Rarh region

Coordinates: 23°15′N 87°04′E / 23.25°N 87.07°E / 23.25; 87.07
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Rarh
Rāḍha
Geographical region
Vehicle registrationWB-11,WB-12,WB-14,WB-15,WB-16,WB-18,WB-29,

WB-30,WB-31,WB-32,WB-33,WB-34,WB-36,WB-37, WB-38,WB-39,WB-40,WB-41,WB-42,WB-44,WB-53, WB-54,WB-55,WB-56,WB-57,WB-WB-58,WB-67,

WB-68[citation needed]
Major CitiesAsansol, Bardhaman, Dhanbad, Durgapur, Jamshedpur, Ramgarh, Ranchi
Civic agencyGovernment of West Bengal, Government of Jharkhand, Government of Odisha

Rarh region (Bengali pronunciation:

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 various sources throughout history, it is mainly coextensive with the state of West Bengal, also comprising parts of the state of Jharkhand
in India.

The Rarh region historically has been known by many different names and has hosted numerous settlements throughout history. One theory identifies it with the powerful

Ballal Sen names it as the ancestral place of the Sena dynasty
.

Etymology and names

Rāḍha (

Mahavamsa state that the legendary Prince Vijaya came from a region called Lāla, which is identified with Rāḍha by several scholars.[3]

In a 1972 thesis, the researcher Amalendu Mitra traced the origin of the word Rarh to "lāṛ", the

fibre, and is sometimes used for "snake" or "twig".[4] Das further points out that the word "lāṛ" may itself be an Indo-Aryan loanword in Santali.[4]

"

D. C. Sircar, the word is simply the plural form of "Gangarid" (which is derived from the base "Ganga"), and means "Ganga (Ganges) people".[5]

Many aspect of Rarh are found in these books entitle as 'Subarnarekha hoite Mayurakshi[6] and Rarher Mantrayan[7] authored by Maniklal Sinha . Rarher Mantrayan[7][8] contains the ancient manuscripts of tantra and mantra, raveling various villages, and mixing with 'Mantrayanis' in Rarh. Whereas, Subarnarekha hoite Mayurakshi[6] is based on the tribal lifestyle , introducing various tribes, their festivals, clothing's, culture of Hazaribag, Singbhum, Manbhum, Dhalbhum Shikarbhum , Santal Pargana and Bankura that are situated in the basin of the river Subarnarekha. The author also discussed about the landscape of those laces and the influence of Buddhism on the tribal religion.

Geography

The Rarh region lies between the

alluvial deposits. The elevation ranges between 75 and 150 m.[11]

Low-level

badlands (locally called khoai) are common in the region.[12] Several of these small hillocks were formed as a result of subaerial erosions and other tectonic movements. The highest of these are Biharinath (440 m) and Susunia (440 m). Biharinath contains sedimentary rocks of Gondwana system. Susunia contains gneissic and schistose rocks of Archean age, and also felspathic quartzite at its top.[11]

The major rivers in the region include

River Hooghly. The river Subarnarekha flows through some parts of the region in the Midnapur district.[15] In the past, the floods of Damodar, called the "Sorrow of Bengal", often resulted in heavy losses to life and property. After the formation of the Damodar Valley Corporation in 1948, the flood hazard in the Rarh plain has been reduced through the construction of heavy embankments and other sophisticated engineering structures.[citation needed
]

West Rarh's Bagri river is a fertile, low-lying alluvial tract. Rice, jute, legumes, oilseeds, wheat, barley, and mangoes are the chief crops in the east; extensive mulberry cultivation is carried out in the west.[9]

Rarh has several

moist deciduous forests of Shorea robusta (sal), Magnolia champaca (champak) and Acacia.[13]

Extent

According to Britannica, the Rahr plains cover parts of the following districts, divided into northern and southern Rarh by the Damodar river:[13]

Districts of West Bengal

P. R. Sarkar defines the Rarh region as follows:[16]

History

Gangaridae, as depicted in Ptolemy's map

The earliest reference to Rāḍha

Acharangasutra. The text states that the 6th century BCE spiritual leader Mahavira traveled in Vajjabhumi and Subbhabhumi, which were located in the Ladha country. It mentions that the region was "pathless and lawless" during this time, and the local people treated Mahavira harshly.[2]

One theory identifies Rarh with the powerful

Bhāgirathi-Hooghly (a western distributary of Ganges), Gangaridai can be identified with the Rarh region. However, other writers such as Plutarch, Curtius and Solinus, suggest that Gangaridai was located on the eastern banks of the Gangaridai river.[17] Moreover, Pliny states that the Gangaridai occupied the entire region about the mouths of the Ganges.[18] This suggests that the Gangaridai territory included the larger coastal region of present-day West Bangal and Bangladesh, from the Bhāgirathi-Hooghly River in the west to the Padma River in the east.[18]

The legendary Sri Lankan chronicles

Simhapura city in the "Lala" country. This Lala is identified with Rāḍha.[2]

The earliest epigraphic evidence to Rāḍha probably appears in an inscription from Mathura. This inscription states that a Jain monk from the "Rara" country erected a Jain image. A Khajuraho inscription mentions that the Chandela ruler imprisoned the wives of the rulers of various kingdoms, which included Rāḍha.[2]

