Sambalpur (ସମ୍ବଲପୁର, सम्बलपुर) (Also pronouced as Samalapur) is a city in Sambalpur district in the Indian state of Orissa.
It lies at a distance of 321 km from the state capital Bhubaneswar. In the year 1876, Sambalpur was established as a municipality. It is currently the headquarters of Sambalpur district and the commercial capital[2] of Kosal. After independence of India, many commercial and government establishments sprung up around Sambalpur making it the communication and administrative hub of Western Orissa. After the economic liberalisation of India in 1990 many industries opened up in and around this place, making this region as the industrial center of gravity of Orissa. Sambalpur is not only located on the Mumbai - Howrah rail route but it connects the rest of Orissa with western and northern India by rail. Sambalpur is a prime railway junction in Orissa with the headquarters of Sambalpur Railway Division located at this place. It is also a prime road junction with the crossing of NH-6, NH-42 and SH-10 through the city. Hirakud Dam, the longest earthen dam in the world and the largest artificial lake of Asia is situated here. Sambalpur is also the headquarters of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited, a subsidiary of Coal India Limited. Sambalpur is famous for Hirakud Dam, Sambalpuri Saree, Sambalpuri songs, Sambalpuri Dance, the Sitalsasthi Carnival. The Leaning Temple of Huma and Gandhi temple.
Sambalpur derives its name from Goddess Samaleswari, an incarnation of Shakti and the presiding deity of the Samaleswari Temple located in the city which is one of the major tourist attaction from all over Orissa and nearby states like Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhyapradesh.
The King of Sambalpur Veer Surendra Sai, played a very important role in the freedom struggle of India which is still unrecognised. He led a revolution against the British East India Company even before Mangal Pandey in 1857. In 1849 Sambalpur came under the British rule by the application of Doctrine of lapse. Sambalpur has its own unique identity in-terms of its language, dress(Sari), dance, cuisine, culture, festivals, temples, heritage, songs, drama and music. This uniqueness has been there since centuries and its time tested aroma can be savoured in its daily life.
Etymology
Maa Samalei, the reigning deity, after which the city of Sambalpur derives its name.
Sambalpur derives its name from that of the Goddess Samalei (Oriya: ସମଲେଇ ଠାକୁରାଣୀ), 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.[7]In history, it has also been known as 'Sambalaka'. Ptolemy has described the place as "Sambalak".[8] According to Tavernir, the French traveller, and Edward Gibbon, the English historian, diamonds were exported to Rome from Sambalpur.[7]
History
Sambalpur in 1825, Watercolour of the fort at Sambalpur, by an anonymous artist for the Gilbert Collection, c. British
The history of Sambalpur, as depicted by eminent historians, is full of events including Indian freedom struggle representing the different sections of society. Since Sambalpur is one of the ancient district of India, which survived even in the prehistoric age and hold a very important place in the history of Orissa and India.
Sambalpur is mentioned in the book of Ptolemy (Claudius Ptolemaeus) as Sambalaka on the left bank of river "Manada", now known as Mahanadi, other evidence are available from the records of Xuanzang, and in the writings of the celebrated King Indrabhuti of Sambalaka of Odra Desha or Oddiyan (oldest known king of Sambalpur), the founder of Vajrayana Buddhism and the Lama cult. He has written the book Jñānasiddhi.
