Bardhaman district

Bardhaman district (Pron: bɔrd̪ʰomaːn) (also spelled as Burdwan or Barddhaman) is a district in West Bengal. The headquarters of the district is Bardhaman, and it houses the cities of Durgapur and Asansol. In Medieval history, this area was known as Sharifabad.

It is the seventh most populous district in India (out of 640).

Etymology

The name of Bardhaman city, which lends its name to the district, comes from the 24th Jain monk Tirthankar Mahavir Bardhaman. Probably Mahavir was from a village named Ajahapur situated close to the NH2, near Memari Railway Station.

History

Bardhaman was important during Medieval age and while India was under British rule.

Prehistory

This fertile land was important even during the Gupta and Sena rule.

Medieval age

During the Mughal age, from the sixteenth century, Muslims came to the city of Bardhaman and set up a settlement in the outskirts known as Sharifabad. When Sufi pir Baharam had to leave Delhi because of the plots of Abul Fazal and Faizi, he came to Sharifabad. His tomb is visited by both Muslims and Hindus. It was an important administrative center and was the seat of a fouzdar till the days of Mansingha. Since then Bardhaman has been ruled by the Khetri Maharajas commanding a large territory and operating through Sananads obtained from Mughals. The Maharajas of Bardhaman faced the Nababs of Murshidabad firmly and were the main cause of survival of the Hindus against the forced mass conversion by Murshidkuli Khan and his successors.

Bardhaman

Bardhaman (Pron: ˈbɑ:dəˌmən) is a city of West Bengal state in eastern India. It is the headquarters of Bardhaman district.

Bardhaman became a district capital of British India. Burdwan is an alternative name for the city, which remains in use since the British period.

The history of Burdwan is known from about 5000 BC and belonging to the Mesolithic or Late Stone Age. The origin of this name dates back to the 6th century BCE and is ascribed to Vardhaman Swami or Mahavira (599-527 BCE), the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism, who spent some time in Astikagrama, according to the Jain scripture of Kalpasutra. This place was renamed as Vardhamana in his honour.

Geography

The region has an average elevation of 40 metres (131 ft). The city is situated 1100 km from New Delhi and a little less than 100 km north-west of Kolkata on the Grand Trunk Road (NH-2) and Eastern Railway. The chief rivers are the Damodar and the Banka.

The origin of this name dates back to 600 BCE and is ascribed to Vardhamanswami or Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara in Jainism, who spent some time in Astikagrama, according to the Jain scripture of Kalpasutra. This place was renamed as Vardhamana in his honour.

Bardhaman (disambiguation)

Bardhaman is a city in West Bengal.

Bardhaman or Burdwanor Barddhaman may also refer to: