Question

The capital city of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty was ____.
A) Kalinganagara
B) Machilipatnam
C) Vijayanagaram
D) Golconda

Answer 1

Hint: Between the 5th and early 15th centuries, the Eastern Ganga dynasty, also known as the Rudi Gangas or Prachya Gangas, ruled from Kalinga. The dynasty's domain included the entire modern-day Indian state of Odisha, as well as portions of Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Complete answer:
The capital of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty was Kalinganagara, which is now Srimukhalingam in Andhra Pradesh's Srikakulam district, which used to be part of the Ganjam District of Odisha.
Option A) Kalinganagar: This is the correct option because the capital of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty was shifted to Kalinganagara from Anthapuram. The dynasty's early rulers ruled from Dantapuram; later, the capital was shifted to Kalinganagara.
Option B) Machilipatnam: It is incorrect as Machilipatnam was not the capital city of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. The literal meaning of Masulipatnam is a fish port town. The fort of Masulipatnam was built by the Dutch.
Option C) Vijayanagaram: This is an incorrect option because Vijayanagaram was not the capital city of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. They founded the city of Vizianagaram, named it after Vijay Rama Raju.
Option D) Golconda: This is incorrect because Golconda was not the capital city of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. Golconda Fort, also known as Golkonda, is a fortified citadel and an early capital city of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, located in Hyderabad.

The correct option is A i.e, Kalinganagar.

Note: The dynasty's early rulers ruled from Dantapuram; later, the capital was shifted to Kalinganagara (modern Mukhalingam), and then to Kataka (modern Cuttack). They are best known today for constructing the world-famous Puri Jagannath Temple and the Konark Sun Temple, both of which are UNESCO World Heritage sites in Konark, Odisha. The dynasty's reign came to an end in the early 15th century during the reign of King Bhanudeva IV (1414–34). Ganga fanams were their currency, which was similar to that of the Cholas and Eastern Chalukyas of southern India.