115

Environment of Gaur

SHARMI CHAKRABORTY

This study was undertaken to find out the raison

d�etre of Gaur. Explanation should be sought on the

emergence of Gaur as the capital of the Bengal

Sultanate from the fifteenth century which contin-

ued its prominence as the political seat of Bengal

till the middle of the sixteenth century. The begin-

ning of Gaur as the favoured locus for governing

Bengal was possibly much earlier though no con-

clusive evidence has yet been found. Being the

capital of a populous kingdom, it required ameni-

ties befitting its status. This is a combination of po-

litical and economic advantages that its situation

could exploit. Important elements are with regard

to security in respect of natural calamities, protec-

tion from invasion, supply of food and water, and

control over its possession.

The term environment connotes both physical

and cultural aspects. This work deals mainly with

the physical environment. Our knowledge of physi-

cal environment suffers from lack of reliable

sources on this area. It is beyond the scope of

present work to undertake the required extensive

geological/geomorphological and biological sur-

veys that could have generated adequate data.

Sketchy report from the excavation undertaken by

the Archaeological Survey of India from 2003 to

2005 does not give insight into the nature of settle-

ment. This study aims at building up a preliminary

understanding of the context of the archaeological

site of Gaur.

GENERAL ELEMENTS OF GEOGRAPHY

Defining the geography of Gaur is not an easy

proposition. It could include the whole of the re-

gion over which the Bengal Sultanate wielded

power. But in a restricted sense, it could mean the

region around Gaur, which had a direct bearing on

the ecology of the site (Fig. 1). Here this restricted

version has been taken because it is more relevant

in addressing the issue of the context of the ar-

chaeological site. The environmental zone de-

scribed here approximately stretches from 88º to

Pratna Samiksha, New Series 3, 2012. © Centre for Archaeological

Studies & Training, Eastern India, Kolkata, pp. 115�26.

88º45′ E and 24º30′ to 25º15′ N. This area is not by

any means a watertight compartment, natural

boundaries are hardly linear and in the great

Gangetic plains not even fixed. But the area under

consideration hopes to capture adequately the es-

sence of this diverse region.

Geology

The sites of Gaur and Pandua are situated on the

alluvial tract. But the area lacks homogenity. The

region to the east of the Mahananda river consists

of the Barind formation which belongs to the Pleis-

tocene period. At the surface, this older alluvium is

covered by the floodplain of the Mahananda,

Punarbhava, and Tangan rivers. Where these riv-

ers flow through Barind, they have developed en-

trenched meanders. The Barind consists of alfisol,

pedalfer with iron oxide, mottled, greyish red-

brown cumulative soil developed over flood silts

and clay, gley hydromorphic soils, ferruginized

floodplain which are carbonate free (Panja 2002).

The Barind formation broadly dates between early

and late-Pleistocene period. It gives the land an un-

dulating appearance though nowhere it rises above

30 m. It forms hills and ravines on an otherwise flat

plain. The presence of ferruginous elements in the

soil gives it a reddish colour.

The Older Baikunthapur formation also con-

tains iron pellets, but much lesser than Barind, and

belongs to a later period. Its features are somewhat

similar to those of alfisol which is pedalfer mottled

reddish brown grey soil with reddish horizon grad-

ing to greyish mottled clay. It also contains buried

soil, erosional soil with profile development, par-

tially ferruginized floodplain from recycled Barind.

It belongs to late-Pleistocene period. Older

Baikunthapur belonging to the terminal Pleis-

tocene period and is characterized by yellowish/

grey loamy with calcrete nodules.

To the south and the east of these Pleistocene

alluviums is the Younger Baikunthapur formation

ENVIRONMENT, ARCHAEOLOGY, AND SETTLEMENT PATTERN

11688°0′E

88°0′E

88°20′E

25

°15

′N

25

°15

′N

24

°30

′N

24

°30

′N

88°20′E

FIG. 1. Environment of Gaur.

(after survey of India map)

117

consisting of weakly developed soils over channel

sands, levees and floodplain silts and clays. It is

weakly pedogenized near channel with levees,

flood-loams, backswamps, etc. This formation be-

longs to a geological period stretching from mid to

late-Holocene (3000�500 BP). Gaur is situated on

this formation. The ash-coloured clayey silt, locally

called khair, is a soft sticky loam in the rainy season

but becomes hard in the dry period and unsuitable

for cultivation. Along the banks of the rivers, the

soil consists of sandy loam.

To the west is the Shaugaon formation, which is

less than 500 year old and has no soil formation. It

consists of modern floodplain with conspicuous

channel development and levees. It is during

Younger Baikunthapur and Shaugaon formation

of floodplain environment the channel system be-

came strong and dynamics.

River system

The region is drained by rivers like the Ganges,

Mahananda, Kalindri, Tangan, Atrai, and Punar-

bhava. The general gradient of the region is to-

wards south and south-east.

The river Mahananda rises from the hills of

Darjeeling. During the greater part of the year, the

river flows through a narrow channel leaving most

of the bed dry. Only during the monsoon, it fills up

the entire channel and occasionally overflows its

banks. The channel is very deep and the river bed

is sandy. The banks of the river are abrupt and

steep or sloping according to the direction of cur-

rent and the channels have not in recent times (i.e.

in the modern period) changed their directions.

