Historical Geography of Ancient India c8.317

c8.317

*Maināmati*.—The Maināmati copperplate of Raṇavaṅkamalla Harikāladeva of the Śaka Era 1141 refers to the Maināmati hills, about five miles to the west of the town of Comilla in the district of Tipperah. The copperplate only mentions the Maināmati hills instead of the Lalmai (*Haraprasād Memorial Volume*, pp. 282ff.). The name Maināmati is probably associated with Mayanāmati, the queen of Mānikchandra, a king of the Candras, who ruled Bengal in the 10th and 11th centuries A.D. This queen and her son Gopicandra played an important part in Bengali folk-songs. Queen Mayanāmati seems to have been a disciple of a great Śaiva Yogī, Gorakṣanātha, while her son was a disciple of a low caste siddha. An Officer of the royal groom is mentioned as embracing Sahayāna Buddhism at Paṭṭikeraka. A village of the Tipperah district, which extends up to the Maināmati hills, even now retains the name of Pāṭikārā or Paitkārā. The existence of the kingdom of Paṭṭikera may be traced back as far as the 8th century A.D. Coins similar to those of the Candra dynasty and terracotta plaques with figures of Arakanese and Burmese men and women have been found at Maināmati. In these coins the name of Patikera occurs. It appears that there was an intimate relation between Burma and the kingdom of Paṭṭikera. Ranavaṅkamalla Harikāladeva was a chieftain of this place, while the Devas were then the independent rulers. The Paṭṭikeraka Vihāra of the Pāla period was an important monastery. A mound at Maināmati, known as the ruins of Ānandarājā’s palace, seems to be a monastery. Some rulers of the Candra dynasty mentioned in the inscriptions, e.g., Śrīcandra, Govindacandra, Suvarṇacandra, Pūrṇacandra, ruled eastern and southern Bengal between 900 and 1050 A.D. with Rohitāgiri as their capital. The naked stone image of a Jaina tīrthaṅkara found at Maināmati shows the influence of Jainism in this region. The discovery of such deities as Gaṇeśa, Hara-Gaurī, Vāsudeva, shows the influence of Hinduism there. Ānandarājā’s palace, Bhojarājā’s palace, Caṇḍimurā, Rūpabānmurā, Śālbanrājā’s palace are some of the mounds situated here, worthy of notice. In one of these mounds we find temples of Śiva and Caṇḍī. A square monastery like that of Pāhāḍpura existed there. The central temple contains on its walls projecting mouldings, lotus petals, etc. Many carved terra-cotta plaques containing the figures of Yakṣas, Kimpuruṣas, Gandharvas, Vidyādharas, Kinnaras, Buddha, Padmapāṇi, warriors, animals, lotus flowers, etc. have been discovered. The potteries found there are mostly in ruins. Some small bronze images of the Buddha have also been found.¹