The Story of Odisha’s Maritime Trade
When one thinks about the maritime trade of ancient India, the first ports that come to mind are usually Lothal, Bharuch, Bassein, Muziris, Pattanam, etc. Today let’s explore the lesser-known tales of the ports of Odisha from the eastern coastline, and their role in shaping India’s maritime past. Due to poor preservation conditions, the earliest reported shipwrecks from the Indian coastline all date post 16th century CE (Common Era). In the absence of direct evidence, indirect sources inform us about Odisha’s contacts with the Southeast Asian and Roman regions. These sources are often in the form of literary texts, inscriptions, coins, pottery and iconographic evidence.
In the historical sources, Odisha has been referred to by various names as Udra Desa, Kalinga, Utkal and Orissa. The significance of Odisha in the maritime trade is observed in the popular literary works such as Raghuvamsa (an epic poem written in 19 cantos), in which Kalidasa refers to the king of Kalinga as ‘Mahodadhipati’, the lord of the ocean. Here Mahodadhi is the Eastern Sea, so this epithet/ title indicates the dominance of Kalinga (ancient Odisha) in the transoceanic trade of India. Various ports along the coast of Lake Chilika are also mentioned in the 10th century CE text, Brahmanda Purana. The text goes on to say that the ships would sail towards Malaya, Ceylon and Java from Chilika. It also describes the existence of a lighthouse built in stone, on a hillock by the Chilika shore to guide the navigators during night times. Ptolemy’s account from the 2nd century CE mentions the port of Paloura (present day Palur), in the Ganjam district from where ships set sail to southeast Asia. Similarly, Hiuen Tsang, when he visited India in 638 CE, mentioned in his accounts the port of Che-li-ta-lo on the southeastern coast and described it as a resting place for traders and ships. A number of scholars have identified it with present day places namely, Puri, Chitrotpala, Chandrabhaga and Chhatragada – all in Odisha.
There are iconographic depictions of seafaring activities reported from panels in temples or in isolated contexts. In one of the Ashtamahabhaya Tara panels found at the Buddhist site of Ratnagiri in Odisha, eight perils are shown in two vertical row presentations. Tara is an important goddess in the later Buddhist pantheon. She was worshipped for protection against eight perils (Ashtamahabhaya), for example, being attacked by an elephant, man wielding a sword, goblin attacks, etc. Of these, one is Jalar-navabhaya or sinking in a boat. It is believed that when the traders faced distress during sea-travels, they would pray to Goddess Tara and promise a donation to her if they made it safely to the coast. This depiction dates to the later part of 8th c. CE. The second example is from the parapet of the assembly hall (jagmohan) of the Sun temple at Konark, dated to the 13th c. CE. Here there are representations of Martanda Bhairava sculptures dancing on boats. Martanda is a name of Surya, the sun god and Bhairava is a fierce form of Shiva so Martanda Bhairava is a composite form of Surya and Shiva. The sculptures are depicted as having three heads, holding a trident or trishul, staff, skull cap, discus or the chakra and the drum or damru among other objects. They are shown in dancing poses on the boat. Another interesting instance is a panel from the Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneshwar, dated to 11th c. CE, where a woman is depicted rowing a boat with an oar. It is a rare find as usually the subject of these depictions is male figures. There is also a 9th c. CE panel from Bhubaneshwar depicting the Goddess Mahishasuramardini engaged in a fierce battle with a demon. On the pedestal below the goddess is the carving of a boat, again, a very rare sculpture. Both the panels are understudied at present. If you want to read more about such iconographic depictions, there is an article by Tripati et al., 2018 in the reference list.