There has been little deposition and erosion of al-

luvium. Its tributary river Nagar also has a wide

channel, which consists mostly of the dry bed, ex-

cept during rainy months. Sui is a branch of the

Nagar. The latter joins the Mahananda river at

Itahar police station. The Sui river joins the

Mahananda river further downstream. The

Gamari river originates from Randhanipara Bil

area. It has a meandering course and joins the Sui.

Both the rivers are navigable in the monsoon. The

Mahananda river discharges its flow in the Ganges

further downstream.

River Chiramati has a sandy bed with sloping

banks and rises from a marsh in Hemtabad police

station. It is called Shrimati in the lower reaches

and gets water from the marshes to the south-west-

ern part of Kaliaganj police station. It has two

principal tributary streams, which join together to

form the main river. It is a sluggish stream.

The Tangan river rises in Bangladesh, which

was earlier a part of Jalpaiguri district. It is a fairly

large river. The river bed is sandy and the channel

is narrower than others. During the rainy season, it

overflows its banks and inundates the adjoining

stretches. But it never poses any serious threat to

the habitation. It is navigable throughout the year.

The river brings down huge quantity of silt and

had suffered channel changes in the recent past.

Mara Tangan � an old course of the river � flows

close to it till it joins the main stream. There is an-

other old channel that joins the main river north of

Bulbulchandi ferry. The floods in this river are

linked with floods in the Mahananda into which it

discharges.

The Punarbhava is another important river of

the region. The bed of this river is sandy and the

banks are steep or sloping according to the flow of

the current. There are instances of deposition and

erosion of alluvium leading to changes of the

course of the river. During rainy season the river

spills over from its channel and spread out into a

large bil. It splits and gives rise to a shallow stream

called Brahmani. In some places, the Punarbhava

throws out side streams. Two of such side-channels

combine to form the Haria river, which runs paral-

lel to the parent steam before joining the river

Mahananda. The flood in the river Punarbhava

too is associated with the flood in the Mahananda.

Both the Tangan and Punarbhava flow from 50

to 100 m below the Barind surface and rise by 30 m

after monsoon entirely filling the broad sloping ba-

sin.

The river Atrai has a wide channel, which is full

only during the monsoon but never goes dry com-

pletely. It is a sluggish river with sandy bed. It

changed its course quite frequently in recent past.

Prior to 1785, both the Atrai and Punarbhava

had been a part of Tista system (Sengupta 1969).

But since the water of the Tista has turned to river

Brahmaputra they have suffered a considerable de-

cline. Beds of many smaller rivers have choked and

silted up. However, silting is the general tendency

Environment of Gaur

118

of the rivers of this region and in many places

these ancient river beds have formed marshes.

The Kalindri is mentioned in early colonial ac-

count as an offshoot of the Ganges. Though it is

connected to that river, it rises in the hills of Sikkim

and is a tributary of river Mahananda, which by

the name Phulhar passes through the district of

Purnea. It flows in south-easterly direction and join

the main stream at Old Malda. In the north, it re-

ceives tributary streams of Kalkos, Kankar, Kos, and

Baromasia, draining the Tal at rainy season. The

river has altered its course quite often. The banks

are steep where the river is eroding and low-shelv-

ing accretion is noticed in the opposite bank. It is

navigable only in rainy season and in dry period, it

is fordable.

The Ganges in this part is wide and large islands

(diara) have formed by deposition in the river-bed.

It flows in two channels, the main channel running

on the Rajmahal side. The river has shifted its po-

sition in recent past. At the time when W. W.

Hunter was writing about the river, its main flow

was on the Malda side. It shifted to town of

Rajmahal in 1810 during the time of Pemberton�s

survey in 1848 (Map 2). In 1810, it flowed again to-

wards the side of Malda during the Buchanan-

Hamilton survey (Buchanan-Hamilton 1986). The

old channel can be noticed running parallel to the

ruins of medieval city of Gaur. It is narrow and

looks more like a canal than a river at present and

is called the Chhoto Bhagirathi (Pl. 32a). Further

downstream the Ganges sends out another channel

in which the Chhoto Bhagirathi falls known as

Pagla. A little further downstream, the Ganges di-

vides itself into the Bhagirathi and Padma. The

bed of the river Ganges is sandy and the bank on

the Malda side is rather abrupt except areas where

there are sandbanks.

The southern part of this region has a large

number of large lakes or bils formed by abandoned

river channel and backwater left behind levees. A

chain of such can be found along the course of the

river Ganges. Some are also found on the lower

course of the Mahananda, Tangan, and Punar-

bhava rivers. Some of the important bils are:

Bamangola, Jagdal, Raniganj, Bhariar, Chachar,

Saulmari, Dagun, Khawa Khon, Sabdalpur,

Mirzapur, Karun Khali, Sukur Bari, Baragharia,

Haripur, Kammar, Nadahi, Sarjon Mallakpur,

Chana Parasan, Dhajon, Madhaipur, and Gondail.

Thus rivers in general show meandering and

other features associated with loss of gradient like

sandy beds, branching off channels, and marshes.

They are semi-perennial with high flood and water

drain off very slowly.

