During ancient period
Utkala was centre of
Buddhism and
Jainism.
Shailodbhava dynasty were follower of
Shaivism who ruled the region from 6th century to 8th century. They had built
Parashurameshvara Temple in 7th century which is oldest temple in
Bhubaneswar. Shailodhava king Madhavaraja II in his inscriptions state that he performed the
ashvamedha sacrifices to assert his independence from
Gupta Empire which indicates presence of Brahmin in Odisha in 7th century.
Keshari dynasty ruled from 9th to 12th century in medieval period who constructed
Lingaraj Temple,
Mukteshvara Temple and
Rajarani Temple in Bhubaneswar. They introduced a new style of architecture in Odisha and their rule saw a shift from
Buddhism to
Hinduism. According to legend Yayati Keshri brought 10,000 Brahmin from
Kannauj to his kingdom for Ashvamedha ceremony in 10th century. There are records of settlement of 200 brahmins by Subhakaradeva of
Bhauma-Kara dynasty in Neulpur grant (c795 AD) and another 6000 brahmins settlement near
Puri between 1151-1152 A.D. ==See also==