scriptures, this water body may have been referred to as 'Mahodadhi' (Sanskrit: महोदधि, ) while it appears as Sinus Gangeticus or Gangeticus Sinus, meaning "Gulf of the Ganges", in some old European maps. The other Sanskrit names for Bay of Bengal are 'Vaṅgopasāgara' (Sanskrit: वङ्गोपसागर, ), 'Vaṅgasāgara' (Sanskrit: वङ्गसागर, ), 'Pūrvapayodhi' (Sanskrit: पूर्वपयोधि, ). History In ancient Classical India, the Bay of Bengal was known as Kalinga Sagar (Kalinga Sea). Northern Circars occupied the western coast of the Bay of Bengal and is now considered to be India's Odisha and Andhra Pradesh state. Chola dynasty (9th century to 12th century) when ruled by Rajaraja Chola I and Rajendra Chola I occupied and controlled the Bay of Bengal with Chola Navy circa AD 1014, the Bay of Bengal was also called the Chola Sea or Chola Lake. The Kakatiya dynasty reached the western coastline of the Bay of Bengal between the Godavari and the Krishna rivers. Kushanas about the middle of the 1st century AD invaded northern India perhaps extending as far as the Bay of Bengal. Chandragupta Maurya extended the Maurya Dynasty across northern India to the Bay of Bengal. Hajipur was a stronghold for Portuguese Pirates. In the 16th century the Portuguese built trading posts in the north of the Bay of Bengal at Chittagong (Porto Grande) and Satgaon (Porto Pequeno). The earliest sign of Muslims in the region came from the textile trade routes where one targeted the east Arabian Sea influencing migration of Arabs and Persians and another to the west causing Buddhist Bengalis to culturally mix with Islam. Historic sites In alphabetical order: Antarvedi is a popular place of worship Southern India, in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh devoted to Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple. This is the place where one of the distributaries of Godavari River meets the Bay of Bengal. Arikamedu is an archaeological site in Southern India, in Kakkayanthope, Ariyankuppam Commune, Puducherry. It is 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the capital, Pondicherry of the Indian territory of Puducherry British penal colony: Cellular Jail or "Black Waters" built in 1896 on Ross Island, a part of the Andaman Island Chain. As early as 1858 this island was used as a British penal colony for political prisoners facing life imprisonment. Buddhist heritage sites of Pavurallakonda, Thotlakonda and Bavikonda lie along the coast of Bay of Bengal at Visakhapatnam in India. Konark is the home