Climate

The climate of this region is hot and humid. The

cold season begins in the middle of November and

continues till February. The hot season starts from

March and continues till the onset of the monsoon

in the first week of June. The monsoon continues

till the end of September. It is followed by post-

monsoon season. The annual average rainfall in

this region is about 156 cm. About 78 per cent of

this rain falls during the monsoon. Winter rainfall

is scarce. In the summer months, thundershowers

and hail are frequent which are locally known as

kalbaishakhi. There is very little year to year varia-

tion in rainfall. During the 50-year period from

1900 to 1950 the highest annual rainfall was 137

per cent of the normal and lowest was 59 per cent

of the normal. In eight years the rainfall had been

80 per cent of the normal, two being consecutive

year. In summer the mean maximum temperature

is 35 °C though it is known to rise to 45 °C. The

winter is mild.

Therefore, this is a region of high monsoon

rainfall with very few failures. The rest of the year

is generally dry (Sengupta 1969).

Tanks and ponds

A very striking feature of the region is the presence

of large tanks and innumerable ponds that have

dotted the Barind surface and almost its total

absence of the feature in the floodplains of the

river Ganges. These anthropogenic elements in the

environment need special attention to understand

the context. These ponds and tanks were and still

used for various purposes for the household and

economic activities. Each of them has separate

functions. The smaller ponds are usually owned by

individuals and are for domestic use. Larger tanks

often serve the purpose of irrigation and fisheries.

However, these functions are not exclusive to each

other. The colonial writers, like Buchanan-

SHARMI CHAKRABORTY

119Environment of Gaur

Hamilton, have considered the tanks with north-

south orientation as excavated by Brahmanical or

Buddhist rulers and those with west-east

orientation as excavated by Muslim rulers.

One of such large tanks is Mahipal Dighi on

Kushmandi police station (Chattopadhyay 2003).

As the local tradition goes, the excavation of this

tank is associated to the Pala emperor Mahipala.

The survey of 1938� 40 have shown the length of

the tank is 1225 m and breadth is 308 m. Tapan

Dighi under Tapan police station is another big

tank measuring 1298 m in length and 366 m in

breadth. Though local traditions consider it to be

excavated by mythical King Bana, it possibly dates

back to early medieval period. The Gangesrampur

police station has two large tanks situated close to

each other, called Kal Dighi and Dhal Dighi. Dhal

Dighi is 1288 m long and 265 m broad. It was con-

structed by the Sultan of Gaur, Ruknuddin Kaikas,

in around AD 1291 and 1301. Kal Dighi is 1207 m

in length and 293 m in breadth. Nanda Dighi of

Jagjivanpur was excavated before Vajrapaladeva

who built the vihara in ninth century AD

(Bhttacharya 1992). Pandab Rajar Dighi or

Sataishghara Dighi or Arjun Dighi is situated

about 2½ km from Adina masjid (Jana 2003). It is

181.5 m long and 149.5 m broad. Nasir Shah Dighi

is also situated in the site of Pandua and was sup-

posedly excavated by Nasiruddin Nusrat Shah. It is

326.5 m long and 255 m wide. Ajma Dighi is situ-

ated to the west of Kona masjid, the original size of

this tank is difficult to ascertain because years of

neglect have transformed it into several small

ponds full of water hyacinth. Mitha Dighi is on the

darga of Kazi Nur and supposed to have been exca-

vated in the time of Alaul Haq. Sukan Dighi of

Bajpur is 567 m long and 249.5 m broad. On the

way from Old Malda to Devkot by a causeway dat-

ing back to the medieval times is another tank

called Para Dighi. Raykhan Dighi is to the west of

Pandua, near Eklakhi station. It is difficult to give a

proper date of its excavation, but mound of early

medieval period nearby suggests that it belonged to

that period. There is another big tank in Kaligram

under Chachal police station. It was excavated by

the queen of some local dynasty of Purnea district

with a Shiva temple. There are some smaller tanks

in Old Malda. Local landowner excavated a tank

beside which once stood the first English office.

Another was excavated with the money donated by

Queen Victoria. It is locally known as Bibi pukur.

There is also a large tank beside Sarbamangala po-

lice station.

A floodprone region with large and small tanks

strikes a note of discord. This region is regularly

flooded in the monsoon and the water takes a long

time to drain off. But after it was drained off there

is scarcity of water as the water table is very low for

wells to be dug. Many of these larger tanks have

high banks with sloping sides to give it a wider

catchment area with greater storage. This is a typi-

cal feature of the Barind. Lambourn (1918) men-

tions that water supply in Barind were derived from

tanks, which are filled annually by rain and dew

(Lambourn 1918). Wells are infrequent as the soil

is hard and so instead, people have dug shallow wa-

ter holes in which surface water accumulates.

Where river water is available, it is given prefer-

ence and elsewhere on newer alluvium ring-wells

are found. In this context, perhaps the poetic allu-

sion in the copperplate grant from Tarpan Dighi

acquires some significance. To quote: �May the

germ of your prosperity develop by the cloud,

which is cluster hair of Sambho by whom the sor-

rows and pains of the world are done away, O the

cloud � whose water is the river of heaven and

along which a row of heron fly� (Westmacott 1918).