French merchant Jean Baptiste Tavernier (1605–1689) in his travel account “Six Voyages en Turquie, en Perse et aux Indes (1676–77)” translated into English by Valentine Ball as “Travels in India” (2d ed., 2 vol., 1925) wrote about the numerous famous diamond mines of Sumelpur (Semelpur), the present day Sambalpur. He states that, 8,000 people were at work in these mines at the time of his visit, in the dry season at the beginning of February.[10]
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, Orissa 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 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.[11][12]
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).[13]
Kalki & Shambhala
Kalachakra tantra was first taught by the Buddha to King Indrabhuti, the first dharmaraja of Shambhala.[14]
"Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminent brahmin of Shambhala village, the great souls Vishnuyasha and Sumati." (Srimad-Bhagavatam Bhag.12.2.18)[15]
[edit] Geography and Climate
Main article: Geography of Sambalpur
Sambalpur is located at 21°.27' North Latitude and 83°.58' East Longitude in Orissa. The average elevation is 150.75 meters above the mean sea level. Sambalpur falls under the Zone-3 seismic number, which shows the possibility of an earthquake.[16] The geography of Sambalpur comprises the following:-
Rivers :- The Mahanadi;
Hillocks :- Laxmi Dungri, Budharaja, Brooks Hill (Small hill);
Plain Area :- Mandlia, Sunapali, Gole Bazaar, Durgapali, Dhanupali, Makhnapara, Budharaja, Bareipali, Burla, Hirakud, Gopalmal, Modipara;
Small Ponds :- 18;
Big Ponds :- 8;
Sea/Gulf :- Nil;
Sambalpur Climate
Sambalpur experiences extreme type of climate with hot and dry Summer followed by humid Monsoon and cold Winter. The hot season commences from 1st week of March and lasts till the second half of June. In the month of May, temperature rises up to 47°. Similarly in the month of December, the temperature comes down to 5°C.[17] Sambalpur gets rainfall from South Western monsoon. 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 53 km/ph before on set of monsoon.[16] The relative humidity is high during rainy season being generally over 75%. After rainy season the humidity gradually decreases and the weather becomes dry towards the winter. The best time to visit Sambalpur is between September to March. Heaviest ever recorded rainfall is 581.9 mm in Sambalpur in 1982 which was the highest ever in Orissa till September 2010.[18] The areas of the Sambalpur town on Mahanadi river sides/low-lying areas are flood prone.[16]
The 5 day meteorological predictions of Sambalpur is available at http://www.imd.gov.in/section/nhac/distforecast/sambalpur.htm
Demographics
As of 2001 India census,[19] Sambalpur agglomerate had a population of 2,26,469[20] which includes Burla and Hirakud. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Sambalpur has an average literacy rate of 66%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 74%, and female literacy is 58%. In Sambalpur, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Language Spoken
Although Hindi, English and Oriya is spoken at Sambalpur, the chief communicative language is Sambalpuri Language. Not much research has been done on the accent and phonetics of this language, and it is generally considered to be a dialect of Oriya;[21] however, recent research done at Sambalpur University claimed Sambalpuri as a distinct language and the University has subsequently introduced a one year diploma course in Sambalpuri Studies.
Culture
Main article: Sambalpuri Culture
The culture of Sambalpur has its own unique identity. For several hundreds of years the people of Sambalpur have been an integral part of this and due to their contributions, now Sambalpur stands uniquely in the cultural diaspora. These developments have made the common Sambalpuri person stand out in terms of the language he speaks, the cloths that he wears, the dances that he performs etc.. Several traits of the culture like Sambalpuri language, Sambalpuri dance, Sambalpuri songs or Sambalpuri sarees have held a national identity and it is now being admired by people outside this region.
Sambalpur Lok Mahotsav
A cultural manifestation of the hidden age-old traditional performing art of a vast geographical area is possible through this annual celebration of the festival in the name of” Lok Mahotsav”. This festival is by the people, for the people, of the people & a reflection of the socio- anthropological evolution of the people of an area. Here “Lok” means “People” only.
Sambalpur Lok Mahostav
Sitalsasthi Carnival
The marriage of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati is being celebrated as Sitalsasthi for hundreds of years from now in Sambalpur. People from all walks of life join in large numbers in the carnival.
Architecture
Sambalpur retains its classic sleepy charm, even in the face of rapid, albeit unplanned expansion and a deluge of retail establishments. Some of the houses along the old part of Sambalpur are still maintained, and used, like they were, a century ago. A peculiar way the houses in the older parts of town are arranged is, the gulli system, literally, mazeway. Houses in Patnaikpara, Nandpara, and along the parallel streets of sansadak and badsadak are examples of the above.
