Jharsuguda district General information
Jharsuguda is a district in Orissa, India with Jharsuguda town as its headquarter. The district once had an airport during World War II. This region is rich in coal and other mineral reserves. Of late, many small and medium scale iron and steel units have been set up in the vicinity of Jharsuguda town, giving impetus to the industrial growth of the district.
The district comprises five blocks, primary being Lakhanpur,Kolabira ,Laikera,Kirmira and Jharsuguda. Jharsuguda district has three urban agglomerations, municipalities of Jharsuguda town and (Brajrajnagar) and muncipalty of belpahar.
Brajrajnagar is an industrial town, being of the prime location for Open Cast Coal Mine of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited. Brajrajnagar also boasts of a large scale paper mill, i.e., Orient Paper Mills of the Birla Group of Industries. However, this mill has been defunct for more than a decade now.
Belpahar sub-division includes 12 villages and two town.The most populous village is Chhualiberna.The main festival of Chhualiberna is Narsingh Puja which held on month of December.
Geography
Jharsuguda town is situated at the Western end of Orissa on the State High way No. 10. It is situated at a distance of 515 K.M. from Calcutta and 616 Km. from Nagpur.
The river ‘IB’ flows along the Western side of Jharsuguda town and the river ‘Vheden’ flows in the south. The area of the town is 70.47 sq.km. The town situated at 21.82o north longitude and 84.1o latitude at a height of 700-750 feet above mean sea level. The highest temperature recorded in summer is 46.7o . Centigrade and it has an average rain fall of 1527 mm.
Culture
Jharsuguda district has a rich and developed cultural heritage. Various fairs and festivals observed round the year for centuries, indicates its cultural and religious richness. Though many of the fairs and festivals are common to other parts of Orissa there are few which are distinct and special. There are (1) Ranjta Festival (2) Ratha Jatra of Kukurjunga (3) Famous Gokulastami Jatra of Rajpur and 4) Makar Rathajatra of Belpahar.
Ranjta Festival : Sambalpur was established in the 16th century by the Lt Chauhan king ‘Balram Dev’ a clansman of ‘Prhtivi Raj Chauhan’ the last independent Hindu king of India. During the rule of Chauhan kings, Ranjta festival was started in the capital town of Sambalpur and in vassal states and Jamindaries of Sambalpur. This festival is observed every year on the night of 10th day of Suklapaksha of the month of Aswin. In the district the festival is observed in Jharsuguda town and Kolabira. The descendants of the Jamindars move in procession around the village or town along with ‘Patakhanda’ or (Royal sword). During the royal robs the Jamindar along with his subjects parade in the village with weapons such as sword, muskets, spears, bows & arrows, which remind the valor of the ancestors and the family deity is worshipped the whole day. The common people also take part in this Ranjta Utsav. They demonstrate the martial skills learnt from the erstwhile soldiers of the Jamindars, to the sound of the martial drum-beating. Thousands assemble to witness the festivals.
Famous Ratha Yathra of Kukurjanga : As per the ancient tradition of Utkal the reigning deities of Puri Shri Jagannath Temple, Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra & Devi Subhadra visit the house of their aunt (Mousimaa) in the respective Chariots namely Nadighosa, Taladwhaja & Darpadalana through the ‘Badadhanda’ on the 2nd day of the bright lunar fort night of the month of Asdha’ and return to Shree Mandir on the 10th day of the bright lunar fortnight. This festival known as Rathajatra is observed through out Orissa and also in many places outside Orissa.
In a small village known as Kukurjanga, 7 kms away from Jharsuguda some specialties are observed in the Rathajatra festival. Here every year, the Rathajatra starts from 2nd day of the bright fortnight of ‘Ashada’, but the Bahuda Jatra continues up to the Ashada Purnima.
In the Kukurjanga village under the erstwhile Rampur Jamindari, the Jagannath temple had been constructed in the 17th Century and since then the Rathajatra festival is organised every by the “Managing Committee”. The Rath of Kukurjangha is a massive structure with 16 wheels.
Thousand of pilgrims from the nearby areas assemble at Kukurjangha to witness the gala Rathajatra Festival every year.
