1

HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY
Abdul Momin Chowdhury
Aksadul Alam

It has been widely agreed that there exists an inseparable relationship between
human activities and their geographical location and environment. This
underscores the intimate relationship between geography and history. Since
human activities take place not in void but within a definite context of particular
geographical surroundings and environment, it is an acknowledged fact that
geography constitutes the structural basis of history, constructing its natural
backdrop; ‘history without geography is like a picture without a frame’.1
C.T. Smith2 listed four different approaches to the study of historical
geography: (a) The operation of geographical factors in history; (b) The
evolution of the cultural landscape; (c) Reconstruction of past geographies;
and (d) The study of geographical change through time.
In this chapter our intention is not to go for geographical determinism
in the history of early Bengal, nor do we intend to add “the missing
environmental notations to work of historians3 dealing with the history of early
Bengal. We are here concerned with the (c) and (d) approaches: reconstruction
of past geographies and the study of geographical change through time. In this
context L. Guelke4 saw no logical basis for differentiating historical geography
from history. Such a view of historical geography emphasises on geographical
change which calls for attention to time period as well as to the process of
change. We approach this chapter from this point of view.
We are also aware of the close relationship between history and
geography. “.... that seductive and composite science, historical geography,
which opens for us the gates of space and time”, wrote Y.M. Goblet.5 It has
long been held that geographers deal with earth space, and historians have
been traditionally seen as dealing with time as the common denominator of
their discipline. The two separate constructs have been traditionally used by
geographers, at least, to define geography and history as separate disciplines.
2 HISTORY OF BANGLADESH

“It is doubtful, however, that geography can continue its search for spatial
understanding by ignoring the integral dictates of time and space as a natural
unity; thus have geographers come to focus on the processes of spatial
organisation through time.”6 H.C. Darby maintained in his last public
statement in 1987 that the definition of historical geography that had been put
forward in 1932 and repeated in 1983, namely the reconstruction of the
geographical conditions of past times, was both logical and reasonable.7
Darby was deeply interested in the relationship between history and
geography, in the broad borderland through which there were many
interesting by ways. He emphasised that there could be no rigid boundary
between the two disciplines.8
Richard Dennis considered History and Geography at the Intersection
of Time and Space.9 About Postmodernism and Historical Geography he said,
“It is a short step from interrogating landscapes as texts to interrogating texts
about landscapes”.10 In our deliberations in this chapter we have taken both
the above approaches.
Alan R.H. Baker examined comprehensively the interdependence
of the disciplines of Geography and History.11 Baker wrote, “Geography
and history are different ways of working at the world but they are so
closely related that neither one can afford to ignore or even neglect the
other. ... The fundamental difference between them is better expressed in
terms of history’s focus upon periods and geography’s focus upon places,
fully recognising that both periods and places were (and are) peopled and
were (and are) constructed and experienced by people”.12 Since history is
the story of people, who did not live in the air, but on the surface of the
earth, it cannot loose sight of the place. We have followed this idea in our
presentation of the historical geography of the place, which forms the
centre-stage of our two volumes.

Geo-physical Features of Bengal13

It is difficult to find out how and exactly when this region came into existence
and acquired very distinct geo-physical features. There is a good deal of
physiographic variety within the general pattern of geological setting of the
‘Bengal Delta’. The entire geological structure of the region was being fixed
through the continuous process of evolution and devolution due to the tectonic
and orogenic movements. Some relevant facts need to be mentioned here in the
context of the entire geological outline of the region, viz., the extensive and well-
defined old alluvial land tracts, older rock of the surrounding hills, jungles, the
comparatively new alluvial land, rivers and most importantly the deltas.
 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY 3

Old Alluvium Land Tracts: Though most of the areas of ‘Bengal’ are of
comparatively recent origin, there is a large area of old alluvial land in the
middle, eastern, northern and western parts of ‘Bengal’. In the west, the old
alluvial tract extends from the south of Rajmahal almost to the sea. The deep
forests and the mountainous regions of the Rajmahal, the Saontal Parganas,
Manbhum-Singbhum-Dhalbhum comprise this old alluvial land. East of it are the
higher red lands of the western parts of the districts of Murshidabad, Birbhum,
Bardhaman, Bankura and Medinipur. This plateau is quite hilly, woody, dry and
infertile. This plateau and highland covered much of ancient northern Radha, the
western part of southern Radha and a part of Tamralipti,14 Xaxabka’s capital was
located in the southern part of the present Murshidabad district and a seal was
found on which the word Raktamrttika (red soil) was inscribed. From this, it is
not difficult to assume that the soil of this region was red even in the 7th century
CE (in this context, incidentally, we could also mention the Rangamati area of
the hilly region of Chittagong, the Lalmai hills near Comilla). Some parts of
Raniganj and Asansol, Medinipur, and the Susuniya hills area of Bankura are the
lower parts of this old land tract.
A particular tract of this old land crosses the Ganga, north of Rajmahal
and extends up to north Bengal. This belt of red soil and older rock cuts through
the Malda-Rajshahi-Dinajpur-Rangpur area across the Brahmaputra and extends
up to the hilly areas of Assam. This seems like a barren belt that engirdled the
fertile land of the Bengal basin. In northern Bengal one part of this old alluvial
tract is slightly higher than the others. The comparatively high lands of Bogura,
northern portion of Rajshahi, eastern part of Dinajpur and western tracts of
Rangpur were the historical epicentre of Varendra/Varendri/Varendrabhumi,
‘Barind’ of the medieval historians.15 Madhupurgarh, north of Dhaka, also belong
to this old alluvium which is lacerated from the northern alluvial tract of Varendra
by the Brahmaputra. “These ancient alluvial deposits (Madhupur jungle and the
Varendra or Barind) are readily distinguished by the deep red of their oxidized
ferruginous soils, by their drainage pattern and by the types of vegetation cover.
The Madhupur jungle lies north of Dhaka city in the middle of a rough triangle
formed by the streams of the Brahmaputra on the West and the Meghna on the
East, with the low-lying lands of the Sylhet basin on the North.”16
Though Varendrabhumi, Madhupurgarh, Bhawalgarh and the
highlands of Comilla-Mainamati-Lalmai have been claimed to be not more
than l0-l2 feet higher than the general alluvial land, many parts of the
highland of Lalmai are higher than hundred feet.17 The laterite hilly tracts of
northern Narsingdi are also very old in the geological context. Recently
important discoveries were made from the archaeological site of Wari-
Bateshwar in Narshingdi district.18
4 HISTORY OF BANGLADESH

Physiography: Land Formation.

Comparatively New Alluvium: ‘Bengal’ is bounded, geologically, by the red

and older land tract which beginning from the western side of Bengal encircles
the northern areas and extends till the southern frontier of eastern Bengal. The
rest of the areas (barring Chittagong and hilly areas of Tripura) constitute the
geologically defined new alluvium land. This area, rich in their abundant
 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY 5

alluvial soil, is deeply drenched by the water of the Ganga, Brahmaputra,

Meghna and their tributaries. The rivers of Bengal have played very significant
role in the formation of this immensely fertile plain.
In the west of Bengal, most of the rivers - the Mayurakshi, Ajay,
Rupnarayan, Kansai and different tributaries of the Ganga - have cut across
the barren red soil belt. The plain land adjacent to the old alluvium has got
fertility from the water of these rivers, and the flood plain has been formed by
the alluvial soil. Likewise in the north also the red soil belt is surrounded by
the adjacent fertile lands created by water and alluvial soil of the Tista, Atrai,
Mahananda and Karotoya. Most portion of the eastern part of Bengal was
practically constituted by the alluvial soil, watery flood plains covered
everywhere by lowland marshes and webbed with streams and channels.19 It
is popularly known as the new alluvium land tract – barring the eastern parts
of Xrihatta, hilly areas of Mymensingh, Bhawalgarh, mountainous Tripura,
and the hilly range of Chittagong. The old alluvium tract was formed by the
Pleistocene alluvium and that the entire flood plains of Bengal, especially in
the central and southern Bengal, were formed by the deposit of comparatively
new alluvial soil.
There is no old land in south or central Vabga, where the soil is entirely
the product of the Padma-Bhagirathi-Madhumati, comprising the new alluvial
land of Bengal. Parts of Nadiya, Jessore, Khulna and 24-Parganas belong to this
region, and the names Kharimandal, Vyaghratati and Samatata are worthy of
note. Xuan Zang20 described Samatata as a coastal country whose land was
moist and flat. In the 6th century CE the Kotalipara area of Faridpur was new
alluvial land and its name was Navyavakaxika.21 The Navya22 area of Barishal-
Bakharganj was a much later development and very new alluvium land. It had
the main stream of the Meghna as its eastern limit.23
The Delta: The entire area of ‘Bengal’, as we mentioned earlier, is in a popular
sense, deltaic. It has been succinctly described as ‘new mud, old mud, and
marsh’ and probably the largest delta in the world.24 The delta of Bengal can be
characterised as an agglomeration of some sub-deltas. The old alluvium land in
northern Bengal is actually the moribund delta of Ganga, Brahmaputra and
Meghna rivers. This, at a later stage, created the Varendra-Madhupur terrace,
which was separated by the river Yamuna as an epiphenomenon of the
prolonged tectonic movements. However, the entire newly-created land in
Bengal, in the light of geology, is being duly recognised as the delta of rivers.25
Generally it is the prevalent notion that, the vast land tract that extends up to the
Padma in the North, Bhagirathi in the West, Meghna in the East, and the Bay of
Bengal in the South constitutes the main floodplain land and the delta of Ganga-
6 HISTORY OF BANGLADESH