Tanks in the city of Gaur. There are many tanks and

ponds within this city. In the northern part of the

site are Tarpan or Tamna Dighi which 14 m long

and 7 m wide. It is situated in a region known as

Bagbari, which is believed to have been a garden

resort of Sena king, Ballala Sena (1158�79). At

present, the tank is much silted. Another tank of

this area is Kajal Dighi about 16 m long and 12 m

wide. The map produced by Pemberton shows that

there are many other ponds scattered around

Bagbari area.

The largest tank of the city is (Baro) Sagar Dighi,

which is about 2900 m in length and 1300 m in

width (measurement of this tank and those of the

following are obtained from satellite images and

are therefore only approximate). At present it has

been subdivided into various plots and used for pi-

sciculture. There is a narrow ledge that runs some

120

quarter distance parallel to the length. This seems

to have been constructed before the divisions but is

absent in Pemberton�s map. This ledge is usually

made to protect the sides of the large tanks from

waves. This tank has high banks. It had paved stairs

at six different places � one each in northern and

southern side and two each on the longer eastern

and western sides. The importance of such a mas-

sive tank in the medieval period is quiet apparent.

There is a mausoleum of a Muslim saint and

Jhanjhania mosque medieval sultans and two gate-

ways. Nothing of earlier period is visible today

although forty years ago typical early medieval re-

mains like pillars with human figurines (though dis-

figured) were found (Basak 2003).

Near the Mekha mosque, some 1 km south of

Sagar Dighi, there is another pond of 700 m in

length and 400 m in breadth. It has high banks.

There are several smaller tanks with paved sides.

Other than these tanks, there are numerous smaller

ponds dotted all over the landscape other than

these tanks.

The next large tank is Piyasbari (Pl. 32b). Abul

Fazl in Ain-i-Akbari describes this tank as poisonous

and the cruel Sultan used to kill his prisoner by

forcing them to drink its water (Blochmann and

Jarrett 1927). This was of course been a figment of

his imagination to show his master Akbar�s magna-

nimity. The size of this tank is 900 m in length and

550 m width. To the west of this tank is a much

smaller pond, which is a shallow depression con-

taining water. Beyond that is the moat before the

first of the double wall. There are two other impor-

tant tanks � Rup Sagar and Sanatan Sagar, which

according to local legend are after the two great

disciples of Chaitanya � Rup and Sanatan

Goswami. These tanks are around 400/250 m and

500/250 m respectively. Rup Sagar has suffered

erosion of its banks in recent years. To the east of

Baro Sona mosque there is another tank approxi-

mately 450/300 m. The gate of the mosque faces

the tank. There are other smaller ponds in the area.

Further south lies the Firuz Minar. To the west

of this monument, a series of ponds run towards

Qadam Rasul monument. There is also a pond be-

side Qadam Rasul (Falal Dighi?). But the pond in

front of the Minar distinctly separate from the se-

ries mentioned earlier. The former series probably

belong to some ancient channel system while the

latter, beside the Minar and the Qadam Rasul are

artificial. There is a large tank at the back of

Chamkatti mosque.

The palace has three tanks, each attached to the

three compartments of the palace, nothing of the

palace is visible at present. These tanks are all of

respectable size and their sides were paved by

blocks of basalt, portions of which still can be no-

ticed at places.

To the south of the palace lies the Tantipara

mosque. From there, chain of ponds can be noticed

running north to west. The Chhoto Sagar Dighi is

the largest tank of the area after the Baro Sagar

Dighi. It is about 1400 m in length and 800 m in

width with raised bank. Some small ponds can be

noticed on the east. Between the Chhoto Sagar

Dighi and Lattan masjid there is another series of

ponds, some of which are connected, bifurcating to

the north. This also seems to a reminiscent of an

old channel. The Gunmant mosque, which is situ-

ated close to the river Bhagirathi, has two tanks,

one to the south and the other to the east.

However, the present site is full of many other

tanks and ponds. Their dates cannot be ascertained

with any certainty. It can be noticed from the topo-

graphic sheets of this region that this large number

of ponds and tanks of Gaur are an aberration of

the pattern noticed along the banks of the Ganges.

Most of the larger tanks and water-bodies are no-

ticed in the settlements along the bank of smaller

rivers and scattered all over the Barind. The

smaller rivers of the Barind did not originate from

glaciers and carry little water in the summer. For

some reason, even though large settlements are no-

ticed in the recent times on the Ganges, they have

less number of ponds. The emphasis is given more

on wells. One explanation could be that there the

water table is higher and so it is less expensive to

draw water and another factor could be the peren-

nial nature of the Ganges, which always holds

enough water for the population residing on its

banks. However, all the tanks and ponds of Gaur

are not old. Many of the ponds are of very recent

origin. These are used in various types of house-

hold requirements and even for fishing. But many

of the older larger tanks were constructed for sup-

plying the needs of the city. However, a medieval

SHARMI CHAKRABORTY

121Environment of Gaur

city might need tanks, specially the larger ones, also

for other purposes other than only for domestic

ones. In a pattern noticed even outside Bengal they

were equipped to be a self-sufficient unit in case of

long siege.

GEOMORPHOLOGY OF GAUR

The geomorphology of Gaur is complex. Due to

oscillating movements of the river Ganges, deposi-

tion and erosion of landform are a part of the

landscape process. The depositions of alluvium are

of varied nature which leads to a considerable

change in stratigraphy from one point to the other

over a small area. Though it is difficult to recon-

struct the history of the landforms with present

amount of data, it can be said with some amount

of certainty that the city of Gaur in its totality does

not have a uniform process of site formation. The

natural processes working on different area of the

site of Gaur are different as well as the cultural

processes and they are interlinked. Both will have a

bearing on the surface scatter that will be discussed

later.