The architecture in the district attracts people from all over because of its unique designs. The important historical relics in the district of Sambalpur are the temples built by the Chauhan rulers. The splendour of Orissa Art and Architecture had reached its climax in 13th century much before the advent of the Chauhans into Sambalpur region.[25]
The Pataneswari temple of Sambalpur was built by Balaram Dev, the first Chauhan ruler of Sambalpur in the last part of 16th century. It consists of a sanctum with an enclosed circular count. The Pataneswari Deity is the temple of Goddess Kali.[26]
The Samalei temple in the town represents the finest Chauhan style of circumvallation round the sanctum.[27] The image of Samalei is a unique sculpture and appears to be a primitive deity worshipped by the local people. However, Samalei or Samaleswari is the tutelary deity of Chauhan dynasty of this area (Pasayat, 1998, 2003, 2007, 2008).
The important archaeological places in and around Sambalpur are listed at http://ignca.nic.in/img_0002_as_or_sambalpur.htm
Festivals
Nuakhai
This is the most important social festival of Sambalpur. Generally it takes place during the month of August and September. Preliminary preparation of the festival starts 15 days before the occasion. The first grains of the paddy crop, cooked into various dishes are offered to the deities. There after the eldest member of the family distributes new rice to the junior members of the family. All the household articles are cleaned. People greet each other. It is a community festival celebrated by every Hindu family low and high.[28]
Bhai-Juntia
It is mostly known only in the region of Western Orissa. Bhai-juntia festival is celebrated on the Mahastami Day of Durga Puja. It is a total fasting undertaken by women with out water for the whole day and night to seek Goddess Durga's blessing for the long life of their brothers.[29]
Puo-Juntia
It is another fasting puja of similar austerity for women of the area. The Puo-juntia festival is observed by mothers to invoke the grace of Lord Dutibahana for the long life and prosperity of their sons.
Besides the above listed festivals, other religious festivals are observed. These include Shiva Ratri, Dola Jatra, Durga Puja, Janmastami, Dipavali, Ganesh Puja,[30] and Saraswati Puja.
Shiva Ratri mela at Huma attracts a large numbers of devotees. Ratha Yatra is held at almost all central places of Sambalpur. On the occasion of Makara Jatra, a fair is held at Themra in Sambalpur.
The most popular festivals celebrated by Muslims are Id-Ul-Fitre, Id-Ul-Juha and Muharram. The Sikhs also celebrate the birth day of Guru Nanak.
Transport
As Sambalpur is the commercial capital of Western Orissa, it has a well networked transport facility for commercial and public transportation.
Road
National Highway 6 which connects Surat to Kolkata passes through this city. It is connected to Bhubaneswar through National Highway 42. Rourkela-Sambalpur State Highway-10 is presently being upgraded from a two lane highway to four lane and even six lanes where it is necessary. An estimated amount of Rs. 1270 crores is to be spent on this upgradation and it is planned in such a way that by 2017 it will have the capacity to handle 49,000 vehicles everyday.
Rail
Sambalpur is one of the Divisional Headquarters of East Coast Railway. There are four railway stations namely Sambalpur (Khetrajpur), Sambalpur Road (Fatak), Hirakud and Sambalpur City in Sambalpur. There are direct train connections to all the metros and prominent cities across India. It lacks direct connectivity to Indore, Dehradun, Lucknow and Guwahati.
Air
The nearest Airports are Swami Vivekananda Airport, Raipur (262 km) and Biju Patnaik Airport, Bhubaneswar (325 km). A new airport is being constructed at Jharsuguda (50 km).
Education
Sambalpur is having one of the best facilities for education in the state with many schools and universities. Several private institutes are also being run at Sambalpur. Some of the prominent institutes are:-
University
Sambalpur University
Sambalpur Football Academy
The Sambalpur University Act was passed by the Orissa legislature on 10 December 1966, the university started functioning from 1 January 1967 with Prof. Parsuram Mishra as the first Vice Chancellor. In the year 1973 the University was shifted to the present campus named Jyoti Vihar at Burla.
Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology
VSSUT (earlier University College of Engineering, Burla) was established in the year 1956 as the first engineering college of the state of Orissa. It has already produced more than 10,000 graduate engineers and 2000 post graduates in different fields of engineering and technology.
Gangadhar Meher College (Autonomous), Sambalpur
Sambalpur Football Academy, Pitapali
This institution imparts football training to specially selected players with free boarding and schooling. The campus is located on the periphery of the left dyke of the Hirakud Dam.
Places of interest around Sambalpur
Hirakud Dam
Hirakud Dam is built across the Mahanadi River, about 15 km from Sambalpur. Built in 1956, it was the first major multipurpose river valley project started after India's independence. The dam is the world's largest earthen dam [38] and is one of the longest dams in the world, about 16 mi (26 km) in length. It also forms the biggest artificial lake in Asia, with a reservoir holding 743 km² at full capacity with a shoreline of over 640 km.
The Leaning Temple of Huma
Main article: The Leaning Temple of Huma
The Leaning Temple of Huma located about 25 km from Sambalpur. The 17th century temple of Huma leans at an approximate angle of 47 degrees to the west. (Pasayat, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008).
Samaleswari Temple
Main article: Samaleswari Temple
This is the main temple of Goddess Samaleswari, located on the banks of river Mahanadi. Sambalpur owes its name to her.
Ushakothi
A wild life Sanctuary, 43 km north east of Sambalpur on National Highway 6 stretching for more than 130 km, the sanctuary hosts of Elephants, Tigers, Gaurs, Sambars, Black panthers, Deer, Spotted deer, and Wild bears etc.
Chiplima
Main article: Chipilima Hydro Electric Project (CHEP)
Located about 37 km from Sambalpur, Chiplima is known for a natural fall(24.38 mts in height) harnessed for generating electricity. It is an ideal picnic spot and also known for harbouring “Ghanteswari”, the presiding deity of the place. Moreover, the State livestock Breeding Farm and Agricultural Farm are located here.
Ghanteshwari Temple
Main article: Ghanteswari Temple
Located 33 kilometres (21 mi) south-west of Sambalpur and on the bank of river Mahanadi, this temple played an important role for navigation in the past. It was called a light house without a light. A temple also existed here, of Goddess Ghanteswari from whom the place got its name. Earlier there were some large bells on this spot and with the help of wind those created enormous sound which made the navigators aware of this treacherous spot. This area being the conglomeration of three streams of water of the Mahanadi river, the water current here is very dangerous forming a whirlpool. Due to this many boats sunk while nearing this spot. Here the wind blows quite heavily which caused the bells to produce sound. After the construction of Hirakud Dam, this spot became safer. The specialty of this temple area is thousands of bells hanging everywhere, the only place of its kind in Orissa.
Kandhara Sambalpur also boasts of a pilgrimage-cum-sight seeing spot. Kandhara, 78 km from Sambalpur in Rairakhol Sub Division, is the birthplace of poet Bhima Bhoi,[43] the great propounder of Mahima Dharma or alternatively known as Alekha Dharma.
Cattle Island
Cattle Island exists in one of the extreme points of Hirakud Reservoir, a natural wonder. It is near Kumarbandh village of Belpahar-Banharpali range which is about 90 km from Sambalpur. The island is a submerged hill, and before the construction of Hirakud Dam it was a developed village. During the resettlement period, villagers left some of their cattle behind; when the dam construction was over, the cattle settled on the hilltop. With the passage of time the nearby area filled up with the reservoir water, turning the hilltop into an island. Being away from mankind, the cattle are now wild, very swift and not easily caught. Living on a hilltop with dense forest, they are larger than tame cattle, almost all of which are white in colour. Nearby residents attempt to capture these animals from time to time, but these hunts are rarely successful. Though descended from tame cattle, these animals provide a contrasting picture of this breed of animal returning to life in the wild. If the visit to this island is taken by a boat in the Hirakud reservoir it's an adventurous trip with some of the breathtaking views.