Brahmaputra.26 According to Bagchi, apart from Ganga, no other river has

played a pivotal role in the formation of deltaic Bengal. Without entering into an
academic debate, it can be said that the entire Gangetic delta is divided into three
distinct parts:27 i) the moribund delta (the districts of Murshidabad, Nadiya, 24
Parganas in the state of West Bengal, India and Khulna and Jessore in
Bangladesh); ii) the matured delta (portions of 24 Paraganas of West Bengal,
India and Khulna-Jessore of Bangladesh); and iii) the active delta (Sunderbans,
Barishal, Patuakhali, southern Faridpur, Noakhali, Sandeep and the coastal
areas). Hence, it is to be noted that the process of delta formation in Bengal is
still on, which continues to shape and re-shape the geo-physical settings of
Bengal.28 It is also now a scientifically established fact that this delta is the
combined creation of the sediment, sand, alluvial soil and mud carried by the
river flows over a long period of time.
The geographical location of ‘Bengal’ is determined by the structural
evolution of the region. It is a fact that ‘Bengal’ curved out a distinct
geographical location for itself in the eastern frontier of the Indian
subcontinent as early as in the Pleistocene age. As Niharranjan Ray puts it, ‘...
at one extreme are the very high mountains, at the other the sea, and on both
sides the hard hilly country; within, all the land is a plain. Such is the
geographical fortune of the Bengali people’.29
It is necessary to elaborate a little more on the geographical location
of ‘Bengal’. The total area of the region of ‘Bengal’ is approximately 80,000
sq Miles (207,000 km).30 Nafis Ahmed and M. Harunur Rashid claimed
precisely 84,832 square miles (30,69l square miles in West Bengal, and
54,l4l square miles in present Bangladesh).31 On the other hand, B.M.
Morrison have mentioned about 80,000 square miles on the basis of Spate,
Bagchi and Strickland.
The northern border of Bengal is formed by Sikkim and the snow-
capped Himalayas; Kanchanjungha constitutes the most significant
geographical feature of the areas in the lower valleys to the north of Bengal. The
districts of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri lie in the lap of the Himalayan foothill. To
the north-west of these two districts is Nepal, and to the east the border of
Bhutan. In the northeast the natural border of Rangpur and Cooch Behar extends
as far as the river Brahmaputra.32
The eastern border of Bengal is constituted by the Brahmaputra in the
north, and from north to north-east lie the Garo-Khasiya-Jaintiya hills; to the
south are the Lusai-Chattagram and Arakan ranges. The chain of mountains of
Tripura and Chittagong have geographically separated ‘Bengal’ from Myanmar
and Lusai – at the same time separating Xrihatta from Tripura and Chittagong.33
 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY 7

I n d i a

Bay of Bengal

Bengal and her neighbours.

The western frontiers of Bengal are deeply embedded in the dense forests and
long chains of mountains. The Ganga has penetrated through the Rajmahal hills
into the land of Bengal flowing in a south-easterly direction. It is mentioned in
the Bhavisya Purana that the arid (ajala), salty wasteland (usara), and dense
forest lands are situated in the south of Rajmahal and Ganga on the western
front of Bengal. In the 7th century CE Xuan Zang entered into Bengal through
this area.34 Undoubtedly, this area was a part of Radha. Apart from this, it would
seem that the natural western boundaries of Bengal stretch from Rajmahal to
the low hills and ochre-coloured mountainous range in the south, touching
8 HISTORY OF BANGLADESH

Mayurbhanj-Baleshwar and Keonjar, extending to the sea.35 This hilly tract and
the ochre-coloured plateau is the mountainous high lands with dense forests of
the Saontal Parganas, Chhota Nagpur, Manbhum and Singhbhum, the natural
western boundary of Bengal.
On the south the Bay of Bengal is a significant physical expression
and a natural geographical border. The coast of the Bay of Bengal surrounds
the southern portion of Medinipur, 24 Parganas, Khulna, Bagerhat, Barishal,
Patuakhali, and the green forested land carpeted with lush and abundant grass
of the Samatata sub-region comprising of the southern area of Tripura,
Comilla and Noakhali.
Barrie M. Morrison makes a significant comment:
‘Bengal’ is a vast plain land formed by the river-carried alluvial soil. Its 80,000
square miles lie like an immense saucer of alluvial deposit between the Tippera
hills on the east, the Shillong plateau and Nepal Terai on the north and the
highlands of the Rajmahal and Chhota Nagpur on the west. The southern lip of
the saucer is tilted downward where the alluvium is carried out to sea by the
combined streams of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers. Along the
seaface of the Delta the land lies low to the water with the tide pushing up a maze
of distributary streams which cut through the dense jungle and swamp. Behind
the jungles of the seaface lies an immensely fertile plain of some fifty thousand
square miles which is composed of the recent deltaic deposits and flood plains
of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers.36
This combined convergence of the three rivers towards the sea has been
termed by Morrison as the ‘complex multiple stream’ and he mentioned the
dense jungle, behind the jungles near the estuary lies the delta formed by the
prolonged tectonic movements and geological upheavals.37
With in the territory enclosed by these natural boundaries were
ancient Bengal’s settlements of Gauda-Pundra-Varendra-Radha-Sumha-
Tamralipti-Samatata-Vabga-Vabgala-Harikela – the janapadas, together with
the Bhagirathi-Karotoya-Brahmaputra-Meghna-Padma and the countless
other rivers and streams that ran through the villages, towns, plains, forests,
and by the hills of Bengal. In historical times this tract of land has given rise
to the accomplishments of the inhabitants and has been the source of their
religion, their work and their pleasure.38

River System
It will not be an exaggeration to state that Bengal’s geo-physical condition is
formed to a great extent by its river system, which forms the most characteristic
physical feature of the land. Satish Chandra Mitra made a very precise comment
 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY 9

that ‘as we have veins and arteries in our bodies, ‘Bengal’ is vivified by
numerous rivers’.39 Niharranjan Ray is more eloquent when he writes, “Bengal’s
history is founded on its numerous and diverse rivers and streams. These
waterways – the life of the land – have nurtured Bengal through the ages and
have determined its appearance and its nature, as they continue to do still”.40
These waterways are the blessing of ‘Bengal’, but often its bane. They have
played very important role in the formation of the deltaic land and in moulding
the nature and character of its people through centuries.
Amongst the rivers the Brahmaputra (Lauhitya)41 is a great stream
which drains the northern slope of the Himalayas under the name of the
Tsangpo. It stretches for over 1,800 miles, rising in the Mansarovar in Tibet
and then running eastward it takes a vicious south ward turn into Assam, then
running westward it enters ‘Bengal’ through the borders of Rangpur and
Cooch Behar. The Brahmaputra has changed its course a number of times: (i)
the Yamuna channel, (ii) partially through the old bed referred to in Rannel’s
map, (iii) through the Mymensingh area and (iv) ultimately again through the
Yamuna channel.42
There are at least three full or partial courses of this river: (1) the
present main course through the Jamuna; (2) the course through the
Mymensingh districts; and (3) the old bed of the Brahmaputra in Rennel’s atlas.
Amitabha Bhattacharyya writes, ‘... In early medieval time, the Brahmaputra
10 HISTORY OF BANGLADESH

flowed through the Jamuna channel. Some time later it flowed at least
partially through the old bed referred to in Rennel’s map. By Rennel’s time
the river had begun to flow through the Mymensingh area. Ultimately, its
main volume of water began to flow again through the Jamuna channel’.43
According to Spate, the main Brahmaputra outlet was the Jamuna and it
brought down immense volume of water and silt to the Padma near
Goalanda.44 But the old course of the Brahmaputra was very different: after
tracing a curve round the Garo Hills on the west it took a south-eastern course
near Dewanganj, and passing by Jamalpur, Mymensingh, it flowed through
the eastern part of Dhaka, and having thrown off a branch, called Lakshmya,
passed by Nangalband to the southwest of Sonargaon and fell into the
Dhaleshwari.45 Among the tributaries of the Brahmaputra, the Dhaleshwari-
Buriganga, on the bank of which stands the modern capital of Bangladesh
(Dhaka), as also once stood its ancient capitals, Vikramapura (Munshiganj)
and Suvarnagram (Sonargaon in Narayanganj).46
The Ganga, the second big river of the Delta, is over 1200 miles long
and in many of the early Indian literary texts and epigraphic records it has been
variously described. The Ganga is referred to in the accounts of Megasthenes,47
the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea48 and in the Geography of Ptolemy.49 A large
number of inscriptions like Dubi copper plate of Bhaskaravarmana (7th
century CE),50 Jajilpara copper plate inscription of Gopala III,51 Bangarh
Grant of Mahipala I,52 Amgachhi copper plate of Vigrahapala III53 etc.,
mentioned the river Ganga and most scrupulously upheld its religious
sanctity. Not only that, even in certain inscriptions like the Ganjam Plates of
Xaxabka, the Ganga has been called as the river of Gods, and the story of its
origin has also been related.54 In many verses of the Ramacaritam, the Ganga
has been referred to as a sacred river.55 The Ganga is indeed the very life-
stream of ‘Bengal’ that enters into the land leaving the narrow ravine of
Teliagarh and Sikrigali and approaches the Rajmahal. Ganga, after entering
into the plains of ‘Bengal’ has bifurcated herself into two main channels, one
running south-east called the Padma and the other following straight
southward called the Bhagirathi (the modern Hugli).
Bagchi, on the basis of hydrography, held that ‘Bhagirathi is the main and
original stream’ of the Ganga.56 Pavanaduta of Dhoyi57 mentions the Bhagirathi at
the Triveni confluence as Ganga. It is learnt from Nidhanpur copper plate
inscription (mid-7th century CE) that Bhaskaravarmana, the king of Kamarupa,
proceeded with a large navy through the Bhagirathi and pitched up a military
camp on its bank at Karnasuvarna.58 Tirumalai inscription of Rajendra Cola59
testifies the holiness of the water of the Bhagirathi in the 11th century CE.
 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY 11

