Kalingi

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Kalingi : A caste of temple priests and cultivators are found mainly in srikakulam. The Kalingis are essentially Telugus and are found mainly on the borderland between the districts of Ganjam and Vizagapatam. They are an endogamous population. The same class of people are known as the Kalinjis in the country north of the Vamsadhara river. In the Telugu parts they are called Kalingis and in the Oriya country they are kmown as Kalinjis. These Kalingis are not found south of Chipurupalle in the Vizagapatam district. These were the original people that gave their name to the region; most of them are now found confined to the south of Ganjam district, but some are found scattered all over the Oriya country along the coast. reference : http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-ENG/ramdas.htm

Buddhas Tooth at Dantapura, the capital of the kalinga's

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The word danta means tooth. While ancient Dantapuram sank into oblivion, Kandy receives tens of tho-usands of visitors every month. A site of great religious and historical significance is Dantapuram, a small village in Srikakulam district. Historians believe it to be the capital of Kalinga Kingdom. Emperor Asoka fought kalinga war in 261 BC. Archaeologists infer that one tooth of Lord Buddha was taken to Kandy in Sri Lanka from Dantapuram.

Dantapura, the reputed capital of ancient Kalingas. There is similarity between Dantavuram and Dantapura of the Buddhist chronicles induces me to identify Dantavuram. This identification is also corroborated by the writings of the ancient Roman geographer, Pliny who mentions about the Calingoe in his Natural History.

People of Amudalavalasa and the neighbourhood near Srikakulam Road railway station point out to a site which is within two miles from the railway station and where stands to this day a huge earthen wall about a mile in length and a large opening into it in the middle which is said to be the place where stood once the main gateway or the simhadvara into the fort and call the place Dantavuram

reference : http://www.tlca.com/adults/buddhist.html