1916 J * The Geography of Orissa. 39 



in the Am by "nine forts among the hills and jungles." The 

 country was wild and hilly, and must have covered a large 

 tractto be assessed with such a considerable revenue as 

 Rs. 53, 323 1 . The zamindars are said to have been by caste 

 Ahirs, in Orlya Gaura. From the wide pasturage available on 

 the latente table-lands of Khurdha and Ranapura, the preva- 

 lence of the Gaura caste is not unlikely. A poet from Ranapura 

 T. state, by name Acyutananda Dasa, calls himself a Gaura. 1 



(9) Bhijnagar with a fort. Bhanjnagar or Gumsur in 

 Ganjam District, some 20 miles north of Aska (Beames). It is 

 really the Bhimanagara Dandapata of the T. chronicles. This 

 according to Anarigabhimadeva's statement lay on the western- 

 most border of the former kingdom of Orissa, and in his time lay 

 east of Bod. Its position was therefore between the tributary 

 state of Bod and that of Banki-Athagara, and comprised evi- 

 dently the intervening tributary states of Daspalla, Nayagara, 

 Khandapara, Narsihgpura, Baramba, and possibly Ahgul and 

 Hmdol. That the niahal covered a large tract of these wild 

 rugged lands is clear from its small revenue of Rs. 21,509f and 

 its large quota of men, 50 cavalry and 22,000 infantry. The 

 zamindar was a Telingha, probably a collecting officer of Gov- 

 ernment placed in charge of a number of these small tributary 

 states. 



(10) Banju, Banjud, or Banhu. Banchas in Central Puri 

 (Beames). More probably it is Bhaiija, the title assumed by 

 several chiefs of tributary states. That the mahal should refer 

 to the wild tract of tributary states is clear from the note that 

 the zamindar was a Rajput, and in addition to a small revenue 

 of Rs. 21,655, had to furnish a large quota of men. 100 cavalry 

 and 20,000 infantry. By calling the chief a Rajput, the mahal 



wi 



is expressly mentioned in the chronicles as lying on the western- 

 most border of Orissa, and which included at the timeprobablv 

 parts of Daspalla, Gumsur and Aiigul. It could not have been 

 applied to Mayurabhauja, whose position adjoins Jalesar Sarkar 

 and was thus far off from Katak Sarkar. The Bod chiefs 

 actually claim to have been descended from a Rajput relation 

 of the Jaypur Raj in Rajputana. 



(11) Parsotam, detailed in each sarkar. This refers, of 

 course, to the desa kharija of the T. chronicles, describing the 

 numerous land grants to the god Purusottama of Puri town, 

 the lands being taken from various Bisis of Orissa. 



(12) Chaubiskot with four forts. The CaubTsakuda Danda- 

 pata of the T. chronicles, of which only one Bisi is named, 

 Raetirana Manikapatna and Malud are said to be in this 

 Dandapata. It included therefore not only the present pargana 



J.A.S.B. , 1S98, p. 340. Gaura-kulare tmt bolai Maha'a, or araono- 

 the Gauras I am called Mahata or head. ' 



