Baripada

Baripada lies east of the forested Similipal hills in the country of Mayurbhanj. It became a seat of the Bhanja rulers, whose earlier capitals were at Khiching and Haripur. The region’s name recalls the Mayur and Bhanja houses, remembered in local accounts as closely connected ruling families.

The Bhanjas governed Khijjinga Mandala from Khiching before moving their capital to Haripur. An account credits Harihara Bhanja with founding Haripur around 1400; its prosperity was described in a Vaishnava work composed in 1620. The king Baidyanath Bhanja adopted the Vaishnava faith under the teacher Rasika Raya. Baripada later became the royal seat. The temples and remains at the older capitals show how the dynasty’s political and religious centres shifted across the lands surrounding the Similipal hills.