The river that gave us our name

ରତ୍ନଚିରା ନଦୀ

The river Ratnachira, Puri district, Odisha

A short, ancient river of the Mahanadi delta. It runs through a valley of forgotten temples and flows into the Bhargavi on its way to Chilika. Legend says it was drawn by Lord Rama himself.

The legend · କିମ୍ବଦନ୍ତୀ

“Lord Rama had drawn the river to quench Sita’s thirst, using her pearl ring to chart its course.”

So goes the story told along its banks. A river traced by a ring set with a pearl: ରତ୍ନ, a gem. When we chose a name for a house of Odia words, we took it from this river. Words, like water, carry a land’s memory, and the best of them become gems.

Legend as reported by PTI and Swarajya, 2021

The map · ମାନଚିତ୍ର

The Ratnachira Valley

Select a marker to read about the place. This is an illustrated, not-to-scale map; positions are approximate.

60 km
The valley
The length of the Ratnachira valley, as given by the 2021 heritage survey.
→ Bhargavi
Where it flows
It drains into the Bhargavi, a branch of the Kuakhai in the Mahanadi delta.
Monsoon
When it flows
Once navigable; today it runs dry most of the year.
Puri
District
Its valley lies between Pipili and Puri, in coastal Odisha.

History · ଇତିହାସ

Fourteen centuries along its banks.

6th–7th c. CESwapneswar Mahadev is builtA dry-laid stone temple at Biropurusottampur, in the South Toshali region of Kalinga, when copper plates record Shiva and Naga worship.
13th–14th c. CEA temple rises at BalangaA mid-sized stone temple with a Gajalaxmi image, later lost to the shifting Bhargavi.
c. 1920sAkhandalamani templeBuilt about a century ago; carved panels from the older ruins are set into its walls.
July 2021Swapneswar documentedAn INTACH survey team records the post-Gupta temple for the first time.
August 2021The sunken temple is foundThe team documents the Balanga ruins and calls for a survey of the whole 60-km valley.
2022Ratnachira, the publisherRatnachira Publications begins on 6 March 2022, and the magazine on 27 May 2022, carrying the river’s name.

The river today · ଆଜିର ନଦୀ

A river “in the throes of death”

Once navigable, the Ratnachira now runs dry for most of the year and flows only in the monsoon, a weed-choked stream. Temple stones lie sunken in the beds of its valley; some have been carted away for building, others damaged by sand mining.

Heritage researchers have called for a full survey of the 60-km valley, which they describe as “a treasure house of many archaeological wonders, most of them being obscure and unknown.”

Why we carry its name

A river that once carried a kingdom’s stories is falling silent. A magazine of Odia words can keep its name flowing.

Write about the valley Our story

Sources

“Ruins of ancient temple found in Bhargavi river bed in Odisha”, PTI via Devdiscourse, 19 August 2021.
“Centuries-old post-Gupta era temple discovered in Odisha”, Swarajya, 21 July 2021.
“Ancient temple remains discovered on Bhargavi river bed in Puri”, Swarajya, 31 August 2021.
Bhargavi River, Wikipedia.
Survey team: INTACH, led by Anil Dhir, with Deepak Kumar Nayak, Subhashish Dash and Suman Prakash Swain. The map is illustrative; the course and positions are still to be confirmed.