Saptagram

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saptagram (Bengali: সপ্তগ্রাম) (colloquially called Satgaon) was a major port, the chief city and sometimes capital of southern Bengal, in ancient and medieval times, the location presently being in the Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is about 4 km from Bandel, a major rail junction. By the early twentieth century, the place had dwindled to a group of insignificant huts.[1] The port had to be abandoned because of the silting up and consequent drying of the Saraswati River. It had an impact on the subsequent development and growth of Kolkata. H. E. A. Cotton writes, “Here then may be traced nucleus of the future city of Calcutta, and as time went on the silting up of the river opposite Satgaon still further favoured her fortunes.”[1]

Contents

[edit] Origin of name

The word ‘Saptagram’ means seven villages. These are identified as Bansberia, Kristapur, Basudebpur, Nityanandapur, Sibpur, Sambachora and Baladghati. [2]

There is an interesting mythological story attached to the name. King Priyabanta of Kannauj had seven sons – Agnitra, Medhatithi, Bapusman, Jyotisman, Dutisman, Saban and Bhabya. They were not happy with the royal life and so they set out in search of a place where they could carry out their meditation. When they came to the confluence of Ganga, Jamuna and Saraswati, they liked the place and settled down in seven villages to a hermit’s life. Thus grew Saptagram around the seven villages.[3]

[edit] Geography

Saraswati River, which used to take off from Hooghly River at Triveni, 50 km north of Kolkata, ran parallel to the Hooghly River on its west.[4]It is believed that the Saraswati used to flow on the bed of the Rupnarayan River on which stood the port of Tamralipta. Since the end of the 7th century, the Saraswati had begun to move towards the present course of the Hughli river. By the early twelfth century, the Saraswati had moved to a position when it flowed out of the Hooghly River at the Triveni junction (of the Ganges, the Saraswati and the Jamuna) and after a movement towards the west turned to the southeast to meet the Hooghly River again at Betore opposite present Garden Reach, thus forming a loop. Saptagram was situated on the upper part of the loop on the southern bank. [5]Saraswati started drying up from the 17th century and ships, which navigated up the river, could no longer do so.[3]

Around the time when Bakhtiyar Khilji came to Bengal, the region was divided into five parts – Rarh, Bagri, Vanga, Barendra, and Mithila. Vanga was further subdivided into three parts – Lakhanabati, Subarnagram and Saptagram. When the frontiers of Bengal were expanded during Mughal rule, there were three prominent administrative zones in the area – Sirkar Satgaon, Sirkar Selimabad and Sirkar Mandaran.[3]

[edit] History

Saptagram is mentioned in old Bengali literature, testifying its popularity in earlier times. In Manasamangal by Bipradas Pipilai (15th century), when the merchant Chand Sadagar goes for trade in his many ships he passes through Saptagram. In Chandimangal by Mukundaram (16th century) there is a line, “Where doesn’t the merchant from Saptagram go?”[3]

Not much is noted about Saptagram in recorded ancient history. The first mention probably was that of the conquest of Saptagram by Baharam Itgin Zaffar Khan, the former ruler of Devkot, in 1298.[6] Zaffar Khan had built a mosque at Saptagram collecting materials from many Hindu and Buddhist temples, thereby indicating the prosperity of Saptagram in the earlier Hindu and Buddhist periods.[7]It is the oldest mosque in Bengal.[8]

A major event during the rule of Tuglaqs (Bengal rule:1336-1358) was the visit to Saptagram of Ibn Battuta in 1350.[9]From various records it is noted that local traders did not go abroad for trading but Arab, Persian and Turkish traders came to Saptagram for the purpose. The Portuguese started coming to Saptagram from the early 16th century.[3]

[edit] Europeans at Saptagram

In 1533, the Portuguese Afonso de Melo arrived with five ships and a hundred men. They presented lavish gifts to the Sultan. However, instead of being pleased the Sultan put the Portuguese behind bars, because the gifts were stolen materials. A conflict situation arose. Messages were sent to the Portuguese governor at Goa. Chittagong port was set on fire. Diano Rebelo arrived at Saptagram with a force. Many thought that Sultan Ghiasuddin Mahmud Shah would give a big fight. He did not. He released the Portuguese prisoners and granted them permission to trade at Chittagong and Saptagram. He had his own reasons; he wanted the support of the Portuguese in the internal struggle that was just unfolding.[3]

By 1535, the Portuguese were well settled in Saptagram. When Sher Khan attacked Saptagram, the Portuguese fought for the Sultan, but they withdrew their forces in 1538. The same year Sultan Ghiasuddin Mahmud Shah was defeated. It was only after Sher Shah’s death and the decline of Afghan supremacy that the Portuguese returned to Saptagram by around 1550.[3]

Travelers visiting Saptagram presented glowing descriptions of the trade and commerce. Caesar Frederick, a Venetian who had travelled in the East from 1563 to 1581 and has left behind an account about some important cities, ports and business centres of India and of Bengal, mentions thirty to thirty five ships loaded with goods at Saptagram. Tomé Pires, a Portuguese traveller, did not visit Bengal but his great work Suma Oriental written during his tenures in India and Malacca (1512-1515) gives a valuable account of contemporary Bengal. He wrote, “It is a good city and rich where there are many merchants. It must have ten thousand inhabitants. Ralf Fitch, an English traveller and trader, found “Satgaon is a fairie city for a city of the Moors, and very plentiful of all things. In 1591, he thrilled London with the magnificent possibilities of Eastern commerce.[3][5]

The Portuguese called Saptagram Porto Pequeno or Little Haven, Chaittagong was Porto Grande or Great Haven. The silting of the river was taking its toll. Adi Ganga or present Tolly’s Nullah was the outlet to the sea. The river was easily navigable for ocean-going ships up to Adi Ganga, beyond that only country boats operated. Betore on the western bank of the river had come up as a roaring trading centre. Many traders had started shifting to Hooghly. The Sheths and Basacks made their way to the eastern bank of the river, and set up the village of Gobindapur. It was much later that Job Charnock came and landed at Sutanuti.[1]As the curtain wrung down over Saptagram, Kolkata started unfolding as a major metropolis.

Now, it is all quiet riverside, partly urbanised with an occasional factory chimney belching smoke in the distance. The Ishwar Gupta Setu, opened in 1989, linking Bandel with Kalyani offers a majestic view of the Hooghly River.[8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Cotton, H.E.A., Calcutta Old and New, 1909/1980, p. 2, General Printers and Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
  2. ^ Temples of Bengal. Saptagram. hindubooks.org. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Patree, Purnendu, Purano Kolkatar Kathachitra, (a book on History of Calcutta), (Bengali), first published 1979, 1995 edition, pp. 65-71, Dey’s Publishing, ISBN 81-7079-751-9.
  4. ^ Das Gupta, Siva Prasad, The Site of Calcutta: Geology and Physiography, in Calcutta, the Living City, Vol. I, p. 2, edited by Sukanta Chaudhuri, p. 17, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-563696-3.
  5. ^ a b Aniruddha Ray, and Md Akhtaruzzaman. Satgaon. Banglapedia. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
  6. ^ Bandopadhyay, Rakhaldas, Banglar Itihas (History of Bengal), 1971, (Bengali), p. 8, Naba Bharat Publishers, 72 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Kolkata.
  7. ^ Bandopadhyay, Rakhaldas, pp. 66-67
  8. ^ a b Sengupta, Somen. Next weekend you can be at... Tribeni. The Telegraph, 23 October 2005. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
  9. ^ Bandopadhyay, Rakhaldas, p. 81

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

v • d • e
Places in Bengal that no longer exist