Ruplal House: The Magnificent Past of Farashganj

Mahisantosh an important center of administration and learning in the medieval period. Present Mahiganj and Santosh under Patnitala in Naogaon district were known as Mahisantosh. There is a legend that a darvesh (saint) came to the place on the back of a fish and hence the name. There is also a tradition that the place was named after mahipala I (c 995-1043 AD). The general plan of the site and the discovery of some military weapons, particularly a gun and some swords, now on display at the varendra research museum, indicate that it was a fortified military outpost with ditches and ramparts and sprang up long before the coming of the Muslims. The discovery of an inscription in a mihrab with the inscribed images of Visnu and Surya on the reverse testify that Mahisantosh existed as an important centre before it was made the headquarters of a Sarkar by the Muslims.

The place emerged, in the mid thirteenth century, as a seat of learning. Shaikh Yahiya Maneri is reported to have received his education there under the guidance of the celebrated Shaikh Taqiuddin. Persian sources tend to suggest that this place became a repository for the saints of the Suhrawardi Order. It became a mint town in 1459 during the reign of Ruknuddin Barbak shah (1459-1474) and was renamed Barbakabad after the sultan. The construction of a good number of mosques during the Sultanate indicates that the town had been flourishing with a considerable number of Muslim populations. It continued to be a mint town up to 1521. Barbakabad occurs as a Sarkar and a city in the Ain-I-Akbari. As an urban centre it might have lost its importance towards the close of the sixteenth century. From the seventeenth century it ceases to be mentioned as a place of note.

The extensive area, now in ruins, is covered with thick jungle. There are 4 or 5 mosques, a tomb of Muhammad Shiran Khalji and two tombs of saints, all in ruins. The tomb of Shiran, mentioned in Tabaqat-I-Nasiri, is now unrecognizable in the scattered ruins of some brick structures, compounds, a tank, and a walled garh.

Written by: Md Akhtaruzzaman

মহীসন্তোষ নওগাঁ জেলা সদর থেকে প্রায় ৬২ কিলোমিটার দূরে অবস্থিত। রুকুনউদ্দিন বাবর শাহর শাসনকালে এটি প্রধান শহর ছিল। এখানে একটি প্রাচীন মসজিদ আছে এবং রাজিপুরের অবশিষ্ট এখানে দৃশ্যমান।

Jagaddal Vihara is located approximately 55km away from Noagaon Zilla sadar. It is a very ancient site. Locals call it as remnants of Bot Krishna Zamider Bari. Jagaddala Mahavihara was a Buddhist monastery founded by the later kings of the Pala dynasty, possibly Rampala (1077-1120), most likely at a site near the present village of Jagaddal in Dhamurhat Upazila in the north-west Bangladesh on the border of India, near Paharpur. Jagaddala Mahavihara (fl. late 11th century - mid-12th century) was a Buddhist monastery and seat of learning in Varendra, a geographical unit in present north Bengal. It was founded by the later kings of the Pāla dynasty, probably Ramapala (c. 1077-1120), most likely at a site near the present village of Jagdal in Dhamoirhat Upazila in the north-west Bangladesh on the border with India, near Paharapur. Some texts also spell the name Jaggadala.

A large number of monasteries or viharas were established in ancient Bengal and Magadha during the four centuries of Pala rule in North-eastern India (756-1174 AD).Dharmapala (781-821) is said to have founded 50 viharas himself, including Vikramashila, the premier university of the era. Jaggadala was founded toward the end of the Pāla dynasty, most likely by Rāmapāla (c. 1077-1120). According to Tibetan sources, five great Mahaviharas stood out: Vikramashila; Nalanda, past its prime but still illustrious, Somapura, Odantapurā, and Jagaddala. The five monasteries formed a network; "all of them were under state supervision" and their existed "a system of co-ordination among them ... it seems from the evidence that the different seats of Buddhist learning that functioned in eastern India under the Pāla were regarded together as forming a network, an interlinked group of institutions," and it was common for great scholars to move easily from position to position among them.

Jagaddala specialized in Vajrayana Buddhism. A large number of texts that would later appear in the Kanjur and Tengjur were known to have been composed or copied at Jagadala. It is likely that the earliest dated anthology of Sanskrit verse, the Subhāṣitaratnakoṣa, was compiled by Vidyākara at Jaggadala toward the end of the 11th century or the beginning of the 12th.

জগদ্দল বিহার নওগাঁ জেলা সদর থেকে প্রায় ৫৫ কিলোমিটার দূরে অবস্থিত একটি প্রাচীন স্থান। স্থানীয়রা এটিকে বটকৃষ্ণ জমিদার বাড়িও বলে থাকে এবং জায়গাটিকে জজ্ঞদল হিসেবেও বলা হয়ে থাকে। বর্তমান উত্তরবঙ্গের বরেন্দ্রতে (১১শ শতাব্দীর শেষ থেকে ১২শ শতাব্দীর মধ্যে) এটি ছিল একটি বৌদ্ধ বিহার এবং শিক্ষাদান কেন্দ্র। পাল রাজবংশের রাজা সম্ভবত রামপাল (১০৭৭-১১২০) পাল শাসনামলের শেষার্ধে এটি প্রতিষ্ঠা করেন উত্তরপশ্চিম বাংলাদেশে অবস্থিত ধামরিহাট উপজেলার জাগদাল গ্রামে যে জায়গাটি ভারত সীমান্তবর্তী এবং পাহাড়পুরের নিকটে অবস্থিত।

