3 min readBhubaneswarMar 11, 2026 07:08 AM IST
Eminent historian and Indologist, Prof Hermann Kulke, considered the foremost global voice of Odisha’s culture and history, died on Tuesday. He was 87 years old.
Born in Berlin in 1938, Kulke was a Professor Emeritus of South and Southeast Asian History at Kiel University in Germany. He completed his PhD in Indology on the temple city of Chidambaram from Freiburg University in 1967, and his D.Litt on Gajapati Kingship and the Jagannath Cult from Heidelberg University in 1975.
He was a founding member and coordinator of the first two Orissa Research Projects of the German Research Council and taught Indian history for 21 years at the South Asia Institute at Heidelberg University.
He was based in Odisha for several years and was conferred with the Padma Shri in 2010.
In his 1975 thesis, ‘Jagannatha Cult and Gajapati-Kingship. A Contribution to the History of Religious Legitimation of Hindu Rulers’, Prof Kulke explored how the Jagannath Cult served as a mechanism for political legitimation in medieval Odisha and how the Gajapati kings used the deity to solidify their authority.
He studied how, like in Odisha, Chola kingship ideology was also strongly associated with a monumental temple — the Rajarajesvara or Brihadisvara temple at Thanjavur, constructed by Rajaraja I in the early 11th century.
Former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik condoled Prof Kulke’s death. “Deeply saddened to learn about the passing away of eminent historian and Padma Shri awardee Prof Hermann Kulke. His demise is a profound loss to the world of history and Indology. His leadership at Orissa Research Project; pioneering research on Odisha’s culture, history and Shree Jagannatha tradition brought Odisha’s rich heritage into global academic discourse. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and admirers. May his soul rest in peace,” wrote Patnaik.
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Taking to X, Odisha Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo said, “Deeply saddened by the passing of eminent historian and Padma Shri awardee Prof. Hermann Kulke. His pioneering research on Odisha’s history, culture, and politics has left an indelible mark on Indology and will continue to inspire generations of scholars. As a founding member of the Orissa Research Project, his contributions to the study of our state’s heritage remain unparalleled. May his soul rest in peace.”