The 12th century Naihati copper-plate inscription of the Sena ruler Vallalasena mentions Rāḍha as the ancestral place of his dynasty.[2]

Historical extent

Various ancient and medieval region offer clues about the location and historical extent of the Rarh region. The Bhuvaneshvara inscription of Bhatta Bhavadeva, a 12th-century minister, describes Rāḍha as "a waterless, dry and woody region". This description suits the western part of Bengal. The 16th century Digvijayaprakasha suggests that Rāḍha was located to the north of the

Minhaj-i-Siraj defines Rāḍh (Rāḍha) as the section lying to the west of the Hoogly-Bhagirathi River.[19]

According to Rupendra K Chattopadhyaya of Banglapedia, Rāḍha "probably included a large part of the modern Indian state of West Bengal".[2] According to historian André Wink, the Rāḍha division of the Pala-Sena era corresponds roughly to the modern Bardhaman district.[20]

Divisions

The 9th-10th century literature and inscriptions and literature mention two divisions of Rāḍha: northern (Uttara) and southern (Dakṣiṇa). Rupendra K Chattopadhyaya (in Banglapedia) believes that these roughly correspond to the Subbhabhumi and Vajjabhumi mentioned in the ancient Jain literature.[2] The 17th century scholar Nilakanatha mentions Suhma as a synonym of Rāḍha. However, as Subbhabhumi is a corruption of Suhma, it appears that Suhma referred to only a part of the ancient Rāḍha region.[21]

Uttara Rāḍha

A 6th century CE inscription of the Chola king Devendravarman is the earliest inscription to mention Uttara Rāḍha. The 12th century Belava copper inscription of Bhojavarman states that Bhatta Bhavadeva was born in the Siddhala village (modern Siddhalagram) of Uttara Rāḍha. The 12th century

Vallalasena also mentions a village named Vallahittaha in the Uttara-Rāḍha mandala (administrative unit). It suggests that Uttara Rāḍha was a part of the Vardhaman bhukti (province). However, the inscription of Vallalasena's successor Lakshmanasena states that this region was a part of the Kankagram bhukti.[2]

Based on these records, Rupendra K Chattopadhyaya believes that the Uttara Rāḍha included the western parts of the modern

Santal Parganas district, and the northern part of the Katwa subdivision of the Bardhaman district.[2]

The archaeological sites located in the historical Uttara Rāḍha region include Rajbadidanga, Gitagram, Paikor, Batikar, Bahiri, Kagas, Kotasur, and Vallala-rajar-dhibi (Ballal Dhipi).[2]

Dakṣina Rāḍha

Dakṣina Rāḍha appears as a distinct unit in several inscriptions, including the 10th century Gaonri inscription of

Rajendra Chola I also mentions "Ladam" (Uttara Rāḍha) and "Takkana-Ladam" (Dakṣina Rāḍha) as two distinct units.[2]

Rupendra K Chattopadhyaya theorizes that the Dakṣiṇa Rāḍha covered a large of part of West Bengal lying between the Ajay and Damodar rivers. This includes large parts of the later Bardhaman, Howrah, and Hughli, and Burdwan districts. The southern boundary of Dakṣiṇa Rāḍha may have extended to the Rupnarayan River, and its western boundary extended beyond the Damodar river into the present-day Arambag subdivision.[2]

The archaeological sites that formed part of Dakṣina Rāḍha include:

Mangalkot, and possibly Dihar and Puskarana.[2]

Notable people of Rarh

Rarh presented human society the first philosopher Maharishi

Kaberi Gain, Ramkinkar Baij, Kalidasa, Kshudiram Bose, and Satyajeet Ray.[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Rahul Peter Das 1983, p. 664.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rupendra Radha 2012.
  3. ^ Shyuam Chand Mukherji 1966, pp. 35–36.
  4. ^ a b Rahul Peter Das 1983, p. 669.
  5. ^ Dineschandra Sircar 1971, p. 171, 215.
  6. ^ a b c Singha, Maniklal (1988). Subarnarekha hoite Mayurakshi (in Bengali). Bishnupur: Bangiya Sahtya Parisad: Bishnupur. Bankura.
  7. ^ a b c Singha, Maniklal (1979). Rardher Mantrajan (in Bengali). Bishnupur: Sri Chittaranjan Dasgupta.
  8. ^
    S2CID 213713375
    .
  9. ^ a b "Rarh". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  10. ^ Students Britannica 2000, p. 239.
  11. ^ a b Anita Roy Mukherjee 1995, p. 22.
  12. ^ Balai Chandra Das 2016, p. 20.
  13. ^ a b c Students Britannica 2000, p. 240.
  14. ^ Praṇaba Chattopadhyaya 2004, p. 16.
  15. ^ Anita Roy Mukherjee 1995, pp. 22–23.
  16. ^
    OCLC 277280070
    .
  17. ^ a b Nitish K. Sengupta 2011, p. 28.
  18. ^ a b Dineschandra Sircar 1971, p. 172.
  19. ^ Mohammad Yusuf Siddiq 2015, p. 27.
  20. ^ André Wink 2002, p. 257.
  21. ^ Rupendra Suhma 2012.

Bibliography

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