Other scholars, on the basis of the maps drawn by Van Den Brouck
(1660 CE) or Rennell (1764-76 CE),60 declared Padma as the main stream or
the original course of the Ganga.61 The account of the origins of the river
Padma are to be found in the Mahabhagavata-purana,62 the Brhaddharma-
purana63 and Krttivasa’s Ramayana. It is stated in the Ramacaritam that
Varendri is bounded by the Ganga64 from the south. By crossing this river
Ramapala entered Varendri. Idilpur copper plate of Xricandra65 (10th century
CE) and Sobharampur plate of Damodaradeva (1236 CE)66 make a specific
reference to the Padma. De Barros’ map of Bengal (c. 1550 CE) shows the
Padma as the main channel of the Ganga.67 Without entering into an academic
debate it can be said that both (Bhagirathi and Padma) were very significant
streams of the Ganga.
Besides, the Brahmaputra, the Bhagirathi and the Padma, Meghna is
also one of the major rivers in eastern Bengal (present Bangladesh),
especially famous for its great estuary that discharges the flows of the
Ganga-Padma, the Brahmaputra-Yamuna and the Meghna itself into the Bay
of Bengal. This river emanates from the Khasiya-Jayantia mountain range,
and carrying all the water of the plateau of Shilong and the entire area of
Sylhet, flows into the sea. Its northern stream is popularly known by the
early name Surma, primarily fed by rain-water. The presence of a number of
large alluvial lakes locally known as haors along the course of the Meghna
tends to make the flow more uniform than that of the Ganga and the
Brahmaputra.68 Though smaller in comparison to Ganga, Padma or
Brahmaputra, the vibrant flow of this river is noteworthy in early Bengal.
This river was the natural boundary between Damodaradeva’s territory and
the domain of Vabga as is recorded in the Mehar copper plate inscription of
Damodaradeva, dated 1156 Xaka (1234 CE).69
Among the important rivers in the deltaic Bengal lying between the
Bhagirathi-Hughli and the Padma mention may be made of the Ichamati, the
Mathabhanga and the Garai, the Betna, the Rupsa etc. Besides, the Kumar
and the Bhairab are also supposed to be very old rivers in Central Delta.
When the silting of the Bhagirathi was complete, the Bhairab became the
main outlet for the water of the Ganga. With the decline of the Bhairab, the
Mathabhanga became prominent. The Kumar was the first re-distributor of
the Mathabhanga. The Garai and Madhumati are other two important rivers
in Central Delta.70
Apart from the Sarasvati in western Bengal, all the other rivers,
especially Ajay, Damodar, Kansai or Kapisa, Dvarakesvar and Rupnarayan,
originate from the Chhota Nagpur plateau and Manbhum and bear the
12 HISTORY OF BANGLADESH

characteristics of hill streams. In Rennel’s map the course of the Rupnarayan

is shown as corresponding to its present bed. In early ages, the river
Rupnarayan united with the Ganga a little above Tamralipti or Tamluk.71 The
Raghuvamxa by Kalidasa,72 and Markandeya Purana refer to the river Kansai
(Kopisa?), which now flows through the district of Bankura and Medinipur
and then runs parallel to the Rupnarayan up to the sea. In the Raghuvamxa, it
is stated that Raghu crossed the river Kopisa to Utkala. The implication is that
Kopisa served as the eastern boundary of Utkala.73
Damodar, the sacred river of the Saontals, rises in the Chhota Nagpur-
watershed and enters ‘Bengal’ at Barakar and flows southeast past Raniganj,
Andal and Bardhaman.74 In Van Den Broucke’s map of Bengal, dated 1660 CE,
this river or at least a major branch of it flowed in south-easterly direction and
fell into the Hughli near Kalna.75 Jayarampur copper plate inscription of
Gopacandra (565-580 CE)76 also refer to the river Damodar.
The river Ajay flowing by the side of the town of Kantadupa (may be
identified with Katwa) fell into the Bhagirathi, north of Navadvipa. Rajendra
Cola appears to have crossed the Ganga (Bhagirathi) near the river Ajay as
described in the Tirumalai inscription.77
The northern part of Bengal, a substantial part of which constitutes
what is geologically termed as the old alluvium land, is drenched and
invigorated by numerous rivers. Worth mentioning, among these is Tista.
Emerging from the Himalayas Tista enters ‘Bengal’ from the border of
Bhutan in the north, into the districts of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri. The
river has three distinct and main courses flowing southwards: Karatoya
(eastern stream), Atrai (middle stream) and Punarbhava (western stream).
The river is also popularly called ‘Trisrota Tista’ probably because of its
three distinct courses through which it flowed. Karatoya, a river whose
history is very old and which is very famous as a sacred river, was the
most important stream of the Tista. The vivacious presence of this river
has been mentioned in the travelogue of Xuan Zang,78 the Ramacaritam79
and in Rennel’s map. Another important literary source Karatoya
Mahatmya80 and the Mahabharata too, boldly proclaimed the immense
flow of the Karatoya and emblasoned its spiritual significance. In recent
days, however, it is almost a dead river like Atrai and Punarbhava.81
Another famous river of northern Bengal was the Koshiki (the modern
Koshi). In the ancient and medieval river systems of Bengal the Koshi was
a great wonder because of its amazing change of course completely from
easterly to westerly direction.82
 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY 13

Bengal ‘Region’ and River System.

From the preceding discussion a conclusion might be drawn that Ganga,

Bhagirathi, Padma, Meghna-Surma, Karotoya, Lauhitya-Brahmaputra
(Yamuna) were the main rivers of this Delta. The eminence that is being readily
associated with the Ganga and the Bhagirathi also draws within its fold others
like the Ajay, Damodar, Sarasvati etc. The river Kopixa or Kansai is also
ancient in its origin. And so is Padma. The vibrant flow of Karotoya was also
an important feature of Varendra. It will perhaps, not be assume that the water
flow in these rivers was much greater in ancient times. However, these rivers
repeatedly changed their courses over centuries, particularly the lower streams
of the Ganga and the Padma, spreading over the entire region of lower Vabga
as well as its north and east. This destruction and reconstruction process of the
rivers is still active. According to M.H. Rashid, ‘in fact it is these rivers– the
14 HISTORY OF BANGLADESH

MORIBUND DELTA

Ganga, Brahmaputra, Meghna and their innumerable branches– and the

peculiar mosaic of islands created by their silt-deposits and framed in their
tangled network, that constitute this geographical entity’.83
It is quite clear from the above discussion that the hydrography of
Bengal has frequently changed in different ages. It would not be an
exaggerated statement that this hydrographical change was probably due to
the shifting of the river courses. Reference can be made to the emergence of
the Tamralipti as a glorious, vibrant port, and its importance diminished with
the ultimate drying up and the shifting of the courses of the Sarasvati-
Bhagirathi respectively. Amitabha Bhattacharyya has also underscored that
shifting of river courses were responsible, more often than not, for the gradual
decay and downfall of some trade and commercial centres.84
 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY 15

At the same time it needs to be mentioned that the geographical

specificity of the region of Bengal is not merely constituted by the rivers, but also
by other distinct water bodies, peculiar to Bengal region, called haor and bil. As
Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti comments, ‘…if one is asked to single out the most
important geographical element of Bangladesh, the choice would no doubt fall on
its rivers. It is the rivers and the associated vast sheets of water in the innumerable
depressions known as haors and bils which give it a geographical character not
matched elsewhere in the subcontinent’.85 These peculiarly distinct water bodies
have, alongside the rivers, influenced the rural life pattern of Bengal. Hence, these
rivers, canals, streams, bils, haors are significant constituent elements of the
historical geography of Bengal. These waterways/water bodies have played very
important role in the formation of the deltaic land and in moulding the nature and
character of its people.

Climatic Condition
The geographical location of ‘Bengal’ dictates its distinct climatic
peculiarities. This has influenced and continues to influence, to no
inconsiderable extent, the evolution of the demographic history and
behavioural pattern of the people of this deltaic land. ‘Bengal’ is
predominantly a land of tropical monsoon climate which may be broadly
described as moderately warm, equable, and humid. It is influenced by three
factors: the mountain wall of the Himalayas in the north and northeast, the
Tropic of Cancer passing through the middle of the region, and the Bay of
Bengal in the south.86 The monsoonal wind causes heavy rainfall; the
atmosphere is highly humid. The natural calamities in the region are frequently
caused by the cyclones, flood, high tide, kalbaixakhi (Nor’wester), and
windstorm, and the cyclone is a distinctly mentionable climatic feature of
‘Bengal’. The pre-monsoon storms in late spring are a regular feature, but the
occasional post-monsoon cyclones in autumn are destructive and disastrous,
especially in the coastal area and in the estuary islands.
The deep impact that monsoonal wind exerts on the region is mainly
because of Bengal’s geographical location: juxtaposition to the Bay of
Bengal, and the surrounding highlands. At the inception of the month of June
the warm and dry south-western monsoonal wind find a natural obstruction of
the mountains in eastern and northern portion of Bengal and causes heavy
rainfall. The monsoonal winds that originate in the Indian Ocean are checked
by the Himalayas, Garo, Khasi and Jaintiya hills, and all of eastern and
northern Bengal is flooded by the heavy sustained downpour. In general
rainfall is adequate, although on the western margins, with about 55 inches;
16 HISTORY OF BANGLADESH

