Kalinga Ancient Trade Routes

Gopalpur

Strongly Supported Scholars say

Gopalpur was the main port of the Ganjam coast in south Odisha. Ships had to anchor out in the open sea because there is no shelter from the waves.

Gopalpur-on-Sea was the main port of the Ganjam coast, in south Odisha. Ships had to anchor right out in the open sea. There is no bay here to hide from the waves. [The Imperial Gazetteer of India, new edition (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1907-09), 1908, p.329]

In British times, steamers stopped here often. In the year 1903-4 alone, more than seven thousand passengers sailed from Gopalpur to Burma, and over eight thousand came back the same way. [The Imperial Gazetteer of India, new edition (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1907-09), 1908, p.329]

Some scholars think Gopalpur sits near a much older port. Long ago, a Greek mapmaker named Ptolemy wrote of a spot where ships left the coast to sail toward “Khryse,” a storied land of gold. This idea is not settled. [Dayalan, 2019, p.21]

Other historians pick a different nearby spot for that old port. So Gopalpur’s own clear story is best told from British times on. [Patra, 2014, p.121]

For scholars

Only the British-era port at Gopalpur is well recorded. Its tie to Ptolemy’s old port is just one scholar’s guess. Even Patra, who reports it, picks a different nearby spot instead. [Patra, 2014, p.121; Dayalan, 2019, p.21]

Facts

Coordinates
19.27°, 84.88°
[The Imperial Gazetteer of India, new edition (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1907-09), 1908]
  1. *The Imperial Gazetteer of India, new edition (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1907-09)*. 1908. public domain
Modern name
Gopalpur-on-Sea, Ganjam district, Odisha
Also known as
Mansurkota (proposed older name)
Region
kalinga

Routes through Gopalpur

  • Gopalpur to Rangoon

    From the open beach at Gopalpur, steamers crossed the Bay of Bengal to Burma. Thousands of people sailed out each year to work, and most came home again.

    [The Imperial Gazetteer of India, new edition (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1907-09), 1908, vol. XII, pp. 152, 329-330; vol. XXI, pp. 213-214]; [District Gazetteers (Cuttack, Puri, Ganjam, Balasore), British-era editions, n.d., O'Malley, Bengal District Gazetteers: Balasore (1907), p. 144]
    1. *The Imperial Gazetteer of India, new edition (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1907-09)*. 1908. public domain , vol. XII, pp. 152, 329-330; vol. XXI, pp. 213-214 (vol. XII pp. 329-330: Gopalpur, 'an open roadstead with no shelter whatever', a call for British India Steam Navigation coasting steamers; in 1903-4, 7,400 passengers went to and 8,300 returned from Burma. p. 152: Ganjam port exports go chiefly to Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, Rangoon and Moulmein.)
    2. *District Gazetteers (Cuttack, Puri, Ganjam, Balasore), British-era editions*. n.d. public domain , O'Malley, Bengal District Gazetteers: Balasore (1907), p. 144 (Chandbali and Balasore traded with 'the coast ports from Bombay on the west to Arakan on the east', which places the Burmese coast inside the same shipping circuit. Arakan, not Rangoon, is the port named.)

  • Ganjam to Puri through Chilika

    Boats from Ganjam came north through a canal and across Chilika lake. They brought bamboo and carried away the spare rice of the southern villages.

    [District Gazetteers (Cuttack, Puri, Ganjam, Balasore), British-era editions, n.d., O'Malley, Bengal District Gazetteers: Puri (1908), p. 196]; [Patnaik, 2014a, pp. 106, 108]
    1. *District Gazetteers (Cuttack, Puri, Ganjam, Balasore), British-era editions*. n.d. public domain , O'Malley, Bengal District Gazetteers: Puri (1908), p. 196 (Ganjam traders used the Ganjam canal and Chilika lake for boat traffic all year, bringing bamboo and taking away surplus rice.)
    2. Sunil Kumar Patnaik. *Puri: A Study of Early Trade and Pilgrim Routes*. in Odisha Review. 2014a , pp. 106, 108 (p. 106: the Brahmanda Purana treats Chilika as a trade route, and Kushana coins at Gurubai on the strip between the lake and the sea 'suggests a trade route in the area'. p. 108: in 1810 pilgrims from the south came by road along the strip 'or in few cases by boats across the Chilika Lake'.)

