Part 50 - A note on the “Bhum” countries in Eastern India

Mayurbhanj is popularly known as Bhanjabhumi or Bhanjabhum (the country of Bhanja Princes). In the Rasikamangali, a book written in the middle of the 17 th century, Mayurbhanj is described as Bhanjabhum. Similarly Dealbhum, Singbhum, Sikharbhum Manbhum, Tungbhum, Mallbhum etc. are known after the family surname of Dhala, Simha, Sikhara, Mana, funga and Malla fami' es, Evidence is not wanting that the countries were so called after the names of tribes or families or even brothers belonging to a family long after the tribe or the family had ceased to exist, as for instance, Aikshakus, Panchalas, Kasis, Kalingas, Utkala etc. In eastern India it is said in the Purana that the queen Sudesna bore six sons who were named Anga, Vanga, Kalinga Pundra, Odra and Suhma to her husband the king Bali and the countries over which they ruled were called after them. "Anga Vanga Kalingadyah Suhma- Paundra Udra Sanjika; Janjire Dirghatamaso Valeh Ksatra mahiksitah; Chakru svanamna Visayan Sadiman Prachyakumschate." Here we find 6 brothers mentioned in a Bengali Book. The Jriya translation made by Jagannatha Dase in the 16 th century A. D. also mentions 6 brothers. A Bombay publication includes Andhra in place of Odra. Pargiter omits Odra vide Ancient Indian Historical Traditions pp 158 & 272. Sudyumna had three sons named Utkala, Gaya and Vinitasva who had territories of their own, thus Utkala had * Vide Indian Culture 1946.

(454) the Utkala country, Vinitasva had the western country and Gaya India had the city of Gava. These 8 ancient divisions of east rn 80 it is natural that in this had geographical contiguity and area the ancient tradition of naming countries after the family surname of the rulers survived or revived in these kingdoms with bhum suffix. The country names ending in 'Bhum' suffix are bounded on the north by Birbhum, on the east by Mallabhum (in the district of Bankura), Baghbhum (in the district of Midnapore) in Bengal, and on the south by Bhanjabhum or Mayurbhanj and by Singbhum and Nagbhum (Chotia Nagpur or Ranchi) on the west. The surname Bhanja has been found from the epigraphic records as early as 5 th century A. D from a rock inscription of Sitabinji near Keonjhar. The Brahmi inscription in 13 lines of about the fourth century A.D. incised under a beautiful Nataraja figure and found from Asanapat in the Keonjhar district speaks of one Satru Bhanja, who was a very powerful ruler. Acharanga Sutra is an old Jaina treatise composed in the 4 th century B, C. which mentions countries called 'Vajjabhumi' and 'Subhabhumi'. The corruptions of Vajjabhumi' and 'Subhabhumi have been suggested as Vijayabhumi, Vajrabhumi or Bhanjabhumi and Simhabhumi or Suhmabhumi respectively. Whatever may be the modern form of the corruption of these places, it is certain that there existed countries in this area with Bhumi suffix in the 4 th century B. C. if not earlier Mr. Nanda Lal Dey suggests that the countries with 'Bhumi' suffix were derived from Mahavira and he writes :- "Manbhum is evidently a corruption of Manyabhumi which means the 'Venerable country' and evidently derived its name from Mahavira who was called the •Venerable Ascetic Mahavira, 1 Singbhum is a corruption of Simhabhumi, which means the country of the Lion. It also derived its name from Mahavira who was compared to a lion and whose symbol was the lion". 2 Blochman's note in this connection is quoted below : "It is remarkable that among names of the Jungly and hilly frontier 1. (A) J & P.AS B. Vol IV, p. 285-86, (B) J.B. & O.R.S. Vol. XIII, p. 90, (C) I H.Q. Vol. IV, p. 44, 2. I.H.Q. Vol. IV, p. 45.

