Art and Culture with Devdutt Pattanaik | Shishupalgarh, the forgotten capital of ancient Kalinga

A city in the age of empires 

Archaeology places its origins around the 3rd century BC, in the turbulent years after Ashoka’s campaign in Kalinga. That war, remembered for its brutality, transformed the Mauryan emperor and redirected state policy towards Buddhist values. Along the eastern coast, this shift coincided with the growth of ports, trade guilds, and monastic networks. Shishupalgarh seems to have prospered in this climate. Its massive laterite fort, perfectly aligned to the four directions, reflects the new confidence of early Indian urbanism. 

The city reached its peak between the 1st century BC and the 3rd century AD, a period when the Roman Empire dominated the Mediterranean, the Han Empire flourished in China, and traders stitched these worlds together through sea routes and caravan networks. Odisha’s coast was part of this global system. Rouletted pottery from the site echoes Roman tastes, while beads of semi-precious stones point to exchanges with the Deccan and beyond.

The city was more than a trading hub. It was planned with care, featuring streets, drains, habitation zones, and monumental gateways. At the heart of the site stands a cluster of carved stone columns, popularly known as 16 pillars or ‘solah khamba’. These were once part of an elevated hall, perhaps used for civic meetings or royal ceremonies. Their presence hints at a society with organised leadership and collective spaces, reflecting the wider Indian shift from tribal chiefdoms to structured kingdoms. 

This was the age of the Satavahanas in the Deccan, the Kushanas in the north, and the Indo-Greek, Saka, and Parthian rulers who introduced new coins and artistic styles into the subcontinent. Shishupalgarh absorbed these currents while maintaining its own distinct Kalingan identity.

Myth, memory and sacred landscape of Shishupalgarh 

Religion in the city mirrored the plural nature of early Indian belief. Terracotta figurines reveal a mix of popular village goddesses, early forms of Durga, tree spirits, and yaksha cults. These belonged to an older stratum of faith rooted in fertility, protection, and local ecology. Nearby regions show strong Buddhist activity from the time of Ashoka onwards. 

Though no major monastery has been uncovered within the city walls, the residents clearly lived within a Buddhist cultural sphere, connected to sites like Dhauli and Jaugada. At the same time, early Shaiva and Vaishnava symbols appear in the wider Kalinga region. This reveals a world where formal sects had not yet hardened into exclusive communities. People freely moved between rituals, drawing from a shared pool of myth, icon, and practice. It was a world before caste divisions and religious divisions became defined. 

The name Shishupalgarh, however, does not belong to this ancient world. It is a later creation of folk memory. The original name of the city has not survived in inscriptions. Villagers who lived amidst the ruins in medieval and early modern times explained the massive fort walls by linking them to Shishupala, the fiery king of the Mahabharata. Such associations are common across India, where abandoned forts often attract epic heroes. 

Reclaiming Odisha’s place in the ancient world 

By the time British surveyors arrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the name Shishupalgarh was already in local use. Scholars have suggested that the city’s historical name may have been Kalinganagara, mentioned in early inscriptions, but this cannot be confirmed without direct evidence. The name we use today reflects the dialogue between archaeology and imagination, one speaking through stones, the other through stories.

By the 4th century AD, the city began to decline. Rivers shifted course, reducing agricultural stability. Trade routes changed, favouring other ports. Political power moved towards emerging centres. As in many ancient places, life ebbed gradually. Villages grew over the ruins, and memory covered history with myth. Yet the stones endure. 

Shishupalgarh stands today as one of India’s earliest planned urban centres, contemporary with great cities across the world. It reminds us that Odisha, often placed at the margins of grand narratives, was once a thriving hub connected to the Gangetic plains, the Deccan, Southeast Asia, and even Rome.

Post read questions

How does Shishupalgarh, on the edge of modern Bhubaneswar, offer a window into an urban world that flourished 2000 years ago? 

The name Shishupalgarh reflects the dialogue between archaeology and folk memory. Explain. 

The period between the 1st century BC and the 3rd century AD saw the emergence of interconnected commercial networks linking the Roman, Han, and Indian worlds. Examine India’s role in this early phase of globalisation.

Shishupalgarh illustrates both the early sophistication of Indian urban planning and India’s integration into wider Asian and Mediterranean networks. Discuss.

(Devdutt Pattanaik is a renowned mythologist who writes on art, culture and heritage.)

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