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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox former subdivision
|native_name = କେନ୍ଦୁଝର
|conventional_long_name =Keonjhar State
|common_name =Keonjhar
|nation = [[British India]]
|subdivision = [[Princely State]]
|era =
|year_start = 12th century
|date_start =
|event_start=
|year_end = 1948
|date_end =
|event_end= [[Independence of India|Accession to the Union of India]]
|event1 =
|date_event1 =
|p1 =
|s1 = India
|flag_p1 =
|flag_s1 = Flag of India.svg
|image_flag = Keonjharflag1.png
|image_coat =
|image_map = Keonjhar-Rairakhol Imperial Gazetteer.jpg
|image_map_caption = Keonjhar State in the [[Imperial Gazetteer of India]]
|stat_area1 = 8019
|stat_year1 = 1931
|stat_pop1 = 460609
|footnotes =
}}
'''Keonjhar State''' ({{lang-or|କେନ୍ଦୁଝର}}), also known as '''Keunjhar''', was one of the [[princely state]]s of [[India]] during the period of the [[British Raj]].<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Keonjhar |volume=15 |page=749}} </ref> The second largest of the states of the [[Orissa States Agency]], it was located in present-day [[Kendujhar district]], [[Odisha]].

The state was bounded in the north by [[Singhbhum District]], in the east by the [[Mayurbhanj State|State of Mayurbhanj]] and [[Balasore District]], in the south by [[Dhenkanal State]] and [[Cuttack District]], and in the west by the states of [[Pal Lahara State|Pal Lahara]] and [[Bonai State|Bonai]].
The state consisted of two clearly differentiated areas: Low Keonjhar, a region of flat river valleys — the main river being the [[Baitarani River|Baitarani]], and the High Keonjhar, an area of forests dominated by mountain ranges with the [[Gandhamadan]] reaching a height of 1078 m.
The capital was at [[Keonjhar]]. <ref name="IGI">[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V15_208.gif Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 15, p. 202]</ref>

==History==
According to traditions, Keonjhar State was founded sometime during the 12th century during the rule of the [[Eastern Ganga dynasty]] when the founder Jyoti Bhanj of the [[Bhanj dynasty]], who was the brother of Adi Bhanj of Mayurbhanj, was enthroned as the Raja of Keonjhar with the help of dominant local [[Bhuyan]] clans. The influence of Bhuyans on the enthronement rituals and regnal traditions of Keonjhar suggests a long-standing relationship with the kingdom.<ref>{{citation |title=Sitting on the Tribal Chief’s Lap Coronation Rituals in Ex-Princely States of Orissa |url=https://www.academia.edu/3883739/Sitting_on_the_Tribal_Chief_s_Lap_Coronation_Rituals_in_Ex_Princely_States_of_Orissa?email_work_card=title |author=Cornelia Mallebrein |publisher=University of Tubingen |date=2010 }}</ref><ref>[http://members.iinet.net.au/~royalty/ips/k/keonjhar.html Princely states - Keonjhar]</ref>

Around 14th cen a prince from Keonjhar named Ananga Bhanja, who was nephew of the Raja of Keonjhar was named the King of Baudh by the local chieftains under Ganga rule.<ref>{{citation |title=ODISHA DISTRICT GAZETTEERS BOUDH |publisher=GAD, Govt of Odisha |url=http://gopabandhuacademy.gov.in/sites/default/files/gazetter/Boudh_Gazetteer.pdf |page=23 |date=1991 }}</ref><ref>[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V07_140.gif ''Imperial Gazetteer of India'', v. 7, p. 140.]</ref>

After the [[independence of India]] in 1947 Keonjhar merged into [[Republic of India]] on 1 January 1948<ref>{{cite web |title=Amalgamation of Princely States|author=Dr. Bhagyalipi Malla |url=http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/august-2007/engpdf/Page94-100.pdf |date=August 2007 |publisher=Orissa Review|page=94,98 |accessdate=18 July 2013}}</ref> following which it became the part of [[Keonjhar district]] (now Kendujhar).

==Rulers==
The rulers of Keonjhar State of the [[Bhanj dynasty]]. The Keonjhar royal family adopted the emblems of the neighbouring State of Mayurbhanj, a [[peacock]] and the yellow and blue colours.<ref name="worldstatesmen">[http://www.worldstatesmen.org/India_princes_K-W.html Princely States of India]</ref>

*Jyoti Bhanj (12th cen CE)
*...
*Jagannath Bhanj (1688 - 1700)
*Raghunath Bhanj (1700 - 1719)
*Gopinath Bhanj (1719 - 1736)
*Narsingh Narayan Bhanj (1736 - 1757)
*Daneswar Narayan Bhanj (1757 - 1758)
*Jagateswar Narayan Bhanj (1758 - 1762)
*Pratap Balbhadra Bhanj (1762 - 1794)
*Janardan Bhanj (1794 - 1825)
*Gadadhar Narayan Bhanj Deo (1825 - 22 March 1861)
*Dhanurjai Narayan Bhanj Deo (4 September 1861 – 27 October 1905)
*Gopinath Narayan Bhanj Deo (27 Oct 1905 – 12 August 1926)
*Balbhadra Narayan Bhanj Deo (12 Aug 1926 – 1 January 1948)

===Titular===
*Balbhadra Narayan Bhanj Deo (1 January 1948 – 1963)
*Nrusingh Narayan Bhanj Deo (1963 – ?)
*Anant Narayan Bhanj Deo (? – 1 December 2019)
*Dhananjay Bhanj Deo (1 December 2019 – current)

== See also ==
* [[Eastern States Agency]]
* [[Political integration of India]]
==References==
{{reflist}}

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{{Princely states of the Eastern States Agency}}
[[Category:Princely states of India]]
[[Category:History of Odisha]]
[[Category:Kendujhar district]]
[[Category:12th-century establishments in India]]
[[Category:1948 disestablishments in India]]
{{india-hist-stub}}

Keonjhar State - Revision history

->Iridescent 2 at 17:30, 1 October 2021