Goods documented here

  • Cotton cloth and muslin

    Kautilya's handbook put Kalinga on its short list of the seven best cotton-weaving lands in India.

    [Kautilya, n.d., Book II, ch. 11]; [Hunter, 1872, vol. II, pp. 40, 247]; [Stirling, 1825, p. 194]
    1. Kautilya. *Arthashastra*. n.d. public domain , Book II, ch. 11 ('Of cotton fabrics, those of Madhura, of Aparanta, of Kalinga, of Kasi, of Vanga, of Vatsa, and of Mahisha are the best.' Read in Shamasastry's translation, p. 84.)
    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, pp. 40, 247 (p. 40: the Orissa factors 'bought up at the lowest prices for ready money the fine muslins of Cattack'. p. 247: 'the Cattack and Balasor muslins formed an important item in the yearly Investments'.)
    3. Andrew Stirling. *An Account, Geographical, Statistical, and Historical, of Orissa Proper or Cuttack*. in Asiatic Researches 15. 1825. public domain , p. 194 ('Piece goods' heads both the list of exports liable to duty and the list of goods imported from the adjoining districts of Bengal.)

  • Sal timber

    Tolls on timber in Ganjam were so steep that a shilling's worth cost one shilling and fourpence to move 42 miles.

    [Stirling, 1825, p. 194]; [Hunter, 1872, vol. II, p. 235; vol. II Appendix III, p. 75]; [Imperial Gazetteer of India (Orissa entries), n.d., vol. XXII, p. 12 (Sambalpur District)]
    1. Andrew Stirling. *An Account, Geographical, Statistical, and Historical, of Orissa Proper or Cuttack*. in Asiatic Researches 15. 1825. public domain , p. 194 (Exports liable to duty include 'sal timber, congni wood, karbeli, shirbeli'.)
    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, p. 235; vol. II Appendix III, p. 75 (p. 235: 'the transit dues on timber mounting up 133 per cent. on a journey of 42 miles' in Ganjam District. Appendix III p. 75: 'The chief marketable timber of the Tributary States is Sal.')
    3. *Imperial Gazetteer of India (Orissa entries)*. n.d. public domain , vol. XXII, p. 12 (Sambalpur District) (Sal forest covers about 238 square miles; 1903-4 forest revenue Rs. 34,000, of which Rs. 10,000 came from timber and Rs. 12,000 from bamboos.)
Scholar notes

Only the colonial port is documented directly, by the Imperial Gazetteer. The link to Ptolemy's apheterion is Gerini's conjecture, and Patra himself prefers a different spot (Mansurkota); no ancient period is claimed here for that reason. Maltby's Ganjam District Manual was not read. Goods: Imperial Gazetteer vol. XII, p. 329 lists 'sal timber' among Gopalpur's principal exports, and piece-goods and cotton twist among its imports. Rice is left out: the district's rice export to Colombo (vol. XII, p. 152) is credited to Gopalpur and Calingapatam together, not to this port.

  1. *The Imperial Gazetteer of India, new edition (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1907-09)*. 1908. public domain , vol. XII, pp. 152, 329-330 (p. 329: 'Gopalpur - Chief port of Ganjam District, Madras, situated in 19 deg 16' N. and 84 deg 53' E.' A call for British India Steam Navigation coasting steamers; in 1903-4, 7,400 passengers went to and 8,300 returned from Burma. p. 330: 'an open roadstead with no shelter whatever'.)
  2. Benudhar Patra. *Ports in Ancient Odisha: Historical Perspective*. in Odisha Review. 2014 , p. 121 (Gerini identified Ptolemy's apheterion, where ships bound for Khryse left the coast, with modern Gopalpur below the Rushikulya mouth; Patra argues instead for Mansurkota near Gopalpur, citing Maltby, The Ganjam District Manual, p. 31.)
  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. 21, section 'Palur' (Repeats Gerini's identification of Ptolemy's apheterion with modern Gopalpur. Journal pagination not verified.)