Chand Sadagar ( Assamese: চান্দ সদাগৰ,

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

: চাঁদ সদাগর) was a rich and powerful sea merchant of

Champaknagar Champaknagar is a small town some 30 km away from Agartala, the State capital of Tripur, India on the banks of river Saidra The Haora River is one of the major rivers of the West Tripura District of the Indian state Tripura, located betw ...

in Eastern India. This merchant has been claimed by both the Assamese and

people of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

to be associated with their respective states and communities. Medieval Bengali poet

Bipradas Pipilai Bipradas Pipilai was a 15th-century poet. He was the son of Mukunda Pipilai, the family hailed from Baduria-Batagram in 24 Parganas, now in the Indian state of West Bengal. Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali (editors), 1976/1998, ''Sansa ...

mentioned in his ''"

Manasamangal Kāvya Manasamangal Kāvya ( bn, মনসামঙ্গল কাব্য) is the oldest of the Mangal-Kāvya and narrates how the snake-goddess Manasa established her worship in Bengal by converting a worshipper of Shiva to her own worship. It is b ...

"'' (or "Manasa Vijay") that merchant ship of Chand Sadagar used to proceed to the sea from ancient Champaknagar of

Kamarupa Kamarupa (; also called Pragjyotisha or Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa), an early state during the Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, was (along with Davaka) the first historical kingdom of Assam. Though Kamarupa prevailed from 350 to 11 ...

after passing through Tribeni, situated at the junction of Saptagram and the confluence of

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a g ...

and Jamuna River of modern-day

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

. Narayan Dev in the Assamese scriptures gave an account in his ''Manasamangal'' about the merchant ship of the trader Chand Saudagar proceeding to the sea from ancient Champaknagar of Assam passing through Saptagram and Tribeni, the tri-junction of the Ganges, Saraswati and Jamuna River. In the ''Padmapuran'' (Hindu Sptures), account of Chand Bania (Sadagar) is specifically mentioned. Chand Sadagar, (Assamese: চান্দ সদাগৰ) who was a Merchant ("Bania" in Assamese) is believed to be the ancient descendant of the ethnic Bania community of Assam. He was a rich and powerful river and sea merchant of Champaknagar, Kamarupa who lived between 200 and 300 AD. Narayan Dev gave an account in his ''Manasamangal'' about the merchant ship of the trader Chand Saudagar proceeding to the sea from ancient Champaknagar of Assam passing through Saptagram and Tribeni, the tri-junction of the Ganges, Saraswati and Jamuna River. In the ''Padmapuran'', account of Chand Bania is specifically mentioned. Narayan Dev also have mentioned in ''Padmapuran'' about the father of Behula who was called as Sahe Bania. Sahe Bania established his kingdom at Udalguri/Tangla area of the old Kamarupa.Further, it has been established in the history book "Mangaldai Buranji" by the historian Dineswar Sarma that Chand Sadagar belonged to ancient Bania community whose predecessors are represented by the Assamese Bania community today. These people later got scattered all over Brahmaputra valley. However, people with direct lineage of Chand Sadagar are still there in Udalguri and Tangla district of Assam. The ruins and statue of Chand Sadagar are found in Chhaygaon Area of Assam.It is proved genuine by the Archaeological Department of India. Moreover, Champaknagar is still found in Chaigaon of Kamarupa.

Champaknagar

Champaknagar of Chand Sadagar has been claimed by both the

and

Assamese people The Assamese people are a socio- ethnic linguistic identity that has been described at various times as nationalistic or micro-nationalistic. This group is often associated with the Assamese language, the easternmost Indo-Aryan language, ...

to be situated in their respective states.The original is at Champak nagar in Chaygaon,Assam.

Bengali Version

According to the local folklore of

''Champainagari'', or Kasba-Champainagari, situated in the

Purba Bardhaman district Purba Bardhaman district is in West Bengal. Its headquarters is in Bardhaman. It was formed on 7 April 2017 after the division of the previous Bardhaman district. Great revolutionary Rash Behari Bose was born in village Subaldaha in the district ...

is the Champak Nagar of Chand Sadagar. The locals believe that the place is associated with Ma Manasa and Chand Sadagar. In "

Ain-i-Akbari The ''Ain-i-Akbari'' ( fa, ) or the "Administration of Akbar", is a 16th-century detailed document recording the administration of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, written by his court historian, Abu'l Fazl in the Persian language. It for ...

