Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India c11.16

c11.16

As regards the north-eastern limit of ancient Kaliṅga, a well-known passage in the Tīrtha-yātrā section of the Vanaparvan (114, 3) of the Mahābhārata has eṣa Kaliṅgaḥ Kaunteya yatra Vaitaraṇī nadī. This shows that the river Vaitaraṇī forming the eastern border of the Cuttack District of Orissa was regarded in ancient times as the boundary of the Kaliṅga country. Kālidāsa’s Raghuvaṃśa (IV, 38) speaks of the Utkala country lying between the land of the Kaliṅgas and that of the Vaṅgas. The eastern boundary of Utkala can be determined only when we know the exact area inhabited by the Vaṅga people.