Famous Gokulastami Jatra of Rajpur
Gokulastami Jatra is being observed with pomp & ceremony from the time of the Jamindar of Rajpur who were the descendent of ‘Madhukar Sai’ the king of Sambalpur. The festival symbolizes a folk ceremony signifying an Agrarian culture. The festival also symbolizes the welfare of cattle & other domestic animals used in agriculture. It is observed by the farmers of Rajpur every year on the 8th day of bright fortnight in the month of Margasira. The focal point of this festival is the Jagannath Temple, situated in-front of the palace of the Jamindar of Rajpur. From the evening of the 7th day of bright fortnight of Margasira an idol of Krishna, carrying the mount ‘Goverdhan’ is prepared, which is worshiped in the midst of chanting of Bhajans & Kirtans. At every lane & street of Rajpur village shops and Bazaars are colorfully decorated. At every cross-road many cultural activities are organised through out the night. On the next day the Gokulastami festival continues from the morning till night. All the cattle folk of the village go for grazing since down. In the meantime rice, dal, curry & other vegetables are cooked in the premises of the village school. In the evening the procession of villagers led by the Jamindar moves around the , the villagers serve the cooked food in leaves for about a distance of half kms. on the road & wait for the cattle to return.
Sabita Rathajatra of Lord Jagannath at Belpahar : Every YEAR ON THE OCCASION OF Makar Sankranti ‘Sabita Rathjatra’ is organised by the man committee of the Jagannath temple of ‘Gumadera of Belpahar, 22 kms away from Jharsuguda town. On this day the Sun (Sabita) dwells in Makara Rasi, hence the chariot Lord Jagannath of Gumadera has been named ‘Sabita Rath’ or the ‘Sun chariot’. On the day of ‘Makar Sankranti’ at about 10 a.m. 3 deities of Jagananth temple ride on the Sabita Rath & travel to their Mausimaa (Aunt) house. During the festival thousands of pilgrims assemble and take part in this festival, amidst chanting of Bhajan, Kirtan & Dancing. At about 3 p.m. the Gods start their return journey from the Mausimaa temple. At that time Lord Chandrasekhar of Gumadera travels in a separate chariot towards the main road (Badadanda) near Batamangala on the Sabita rath & the chariot of Lord Chandra shekhar which is known as ‘Harihara Bheta’. To witness this unique meeting of the lords a large crowd gathers in the Badadanda. A colorful fair takes place at Gumadera during ‘Sabita Rathjatra’.
Tourist Place
Rock Painting and Lithography of Bikramkhol : On the Jharsuguda-Lakhanpur Road at about 25km. from Jharsuguda there is a village known as Banjari. In the vicinity of the village the ancient cave of Bikramkhol is located. In this inaccessible dense forest ancient people lived surviving on fruits, roots and animal meat. During 4000 BC there was evolution of human civilization in the region and a script was developed by them.
There are some ancient script engraved in the wall of Bikramkhol and also paintings of animals. Circular holes have been dug in the wall where weapons, dress and other articles of use were being kept suspended. Even on the floors circular holes have been dug to pound the grains. Bikramkhol has been declared a tourist spot by the Central Government and tourists, historians and researchers from all over the country and abroad.
Ruins of Hill Forts of Ulapgarh : On the Jharsuguda-Belpahar Road at a distance of 21 Kms. from Jharsuguda there is a village known as Lajkura. In the vicinity there is a hill known as “Maheswar Pahad” where the remains of an old holy fort attracts the attention of historians, researchers and tourists.
On the foot of Maheswar Pahad, there is small village called “Ulap”. About one kilometer from the village, the ruins of Ulapgarh are situated. At this place, the Maheswar pahad is about 1000 ft high and on the top there is a huge plain surface. On this rectangular plain stone surface the fort of Ulapgarh had been constructed. The plain stone fine surface is about 400 metre long and 250 metre wide. On the eastern side of the fort there are almost about 7 kms. Of densely forested Baramunda Hills and on the Western side, the Belpahar Railway Station is located at a distance of 5 kms. On the north there is a dense forest stretching up to Hemgir and in the South stretching up to Badjob village.
A 12 ft. wide and 150 mts. Long moat had been constructed which stretches from east to west. There was a Sivalingam and a place of worship in the Fort. A well had been dug on the stone floor which provided drinking water to the inmates of the Fort through out the year.
On the stone floor, there are many square holes and 70 round holes. The diameters of the hole vary from 1-3 inch. Wooden poles used to be put on these holes to support super structures for living room, store room, arsenals, Kitchen, sleeping room etc.