(455) districts, we find so many endings in Bhum. Thus we have Birbhum, Sainbhum, along with the left bank of the Ajai, in Birbhum district: Sikharbhum or Shergarh, the Mahall to which Ranigaj belongs; Gopibhum, along with right bank of the Ajai Bamanbhum or Brahmanbhum, in northern Medinipur District; Manbhum, Barabhum, Dhalbhum, Singbhum in Chutia Nagpur; Tunbhum in southern Purulia, Malbhum, the frontier of Burdwan and Medinipur Districts; Bhanjiabhum, with the town of Medinipur etc. Similarly the frontier district between Rangpur and the Brahmaputra, comprising Mahals Bhitarbund and Bahirband, is called in the Suja's rentroll 'Bangalbhum'. The Ain also mentions Mahall Bhowalbhum under Sirkar Mandaran." 3 a The compiler of the Bankura District Gazetteer estimates the age of the division of countries with 'Bhum' suffix as follows :- "The names of some of these tracts are of considerable antiquities being found in the Brahmanda section of the Bhavisyat Purana which was probably compiled in the 15 th or 16 th century". 4 The epigraphic evidence of some of these tracts with Bhum suffix and surnames of some ruling dynasties goes back to a much earlier period than the 15 th century as stated by the compiler of the Gazetteer, In his article on "Geography of India, with extract from a paper by the late Prof. H. H. Wilson" Dr. J. Burgess writes the following :a "1824 Prof. H. H. Wilson found some fragments of geographical work, which formed the subject of a paper he contributed to the Oriental Magazine for that year. As this paper has not been republished in his collected works, and the Oriental Magazine is now practically inaccessible to most, i venture to submit his version of the fragments with as much of his prefatory remarks and foot notes as is of interest :- "The work, he says from which they are taken, is professed by a section of the Bhavishyat Purava, it is not however, found in the entire copies of that Purara, and is, no doubt, a distinct 3. Blochman Geography & History of Bengal - vide J. A.S.B. 1873, p. 224, 4. The District Gazetteer of Bankura, p. 22.

【 456] composition. Much of the work is either of some antiquity or is made up of ancient materials, but there is very large proportions that is clearly quite modern." The manuscript of Bhavishyat Purava from which Wilson derived the material or his paper, is now preserved in the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta and Mm. H. P. Sastri's "Descriptive Catalogue" Vol. IV contains quotation from the manuscript at pages 59-62. Wilson's reading of Nari Khanda seems to be a mistake for Jhari khanda which was popularly known as Jharkanda during the Moghal and subsequent periods of Indian history. "Division of Pundr Desa, from the Brahmanda section of the Bhavishyat Purana :- That part of Bharata or India known by the name of Pundra, consists of seven principal divisions: Gour, Varendra, Nivritti near the country of Sumbha, the forest 'ract called Narikhanda, Varahabhumi, Vardhamana and Vindhyaparswa or the country along the foot of the Vindya mountains. These we shall severally describe. X X X "Narikhanda (Jharikhanda) is a district abounding in thickets. It lies west of Bhagirathi; north of the Dvarikeswari river. It extends along the Panchakuta hills on its west and approaches Kikata (Magadha) on the north X X district is celebrated for the shrine of Vaidyanatha. X The X X X In the division of Virabhumi, the no less eminent form of the same X divinity, named Bakreswara, is present in the world. There is no want of water, and numerous small streams run through the forest; the principal of these is the Ajaya. X X X "In that part of Viradesa is the city of Nagara (the capital of Birbhum till the 13 th century); also Sipulya and other towns. 4. On the southern confines towards Odra X country is Kindavis'na, Suvarnamukshya is in the forest. X X X. "Varahabhumi is the next division of Pundra. The centre In one portion is the forest; along the skirt of it Dhavalabhumi. direction it is contiguous to Tungabaumi, and another to the Sekhara mountain; and it comprises Varabhumi, Samantabhumi, and Manabhumi. This country is overspread with impenetrable forests of Sal and other trees, On the borders of Varabhumi runs the Darikesi river. X

[457] The principal towns are Pushpa pattan, Kusumapattan, Chatranagar, Raghunathpur, Dhawalapur, Sivullapal and Barahanagar. The chief villages are Chakravestana, Kichandra, Suvarnatapana Nandala, Kesara, Raypura, two Sarangas, Virabandhana, Swavarnarikk etc.5 Account of the Bhum Countries. 1. Aditbhum or Adityabhumi: The early British records mention a country in the jungle Mahuls of Midnapore known as Aditbhum which is no doubt a corruption of Adityabhumi. In Mayurbhanj there are a few Kshatriya families possessing the surname Jit or Jits which seems to be an apabhramsa of Aditya. "The present reigning family of Patkum claims descent from Vikramaditya" 6 Vikramaditya the traditional founder of the Patkum family, seems to be a person no other than Vikrama of the Aditya family. The title of Aditya of the Papkum Raj family seems to have been continued from the Gupta dynasty of Magadha. Sasanka the king of Karnasuvarna, who had the second name Narendraditya has been accepted as a descendant of the Gupta dynasty or a branch of the Gupta dynasty of Magadha. Dr. Radhagobinda Basak writes as follows on this point :- "The late Mr. R. D. Banerji also referred to the opinior of some numismatists who held that the inscription on the alleged Sasanka coins reads Narendraditya and he inferred, with some degree of probablity, that Sasanka, like the former imperial Guptan rulers, enjoyed a second name with an aditya title." 7 The genealogical table of the Patkum Raj family contain 63 names from Vikramaditya, the founder of the family. From 28 th 5. Indian Antiquary, Vol. XX, 1891, pp. 418-421. 6 The District Gazetteer of Manbhum, p. 270, 7. History of North Eastern India, 1934, p. 138 & I, H, Q. Vol. VIII, p. 5.

