Bengal contains many ancient historic sites and it is not possible to give a detailed account of them in the following pages. I shall therefore deal with some of them as briefly as possible.

Vishnupura: Visnupura is in the Bankura District in west Bengal. It is a centre of music culture. For many centuries it had been the capital of the Malla rãjãs who gave the name of Mallabhûmi or the land of wrestlers to the country ruled by them. The Mallabhûmi comprised the whole of the modern district of Bankura and parts of the adjoining districts of Burdwan, Midnapore, Manbhum and Singbhum. Adi Malla was the first king who was noted for his great skill in wrestling and archery. Raghunãtha who was the founder of the Malla dynasty of Visnupura was born while his parents were on their way to the sacred temple of Jagannãtha at Puri. He defeated the neighbouring chiefs of Pradyumnapura (in the Joypore Police Station) which he made as his seat of government. The royal ensign of the rulers of Mallabhûmi bore the device of a serpent's hood because Raghunãtha is said, according to tradition, to have been shaded by two huge cobras with their hoods spread over his head. The cobra's hood carved in stone is even now worshipped in that place under the name of Dandeávarl. The Hindu rãjãs of Visnupura were the rulers of a great portion of western Bengal long before the Mahommedan conquest by Bukhtiar Khilji. Jagat Malia, a ruler of Visnupura, removed the capital from Pradyumnapura to Visnupura. The Rãjãs of Visnupura were Siva1-worshippers. The temple dedicated to Malleávara Mahãdeva which is considered to be the oldest shrine, is still found there. The rãjãs afterwards became the ardent worshippers of Mrnmayi (an aspect of šakti2) whose temple still stands there. The worship of Dharma3 which Ramài Pandit4introduced, became very popular at Visnupura. The celebrated Bengali Mathematician Subhamkara Rãya lived under the Malla kings who were great patrons of learning

• 1. Siva is the third god of the Hindu Triad, the other two being Brahmä the Creator and Visnu, the preserver, the destroying and reproducing deity (creator, destroyer and regenerator).
• 2. Active power of a deity.
• 3. Dharmadeva, God of Justice.
• 4. Author of the Sunya Purnana and Sunya Pujapaddhati. He was an exponent of Dharma cult in Bengal. Some hold that doggerel verses were composed soon after the Mohammedan conquest. He was a contemporary of Dharmapala II who reigned in Gauda at the beginning of the 11th centuryA. D.