উত্তর-পূর্ব ভারতে পাল শাসনামলের চার শতকে (খ্রিস্টপূর্ব ৭৫৬-১১৭৪) প্রাচীন বাংলা এবং মাগাধাতে অনেক বিহার প্রতিষ্ঠা করা হয়। ধর্মপাল (৭৮১-৮২১) একাই ৫০টি বিহার প্রতিষ্ঠা করেন যার মধ্যে ছিল সে সময়ের প্রধান বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় বিক্রমশীলা। তিব্বতের সূত্র অনুযায়ী পাঁচটি শ্রেষ্ঠ মহাবিহার ছিলঃ বিক্রমশীলা ছিল সেই যুগের প্রধান বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়; নালান্দা; সোমপুর মহাবিহার; অদন্তপুর এবং জাজ্ঞাদলা। পাল আমলে পূর্ব ভারতে শিক্ষাদানকারী সবগুলো বৌদ্ধবিহার রাষ্ট্রের তত্ত্বাবধানে ছিল এবং বৌদ্ধবিহারগুলো একটি নেটওয়ার্ক তৈরি করেছিল এবং বিহারগুলোর মধ্যে সমন্বয় ছিল এতে করে মহান মনিষীদের জন্য বৌদ্ধবিহারগুলোর মধ্যে অবস্থান বদলানো সহজ হত।

বজ্রানা বৌদ্ধশাস্ত্রে বিশেষায়িত ছিল জগদ্দল। পরবর্তীকালে জানা যায় যে কানজুর এবং তেংজুরে উল্লেখিত প্রচুর অক্ষর এই জগদ্দলেই গঠন করা হয়েছিল। সম্ভবত সাংস্কত ভাষার প্রাচীনতম সংকলন সুভাসিতারত্নকোষ জগদ্দলেই ১১শ শতাব্দীর শেষের দিকে অথবা ১২শ শতাব্দীর শুরুতে গঠন করা হয়।

Sat Masjid is located in the Mohammadpur area of Dhaka city, the building exhibits seven domes- three over the prayer chamber and four over the corner towers. Hence it is known as Sat Gombuz (seven domed) Mosque. The mosque occupies the western end of a slightly raised masonry plinth 26.82m by 25.60m, which is enclosed by a low wall with a gateway in the middle of the eastern side. This arched gateway with flanking ornamental turrets is exactly in alignment with the central doorway of the mosque proper. The top of the gateway could be approached from either the north or the south by an ascending flight of steps.

The mosque proper forms a large rectangle 14.33m by 4.88m on the inside and is emphasised with massive hollow domed towers of octagonal design on the exterior angles. The prayer chamber is entered through arched doorways - three in the east and one each on the north and south sides.

Corresponding to the three eastern archways there are three semi-octagonal mihrabs inside the western wall. Beside the central mihrab there is a three-stepped masonry pulpit. The central archway and the central mihrab, including two other archways on the north and south walls, have outwardly projected frontons depicting ornamental turrets on either flank.

The interior of the mosque is divided by two wide arches into three conventional divisions - a large central square bay and a smaller rectangular bay on either side. The roof is covered with three slightly bulbous domes on octagonal drums, the central one being bigger than its flanking counterparts. The large central dome is supported by the wide arches together with the two blocked arches over the central mihrab and central archway and the triangular pendentives on the upper angles. But in covering the side rectangles with domes a clever method has been adopted. In order to make a circular base for the dome, the rectangular space has first been made square above by creating half-domed vaults on the east and west walls. These half-domed vaults together with a further series of pendentives on the corners directly support the small domes.

The corner towers have flanking turrets like those in Khwaja Shahbaz’s Mosque and musa khan mosque, both in Dhaka city. Each of these consists of two storeys and is a monument by itself. The lower storey is pierced with four cardinally set arched openings in the north-south and east-west axis. Internally the roof of the lower storey is domical, but its reverse side is flat and forms the floor of the upper storey.

The evidence says about Armenian community in the region during 17th to 18th century and their existence. Armenian Church was build in 1781 on Armenian Street in Armanitola. The site was an American graveyard before before the church built. Agaminus Catachik, an Armenian, gave away the land to build the church. Michel Cerkess, Okotavata Setoor Sevorg, Aga Amnius, and Merkers Poges helped build the church.

Mother Teresa stayed in this church during a visit to Dhaka.

In the old graveyard, among the 350 people buried there, a statue stands at the grave of Catachik Avatik Thomas, portraying his wife. The statue was bought from Kolkata and the grave is inscribed with the words "Best of Husband." Following the domination of their homeland by Persian powers of the time, Armenians were sent by their new rulers to the Bengal region for both political and economic reasons. Although the Armenian presence in South Asia is now insignificant, their presence in Dhaka dates back to the 17th century. Armenians came to Dhaka for business, and have been acknowledged for displaying a passion for trade comparable to that of the Bengalis of the time. In Dhaka, Armenian merchants traded in jute and leather, and profitability in these businesses convinced some to move permanently to Bangladesh. The area where they lived became known as Armanitola.

In 1781 the now famous Armenian Church was built on Armenian Street in Armanitola, then a thriving business district. The site was an Armenian graveyard before the church was built, and the tombstones that have survived serve as a chronicle of Armenian life in the area. Agaminus Catachik, an Armenian, gave away the land to build the church. Michel Cerkess, Okotavata Setoor Sevorg, Aga Amnius, and Merkers Poges helped build the church.

In the fifty years following the church's construction, a clock tower was erected on its western side. Allegedly, the clock could be heard four miles away, and people synchronized their watches with the sound of the tower's bell. The clock stopped in 1880, and an earthquake destroyed the tower in 1897. The Armenian played a prominent part in the jute trade in Dhaka and are reputed to be the pioneers of that trade in the second half of the 19th century. Today, the last Armenian that takes cares of the church is Mikhail Hopcef Martirossian (Micheal Joseph Martin). He was also one of the Armenian who was in the jute trade.