Historical Geography of Ancient India c8.536

c8.536

Vardhamānabhukti.—The Mallasārul copperplate inscription refers to Vardhamānabhukti, and it also records a gift of land to a Brahmin for performing five great sacrifices. This inscription was found in a village near Galsi in the Burdwan district, Bengal. Vardhamānabhukti as mentioned in the Naihati copperplate seems to have extended at least as far as the western bank of the Ganges near Calcutta. The Chittagong plates of Kāntideva of the 9th century A.D. mention Vardhamānapura. The Irda Copperplate Grant of king Nayapāladeva, which records the grant to a Brahmin of some land in the Daṇḍabhūtimandala of the Vardhamānabhukti, was issued from the capital of Priyaṅgu, founded by king Rājyapāla. The bhukti of Vardhamāna is in Uttara-Rāḍha, and the capital of Priyaṅgu is in Dakṣiṇa-Rāḍha in Bengal (E.I., XXIV, Pt. I, January, 1937). Vardhamāna or Vardhamānabhukti is identical with modern Burdwan.