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53-717: Maloti or Maluti may refer to: Maluti , a small town in Dumka District, Jharkhand, India Maloti, Eastern Cape , a town in Alfred Nzo District Municipality, Eastern Cape province, South Africa The Maloti mountains in the highlands of Lesotho , also commonly spelled "Maluti". On the South African side of the range it is called the Drakensberg The plural of Lesotho loti ,

106-736: A grant of Laugram and some villages around it. The veracity of this story is questioned and there are other versions of this story to back up the Kshatriya links of the Bishnupur kings. Adi Malla ruled in Laugram for 33 years and has been known as the Bagdi Raja . He was succeeded by his son, Jay Malla , who invaded Padampur and captured the fort, then the power-centre. Jay Malla extended his domains and shifted his capital to Bishnupur. The subsequent kings steadily extended their kingdom. Among

159-679: A later period when assimilation of the region with the Proto-Indo-Europeans gained firm roots. The Rajas of Bishnupur were also known as Malla kings. Malla is a Sanskrit word meaning wrestler but there could be some links with the Mal tribes of the area, who had an intimate connection with the Bagdis . The area around Bishnupur was called Mallabhum The core area would cover present-day Bankura police station area (excluding Chhatna ), Onda , Bishnupur, Kotulpur and Indas . In olden days

212-407: A point called Sadarghat to an up-stream point named Shirali. The distance between the two points is only a kilometer. The archeological remains of late medieval period inside the village Maluti and availability of pre-historic stone tools from the outskirt have made this village a treasure trove of archeology. Today, an important priority of the village Maluti is maintaining its 72 ancient temples. It

265-488: A priest but failed because he couldn't memorise Sanskrit mantras. He was made to cook food for the puja. During his 18-month stay in Maluti, Bamakhyapa used to spend most of his time at Mauliskshya temple. Here he was first blessed. Then, he moved to Tarapith. His trident is still preserved at Maluti. But Maluti, may not be in this name, existed long before being the kingdom of the tax-exempted capital of Baj Basanta dynasty. It

318-481: A rich endowment of land and money. He introduced the worship of Madan Mohan in Bishnupur. Raghunath Singha, who followed Bir Hambir, was the first Bishnupur Raja family got the title of Singha(Lion) as an honour due to the strength of Rasliimlli. It is said that he was conferred upon with this title by the Nawab of Murshidabad. Bishnupur kingdom had entered its golden age. With exquisite palaces and temples built during

371-671: Is Ma Mauliksha Temple, which is the main deity of royal family of Baj Basanta Ray and Guardian Goddess of Maluti. Interestingly this goddess is not found in Hindu scripture but is found in Vajrayana Buddhism as the Goddess Pāndora . Gradually the Buddhist influence of this region tempers down and become a Goddess of Hindu tantra . History of Bankura district#Bishnupur kingdom History of Bankura district refers to

424-481: Is a story associated with his beginning. In 695 AD, a prince of one of the royal families of northern India made a pilgrimage with his wife to the Jagannath temple at Puri . He halted in the midst of a great forest at Laugram, 8.4 kilometres (5.2 mi) from Kotulpur. He left his wife who was about to give birth to a child in the care of a Brahmin. The wife gave birth to a son and they remained back in Laugram. When

477-432: Is alleged that the king of Nankar state originally constructed 108 temples, but later generations could not maintain such a huge number of monuments, and most were left uncared for. With the passing of time, as many as 36 monuments deteriorated and finally crumbled completely. In a 2010 report titled Saving Our Vanishing Heritage , Global Heritage Fund identified Maluti's Temples as one of 12 worldwide sites nearest ("On

530-429: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Maluti Maluti is located at 24°09′40″N 87°40′29″E  /  24.16111°N 87.67472°E  / 24.16111; 87.67472 Note: The full screen map is interesting. All places marked on the map are linked in the full screen map and one can easily move on to another page of his/her choice. Enlarge

583-548: Is said that Adi Shankaracharya, on his way to Varanasi, had stopped over at Maluti. And it is here that he launched his mission against Buddhism. Some historians say Maluti is the first place where the Vedic upheaval started. Dandiswami of Varanasi's Sumeru Math still comes here once a year as part of the ritual that began with Adi Shankaracharya. Some pre-historic stone tools found in the river bed of Chila confirm that Maluti used to be inhabited by our pre-historic fore-fathers, though