West Bengal gets between 50 and 60 inches; and most of East Bengal between
60 and 95 inches.87 The annual average rainfall in ‘Bengal’ is estimated as 75
inches. Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti estimates annual rainfall between 60 inches
in the western parts and about 200 inches in the north of Sylhet.88 The heavy
annual rainfall, combined with the warm temperature throughout most of the
year, produces a vegetational cover that can be termed “tropical semi-
evergreen”.89 The monsoon generally stays from June to October. Temperature
variations are more marked in the drier western parts where, in winter, it
occasionally comes down to 5 or 4 degrees Celsius but, in summer, it is
frequently above 40 degrees Celsius.90
The climate and the seasonal variation of early Bengal is portrayed in
the accounts of Xuan Zang, the Ramacaritam by Sandyakaranandi, the
Saduktikarnamrta of Xridharadasa, Pavanaduta by Dhoyi, Gita Govinda by
Jayadeva, and Abul Fazl. In the Tirumalai inscription it is unequivocally stated
that, ‘Vabgaladexa where the rain water never stopped’.91 The works of poet
Yogexvara also contain picturesque descriptions of Bengal’s monsoonal
rainfall. The south wind of the month of February is metaphorically
represented in Dhoyi’s Pavanaduta in which there are very clear indications of
the spring breezes of Bengal.92 In the anthology of Xridharadasa, the
Saduktikarnamrta, there are a few descriptive verses of the winds.93 The
Ramacaritam refers to large and swiftly moving clouds in Varendri and relates
to the heavy showers which certainly speak of abundant rainfall in Varendra.94
With the advent of monsoon in ‘Bengal’, the sky becomes overcast with
clouds, a picturesque account depicted by Jayadeva in the first verse of his
famous work Gita Govinda.95
To sum up, the influence of climate in early Bengal was quite
significant. Due to Bengal’s geographical location rainy climate was
prevalent here. Especially, the rivers of ‘Bengal’ were under direct influence
of the climatic conditions. The temperate climate and the heavy rainfall in the
rainy season constitute the foremost salient climatic features of the eastern,
southern and north-eastern Bengal.96
After analysing the geo-physical features, river system and climatic
condition, it is necessary to trace out the geographical specificities of the
region: Firstly, from the view-point of the structural evolution, Bengal’s
existence or location had been in the eastern frontier of the South Asian
subcontinent. Secondly, geologically, ‘Bengal’ as a ‘region’ is a composite
structure consisting of old and new alluvium. Thirdly, ‘Bengal’ is the largest
delta of the world. Fourthly, ‘Bengal’ has an open sea-board in the southern
frontier. Fifthly, climatically ‘Bengal’ is in a monsoonal zone with heavy
 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY 17

rainfall. Sixthly, the entire region is intersected and drenched by innumerable

rivers which constitute a distinctly prominent geo-physical feature of
‘Bengal’. Seventhly, Bengal’s geo-physical conditions, location and specially
the waterways/water bodies have contributed to its own communication
system and contact zones.

Bengal: A ‘Region’
The name Bengal, in the period with which we are concerned in this volume, did
not exist, nor does it exist today. But from the practical point of view it is
convenient to use that name and it should be taken to denote present Bangladesh,
plus the states of West Bengal and Tripura of India – a territorial unit in the
historical sense, and often recognised by geographers as a ‘region’ within the
subcontinent.97 Apart from these areas, some adjacent territories of Bihar and
Jharkhand should be included as well. These territories were more or less in the
common orbit of historical processes with Bengal from the early period.
A little digression will possibly not be improper if we take up the
theoretical discussion on the ‘region’ as a geographical concept. In geography
both the words ‘landscape’ and ‘region’ are often used synonymously. Earth
surface can be indefinitely sub-divided into segments of various sizes. When such
a segment of earth surface is set off by boundaries it is known as an ‘area’. “Any
tract of earth’s surface with either natural or man-made distinctive characteristics
is called a region”.98
Region is one of the fundamental concepts in Geography. A region is
a concrete reality and not just an intellectual construct. Historians have also
often tried to find out regional variations in human activities and culture.
Region is a geographic area unified culturally, unified at first economically
and later by consensus of thought, education, recreation etc. which
distinguishes it from other areas.
“The concept of region”, wrote R.M. Minshull,99 “floats away when
one tries to grasp it, and disappears when one looks directly at it and tries to
focus. Like the ideas of Time and Art it is so obvious yet so difficult to define,
but equally so useful, so much part of geography”.
A great multitude of cultural phenomena differ significantly from
region to region. Such phenomena are: (a) Material objects made differently
in different parts of the world; (b) Physical characteristics of the population;
(c) The manner and the substance of thought, speech, writing etc; (d) The
way people eat, dress, dance, walk or ride; (e) The character of their
clothing; (f) Shelter for both humankind and beasts and (g) Settlement
patterns. So it can be said that earth surface consists of a mosaic of cultural
18 HISTORY OF BANGLADESH

regions, which refer to areas which are well-defined in terms of boundary

and fundamental unity in the composition. Arrangement and integration of
significant traits distinguishes one region from other regions. Pre-1947
Bengal may rightly be termed as a part of the subcontinent’s ‘cultural
mosaic’ – a region among many regions of the vast Indian subcontinent,
marked by its diversity.

Sub-Regions of ‘Bengal’
There were four major sub-regions of early Bengal in pre-CE 1200 period:
Pundravardhana, Radha, Vabga and Samatata-Harikela along with some of
their sub-units. These four major sub-regions or historio-geographical units
were possibly never unified under a single paramount political power in the
pre-CE 1200 times.
As we have shown earlier, the main river system played a very
important role in the ‘region’ of Bengal. It has been surmised that
‘Gangaridai’ of the the old Greek and Latin writings was just a variant of the
Babgla word gabgahrday (heart of the Ganges). This assumption is not
unjsutified if we consider that the land between the Bhagirathi and the Padma
was indeed the heartland of the Ganges streams.100 The division of the old
janapadas of early Bengal to a great extent was created by the course of the
great rivers of Bengal. Their boundaries often varied with the variation of the
river courses as also with the extension or reduction of political influence of
the units or sub-regions (janapadas).

Pundravardhana
This sub-region originally denoted northern part of Bengal, i.e. Rajshahi-
Bogra-Dinajpur areas of Bangladesh and part of northern sector of West
Bengal. The bhukti of the name of ‘Pundravardhana’ in the Gupta and Pala
records and the bhukti with the name of ‘Paundra’ in the records of the
Candras and Varmans cannot be considered to be one and the same.101 But
from the Sena records it would appear that the ‘Paundravardhana’ bhukti
included northern, south-western (Khadi and Vyaghratati) as well as south-
eastern parts of Bengal. So the bhukti under the Senas can be said to connote
a very wide area. Geographically, it mainly consisted of the Barind tract, one
of the several Pleistocene terraces within the Bengal basin,102 and the
floodplains, which are mostly old, of rivers Padma, Mahananda, Punarbhava,
Atrai, Tista and Karatoya.103 Padma and Karatoya rivers demarcate its borders
with other sub-units. However, Pundra may have been a different sub-region
in the later period.104
 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY 19
Bengal: Regions and Sub-regions.
20 HISTORY OF BANGLADESH

The name is based on the name of a people (jana), gradually

developed into a territorial unit. The identification of Pundranagara with
Mahasthan, located on the right bank of the river Karatoya in the Bogra
district in Bangladesh, is now certain with the discovery of the Mahasthan
Brahmi Inscription, palaeographically assigned to the Maurya period (c. 3rd
century BCE).105 Pundranagara was the earliest urban centre with politico-
economic and religious importance106 and continued to be an important place
up to the twelfth century CE, as is evidenced by the Karatoyamahatmya.107
Several copper plates of the Gupta emperors (from the first half of the 5th
century to the middle of the 6th century CE) prove the existence of a well-
established Gupta rule in that area and it constituted the core territory of the
Guptas until the end of their rule.
Another geographical unit or a sub-unit, which was co-extensive with
large tracts of North Bengal, was Varendra or Varendri or Barind. In the
Ramacarita of Sandhyakaranandi (written in the 12th century CE), it is stated
that Varendramandala forms the best part of the world, and Pundravardhana
is its crest-jewel (varendri-mandala-cudamani).108 The third canto of the
Ramacarita gives an account of the land of Varendri – its geographical
denotation, topography, flora and fauna and mentions its location with the
streams of Ganga and Karatoya flowing on either side. In the Sena period,
Varendra formed an administrative unit under the Pundravardhana bhukti. The
Tabaqat-i-Nasiri mentions ‘Barind’ as a wing of the territory of Lakhnauti109
on the eastern side of the Ganga.110

Radha
This sub-region roughly denoted areas to the west of the Bhagirathi, i.e. the
present districts of Birbhum, Bankura, Bardhaman, Hughly, Howrah and
Medinipur in West Bengal. This means that Radha probably included a large part
of the Indian state of West Bengal. Geographically, it is constituted by lateritic
old alluvium flanked by the coalesced fans of rivers Ajay, Damodar, Rupnarayan
and Kasai, and the moribund and mature deltas along Bhagirathi-Hughly River.
It is bordered by the Rajmahal and Chotanagpur hill tracts on the west. Padma
and Bhagirathi rivers demarcate it from the other sub-units.111
Radha or Radha as a territorial unit of early Bengal is frequently
referred to in both literary and epigraphic records in various forms: Radha,
Rada, Ladha, Lada, Lata, Lala, Rala, Radha, Radhi, Rara, Rara, Ral etc. The
earliest epigraphic reference to Radha is possibly found in an inscription from
Mathura which records the erection of a Jaina image at the request of a Jaina
monk who was an inhabitant of the territory of ‘Rara’ (Radha). The Naihati
 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY 21

copper plate of Vallalasena (CE 1160-1178)112 mentions Radha as the ancestral

settlement of the Senas. The Bhuvanesvara Praxasti inscription of
Bhattabhavadeva records that Radha was a waterless, dry and woody
region,113 a description that suits the westerly lands of Bardhaman in West
Bengal. The Digvijaya-Prakaxa states that Radha lay to the north of the River
Damodara and to the west of Gaud.114 Tabaqat-i-Nasiri also suggests that the
territory of Radha was to the west of the River Ganga and formed the left
wing of Lakhnauti.115
Radha was further divided into two parts: Daksina Radha (South) and
Uttara Radha (North) with the Ajay river as the dividing line.116 The Tirumalai
Inscription of the Cola dynasty clearly mentions two divisions of Radha, the
northern (Uttira-Ladam) and southern (Takkana-Ladam).117 The earliest reference
to Uttara Radha is found in a 9th century inscription (Indian Museum Plate) of the
Gabga King Devendravarmana.118 The Belava copper plate of Bhojavarmana,119
Naihati grant of Vallalasena and Saktipur grant of Laksmanasena120 clearly
mention Uttara Radha as a distinct geographical unit.
According to Ayarabga-sutta, a Jaina text, Vajjabhumi (Vajrabhumi)
and Subbhabhumi (Suhmabhumi or Suhma) were component parts of Ladha
(Radha).121 Tamralipti, the earliest sea-port in ‘Bengal’ identified with present
Tamluk in West Bengal, was incorporated into Subbhabhumi (Suhma) for
sometime.122 The Ceylonese Pali chronicles Mahavamxa123 and Dipavamxa124
record that ‘prince’ Vijaya with his 700 followers from ‘Lala’ (Ladha =
Radha) made maritime voyages from Tamralipti and conquered and colonised
Sri Lanka. If the account has any credence, then it has to be acknowledged
that at the time of king Vijaya (approximately 500 BCE) Daksin Radha was
active in the maritime activities.125

