Kalinga Ancient Trade Routes

Salt

Strongly Supported Scholars say

Salt was made from seawater along the Odisha coast, by boiling it or letting the sun dry it. Boats carried it up the Mahanadi and swapped it for rice and cotton.

Boats carried salt upriver to Sambalpur and came back loaded with cotton, wheat, oil-seeds and rice.

Along the coast, people made salt from seawater. A report on Parikud names two ways they did it. One was boiling the water down. The other was letting the sun dry it in shallow pans [Hunter, 1872, p.41].

In former times, salt went inland along the great road beside the Mahanadi river, toward Sambalpur. An 1825 report says over three hundred thousand maunds of salt went that way each year. That is a huge amount [Stirling, 1825, p.194].

This trade mattered to the government. The same report says the tax on salt brought in more money than all the land rents in the province [Stirling, 1825, p.218].

Traders swapped salt for other goods too. A report says river traders traded salt for rice, wheat, oil-seeds and cotton from inland regions [Hunter, 1872, pp.159-162].

Even earlier, in the 1500s, an old record names Manikapatna as a port where taxes were collected. A modern writer reports this as a place where salt tax was gathered [Patnaik, 2014a, p.104].

For scholars

Most of the hard numbers here come from 1825 or later, under British rule. Salt was surely made and traded here much earlier. But no source with a clear page says so. The one earlier hint comes only second-hand, through a modern summary of an old record [Patnaik, 2014a, p.104].

Facts

Category
Foodstuff
Direction
Exported from Kalinga

Carried on these routes

  • Cuttack to Chandbali by canal

    Steamers left Cuttack and went down a canal to the port of Chandbali. Boats had carried salt and grain along the Mahanadi here for far longer than that.

    [Imperial Gazetteer of India (Orissa entries), n.d., Imperial Gazetteer of India, vol. XI, pp. 92, 98]; [District Gazetteers (Cuttack, Puri, Ganjam, Balasore), British-era editions, n.d., O'Malley, Bengal District Gazetteers: Balasore (1907), pp. 10, 197]; [Stirling, 1825, p. 194]
    1. *Imperial Gazetteer of India (Orissa entries)*. n.d. public domain , Imperial Gazetteer of India, vol. XI, pp. 92, 98 (p. 92: 'Steamers carrying passengers and goods ply three times a week from Cuttack city to Chandbali port by canal, and from Chandbali to Calcutta by sea.' p. 98: Cuttack is 'connected by canal with Chandbali and False Point'.)
    2. *District Gazetteers (Cuttack, Puri, Ganjam, Balasore), British-era editions*. n.d. public domain , O'Malley, Bengal District Gazetteers: Balasore (1907), pp. 10, 197 (p. 10: 'Chandbali, 20 miles from the mouth, is the most important port in Orissa.' p. 197: Chandbali stands on the left bank of the Baitarani, 20 miles from its mouth; land was leased to the India General Steam Navigation Company in 1877.)
    3. Andrew Stirling. *An Account, Geographical, Statistical, and Historical, of Orissa Proper or Cuttack*. in Asiatic Researches 15. 1825. public domain , p. 194 (Cited for the cargo, not for the canal: 'formerly salt was an important article of export by way of the great road leading along the Mahanadi to Sembelpur and Berar ... more than three lacs of maunds being exported annually.')

  • The Orissa Trunk Road

    A great road was cut north from Puri through Cuttack to Balasore. Crowds of pilgrims walked it to see Jagannath, and carts carried paddy and salt.

    [District Gazetteers (Cuttack, Puri, Ganjam, Balasore), British-era editions, n.d., O'Malley, Bengal District Gazetteers: Balasore (1907), pp. 142, 146-147, 193]; [Patnaik, 2014a, p. 107]
    1. *District Gazetteers (Cuttack, Puri, Ganjam, Balasore), British-era editions*. n.d. public domain , O'Malley, Bengal District Gazetteers: Balasore (1907), pp. 142, 146-147, 193 (p. 146: 'The principal road is the Orissa Trunk Road, which runs for a length of 95 miles from end to end of the district', linking Midnapore and Calcutta on the north 'with Cuttack, Puri and Ganjam on the south'; built by Captain Sackville 1812-1820. p. 193: 'also called the Jagannath road'.)
    2. Sunil Kumar Patnaik. *Puri: A Study of Early Trade and Pilgrim Routes*. in Odisha Review. 2014a , p. 107 (Toynbee: 'The traffic from south to Cuttack passed along the eastern shore of the Chillika lake, between it and the sea, to Puri and thence followed exactly the line of the present great Jagannath road', and northwards from Puri through Cuttack and Jajpur to Bhadrak.)

