Shishupalgarh
Also called: Sisupalgarh · Topic: Janapadas, Mahajanapadas and the Second Urbanisation · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 4 "New Beginnings: Cities and States"
Meaning
Shishupalgarh, today written Sisupalgarh, is an ancient fortified city that is now part of Bhubaneswar in Odisha. It was the capital of the Kalinga region in eastern India. It belongs to the Second Urbanisation, the new growth of cities in the first millennium BCE. It shows that this growth reached beyond the Ganga plains. Archaeologists first excavated it, which means they dug up the site to study it, in 1948.
Example
The city had a strict square plan, strong walls and broad streets. Its gateway shows a classic design. The entrance becomes narrower so guards can control who and what goes in or out. A moat, a ditch filled with water, runs outside the walls.
Don't confuse with
- Shishunaga dynasty: a ruling family of Magadha in present-day Bihar. It is not a city in Kalinga.