THE JUNGLE FORTS OF NORTHERN ORISSA.
BY JOHN BEAMES, B.C.S., M.R.A.S., MAGISTRATE OF BALASORE.
ORTHERN ORISSA is, considering its situation within 150 miles of Calcutta, very isolated and little known.
There is how
ever a good historical reason for this. The Kings of Orissa fixed their capital always in the southern part of the province, and the long narrow strip of country between the hills and the sea was only at times, and never for long periods, under their sway. It was covered with dense jungle, which extend ed apparently with hardly any break to the banks of the Hooghly.” The Kings of Bengal,
India, in case however the ordinary maps should not show the road, or the little town of Jellasore, I would add that the forts are distant from the
sea at the mouth of the Subanrekhá, twenty-six miles as the crow flies.
I propose first to describe the forts them selves, and secondly to endeavour to arrive at an approximation to the date of their foundation, and to collect such few facts respecting their past history as I can. This enquiry will, if suc
cessful, throw considerable light on the relations
on the other hand, held their court either at
between the Kings of Orissa and their northern
Gaur, or some other place far to the north, and the lower Gangetic delta was to them also almost
neighbours, as well as on the somewhat obscure subject of the Musalman invasions of the pro
a terra incognita.
The English settlement of
vince, in addition to the more purely archaeologi
Calcutta pushed out feelers along the course of the Ganges, and the wave of conquest and com merce followed the same path, leaving Midna pore and Balasore comparatively unheeded and
It will be seen from the annexed map that the forts are four in number, the two larger ones being close to the large village of R & ib a
unexplored.
In the present day the great Im
n i y á ú, and the two smaller ones at the village
perial high road from Calcutta to Madras has opened up a portion of this country, and is much frequented, especially by the thousands and tens of thousands of pilgrims who annually visit the great shrine of Jagannāth at Puri. But the line of traffic, and the road of invading armies in
of Ph ult á, or more correctly Phúl h at t à. Of these two small forts nothing now remains save the outline of mud walls, with here and
cal interest which it may present.
there a scattered mass of laterite stones.
The whole soil of this neighbourhood for many miles is composed of laterite, a dark
former times, did not follow the course of the
brick-red stone full of holes like a sponge, but
present great avenue of communication, and it is not therefore along the Madras and Calcutta road that we must look for relics of past times.
very hard. All these forts are built of this stone, though in many cases the stones have either, from having been originally loosely put
One hundred and fifteen miles S.W. of Cal
together, or owing to some subsequent violence,
cutta, at the town of Jellasore (Jal e s h war) the road crosses the river Subanrekha (Su v ar n are k h fl-‘‘ streak of gold”) at a spot on the confines of British territory and the territory of the tributary Raja of Mohurbhunj (May drabhanj).
become scattered or sunk in the soil. The stones are all hewn and of various sizes, the
The river here winds so as to run for about five
largest and most regularly shaped being found in the most important and probably most an
cient portions of the work, the smaller and less carefully hewn in the walls and outworks. The largest stones are about 3 feet in length by a foot in depth, and the same in breadth ; while in some of the pettier and more modern works, stones not bigger than ordinary bricks are found. Owing
miles nearly parallel to the road on the northern side. Crossing the river we come into the isolated pargana of F at tih a b a d, one of the so-called Jungle Mehals, which is now included in the dis trict of Balasore (B file s h w ar). Nine miles north of Jellasore, and about two from the right bank of the river, amidst dense grass and tree jungle, which is here and there in course of being brought into cultivation, stands the group of forts which I propose to describe. I hope the
number of tigers and bears which find shelter there, it is very difficult to explore these forts thoroughly. In three visits which I have re cently made to them, I obtained from the Za mindar some thirty or forty coolies armed with
above details will enable the reader to form a
the useful little Sonthal axe, and these together
clear idea of their actual position on the map of
with my own Police and Chaukidars were oc
• In writing native names, I follow Dr. Hunter's rule of
well-known places, and the strictly correct Wilsonian system
using the received (although often incorrect) spelling for
to the denseness of the jungle, and the great
for those that are unknown to the general public.
