The Ganga camp city at the head of the Mahanadi delta, from which the king holds Utkala.
Anangabhima III moves the capital to the new "Bidanasi Kataka" (English Wikipedia: 1230 on the Anangabhima page, 1211 on the Cuttack page) and builds the Barabati fort. In 1200 it is a camp town and river port behind a flood revetment (board), not yet a capital.
Who holds it
- Name
- not named
- Title
- Ganga governor of Kataka
- Since
- not known
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
English Wikipedia (Anangabhima III; Cuttack).
Lord in 1200
Rajaraja III.
What the town holds
- The river ghats and the revetment
- The Mahanadi ferries
How things stand that morning
A garrison and river city under a Ganga officer; the king may reside here or at Kalinganagara.
Wealth
River tolls and the rice of the delta.
Military
The Ganga camp and river craft; no numbers.
Threats
- Flood
- Ghurid and Bengal raids after 1205 (Iwaz's river fleet in the 1210s)
Council
No town council is recorded; royal officers and the guilds of merchants and craftsmen are the usual bodies of a town of this age (general knowledge).
Communities
Soldiers, Brahmans, boatmen, merchants (general knowledge).
Fairs and markets
None recorded.
Walls and castle
A flood revetment (board the-kataka-revetment) and no fort yet recorded; Barabati is of the next reign.
Trade and crafts
Mahanadi river trade, rice, salt.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1211 or 1230Anangabhima III makes Kataka his capital and builds Barabati.Depends on: The king chooses the northern seat. Stopped by: The move is delayed.
Places of note
- Cuttack: Northern camp city.
Where the sources disagree
- Date of the capital move: 1211 (Cuttack page) or 1230 (Anangabhima page).
Evidence: Two encyclopaedia pages that disagree.
Primary sources for Eastern Gangas
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Lesser Chronicle (the continuation of the Mahavamsa), Dhammakitti and later monks of the Mahavihara tradition (the first continuation about the 13th century (chapters 37 to 79), carried on in stages to the 18th century). The only narrative source for Lanka in 1200. Read online
- Inscriptions of Bengal, vol. 3, Various (the Sena kings' chanceries), edited by N. G. Majumdar (copper plates of the 10th to early 13th centuries; edited 1929). The one-volume edition of the Sena copper plates, the main documentary evidence for Bengal around 1200. Read online
- Epigraphia Indica: inscriptions of the Chandelas, Paramaras, Gahadavalas, Chaulukyas, Senas and Eastern Gangas, Various (edited for the Archaeological Survey of India by J. Burgess, E. Hultzsch, F. Kielhorn, Sten Konow, F. W. Thomas and successors) (inscriptions of the 1180s to 1210s; the series ran from 1892). The main record series for the Hindu kingdoms of northern India around 1200. Read online
- Epigraphia Zeylanica: lithic and other inscriptions of Ceylon, Various (the Polonnaruwa kings' chanceries), edited by D. M. de Zilva Wickremasinghe, H. W. Codrington and S. Paranavitana (inscriptions of the 3rd century BC to the 18th century; the series ran from 1904). Prints with translation the stone records of the Polonnaruwa kings who held or lost the throne around 1200. Read online
- The Song of Govinda, Jayadeva (late 12th century, by tradition at the court of Lakshmanasena of Bengal). A literary witness, not a chronicle. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.