[ 159 ] generation up till now the names of successive Rajas have been repeated one after another with the titles of Vikramaditya Udayaditya and Satrughanadiya. Such repetition of titles or names is found in the genealogy of the Somavamsi kings of Dakshina Kosala and Utkala whose titles Mahasivagupta and Mahabhavagupta were alternately assumed by the rulers. The names of successive rulers of the Puri Rajas are Ramachandradeva, Virakishoradeva, Divyasimhadeva and Mukundadeva, The Raj families of Bamra, Bonai and Palahara posses titles of Sudhaladeva and Tribhubanadeva, Indradeva and Chandradeva, Ganeswarapala and Munipala respec tively. In the genealogical table of the Gupta dynasty this peculiarity is also met with such as the second names of Chandragupta II, Knmaragupta, Skardagupta, Narasimhagupta and Chandragupta III were Vikramaditya, Mahendraditya, Vikramaditya, Valaditya and Dvadasaditya roop stively Thus the second name of Narendraditya of Sas aka Significant and suggests his connection with the Aditya family of Alityabhumi If this identification is accepted it will lead to the correct identification of Karnasuvarna which is still a controversial question. As I propose to discuss on the identification of Karnasuvarna in a separate paper. I have not purposely raised any argument here. According to tradition Devapura (modern Dispura Dalmi) was the ancient capital of the Patkum Rajas, This Devapura may be identified with Devagrama belonging to Vikramaraja mentioned in Ramacharia and Vikramaraja may be identified with one of the Vikramaditya of the Patkum Raj family. The commentary of Ramacharita explains the word Vikrama of verse 5 of chapter 2 as follows. "Devagramaprativaddavasudhachakravala-valavala bhita-rangavala-vahala-galahasta prasastahastavikrama Vikramaraja" I have shown in a separate paper that there is no reading of 'Balavalabhi' in the text of Ramacharita. The above text describes the power of Vikramaraja of Devagrama kingdom which was surrounded by hi'ls on all sides as if serving the purpose of the elephant force (Vala-vala) protecting the border and terrifying the enemies containing of four categories and thus its ruler was in an advantageous position and so was capable of driving out the enemies by seizing their neck. This interpretation is in conformity with the purpose of the author of Ramacharita, The hills are described by poets as Dik-Varana and Sandhyakaranandi here uses chakravala- vala-vala.

( 459 ) This Devagrama kingdom of Ramacharita seems to be the same Devagrama kingdom of the Garuda stambha inscription (Badal stone inscription) in the verse 16 of which Surapala's queen Vavvadevi has been described as the daughter of the king of Devagrama. From this it seems that there was matrimonial relation between the two families which helped Ramapala to form his Samanta Chakra, The epithet Atavika (surrounded by forests) of the Samanta chakra elearly indicates the modern western Bengal and Southern Bihar area and therefore it will be safe to identify Devagrama in the Manbhum District. 2. Baghbhum or Vyaghrabhumi: The Baghbum pergannah is situated in the south of the Midnapore district It is not certain whether a remote ancestor of this Vyaghra family had any connection with Vyaghraraja mentioned in the inscription of Samudragupta, but Mr. J. C. Bose suggests this identification, S 3. Barabhum or Varahabhumi: It is now a pergannah in the Manbhum District. The traditional origin of the Barabhum family connects them closely with the Aditya family of the adjoining Patkum estate and its mythical founder Vikramaditya. Colonel Dalton had recorded the following legendary acccunt of the family in his Ethnology of Bengal, "Nath Varaha and Kesh Varaha, two brothers quarreled with their father, the Raja of Virat and settled in the court of Vikramaditya, Kesh the younger was sawn in to two pieces and with his blood, Vikrama gave a tika to the elder and a pair of umbrella and told him that all the country he would ride round in a day and night should be his. Nath mounted his steed and accomplished a circuit of eight yojanas within the time specified and a precious stiff line of country he took in riding round what is now Barabhum, but it must be all true as the print of horses hoofs are still visible 8. History of Midnapore in Bengali by J. C. Bose, p. 110-111. (new edition)

