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Pundravardhana
Pundravardhana or Pundra Kingdom ( sa, Puṇḍravardhana), was an ancient kingdom during the Iron Age period in India with a territory that included parts of present-day Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisions of Bangladesh as well as the West Dinajpur district of West Bengal, India. The capital of the kingdom, then known as ''Pundranagara'' (Pundra city), was located at Mahasthangarh in Bogra District in northern Bangladesh.Hossain, Md. Mosharraf, ''Mahasthan: Anecdote to History'', 2006, pp. 69-73, Dibyaprakash, 38/2 ka Bangla Bazar, Dhaka, Geography Mahasthangarh, the ancient capital of Pundravardhana is located 11 km (7 mi) north of Bogra on the Bogra- Rangpur highway, with a feeder road (running along the eastern side of the ramparts of the citadel for 1.5 km) leading to Jahajghata and site museum.Hossain, Md. Mosharraf, pp. 14-15. Mention in ''Mahabharata'' and ''puranic'' literature According to the epic ''Mahabharata'' (I.104.53-54) and puranic literatu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bogra District
Bogra District, officially known as Bogura District, is a district in the northern part of Bangladesh, in the Rajshahi Division. Bogra is an industrial city where many small and mid-sized companies are sited. Bogra was a part of the ancient Pundravardhana territory and the ruins of its capital can be found in northern Bogra. History Ancient history In the ancient period, Bogra District was a part of the territory of the Pundras or ''Paundras'', which were known by the name of Pundravardhana, one of the kingdoms of Eastern India and was separated by the Karatoya River from the more easterly kingdom of Prag-Jyotisha or Kamrupa. The name Pundravardhana frequently occurs in the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and the Puranas. According to the Mahabharata and the Puranas, Vasudeva, a powerful prince of the Pundra family, ruled over Pundravardhana as far back as 1280 B.C. The claims of the district to antiquity, however, mostly rely on an association with the old, fortified town that is now ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahasthangarh
Mahasthangarh ( bn, মহাস্থানগড়, ''Môhasthangôṛ'') is one of the earliest urban archaeological sites so far discovered in Bangladesh. The village Mahasthan in Shibganj upazila of Bogra District contains the remains of an ancient city which was called Pundranagara or Paundravardhanapura in the territory of Pundravardhana.Brochure: ''Mahasthan – the earliest city-site of Bangladesh'', published by the Department of Archaeology, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, 2003 A limestone slab bearing six lines in Prakrit in Brahmi script recording a land grant, discovered in 1931, dates Mahasthangarh to at least the 3rd century BCE. It was an important city under the Maurya Empire. The fortified area was in use until the 8th century CE. Etymology ''Mahasthan'' means a place that has excellent sanctity and ''garh'' means fort. Mahasthan was first mentioned in a Sanskrit text of the 13th century entitled ''Val ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the most densely populated countries in the world, and shares land borders with India to the west, north, and east, and Myanmar to the southeast; to the south it has a coastline along the Bay of Bengal. It is narrowly separated from Bhutan and Nepal by the Siliguri Corridor; and from China by the Indian state of Sikkim in the north. Dhaka, the capital and largest city, is the nation's political, financial and cultural centre. Chittagong, the second-largest city, is the busiest port on the Bay of Bengal. The official language is Bengali, one of the easternmost branches of the Indo-European language family. Bangladesh forms the sovereign part of the historic and ethnolinguistic region of Bengal, which was divided during the Partition of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashoka
Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, stretching from present-day Afghanistan in the west to present-day Bangladesh in the east, with its capital at Pataliputra. A patron of Buddhism, he is credited with playing an important role in the spread of Buddhism across ancient Asia. Much of the information about Ashoka comes from his Brahmi edicts, which are among the earliest long inscriptions of ancient India, and the Buddhist legends written centuries after his death. Ashoka was son of Bindusara, and a grandson of the dynasty's founder Chandragupta. During his father's reign, he served as the governor of Ujjain in central India. According to some Buddhist legends, he also suppressed a revolt in Takshashila as a prince, and after his father's death, killed his brothers to ascend ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashokavadana
The Ashokavadana ( sa, अशोकावदान; ; "Narrative of Ashoka") is an Indian Sanskrit-language text that describes the birth and reign of the Third Mauryan Emperor Ashoka. It contains legends as well as historical narratives, and glorifies Ashoka as a Buddhist emperor whose only ambition was to spread Buddhism far and wide. ''Ashokavadana,'' also known as ''Ashokarajavadana,'' is one of the avadana texts contained in the Divyavadana (''Divyāvadāna'', "Divine Narrative"), an anthology of several Buddhist legends and narratives. According to Jean Przyluski, the text was composed by the Buddhist monks of the Mathura region, as it highly praises the city of Mathura, its monasteries and its monks. Date of composition There are several versions of ''Ashokavadana'', dating from 5th century CE to 16th century CE. Some date the earliest finished form of the text back to 2nd century CE, although its oral origins may go back to 2nd century BCE. The extant version ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourth-most populous and thirteenth-largest state by area in India, as well as the eighth-most populous country subdivision of the world. As a part of the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, it borders Bangladesh in the east, and Nepal and Bhutan in the north. It also borders the Indian states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata, the third-largest metropolis, and seventh largest city by population in India. West Bengal includes the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region, the Ganges delta, the Rarh region, the coastal Sundarbans and the Bay of Bengal. The state's main ethnic group are the Bengalis, with the Bengali Hindus forming the demographic majority. The area's early history featured ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhadrabahu
