The Role of Education in Protecting the Socio-Cultural Ethos Special Reference to Western Odisha

Western Odisha has a long history traced back to early Paleolithic culture. During this long history the area has been administered by different rulers belonging to Somavamsi, Kala-Churis, Gangas, Nagas, Chouhans and Finally the Bolangir. Patna state merged with the Union of India on 1948 to form a part of Orissa state. During medieval period some Brahmin settlements development under the patronage of the somavansi kings. Important among these centres are Vineetapur (Modern Binka). Subarnapur (Modern Sonepur. Now it is Suvarnapur, Ranipur Jharial etc. These places as known from copper plate records and other archeological finds were important centre of culture during the medieval period. During the rule of the chauhan kings, Sanskrit education was greatly encouraged king vaijal Deo, one of the early chauhan rulers of Patna State has compiled an admirable Lexicon, known as "Vaijal Chandrika" (also known as Prabodh Chandrika).