616 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [December, 1910, 



port at the time of the Moguls, and during the reign of Akbar 

 12,00,000 dams or 30,000 rupees were realised from this port 

 and other neighbouring markets. 1 The Mahomedan Subedar 

 resided at this place, and the ruins of the old fort, which was 

 his residence, still exist. Satgaon has been described by travel- 

 lers as " a great and noble city " and " a fair citie," but it is 

 now an insignificant village, being a cluster of few huts. The 

 extensive ruins, overgrown with dense jungle and once the 

 abode of tigers and bears, are the only remains that we have to 

 attest to its former greatness. These ruins have been described 

 by Dr. Blochmann, but they almost all belong to the Maho 

 medan period.* Satgaon sank into ruin, as stated before, when 

 Hughli was made a royal port in 1632, and all the public 

 officers were withdrawn : the silting up of the river at that 

 place also contributed to its decline. 



It will be observed that in all these ancient places there is 

 evidence to show the prevalence of Buddhism or Jainaism in 

 some period of their history. The temple of Tarakeswara, the 

 most renowned shrine of Siva worship in the district of Hughli, 

 appears to have been originally a Budhist temple now trans- 

 formed into a dome-topped Hindu temple with an outward 

 covering and coating of bricks and plaster like that of Barga 

 Bhima at Tamluk, which was originally a Buddhist temple 

 where Devi is now worshipped. The Maha-Lingeswara Tantra 

 mentions Tarakeswara as one of the " hundred names of 

 Siva," and places his shrine in Rada. There can be no doubt 

 therefore that the shrine existed at the time when the book 

 was composed, though we are not aware of the precise time of 

 its composition. It is, however, certain that it was not visited 

 by Chaitanya, as there is no mention of it either in the Chai- 

 tanya-charitamrita or Chaitanya-bhagavata. Hence we may 

 safely infer that at the time of Chaitanya it did not exist at all, 

 or that it did not acquire sufficient importance as a place of 

 pilgrimage. There is also a Jaina temple in Chinsura at 

 Jugipara lane which is much resorted to by the Jainas of 

 Calcutta : it is a very old temple and belongs to the Digam- 

 bara sect. It is therefore clear that Buddhism and Jainaism 

 prevailed at one time in that portion of the district of Hughli 

 which lies between the rivers Damuda and the Ganges, if not 

 in the whole of the district itself; and it appears also that 

 Buddhism was supplanted by Siva worship. 



Khan Ghazi came to Bengal accompanied by his nephew Shah Sufi with 



the Higira year 698 (1298 A.D.), the date of Zaftar Khan's conquest as 



mentioned in an inscription at Triveni (J.A.S.B., 1909, p. 248), bearing 



in mind the fact that Shah Sufi was sent to Bengal by the Emperor Firuz 

 Tuglak. 



1 Gladwin's Ayin Akbari, pt. ii, p. 472. 

 * J.A.S.B., vol. xxxix (1870). n. 2SO 



