Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India c11.51

c11.51

Muslim rule was established in the western and northern parts of Bengal about the beginning of the thirteenth century. From that time, the Muslim rulers of Bengal often led expeditions against the Gaṅga kingdom. This may have been the cause underlying the transference of the Gaṅga capital from Jājnagar or Jājpur, which was nearer the borders of the Muslim territories of Bengal, to Cuttack which lay further away. But the Muslim writers appear to have continued the use of the name Jājnagar to indicate the Gaṅga kingdom for some time even after the transference of the Gaṅga headquarters from the city of that name. The name Kaṭaka or Cuttack suggests that it was originally a camping ground of the Gaṅga king's forces. It is not impossible that the story of the Gaṅga king's attempt to check Muslim aggression from the east is hidden under this name of the new capital of his kingdom.¹