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Sonepur State

1556 CE – 1948 CE (approx.) · capital Sonepur

A Chauhan Rajput state on the Mahanadi in western Orissa, famed for its many temples and known as a second Varanasi.

Origins

Sonepur was founded in 1556 when Madan Gopal, a younger son of the Chauhan ruling house of Patna (Patnagarh), received the territory around the confluence of the Mahanadi and Tel rivers. The area had earlier been an important centre of the Somavamshi kings.

Rule and society

The Rajas ruled a fertile riverine land of rice farmers, weavers and Brahmin settlements. The town's numerous temples earned it the name Paschima Varanasi, and it became known for its Sambalpuri handloom textiles. After 1803 it was a tributary state under British paramountcy, attached to the Central Provinces from 1862 until it was returned to the Orissa states in 1905.

Decline and legacy

Sonepur merged with the province of Orissa on 1 January 1948. Its territory now forms Subarnapur district of Odisha, and the town retains its temple heritage.

Lineage

Sonepur StateDominion of India 1947 CE – 1950 CE

Connections (2)

Sonepur State was a protectorate of Company rule in India1803 CE – 1858 CE
Sonepur State was a protectorate of British Raj1858 CE – 1947 CE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Sonepur State. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sonepur-state
MLA: “Sonepur State.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sonepur-state. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Sonepur State.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sonepur-state.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Sonepur State’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sonepur-state (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