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CHAPTER LIX
THE UTKALAS AND UDRAS
THE UTKALAS
Some Purānas seem to imply that one of the ten sons of Manu was Ila-Sudyumna, a Kimpurusha 1 who in his turn had three sons, Utkala, Vinatāśva 2 and Gaya who enjoyed respectively the territories of Utkala, an undefined western country and Gayā.3 These three territories have sometimes been collectively designated in the Purāṇas as Saudyumnas.4 The Saudyumnas thus seem to have occupied the hilly tracts from Gayā to Orissa.
Epic tradition 5 connects the Utkalas with the Udras, Mekalas, Kalingas and Andhras. The Dronaparvan of the Mahābhārata would have us believe that Karņa conquered the Utkalas along with the Mekalas, Paundras, Kalingas, Āndhras, Nişadas, Trigarttas and Vählikas. In the Rāmāyana the Utkala country is associated with the Mekala and Daśārņa countries. In sending his army of monkeys to the different countries in quest of Sītā, Sugrīva asked Suşeņa to send his retinue among other countries of the south to Mekala, Utkala and Daśārna (Canto XLII).
From the Epic tradition as contained in the Mahābhārata cited above, it is evident that even as early as the period when the tradition was recorded, Utkala was distinguished from Odra or Udra and the distinction seems to have been maintained throughout in ancient Indian literature and inscriptions. It is equally evident that it was distinguished from Kalinga as well, though a verse in the Vanaparvan of the Mahābhārata & seems to suggest that Utkala at one time formed a part of Kalinga. The Raghuvamśa of Kālidāsa,? however, represents Utkala as an independent kingdom. The Brahmapurāna 8 also suggests that Utkala and Kalinga were separate kingdoms. . According to the Raghuvamśa, the eastern boundary of
1 For a critical and synthetic study of Paurāņic legends in this connection, see Pargiter, A.I.H.T., pp. 253-4.
2 Or simply Vinata in most Purānas, or Haritāśva according to Matsyapurāņa and Padmapurāna.
3 Utkalasya Otkalam rāştram Vinatāśvasya paścimam dik pūrvā tasya rājarşer Gayasya tu Gayāpurī.
4 E.g., Vāyu purāna, pp. 99, 266. 5 Mbh., Bhīşmaparvan, Chap. IX, 348; Dronaparvan, Chap. IV, 122. 6 Vanaparvan, Chap. 114.
7 IV, v. 38.
8 47, 7.
