Kalahandi was the largest of the 26 feudatory states of
Odisha. According to local tradition, the state originated with Raja Raghunath Sai of the Naga dynasty, who traced descent from the
Nagabanshis of Chotanagpur of Eastern India, beginning to rule the Kalahandi area in 1005 CE. As per the traditional records preserved in Kalahandi Darbar, the Nagas succeeded the Gangas in Kalahandi when the last Ganga Governor of Kalahandi, Jagannath Deo's only daughter was married to Raghunath Sai, a prince of the Naga clan. However, historians have disputed the early date for the establishment of Naga dynasty rule in Kalahandi but most agree the Nagas succeeded the Gangas as the feudatories in the region during the 15th century, taking advantage of the weakness of the central authority as the power of the
Eastern Ganga dynasty started to decline in Odisha. and the presiding deity of the dynasty is
Manikeswari. In August 1947 Kalahandi became part of the
Eastern States Union, an entity that was formed in
Rajpur and that gathered most of the princely states of Orissa and
Chhattisgarh. The Eastern States Union was dissolved in 1948. The formerly princely state's territory is now within
Kalahandi District. == List of rulers ==