Phulbani (Oriya: ଫୁଲବାଣୀ) (proposed to be 'Bouddha Kandhamal') is a town and a Municipality in Kandhamal district in the Indian state of Orissa.It is the administrative headquarters of Kandhamal district.

Phulbani is located at 20°28′N 84°14′E / 20.47°N 84.23°E / 20.47; 84.23. It has an average elevation of 485 metres (1591 feet).

It is located 211 km from Bhubaneshwar, the capital of Orissa and 165 kms from Berhampur, the major city of South Orissa. Nearest railway station is Rairakhol around 100kms from here. The region around Phulbani has a variety of flora and fauna. It is a place surrounded by hills and has a lot of small and big waterfalls around it. Phulbani is surrounded by river Salunki.

As of 2001^[update] India census, Baudh Kandhamal had a population of 33,887. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Baudh Kandhamal has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 68%. In Boudh Kandhamal, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Kandhamal (Oriya: କନ୍ଧମାଳ) is a district of the state of Orissa, India. The district headquarters of the district is Phulbani.

The Kandhmal district was created on 1 April 1993 from the former Boudh-Kandhmal district as a result of district reorganization in the state of Orissa.

On 25 December 2007, unrest broke out between Christians and Hindus and Kandha tribe and Pana caste people.

On 23 August 2008, Sri Lakshmananda Saraswati - a leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad - was murdered by unidentified gunmen under mysterious circumstances. Maoist rebels were initially blamed by the police and some Hindu organisations suspected collusion of Christian missionaries amongst the Pana caste. This led to large scale riots between the indigenous Hindu Kandha tribe and the Christian minority amongst the Pana caste. The underlying causes are complex and cross political, religious and ethnic boundaries. Land encroachment perceived or otherwise being a particular source of tension between the communities. In April 2010, a special "fast track" court in Phulbani convicted 105 people. Ten people were acquitted due to lack of evidence.

Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati (1927–2008), born Shravan Krishna Navami, was a Hindu monk and a highly revered spiritual leader who lived a life dedicated to tribal welfare. The Swami was a native of Gurujanga village in Talcher and a tribal himself. Over four decades ago, he left his wife and one year old son to become monk, and moved to Kandhamal. In 1968, He established an Ashram at Chakapada in Kandhamal district of Orissa. Since 1970 he had been involved in social services promoting tribal welfare. He was regarded as a Messiah among Hindu tribals of the area

He was assassinated along with four disciples allegedly by Christian Maoist insurgents.

Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati decided work in Phulbani (Kandhmal) to serve the backward people mostly tribals and harijans, there and focus them to join into the main stream of the society. In 1969 he started his first ashram at Chakapada. He renovated temples: Birupakshya, Kumareswar and Jogeswar and established a Sanskrit school and a college. Swamijee taught the youth of schedule caste and schedule tribe in Sanskrit and built the youths as disciplined, well civilized, well cultured, well educated, well spirited and as protector of the society. He not only gave philosophical ideas but taught people good cultivation, animal care, horticulture, etc. and made students coming out from the Kalyan Ashram Gurukula able in economic, social and cultural fields. He stood firm in Phulbani district for a long time and struggled hard to preserve and protect the tribal culture and dharma. Besides social and religious development of the tribal people, he tried all most four decades to empower them economically and academically. He established a Gurukul pattern of school and a college to teach Sanskrit in Chakapada a remote place of Kandhamal.