  • Cuttack to Sambalpur along the Mahanadi

    Boats went far up the Mahanadi river from the coast to Sambalpur. They carried salt, spices and pots inland, and came back loaded with diamonds, iron, silk and grain.

    [Stirling, 1825, pp. 194, 218]; [Hunter, 1872, vol. ii, Appendix III, p. 74]; [Imperial Gazetteer of India (Orissa entries), n.d., vol. XXII, pp. 12-13 (Sambalpur District)]
    1. Andrew Stirling. *An Account, Geographical, Statistical, and Historical, of Orissa Proper or Cuttack*. in Asiatic Researches 15. 1825. public domain , pp. 194, 218 ('Formerly salt was an important article of export by way of the great road leading along the Mahanadi to Sembelpur and Berar ... more than three lacs of maunds being exported annually.')
    2. William Wilson Hunter. *Orissa: Or the Vicissitudes of an Indian Province under Native and British Rule*. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1872. public domain , vol. ii, Appendix III, p. 74 (Mahanadi river towns 'carry salt, spices, cocoa-nuts, and brass utensils up to Sambalpur ... bringing thence, in exchange, cotton, wheat, oil-seeds, clarified butter, oil, molasses, iron, turmeric, tasar cloth, rice.')
    3. *Imperial Gazetteer of India (Orissa entries)*. n.d. public domain , vol. XXII, pp. 12-13 (Sambalpur District) (Diamonds worked at Hirakud 'when Sambalpur was under native rule'; salt 'now brought by rail instead of river as formerly' - implying the river itself carried it before the railway.)

Documented at these ports

  • Manikapatna

    Manikapatna is an old port on the shore of Chilika lake. People digging there found coins and broken pots from China, Sri Lanka and lands far to the west.

    [Tripati, 2021, pp. 1211-1212]; [Patra, n.d., pp. 111-112]; [Patnaik, 2014a, pp. 104-105]; [Tripati, 2022, Introduction; Sci. Rep. 12:13559]; [Patra, 2014, p. 120]; [Dayalan, 2019, offprint p. 23, section 'Manikapatna']
    1. Sila Tripati. *Indo-Arabian stone anchor of Manikapatna, Odisha, east coast of India: an indicator of maritime contacts of Odisha*. in Current Science 120. 2021 , pp. 1211-1212 (p. 1211: OIMSEAS, Bhubaneswar excavated 1989-1993; site lies on the bank of Chilika Lake in Brahmagiri taluk, Puri district. p. 1212: two periods, 2nd c. BCE to 5th-6th c. CE and 9th to 19th c. CE; Kharoshthi inscription, knobbed and rouletted ware, Puri-Kushan and Chola coins, Yuan/Ming porcelain.)
    2. Sushanta Kumar Patra, Benudhar Patra. *Archaeology and the Maritime History of Ancient Orissa*. in Orissa Historical Research Journal XLVII. n.d. , pp. 111-112 (Finds list: Chinese celadon and porcelain, rouletted pottery and amphora fragments, knobbed ware, Burmese and Siamese pottery, a Ceylonese coin of Sahassamalla, Indonesian terracotta, egg-white Arabian ware, and a Kharoshthi potsherd read as 'Dasatradeva'.)
    3. Sunil Kumar Patnaik. *Puri: A Study of Early Trade and Pilgrim Routes*. in Odisha Review. 2014a , pp. 104-105 (Excavation seasons 1989-90 and 1992-93; site c. 45 km south of Puri; mounds topped by the 13th-c. Bhabakundaleswar temple; period I 2nd c. BCE to 5th-6th c. CE, period II 9th c. to early 19th c. CE; East India Company copper coins, Mughal and Shah Alam coins, a British medal.)
    4. Sila Tripati, Jyotiranjan S. Ray, Rudra Prasad Behera, Prakash Babu, Milan Kumar Mahala, Murali Kocherla, Vijay Khedekar. *Geochemical provenance of an Indo-Arabian stone anchor from Manikapatna highlights the medieval maritime trade of India*. in Scientific Reports 12. 2022 , Introduction; Sci. Rep. 12:13559 (Confirms OIMSEAS 1989-1993 and Deccan College 2010 excavations, same two phases; a stone anchor near the mosque, 2018-19. Also: 'Chinese ceramic sherds ... of the 13th to 14th century CE ... produced in Fujian and Zhejiang Provinces of China' (pers. comm. Ran Zhang).)
    5. Benudhar Patra. *Ports in Ancient Odisha: Historical Perspective*. in Odisha Review. 2014 , p. 120 (Prints a coordinate for the site: 'Lat. 19 deg 43' 54" N and Long. 85 deg 33' 14" E', in the northern tip of the Chilika Lake, Brahmagiri tahsil, Puri district. Also the Sahassamalla-coin network linking Manikpatna, Polonnaruva and Kotchina (Sumatra), and Maratuan (Burmese) brown glazed ware.)
    6. Duraiswamy Dayalan. *Ancient Seaports on the Eastern Coast of India: The Hub of the Maritime Silk Route Network*. in Acta Via Serica 4. 2019 , offprint p. 23, section 'Manikapatna' (Independently gives 19 deg 43' N; 85 deg 34' E, agreeing with Patra 2014 to the arc-minute. Records Abul Fazl (1595-96) on Manikapatna as a large port where salt tax was collected. Journal pagination not verified.)

