Place · ancient mahajanapada · India
Anga kingdom
Anga was an ancient kingdom in eastern India, traditionally associated with the region around present day Bhagalpur and Munger in Bihar and parts of West Bengal. In the Mahabharata, Duryodhana made Karna king of Anga, granting him royal status and cementing their friendship. Champa is traditionally identified as Anga’s capital.
- Periods
- Second Urbanisation
- Function
- Authority & administration
- Confidence
- Traditional / narrative attribution
- Location
- 25.150, 87.000 (approximate)
Connections (2)
- Site adjacencyVikramashilā
Bhagalpur and Vikramashila are connected through the famous Buddhist university established near the Ganga during the Pala period. Vikramashila became one of India’s great centres of Buddhist learning, alongside Nalanda and Odantapuri. Its location near Bhagalpur demonstrates the region’s importance as a centre of scholarship, monastic culture and intellectual exchange in eastern India.
- Site adjacencyDeoghar Baidyanāth
Bhagalpur and Deoghar are connected through the pilgrimage geography of eastern India. Bhagalpur lies along the Ganga, while Deoghar in Jharkhand is home to the Baidyanath Jyotirlinga, one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. Pilgrimage routes between the two regions connect the Ganga plains with the sacred Shaiva landscape of the Chota Nagpur plateau.
On these journeys
Sources
Wikipedia, “Anga”. Archaeological Survey of India and State Archaeology monument records, and the standard regional literature.
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