Chandraketugarh
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  Shown within West Bengal | |
| Location | West Bengal, India |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 22°41′52″N 88°41′18″E / 22.69778°N 88.68833°E |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Founded | 400 BCE to 800 BCE |
| Abandoned | 12th century CE |
Chandraketugarh, located in the Ganges Delta, are a cluster of villages in the 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, about 35 kilometres (22 mi) north-east of Kolkata.[1][2][3] The name Chandraketugarh comes from a local legend of a medieval king of this name. This civilization can perhaps be identified with the Gangaridai of Graeco-Roman accounts. In early historic times, Chandraketugarh was connected to the Ganga by the Bidyadhari River and must have been an important centre of trade and possibly also a political centre.[4]
The Asutosh Museum of Indian Art conducted an excavation between 1957 and 1968, which revealed relics of several historical periods,[5] although the chronological classification of the relics remains incomplete. Many of the Chandraketugarh items and terracottas are now in collections of museums in India and abroad; many of them are a part of private collections.[6]
According to the List of Monuments of National Importance in West Bengal (serial no. N-WB-1), Chandraketu's Fort is an ASI listed monument.[7]
Location
[edit]It is in West Bengal.
3miles
River
M: municipal town, CT: census town, R: rural/ urban centre, H: historical centre
Owing to space constraints in the small map, the actual locations in a larger map may vary slightly
Legend
[edit]
The name of this site is derived from the mythical Hindu king of the medieval period, Chandraketu. A mound at the Berachampa village (Deuliya), off the Barasat-Basirhat Road, used to be called Chandraketur Garh (fort of Chandraketu), which was later compounded as Chandraketugarh.[2] The legend of Khana (A medieval Bengali language poet and legendary astrologer between the ninth and 12th centuries AD, also named Lilavati elsewhere) centers around her association with Chandraketugarh (here, a mound has been discovered amongst ruins with the names of Khana and Mihir associated with it) and that she was the daughter-in-law of the famous astronomer and mathematician, Varāhamihira (505 – 587), also called Varaha or Mihira, a jewel among Chandragupta II Vikramaditya's famed Navaratna sabha.
It is widely believed that Khana was Varahamihira's daughter-in-law, and an accomplished astrologer, becoming thereby a potential threat to Varahamihira's scientific career. However, she exceeded him in the accuracy of her predictions, and at some point, either her husband (or father-in-law) or a hired hand (or possibly Khana herself under great duress) cut off her tongue to silence her prodigious talent.
There is another heritage mosque in the name of Pir Gorachand (an Arab missionary of 14th century named Syed Abbas Ali).[8][9][10]
History
[edit]Chandraketugarh is thought to be a part of the ancient kingdom Gangaridai that was first described by Ptolemy in his famous work Geographica (150 CE).[11][1] A recent archaeological study being conducted by a team from IIT Kharagpur, believes that King Sandrocottus (mentioned by Greek explorer Megasthenes) was Chandraketu, whose fort Megasthenes visited India in the third century BCE, after Alexander's invasion of India, and gives a detailed account of what he saw in Indica. He mentions King Sandrocottus as one of the most powerful kings of Gangaridai, the Gangetic delta that spread over the five mouths of the river and was a continuum of a landmass comprising Anga, Banga and Kalinga. The history of Chandraketugarh dates back to almost the 3rd century BCE, during the pre-Mauryan era. Artifacts suggest that the site was continuously inhabited and flourished through the Shunga-Kushana period, onwards through the Gupta period and finally into the Pala-Sena period. Archaeological studies suggest that Chandraketugarh was an important town and a port city. It had a high encircling wall complete with a rampart and moat. The residents were involved in various crafts and mercantile activities. Although the religious inclinations of the people are unclear, hints of the beginning of some future cults can be seen in the artefacts. Some of the potteries carry inscriptions in Kharoshthi and Brahmi scripts.
| Period | Dynasty | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Period I | Pre-Maurya | 600-300 BCE |
| Period II | Maurya | 300-185 BCE |
| Period III | Shunga | 185 BCE - 50 CE |
| Period IV | Kushan | 50-300 CE |
| Period V | Gupta | 300-500 CE |
| Period VI | Post-Gupta | 500-750 CE |
| Period VII | Pala-Chandra-Sena | 750-1250 CE |
After these periods, there was no such example of any other civilization on the ruin of Chandraketugarh.