The landforms are never static, this is emphati-

cally so in case of the floodprone North Bengal. It

is known from earlier accounts that the Ganges

once flowed beside the palace of Sultan Allauddin

Hussain Shah at Gaur. But the depositional envi-

ronment has reached a degree of stability with the

shifting of the course of the Ganges to Rajmahal,

where the Ganges is flowing through for the last

300 years. Likewise, as any land higher than its sur-

rounding is liable to erosion, the higher parts of

Gaur is certainly undergoing some amount of deg-

radation as torrential rain wash off the surface

cover and expose pottery and architectural ele-

ments.

It is known from several accounts that the main

course of the river Ganges or Bhagirathi flowed

along the western wall of the city. At present al-

most dry channel with stagnant water covered with

water hyacinth can be seen. In fact Stapleton felt

that it might have been a canal maintained by the

kings (Stapleton 1930). But there is a reference in

Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita of that Sultan Allauddin

Hussain Shah watching Sri Chaitanya from his pal-

ace, walking up the river Ganges (Kaviraj BS 1386).

There is another stream of thought, including

Stapleton�s that suggests that the Ganges flowed to

the east of the city around 1550. Some maps drawn

by early European travellers show the city to the

west of the river Ganges. But there is no geomor-

phological evidence to support this view. The city

of Gaur is situated on what is called Younger

Baikunthapur surface. The region to the east of the

Ganges is much older (personal communication

with Arunabha Das, Geological Survey of India).

The walled city has been artificially divided into

several blocks by the causeways and fortification

walls and canals running from west to east. The

Bagbari region is on a higher ground. Baro Sagar

Dighi is lower than the northern region and the

land seem to dip towards south-east. The section

containing the Mekha mosque is the lowest. At

present, it is covered by paddy field unlike most of

Gaur, which has extensive mango orchards. It is

apparent that after one crosses the metal road from

Piyasbari the land rises towards west, i.e. towards

the river. The Phulbari region, including the pal-

ace, is on a higher ground. The general slope of the

ground is towards east and north-east. The land

rises towards the palace and continues till the

Gunmant mosque and slopes down to Mahadipur.

In general there is downward slope towards the

Bhagirathi river. This is noticed at Badlabari and

also to the west of the Palace. The water table also

rises as one move towards the river. Beyond the

Kotwali gate, lie the southern suburbs of Gaur. It

also contains a few tanks and mosques. This is a

low-lying area beyond the city walls with a number

of marshes or bils. Presently, it is located in

Bangladesh.

Satellite images clearly shows that a chain of

marshy lands exist along the river Ganges, which

are the backwaters of the high levees it has built.

This is also present between the city of Gaur and

the river Mahananda. In fact, the city has a double

wall in that direction. Ain-i-Akbari of Abul Fazl

mentions that Chatia Patia, a lake to the east of the

city, is contained by a dam, which if breached

would inundate the city (Blochmann and Jarrett

1927). The field survey in that area reveals that the

low-land extends within the wall. It has been men-

tioned in many writing of the colonial period, that

flood in this area is caused not by local heavy rain

122

but freshets caused by melting snow and heavy rain

higher up in the mountains (Lambourn 1918).

Therefore the marshland, called Chatia Patia, is

not a serious threat for causing flood. In contrast

the western side running along the river Ganges

has single wall though the river is known to cause

devastation. This may have been a foil against un-

derground seepage of water. The moat would be

filled by ground water.

The present survey also reveals that a vast ma-

jority of the ponds in the present Gaur ruins are in

some sort of alignment. These ponds are running

in north-south direction as seen near Firuz Minar,

Tantipara, and Lattan mosque. These tanks evi-

dently represent parts of palaeochannels, which

have water table nearer to the surface.

The sedimentary pattern of Gaur is differential.

But predominantly, the habitation is on brown

sandy-silt. The evidence of stream movement can

be noticed right in the palace area. Kolkata Circle

of Archaeological Survey of India has excavated a

few trenches there in recent times. The excavated

section show a top layer of rubbles on silt followed

by bricks arranged in random manner, which is as-

sociated with flood disturbance. There is a layer of

silt devoid of cultural material. Then there is silt

deposition associated with regular brick structures.

It was followed by sandy layer dipping to the west.

This layer has pillar like structures with channels.

It is followed by a structural layer associated with

sandy-silt, below which lies the foundation of boul-

der. The layer of sand is about 1 and 3 m thick.

This suggests that the river was either flowing

through this place or very near. The levee on which

the palace stood was built later. The section at

Badlapur shows silt on top with few potsherds

which indicates an effect of low-energy regular

floods in the area.

