The Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Mediaeval India c5.s9.63

c5.s9.63

Karṇa-Suvarṇa—Kânsonâ, now called Râṅgâmâṭi in the district of Murshidabad, on the right bank of the Bhâgirathî, six miles south of Berhampur, in Bengal (Kubjikâ Tantra, ch. 7; JASB., XXII, 281). It was the former capital of Bengal at the time of Âdisura. It was at the request of Âdisrura that Bîra Simha, king of Kanauj, sent five Brâhmaṇas, Bhaṭṭanârâyaṇa, Daksha, Śrîharsha (the author of the Naishadha-charita), Chhândaḍa, and Vedagarbha, to Bengal to perform his sacrifice according to the Vedas. Bhaṭṭanârâyaṇa, the author of the drama Veṇî-saṃhâra, is considered by some to have flourished at the court of Dharma Pâla of the Pala dynasty. Even the name of Kânsonâ has become antiquated, and the town is now known by the name of Râṅgâmâṭi. Captain Layard says that Râṅgâmâṭi was anciently called Kânsonâpurî, and the remains of the greater part of the palace with its gate and towers are distinctly traceable, although the site is now under cultivation (JASB., vol. XXII, 1853, p. 281). Karṇa-suvarṇa was also the capital of Saśâṅka or Narendra, the last of the Gupta kings and the great persecutor of the Buddhists, who reigned in Bengal in the latter part of the sixth century and it was he who treacherously killed Râjyavarddhana, elder brother of Harsha Deva or Śilâditya II of Kanauj, as related in the Harsha-charita. The kingdom of Karṇa-suvarṇa was situated to the west of the Bhâgirathî and included Murshidabad, Bankura, Burdwan, and Hugli. The earth of Râṅgâmâṭi is red, and the tradition is that Bibhîshaṇa, brother of Râvaṇa, being invited to a feast by a poor Brahman at Râṅgâmâṭi, rained down gold on the ground as a token of gratitude and hence the earth is red (On the Banks of the Bhagirathi by Rev. J. Long in Col. Review, vol. VI). This is a figurative way of stating the immense profit which Bengal derived from its trade with Ceylon in precious stones, pearls, etc. (K. Ch., pp. 189, 223). Dr. Waddell identifies Karṇa-suvarṇa with Kâñchannagar (Kânson-nagara) near Burdwan in Bengal (Dr. Waddell's Discovery of the Exact Site of Asoka's Classic Capital of Pataliputra, p. 27).