Gauda
Another sub-unit associated with the above sub-region is Gauda. This was an
important geo-political entity in early medieval and medieval Bengal and at
times Gauda was used to denote the whole of ‘Bengal’ in spite of the existence
of other separate geo-political and cultural entities in it. It lies in between Pundra
on its north and north-east and the large tract of Radha on its south and south-
west. At the beginning, it consisted of the present Murshidabad district and
southernmost areas of Malda district, with Karnasuvarna, as its centre.126
Gauda is an example of the expansion of its territorial sway with
the increase of its political influence. When its political influence rose to
a great height, the whole of Bengal was known as Gaudadexa, even at
times it came to denote the whole of Eastern India.127 In a wider sense
22 HISTORY OF BANGLADESH

Gauda implied the whole of the Bengali speaking area. Its eminence
started with the rise of Xaxabka and continued through the Pala period and
the Sena kings took pride in calling themselves Gaudexvara¸ though they
had their administrative headquarters at Vikramapura in Vabga.
Immediately after the Muslim conquest of parts of western Bengal, the
Sena rulers took shelter in south-eastern Bengal. But Vixvarupasena and
Kexavasena used the title of Gaudadhipati for themselves. Xuan Zang
(7th century CE) visited Karnasuvarna, Xaxabka’s capital, and mentioned
Xaxabka as the king of Karnasuvarna,128 but in Bana’s Harscarita Xaxabka
is mentioned as Gaudadhipati.129
The Bhavisya Purana mentions the boundary of Gaudadexa from the
Padma to Bardhamana, within which were Navadvipa (Nadia), Santipur (in
Nadia district) Maulapattana (Mollai in Hoogly district) and Kantakapattan
(Katwa of Bardhaman district). On the basis of the 18th century text
(Satpavcaxaddexavibhaga, a part of Xakti Sabgamatantra) D.C. Sircar
concluded that some time in the past the eastern part of Bengal was known as
Vabga and the Western part as Gauda.130
So it can be assumed that initially the Gauda janapada comprised
areas of Malda-Murshidabad, Birbhum and Bardhaman.131 During the reign of
Xaxabka its sway extended both northward and southward and its fame spread
far and wide and in subsequent centuries the Pala kings were referred to in
sources outside Bengal as Gaudexvara, Gaudaraja or Gaudendra. The result
of Gauda’s cultural achievement is manifest in the ‘Gaudiya Riti’ in the
evolution of Sanskrit literature.

Vabga
This unit embraced mainly Dhaka-Faridpur-Munshiganj and Barishal areas in
present Bangladesh.132 The earliest connotation of Vabga, suggested by B.N.
Mukherjee, denotes an area covering the modern districts of 24-Parganas (both
north and south), Hughly, Howrah and Medinipur and parts of Bardhaman
(and also of Birbhum, Bankura and Nadia) and also incorporated the coastal
region of present Bangladesh up to the mouth of the Padma (or rather the joint
streams of the rivers Padma, Brahmaputra, Meghna and Yamuna) during the
first three or four centuries of the Common Era.133 Geographically, it is
comprised of the Ganga Delta proper, which can be further subdivided into the
moribund, mature and active,134 or the moribund, immature, mature and active
deltas.135 The area was surrounded by the Bhagirathi, Padma and Meghna
rivers. It constitute the main part of the Bengal delta, while the boundaries of
it have changed from time to time.
 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY 23

The name Vabga, for the first time, represented a group of people who
were associated with the Magadhas in the Aitareya Aranyaka136 (later vedic
literature) and were mentioned in the Baudhayana Dharmasutra137 (approximate
date between 500 to 200 BCE) as one of the peoples living outside of Aryavarta.
The Vabgas are clearly referred to in the Ramayana (BCE 200 to 200 CE),138 the
Arthaxastra of Kautilya (BCE 4th century),139 the Mahabhasya of Patañjali
(BCE 2nd century), the Digvijaya section of the Mahabharata (the earliest parts
of the text are not appreciably older than BCE 400 and the text probably reached
its final form by the early Gupta period, 400 CE), Milindapañho (1st or 2nd
century CE), the Puranas (the earliest written versions date, 3rd-5th century
CE), the Raghuvamxa of Kalidasa (probably in between 380-415 CE)140 and
some other literary texts.141
The earliest significant reference to Vabga as a territorial unit is found
in the Arthaxastra, in which it is mentioned as an area where finest quality
white and soft cotton fabrics (Vabgakamxvetam-snigdham-dukulam) were
produced.142 The references in the Mahaniddexa (2nd century CE) and the
Milindapañho indicate that there was a coastal area approachable from the sea
in the territory of Vabga.143
Vabga witnessed the rise of an independent kingdom with strong
administrative set-up, which is documented in some copper plates issued in the
second and third quarters of the 6th century CE. The place of issue and the find-
spots of all the copper plates indicate that the kingdom (Vabga) extended over
a vast territory from Baleswar in Orissa, through southern part of West Bengal
(Vardhamana-bhukti) to southern part of Bangladesh (Navyavakaxika and
Varakamandala).144 From the 10th to the middle of the 13th century CE, Vabga
was under the rule of the Candras, the Varmans and finally the Senas.
It is difficult to ascertain the exact location of Vabga in different
periods of history, but broadly it may be said that it denoted areas in the south
and southeastern part of present Bangladesh. It may have extended to areas in
southern West Bengal in the earlier period, but the area within the two main
streams of the Ganga (from the Bhagirathi to the Padma-Meghna) formed the
core of this territorial unit. It was this area which saw the rise of the
independent kingdom of Vabga.145
Another place name, phonetically similar with Vabga, has an intimate
relationship through history. This is Vabgala. Originally it denoted the coastal
areas of south-eastern Bengal.146 Thus, it might have overlapped with the Navya
sub-division of Vabga. This area may have been co-extensive with Candradvipa
(present Barisal division in Bangladesh), which was the stronghold of the
Candras before the expansion of their rule over the whole of Vabga. Nesari
24 HISTORY OF BANGLADESH

plates of the Rastrakuta king Govinda III147 (805 CE) is the earliest epigraphic
records where reference to Vabgala is made. The Tirumalai Inscription refers to
the invasion of Vabgaladexa by the Cola king Rajendra Cola (1021-24 CE). In
that context, the inscription mentions Govindacandra of Vabgaladexa, where
rain never stops.148 In the Ablur inscription and the Mysore inscription, both of
the 12th century CE and from South India, Vabga and Vabgala are mentioned
separately.149 The manner in which Vabgaladexa has been mentioned along with
other territorial units of Bengal indicates that the name was well-known to
some south Indian rulers in the 12th century CE. Lama Taranatha, the Tibetan
monk, in his History of Buddhism (1608 CE), used the term ‘Bhabgala’ instead
of Vabgala as distinct from Radha and Varendra.150
Thus it is evident that both the terms Vabga and Vabgala were used
indiscriminately in different sources; sometimes both are mentioned together.
Most probably the term Vabgala gained currency first in South India. From
the references in the South Indian inscriptions it appears that the term Vabgala
was used to mean the area of Vabga, and not to indicate a separate unit within
Vabga. But some scholars believe that Vabgala might have been derived from
Vabga, perhaps to denote a separate unit of Vabga, lying in the coastal areas
of Bengal (in the south and southeastern part of Bengal).

Samatata
Samatata, a flat coast land, is a well demarcated ancient sub-region of south-
east Bengal. This territorial unit roughly corresponded to the region east of the
river Meghna, i.e. Noakhali, Comilla, Chittagong and adjacent areas in
present Bangladesh and some parts of present Tripura in India, with sub-units
of Xrihatta and Harikela respectively on its northern and southern sides.151
Geographically, it is a low land constituted by a delta and floodplains made
by the activities of the rivers Surma and Meghna, and Tippera surface, with
low hill range of Lalmai on its eastern end.152
Samatata, as a territorial term, has been widely used, beginning with
the Allahabad Pillar Inscription of Samudragupta in the 4th century CE, as
a frontier state of the Gupta Empire.153 It figures in the records of the Chinese
pilgrims in the 7th century CE (Xuan Zang and Ijing) as an area where there
were many Buddhist monasteries and ‘which was on the sea-side and was
low and moist and was more than 3000 li in circuit’.154 According to
Cunningham, Samatata was from 200 or 217 miles (1200 to 1300 li) to the
south of Kamarupa and 150 miles (900 li) to the east of Tamralipti.155 On the
basis of the account of Ijing and the Khadga records, M. Harunur Rashid
suggested that Karmanta Vasaka was the second capital of Samatata.156 At
 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY 25

