Odisha GK Quiz

What is the capital of Odisha?

• Cuttack
• Puri
• Sambalpur
• Bhubaneswar

Answer: Bhubaneswar. Bhubaneswar replaced Cuttack as the capital after Independence. Its hundreds of old temples earn it the title 'Temple City of India'.

Puri's Rath Yatra honours which deity, along with his brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra?

• Lord Shiva
• Lord Jagannath
• Lord Ganesha
• Goddess Durga

Answer: Lord Jagannath. Every year the three deities ride huge wooden chariots from the Jagannath Temple to the Gundicha Temple.

Which emperor fought the Kalinga War around 261 BCE, after which he turned to Buddhism?

• Ashoka
• Chandragupta Maurya
• Bindusara
• Samudragupta

Answer: Ashoka. The bloodshed in Kalinga, ancient Odisha, moved Ashoka to embrace dhamma. His rock edicts can still be seen at Dhauli near Bhubaneswar.

On which date did Odisha become a separate province, now celebrated as Utkal Divas?

• 15 August 1947
• 26 January 1950
• 1 April 1936
• 1 November 1956

Answer: 1 April 1936. Odisha was separated from the Bihar and Orissa Province on 1 April 1936, so the day is marked every year as Utkal Divas.

Who built the Konark Sun Temple in the 13th century?

• Anantavarman Chodaganga
• Narasimhadeva I
• Kharavela
• Kapilendra Deva

Answer: Narasimhadeva I. The Eastern Ganga king Narasimhadeva I built it as a giant stone chariot for Surya with 24 wheels and seven horses. Anantavarman Chodaganga began the Jagannath Temple at Puri.

Chilika Lake, India's largest brackish-water lagoon, is famous for which mammal?

• Gangetic river dolphin
• Dugong
• Sea otter
• Irrawaddy dolphin

Answer: Irrawaddy dolphin. Chilika has a resident population of Irrawaddy dolphins. In 1981 it became one of India's first two Ramsar wetlands of international importance.

Hirakud Dam, one of the longest earthen dams in the world, is built on which river?

• Brahmani
• Baitarani
• Subarnarekha
• Mahanadi

Answer: Mahanadi. Hirakud stands on the Mahanadi near Sambalpur and controls floods while supplying irrigation and hydropower.

Rourkela Steel Plant was set up with the help of which country?

• Soviet Union
• West Germany
• United Kingdom
• Japan

Answer: West Germany. A consortium of West German firms such as Krupp and Siemens helped build Rourkela, which was established in 1959 as a public-sector plant.

Simlipal National Park, known for rare black (melanistic) tigers, is in which district?

• Mayurbhanj
• Ganjam
• Koraput
• Kendrapara

Answer: Mayurbhanj. Simlipal lies in Mayurbhanj in northern Odisha and is also a tiger reserve and a UNESCO biosphere reserve.

Gahirmatha beach in Odisha is world-famous for what?

• Salt pans
• Mass nesting of olive ridley sea turtles
• Coral reefs
• Wild horses

Answer: Mass nesting of olive ridley sea turtles. Lakhs of olive ridleys arrive to nest together in an event called an arribada. Gahirmatha is a marine sanctuary near Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara district.

The Udayagiri and Khandagiri caves near Bhubaneswar were carved for monks of which religion?

• Buddhism
• Hinduism
• Sikhism
• Jainism

Answer: Jainism. Many were cut under King Kharavela, who ruled Kalinga around the 2nd or 1st century BCE. His Hathigumpha inscription in Brahmi script is the main record of his rule.

In which year was Odia declared India's sixth classical language?

• 2014
• 2004
• 2008
• 2013

Answer: 2014. Odia joined Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam in 2014. The tag recognises a long, independent literary tradition.

In which year was the state's name officially changed from Orissa to Odisha?

• 2000
• 2006
• 2011
• 2014

Answer: 2011. The Orissa (Alteration of Name) Act, 2011 changed the state's name to Odisha and the language's name from Oriya to Odia.

Wheeler Island, India's missile test site off the Odisha coast, was renamed after whom?

• Biju Patnaik
• Vikram Sarabhai
• A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
• Homi Bhabha

Answer: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. It was renamed Abdul Kalam Island in September 2015 to honour the 'Missile Man'. The island lies off the coast of Bhadrak district.

Raghurajpur, a heritage village near Puri, is famous for which art form?

• Pattachitra painting
• Madhubani painting
• Bidri metalwork
• Pashmina weaving

Answer: Pattachitra painting. Raghurajpur's artists paint pattachitra on treated cloth, often showing stories of Lord Jagannath. Madhubani is from Bihar and Bidri from Karnataka.