Dashapalla

Dashapalla Daspalla
community development block
[[File: Lord Mahaveer (Hanuman) inside the Mahaveer temple at Daspalla, Nayagarh |250px|none|alt=|]]
Dashapalla Location in Nayagarh, Odisha, India
Coordinates: 20°21′N 84°51′E / 20.350°N 84.850°E / 20.350; 84.850Coordinates: 20°21′N 84°51′E / 20.350°N 84.850°E / 20.350; 84.850
Country	India
State	Odisha
District	Nayagarh
Elevation	122 m (400 ft)
Languages
• Official	Oriya
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	752084
Telephone code	06757
Nearest city	Gania, Nayagarh, KHandapada
Lok Sabha constituency	Kandhamal

Dashapalla, also known as Daspalla, is a block in Nayagarh district, Odisha, India.

History

Available records, writings, books reveal that at first there was no such place known as Daspalla. Rather it was a part of Boudh State ruled by Bhanj Kings. During the rule of Bira Bhanj there was a rift in between Bira Bhanj and his cousin, Sal Bhanj. The dissident Sal Banj left Boudh and proceeded to meet the Gajapati of Puri through the ages old Jagannath Sadak. While resting with his followers at Padmlatola Ghat, the king of Nayagarh got the news and made alliance with Sal Bhanj and declared him the king of that area. Getting the news, Bir Bhanj of Boudh got angry and sent a troop to capture Sal Bhanj. But the troop of Boudh got defeated at the hands of Sal Bhanj and Nayagarh soldiers. As Sal Bhanj got Yasha (Fame) he named his kingdom as Yashpalla or Daspalla. Other historians tell that king Sal Bhanj had only das (oriya for 10) Pallies (villages) so Daspalli got renamed as Daspalla. This incident took place in 1495. King Sal Bhanj ruled for 3 years only and then his son Naran Bhanj ascended the throne.

But records found at Boudh state reveal that Daspalla was formed by Naran Bhanj in 1498 during the reign of Siddya Bhanj. However it is a fact that Daspalla was formed during the last part of 15th century being separated from Boudh.

The head quarter of Daspalla changed from Badmul to Gania, Gania to Madhyakhand, Madhyakhand to Puruna Daspalla. The ninth king of Daspalla Padmanav Bhanj, during hunting, saw a wonderful thing that a wild dove was hunting & defeating a Chhanchan (Bird of prey) so he thought the place a heroic one and decided to change his capital to that place. At that time there was a Kandha chieftain named Kunj Malik. King Padmanav Bhanj defeated Kunj Malik and started his capital here but after the name of Kunja Malik the capital got named as Kunjabanagarh.^[1]

Guri Charan Deo Bhanj was crowned ruler in 1803. He was succeeded by a line of titular Rajas.

• 18.. - Jan 1873 Narsimha Bhanj
• 28 Jan 1873 - 190. Chaitan Deo Bhanj
• *1908 - 11 Dec 1913 Narayan Deo Bhanj
• Dec 1913 - 15 Aug 1947 Kishor Chandra Deo Bhanj (b. 1908)

Geography

Geaographically, it is located at 20°21′0″N 84°51′0″E / 20.35000°N 84.85000°E / 20.35000; 84.85000 at an elevation of 122 m above MSL.^[2]

During pre-independence era it was a small garhjat (princely state) named as Daspalla State with headquarters at Kunjabanagarh. Its boundary touches the district border of Cuttack, Angul, Boudh, Kandhamal and Ganjam. The then Daspalla state has been divided into two Blocks namely Daspalla and Gania.

Previously Daspalla State was divided into 14 praganas with a Sardar as its chief. Daspalla is a place of hills and mountains,forests, streams, rivers, falls, gorge, wild growth and wild animals predominantly occupied by Tribals of Kandha and Khaira Tribe. Presently Daspalla Block has 19 Gram Panchayats and Gania Block has 8 Gram Panchayats.