the end of the 7th century CE Ijing made mention of a king of Samatata
called Rajbhata, who was the same person as Rajarajabhatta of the 7th
century Ashrafpur copper plates.157 These plates were issued from Karmanta-
Vasaka, identified with Badkamta in Tipperah (present Comilla). The
identification indicates the inclusion of some parts of Tripura and present
Comilla within Samatata.158
Eight kilometers to the west of Comilla town in south-eastern
Bangladesh, in the heart of Samatata, lies an isolated range of low hills locally
called Lalmai-Mainamati, which occupies an important position in the history
and culture of early Bengal. It extends for about 17.5 km from the Mainamati
village on the Gumti River in the north. It is on these hills, their slopes and on
the lower grounds at the base of the hills that the historical and cultural
developments of ‘Devaparvata’ are intimately connected. This territorial sub-
unit has to date yielded 16 copper plate grants.159
Information about Devaparvata, the capital of Samatata, is furnished by
the 10th century Pashchimbhag copper plate (930 CE) of Xricandra, where it is
mentioned as Ksirodamani (jewel of the river Ksiroda). The Lalambivana (same
as the Lalmai) is also mentioned in this record.160 Significantly the record was
issued from the jayaskandhavara situated in Vikramapura and not from
Devaparvata. Xrihatta is mentioned in this record as a mandala with the three
visayas called Garal, Pogara and Candrapura belonging to the bhukti of
Paundravardhana (not same as Pundravardhana). After the end of the Candra
period (11th century CE), in this area we find Pattikera, the new capital.161 Its
origin is traceable in the Candra period when, as ‘Pattikeraka’, it began to grow
and develop as a new administrative center in Samatata.162
The Mehar copper plate of Damodaradeva (13th century CE)163 grants
land in the vicinity of Mehar (14.5 km south-east of Comilla town) which is
mentioned to be in the Samatata mandala. Minhaj’s Saknat/Sankat/Sankanat
probably refer to Samatata, along with ‘Babg’, where Laksmanasena’s associates
fled after the sack of Nadia.164 Its boundaries are well defined by the lofty hills
and mountains of Tripura and Arakan in the east and the Meghna (combined
waters of the Padma-Meghna-Brahmaputra) in the west.165

Harikela
It was another distinct unit in the Trans-Meghna region, separate from
Samatata. It was wrongly identified with Srihatta by scholars166 in the past on the
basis of Sanskrit manuscripts of Rupacintamanikosa and Kalpadrukasa. But
B.N. Mukherjee has clearly shown that the kingdoom of Harikela included the
26 HISTORY OF BANGLADESH

present day Chittagong region with some adjacent areas.167 It formed a separate
political entity in the coastal tract of Chittagong and its neighbouring areas.
Epigraphic records mention Vardhamanapura168 as the capital of Harikela and the
place has been identified with present Vara-uthan or Borodhan village of Patiya
Upazila in Chittagong.169 With the growth of political power the limits of
Harikela kingdom extended to incorporate areas of Noakhali, Comilla, Tripura
and Sylhet. The inclusion of these territories within Harikela gave it a fairly
well-defined natural boundary: the Bay of Bengal to its south, hill tracts of
Chittagong, Tripura, Cachar and the Lushai hills to its east and north-east and
Jainta hills to the north, the Meghna and the Surma formed its western boundary.
But it must be said that it is not possible to make any water tight distinguising
limits between Samatata and Harikela. It is generally held that Comilla-
Noakhali area formed the core territory of Samatata, while the coastal tract of
Chittagong formed Harikela’s core.170
Taking all these information into consideration, it might not be wrong
to suggest that Samatata, Harikela, Vabga, Xrihatta and Pattikeda, which were
mutually inclusive at one time or the other, formed one compact geographical
region which comprised the whole of South and Southeast Bengal. On the
basis of the epigraphic records B.M. Morrison suggests the same area as one
of the important political and cultural regions in early Bengal.171
The sub-regions together make a single entity named ‘Bengal’– a
territorial unit in a historical sense and often recognised by geographers as a
‘region’ in the eastern part of the Indian Subcontinent.
Before concluding it may not be improper if we say that in pre-1200 CE
five janapadas (sub-regions) – Pundra, Gauda, Vabga, Radha and Samatata -
became synonimous with Bengal (Babgla). From 7th century CE onwards outside
Bengal the historical territory of Bengal was known as Gauda or Vabga.

Notes and References

1 Bendapudi Subbarao, The Personality of India- Pre and Proto-Historic Foundation of
India and Pakistan, Baroda 1958: 8.
2 ‘Historical Geography: Current Trends and Prospects’ in RJ Chorely and P Haggett (eds.),
Frontiers in Geographical Teaching, London, 1965: 65-101.
3 C.O. Saucer, Foreword to Historical Geography, Annals of the Association of
Geographers, Vol. 31, 1941: 1-24.
4 L. Guelke, Historical Understanding in Geography: An Idealist Approach, Cambridge,
1982.
5 Y.M. Goblet, Political Geography and the World Map, London, 1955.
 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY 27

6 J.A. Jakle, ‘Time, Space and the Geographic Past: A Prospectus for Historical
Geography’, American Historical Review, 76, 1971: 1087.
7 H.C. Darby, The Relations of History and Geography: Studies in England, France and the
United States, Exeter, 2002: 24-25.
8 Ibid.: 24.
9 Eric H Monkkonen (ed.), Engaging the Past: The Uses of History Across the Social
Sciences, Durham and London, 1994: 154-178.
10 Ibid.: 160.
11 Geography and History: Bridging the Divide, Cambridge, 2003 (Reprint 2006).
12 Ibid.: 3.
13 ‘Bengal has been used in a historical sense to mean the pre-1947 British province of
Bengal which included present Bangladesh and the Indian province of Paxcim Bangla and
parts of Tripura.
14 Niharranjan Ray, History of the Bengali People (Ancient Period), translated into English
with an introduction by John W. Hood, Kolkata, 1994: 72.
15 Niharranjan Ray, History of the Bengali People (Ancient Period), 1994: 74.
16 B.M. Morrison, Political Centers and Cultural Regions in Early Bengal, Tucson, 1970
(reprint 1980): 9.
17 Syed Majharul Haq, ‘Mahasthan-Paharpur-Mainamatir Bauddha Sabyatar Nidarxanabali
O er Sathe Bhu-vidyar Samparka’, Bangla Academy Vigvyan Patrika, l395 BS: 65.
18 M.M. Haque and S.S. Mostafizur Rahman, ‘Wari-Bateshwar’, Banglapedia, Vol. 10,
2003; ‘A Preliminary Report on Wari-Bateshwar Trial Excavation by ICSBA’, Journal of
Bengal Art, 5, 2000: 283-315; Enamul Haque (ed.) Excavation At Wari-Bateshwar: A
Preliminary Study, Dhaka, 2001.
19 Niharranjan Ray, History of the Bengali People : 75.
20 Thomas Watters, On Yuan Chwang’s Travels in India, edited by T. Rhys Davids and S.
Bushell, London, 1904-5, Indian reprint, New Delhi, 1974: 182-193.
21 Faridpur copper plate of Gopacandra, Regnal Year 18 (c. 525-40 CE) and Faridpur copper
plate of Dharmaditya (c. 540-60 CE) mentions Navyavakaxika as a significant
administrative centre. Navyavakaxika literally means a new opening or channel (navya =
new, avakaxa = opening, canal).
22 Literally ‘navigable’.
23 N.G. Majumdar, Inscriptions of Bengal (Containing Inscriptions of the Candras, the
Varmans and the Senas, and Isvaraghosa and Damodara), Kolkata, 2003 (First published
from Rajshahi, 1929): 141.
24 The estimated areas of the deltas of the Ganga, Mississippi and Nile are 25,12 and 9
thousand square miles respectively; the area of the Yangtze or Hoang-Ho delta is not
known, but so far as could be judged from maps, it is certainly not larger than the Ganga
delta. R.K. Mukherjee, The Changing Face of Bengal, Calcutta, 1935: 120; O.H.K. Spate,
A.T.A. Learmonth and B.H. Farmer, India, Pakistan and Ceylon: The Regions, Chapter
19: The Bengal Delta (Region XII), London, third edition revised and completely reset,
1967: 571.
28 HISTORY OF BANGLADESH

25 Amitabha Bhattacharyya, Historical Geography of Ancient and Early Medieval Bengal,

Calcutta, 1977: 11-12.
26 Syed Majharul Huq, ‘Mahasthangarh-Mainamati-Paharpurer Pracin Bauddha Sabhyatar
Nidarxanabali’, 65.
27 O.H.K. Spate, A.T.A. Learmonth and B.H. Farmer, India, Pakistan and Ceylon: The
Regions, 573.
28 Ajay Roy, ‘Babgladexer Bhutattvik Itihas’, Sundaram, l399 BS: 6.
29 Niharranjan Ray, History of the Bengali People: 53.
30 O.H.K. Spate, A.T.A. Learmonth and B.H. Farmer, India, Pakistan and Ceylon: The
Regions: 571-72; K. Bagchi, The Ganges Delta, Chapters 1-3; C. Strickland, Deltaic
Formation, with Special Reference to the Hydrographic Processes of the Ganges and the
Brahmaputra, Calcutta, 1940: 8.
31 Nafis Ahmed, An Economic Geography of East Pakistan, London, 1958: 2; M. Harunur
Rashid, ‘The Geographical Background to the History and Archaeology of South-east
Bengal’, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Vol. XXIV-VI, 1979-81: 160.
32 Niharranjan Ray, History of the Bengali People: 51.
33 Ibid.
34 Thomas Watters, On Yuan Chwang’s Travels in India: 182-193.
35 Niharranjan Ray, History of the Bengali People, 52-53.
36 B.M. Morrison, Political Centers and Cultural Regions: 8.
37 Ibid.
38 Niharranjan Ray, History of the Bengali People: 53.
39 Satish Chandra Mitra, Yaxohar-Khulnar Itihas, Calcutta, 1922: l2.
40 Niharranjan Ray, History of the Bengali People: 53.
41 The river Brahmaputra is also known as Lauhitya, which is a Sanskrit derivation of the Indo-
Mongoloid word Luhit. In the Puranas, the commentary on the Kamaxutra by Yaxodhara
(13th century CE), and in some inscriptions the river is mentioned as Lauhitya.
42 B.M. Morrison, Political Centres and Cultural Regions: 10.
43 Amitabha Bhattacharyya, Historical Geography : 33.
44 O.H.K. Spate, A.T.A. Learmonth and B.H. Farmer, India, Pakistan and Ceylon: The
Regions: 574.
45 R.C. Majumdar, History of Ancient Bengal, Calcutta: 1971, 4.
46 M. Harunur Rashid, ‘The Geographical Background to the History and Archaeology of
South-East Bengal’, 165.
47 Indica by Megasthenes, Amsterdam, 1966.
48 Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, ed. and tr. by Casson Lionel, Princeton: University of
Princeton, 1989.
49 G.E. Gerini, Researches on Ptolemy’s Geography of Eastern Asia (Further India and Indo-
Malay Peninsula), London, 1909.
50 Epigraphia Indica (EI), Vol. XXX, 1953: 287-304.
51 Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. XVII, 1951: 137-144.
52 EI, Vol. XIV: 324-330.
 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY 29