About 1000 people could take shelter at Ulapgarh at a time. On the western side of Ulapgarh and down hill there is Ushakothi cave. On the walls and floors of this cave also there are many circular and square holes. Probably the defence personnel of the fort used to suspend there clothes and other belonging from wooden poles fitted to these holes. The soldiers of the dense forest of Maheswar hill could easily over power and defeat the enemies before they could climb up the hill and attack the fort.
It is believed that Ulapgarh was being used as a residential fort by some kings of “Naja” Dynasty. Research is going on by various Indian and Foreign researchers and Historian in this direction.
Padmasini Temple of Padampur : At a distance of 70 Kms. from Jharsuguda, there is Hirakud reservoir on the left side of village Bhikampali. Just at the point where the river Mahanadi leaves the than Madhya predesh and enters Orissa to pour in to the Hirakud reservoir, there was once a town called as "Padampur". The famous Sanskrit dramatist “Bhabahbhoti” was believed to be born here. Moreover, it is said that “Bajrajan’ Tantra marg of Buddhism took origin here.
Goddess Padmasini is the reigning deity of this town. The temple of “Padmashini’ was constructed in 7th century A.D. by a Chalukya king of South. However the original temple had met decay and was believed to be reconstructed by the Chouhan king of Sambalpur in 16th century. A look at the “Jagmohan’ of original temple reveals striking resemblance with architecture of the Chalukya era.
Even the stone statue of goddess Padmasini bears striking similarities with the style of the Chalukya period. In the whole Orissa Padmasini Temple is a unique example of Chalukya art and architecture. In 1956 Padampur town was submerged in Hirakud reservoir, but the deity has been shifted to a new temple at nearby ‘Pujaripali’.
Who had constructed the temple in the 7th century puzzles many historian & researchers often.
Ramchandi- An ancient Shaktipitha : This important place of ‘Shakti Worship’ is located 10 km. away from Jharsuguda town inside a cave.
Rampur Dandapat (Jamindari) was created during the reigning ‘Chhatrasai Dev’ the 7th King of Sambalpur (1657-1695). One Khytriya youth of Rajpotana belonging to Gaharwal family ‘Prannath Singh’ with his velour subdued the local aborigines of Rampur area in IB basin and received Rampur area as Jagirdari from Chhatrasai Dev, the ruling king of Sambalpur. The Rampur Jamindari had an area of 786 sq.miles.
From the remote past Davi Ramchandi is being worshiped as the reigning deity of Rampur region. The Shrine is famous not only on the Rampur area but throughout the western Orissa. Many pilgrims and devotees come to the Rampur cave from far and near to visit and worship the goddess Ramchandi.
Koilighughar water fall (Lakhanpur) : The Koilighugar water fall is situated 55 kilometer away from Jharsuguda in the Lakhanpur block near the village Kushmelbahal. A rivulet named ‘Ahiraj’ takes origin from the ‘Chhuikhanch’ forest and while flowing through its rocky belt falls from a height of 200 ft. creating the water fall of Koilighugar. After the fall the rivulet flows west wards to merge into the river ‘Mahanadi’. It is a picturesque beauty spot with its sylvan back drop.
Inside the fall there is a Shivalingam known as ‘Maheswarnath’. The lingam is submerged in water and not ordinarily visible. If somebody tries to see it from inside the water in winter and summer the lingum is visible under the reflected sunlight, hence for the benefit of the pilgrims another Sivalingam has been created outside the waterfall.
There is an “Ashram’ of a holy man “Saham swami’ near the water fall. Every year a fair sits in Kalighugar on the occasion of Sivaratri.
Ancient Siva Shrine of Jhadeswar Temple, Jharsuguda : The ‘Jhadeswar’ temple is located at a distance of about 1 km. from the Jharsuguda Railway station beyond the old town ‘Purunabasti’ inside a small forest.
There is a self appearing (Swayambhu) Sivalingam here the actual age of which is unknown. But during the reign of ‘Govind Singh’ Jamindar of Jharsuguda the lingam was being worshiped inside a hut made up of leaves. In 1916 a Gujarati contractor named “Mulju Jagmal’ erected a small temple here. The Jamindar of Jharsuguda arranged Savayats for daily worship and donated agricultural lands for maintenance of the temple and puja.
The temple was renovated in 1969 by philanthropist from Calcutta Lt.Surajmal Mohota.