460) on the southern slope of the hills, 9 The copper plate 10 of Udaya- Varaha furnishes us with an epigraphic evidence of the Varaha family. Varababhumi finds mention in the Bhavisyat Purans. The village Barrabazar (or Varahabazar, Varha being the pakrita form of Varaha) contains the residence and family temples of the Zamindar of the Pergannah Barabham. 4. Bhanjabhum or Bhanjabhumi : It is identified with Mayurbhanj State in Orissa and with the Pergannah of the same name in Midnapore. The antiquity of the name of Bhanjabhumi or Mayurbhanj is shrouded in abscurity. In Rasikamangala, a book written in the middle of the 17 th century, Mayurbhanj has been described as Bhanjabhumi, but in the Mansingha's settlement paper of 1592 A. D translated by Stirling in 1922, we find the mention of Morbhanj or Mayurbhanja, one killa or fort of which was 'Bhanjbhum' under the direct control of the Raja. Among the dependent chiefs 'Singhbhum' and 'Barrabhum' find mention. Singbhum is perhaps the same as Singbbum. Bhanjabhumi is still used in poetical language in Oriya. In Madalapanji late Rai Bahadur MM. Chakravarti found 'Bhanjab sumi Baripada Danda pata'.11 These names are not however found in the copper plate inscriptions granted by the Bhanja kings from their capital at Khijjinga Kotta (modern Khiching in Mayurbhanj ). The copper plates of the Bhanja families of Bauda and Gumsar in southern Orissa mention that there are several Bhanja kings. 'Bhanjanaradhipatayo vahwo Vabhuvu'. At present all the Bhanja families of Orissa aver that they migrated from Mayurbhanj and so Mayurbhanj is to be taken as the original land of the Bhanjas, that is, Bhanjabhumi of the ancient days. The epigraphic evidence about the history of the Bhanja family goes back to the 4 th or 5 th century A. D. The roek inscription of Keonjhar published in Modern Review in 1937 mentions the name of one Ragaraja Sri Disha Bhanja Deva, A stone seal from Khiching belonging to this period bears the inscription Kagaraja and so it can be safely said that the Bhanja dynasty was 9. Dalton's Ethnology of Bengal (1872) pp. 175-76, 10. J. B. & O. R. S., Vol. VI. p. 236-45, 11. J, A. S. B, Vol. XII, 1916, p. 48.

[461] established at Khiching in the early centuries of the Christian era. The seal of the epigraphic records of the Bhanjas represents a bull and that of the Varaha of the Mayura family, a peacock. Tradition of Mayurbhanj narrates that Mayuradvaja-raja or the king whose flag bears the insignia of the peacock was conquered by the Bhanjas but according to the prayer of the dying king, the Bhanjas adopted the seal of the pea-cock as their own It seems that the name of Mayurbhanj is due to the amalgamation of the kingdoms of the Mayuras with that of the Bhanjas which perhaps took place some time before the supremacy of the Gangas in Orissa. There is a small Sanskrit lexicon called Mugdhabodha Abhidhana, the author of which was a ruler of Mayurbhanj. As the name of the author is not given it is not possible to know definitely about the date, but it is certian that he wrote the book before the development of the Oriya language which may safely be fixed in the 13 th or 14 th century A. D. 5. Bhawalbhum : It finds mention in the Ain-i-Akbari under Sarkar Mandaran. No report in detail is available about this country. This is perhaps the same as Balbhum of Stirling's Orissa mentioned under Bishnupur. It may be Varabhumi of the Bbavisyat Purana. 6. Birbhum : It is the district of the same name in western Bengal. "Birbhhm means simply the territory of the Bir Rajas. Bir being the title borne by its early Hindu rulers, just as Man Singh, and Dhal were the titles of the chiefs of Manbhum, Singhbhum and Dhalbhum." 12 "An interesting account of this part of the district is given in the Brahmanda section of the Bhavisyat Purana, a work probably composed in the 15 th or 16 th century" 13 which has been quoted above. "From this account the country is known as Viradesa or Virabhumi, the modern Birbhum." 14 No Epigraphic record of the rulers of this Vira family has yet been found. But in Bengal there are few Kshatriya families with the surname of Vira or Bir. Blochmann took the word Bir to be of Mundari origin and 12. The District Gazetteer of Birbhum, p. 1-2. 13. Ibid, pp. 10-11. 14. Ibid. p. 11,

