Sambalpur District is a district in the western part of state of Odisha, India. The historic city of Sambalpur is the district headquarters. The district is located in the Mahanadi River basin. It has a total area of , of which almost 60% of the district is covered in dense forest. The district is bounded by Deogarh District to the east, Bargarh and Jharsuguda districts to the west, Sundergarh District to the north, and Subarnapur and Angul districts in the south. Sambalpur City is the connecting city between Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Whereas it used to be known for its importance as a diamond trading centre, nowadays it is mainly known for its textiles, especially the Sambalpuri Saree. History In Lasa near Kuchinda, a stone celt was found dating back to the Paleolithic period. Proto-historic writing was found in a cave in nearby Jharsuguda district. The region was most likely in the pre-Maghadan empire of Mahapadmananda. However there is no mention of the territory in Mauryan inscriptions, so it is unknown whether the Mauryans controlled this region or not. After the collapse of the Mauryan empire, This region ruled by the Chedis.It was most likely part of Kharavela's empire. Sambalpur is mentioned in the book of Ptolemy (2nd century) as Sambalaka on the river Manada (the Mahanadi River), and by the Romans for their export of numerous diamonds, which were mined in the Mahanadi until the early 17th century. After Kharevala, the Megha dynasty ruled the region.Then become part of Dakhina Koshala In the 4th century CE, the Allahabad inscription records Samudra Gupta defeated Mahendra of Kosala, corresponding roughly to present day Chhattisgarh plains and western Odisha. Although not annexed to the Gupta empire, Kosala remained within Gupta spheres of influence evidenced by presence of Gupta coins in the region. Padmasambhava, one of the main early scholars of Tibetan Buddhism, was said to be the son of the king of Sambhal of Oddiyana. Almost most historians see this area as the Swat Valley, some cite literary and archaeological evidence to associate Oddiyana with modern-day Odisha. There is evidence to suggest Sambalpur was a centre of Tantric philosophy. In the 6th century, the Sarabhpuriyas from Sarabha (now identified as Sirpur in Chhattisgarh) came to prominence. Their territory included present-day Sambalpur district, as well as parts of Kalahandi. They were succeeded by the Panduvamshis, whose king, Tivaradeva, tried to expand east of Kosala