Balangir District, also called Bolangir District, is a district situated in Odisha state of India. The district has an area of , and a population of 1,648,997 (2011 census). The town of Balangir is the district headquarters. The composition of the land is predominantly rural. Other important big & small towns in Balangir district are Titlagarh, Patnagarh, Kantabanji, Loisingha, Saintala, Belpada, Tushra, Agalpur, Deogaon, Chudapali, Biripali, Bhalumunda, Bangomunda, Sindhekela, Turekela and Muribahal. History The district of Balangir is named after the headquarters towns of Balangir. This town was also the headquarters of the feudatory state of Patna since the 1880s. The district of Balangir is flanked in the northwest by the Gandhamardhan hills. Many hill streams traverse it. It is the land of Tantrik culture. It is also notable for having experimented in the republican form of Government that was overthrown by Ramai Deo. Etymology Ancient History Historically It's a region of Kalinga, which is ruled by various dynasties like Mahameghavahana dynasty, Bhauma-Kara dynasty, Somavamshi dynasty, Kalachuri Dynasty (during this time its become a part of Dakshina Kosala for short period),Eastern Ganga dynasty, Gajapati Empire & Chauhan over centuries. The territory comprising the present district of Balangir was in ancient times a part of the South Kosala . According to tradition, the origin of South Kosala dates back to the time of Rama and scholars like Pargiter believe that Rama's long stay in that region gave rise to the name of South Kosala after his original homeland Kosala. According to Padmapurana, the kingdom of Kosala, after Rama, was divided between Lava and Kusa, his two son. Later Kusa founded the city of Kusasthalipura and ruled over the southern half of Kosala (that included modern day Western Odisha and Chhattisgarh State). During the time of Grammarian Panini (5th Century B.C), a territory named Taitila Janapada flourished to the west of Kalinga and that territory has been associated by historians with the modern town of Titlagarh in Balangir district. Taitala Janapada was famous for trade in some commodities described by the Grammarian as "Kadru" the meaning of which may be either horse or cotton fabrics. According to Chetiya Jataka, the capital of the Chedi country was Sothivatinagara which is the same as Suktimatipuri of Harivamsa and Suktisahvaya of the Mahabharata (Vana Parva). The epic (Adi Parva) also states that the capital of the Chedis was situated on the bank of river Suktimati