Since 1916 a fair takes place here on every Sivaratri day. The Jhadeswar temple area has important significance in the history of Jharsuguda. On the eastern side of the temple the original ‘Jharguda’ settlement has grown. On its northern side there was a settlement of ‘Gond subject’ of the Jamindar of Jharsuguda. Jhadeswar temple is recognised as original Siva shrine.
‘Adyaswambhu pitha’ of Jharsuguda. A Small beautiful garden has been grown near the Jhadeswar temple which is used as a picnic spot because of its scenic beauty.
Shree Pahadeswar Temple, Jharsuguda : It is situated at the top of a small hill on the eastern side of Jharsuguda and is another place of attraction in the District.
The temple was constructed by a Gujrati Contractor Lt. Bitthal bhai Saha in 1921. With its natural surrounding viz. Garden, Ashsram etc and because of easy accessibility, it attracts a lot of visitors. From the hill top a bird’s eye view of Jharsuguda town enthralls the visitors.
Shiva Shrine of Mahadebpali : On the South East direction of Jharsuguda and on the bank of river Bhaden there is an ancient Sivashrine’ at Mahadebpali. The study of local history reveals that, there was a small kingdom of a ‘Haihay King’ in this region. A Siva temple had been constructed by the king on the river bank. The king of Ratnapur (Surguja) attacked this kingdom in concern with the marriage of the only daughter of the Haihay king’ and during this aggression the ‘Haihay King’ was killed and his kingdom was destroyed.
In the 16th Century ‘Balram Dev’ the 1st Chouhan king of Sambalpur occupied this fort and there was a war between the Sambalpur king and the Ratnapur king, as a result the importance of the ‘Bhogaragarh’ fort declined.
For a long time the ‘Bhogaragarh’ fort and the surrounding temples remained abandoned. As a result the temples near the fort decayed. A few years back the villagers of Mahadevpali constructed a new temple at the original site.
As the history of local area is clearly linked with this temple it is considered to be one of the Astaswayambhus of Jharsuguda district. Every year fair takes place here on the day of Sivaratri.
Historical Kolabira Fort:
This fort is situated at a distance of 17 kms. From the Jharsuguda town on the bank of river ‘Telen'.
The Kolabira Jamindari was formed during the reign of Lt. Jayat Singh (1781-1818) the Chohan king of Sambalpur. It had an area of 278 sq.kms... It was bounded on north by villages Arda, Dhutura, Baijapli and Bamra kingdom. One Manasdhar Singh was the 1st Jamindar of Kolabira. During the 13th Century the ‘Gond’ tribe was ruling the Gondwara region (Modern Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh). At that time small Gond kingdoms such as Kherlu, Betal etc. were created. During the later part of 14th Century, the Gond kingdom disintegrated. As a result the ferocious Gonds migrated in large numbers to the Sambalpur kingdom and settled there.
During the 16th Century the kings of Sambalpur appreciating the physical prowess, valor and loyalty of Gonds gave them shelter as subjects and the Gond Chieftains were given responsible posts in the earning. Jayant Singh the King of Sambalpur had appointed ‘Mansadhar Singh’ as the Jamindar of Kolabira.
After Mansadhar Singh his son ‘Karunakar Singh’ (Nayak) took charge of Kolabira Jamindari. At this time Maharaja Sai was the king of Sambalpur and after his death his widow Queen Mohankumari was made the queen, but the actual administration was done by the British. As a result, there was an armed revolt started against the British. The queen was sent as pensional to Cuttack and the British appointed an old Khytriya named ‘Narayan Singh’ as the king of Sambalpur.
BirSurendraSai, the Chauhan Jamindar of Khinda started armed revolution against British and Karunakara Naik the Jamindar of Kolabira Joined the revaluation as a follower and his property was confiscated because of his support to Surendrasai. The shrewd British authorities declared clemency to those who surrendered and to escape gallows and to get back the Jamindari. The rebel Kolabira Jamindar alternately surrendered. But illegally and treacherously he was hanged in the jail premises of Sambalpur on 11th February, 1858. The British army in the mean time had blown the palace of Kolabira Jamindar by Cannons, later the son of Karunakar Nayak appealed before the ‘Court of Wards’ at Nagpur and got back his confiscated Jamindari and properties in 1860. The English repaired the damaged palace and fort as compensation. At present the descendants of Kolabira Jamindar recide in the premises of the old fort which is grossly damaged. In the history of freedom struggle Kolabira is known as ‘Agni Tirtha’. Many people including historian and researchers visit this place often.