Location

Daspalla is situated in the middle of Odisha. It is 127 km away from Bhubaneswar, the state capital via Khurda and Nayagarh; 200 km away from Sambalpur via Rairakhol and Boudh ; 140 km away from Berhampur via Aska and Bhanjanagar ; 120 km away from Anugul via Hindol and Narasinghpur ; 295 km from Bhawanipatna via Kandhamal, Phulbani; 200 km from Bolangir via Subarnapur and Boudh.

National Highway 224 passes through Dashapalla. Nearest airport is Biju Patnaik Airport at Bhubaneswar. The nearest Railway station is Bhubaneswar, the state capital, where from frequent passenger buses are available to Daspalla.

Administration

Dashapalla falls under the Kandhamal (Lok Sabha constituency).

Festivals

Dashapalla is famous for Lankapodi Yatra. The Yatra commences on the day of Ram Navami and continues for a fortnight.

Places of interest

Some fine and fantastic places are here which attract hundreds of people every year. Among them the following are important.

• Satkosia Gorge – It is the deepest river Gorge of Odisha in the river Mahanadi. Its length is about 16 km in between Angul and Daspalla boundary. Gharial crocodile and many aquatic birds and animals are found here.

• Satkosia Wildlife Sanctuary - The Satakosia wildlife sanctuary is a tiger reserve. It attracts the nature lovers to experience the Flora and Fauna of Daspalla amidst deep dense forest with numerous trees, herbs and creepers. Tiger, elephant, deer, spotted deer, bison, hare, jackal, wolf, leopard, peacock , parrot , maina etc. are common.

• Kuanaria Dam - A medium Irrigation Project has been built on the river Kuanaria just 7 km away from Daspalla town. It is the largest river dam of Nayagarh district and a very good picnic spot with a deer park. Irrigation I.B., Wildlife I.B. and RWSS I.B. are here for short stay of the visitors.

• Mahaveer Khol - Mahaveer Khol, a small hill at the north of Daspalla is believed to be the original place of God Mahaveer. Swapna Mahaveer is being worshipped here since 1983. It is a fine religious place as well as a very good spot for picnic and for visit. A 3 days long Jajna is being held here every year during Bisub Sankranti where thousands of people gather.

• Bhimara - It is a fine place for rock trekking. Generally people gather here in the month of Kartik for a visit. It is believed that Bhim the 2^nd Pandav was here for some days. So the grand rock bears the foot prints of Bhim and named as Bhimara.

Famous personalities

Mahaveer Kshetra, Daspalla bears the foot prints of a number of famous personalities. Some of them are the following.

• Bhakta Charan Das – The famous devotee and writer Bhakta Charan Das lived here at village Madhyakhanda for some time where he had started his famous book “Mathura Mangal”.

• Kabi Jadumani – The celebrated humorist poet Jadumani Mahapatra had spent his childhood here at Daspalla , had his love and married here too. He has composed so many verses here.

• Fakir Mohan Senapati – The legendary personality Fakir Mohan Senapati was serving here as dewan of Raja Chaitanya Bhanj Deo. Here he had written his famous “Dhulia Baba” story and many more.

• Gobind Mishra – The great freedom fighter Gobind Chandra Mishra, the first Oriya to reach Sabarmati Ashram was born and brought up here. He was supposed to be the 5^th son of Mahatma Gandhi. He is the person who had introduced Gopabandhu to Gandhiji. He was writer of 6 books and had been M.P. to Rajyasabha once.

• Rama Chandra Mishra- Rama Chandra Mishra is the legendary dramatist of this place. He has written 33 nos. of dramas like Abhiman, Mulia, Ghara Sansar, Norattam Das Kahe, Bhai-Bhauj, Mantri yuga etc. He is one of the Dramatist Trio of the Golden age of Oriya Drama. Bhanja Kishore Pattanaik, Rama Chandra Mishra and Gopal Chhotaray have given a new look to odia drama.

References

External links

• maplandia.com: Satellite map of Dashapalla