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636-704: The Proto-Indo-European group, who prevailed in northern India, substantially later than rest of Bengal. There were two primary groups of people, the Nishadas (who were Proto-Australoid tribes) and Dasa-dasyus (related to Dravidians ). Santals and Mal Pahariyas were probably also there from the beginning. There were substantial differences amongst the tribes in relation to food, dress, religion, behavioral patterns, and other matters and there were severe limitations on inter-mixing, not to think of inter-marriage. When Proto-Indo-Europeans arrived on

689-673: The 18th century. First, the Maharaja of Burdwan seized the Fatehpur Mahal, and then the Maratha invasions laid waste their country. Gopal Singha (1730–1745) was a pious king but was not fit to cope with the difficulties that faced his kingdom. He issued an edict that people of Mallabhum should count their beads and chant Harinam (name of God) every evening at sunset. In 1742, when the Marathas, under Bhaskar Rao, attacked Bishnupur,

742-621: The 49th ruler of the Malla dynasty who flourished around 1586 AD and ruled in 16th-17th century, was a contemporary of the Mughal emperor Akbar . He was involved on the side of Mughals in their struggle against the Afghans and is mentioned by Muslim historians. He paid an annual tribute to the Muslim viceroys of Bengal and thus acknowledged their suzerainty. Bir Hambir was both powerful and pious. He

795-508: The Bishnupur princes... these jungle kings were little known to the Muslim rulers of the fertile portions of Bengal, and were never interfered with. For long centuries, therefore, the kings of Bishnupur were supreme within their extensive territories. At a later period of Muslim rule, and when the Mughal power extended and consolidated itself on all sides, a Mughal army sometimes made its appearance near Bishnupur with claims of tribute, and tribute

848-575: The Chuars continued to be a menace, Bankura played an important role in the commercial department of East India Company. Sonamukhi had a head factory with 31 subordinate ones, including one at Patrasayar , as well as at Surul and Ilambazar in Birbhum. The disturbances of the Chuars in 1832 in the western part of the district lead to the disbandment of the Jungle Mahals in 1833. While Bishnupur

901-461: The Muslim rulers in the internal affairs of Bishnupur. This is also confirmed by Muslim historians. The status of the Raja of Bishnupur was that of a tributary prince, exempted from personal attendance at the court at Murshidabad , and represented there by a resident. The Bishnupur Rajas who were at the summit of their fortunes towards the end of the 17th century, started declining in the first half of

954-518: The Verge") of irreparable loss and damage, citing insufficient management as primary cause. With regards to the temples' architecture, it is noticed that in the existing temples no particular style, like Nagara, Vesar or Dravida, have been followed. The specialist artisans who were obviously from Bengal had given shape to numerous designs while constructing these temples. Their designs have been assigned to five categories. The main temple of Maluti site

1007-574: The area was never excavated. The river Chila is flowing at the edge of the village and marks the boundary of Jharkhand and West Bengal. The river originated from Banspahari, a highland in the Dumka district and meet with Dwarka River in Bengal. Stone tools and primitive weapons are found on the river bed at different place. The stone-tools found in the area are hand-axes, scrappers and blades. Plenty of waste materials are also found scattered everywhere on

1060-526: The broad course of the spread of Buddhism and Jainism in Bengal. There is ample evidence of pre-eminence of Aryan religion and culture in West Bengal from around 6th century AD. From around 7th century AD till around the advent of British rule, for around a millennium, history of Bankura district is identical with the rise and fall of the Hindu Rajas of Bishnupur . Romesh Chunder Dutt wrote in

1113-532: The capital of Baj Basanta dynasty — turn out to be a 'temple city' is also an interesting story. Instead of constructing palaces, the Rajas built temples. The dynasty was broken into parts (tarafs) but each taraf kept building temples, competing with the others. In the end, it turned out be a unique temple village. Inscriptions in Proto-Bengali on the temples show they were named after women. In another opinion

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1166-465: The child was around 7 years old, he started working as a cowherd. The child started showing signs of greatness and was ultimately trained as a warrior. When he was 15 years old he had no equal as a wrestler in the territory all around. It was this that earned him the sobriquet of Adi Malla, the original or unique wrestler. He became a chieftain by the grace of Raja of Padampur, near modern Joypur , 12.8 kilometres (8.0 mi) from Laugram. The Raja made him

1219-456: The currency of Lesotho Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Maloti . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maloti&oldid=677074529 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