 |
| The Ashtamahabhaya Tara sculpture with Jalar-navabhaya scene in bottom left corner (right); zoomed in detail of the panel (left) credit: Tripati et al., 2018 |
 |
| The Martand Bhairava sculpture at the Sun Temple, Konark; credit: Tripati et al., 2018 |
Apart from sculptures, seafaring evidence is also found indirectly in the form of artefacts recovered from archaeological excavations. At the site of Manikapatana, on the northern tip of Lake Chilika, excavations have unearthed artefacts in the form of Chinese celadon ware and copper coins, and amphorae sherds possibly from the trade with Romans, also present was pottery from Burma, Indonesia and Arabia. Another supposed port site, Khalakapattana has yielded remains of a brick-jelly floor thought to have been used as a loading and unloading platform for traded goods. Chinese pottery in huge quantities have also been found from the site confirming its role in the maritime trade. Excavations at Early Historical sites like Sisupalgarh, Talapada, Radhanagar, Palur have yielded a vast quantity of Roman artefacts such as the Roman bullae (basically these are like amulets depicting Roman portraits meant to be worn around the neck) along with lamps, amphorae and rouletted ware sherds that suggest Odisha’s trade contacts with Romans. Evidence of Indian origin beads from Odisha has also been found at archaeological sites in Thailand. Indian ceramics have also been reported from archaeological excavations in Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand and Bangladesh. In the absence of shipwrecks, all these artefacts point towards the existence of maritime trade between these regions.
In 2001, UNESCO estimated that there are about 3 million shipwrecks lying on the ocean floor and awaiting explorations. That number itself is sufficient to boggle the mind and to think about the duration in which these must have accumulated. Although, in the Indian waters, the shipwrecks subjected to explorations are all dated to post 16th century CE. This might partly have to do with the preservation conditions due to the tropical climate. In an exploration carried 6 km away off the Konark coast, remains of a shipwreck were discovered lying about the sea floor at a depth of 6 to 8 m. The remains included fragments of boilers similar to those found from explorations off Minicoy, Lakshadweep Islands and Amee Shoals off Goa; anchor chain fragments, beams and hull frames of the ship. However, identification of the ship still remains uncertain and one contender for it is found after studying archives. HMS Carron is reported to have wrecked 4 miles off the Konark coast in 1820, as cited by multiple sources. The researchers confirm that the wreck they encountered was most certainly a steam engine and that HMS Carron might be lying to the further north of the remains. A team of explorers from the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa carried on further investigations off the Odisha coastline. Their survey reported two more similar shipwrecks off Hukitola bay of Kendrapada and off Gopalpur coast. Remains encountered from Hukitola Bay are suspected to be of ‘Velleda’, a cargo ship. It sank in 1875 while it was journeying from France to India, carrying goods such as food grains, sugar, wine and liquor. The ship was caught in a cyclone and could not be anchored, thus sinking to the seabed. The shipwreck off Gopalpur coast is buried in the seabed and only a small portion is visible. Shallow waters and high energy currents combined with poor visibility conditions in the water pose challenges for explorations of such shipwrecks. These shipwrecks are dated between 16th c. CE to 20th c. CE and represent a transitional phase from the use of ‘wood to iron and sail to steam’.
To this day, traces of ancient traditions are visible in some of the festivals celebrated in Odisha. On the full moon day (Karthika Purnima) in October, Bali Yatra (journey to Bali Island) is celebrated throughout the state. People visit the nearest river, shore, pond, lake or any water body and they carry votive boats made of banana tree barks and place lighted lamps in them before setting them afloat. This symbolizes a safe journey for the traders. Even though the marine trade of Odisha declined with time, memories of the distant maritime past remain preserved in these traditions.
Bhakti G
Pradhan, A. K. (2005). Maritime Heritage of Orissa. Address of His Excellecy the Governor of Orissa Shri Rameshwar Thakur to the Orissa Legislative Assembly on February 28, 2005, 51.
Patra, B. (2015). Maritime activities of early Odisha: an archaeological perspective. Odisha Review, 18-24.
Tripati, S., Mishra, U. K., Swain, B. K., Acharya, S. K., Behera, R. P., Patnaik, S. K. (2018). Watercraft depicted in the art of Odisha, East Coast of India. Australasian Journal of Maritime Archaeology, 42, 39-52.
Tripati, S., Bux, S., Behera, R. P. (2016). Exploration of shipwreck off Konark coast, Odisha-A preliminary study.
Tripati, S., Behera, R. P. (2019). Did Romans have direct maritime trade contacts with Odisha on the Eastern Indian littoral?.
Comments
Post a Comment