Sadhaba
Encyclopedia
Sadhabas were ancient mariners from the Kalinga
empire, which roughly corresponds to modern Orissa
, India. They used ships called Boita
s to travel to distant lands such as Bali, Java, Sumatra, and Borneo, in Indonesia, and to Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Persia, China, Greece and Africa to carry out trade and for cultural expansion.
Kartik Purnima, immediately before the full moon in October–November, was considered an especially auspicious occasion by the Sadhabas to begin their long voyages. Coconuts, earthenware, sandalwood, cloth, lime, rice, spices, salt, cloves, pumpkins, silk sarees, betel leaves, betel nuts, elephants, and precious and semi-precious stones were the main items of trade. Sometimes, even women were allowed to navigate as Sadhabas. Oriya navigators were instrumental in spreading Buddhism and Hinduism in East and South East Asia. In addition, they disseminated knowledge of Indian architecture, epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, Indic writing and Sanskrit loan words in many Indo-Chinese languages such as Khmer
and Indonesian
.
Maritime trade declined only in the 16th century, with the decline of the Gajapati dynasty. Today, the descendants of these ancient mariners generally bear the last name "Sahu".
Kalinga (India)
Kalinga was an early state in central-eastern India, which comprised most of the modern state of Orissa/Utkal , as well as the Andhra region of the bordering state of Andhra Pradesh. It was a rich and fertile land that extended from the river Damodar/Ganges to Godavari and from Bay of Bengal to...
empire, which roughly corresponds to modern 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...
, India. They used ships called Boita
Boita
Boiţa is a commune in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania, at the foothills of the Cindrel Mountains, 22 km south of the county capital Sibiu, in the Mărginimea Sibiului ethnographic area, on the main road between Sibiu and the southern part of Romania, the National road 7/European route 81,...
s to travel to distant lands such as Bali, Java, Sumatra, and Borneo, in Indonesia, and to Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Persia, China, Greece and Africa to carry out trade and for cultural expansion.
Kartik Purnima, immediately before the full moon in October–November, was considered an especially auspicious occasion by the Sadhabas to begin their long voyages. Coconuts, earthenware, sandalwood, cloth, lime, rice, spices, salt, cloves, pumpkins, silk sarees, betel leaves, betel nuts, elephants, and precious and semi-precious stones were the main items of trade. Sometimes, even women were allowed to navigate as Sadhabas. Oriya navigators were instrumental in spreading Buddhism and Hinduism in East and South East Asia. In addition, they disseminated knowledge of Indian architecture, epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, Indic writing and Sanskrit loan words in many Indo-Chinese languages such as Khmer
Khmer language
Khmer , or Cambodian, is the language of the Khmer people and the official language of Cambodia. It is the second most widely spoken Austroasiatic language , with speakers in the tens of millions. Khmer has been considerably influenced by Sanskrit and Pali, especially in the royal and religious...
and Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
.
Maritime trade declined only in the 16th century, with the decline of the Gajapati dynasty. Today, the descendants of these ancient mariners generally bear the last name "Sahu".