Excavated archeological objects
[edit]
Brahmi inscriptions with Megalithic Graffiti Symbols read "yojanani setuvandhat arddhasatah dvipa tamraparni", meaning "The island of Tamraparni (ancient Sri Lanka) is at a distance of 50 yojanas from Setuvandha (Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu).[12][13] The mast of a ship with Vijayasinha's seal, describing Vijayasinha, the son of the king of Sinhapura of Vanga's marriage to Kuveni – the indigenous "Yakkha queen of Tamraparni".[14] Chandraketugarh features many examples of terracotta art, displaying an unusual degree of precision and craftsmanship. These plaques are comparable to those found at other better-known sites such as Kaushambi and Ahichhatra. The terracotta plaques from these sites often carry similar motifs executed in nearly identical fashion. This similarity suggests an established communication link and common cultural heritage among these sites.
Finds include Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) relics, later wares dated from about 400 BC to 100 BC and approximately contemporary with the Maurya period, as well as from the more recent Kushanas and Gupta periods.
Many silver punch-marked coins and a few gold coins have been unearthed from Chandraketugarh, including a gold coin of Chandragupta-Kumardevi. Many semi-precious stone beads were also found here, along with items made of ivory and bone. Even a few wooden objects have survived. [5] A museum has been built near the site depicting largely collections of Dilip Kumar Moitey, a retired school teacher and amateur archaeologist.[15]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Shah, Aditi (15 July 2019). "Chandraketugarh: An Enigma in Bengal". www.livehistoryindia.com. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Chandraketugarh: The City That Never Was". The Indian Express. 19 February 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ Dasgupta, Priyanka (7 September 2021). "Heritage panel plans int'l centre at Chandraketugarh". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- ^ Singh, Upinder (2009). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century (PB). Pearson India. pp. 642–43. ISBN 978-93-325-6996-6.
- ^ a b c Dr. Gaurishankar de & Prof. Subhradip de, Prasanga: Pratna-Prantar Chandraketugarh, First Edition: 2013, ISBN 978-93-82435-00-6
- ^ "Chandraketugarh - Banglapedia". en.banglapedia.org. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
- ^ "List of Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains of National Importance". West Bengal. Archaeological Survey of India. Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ Mitra, Satish Chandra. Jashor Khulnar Itihash Volume I. Deys Publishing, p. 482.
- ^ Chakraborty, Dr. Barun Kumar (ed) (2007). Bangiya Loksanskriti Kosh. Aparna Book Distributors (Publishing Division), p. 143.
- ^ Ghosh, Binay (1980). Paschimbanger Sanskriti Volume III. Prakash Bhavan, p. 168.
- ^ Haldar, Narotam (1988). Gangaridi - Alochana O Parjalochana.
- ^ Mondal, Sambhu Nath (2006). Decipherment of the Indus-Brâhmî Inscriptions of Chandraketugarh (Gangâhrada)--the Mohenjodaro of East India. University of Michigan: Shankar Prasad Saha. pp. 32–51. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ Sambhu Nath Mondal. 2006. Decipherment of the Indus-Brâhmî Inscriptions of Chandraketugarh (Gangâhrada)--the Mohenjodaro of East India. pp28 Sanskritization : "yojanani setuvandhat arddhasatah dvipa tamraparni"
- ^ Sambhu Nath Mondal. 2006. Decipherment of the Indus-Brâhmî Inscriptions of Chandraketugarh (Gangâhrada)--the Mohenjodaro of East India. pp28 vijayasihasa bivaha sihaurata tambapaniah yakkhini kubanna,a" Sanskritized as "vijayasirihasya vivaha sirihapuratah tamraparnyah yaksinf kubarjuaaya"
- ^ "Collectors of wealth thought worthless". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
Further reading
[edit]- Chandraketugarh : A Treasure House of Bengal Terracottas – Enamul Haque. Dhaka, The International Centre for Study of Bengal Art, 2001, 416 p., 678 illustrations including 400 in colour, figures, plates, maps, ISBN 984-8140-02-6. [1]
- Chandraketugarh : A Lost Civilization – Gourishankar De and Shubhradip De. Kolkata, Sagnik Books, 2004, 109 p., 34 photos, [2]
External links
[edit]
- Banglapedia article
- Website concerning Chandraketugarh
- Chandraketugarh
- A plaque of Chandraketugarh
- A travel article on Chandraketugarh by Rangan Datta
- A Travel Article on Archeological Sites near Calcutta by Rangan Datta
- Rangan Datta's Home Page
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