THE LOCATIONAL ADVANTAGE OF GAUR

To understand the rise of Gaur as an urban centre

and capital of the Bengal Sultanate, a study of

present-day circumstances of its situation is not

enough. Post-independence period has seen many

changes in this region. To utilize the water re-

sources properly, various river valley projects have

been undertaken, which include construction of

dam to store water from river and large-scale irri-

gation canals. This has affected the character of

the river system to a great extent and with it, the

life of the people there. Other than this, the tech-

nology of deep tube-wells and the use of electric

pumps etc. have lessened the dependence on river

water and rainfall. With the relatively assured sup-

ply of water is the growth of metalled road and

railway lines the settlement pattern and subsis-

tence had changed forever. With very little written

record in hand that addresses this very important

issue of subsistence and settlement in this region

during Sultanate and Mughal periods, colonial ac-

counts are the only window to the pre-mechanized

age to understand the possibilities of land and

people relationship.

The growth of Gaur as the political capital pos-

sibly lay in its ability to command a diverse envi-

ronment. The Ganges and Mahananda are two

rivers that had played a crucial role in its develop-

ment of Gaur as an urban centre and seat of

power. As mentioned in the colonial records, near

the Ganges the adjoining fields could undergo ma-

jor changes from season to season. One year it

might be overlaid by fertile mud, the next season

the Ganges might deposit sand. On the whole the

land watered by the Mahananda river is richer. In

most parts the floodwater rises three to four times

a year and covers the area for two to three days. In

some low-lying areas water stays for two to three

months. Only winter crop including rice and pulses

were grown in the colonial period on the bank of

the Ganges. Mango and mulberry are grown on

the higher ground. The last mentioned crop is sen-

sitive to sand deposited by the river to prevent that

often the land is artificially raised by digging deep

broad dykes and depositing the excavated earth to

make an elevated surface. The cultivation of mul-

berry here for silk finds mention in the Mughal

records too (Habib 1999). Between the ruins of the

medieval city of Gaur and the Mahananda lies ex-

tensive swampy tract that was largely uncultivated

at the end of the nineteenth century.

The country to the east of the Mahananda was

�less thickly cultivated and less civilized� (Hunter

1984). It only grows boro crop, which is grown with

water taken out from the river by means of jant (a

trough that can be lowered and raised), a method

perhaps in use over centuries. At that time, the top

SHARMI CHAKRABORTY

123Environment of Gaur

of the Barind was a jungle of dry deciduous veg-

etation consisting mostly of trees of low stature.

Rabi crop transplanted rice is grown on the slope

between the river basin and the highlands. But

most of this land is a jungle of thorny trees locally

known as katal. Thus a wide variety of agriculture

was practised depending on the vastly differenti-

ated conditions experienced within this region

though by no means extensive.

Fishing has always been widely practised in this

region supported by the rivers that are rich in re-

sources. Buchanan-Hamilton, in a monograph

written in 1809�10 (1986), mentions that some of

the fishermen folks are essentially boatmen who in-

dulge in fishing when the ferry is not available

(Buchanan-Hamilton 1986). W. W. Hunter�s enu-

meration of ethnic inhabitants of Malda and

Dinajpur show that boating and fishing castes form

a large group. Many agricultural groups also un-

dertake fishing when the opportunity arises

(Hunter 1984).

The products peculiar to the region supported

some local enterprise in the colonial period and

are mentioned in the accounts. The most impor-

tant product of the marshes is the nal reed. Some

other products are sola used in making hats,

palanquin, floats for fishing and lime from the

shells used in making stucco and polished surface

of pillars (Buchanan-Hamilton 1986).

The katal covers a large part of the region but

hardly has any timber-yielding tree. Pali and Koch,

the original inhabitants of the land, live in more

open part of the katal, heavily dependent on hunt-

ing and gathering for subsistence (Buchanan-

Hamilton 1986).

Colonial accounts mention trade in grain from

Malda region (Lambourn 1918). The rivers

Ganga, Mahananda, Kalindri, and Punarbhava

are navigable throughout the year on which boat

carrying 100 mounds (about 4 tons) can ply

throughout the year. Dr Buchanan-Hamilton men-

tioned that boats of 500 mounds could ply on the

Mahananda but in the dry season even 200

mounds would not pass above Malda town

(Cortesao 1945). The other rivers like the Tangan,

Pagla, Sonakhali, and Suarmasa are navigable

only in the rainy season and carry only up to 50

mounds. Both the Tangan and Punarbhava can

carry 200 mounds even in the dry season further

upstream. The Nagar is navigable by large cargo

boats (100 mounds) in rainy season and small boats

and canoes throughout the year. The Atrai too in

this part is navigable even in dry season by small

boats. Jaharpur Danra is a khal which is a natural

channel which has been artificially deepened, so

that large boats can ply in the rainy season that

connects river the Pagla with river Mahananda at

Kansat. A considerable amount of trade especially

in grain takes place down the channels of the

Mahananda and Ganges. About 2 million mounds

of rice, surplus of Malda and Dinajpur were ex-

ported to Bihar and the North-Western Frontier

Province as well as to Calcutta. A lot of local trade

is also carried out in khar grass for thatching and nal

reed, which are converted to charcoal and used by

the blacksmiths.

On one hand, the trade carried out in this re-

gion signifies agricultural surplus and on the other

hand reveals connectivity of the region, which sup-

ported such enterprise. The location of Gaur on

the Ganges gave the advantage of being located on

the highroad to North India. It could control all

the traffic to and from the Ganges valley. There are

accounts also left by the Portuguese merchants and

a French traveller, which clearly show the impor-

tance of the city as a trading entrepot. Archaeo-

logical evidences of such trade with East Asia can

be visualized through the porcelain sherds scat-

tered in the site.

