KEONJHAR STATE (NON SALUTE STATE)
Keonjhar
State (Odia: କେନ୍ଦୁଝର), also known as Keunjhar, was one of the princely states of India during
the period of the British Raj. The second largest of the states of the Orissa
States Agency, it was
located in present-day Kendujhar
district, Odisha.
The state
was bounded in the north by Singhbhum
District, in the east
by the State of
Mayurbhanj and Balasore District, in the south by Dhenkanal State and Cuttack District, and in the west by the states of Pal Lahara and Bonai. The state consisted of two clearly differentiated areas: Low
Keonjhar, a region of flat river valleys — the main river being the Baitarani, and the High Keonjhar, an area of forests dominated by
mountain ranges with the Gandhamadan reaching
a height of 1078 m. The capital was at Keonjhar.
Keonjhar State was founded sometime in the
first half of the 12th century, the founder being Jati Singh (Jyoti Bhanj),
brother of Adi Singh (Adi Bhanj), founder of Mayurbhanj State. Another version
of the legend credits Jai Singh, a son of Man Singh, the Maharaja of Jaipur in
Rajputana, who during a pilgrimage to the Jagannath shrine in Puri, married a woman named Padmavati, who was the daughter of
Pratapendra Deb, the Gajapati King of
Puri. Jai Singh received as a dowry the State of Hariharpur, which then
comprised the two States of Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar. Padmavati bore him two
sons: Adi Singh and Joti Singh. Following some successful territorial
conquests, Adi Singh was given the title of Bhanj by the Gajapati King of Puri.
Comments
Post a Comment