Ācārya Bhadrabāhu (c. 367 - c. 298 BC) was, according to the ''Digambara'' sect of Jainism, the last '' Shruta Kevalin'' (all knowing by hearsay, that is indirectly) in Jainism . He was the last ''acharya'' of the undivided Jain ''sangha''. He was the spiritual teacher of Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of Maurya Empire. According to the ''Digambara'' sect of Jainism, there were five ''Shruta Kevalins'' in Jainism - Govarddhana Mahamuni, Vishnu, Nandimitra, Aparajita and Bhadrabahu. Early life Bhadrabahu was born in Pundravardhana (The region mainly consisted of parts of the Northern West Bengal and North-Western Bangladesh, i.e., parts of North Bengal) to a Brahmin family during which time the secondary capital of the Mauryas was Ujjain. When he was seven, Govarddhana Mahamuni predicted that he will be the last ''Shruta Kevali'' and took him along for his initial education. According to '' Śvētāmbara'' tradition, he lived from 433 BC to 357 BC. ''Digambara'' traditio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vanga Kingdom
Vanga was an ancient kingdom and geopolitical division within the Ganges delta in the Indian subcontinent. The kingdom is one of the namesakes of the Bengal region. It was located in southern Bengal, with the core region including present-day southern West Bengal (India) and southwestern Bangladesh. Vanga features prominently in the epics and tales of ancient India as well as in the history of Sri Lanka. Vanga was probably the center of the Gangaridai Empire mentioned by numerous Greco-Roman writers. The exact capital of ancient Vanga kingdom could not be identified. After the rule of Gupta empire, ancient Bengal was divided into two independent states. They were the Gauda Kingdom and Vanga kingdom and archaeologists think that Kotalipara in present-day Bangladesh was the capital of the independent Vanga kingdom. Indian and Greco-Roman writers referred to the region's war elephants. In Indian history, Vanga is notable for its strong navy. There are numerous references to Van ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly applied to Iron Age Europe and the Ancient Near East, but also, by analogy, to other parts of the Old World. The duration of the Iron Age varies depending on the region under consideration. It is defined by archaeological convention. The "Iron Age" begins locally when the production of iron or steel has advanced to the point where iron tools and weapons replace their bronze equivalents in common use. In the Ancient Near East, this transition took place in the wake of the Bronze Age collapse, in the 12th century BC. The technology soon spread throughout the Mediterranean Basin region and to South Asia (Iron Age in India) between the 12th and 11th century BC. Its further spread to Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Central Europe is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suhma Kingdom
Suhma Kingdom was an ancient state during the Late Vedic period on the eastern part of the Indian Subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. The kingdom included present day districts of Midnapore and parts of Hoogly and Howrah. This kingdom was mentioned in the epic Mahabharata along with its neighbouring kingdom ''Prasuhma''. References in Mahabharata The founders of Angas, Vangas, Kalingas, Pundras and Suhmas shared a common ancestry. They were all adopted sons of a king named Vali, born by a sage named Gautama Dirghatamas, who lived in Magadha close to the city of Girivraja. Military expeditions to Suhma Pandu (the father of Pandavas) after defeating the Magadhas and the Videhas of Mithila, led his army against Kashi, Suhma, and Pundra, as well as by the strength and prowess of his arms spread the fame of the Kurus. Arjuna, that bull amongst the son of Pandu, at the head of all his troops, fiercely attacked the regions called Suhma and Sumala during ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nirgrantha Jnatiputra
Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6th century BCE into a royal Kshatriya Jain family in ancient India. His mother's name was Trishala and his father's name was Siddhartha. They were lay devotees of Parshvanatha. Mahavira abandoned all worldly possessions at the age of about 30 and left home in pursuit of spiritual awakening, becoming an ascetic. Mahavira practiced intense meditation and severe austerities for twelve and a half years, after which he attained '' Kevala Jnana'' (omniscience). He preached for 30 years and attained Moksha (liberation) in the 6th century BCE, although the year varies by sect. Historically, Mahavira, who revived and preached Jainism in ancient India, was an older contemporary of Gautama Buddha. Jains celebrate ''Mahavir Janma Kalyanak'' every yea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but renounced his home life to live as a wandering ascetic ( sa, śramaṇa). After leading a life of begging, asceticism, and meditation, he attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya in what is now India. The Buddha thereafter wandered through the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain, teaching and building a monastic order. He taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism, leading to Nirvana, that is, freedom from ignorance, craving, rebirth, and suffering. His teachings are summarized in the Noble Eightfold Path, a training of the mind that includes meditation and instruction in Buddhist ethics such as right effort, mindfulness, and '' jhana''. He di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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