The historical significance of Jajpur district is evident from the nomenclature of the district, which is believed to be named after the Somavansi King "Jajati Keshari", in early 10th century. The history of Jajpur from time immemorial is synonymous with the Viraja or Viraja Khetra. As the history of Jajpur suggests, the district is the seat of the Brahmanical culture in Orissa. The place sacred to Viraja, the symbol of Sakti(Power) on one side and Verah, the symbol of Brahma or Purusha on the other side is one of the traditional Pancha khetras in Orissa dedicated to Brahmanical Pancha Khetras. The historical documents of the district of Jajpur points out that being a center of traditional culture and holy shrine of the Hindus, once the city was dotted with the temple made up of stones. But the temples are ruined and demolished by the ruthless expedition of the various rulers. Presently the temples are surviving as the living remnants, some of which are reconstructed. The extant remnants and the reconstructed ones bear the testimony of the ancient art and culture ranging from the date of 4th century B.C. The temples are also the chief source to reconstruct the cultural history of Jajpur.

However the scholars have divided views about the origin of the district, basing on the available historical records of Jajpur. The Paralakhemundi copper plate of Prithvi Maharaja mentions Viraja as Viranja. The date ascribed in the place is about 6th century B.C. Again to follow another school of historians, the history of Jajpur dates back to the ancient period when Mahabharata is written. The endorsement behind such a view is that in the Banaparva in 114th chapter, there is the mention about Viraja and the sacred Baitarani where the five Pandav brothers had their holy dip with Lomash the saint. The date of the origin of goddess may safely be attributed to the 3rd century. Hence according to them, the history of Jajpur is as old as the 3rd century B.C.

However, the district of Jajpur was surviving as the feudatory and was fragmented into several small kingdoms under the chiefs, who were at continuous strife with one another .As far as the history of Jajpur is concerned, a new political situation developed with the rise of the Bhaumakaras in 736 AD. The Bhaumas ruled over two centuries with their capital at Guheswar Patak in Viraja Khetra extended their empire from the Ganges in the North to the Mahendra Mountain on the south. When Bhaumas were at the helm of administration in Jajpur they comprised modern Mayurbhanja, eastern part of Keonjhar, some portion of Dhenkanal and the modern Bhadrak districts. Hence the history of Jajpur to some degree is synonymous with the history of Mayurbhanja, Keonjhar and some portions of Dhenkanal and Bhadrak. As far is deciphered from the historical details of Jajpur, there were a geographical political and social changes taken place since it has been taken occupied by the Bhaumas but the cultural tie of the different regions is still conspicuous. Orissa was mainly separated into two cultural units depending on theViraja Khetra and the other round Shri Khetra. Therefore the historical culture of Jajpur significantly influences the cultural tradition of Orissa.

The remarkable epoch of Orissa was the reign of the 8th to the 11th century, when the two powerful dynasties, Bhaumas and the Somavansis reigned over the land. The history of Jajpur depicts that during the reign of the two powerful dynasties, Jajpur has made immense progress in art and culture and was considered as one of the economically developed region. The autobiography of the king Suvakar Dev (I) of Bhaumas dynasty is an important historical document of Jajpur. He wrote a religious text in his own hand and sent it to his contemporary Chinese emperor, who was the pioneer for establishing relations with neighboring countries and also patronized sea trade.

During the Bhaumas Budhism and Jainism were still prosperous in Orissa. Following the accounts of Hiuen Tsang who visited Puspagiri Bihar in the precincts of Jajpur in 639, the historical records of Jajpur is found which depicts the booming progress of the Buddhism. From the historical accounts of Jajpur it is also evident that the Tantrayan Sprang upon the decadence of Buddhism towards the 8th Century.

The Somavansi King Jajati Keshari has Jajpur his capital city where he performed the historic Dasaswamedh Yajna in 10th century. As is evident from the history of Jajpur the capital city of the Somavansis has contributed a lot to the to the amalgamation of different regions which flourished in Orissa for centuries past. In due course, he district of Jajpur has passed through several hands and was considered as a celebrated religious site. However during the British supremacy Jajpur has no separate identity as an administrative district. Finally the British consolidated and reconstructed the erstwhile fragmented district of Jajpur and in the post independence period the district of Jajpur was associated with the Orissa province.