1272-542: The full screen map to see what else is there – one gets railway connections, many more road connections and so on. According to census of 2011; the total number of Houses in Maluti is 325, and the total population is 1469 (male=761, female=708). The total number of children aged 0–6 is 163 (male=93,female=70). 363 people (male=189, female=174) belong to Schedule Castes , and 52 (male=23, female=29) to Schedule Tribes . Maluti village has higher literacy rate compared to Jharkhand overall. In 2011, literacy rate of Maluti village

1325-533: The history of the present Bankura district in the Indian state of West Bengal . Historically, the region was under the realm of Rarh in ancient Bengal . The earliest signs of human habitation in the area was at Dihar , discovered by Maniklal Sinha in the early 1970s. By about 1200-1000 BC chalcolithic people had settled on the north bank of the Dwarakeswar . In later pre-historic times this area

1378-610: The idol of Madan Gopal, but the British restored the latter to power. However, intrigue and litigation continued for many years. Litigation ruined the Bishnupur Raj family and eventually in 1806, the estate was sold for arrears of land revenue and bought up by the Maharaja of Burdwan. Bishnupur was ceded to the British with the rest of Burdwan chakla in 1760. The Marathas had laid the country waste and famine of 1770 completed

1431-689: The inscription on the Allahabad pillar Chandravarman was defeated by Samudragupta and the area became a part of the Gupta Empire . The area was for many years part of Dandabhukti and Bardhamanbhukti . In the old Jain book Acaranga Sutra (around 4th century AD) there is mention of Sumha and Ladha (Rarh?) and there too the reference is to an area inhabited by uncivilised and barbaric people. Many historians opine that assimilation with Proto-Indo-Europeans took place first in northern and eastern Bengal and then in western Bengal. This has also been

1484-624: The late 19th century, “The ancient Rajas of Bishnupur trace back their history to a time when Hindus were still reigning in Delhi, and the name of the Muslims was not yet heard in India. Indeed, they could already count five centuries of rule over the western frontier tracts of Bengal before Bakhtiyar Khalji wrested the province from the Hindus. The Muslim conquest of Bengal, however, made no difference to

1537-635: The middle country has been partially Aryanised, Pundra , Banga and Kalinga had only come in contact with the Aryans or Proto-Indo-Europeans of northern India. In the 4th century AD, it is learned from the Susunia edicts, in Prakrit and Sanskrit , that Chandravarman , son of Simhavarman, ruled at Pushkarana (modern Pakhanna ). The extent of his dominions may have been more or less coterminous with ancient Rarh region or south-west Bengal. According to

1590-519: The misery of the kingdom. A large section of the population was swept away, cultivation fell, and lawlessness spread. The once powerful king had been reduced to the status of a mere zamindar . In 1787, Bishnupur was united with Birbhum to form a separate administrative unit, the headquarters was shifted to Suri , and a rebellious situation prevailed. The situation was so bad that the people of Bishnupur came to be known as Chuars or robbers. Bankura continued to be one district with Birbhum till 1793, when it

1643-433: The more renowned are: Kalu Malla, the fourth in line, Kau Malla, the sixth in line, Jhau Malla, the seventh in line, and Sur Malla, the eighth in line, who defeated the Raja of Bagri, a place now in northern Midnapore. He was followed by 40 other kings, all of whom were known as Mallas or Mallabaninath, which means lords of Mallabhum or Mallabani. Family records show that they were independent of foreign powers. Bir Hambir ,

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1696-591: The name of the village Maluti probably comes from Mallahati of Malla Kings of Bankura, Vishnupur had suzerainty over this area. That point of time this area ruled by Malla kings of Bankura was Damin-i-koh ( present pakur in north. Burdwan in the east, Midnapore in south and some portion of Chota Nagpur Plateau in west) This vast land was called Mallabhum . The village might have been named in those days by prefixing 'Malla' in relevance with royal dynasty. Around 1857, Swami Bamdev (or Sadhak Bamakhyapa ), one of Bengal's greatest spiritual leaders, came here to be

1749-463: The period that followed Bishnupur was reputed to be the most renowned city in the world, more beautiful than the house of Indra in heaven. However, it has also been recorded that while these royal patrons of Hindu art and religion were busy building temples they had lost much of their independence and sunk to the position of tributary princes. Raghunath Singha built the temples of Shyam Rai, Jor Bangla and Kalachand between 1643 and 1656. Raghunath Singha

