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RITUPARNA CHATTOPADHYAYPhD RESEARCH SCHOLAR
DEPARTMENT OF ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY AND CULTUREUNIVERSITY OF CALCUTTA
GLIMPSES OF TRADE IN EARLY AND EARLY MEDIEVAL BENGAL
THE MAHASTHANGARH BRAHMI INSCRIPTION EVIDENCED THAT PRESENT MAHASTHAN NEAR BOGRA OR THE ANCIENT PUNDRANAGARA (PUDANAGALA) WAS AN IMPORTANT COMMERCIAL CENTRE DURING THE TIME OF THE MAURYAS.
A MAHAMATRA WAS STATIONED AT PUNDRANAGARA. A KOSTHAGARA (GRANARY) WAS SET UP AT
PUDANAGALA FOR THE EMERGENECIES (ATYAYIKA). KAUTILYA ALSO SUGGESTS OF SETTING UP SUCH
GRANARIES UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE PANYADHAKSYAS (OFFICER IN CHARGE OF TRADE)IN IMPORTANT COMMERCIAL CENTRES.
THE INSCRIPTION ALSO HAS THE MENTIONS OF COINS LIKE GANDAKA (FOUR KAPARDAKAS OR COWRIES) AND KAKANIYAKA ( ONE KAPARDAKA OR COWRIE).
MAHASTHANGARH
NUMISMATIC SCENARIO OF THE MAURYAN BENGAL
COINS OF MAGADHA-MAURYA SERIES USED TO BE CIRCULATED IN THE THEN BENGAL. THAT SUGGESTS THAT BENGAL WAS WITHIN THE COMMERCIAL NETWORK OF THE MAURYAN EMPIRE.ALTHOUGH IN SOME PARTS OF
BENGAL MANY PUNCH MARKED COINS HAVE BEEN UNEARTHED WHICH DID NOT BELONG TO THE MAGADHA – MAURYA SERIES. PERHAPS THESE COINS WERE ISSUED BY SOME INDEPNDENT AUTHORITIES. THESE COINS ARE FOUND FROM WARI BATESWAR, CHANDRAKETUGARH AND TAMRALIPTA.
SILVER PMC OF MAGADHA – MAURYA SERIES
SILVER PMC FROM WARI BATESWAR
THE PORT TOWN GANGE HAS BEEN FREQUENTLY MENTIONED IN THE ACCOUNTS OF PTOLEMY, PLINY AND IN THE PERIPLUS OF THE ERYTHRAEAN SEA.
GANGE WAS THE SOURCE OF MALABATHRUM (TAMALAPATRA OR TEJPATA), GANGETIC NARD AND BEST QUALITY MUSLINS. THE FAME OF THE COTTON TEXTILES OF BENGAL CAN BE DATED BACK TO THE TIME KAUTILYA, AS HE PRAISED THE QUALITY OF THE DUKULAS (COTTON TEXTILE) OF BENGAL.
PERIPLUS HAD ALSO MADE THE MENTION OF A KIND OF CURRRENCY NAMED CALTIS CIRCULATED IN GANGE. B.N. MUKHERJEE HAD IDENTIFIED CALTIS AS GOLD PIECES USED AS CURRENCY FOR THE PURPOSE OF TRADE.
RISE OF GANGE
PRESENT CHANDRAKETUGARH HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS THE ANCIENT GANGE.
THE SEALS DISCOVERED FROM CHANDRAKETUGARH SUGGEST THAT IT WAS A GREAT CENTRE OF MARITIME TRADE.
THE SEALS DEPICTING SAILING CRAFTS CARRYING STYLISED STOCK OF GRAINS.
ONE SEAL HAS THE DEPICTION OF A SINGLE MASTED VESSEL ON WHICH A HORSE IS STANDING. THE MIXED BRAHMI-KHAROSTHI LEGEND OF THE SEAL DESCRIBES IT AS A TRAPYAKA. PERIPLUS ALSO HAS MENTIONED ABOUT SUCH VESSELS AS TRAPPAGA.
PERHAPS THE HORSES FROM CENTRAL ASIA WERE EXPORTED TO THE SOUTH EAST ASIAN COUNTRY THROUGH THE PORT OF GANGE.
CHANDRAKETUGARH SEALS
AS WELL AS THE GANGE TAMRALIPTI ALSO FEATURES IN THE ACCOUNTS OF PTOLEMY, PLINY, STRABO AND PERIPLUS.
COPPER ORES FROM THE MINES OF MAGADHA WERE EXPORTED FROM THIS PORT.
TAMRALIPTI HAD DIRECT CONNECTION WITH THE PORT MUJIRIS OF MALABAR COAST. THE SHIPS FROM BERENIKE OR MYOS HORMOS OF EGYPT SAILED TO MUJIRIS AND FROM THERE THOSE USED TO VOYAGE TO TAMRALIPTI.
