The history of Orissan art & architecture is coeval with her dated history, which, as have seen, starts from 261B.C. when Ashok conquered this part of the country, then known as Kalinga. The Kalinga war of 261B.C. formed a turning point and it is difficult to determine as to how much of Orissa's culture, if she had any at that period, survived after this great cataclysm but, it is definite that Ashok's occupation of Orissa gave a start to Orissan art & architecture.

From the 7th to the 13th century A.D. innumerable temples were erected in Orissa and it has been truly observed that there are perhaps more temples now in Orissa than in all the rest of India put together.

The earliest specimen of sculptural art in Kalinga is the colossal figure of the forepart of an elephant carved at the top of the boulder containing Ashok's rock edict at Dhauli. This elephant figure is certainly contemporary to the inscription and reference may be made to an incised figure of an elephant with label in Ashokan Brami which appears along with the Ashokan edicts at Kalsi (Dehradun).   Moreover, naturalism as evidenced in the anatomical treatment  of the figure corresponds to that noticed in other animal capitals of Ashoka's pillars. The Dhauli figure, however, appears to be the work of the local artists who were upholders of the indigenous tradition.

 At this very moment Buddhism flourished apace, living in its wake astounding monasteries, shrines & Buddha figures sculpted with great fineness.

 There is also another animal figure which may be assigned to the reign of Ashok. It is the upper part of a lion capital recently discovered at Bhubaneswar, the capital city of modern Orissa.  The colossal Lingam, now enshrined in the temple of Bhaskarewar at Bhubaneswar was the remnant of an Ashokan pillar. 

 There is yet another piece of sculpture at Bhubaneswar which can be connected with an Ashokan pillar. It is a portion of the capital consisting of the abacus, the torus & the so called bell. The height of the fragment is 32 inches and its circumference near upper bulge is about nineteen feet five inches. It was like in a tank known as Ashoka Jhara just behind Rameswar temple.

 The next stage of the development of Orissan art & architecture is marked by the caves of Udhaygiri & Khandagiri, which stand side by side about five miles to the west of Bhubaneswar and which have respectively been mentioned in the epigraphic records as kumari parvat & kumar parvat. The hillocks have been honey-combed with rock-cut caves mint for Jain ascetics, which now bear various names such as Jay-Vijay Gumpha, Swargapuri Gumpha, Manchapuri Gumpha, Rani Gumpha, Hati Gumpha, etc. These rock cut caves represent the earliest devotional architecture of Orissa. The earliest groups of caves abodes belong to the age of Kharavela.