(462) wrote "the word Bar in Mundari signifies a jungle, whence Bub (West Bengal) vide Ain-i-Akbari Vol. I. (2 nd edition) p. 551. 7. Brahmanbhum or Brahmanbhumi: It is a pergannah in the north of Milnapore District and it is so called as it "was held by an old family of Brahmans".15 This is recorded in the District Gazetteer of Bankura at page 164 that the Rajas of Chantna "were originally Brahmans and 'wed at Vahniyanagar" one of whom was killed by Samantas." It is not exactly known whether the surname of Brahmana ruler of Brahmanabhumi is the family title or caste name; whatever may be che rasi, it em to be an exception in the sense in which other bhum ending countries are so called after the family surname, 8 Dhalbhum: The territory known as Dhalbhum of old days is now com prised in the Singbhum district of Bihar and anapore and Cankura Districts in Bengal. The Rajas of Dhalthum possess the title of Dhala and such title is also found in the family of Zamindars of Dampara in the Cuttack District. R.D. Banerji mention in his History of Bengal p. 346 that there was one Pratapa Dhawala who wan powerful near Rotas fort. Traditions as recorded in the history of Midnapore by Mr J. C. Bose is not coroborrated by any epigraphic evidence, The Rajas of Dhalbhum used to enjoy names of Jagannatha Ramchandra and Baikuntha successively like many mling tamies of Orissa (See History of Midnapore P. 572) Dhavaabhuva tands mention in Bhavishyat Purana, 9. Gopibhum or Gopabhum: It finds mention in the Blochen he goes Utan of Bengal p. 242 and in History of Midnapore by Mr J. G. Boet p 112. According to Dharmamangala Karnasena, a contemporary of Dharinpala of the Pala dynasty was the ruler of Senbhum and Gopabhum which were situated on the left and right banks of the Ajaya river respectively. 15. The District Gazetteer of Midnapore, p. 119,

(463) 10. Mallabhum or Mallabhumi. as "The country over which the Rajas of Bishnupur ruled is called Mallabhum, a term now used for the tract of country comprised in the Thanas of bankura (excluding the Chatna outpost ) Onda, Kishenpur Kotalpur and Indas originally, however, the term was applied to a extensive tract of country. To the north it is believed to have stretched as fir the modern Danim-i-Koh in the Santal Pergannas: to the south it comprised part of Midnapore, and to the east part of Burdwan, and inscriptions found at Panchet in the Manbhum district show that on the west it included part of Chota Nagpur. The Walla kings of Mallabhumi established an era of their own which dates from 695 A. D 16 This era begins from the Sunian day which is the official new year in Orissa. It is a lunar year and begins on the Bhalrapada Sukla Dvadasi when the festival of hoisting the nabrella of Indra is ob erved, According to Varaha Mihira the festival was performed by the Chediraj for the good of his kingdom, All the ruling dynasties of the 'blrum' ending countries now even perform this festival annually. The epigraphie records of the Malla dynasty do not go beyond the 16 th century A. D. According to Man Simha's arrangement quotel by Stirling "Under the Zamindar of Beshanpur, are twelve Zamindaries and twenty-nine Killahs. Among 'dependent chiefs' the Zamindars of 'Manbhum' 'Singhbhum Bamanbhua Nabba 01 Balbhim' and 'Baghbhum or Nagbhuna find mention, 17 Balbhwn of this perhaps is the same as Bhawalbhum of the Ain. If 'singbhum under Mayurbhanj is the same as Singhhum, then the Sinhbkum under Bishnupur is to be taken as 8 mistake either Sikharbhum Shurbhum, The Raja of Shurbhum was a Samanta raja of Bishnupur. There is a Mallabhum in Jhargram Sub-division of Midnapore. 11 Manbhum or Manbhumi: Manbhumi dist in the Chota Nagpur Divison of Pihar and seems to have derived its name from Le Mana family which ruled over it. I need mention here that Bhanja, the surname of the rulers of a particular family is the appelation of that family Similarly Mana, the surname of the rulers of another family might have been 10 The Distnet Gazetteer of Bankura, p. 21. 17. Stirling's Orissa, Bengal Secretariat reprint, p. 17. 15. History of Bishnupur Raj by A.P. Mallik, 1921, p. 85,