As mentioned in the colonial literature, a prov-

erb goes that Malda will never starve as it lies

between Barind and Rarh (Hunter 1876). It is un-

likely that the monsoon would fail in both these re-

gions simultaneously. This also holds true of Gaur.

The Sultans from Gaur could easily command re-

sources from Rarh and South Bengal by virtue of

its position. Thus through the Mahananda-Tista

and the Ganges system it was possible to establish

communication almost throughout Bengal and

harness a huge resources to build their political

power. The Sultanate of Bengal, known to have

strong fleet, was in a position to follow this policy.

Trade and to some extent agriculture of that pe-

riod has been mentioned in literature and also cor-

roborated by archaeological evidences. Colonial

accounts also mention various smaller or fringe

124

enterprises which depended on local environment.

One such activity is hunting gathering. It is diffi-

cult to say with the present state of research in

what way, if at all, it had any impact on urban

Gaur. But there are some other small crafts depen-

dent on local products like nal reeds, sola or even

mollusca shells, which might have been an integral

part of the urban set-up (Lambourn 1918).

It is no wonder that such a prosperous state

should have a gorgeous capital. There are foreign

accounts praising the Sultan�s palace as better than

those of Europe. They speak of busy streets

thronging with people and shops on both the sides.

For centuries, these structures had been robbed of

the brick and what is left is still impressive. But this

is only a part of the story. Another account (The

Suma Oriental of Thome Pires) states that in Gaur,

there are some 40,000 hearths and most of the

houses other than that of the king is made of palm

leaves (Khan 1986).

These records on one hand also indicate that

there were a large number of city dwellers who

were not rich. The low-lying regions within the

wall, which did not yield brick but only potsherds

as archaeological record in the habitation area.

These areas experienced regular low-energy flood

as revealed by some sections which showed ran-

domly distributed pottery in silt. W. W. Hunter, de-

scribing the dwelling of the people of Malda dis-

trict, once remarked that it depends upon the easy

facility of obtaining bricks from the ruins of Gaur,

as done in English Bazaar (Pemberton 1854). In

other parts, it would be made of grass mat, the

number of rooms remaining the same. Houses

made of mud are rarely found in the district. This

is also the feature of the southern part of Dinajpur.

This is true for well-to-do shopkeepers, cultivators

or average husbandman. The common people

dwelt mostly in single-storied hut made of bamboo

with earthen plinth. In extreme heat, when dry

winds blow, there are normally extensive fires and

whole village is regularly burnt down (Lambourn

1918). This impermanent nature of residence was

perhaps more a cause of hazard posed by the shift-

ing channels than local availability of raw materi-

als. There were possibly other groups living near

the bank of Bhagirathi, who lived in smaller struc-

tures of bricks, which at places lie under deposition

of 2 m thick silt.

Some low-lying areas within the city and out-

side were possibly used for cultivation of rice as

being used at present. The large tanks were not

possibly used for domestic purpose only. Other

than facilitating the ease of construction, the fact

that the large tanks are all situated on the low-ly-

ing areas could serve the purpose of irrigation bet-

ter, do suggest such an intention. The smaller tanks

were constructed by individuals or local communi-

ties to satisfy their individual or local needs.

Hussain Shahs inscription found from Sagar Dighi

suggests (Khan 1986) that the large tanks were con-

structed and/or maintained by administration of

the Sultanate as a resource of the capital, a vital

lifeline in times of siege.

The tanks of Gaur were excavated mostly by

taking advantage of the high water table. Both the

Sagar Dighis were excavated near the backwaters

of the Ganges. Piyasbari also draws on that re-

source. Rup Sagar, Sanatan Sagar and tank behind

the Baro Sona mosque were probably dug on a

palaeochannel as the linear arrangement of north-

south aligned row of ponds suggests. While some

other like that beside the Firuz Minar or Gunmant

mosque were guided by the contemporary practice

of manufacturing bricks required for the construc-

tion on site and religious need of having tanks be-

side the monument.

It is evident from the map produced by

Pemberton that the city was criss-crossed by cause-

ways some ten feet above the ground and some fif-

teen feet wide (Pemberton 1854). Such high roads

were built in a way so that flood does not disrupt

road traffic totally. According to local information,

people still take refuge on these walls or causeways

during flood. These causeways are noticed beyond

the limits of Gaur to Pandua and even farther in

the north-east, where water submerges the land for

three months after rain, and through the southern

suburbs as well, and it joins the Mahananda some-

where near Sultanpur.

Other than the road there are canals cut from

the Bhagirathi in the west running across the city

joining the moat before the inner wall on the east.

This allowed river traffic right into the city and

also a better drainage of the flood-water from the

lower parts of the city to go back into the

Bhagirathi river as the floodwater subsides.

SHARMI CHAKRABORTY

125Environment of Gaur

It is apparent to any one visiting the ruins of

Gaur that the major monuments of the medieval

city are situated on a higher ground. This was cer-

tainly done by the then administration to save them

from impact of flood as they were deemed valu-

able. These obviously included especially the Royal

Palace, which was built on the highest terrace of

the Ganges which is the highest surface. The

Gunmant mosque is also situated at a high ground.