53 EI, Vol. XV: 293-301.

54 EI, Vol. VI: 140-146.
55 R.C. Majumdar, R.G. Basak, and N.G. Banerji (ed.) Ramacaritam of Sandhyakaranandi,
(IV,V- 9B) Rajshahi, 1939: 121.
56 K. Bagchi, The Ganges Delta: 40.
57 C. Chakravarti (ed.) Pavanaduta of Dhoyi, Calcutta, 1926.
58 EI, Vol. XII: 65-79; Vol. XIX: 115-125, 245-250.
59 EI, Vol. IX: 229-233.
60 Rennel writes: ‘the proper name of this river (the Ganges) in the language of Hindoostan
(or Indostan) is Padda. It is also called Bara gang or the great river’. Memoirs of a Map of
Hindoostan, London, 1783: 255.
61 Md. Abdur Rob, ‘Ganges-Padma River System’, Banglapedia, 2003.
62 P. Kumar (ed.), Mahabhagavatapurana, Delhi,1983.
63 H.P. Shastri (ed.) Brhaddharmapurana, Varanasi, 1974.
64 The topography of Bengal demands that the Ganga of Ramacaritam should be identified
with the river known at present as the Padma. Ramacaritam of Sandhyakaranandi, edited
by R.C. Majumdar, R.G. Basak, and N.G. Banerji, introduction, v. III-10, II-11.
65 EI, Vol. XVII: 189-190.
66 EI, Vol. XXX: 184-188.
67 B.C. Law (ed.), D.R. Bhandarkar Volume: Pravandhamala, Calcutta, 1945: 347.
68 Annapurna Chattapadhyaya, The People and Culture of Bengal – A Study in Origins, Vol.
1, Part-1, Kolkata, 2002: 47.
69 EI, Vol. XXVII: 181-91.
70 For detailed discussion on these small rivers see Syed Mazharul Huq, Babgladexer Nadi
(in Bangla), Dhaka, 1985; ‘Babgladexer Bartaman o Atit Nad-Nadi Samuha’, Bangla
Academy Vigvan Patrika, 8-2, Dhaka, 1982.
71 Amitabha Bhattacharyya, Historical Geography: 35.
72 K.R.M. Jogalekar (ed.), Raghuvamxa, Vol. 4, Bombay, 1919: 37.
73 Amitabha Bhattacharyya, Historical Geography: 35.
74 Ibid.: 34.
75 B.C. Law (ed.), D.R. Bhandarkar Volume: Pravandhamala: 350.
76 EI, Vol. XIX: 141-148.
77 EI, Vol. IX: 229-233.
78 Thomas Watters, On Yuan Chwang’s Travels: 185-87.
79 The Ramacaritam of Sandhyakaranandi, edited by R.C. Majumdar, R.G. Basak, and N.G.
Banerji, 1939, Section 3, Verses 10-11.
80 P.C. Sen (ed.), Karatoyamahatmya, Rajshahi, VRS Monograph No. 2.
81 Abdul Momin Chowdhury, ‘Babglar Bhaugolik Paricay’, Babgla Sahityer Itihas, Vol. 1,
Dhaka, 1987: 14.
82 The river Koshi once flowed eastwards towards the Brahmaputra, and for centuries it
gradually moved over all of northern Vabga. Niharranjan Ray, History of the Bengali
People: 66.
30 HISTORY OF BANGLADESH

83 M. Harunur Rashid, ‘The Geographical Background to the History and Archaeology of

South-East Bengal’: 164.
84 Amitabha Bhattacharyya, Historical Geography, 8.
85 Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, Ancient Bangladesh- A Study of the Archaeological Sources,
Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1992: 20.
86 M. Harunur Rashid, ‘The Geographical Background to the History and Archaeology of
South-East Bengal’, 167.
87 O.H.K. Spate, A.T.A. Learmonth and B.H. Farmer, India, Pakistan and Ceylon: 575.
88 Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, Ancient Bangladesh- A Study of the Archaeological Sources,
Delhi, 1992: 175.
89 B.M. Morrison, Political Centers and Cultural Regions in Early Bengal: 12.
90 Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, Ancient Bangladesh: 175-76.
91 EI, Vol. IX: 229-233.
92 Niharranjan Ray, History of the Bengali People: 76.
93 Saduktikarnamrta of Xridharadasa compiled in 1206 CE, edited by Pandit Ramavtara
Sharma, with a critical introduction in English by Har Dutt Sharma, Lahore, 1933: 2/84/3.
94 The Ramacaritam of Sandhyakaranandi, edited by R.C. Majumdar, R.G. Basak, and N.G.
Banerji, Rajshahi, 1939, Verses 13, 26: 88, 95, 98.
95 Lakshminarasimha (ed.), The Gitagovinda Kavya of Jayadeva, Madras, 1956: 27; B.S.
Miller (ed. and tr.), Gitagovinda of Jayadeva, Delhi, 1984.
96 Subhash Mukhopadhyay, Babgalir Itihas, in Bangla, Calcutta, l960: 33.
97 O.H.K. Spate, A.T.A. Learmonth and B.H. Farmer, India, Pakistan and Ceylon, Chapter
19: The Bengal Delta (Region XII), 1967: 571-599.
98 Sudeepta Adhikari, Fundamentals of Geographical Thought, Allahabad, 4th edition,
2006: 267.
99 R.M. Minshull, Regional Geography: Theory and Practice, London, 1967:13.
100 Amitabha Bhattacharyya, Historical Geography: 39-40; M. Habibur Rahman,
Gabgarddhi theke Babgladex, Dhaka, 1985.
101 Abdul Momin Chowdhury, ‘Pundra/Paundra-vardhana Bhukti in Early Bengal
Epigraphs’, in D.P. Chattopadhyaya (ed.), History and Society (Essays in Honour of Prof.
Niharranjan Ray), Calcutta, l978: 295-310.
102 H.E. Rashid, Geography of Bangladesh, 2nd edition, Dhaka, 1991: 13-15.
103 Ibid.:15-20.
104 Abdul Momin Chowdhury in D.P. Chattapaddyaya (ed.), History and Society: 295-310.
105 It is the oldest inscription in ‘Bengal’ that bears the proof of the cultural inflow from the
mid-Ganga heartland into Bengal. It also reveals that this sub-unit was under the
political authority of the Mauryas with Pundranagara as its administrative centre. D.R.
Bhandarkar, ‘Mauryan Brahmi Inscription of Mahasthan’, EI, Vol. XXI, No-14, 1931-
32: 85-87; D.C. Sircar, Select Inscriptions Bearing on Indian History and Civilization,
VoL. I, Calcutta, 1965: 80.
106 Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya, ‘Urban Centres in Early Bengal: Archaeological Perspectives’,
Studying Early India: Archaeology, Texts, and Historical Issues, Delhi, 2003: 74.
 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY 31

107 P.C. Sen (ed.), Karatoya Mahatya, Varendra Research Society Monograph No. 2,
Rajshahi, 1929.
108 Ramacaritam of Sandhyakaranandi, edited by R.C. Majumdar, R.G. Basak, and N.G.
Banerji, Kaviprasasti, V. 1, Rajshahi: 1939: 153.
109 Laksmanavati came to be known as Lakhnauti under the Muslim. Lakhnauti stood on the
west bank of the Ganga close to its junction with the Mahananda, about twenty five miles
below Rajmahal.
110 Tabaqat-i-Nasiri of Minhaj-ud-din bin Siraj-ud-din al-Juzjani, English trns. and ed. by
H.G. Raverty, Vol-1, Calcutta, 1881: 584-85.
111 Aksadul Alam: ‘Geographical Basis of Cultural and Economic Aspects of Early Bengal
from the 5th to the 13th Centuries AD’, PhD Thesis, Chapter-2, New Delhi: CHS, JNU,
2011. Accessed on February 4, 2018.
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/121656/6/06_chapter%202.pdf.
112 EI, Vol. XIV, 1917: 156-63.
113 N.G. Majumdar, Inscriptions of Bengal (Containing Inscriptions of the Candras, the
Varmans and the Senas, and Isvaraghosa and Damodara), First published from Rajshahi:
Varendra Research Society, 1929, New Edition, Kolkata, 2003: 40.
114 Quoted from Banglapedia: http://www.banglapedia.org/httpdocs/HT/R_0004.HTM.
Accessed on February 4, 2018.
115 Tabaqat-i-Nasiri,1881: 584-85.
116 Amitabha Bhattacharyya, Historical Geography, 1977: 51.
139 Tirumalai inscription contains a vivid description of the expedition of Rajendra Cola
(CE 1012-1044). E. Hultzsch, ‘Tirumalai Inscription of Rajendra Chola’, EI, Vol. IX,
1907-08: 232.
118 EI, Vol. XII: 74.
119 EI, Vol. XII: 37-43.
120 EI, Vol. XXI: 211-220.
121 Nundo Lal Dey, ‘Radha or the Ancient Gabga-Rastra’, Historical Geography of India
(Collection of Articles from the Indian Historical Quarterly), Compiled by P. Mittal and
Geeta Dua, Vol. 2, Delhi, 2005: 439.
122 The ‘digvijaya’ section of Mahabharata, Raghuvamxa of Kalidasa, Daxakumaracarita of
Dandin, accounts of Xuan Zang, Brhatsamhita, and Rajxekhara’s Kavyamimamsa give
some indications about Tamralipti and Subbhabhumi (Suhma). Amitabha Bhattacharyya,
Historical Geography: 45-47.
123 Wilhelm Geiger, The Mahavamxa or the Great Chronicle of Ceylon, New Delhi: 1986,
XIX: 1-8, 11, 51-54.
124 Hermann Oldenberg, The Dipavamxa: An Ancient Buddhist Historical Record, New
Delhi, 1982: 160-62.
125 Shahnaj Husne Jahan, Excavating Waves and Winds of (Ex)change- A Study of Maritime
Trade in Early Bengal, England, 2006: 161-62.
126 Ryosuke Furui, ‘Rural Society and Social Networks in Early Bengal from the Fifth to the
Thirteeth Century AD’, PhD Thesis, New Delhi, 2007: 37.
127 D.C. Sircar, Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India, Delhi, 1971: 125-130.
128 T. Watters, On Yuan Chwang’s Travels, 2004: Vol. II, 191-193.
32 HISTORY OF BANGLADESH