[464] the appelation of another family, Only two inscriptions, belonging to rulers whose names end in the Mana suffix, have so far been discovered in the Hazaribag district which is not far from Manbhum", 19 The Pattiakilla copper plate grant of Sivaraja belonging to the Gupta era 283 (602 A, D.) mentions the rule of the Mana family (Manavamsarajya kale). A copper plate of the Sailodbhava family dated according to the Gupta era 300 discloses the overlordship of Maharajadhiraja Sri Sasanka. The proximity of date of two different inscriptions from Orissa in the first quarter of the 7 th century, establishes the probability of connection of Sasanka with the family: but the omission of the surname of Mana in the name of Sasanka goes against the suggestion of its identity. Like Barrabazar in the Barabhum there is a village called Manbazar which "is the seat of the Zamindars locally known as Raja of Manbhum. 20 12. Nagbhum or Nagabhumi : : It may be identified with Nagpur or Chotanagpur the Maharaja of which belongs to the Naga family. The tutelary deity of this family is called 'Chintamani' which is sacred to the Jainas, The Raj family of the Kalahandi State and a few other Raj families in the Chhatisgarh States Agency beolng to the Naga family. There are a number of mediaeval inscriptions of this dynasty in Central Provinces, but recently the history of the ear'y Naga families is attracting the attention of the scholars and further investigation will throw new light on the antiquity of the Naga family. The following notes given by Dr. Beni nadhab Barua in his Old Brahmi Inscriptions page 22 goes to show that the Nagas of Chotanagpur were mentioned in the Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela 'The Vasukis animals", 13. Samantabhum or Samantabhumi: The District Gazetteer of Bankura mentions that the portion of the Chatna outpost is still called as Samantabhum which finds 19. Dynasties of Mediaeval Orissa, p. 11 20. The District Gazetteer of Manbhum, p, 275,

[465] mention in the Brahmanda section of the Bhavisyata Purana. Chhatna may be identified with Chatranagara of the said Pur ga. There is a Sama atabhum, pergannah inhe Jhargram sub-divisior of Midnapore. 14. Senbhum or Senabhumi: According to Blochmann 'Sainbhum' is situated along the left bank of the Ajaya river in the District of Birbhum. The name of the country is perhaps due to the famous Sena family of Laksmanavati of Bengal whose history is well known. 15. Surbhum or Surabhumi : The Raja of Surabhum was a Samanta or fendatory of the Malla Fajas of Mallabhum. 21 In the Ain-i-Akbari, Davvar Shorbhum finds rention under the Sarkar of Caleswar. This 'Shorbhum' I think, is the same as Surbhum under Bishnupur or Malla shum and its proper identification was not done before. We find ir Sandhyakara Nandi's Ramacharita that Laksmi Sura 22 was the ruler of Apara Mandara who was the lord of a'l the forest feudaturies (Aparamandara Madhusudana Sam astatavikasamanta-Chakr-chudamani ). The name of Rana Sura of Daksina Kadha is found in the Tirumalni Inscription of Rajendra Choladeva, So Apara Mandera of Ramacharita may be taken as the capital of Daksina Radla in the 11 th century A. D. It seems that Laksmisura was a successor of Rana Sura. Apara Mandara was identified with Sarkar Mandaran of the Ain-i-akbari by Mr N. N Vasu. 23 It was identified with Bhitagarh in Jahanabad in the north-western corner of the Hooly District by Blochmann. 24 On the Sura dynasty H. P. Sastri and R. D. Banerji wrote as follows:- Rana Sura of southern Radha seems to belong to the Sura dynasty of Bengal who are said to have brought the five 21. History of Bishnupur Raj in Bengali p. 85. 22. Memoirs of Asiatic Socciety of Bengal Vol. III, No. 1, pp. 14 & 36. 23. Banger Jatiya It has (Rajanya Khanda) pp. 140 & 198. 24. J, A. S. B. (1873) p, 223,

[466] Brahmans from Kananj. They were dispossessed of the great par of their dominions by the Palas is also asented by the Lenga genealogists. 27 In Bengal there is a tradition that a lynasty of kings with the affix Sura riled in Benral before the 'alas, We hav no reliable erdene for this But the kings o' this family a least with the word Sura aflixd at their names, have been mentioned. in epigraphs. They are :- Rana Sura of the tirunalai inscription Laksmisura, a king of a division of Bengal named Apara-Mandar a contemporary of Rama-pala, who was the head of the Samant.. chakra of forest lanis (Samistatavika-Sam nti-Chakra-Chudamani) A man named Draziga, 3 mentioned in a newly discovere. inscription of the time of Gogala III, found at Monda in the Rajsah district in Bengal. 23 It is needs to add that in the several traditions of the genealogical accounts of Bengal (Kulapanjikas of the match makers) several names of kings of the Sura Dynasty are found. M. M. Chakravarti wrote the fo'lowing on the identification of "Dawar Shorbhura Urf Barah or Parah" of the Ain-i-Akbari. "Parah, the tract of satiferous land otherwise known Shorpara, on the sea coasts from the Subanarekks to the Rasulpu river (Beams), not identified by D'ochmann. Beans' identification is not satisfactory, because the saliferous tre et was included ir Mahal Maiyatha (No 25). The name Barah is evidently the sam as Baraha (-bhura), and Shorbhum is another forn of Savara-bhun the land of Sabara tribe. Barahabnum now lies in Manbhum district, drained by the upper reaches of the Kasai river, From the rathe considerable revenue assessed, Rs, 33,559 this mahal seems to hav been included the whole of the hilly jangle tract on the west o Midnapur district from the Subarnarekha northwards to the Kasai."27 J. C. Basu suggests further on the above of Mr. Chakravarti that this mahal lies in the countries bounded by the Subarna-- 25. Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of I engal, Vol. III, No. 1, p 10. 26. Ibid. Vol V, No. 3, p. 72. 27. Ibid, Vol. XII, p. 51.

