Orissa is a state of the Indian Union that's located along the eastern coast of the peninsula. A state that is wrapped in history. Its teritory formed a part of the ancient Kingdom of Mahabharat fame. Ashok the Mauryan king of Magadh, invited Kalinga in 261 BC and this event has gone down in history as Kalinga War, causing a great change in the heart of Emperor Ashok. That was the last war fought by him after which he became a great champion of the Buddhism and upheld the values of peace and non-violence. By the final reckoning, therefore it was the conqueror who was conquered in the famouse Kalinga war.
The ancient state roes to prominence as a kingdom under Kharabela, a great conqueror and patron of Jainism, in second half of the 1st century B.C. The Kalinga school of architecture flourished from the 13th to 17th century A.D. by the rulers of Kesari Dynasty and Eastern Ganga Dynasty, who were also great builders. The most important monuments of this period can be seen in and around Bhubaneswar and Puri. The Lingaraj Temple at Bhubaneswar, The Jagannath Temple at Puri and the Sun Temple at Konark are some of the finest temples of this period.
Few temples can complete with the beauty of the sculpture of Orissan temples. Today Orissa offers not only nature in all it's glory with it's beaches, rivers, waterfalls, hills, forest, wild and tribal life but also a great tradition of architechture, monuments and sculpture art. Some of these monuments dates back to the 3rd century B.C and are well preserved and are intact to this day.
