Bhubaneswar, is the capital(1) of Orissa, India(2), and the center of a metropolitan area of 1.6 million (2007), although the city proper has less than a million(2008)(3). It is located on the coastal plain, south of the lower Mahanadi River, and just west of one of that river's distributaries that heads south toward Chilika Lake. The metropolitan area extends north to the main river. Within the area are Khandagir and Udayagiri Hills, with 2nd century B.C.E. rock-carved 'caves' that collectively served as a Jain monastery. Also in the north end of the metropolitan area are edicts on pillars erected by Emperor Ashoka, and an Indo-Japanese pagoda commemorating that man's conversion to Buddhism and peace. In Bhubaneswar proper is the Hindu Lingaraj Temple from around the 11th century.
(1) Since 1957. Cuttack, in the same metropolitan area, was the older capital.
(2) Bharat is an alternate official name, in transliteration.
(3) world-gazetteer.com, accessed 1/4/2008 and 2/5/2007.