Subarnapur district, also called Sonepur district or Sonapur district, is an administrative district in the state of Odisha in eastern India. Sonepur town is the district headquarters. Sonepur is known as the Mandiramalini city (city of temples) of Odisha with more than hundred temples. The people of Sonepur region are called Sonepuria.
In the 8th century AD, the region was known as Swarnapur and was ruled by vassal lords of the Bhaumkaras of Tosali. The region was then ruled by the Somavamsis and eventually became one of the two capitals of the Somavamsis. Around the 10th and 11th centuries, the Pashima region was called Lanka or Western Lanka. Evidence for these names comes from a Somavamsi prince of the region named Kumara Someswaradeva, who issued a copperplate letter identifying him as the ruler of Paschima Lanka in the late 10th century. Historically, the goddess Lankeswari was the goddess of the region. At some point during Somavamsi\'s rule, the region received its current name, Subarnapur. It was formally established as a district in 1993.
Subarnapur is home to a wide variety of cultural heritage, arts and crafts. The Sonepur area specializes in textiles and terracotta, Tarbha and Binka produce brass metalwork, Ullunda is home to a stone carving tradition and Dunguripali produces rice crafts.
Subarnapur is the home of poet and prophet Mahima Dharma. The district is also known for \"Danda-nata\", a popular religious tradition indigenous to the area.
