Orissa

Orissa, a province of India, which was formerly a large kingdom, now forms the south-western portion of Bengal. In 1568 the kingdom was conquered by the Great Mogul, from whom two centuries later it was wrested by the Mahrattas. It became part of the East India Company's territory in 1803. It is now divided into a commissionership, the coast country from Balasor to Lake Chilka, and the tributary states, a strip of hill-country in the interior. This country is the seat of the worship of Siva and Vishnu, and at Puri is the image called Juggernaut. It was the scene of a severe famine in 1868-69. The country is irrigated by numerous canals; and the delta of the Mahanudi, in which is Cuttack, the chief town, covers a large part of the commissionership. The native tribes offered human sacrifices until recent times.