467] rekha and Kasai with the Police Stations of Gopiballabhapur, Jhargram and Bapur in the western part of the Midnapore District 28 Chakravarti missed the point by identifying 'Shobhum' with the Savarbhum of which there is no existence. 'Barah' of the Aim is the same as Bara on the right bank of the Damodar river on the north of the Bankura district. Jhargram is still known as Meliabhum and Fasikmangala testifies that this area was known as Mallabhata in the 17 th century A. D. So Surbhum or Surabhumi was situated to the north of Mallathum or Bishnupur in the modern District of Bankura. Garh Mandaran is quite close to this area. The copper plate of Narasimha Deva II (J.A.S.6. 1896) pt. I., p. 241 furnishes evidence that Anantavarma Choda Ganga defeated the king of bandara So it seems that Apara Mandara of Ramacharita is the same as Mandara of the above copper plate. 16. Sikharbhum or Shikharbhumi: as X X A portion of the Gangajalahati Thana (in Bankura ) forms part of Sikharbhum or it is known Silharbhumi." 29 Bhavisvat Purana mentions the Sekhara mountain, in other words, it refers to this Sikharbhumi. The founder of the Panchet or Panchkota was "the king of Chaurasi or Sekharbhum or Sikharbhumi".30 "The dominant rare in the State of (Gengpur) is the Bhuya; the Bhuyas of Gangpur ret in no tradition of having ever been governed by the Raja of their own tribe. They allege that for some time a chief of the Kesari or in dynasty of Orissa bore rule in Gangpur: but this line died out, and the people stole a child of the sekhar family from Sikharbiam or Panchet ande ected him as their chief." 31 In Ramacharita Rudra Sikhara of Ta ilakampa is mentioned among the allies of Ramapala. 32 28. History of MidLapore in Bengali, p. 14, (revised edition). 29. The District Gazetteer of Bankura, p. 23. 30. -do- -do- of Manbhum, p. 273, p 280. 31. Orissa Feudatory States Gazetteer, p. 177. 32. Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol V, No. 3, p. 90,

[468] Tailakampa is the modern Tell upi in Manbhum district which was one of the capitals of the Sikhara kings. Sikharuhan. fin.ls mention in Sirat-i-Firozsahi. 33 17. Singbhum or Simhabhumi: It is a distrier 'n Chota Nagpur divisior of Bihar. The history of the ruling family of ingbhun is shrouded in legendary account o modern fancy. The tead of th's family represents a xir of swan w' ict is found to be similar to that of the Rathora: 4 family. It ray be that the ancient nune Mathraa has been substituted as Rathora in modern tirues. 18. Tungbhum or Tungabhumi: Tungbl.um 's situated in the Bankura District of Bengal and the "tradition relates that it was so called after Nakar Tunga, a descendant of Tunga Dynasty who came from the bank of the river Gandiki on pilgrimage to Jagaaratha where, by favour of the God Jagannatha, he was male king of Puri His grandson Gangadhara Tunga was informed by Jagannatha that after him there would be no king of his line in Furi and that, therefore his son should change his name and go to some other country, where he should be king. Accordingly Gangadhar Tunga, son of Nakur Tunga, taking his wife. his treasure and some soldiers left Puri in 1270 Saka (1348 A. D.) and after ten years o wandering settled in 1358 at Tekrapara village near Shamsundarpu To this day pargannes Shamsundarpur and Phalkusma are generally called Tungbhura or Jungabhumi, i. e., the land of Tungas. Members of the Zariindar's family are styled Tunga o Tungabaniqatha, and are also called Bara Tunga and Chhota Tunga respectively. They are Kshatriyas by caste and are connected with the families of Bishnupur, Raipur, Supur 35 etc." X X x. Another acccunt of the Tu ga family ismilar to that of Tungbhum is found in the historic i account of the ruling family of Tigiri State which is quoted below :- 33. J. & P. E, A. S. B., Vol. VIII, 1942, p. 66. 34. E, I, Vol. IV, pp. 254-55, 35. The District Gazetteer of Bankura, p. 179-80.