1802-466: The pet hawk of the sultan and gave it back to the sultan. In lieu of the hawk (Baj), Basanta was given the kingdom. Hence, the king was called Raja Baj Basanta. The capital of Baj Basanta dynasty was in Damra. Later it was shifted to Maluti. The royal family was very pious. Basanta became a king in lieu of a baj (hawk) by the help of a Dandi Sanyasi of Sumeru Math, Kashi may be true to a great extent because

1855-469: The river bed. These tools belonged to transit period from Early Stone Age to the Middle Stone Age . The working edge is scattered and is still sharp. Neolithic or Chaleolithic specimens are not found in the village or its vicinity as yet. According to archeologist Prof. Subrata Chakravorty of Visva-Bharati University , the tools belonged to Paleolithic period. Prof. Subrata Chakravorty divided

1908-471: The ruin of the Bishnupur house, which is an impoverished zamindari in the present day.” The origins of the Rajas of Bishnupur is somewhat clouded in mystery. According to O'Malley, all through the centuries, they were acknowledged as the kings of Bagdis. However, the Rajas of Bishnupur and many of their followers have laid claims to their being Kshatriyas linked to the Kshatriya clans of northern India. The claims seem to have originated or gathered momentum at

1961-445: The scene, they gradually effected assimilation, based primarily on their concepts of work and quality, which led to the development of caste-based society or it could be the extension of an older system. The assimilation was not easy and took many centuries, and was achieved through both conflict and cordiality. In the religious texts of Baudhayana Dharmasutra (around 5th-6th century BC), it has been mentioned that while Anga and

2014-473: The temples of Madan Mohan and Murali Mohan in 1665. He walled up alive all his sons, eighteen in number. The youngest, Durjan, alone escaped, having been kept in hiding by the servants. Durjan Singha built the Madan Mohan temple in 1694. According to family records, the kings of Bishnupur continued to pay tribute to the Muslim rulers but they were free to do things internally. There was no interference by

2067-489: The term was used for a much larger area, which probably was the furthest extent of the Bishnupur kingdom. In the north it stretched from Damin-i-koh in Santhal Parganas to Midnapore in the south. It included the eastern part of Bardhaman and parts of Chota Nagpur in the west. Portions of the district appear to have been originally the homes of aboriginal tribes, who were gradually subdued. The Khatra region

2120-931: The tools into two broader categories Acheulian and Middle Paleolithic. Some Mesolithic artefacts also are available in the site. Prof. Chakravorty detailed the Acheulian finds discovered from Chila, classification of such tools collected from the site and raw materials used to make those tools. Acheulian found at Maluti Sadarghaton Chila, the river that flows in Birbhum – Jharkhand border land. Acheulian finds discovered from three localities one of them fossiliferous include hand axes, cleavers, choppers, scrappers and unqualified wastes, flakes, cores and chips are made of raw materials — traps, basalts, quartzites, charts, jasper. The assemblage of Maluti Sadarghat Acheulian sites show preponderance of various other tools such as retouched flakes, side scrappers, end scrappers, point borers and sundry light duty tools. The tools bearing area extends from

2173-426: The treasury, the Marathas harried the less protected parts of the kingdom. The Maratha chief, Sheobhat, made Bishnupur his headquarters in 1760 during the invasion of Shah Alam . The Marathas fell with their heaviest weight on border principalities such as Bishnupur and Birbhum. Exactions of a hundred sorts reduced the once powerful kingdom to poverty. The tenants fled and the country became desolate. Chaitanya Singha

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2226-466: The troops put up a spirited defence but then Gopal Singha retreated within the fort and ordered the troops and citizens to pray to Madan Mohan to save the city. It is believed that Madan Mohan responded and the cannons were fired without human assistance. The truth probably is that the Maratha cavalry were unable to pierce the strong fortifications and retired. While they failed to take the fort and pillage

2279-489: The word Baj has been pre-fixed with the name of Basanta to commemorate the event. The name Baj Basanta is comparatively prominent because it can be found both in local history and government records. Swamiji, the head of Sumeru Math, Varanasi , was the preceptor of Basanta. Since then the head of Sumeru Math who is called Rajguru becomes the preceptor of descendants of king Baj Banata. Even today Rajguru from Sumeru Math Varanasi spends sometime at Maluti every year. How Maluti —