FAXIAN SAILED TO SRILANKA FROM TAMRALIPTI. XUANG XANG ALSO MENTIONS ABOUT TAMRALIPTI (TAN – MO
– LI - TI ) AS A PROSPEROUS CENTRE. MANY SCHOLARS BELIEVE THAT GANGE WAS MERE A FEEDER
PORT OF TAMRALIPTI. BUT THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCES DO NOT
CORROBORATE WITH THE LITERARY EVIDENCES.
TAMRALIPTI THE PORT PAR EXCELLENCXE
AFTER THE DECLINE OF TAMRALIPTI AND GANGE SAMATATA – HARIKELA REGION (SOUTH – EASTERN BENGAL) EMERGED AS THE MOST COMMERCIALLY PROSPEROUS ZONE. THIS REGION HAD TRADE RELATIONS WITH SOUTH EAST ASIA, ESPECIALLY ARAKAN REGION. THIS REGION EXPERIENCED AN UNINTERRUPTED MINTING OF HIGH QUALITY SILVER COINS FOR SIX CENTURIES (750 -1300). THE LATER COINS OF HARIKELA HAVE PROXIMITIES WITH THE ARABIAN CURRENCY DIRHAM.
SHASHANKA ALSO HAD TO ISSUE GOLD COINS OF HIGHER DENOMINATIONS IN THIS REGION FOR THE PURPOSE OF TRADE.
RECENT FINDINGS OF POT INSCRIPTIONS IN THIS REGION ALSO CONFIRMS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN HARIKELA REGION AND THE ARAKAN REGION.
SAMATATA – HARIKELA: THE COMMERCIAL CAPITAL OF EARLY
MEDIEVAL BENGAL
THE PREMIER PORT OF THE HARIKELA REGION PRESENTLY IDENTIFIED AS CHITTAGONG.
SAMANDAR ALSO APPEARS AS SUDKAWAN OR SATTIGAON IN THE ARABIAN AND PERSIAN ACCOUNTS.
ARABIAN WRITERS LIKE SULAIMAN, IBN KHURDADBEH, AL MASUDI, AL IDRISI, AL MARZAVI REFERRED TO THE SAMANDAR. SAMANDAR ALSO FEATURES IN THE PERSIAN TEXT HUDUD AL ALAM. ZHOU RO GUE IN HIS ZHU FAN ZHI ALSO INDIRECTLY MENTIONED ABOUT IT. PORTUGEESE HISTORIANS TERMED IT AS GRANDE PORTE.
ACCORDING TO ARABIAN HISTORIANS SAMANDAR WAS A GREAT SOURCE OF QAMARUNI (KAMRUPI) ALOES WOOD OR AGURU, WHICH HAD A GREAT DEMAND IN CHINA AND THE COUNTRIES OF SOUTH EAST ASIA. ZHOU RO GUE ALSO PRAISED OF THE ALOES WOOD OF SAMANDAR. ONE OF THE COPPER PLATES OF SRICHANDRA ALSO HAS THE MENTION OF BLACK ALOES WOOD (SHYAMALAGURU) OF THIS REGION.
BESIDES ALOES WOOD THE RHINOCEROS HORNS WERE ANOTHER EXOTIC AND COSTLY TRADE ITEM OF THE SAMANDAR.
EMERGENCE OF SAMANDAR
THE TERM FIRST APPEARS IN A COPPER PLATE OF SRICHANDRA OF 971 C.E.
THE TERM DENOTES TO A PLACE WHERE WAREHOUSING FACILITIES WERE AVAILABLE.
THIS SAMBHANDARIYAKA ACTED AS A PUTABHEDANI OR WHERE THE TRADE GOODS USED TO BE UNPACKED.
ACCORDING TO RANABIR CHAKRAVARTI THIS PLACE WAS SITUATED AT SAVAR NEAR PRESENT DHAKA AND THE NAME SAVAR DERIVED FROM THE TERM SAMBHANDARIYAKA. IT WORKED AS AN IMPORTANT PORT IN BAY OF BENGAL TRADE.
VANGASAGARASAMBHANDARIYAKA
DEVA PARVATA LOCATED NEAR PRESENT MAINAMATI WAS A RIVERINE PORT. IT WAS ENCIRCLED BY KSIRODA RIVER AND DESCRIBED AS SARVATABHADRA (APPROACHABLE FROM ALL SIDES). IT ALSO SERVED AS THE CAPITAL OF THE POLITICAL POWERS LIKE THE CHANDRA, DEVA AND KHADGA.
DVARAHATAKA APPEARS IN THE SUNDARBAN COPPERPLATE OF DOMMANPAL, WHICH WAS A RIVERINE MARKET.
BETADDA CHATURAKA APPEARED IN SENA COPPERPLATES WAS ALSO AN IMPORTANT MARKET CENTRE OF EARLY MEDIEVAL BENGAL. BETADDA CHATURAKA HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS THE BATORE OF PRESENT HOWRAH.
DEVA PARVATA ,DVARAHATAKA AND BETADDA CHATURAKA