargarh District . Bargarh.nic.in. Retrieved on 20 January 2011.
From the seventh century A.D. onwards, many popular religious elements of heterogeneous nature were incorporated into Mahayana Buddhism which finally resulted in the origin of Vajrayana, Kalachakrayana and Sahajayana Tantric Buddhism. Tantric Buddhism first developed in Uddiyana, a country which was divided into two kingdoms, Sambhala and Lankapuri. Sambhala has been identified with Sambalpur and Lankapuri with Subarnapura (Sonepur).Problems in Reconstructing The Social History of Buddhism in Orissa PDF
Geography and climate
Sambalpur is located at 21°.27' North Latitude and 83°.58' East Longitude. The average elevation is above the mean sea level. Sambalpur falls under the Zone-3 seismic number, which shows the possibility of an earthquake.Microsoft Word – final report sambalpur 8 Dec.doc. (PDF). Retrieved on 20 January 2011.
Sambalpur lies on the bank of the river Mahanadi. The river flows to the west of the city and separates Burla from Sambalpur and Hirakud. The Hirakud Dam lies upstream of Sambalpur. Budharaja is a small reserve forest located within the city. Sambalpur experiences an extreme type of climate with hot and dry summers followed by humid monsoons and cold winters. The hot season commences from the first week of March and lasts until the second half of June. In May, the temperature rises up to . In December, the temperature comes down to . Sambalpur gets rainfall from the south western monsoon. The most pleasant months in Sambalpur are from October to February, during which time the humidity and heat are at their lowest. During this period, temperatures during the day stay below and drop to about at night. This season is followed by a hot summer, from March to May. The summer gives way to the monsoon season. Since 1982 as per the data available with District Emergency section, Sambalpur, there has not been a single occurrence of cyclone in Sambalpur. There are possibilities of strong winds with the speed of before the onset of monsoon. The relative humidity is high during the rainy season, generally being over 75%. After the rainy season the humidity gradually decreases and the weather becomes dry towards the winter. The best time to visit Sambalpur is between September and March. The heaviest-ever recorded rainfall in Sambalpur was in 1982, which was the highest ever in Odisha until September 2010.Microsoft Word – envis-newsletter-2005.doc . (PDF). Retrieved on 20 January 2011. The low-lying areas of the Sambalpur town on Mahanadi river are prone to flooding.
Transport Roads
Sambalpur is connected to the rest of Odisha and India by national highway – NH 53/Economic Corridor 1 (EC1), which is a part of Asian Highway-AH46 (Mumbai-Kolkata Highway). NH 55 connects with Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, State Highway 15 connects with Sonepur, State Highway 10 (SH10) connects with Jharsuguda and Rourkela and the new Biju Expressway connects Rourkela-Sambalpur-Bargarh-Jagdalpur. Most parts of the city are well connected with government-provided Mo Bus services.Welcome To Sadbhav Engineering Ltd . Sadbhaveng.com. Retrieved on 20 January 2011.
Rail
Sambalpur is one of the three railway divisions under East Coast Railway zone of Indian Railways. Sambalpur Junction railway station (SBP) is a major railway station in Odisha and headquarters of Sambalpur railway division. This railway station is the cleanest railway station of East Coast Railway declared by Indian Railway. There are three other railway stations serving Sambalpur: Sambalpur City Railway Station, Hirakud, across the Mahanadi and Maneswar Railway Station.
Air
The nearest airport is Veer Surendra Sai Airport, Jharsuguda (). Biju Patnaik International Airport, Bhubaneswar is located at a distance of (). Other nearby airports are Swami Vivekananda International Airport, Raipur and Birsa Munda Airport, Ranchi.
Demographics
Sambalpur city is governed by a Municipality which comes under Sambalpur Municipal Corporation Area. India census, Although Sambalpur city has a population of 183,383, its urban population is 269,575, of whom 138,826 are males and 130,749 are females; this includes Burla and Hirakud. Sambalpur has an average literacy rate of 85.69%, in which male literacy is 90.30 and female literacy is 80.92 percent. The sex ratio is 942 and the child sex ratio is 882. The total children (0–6) in Sambalpur city were 18,555 as per the Census India report of 2011. There were 9,857 boys while 8,698 were girls.
Economy
The economy of Sambalpur is basically dependent on trade. Most of the residents are either salaried or self-employed. Forest products play an important role in the economy in terms of contribution to revenue and domestic product. Kendu leaf, Coromandel ebony or East Indian ebony (Diospyros melanoxylon) also forms part of the local economy, with many bidi manufacturing units functioning in Sambalpur.Kendu Leaf Trade: An Eco-Friendlyway of Sustenance . Shvoong.com. Retrieved on 20 January 2011.
Gole Bazaar is the main merchandising area of the city. It is famous for handloom and other textile products. Other merchandising areas are Khetrajpur, Fatak, V.S.S. Marg, Budharaja and Farm road. Budharaja is the central hub of the malls and jewellery shops.