On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India, 629–645 A.D. v2.c21.s7.9

v2.c21.s7.9

Cunningham thought that the chief city of this country "must be looked for along the course of the Suvarna-riksha river, somewhere about the districts of Singhbhūm and Barabhūm”, and he adds—“Bara Bāzār is the chief town in Barabhūm, and as its position corresponds very closely with that indicated by Hwen Thsang, it may be accepted as the approximate site of the capital in the seventh century”.¹ Fergusson does not accept this identification and writes—“The kingdom of Karna Souvarna, I take it, comprehended the northern part of Burdwan, the whole of Birbhūm, and the province of Murshidabad, including all those parts of the districts of Kishnaghur and Jessore which were then sufficiently raised above the waters of the Ganges to be habitable”.²