Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India c24.21

c24.21

It seems to us that Ḍhakā (Dacca) was a similar watch-station during the days of the pre-Muslim rulers of East Bengal and thus had some political importance even in the early period. This suggestion appears to be supported by a passage in the Prākṛtānuśāsana by Puruṣottama who is said to have adorned the court of king Lakṣmaṇasena (circa 1179-1206 A.D.) of Bengal. The only manuscript of this work so far discovered is known to have been copied in the year 385 of the Newari era of Nepal, which started from 879 A.D. The date of the copy is therefore 1264 A.D. The Prākṛtānuśāsana describes several Prakrit dialects called Vibhāṣā, one of which is given the name Ḍhakka-bhāṣā, i.e. the dialect spoken in the region known as Ḍhakka. It may, however, be argued that Ḍhakka in this case does not really refer to Dacca in Eastern Bengal but is a corruption of the name of another land called Ṭakka which was situated in the Punjab. This view can hardly be accepted since the Ṭakkadeśīya-vibhāṣā, i.e. the dialect spoken in the Ṭakka country, has been separately mentioned in Puruṣottama’s Prākṛtānuśāsana.¹ As a matter of fact, we have no knowledge of any other locality called Ḍhakka excepting the place of that name, now called Ḍhakā (Dacca), in Eastern Bengal (East Pakistan).