The sacred fortunes of Jessore

The sacred fortunes of Jessore

Faizul Khan Tanim visits an archaeological site in Manirampur upazila, Jessore from where an ancient terracotta plaque was discovered on December 18
Photo by Naeem Huque

On December 18, in the midst of the controversy and frenzy surrounding the now-cancelled Bangladeshi artefacts show in Paris, excavators working at the Damdampir site in Manirampur Upazilla of Jessore dug up a terracotta plaque bearing the image of the female Tirthankar (saint) of the Jain religion, Mallinath, believed to be the most ancient relic discovered from this part of the world. According to officials of the archaeology department, the plaque is at least 1800 years old and is currently being kept at the Khulna Museum.
The 15cm by 7.5cm by 2.2cm red and orange terracotta plaque, where the figure is holding two heads of a snake in both hands, bears further significance because Mallinath is believed to be the only female Tirthankar of the Jain dynasty. Born to King Kumbha Raja and Queen Prabhavati Rani at Mithila she is believed to be the 19th of the 24 Jain Tirthankars, the final one being Lord Mahavira. Mallinath was born on the fifth day of the Shravan Sukla month of the Hindu calendar.
‘The statue appears to be that of a female but does not have any breasts,’ says Shihab Uddin Md Akbar, Khulna regional director of the archaeology department. Akbar informs that according to historical books and records, the two sects of the Jain religion, Shvetambar and Digambar, were divided over whether Mallinath was a female. ‘Digambaras believed that Mallinath was a male while shvetambars believed that she was Malli Kumari, but as she became a Tirthankar, her name was changed to Nath and portrayed as a male,’ he says.
He, however, adds that more research has to be done in this area.
According to the regional office of the archaeology department, excavation work on the site began in mid-2004, after the site was declared ‘Protected Monument Area’ through a gazette notification in 1996.
‘In 1996, while laying the foundation for a madrassah on a government khas land, the construction workers discovered walls and old bricks,’ says Golam Ferdous, assistant custodian of Khulna archaeology department, ‘they informed the local chairman about the discovery who in turn informed the archaeology department.’
The excavation team, comprised of eight to nine workers, initially thought that it might be a Muslim establishment but as they dug deep, they retrieved square shaped cells, which pointed to a Budhhist monastery. ‘Digging deeper, we found a stronger resemblance to Hindu temples,’ says Mahbubul Haque, research officer of the archaeology department, ‘finally, after the statue was discovered from a pedestal, we now believed that the excavation area was once a Jain temple.’
Ferdous said that the bricks they retrieved were 36 by 26 by 6 cm, which is evidence that the site belonged to a pre-Muslim period.
Besides the seven-inch-long terracotta image of Mallinath, more antiques, including earthenware, from the 200-year-old Jain dynasty, have been discovered at the site.
Bricks ornamented with lotus flower imprints on its body, various flower motifs as well as other designs, earthen stoves, sandstones and black stones believed to be broken parts of Ganesh and Pancha Naag plaques, roulette wares and antimony rods have all been discovered at the site over the last year.
‘The site, one bigha and 10 shatak (0.17 hectares), went through two constructions at two different periods as well as two renovations at a different period,’ says Akbar.
The fact that the site dates back to the pre-Muslim period is based on some observations, say archaeologists. The offset design of the temple, the temple facing east, lotus decorations (which is prevalent in all Jain temples), a water reservoir (dighi) close to the temple whose width is north-south faced, the brick size and design, the boundary wall which has block on the west side, terracotta plaques and an ancient plant in the middle of the water reservoir called keli kodom, which blooms only in winter, all indicate towards it.
‘The flower is white in colour with a tinge of yellow and comes in the size of an apple. It blooms in a pack and hang like grapes. The smell is heavily intoxicating,’ inform locals.
The Khulna Archaeology department informs that only Taka four lakh had been allotted for the excavation work and the locals were involved to speed up the work.
The officials inform that not only was the inclusion of untrained workers unavoidable due to financial constraints, local knowledge of the different colours of the soil signifying different periods actually came of much help. There was not much resistance from the religious elements in the village either, say officials.
The excavation work was completed this month, however, it remains a protected area. It will be made open to the public next year.
The archaeology department officials believe that the Jessore area is rich in artefacts as they have news about more historical valuables found in places called Bhorotbhaina under Keshabpur Thana and Dhanpata, Khedapara in Manirampur - both under the Jessore district. These places require immediate conservation.

*This article was first published in the Daily New Age - http://www.newagebd.com/2008/feb/29/feb29/xtra_inner6.html