  • Kalingapatnam

    Kalingapatnam sits where the Vamsadhara river meets the sea. Its name means the town of the Kalinga people, and ships used it for a very long time.

    [The Imperial Gazetteer of India, new edition (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1907-09), 1908, vol. IX, pp. 291-292, 'Calingapatam']; [Patra, 2014, pp. 122-123]; [Dayalan, 2019, offprint p. 20, section 'Kalingapatnam']; [Patra, n.d., p. 107]
    1. *The Imperial Gazetteer of India, new edition (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1907-09)*. 1908. public domain , vol. IX, pp. 291-292, 'Calingapatam' ('Port in the Chicacole taluk of Ganjam District, Madras, situated in 18 deg 20' N. and 84 deg 8' E., at the mouth of the Vamsadhara river.' Ruins of many mosques; small gold coins of great age found on the old city site. Open roadstead with a lighthouse; exports 6 lakhs in 1903-4.)
    2. Benudhar Patra. *Ports in Ancient Odisha: Historical Perspective*. in Odisha Review. 2014 , pp. 122-123 (At the Vamsadhara mouth, Srikakulam district. An excavation in 1928 found pottery, large brick walls and glazed tiles showing a fortified city from c. 2nd century BCE to early medieval times; ASI work of 1977-79 in the stupa mound dated settlement to 300 BCE. Roman coins from the site.)
    3. Duraiswamy Dayalan. *Ancient Seaports on the Eastern Coast of India: The Hub of the Maritime Silk Route Network*. in Acta Via Serica 4. 2019 , offprint p. 20, section 'Kalingapatnam' ('Kalingapatnam (18 deg 19' N; 84 deg 06' E), an ancient port city as well as a notable Buddhist centre ... a flourishing port under the Ganga rulers, and during ancient times, vessels from here sailed to Sri Lanka, Java, Sumatra, Malaysia and other countries.' Journal pagination not verified.)
    4. Sushanta Kumar Patra, Benudhar Patra. *Archaeology and the Maritime History of Ancient Orissa*. in Orissa Historical Research Journal XLVII. n.d. , p. 107 (Lists Kalingapatnam among the ports of ancient Orissa brought to light by archaeological excavation.)

  • Pipli

    An old government report called Pipli 'the most important port on the Orissa coast,' near the mouth of the Subarnarekha river. Sand slowly blocked the river, and today nothing of the town is left.