Both of them are on old levee. But many of the

other mosques, like the Baraduari, Tantipara,

Lattan, and the Firuz Minar are constructed on an

artificially upraised ground. These monuments are

not exactly on low ground but on the slope.

CONCLUSION

It appears, therefore, that Gaur was indeed strate-

gically well placed in the Barind landscape to take

advantage of the Ganges and Mahananda river

systems. But such advantage did come at a price.

The rivers, which are source of wealth, would

regularly flood endangering the city and isolating

the countryside. But so long as the location is ad-

vantageous people could stay. They built embank-

ments causeways and canals to fight the floods and

constructed their most important structure like the

palace above the level of regular floods. For one

hundred year (from c. AD 1333�39 to 1450) they

tried to use Pandua as the capital, which is away

from the river and flood but at the same time dis-

connected from the arterial route of communica-

tion. Once the river Ganges abandoned the site,

leaving it isolated but vulnerable to flood, the

locational advantage was lost and possibly for that

reason the city was abandoned.

There are, however, some accounts, which sug-

gest epidemic that claimed lives including that of

Munim Khan, as the cause of abandonment (Khan

1986). They blamed the city�s location beside

Chatia Patia. The exact nature of the disaster re-

mains unknown. But the final abandonment must

have had something to do with ever-oscillating

channel of the Ganges which finds mention in vari-

ous gazetteers and satellite images (personal com-

munication with Sunando Bandyopadhyay, Univer-

sity of Calcutta). In this context, Colebrooke�s

remark is significant: �in Bengal there are few

places where a town or village can be established

on the Ganges with any certainty of long retaining

the advantage of such a situation, as it would be li-

able either to be destroyed by the river, or, on the

contrary, to be totally abandoned by it�

(Colebrooke 1979).

Gaur is, like in most of the urban centres of its

time, an expression of how the people harnessed

their natural resources as the technology of the

time would allow them to do. But within those lim-

its the medieval man showed his ingenuity and

common sense � an understanding of the land

handed down by thousand years of adaptation to

this specific environment and technique acquired

from ever-expanding cultural horizon. However,

once the Ganges shifted its course Gaur lost its

logic of continuation and was subsequently aban-

doned.

REFERENCES

Basak, Kamal (2003). �Maldaher Sagar Dighi�, Lok:

Banglar Dighi O Jalashay (in Bengali), pp. 402�8.

Bhattacharya, Gauriswar (1992). �The New Pala Ruler

Mahendrapala�, Pratna Samiksha 1: 161�5.

Blochmann, H. and H. S. Jarrett (tr.) (1927). The Ain-i-

Akbari by Abul Fazl Allami. Calcutta: The Asiatic

Society of India (reprint 1993).

Buchanan-Hamilton, Francis (1986). An Account of the

District of Purnea in 1809�10. First published by

Bihar and Orissa Research Society, Patna (1928).

New Delhi: Usha.

Chattopadhyay, Nilanjan (2003). �Dighir Jela Dakshin

Dinajpur�, Lok: Banglar Dighi O Jalashay (in Bengali),

pp. 319�28.

Colebrooke, Major R. H. (1808). �On the Course of

the Ganges through Bengal�, Asiatic Researches

Comprising History and Antiquities, the Arts, Sciences and

Literature of Asia 7: 1�31 (reprint 1979, New Delhi).

Cortesao, A. (1945). �The �City of Bangala� in Early

Reports�, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal

11: 10�14.

126

Habib, Irfan (1999). The Agrarian System of Mughal India

1556�1707. New Delhi (first edition 1963).

Hunter, W. W. (1876). A Statistical Account of Bengal,

Volume VII, Districts of Malda, Rangpur and Dinajpur.

London: Trubner & Co. (reprint 1984, Delhi:

Concept Publishing Company).

Jana, Byomkesh (2003). �Maldaha Jelar Kayekti Dighi-

Sarobar�, Lok: Banglar Dighi O Jalashay (in Bengali),

pp. 409�18.

Kaviraj, Krishnadas (BS 1386). Chaitanya Charitamrita (in

Bengali), Basumati edn.

Khan, Khan Sahib M. Abid Ali (reprint 1986). Memoirs

of Gaur and Pandua. Calcutta.

Lambourn, G. E. (1918). Bengal District Gazetteers, Malda.

Calcutta.

Panja, Sheena (2002). �Understanding Early Medieval

Sites of North Bengal�, Gautam Sengupta and

Sheena Panja (eds), Archaeology of Eastern India: New

Perspectives, pp. 225�76. Kolkata: Centre for Ar-

chaeological Studies & Training, Eastern India.

Pemberton, J. J. (1854). Geographical and Statistical Report

of the District of Maldah. Calcutta.

Sengupta, Jatindra Chandra (1969). West Bengal

Gazetteers, Malda. Calcutta.

Stapleton, H. E. (1930). �Introduction�, Memoirs of Gaur

and Pandua of Khan Sahib M. Abid Ali Khan.

Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of

West Bengal (reprint 1986).

Westmacott, E. V. (1918). �A Copperplate Containing

Land-grant by Lakshmansena Found Near Torpon

Dighi, District Dinajpur�, Journal of the Asiatic Society

of Bengal 44(1): 99�105.

SHARMI CHAKRABORTY