Eminent Personalities
Bhima Bhoi
Veer Surendra Sai
Gangadhar Meher
Chandra Sekhar Behera ( 1873–1936):Chandra Sekhar Behera of Sambalpur was a leading freedom fighter and an active participant in the Non-Cooperation Movement. He consolidated the National freedom movement in Sambalpur region and merged his activities with the Indian National Congress. He was a founding member of the National School of Sambalpur started on lines of Satyabadi Vana-Vidyalaya founded by Gopabandhu Das. As the chairman of Sambalpur Municipality, he received Gandhijee in Sambalpur in 1928. Organised a mass movement against illiteracy and untouchability.He was instrumental in the activities of Utkal Sammilani in formation of the separate statehood for Orissa. Chandra Sekhar breathed his last on 23 January 1936.
Satya Narayana Bohidar: Known as the pioneer of Sambalpuri language and grammar, Satya Narayan Bohidar [61] was born on 1 August 1913 at Sonepur. His formative and creative years were spent in Sambalpur that produced a good no. of literary translations and biographies. Fighting against all odds, Sri Bohidar was successful in preparing the dictionary and grammar specially in Sambalpuri Language which provided a significant identity to it. Satya Narayan Bohidar died on 31 December 1980, leaving a great legacy behind him to influence the future generations.
Jadunath Supakar: Born on 10 February 1931 in an artisan’s family of Sambalpur town, Padmashree Jadunath Supakar [61] was educated from National Arts School of Shantiniketan. Starting as an artist of portraits, Jadunath earned his name as a great master of handicraft who continued his undying effort for popularity of forgotten traditional weaving. Working for national handloom Board, Jadunath tied his hand in Serriculture. His designs were highly appreciated in London, Paris, New York and he was engaged in weavers service center, established for the cause of artisans development. Jadunath was also known for his mastery in playing musical instruments.
Isaac Santra: Known for his service and benevolence par excellence, Isaac Santra [61] was born in the year 1892 at Sambalpur. Being a Christian, he was persuaded by his family to join a missionary at Bolangir but his interest was different. He graduated as a doctor from Cuttack and decided to dedicate himself in Leprosy Eradication Mission. He established a Lepor home at Hatibari, a village surrounded by dense forests and spent his time in serving the patients. Highly admired by the patients, academic circles in abroad, even by Mahatma Gandhi during later's visit to Sambalpur for his humanitarianism and philanthropy, Isaac Santra was honoured by Govt. of India with “Padmashree” award. He also edited a magazine “Prabhatee”, propounding human values and qualities. He died on 29 August 1968.
Laxmi Narayan Mishra: Eminent freedom fighter, known for his selfless and sincere service to the motherland, Laxmi Narayan Mishra was born in the year 1906 and had left school as a student to join India’s freedom movement. He was imprisoned for seventeen years for his active role in the national struggle for Independence. Jail provided him advantage to be a scholar and Laxmi Narayan had become a real Pandit with his education on religion, culture and political thought. He was an expert in the languages like Sanskrit, Urdu, Bengali, Telugu, Hindi, English and had earned a fame as an extraordinary orator. He was assassinated during a train journey at Jharsuguda.
Radhashyam Meher. Born on 20-11-1909 at Sambalpur. Died 19-5-1961. He invented the first handloom to weave textiles of ninety inches width. The Sambalpuri Sari is his creativity. He nutured ,tutuored and guided the weaving community to improve their skills . He is known as the father of Sambalpuri -Textiles who herald the era of Baandha Art. He participated in the freedom struggle and jailed during the Quit India movement. He strove, to remove 'un-touchability' and maintain communal harmony amongst all classes and religion. Only his selflessness has consigned him to Oblivion.Ref Samaj dt 19-11-2009; Sambalpuri- Textiles ISBN no- 978-81-906822-0-6.
Laxminath Bezbarua
General Sundararajan Padmanabhan He became the 20th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army in September 2000. He was born at Trivandrum in the Indian state of Kerala on the 5th of December, 1940 and spent his childhood at Samblapur.
Aparajita Mohanty She is a notable Oriya film actress.
RPS Kohli He is the director of Jivo Wellness and the brand name Koutons. An alumnus of Sambalpur University.