129 E.B. Cowell and F.W. Thomas (tr.), Harshacharita of Banabhatta, London, 1897: 178.
130 D.C. Sircar, Studies in the Geography, 1971.
131 Niharranjan Ray, Babgalir Itihasa, Adi Parva, Kolkata, 1359 BS: 154.
132 Aksadul Alam, “Revisiting ‘Vanga’ and ‘Vangala’ of Bengal”, Journal of Bangladesh
National Museum, Vol-6, 2014-15.
133 B.N. Mukherjee, Post-Gupta Coinages of Bengal, Calcutta, 1989: 1; Babga, Babgala O
Bharat, Kolkata, 2000: 3-8; ‘Kharosti and Kharosti-Brahmi Inscriptions in West Bengal
(India)’, Indian Museum Bulletin, Vol. XXV, Calcutta, 1990, Appendix III (The Earliest
Limits of Vabga).
134 O.H.K. Spate, A.T.A. Learmonth, and B.H. Farmer, India, Pakistan and Ceylon: 588.
135 Haroun-Er Rashid, Geography of Bangladesh, 2nd edition, Dhaka, 1991: 29-34.
136 Aitareya Aranyaka, ed. and tr. by A.B. Keith, London, reprint, 1967: 200.
137 Amitabha Bhattacharyya, Historical Geography of Ancient and Early Medieval Bengal,
56; Dharmasutras: The Law Codes of Apastamba, Gautama. Baudhayana, and Vasistha,
edited and translated by Patrick Olivelle, New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2000: 198.
138 Valmiki Ramayana, dated to approximately the 5th-4th century BCE to 4th-5th century CE.
139 Thomas R. Trautmann and I.W. Mabbett agree that the Arthaxastra is a composition from
no earlier than the 2nd century CE, but based on earlier material. Trautmann, Kautilya and
the Arthaxastra: A Statistical Investigation of the Authorship and Evolution of the Text.
Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1971: 185.
140 Most scholars now associate Kalidasa with the reign of Chandra Gupta II, 380-415 CE.
141 Amitabha Bhattacharyya, Historical Geography of Ancient and Early Medieval Bengal,
56-59; Niharranjan Ray, History of the Bengali People, 1994: 82-83.
142 R.P. Kangle, The Kautiliya Arthaxastra, Part I, Bombay, 1960: (2. 11. 102-104), 55.
143 Abdul Momin Chowdhury, ‘Vabga’, Banglapedia:
www.banglapedia.org/httpdocs/HT/V_0014.htm. Accessed on February 4, 2018.
144 The copper plates are: Jayaramapura (regnal year 1), Mallasarul (regnal year 3) and
Faridpur copper plates (regnal year 18) of the time of Gopacandra; Two Faridpur copper
plates of the time of Dharmaditya (regnal year 3); Kurpala (regnal year 7) and Ghugrahati
(regnal year 14) copper plates of the time of Samacaradeva. Vardhamana-bhukti surely
denoted the present Bardhaman and some adjacent areas of West Bengal. Navyavakaxik-
bhukti was the entire Khulna-Faridpur of present Bangladesh and Varakamandala denoted
Kotalipara of Faridpur and some parts of Rajbari district in Bangladesh. Amita
Chakrabarti, History of Bengal (c. 550 AD to c. 750 AD), Burdwan: 1991: 20-37; Shahnaj
Husne Jahan, Excavating Waves and Winds of (Ex) change: 2006: 31-34.
145 A.M. Chowdhury, ‘Vabga’, Banglapedia:
www.banglapedia.org/httpdocs/HT/V_0014.HTM. Accessed on February 4, 2018.
146 The Candra kings are sometimes described as the lords of Vabgaladexa and sometimes as
the lords of Chandradvipa which point to the location of Vabgala in the coastal areas of
Southeast Bengal. D.C. Sircar, Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India,
2nd edition, Delhi, 1971: 132; Amitabha Bhattacharyya, Historical Geography of Ancient
and Early Medieval Bengal: 62-64.
 HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY 33

147 Journal of the Asiatic Society (Letters), Calcutta, Vol. XXII: 133-34.
148 EI, Vol. IX, No-31, 1907-08: 233.
149 R.C. Majumdar, History of Ancient Bengal: 11-12, 16.
150 Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya (ed.), Taranatha’s History of Buddhism, Calcutta, 1980: 251, 257.
151 Aksadul Alam, ‘Revisiting Samatata and Harikela in Early Bengal: Issues in
Geographical factors and Connectivity’, Readings in Bengal History: Identity Formation
and Colonial Legacy, Dhaka, 2017: 19-33.
152 M. Harunur Rashid, ‘The Geographical Background to the History and Archaeology of South-
East Bengal’, Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. XXIV-VI, 1979-81: 169-177.
153 Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, Ancient Bangladesh- A Study of the Archaeological Sources,
Delhi, 1992: 24-25; Amitabha Bhattacharyya, Historical Geography: 65; Niharranjan
Ray, History of the Bengali People: 85.
154 On Yuan Chwang’s Travels in India, 1973: 187-88.
155 Alexander Cunninghum, The Ancient Geography of India, the Buddhist Period, including
the Campaigns of Alexander and the Travels of Hwan-Thsang, London, 1871 (First
Published), Delhi, 2006: 423-24.
156 M. Harunur Rashid, ‘Site and Surroundings’, in A.B.M. Husain (ed.) Mainamati-
Devaparvata, Dhaka, 1997: 8-12.
157 The Life of Hiuen Tsiang by the Shaman Hwui Li with an introduction containing an
account of the works of I-tsing, tr. by Samuel Beal, (2nd ed.), first published by Kegan
Paul, London in 1911), New Delhi: 1973 (Reprint), XII; For Ashrafpur grants see A.K.M.
Zakariah, ‘Inscriptions’, in Mainamati-Devaparvata, 210-11.
158 The Baghaura (EI, Vol. XVII: 365) and Narayanpur (Indian Culture, Vol. IX: 121-25)
Image inscriptions of the reign of Mahipala I refer to Vilikandhaka which has been
identified with the village of Bilakindhuai in Comilla district. This is also an attestation of
this claim. Amitabha Bhattacharyya, Historical Geography: 66-67; Niharranjan Ray,
History of the Bengali People: 85-86; Amita Chakrabarti, History of Bengal: 16-18.
159 See A.B.M. Husain (ed.), Mainamati-Devaparvata’, Dhaka, 1997; Md. Mosharraf
Hossain, Mainamati-Lalmai: Anecdote to History, Dhaka, 2006; Abu Imam, Excavations
at Mainamati: An Exploratory Study, Dhaka, 2000; M. Harunur Rashid, The Early History
of South-East Bengal, Dhaka, 2008; Shariful Islam, New Light on the History of Ancient
South-East Bengal, Dhaka, 2014.
160 D.C. Sircar, Epigraphic Discoveries in East Pakistan, Calcutta, 1973: 23-25.
161 M. Harunur Rashid, ‘The City and its Environs’, Mainamati-Devaparvata: 271-72.
162 The Mainamati plate of Ranavankamalla Harikaladeva dated 1220 CE describes Pattikera
as ‘adorned with forts and monasteries’. A.K.M. Zakariah, ‘Inscriptions’, Mainamati-
Devaparvata: 227-28.
163 EI, Vol. XXVII, No-33: 182-191.
164 D.C. Sircar, Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India, 2nd edition, Delhi,
1971: 152-58; ‘Tabaqat-i-Nasiri of Minhaj-us-Siraj’, in History of India As Told by its
Own Historians, edited by H.M. Elliot and John Dowson, Vol-2, first published in 1867-
77, reprinted, New Delhi: Low Price Publications, 2008: 305-314.
34 HISTORY OF BANGLADESH

165 A.M. Chowdhury, ‘Samatata’, Banglapedia:

http://www.banglapedia.org/httpdocs/HT/S_0052.htm.
166 D.C. Sircar, EI, Vol. XXVIII: 378 and JAS (Letters), Vol. XVII: 89-90; R.C. Majumdar,
History of Ancient Bengal: 9; A.M. Chowdhury, Dynastic History of Bengal, 152.
167 B.N. Mukherjee, ‘The Original Territory of Harikela’, Bangladesh Lalitkala, Vol.1, Pt. 2,
1975: 115-119.
168 R.C. Majumdar, EI, Vol. XXVI: 203.
169 Swapan Bikash Bhattacharjee, ‘New Find of Harikela Coins’, in Debala Mitra and
Gouriswar Bhattacharya (eds.) Nalinikanta Xatavarsiki, Studies in Art and Archaeology,
Bengal and Bihar, Delhi, 2000: 119-121.
170 For details see Shariful Islam, New Light on the History of Ancient South-East Bengal,
Dhaka, 2014: 2-5.
171 B.M. Morrison, Political Centers and Cultural Regions, 1980: 153.