" also the name of Champainagari Pargana under Sarkar Madaran has been mentioned, which was located in the present Purba Bardhaman district of West Bengal. Kasba-Champainagari is located on the north bank of Damodar River, approx. 32 miles west of

Bardhaman Bardhaman (, ) is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of Purba Bardhaman district, having become a district capital during the period of British rule. Burdwan, an alternative name for the city, ...

city and south of Budbud. We know from the story of Manasamangal that Chand Sadagar was a straunch Shaivite and he even built a Shiva temple in his house. According to the local folklore of this village, the two Shivalingas (one of which is Rameshwar Shivalinga) resting in two ancient Shiva Temples situated in this village of

Purba Bardhaman Purba Bardhaman district is in West Bengal. Its headquarters is in Bardhaman. It was formed on 7 April 2017 after the division of the previous Bardhaman district. Great revolutionary Rash Behari Bose was born in village Subaldaha in the district ...

were established by Chand Sadagar himself. There is a beautiful Shiva temple on a high mound situated to the south of the DVC canal. The Shiva temple, located next to a huge Ashwattha tree, has a huge Shivalinga (without the Gauri Patta), known as Rameshwar Shivalinga. There are also two high mounds in the village, one of which is believed to be the ruins of Behula's Basarghar (Sati-Tirtha) and Chand Sadagar's house. Sundarban Tiger Reserve of West Bengal, is associated as the place where Neti, foster mother of Ma Manasha, lived and worked as a washerwoman. A temple at

Howrah Howrah (, , alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River opposite its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively it lies within Howrah district, and is ...

, a

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

neighborhood, is believed to have been built by Chand Sadagar. Between the citadel and the eastern embankment at

Gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ), also known as the Indian bison, is a bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 m ...

, a ruined structure, is claimed to be the house of Chand Sadagar.

Assamese Version

According to Assamese folklore, Champaknagar is placed in

Chaygaon Chaygaon is a town in Kamrup district of Assam, India; situated on the south bank of the Brahmaputra river. It is 36.8 km from major town Guwahati. The town is known for "Maa Chandika Devalaya", a Shakti Peeth, where thousands of devotee ...

, Kamrup, about 30-40 km from Guwahati, Assam. Champaknagar is still there in Chaigaon area of Kamarupa in Assam. To escape from the plight of Ma Manasa, Lakhindhar and Behula escaped to a place called

Gokul Medh Gokul Medh is an archaeological site in Bangladesh. It is an excavated mound in the village of Gokul in Bogra Sadar Upazila, Bogra, about 2km southwest of Mahasthangarh. It is also known as ''Lakshindar Medh,'' as it is known in folklore as the ...

, 3 km south of

Mahasthangarh Mahasthangarh ( bn, মহাস্থানগড়, ''Môhasthangôṛ'') is one of the earliest urban archaeological sites so far discovered in Bangladesh. The village Mahasthan in Shibganj upazila of Bogra District contains the remain ...

and 9 km north of

Bogra Bogra ( bn, বগুড়া), officially known as Bogura, is a major city located in Bogra District, Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh. The city is a major commercial hub in Northern Bangladesh. It is the second largest city in Rajshahi Divi ...

town, 1 km from the Bogra-Rangpur road of modern

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

after Behula's Basarghar or Lakhinder's Medh. During excavations here in 1934–36, 162 rectangular abattoirs were found in a lined courtyard. It was built in the sixth or seventh century AD. According to local folklore, this place is associated with Behula and Lakhinder. The remains of a temple have been found 800 meters west of the north-west corner of the ruins at Chengispur village in Mahasthangarh. It is called Khullana mound. The Karatoya River, which flows through the region, is now narrow but is known to have been huge in the past. There is a region in Dhubri district of Assam, much north of Bogra. The area is believed to be reminiscent of Mansa's companion leader.

In popular culture

*In 1927, Manmatha Roy wrote the mythological Bengali play ''Chand Saudagar'', portraying the title character. *In 1934, Prafulla Roy directed a Bengali film ''Chand Saudagar'' in which

Dhiraj Bhattacharya Dhiraj Bhattacharya (5 November 1905 - 1959) was an actor of Bengali and Hindi cinema who began in silent films. He was also a theater personality and writer. Early life Bhattacharya was born in a zamindar family of Panjia village, near Jessor ...

played the role of Lakshmindara, Ahindra Choudhury that of Chand Sadagar, Devbala of Manasa, Sefalika Devi of Behula, Jahar Ganguli of Kalu Sardar, Indubala of a singer, Niharbala of Neta Dhobani, Padmabati of Sanaka and Usharani of Amala. It was written by Manmatha Roy. Film editing was by Akhil Neogi. *In 2010,

STAR Jalsha Star Jalsha is an Indian Bengali language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. It broadcasts Bengali-language programming, such as family dr ...

create a Bengali serial "Behula". *

Amitav Ghosh Amitav Ghosh (born 11 July 1956)Ghosh, Amitav
, ''

's novel ''Gun Island'' deals with Chand Sadagar. *2022 Bangladeshi film '' Hawa'' is loosely based on this myth.

References

{{reflist Assamese folklore 200 births Indian explorers