    [Hunter, 1872, vol. ii, pp. 37-40, 196]; [District Gazetteers (Cuttack, Puri, Ganjam, Balasore), British-era editions, n.d., O'Malley, Bengal District Gazetteers: Balasore (1907), pp. 9, 34 n., 36-37, 204]; [Dayalan, 2019, offprint p. 23]
    1. William Wilson Hunter. *Orissa: Or the Vicissitudes of an Indian Province under Native and British Rule*. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1872. public domain , vol. ii, pp. 37-40, 196 (p. 37: about 1514 the Portuguese were pushed north to the Subarnarekha mouth and founded a colony at 'Pippli, now a ruined and silt-locked village ... but then a fine harbour'. p. 196: the 1634 firman restricted English vessels to 'no other port than Pippli, near Balasor'.)
    2. *District Gazetteers (Cuttack, Puri, Ganjam, Balasore), British-era editions*. n.d. public domain , O'Malley, Bengal District Gazetteers: Balasore (1907), pp. 9, 34 n., 36-37, 204 (p. 204: 'Pipli was once the most important port on the Orissa coast and contained settlements of the Portuguese and Dutch. The Portuguese settled there in 1599 ... a great slave mart.' p. 9: 'By the beginning of the 18th century the silting up of its mouth had ruined Pipli.')
    3. Duraiswamy Dayalan. *Ancient Seaports on the Eastern Coast of India: The Hub of the Maritime Silk Route Network*. in Acta Via Serica 4. 2019 , offprint p. 23 (Lists Pipli among the Odisha seaports in active contact with British, Danish, Dutch, French and Portuguese traders in the 16th-18th centuries. Journal pagination not verified.)

  • Sambalpur

    Sambalpur is a town far up the Mahanadi river, deep inland. Boats carried salt, spices and pots up to Sambalpur and came back loaded with diamonds, iron, silk and grain.

    [Stirling, 1825, pp. 194, 218]; [Hunter, 1872, vol. ii, Appendix III, p. 74]; [Imperial Gazetteer of India (Orissa entries), n.d., vol. XXII, pp. 12-13 (Sambalpur District)]
    1. Andrew Stirling. *An Account, Geographical, Statistical, and Historical, of Orissa Proper or Cuttack*. in Asiatic Researches 15. 1825. public domain , pp. 194, 218 ('Formerly salt was an important article of export by way of the great road leading along the Mahanadi to Sembelpur and Berar ... more than three lacs of maunds being exported annually.' p. 218: the salt monopoly's revenue exceeded all the land rents.)
    2. William Wilson Hunter. *Orissa: Or the Vicissitudes of an Indian Province under Native and British Rule*. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1872. public domain , vol. ii, Appendix III, p. 74 (Mahanadi river towns 'carry salt, spices, cocoa-nuts, and brass utensils up to Sambalpur ... bringing thence, in exchange, cotton, wheat, oil-seeds, clarified butter, oil, molasses, iron, turmeric, tasar cloth, rice.')
    3. *Imperial Gazetteer of India (Orissa entries)*. n.d. public domain , vol. XXII, pp. 12-13 (Sambalpur District) (Diamonds worked at Hirakud 'when Sambalpur was under native rule'; '160 native furnaces' making iron; sal forest of 238 sq. miles; tasar silk-weaving 'an important industry'; salt now 'brought by rail instead of river as formerly.')
Scholar notes

All the quantitative evidence is from 1825 onward, under the British salt monopoly. The Mughal-period tag rests only on Abul Fazl's notice of Manikapatna as a taxed port, reported at second hand by Patnaik. Salt was surely made and traded on this coast long before that, but I found no earlier source that says so with a citable page.

  1. Andrew Stirling. *An Account, Geographical, Statistical, and Historical, of Orissa Proper or Cuttack*. in Asiatic Researches 15. 1825. public domain , pp. 194, 218 (p. 194: 'formerly salt was an important article of export by way of the great road leading along the Mahanadi to Sembelpur and Berar... more than three lacs of maunds being exported annually'. p. 218: the salt monopoly's revenue exceeds all the land rents.)
  2. William Wilson Hunter. *Orissa: Or the Vicissitudes of an Indian Province under Native and British Rule*. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1872. public domain , vol. I, p. 41; vol. II, pp. 159-162; vol. II Appendix III, p. 74 (vol. I p. 41: 'The only manufacture of Parikud is salt', solar and boiled processes. vol. II: the Tributary States and Central Provinces send rice, grain, oil-seeds and cotton to the coast 'in exchange for salt' (page not isolable: between the running heads for pp. 159 and 162).)
  3. *Imperial Gazetteer of India (Orissa entries)*. n.d. public domain , vol. XXII, p. 13 (Sambalpur District) ('Salt comes principally from Ganjam, and is now brought by rail instead of river as formerly.')
  4. Sunil Kumar Patnaik. *Puri: A Study of Early Trade and Pilgrim Routes*. in Odisha Review. 2014a , p. 104 (Abul Fazl described Manikapatna as a sea port where taxes were collected; reported here as a salt-tax centre.)