Cuttack (ˈkʌtək; Oriya

Oriya script

The Oriya script or Utkala Lipi or Utkalakshara is used to write the Oriya language, and can be used for several other Indian languages, for example, Sanskrit.- History :...

: କଟକ kɔʈɔkɔ) is the former capital of the state

States and territories of India

India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of Orissa

Orissa

Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It is the headquarters of Cuttack district

Cuttack District

Cuttack district is one of the 30 districts in Orissa state in eastern India. Its administrative headquarters is the city of Cuttack. As of 2011 it is the second most populous district of Orissa , after Ganjam.-Geography:...

 and is located about 20 km to the north east of Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar is the capital of the Indian state of Orissa, officially Odisha. The city has a long history of over 2000 years starting with Chedi dynasty who had Sisupalgarh near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital...

, the capital of Orissa. The name of the city is an anglicised form of Kataka that literally means The Fort, a reference to the ancient Barabati Fort

Barabati Fort

Barabati Fort is a 14th century fort built by the Ganga dynasty near Cuttack, Orissa. The ruins of the fort remain with its moat, gate, and the earthen mound of the nine-storied palace, which evokes the memories of past days. Today it sits next to the modern Barabati Stadium, the venue of various...

 around which the city developed. The city is spread across an area of 398 km² (154 sq mi) and is situated at the beginning of the Mahanadi

Mahanadi River

The Mahanadi in East Central India. It drains an area of around 141,600 km2 and has a total course of 858 km. The river flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Orissa.-Source:...

 river delta.

Established in 989 AD, Cuttack was the seat of government in Orissa for close to a thousand years before its burgeoning size forced the creation of a new capital at Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar is the capital of the Indian state of Orissa, officially Odisha. The city has a long history of over 2000 years starting with Chedi dynasty who had Sisupalgarh near present-day Bhubaneswar as their capital...

 in 1948.