( 469 ) "According to tradition the founder of this State, Nityananda Tunga, and his younger brother are said to have come originally on a pilgrimage to Puri, where they remained in the hope of receiving some favour from the God. The Ider brother was one day advised in a dream to hold the kingdom f Trigruhyat, the west on the bank of the river Chitrotpala in Puri expelling its chief who was an infidel, Nityananda Tunga accordi 7 went there, and founded the Stave in the year 1246 A,D." 36 above. Tungabhumi firds riention in the Bhavisyata Purana quoted Up till now only three copper plates of the Tunga family have been found in Orissa and these show that they were rulers of Yamagartta Mandala, One Jayasimha of the unknown family and another ruler of the Sulki dynasty are found to be rulers cithe same Yamagartta mandala. The modern locality of this Mandala has not been definitely identified although it has been suggested by Pandit B, Misra that it extended on the bank of the river Brahmani in its course in hilly parts of Orissa. The tradition of the Tunga family accorhing to the copper plates states that the family came from the north to Orissa from a place calied Rotasgarh and the mention of the Gandaki river in the tradition of the Tunga family of Tungbhun corroborate the account of the copper plates to some extent. Stirling in his "An account of Orissa Proper or Cuttack" writes the following: "There are eight classes or families who claim to represent the military and regal tribe, known by the affixes Mal, Bhanj, Rai, Dhal, Towang (Tung) and Khandayat, 38 "This account written in 1822 finds corroboration from the following Sanskrit verse which I came to know from the Zamindar of Haldia in the Khurda Subdivision of the Puri District in 1927, "Bhanjabhumi--Dhalbhumi--Var ina--Stun gasikhara--Mahinivasina Dhira - Vira - vara Malla-nam- gah Astabhumi harasehaiva 26. Orissa Feudatory States Gazetteer, 191), p. 335. 37. Dynasties of diaeval Orissa, p. 40-41, 38. An Account f Orissa proper or Cuttack. Bengal Secretariat ed. ion, 1904, p. 22.

{ 470 ] Parthivah." Amone the eight hand owners the eight kings of Phanjabhumi, Dealbumi, ungable mi, sukhaa bhatwand Mallabhumi au well known. Though the meation Em SP 00001 n, yet the present Za vindar family of Madhuri.. Cutt k press the title o Dhira, The Varabhun of the Var farity is ment on in the Ehavishyat Purana and it is the some a B thumi mentoned by Stirlin under Bisl nupur and Bhawa bhum of the sin. : Al the place renes ending in Bhum sufit are found in contiguous geographical area on the frontiers of the provinces o Bengal, Bihar Orissa and moss of which originated from the surnames of the families which established st preracy in that area Some o these families possess also the epigraphiad records which have been referred to above. These peculiar ending of Bhum in place names are no doubt very interesting and the investigation of the history of these places will throw light on the dark history of a vast trea where once stoou the famous sea port lamralipti and the inland city of Karnasuvarna indicating the culture and civilisation of the people. This area is found now to be mainly inhabited by aborigines of Kolarian family but the archaeological evidences established the influence of the more civilised section of the people. The local traditions everywhere narrate that prior to the advent of aborigines the country was populated by the Sarkas who are credited with bulding temples at Para, Chara, Boram and many other paces in early days and it is far more interesting that the aborigines maintained the tradition. "The word Sarak is doubtless derived from Srovaka the Sanskrit woro for a hearer. Amongst the Jains the term is used to indicate aymen or persons who are engaged in the secular pursuits, as distinguisher from Yatis, the monks or ascetics and itstill is used as a name of a group which is rapidly becoming a regular caste of the usual type (Saraegi), The Buddhists use the same word to designate the second class of monks, who mainly occupied the monasteries." 39 Like the history of the ruins of ancient monuments scattered here and there in this part of the country, the history of these ancient Kshatriya families who were rulers there, is yet in darkness. The labours of some European officers who were guided more or less according to their 39. The District Gazetteer of Manbhum, p. 84.

471 pet theory, have put a screen over it instead of illuminating the same. Col. Dalton relying on the predominance of modern aboriginal popula ion of the locality. has advanced a theory that the ancient Kshatriya families of this part of eastern India are of aboriginal descen, but the archaeological as well as epigraphical evidences which are fut all over the country, thed a new light on the decoration of the structure covered with thick plaster of foreign matters. The discovery of large number of store and copper age relics in this area furnish evidence that a phase of the Indian pre-historic culture dawned here. The geological investigation has revealed the rich deposit of minera wealth in this area and it is expected that prope archaeological investigation will bear open a rich field of cultural wealth of Eastern India.