In search of a millenium-old higher-learning centre

A photograph of The Paschimbagh copperplate inscription, whreabouts of which are currrently unknown. Photo: Courtesy

Archaeology department to start looking for Chandrapur; historians say it hosted an educational complex with nine mathas

Dwoha Chowdhury

Ancient Bengal was a land of knowledge where institutional education flourished through vihara (monastery), mahavihara (monastic complex of viharas) and matha (cloister, institute or college). Thousand-year-old heritages like Nalanda, Shalban, Somapura, Vikramshila, Jagaddala and many others stand tall as a testament to our glorious past.

These ancient higher-learning institutions eventually laid the foundation of what later came to be known as universities.

Srihatta (present day Sylhet division) is home to such an institution, which is older than Jagaddala, as disciplined as Nalanda and was built in the early 10th century, according to historians.

King Srichandra of Chandra dynasty of south-eastern Bengal patronised constructing nine mathas at Chandrapur of Srihatta.

Details of these mathas were inscribed in a copperplate grant (historical legal records engraved on copper plates) found in Paschimbhag of Rajnagar upazila in Moulvibazar in 1958, which was later decoded and translated.

And after 62 years of this historical finding, the Department of Archaeology is all set to explore and excavate the long-lost heritage of the land, which lies beneath the ground -- once known as Chandrapur.

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CHANDRAPUR, 9 MATHAS, CONCEPT OF UNIVERSITY

Following his study and research, Kamalakanta Gupta believed that Chandrapur was a town in the Chandrapura Vishaya (subdivision) of Srihattamandala or Srihatta and the vishayapati (ruler) used to live there and the mathas were situated in the town.

The Chandra dynasty was of Buddhist monarchy and most Buddhist kings granted land for vihara in the name of Buddha.

Srichandra granted all land in the name of Buddha; these lands were granted to Brahmans and mostly to study Brahmanya (devoted to sacred knowledge) based on Chaturveda (collection of religious texts).

As a Buddhist monarch, he included only the grammar of Chandragomin and the main matha's upadhyaya was the teacher, as mentioned in the inscription, decoded by historians.

"The inscription and all the evidence lead us to believe that there was a large educational institute in the land, which was mainly a religious education centre, like Nalanda or Odantapuri," said Dr Zafir Setu.

"The educational concept, the land grant structure based on the level of labour distribution of around 25 types of professionals point that this was a planned and disciplined institute -- functioning almost like a modern university," he added.

"It makes me wonder how such an institution could be forgotten from history," he said.

WHERE IS CHANDRAPUR?

Many say the place is situated in the Dighirpar area of Juri upazila in Moulvibazar. The archaeology department is planning to start their survey works from the spot.

Historians, however, never agreed on a specific spot till to date.

According to the "Paschimbhag Copperplate", Chandrapur Vishaya was bounded by the Mani-Nadi (present day Monu river) in the south, Kosiyara-Nadi (present day Kushiyara river) in the north, large Kouttali in the east and Jangakhataka-Kastanyakhataka-Betraghanginadi in the west.

Kalamakanta Gupta believed that the Kouttali is a large garh or fort in the east and the west's Betraghanginadi is present day Ghungi river and he always gave emphasis to the original location where the copperplate was found.

Writer and researcher Prof Nripendralal Das said, "There are many possibilities where the town and the educational institute might be."

"The copperplate was found in Rajnagar upazila but there are many other places nearby like Nidhanpur or Kalapur where copperplates of other dynasties were found. It proves that the land holds many histories and mysteries, waiting to be unearthed."

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SEARCH FOR CHANDRAPUR BEGINS FINALLY

On July 15, the archaeology department asked the regional director of Sylhet-Chattogram to look into the matter and file a detailed report after visiting the possible location at Juri upazila in Moulvibazar.

The regional director said, "Following the instruction, I've already started studying about the matter and am very excited to look for the historical educational institute."

Hannan Miah, director general of the department said, "If we find the heritage, it could be one of the greatest archaeological findings of recent decades in the country. Now, we're planning for research and survey at the first phase; if the result is promising, we will start a large scale excavation soon." 

Click here to read the original story from The Daily Star of 24th Jul 2020 published from Dhaka, Bangladesh.