The Asurgarh near Narla in Kalahandi

Kalahandi

Kalahandi, , is a district of Orissa in India. The region had a glorious past and great civilization in ancient time. Archaeological evidence of stone age and Iron Age human settlement has been recovered from the region. Asurgarh offered an advanced, well civilized, cultured and urban human...

 existed in the period from 500 BC to 500 AD was one of the ancient metropolis. Though findings of pre-historic Stone Age, Copper-Bronze Age have been found from Asurgarh, in ancient time, around 2000 years ago, a well civilized, urbanized, cultured people inhabited on this land mass when Asurgarh near Narla in Kalahandi

Kalahandi

Kalahandi, , is a district of Orissa in India. The region had a glorious past and great civilization in ancient time. Archaeological evidence of stone age and Iron Age human settlement has been recovered from the region. Asurgarh offered an advanced, well civilized, cultured and urban human...

 was one of the oldest metropolis in Orissa

Orissa

Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

, other one was Sisupalgarh

Sisupalgarh

Sisupalgarh or Sishupalgarh are a ruined fortification in Khurda District in Orissa, India. It is the largest and best preserved early historic fortification in India.-Description:...

 (of Kalinga

Kalinga

Kalinga is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Tabuk and borders Mountain Province to the south, Abra to the west, Isabela to the east, Cagayan to the northeast, and Apayao to the north...

) near Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar is the capital of the Indian state of Orissa, officially Odisha. The city has a long history of over 2000 years starting with Chedi dynasty who had Sisupalgarh near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital...

. Asurgarh served as the political - cultural and commercial hub of the Taitilaka Janapada & Atavikas during 500 - 100 BC.

1st to 3rd century AD Ancient Kalahandi [Atavika land] had commercial and socio - cultural relationship with the Chedi of Kalinga and Kusana empire of the northwest. In Amaravati stupa inscription the land is designated as Mahavana.

In 335 AD Kalinga had lost its pristine glory and reduced into small principalities. The Gupta emperor Samudragupta thus attacked Kosala and Kantara or Mahakantara in course of his Deccan campaign and defeated Kantara, king Vyagraraja but restored his kingdom. The emperor in order to perpetuate the memory of the heroic fight of Vyagraraja, introduced Tiger type of Gold Coin in the Gupta Empire.

In 5th century AD Sanskritization in Orissa was first started from Kalahandi – Koraput [ancient Kantara]. Kalahandi was the cradle of Stambeswari Creed in 5th century AD due to sanskritization, which was a forerunner of Jagannatha ,Balabhadra and Subhadra or Jagannatha Cult. First Brick Temple in Eastern India was built at Asurgarh during 500 AD, which was the temple of Goddess Stambeswari.

Description of the Fort

It is almost rectangular in shape having four gates piercing the surrounding mammoth wall that is made of brick, rubble and earth. After the wall, a wide and deep moat girdles the fort on three sides respectively on the north, south and east. The fort area measures 24.29 hectares of land. On the west of the fort, the river Sandol flows close to the western rampart towards north to meet the river Utei, a tributary of the Tel, at a distance of about 3 km from the fort site. Close to the eastern ditch, the builders of the fort excavated a huge water reservoir measuring 200 acres of land. It is popularly known as Asursagar. It has been pointed out that the water of the reservoir could be trained into the ditch of the fort through two sluices gate. On the southwest corner of the fort, another small tank was dug, which is known today by its name Radhasagar. Habitation zone of the peoples is being documented towards the south and north of the fort immediately after the fortified wall. Lowe town or habitation area is further superimposed by another mud wall within 100 hectares radius at each settlement zone, the mud wall has single gate in the middle.