2332-516: Was Dhalbhum , the Raipur region was Tungbhum , and the Chhatna region was Samantabhum . They were eventually overshadowed by the Malla kings of Bishnupur. There also are references in old scripts to Varahabhumi or Varabhumi (present-day Barabhum ) on whose borders run Darikesi river, and Sekhara mountain (probably present-day Pareshnath ). Adi Malla was the founder of the Malla dynasty. There

2385-577: Was 75.42% compared to 66.41% in Jharkhand. In Maluti Male literacy stands at 81.29%, while the female literacy rate was 69.28%. Maluti village came into limelight in fifteenth century as the capital of nankar raj (tax-free kingdom). The kingdom was awarded to one Basanta Roy of village Katigram by Sultan Alauddin Hussan Shah of Gauḍa (1495–1525). Son of a poor Brahmin Basanta managed to catch

2438-543: Was another pious ruler unfit to face the difficulties. As he was too involved in religious matters he did not have time for administrative matters. He faced internal feuds. Damodar Singha, a cousin of his, tried to gain power. He was able to convince the court at Murshidabad about his capabilities. Initially, Siraj ud-Daulah lent him forces but he was unable to capture Bishnupur. Later, after the British defeated Siraj, Mir Jafar lent him stronger forces. He succeeded in taking Bishnupur, and Chaitanya Singha escaped to Kolkata with

2491-476: Was converted to Vaishnavism by Srinivasa. There is mention in two Vaishnava works, Prem-vilasa of Nityananda Das (alias Balaram Das) and Bhakti Ratnakara of Narahari Chakrabarti, about Srinivasa and other bhaktas (devotees) being robbed by Bir Hambir, when they were travelling from Vrindavan to Gaur with a number of Vaishanava manuscripts. However, Bir Hambir was so moved by Srinivasa's reading of Bhagavata that he converted to Vaishnavism and gave Srinivasa

2544-409: Was inhabited by various Proto-Australoid and a few Proto-Dravidian tribes. The tribes were spread across different strata of development – food-gathering, hunting, animal-raring, and agriculture. Bankura district was part of Rarh in ancient times. This area was dominated by aboriginal tribes, more than other areas of Bengal , and was Aryanised or assimilated with the people and culture of

2597-545: Was married to the daughter of Shobha Singha, Zamindar of Midnapore . During his reign, he is said to be infatuated with a Persian dancer , called Lalbai. He took her under his protection and later dug a large pond in her name (Lalbandh pond). After he decided to marry Lalbai, Raghunath Singha was killed by his queen. Bir Singha built the present fort, the temple of Lalji in 1658, and seven big lakes named Lalbandh, Krishnabandh, Gantatbandh, Jamunabandh, Kalindibandh, Shyambandh, and Pokabandh. His queen, Siromani or Chudamani, built

2650-495: Was once revered as a great seat of learning. Mention of Maluti — known as Gupta Kashi in ancient times — is found as early as the Shunga dynasty (185 BC - 75 BC), whose founder was Pushyamitra Shunga (185 BC - 151 BC). It was at Maluti that the king of Pataliputra performed Ashvamedh Yajna . Later Vajrayani Buddhists , followers of Tantrik rituals, settled here. So, Mauliksha Maa is the most ancient idol ever found in Maluti. It

2703-539: Was probably sometimes paid. Nevertheless, the Subahdars of Murshidabad , never had that firm hold over the Rajas of Bishnupur which they had over the closer and more recent Rajaships of Burdwan and Birbhum. As the Burdwan Raj grew in power, the Bishnupur family fell into decay; Maharaja Kirti Chand of Burdwan attacked and added to his zamindari large slices of his neighbour's territories. The Marathas completed

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2756-474: Was transferred to Burdwan, most of the district formed a part of Manbhum and what was known as North-west Frontier Agency. In 1872, the parganas of Sonamukhi, Indas, Kotulpur, Shergarh and Senpahari were transferred to Burdwan. In 1879, the district acquired its present shape with the thanas of Khatra and Raipur and the outpost of Simplapal being transferred from Manbhum, and the thanas of Sonamukhi, Kotulpur and Indas being retransferred from Burdwan. However, it

2809-580: Was transferred to the Burdwan collectorate. Towards the end of the 18th century certain portions of the district around Raipur was affected by the Chuar Rebellion . The leader of the rebels was Durjan Singh , a former zamindar of Raipur. He had a following of about 1,500 men and created havoc in certain areas. The police force was simply not in a position to control the situation. At the time Bankura appears to have been part of Jungle Mahals . While

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