Dandabhukti () was an ancient and medieval territory located between the two rivers, Dwarakeswar and Subarnarekha, and situated in the

Rarh region ''Rarh region'' () is a toponym for an area in the Indian subcontinent that lies between the Chota Nagpur Plateau on the West and the Ganges Delta on the East. Although the boundaries of the region have been defined differently according to vari ...

of the ancient

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

. It covered the present-day districts of

Purba Medinipur East Medinipur (Alternative spelling ''Midnapore'') district is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the southernmost district of Medinipur division – one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The ...

Jhargram district Jhargram is a district in the state of West Bengal, India.The district lies between the Kangsabati River in the north and the Subarnarekha in the south. Jhargram has one of the lowest population densities among the districts of West Benga ...

and southern part of

Paschim Medinipur Paschim Medinipur (English: ''West Medinipur'', alternative spelling ''Midnapore'') district is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal, India. It was formed on 1 January 2002 after the partition of Midnapore into Paschim Medinipur a ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

, and

Balasore district Balasore District, also known as Baleswar District, is an administrative district of Odisha state, in eastern India. Balasore is one of the coastal districts of Odisha and lies on the northernmost part of the state. Etymology Baleswar is sa ...

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

, India.

History

Early History

The ancient

was divided into several smaller territories - Kankagrambhukti, Bardhamanbhukti, and Dandabhukti, as part of the

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an Indian empire during the classical period of the Indian subcontinent which existed from the mid 3rd century to mid 6th century CE. At its zenith, the dynasty ruled over an empire that spanned much of the northern Indian ...

. After the fall of Guptas rule in

, Dandabhukukti and Bardhamanbhukti regions became part of the independent Kingdom of Vanga which emerged in early 500s.

Rule under Shashanka

Shashanka Shashanka Dev (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: Śaśāṅka) was the first independent king of a unified polity in the Bengal region, called the Gauda Kingdom. He reigned in the 7th century, some historians place his r ...

, the Gauda king, conquered Dandabhukti, the Utkala kingdom, and the Kangoda kingdom. In the first half of the seventh century A.D., Dandabhukti or Dandabhuktimandala rose into prominence when it was governed by Mahapratihara Shubhakirti, a vassal of Shashanka, King of Dagau. Shashanka gave the administration of Dandabhuktimandala and Utkala to Samanta-maharaja Somadatta, who was the subordinate of Shashanka. A few epigraphic records, including Shashanka's duo Midnapur copperplates, the Irda copperplates of Kamboja ruler of Bengal, and Rajendra Chola's Tirumulai engraving, all specify Dandabhukti as a distinct geopolitical region. The region was mentioned in the Ramcharita of Sandhyakar Nandi, and its ruler Jayasimha was described as a feudatory of Ramapala, the Pala ruler. The Kamboja dynasty is believed to have conquered the Bardhamanbhukti and Dandabhukti regions by exploiting the weakness of the Pala rulers in Bengal.

Dharmapala and Conquer by the Cholas

Dharmapala A ''dharmapāla'' is a type of wrathful god in Buddhism. The name means "''dharma'' protector" in Sanskrit, and the ''dharmapālas'' are also known as the Defenders of the Justice (Dharma), or the Guardians of the Law. There are two kinds of ...

, the ruler of the Dandabhukti region who was banished from his lands by Rajendra Chola's quelling armed force, as recorded by the Tirumulai engraving (1021-24 A.D.), is thought to have belonged to the same line as the Kamboja Gaudapatis. The Tirumalai inscription depicts the division of North Rarh and South Rarh. Dandabhukti was classified under the South Rarh. However, the topographic extent of Dandabhukti is not clear. Based on the available evidence, Dandabhukti can be deduced to incorporate the southwestern part of Bengal, specifically the south and southwest areas of contemporary Midnapur District in West Bengal and parts of Balasore District in Orissa. Epigraphic records belonging to the reign of Shashanka exhibit that Dandabhukti and Utkala were two distinct geographical entities, with Dandabhukti being present-day southwest Midnapur in West Bengal. But during Gopachandra's reign, Dandabhukti appears to have encompassed the territory north of the Suvarnarekha River in Balasore district as well as the area around Dantan today in Midnapur district. The Dandabhukti Mandala was associated with the North- Toshali, and it incorporated the districts of Tamala-Khanda and Daksina-Khanda, as evident from the two copper plate grants to a Bhaumakara queen. These two terrains are identified with Tamluk and Dakinmal, respectively, and they both were mentioned as

Parganas Pargana or parganah, also spelt pergunnah, equivalent to Mohallah as a subunit of Subah (Suba), was a type of former administrative division in the Indian subcontinent during the time of the Delhi Sultanate, Mughal and British Colonial empires. ...

in the Mughal records for the Midnapur region. From different available sources, it turns out that the location of modern Dandabhukti was known as Danda, which is the headquarters of the Bhukti or mandala of unidentified origin. Under the reign of the Kamboja rulers of Dandabhukti Mandala, the mentioned area was included in the Bardhamanbhukti, according to the Irda Copperplate (10th Century A.D.). Later, some parts of Dandabhukti were included in the territory of Utkal kings.Ghosh, Binoy, ''Paschim Banger Sanskriti'', (in Bengali), part I, 1976 edition, pp. 82-86, Prakash Bhaban Danda in Oriya means path. There was an ancient path from Rarh (or possibly from

Magadha Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and ...

) to Kalinga. The voyage of Rajendra Chola (11th century A.D.) to Dandabhukti through Orissa reveals the presence of interstate roads connecting the Bastar area of Madhya Pradesh with Orissa and Bengal. His army marched through Chitrakuta and passed through Binika, Sonepur in Bolangir district and following the road through eastern Keonjhar and Western Mayurbhanj, reached Dandabhukti. The territory may have acquired its name from the path. Chaitanyadeva is said to have traversed this path from Nabadwipdham (Nadia) to Nilaachala Puri during the sultanate period. Dandabhukti served as a connecting point between

and Bengal (Radha/Rarh). The name of the contemporary locality of Dantan in the territory of Paschim Midnapur bears the legacy of Dandabhukti.Ray, Nihar Ranjan, ''Bangalir Itihas Adi Parba'', (in Bengali), 1980 edition, p. 388, Paschim Banga Niraksharata Durikaran Samiti

References

Bankura district Hooghly district Paschim Medinipur district Purba Medinipur district Ancient divisions in Bengal {{PurbaMedinipur-geo-stub