Historical Geography of Ancient India c8.553

c8.553

Vikramapura.—It lies in the Munshiganj sub-division of Dacca. A portion of it is included in the Faridpur district. The name Vikramapura is generally applied to the tract of country bounded by the Dhaleśvarī on the north, the Idilpur Pargana on the south, the Meghnā on the east and the Padmā on the west. The name of this place is derived from a king named Vikrama who ruled it for some time. Rāmapāla, the ancient capital of Vikramapura, lay three miles west of Munshiganj. The name Śrīvikramapura occurs in the Sītāhāṭi copperplate inscription of Ballālasena. A copperplate inscription of Śrī Candradeva of the Candra dynasty has been discovered here. Rāmapāla, the birthplace of Śilabhadra, the principal of the famous Buddhist University of Nālandā, was the eastern headquarters of the Hindu kings of Bengal for some time. The ruins of Ballālabāḍi, many ancient ponds, and many Hindu and Buddhist deities of the Pala period have been found here. The village of Vajrayoginī lying on the south-west corner of Rāmapāla, was the birthplace of the famous Buddhist savant of the 10th century A.D. named Dīpaṅkara Śrījñāna. The Kedārpur copperplate of Śrīcandra, the Edilpur copperplate of Keśavasena, the Barrackpur copperplate of Vijayasena, the Anuliā copperplate of Lakṣmaṇasena, and the Belāva copperplate of Bhojavarman refer to Vikramapura which is still known by the same name. The Varmans ruled over it only for a short period. From the Barrackpur copperplate of Vijayasena it appears that Vikramapura was probably one of the capitals of Vijayasena who had something like a permanent residence here. Almost all the grants of the Sena kings were issued from Vikramapura (N. G. Majumdar, Inscriptions of Bengal, Vol. III, pp. 10ff., 60ff.; Introducing India, Pt. I, pp. 81-82.